Lily and the Beast (Lily and the Beast #1) Read online

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  Two more drinks later, Aidan paced before the hearth in the study, unbuttoning the top two buttons of his shirt as the room felt unbearably warm. What was taking so goddamn long? The old housekeeper wasn’t moving as fast as she used to in the old days, but surely…

  A soft tap sounded at the door and his head whipped around. “Come in,” he growled, his annoyance dying in his throat at the sight of her, standing there vulnerable and trembling by Mrs. Fisk’s side. The red mask she’d chosen was the perfect splash of color against her long, ebony hair. He would’ve preferred it loose and spilling over her shoulders, but his cock twitched to life all the same.

  The clothes were all wrong, of course, but there was no denying her beauty. Her skin was smooth and fair – no sign of a spray-on tan or acne. Full lips parted slightly as she took shallow breaths that matched the rise and fall of her tits. The apples of her cheeks were high with color, as if embarrassed, or possibly aroused, he didn’t know her well enough to tell.

  Yet.

  Aidan wiggled his fingers, motioning for Mrs. Fisk to bring her deeper into the room.

  The old woman guided Lily past the heavy furniture to stand before the fire, her gaze dropping to the ground, careful to avoid looking at him – as expected. “Will you be needing…”

  “Get out,” he cut her off, not in the mood for her rambling when he had such a tasty treat before him. Mrs. Fisk obeyed without another word, closing the door behind her. There was no point in locking it, no one would dare intrude upon them. Aidan made a slow circle around the girl, noting how the firelight played up the burnished highlights in her hair.

  Up close she was even more stunning, despite the sloppy clothes. Even in her faded t-shirt, it was easy to see the curves beneath it, and the soft denim only highlighted her tight little ass. He couldn’t wait to see her lying naked and open to him, her hair streaming over the silken sheets.

  “Hello?” she said, her voice little more than a breathy whisper, and the tremor of fear behind it sent a jolt straight to his cock. He was the one with all the power, and she belonged to him in every way. If he wanted to fuck her sideways without a single word, he could. He could violate her every night for the next year and she couldn’t say shit about it. He owned her. Every luscious inch of her.

  “Is someone there?” Her lips parted as she held her breath, head cocked to one side, listening.

  “You will remain silent unless I speak to you,” he rumbled, close enough to her lips to feel her sharp intake of breath. She made a funny squeak, shrinking away from him before she forced herself to hold still. The ripple of a shiver went through her, and then her chin came up, lips moving with silent purpose, as if repeating a mantra, or possibly a prayer.

  In that moment, he admired her courage to stand before him so boldly. Then again, she couldn’t know what was coming. If she did, she’d be weeping by now, no doubt. She wasn’t like the others, he could tell that already. Her elegant beauty reminded him of what he’d lost. That she would never truly be his. Not willingly. If given the choice, Lily Gray would undoubtedly flee into the night, just as Felice had.

  A coal of anger burned brightly in Aidan’s chest, and his voice was rougher than usual when he spoke. “How old are you?”

  “Twenty.”

  Older than he’d thought. The innocence bit had to be an act. “Take off your clothes,” he barked, stepping back to get a better view.

  “What?”

  “I thought you passed the physical, do you need to have your hearing rechecked? I said take off your clothes.” Aidan waited to see if she’d challenge him again, but instead her head bowed as she pulled off her clothes in silence, with no art to it. Though her moves weren’t designed to entice him, there was definitely a rush of anticipation as she pared down to bra and panties, kicking off her heavy boots with a thud.

  Aidan was accustomed to his women putting on a show for him. Waggling their tits as they bent over and shaking their asses at him – they gave him his money’s worth. And they definitely didn’t stop at their underwear, but he decided to allow it just this once. It was obvious she hadn’t the slightest clue how to prepare herself for him. If the t-shirt and jeans hadn’t been a dead giveaway, the mismatched underwear screamed the exact opposite of trying to please him.

  She stood stock still in simple pink panties, sheer enough to see her asscheeks through, and a white cotton bra. He’d have to get her some lacy ones, this one did nothing for her, even though he could tell she had a decent rack. Her arms folded over her chest, which only served to push her breasts higher. Nice. Very nice indeed.

  Aidan made another slow circuit around her, taking in the creamy swell of her belly. Soft, supple thighs pressed tightly together, one knee slightly in front of the other as she did her best to shield her body from him. Her feet were small and dainty, toes bunching into the rug as she fought to keep her balance with trembling muscles.

  This time he spotted a tiny freckle behind her right ear that he immediately wanted to suck on. He yanked her hair out of the ponytail before he gave in to that desire, and it was instantly replaced by a new one as his fingers sifted through the ebony silk.

  “I want your hair down when you come to me, unless I give you permission to put it up,” he said, his voice husky with need, and he swallowed to clear it. “Is that understood?”

  “Yes,” she murmured, chest heaving as her breaths came faster. She was so beautiful, it hurt to look at her – and Gray had delivered her to him as a sacrifice. His own daughter. Aidan should’ve sent him to prison and been done with it. The girl was scared, it was easy to see from a single glance, but still, she was obviously trying to hold to the terms of the contract despite that fear. It intrigued him, the way her chin came up in determination, despite the tremble in her thighs.

  Once he might’ve sent her home in his flashy car with a pocket full of cash. It was the honorable thing to do. The right thing to do. It was too late to save himself from the course he’d stumbled upon, but he could still set her back on the path of innocence. But Aidan hadn’t done the right thing since the one bad decision that’d changed his whole life.

  Fuck it. Innocent or not, he owned her. Time to see if she was worth it.

  ~3~

  “It’s just sex, I can totally handle this.” My lips moved without sound, but I felt better for reminding myself. It wasn’t like I’d never done it before. Michael was my third serious relationship and the fourth guy I’d ever slept with. Maybe Aidan Pierce was a hideously deformed troll with a pot belly, but with the blindfold on, I could pretend he was an Adonis. Or even Michael. I seized upon that bit of fantasy, clinging to it.

  Still, when he touched my shoulder I flinched. I couldn’t help it! His hand withdrew instantly, but I’d obviously ticked him off, as he grabbed hold of my chin, firmly keeping me in place.

  “Do you know what the contract you signed means?” he said with slow, deliberate care, as if I was mentally challenged.

  “Yes,” I replied, fighting the instinct to pull away from his grasp. In a few seconds he let me go, and I could feel him pacing a slow circle around me from his footfalls on the thick rug.

  “You agreed to be mine in any way I deem fit for the period of one year. Surrendering your body freely to any physical demands I make, whenever I make them, without complaint or objection,” he rattled off from memory, and I wondered how many other girls he’d made this agreement with. I’d read that part of the contract right enough, but when he said it that way, I wondered if his idea of physical demands was the same as mine.

  “You belong to me. Say it,” he prompted, tapping me on the bottom of my chin.

  “I belong to you,” I parroted back, my stomach clenching into a knot at the current of possessiveness I picked up in his voice. I couldn’t see him, but I could feel him looking at me, eagerly awaiting my every response.

  He leaned close, more heat coming off of him than the crackling fireplace, and a rash of goose bumps broke out over
my skin when his breath tickled my ear. “If I wanted to bend you over the back of that chair, shove your pretty pink panties aside and fuck you raw right now, I could. Do you accept this?”

  My hands clenched into fists at the harsh words, but his voice was soft, almost sweet at my ear – as though paying me the most gentle, loving compliment. Behind the blindfold, I felt myself blink, my breath hitching as I nodded in response.

  “Answer me,” he barked, and I shuddered, wanting that soft, lover’s tone back.

  “Yes,” I gasped, hating the way my voice cracked, because I had to admit, it wasn’t all fear. There was a tiny part of me that wanted to push him, to see what he’d do next. I sucked in a sharp breath when the next touch came, willing myself to be still, to submit. Large, blunt fingers trailed up my bare arm to my shoulder in the lightest of touches, dipping across my collarbone to the other shoulder.

  Lulled by the gentle touch, I almost cried out when he withdrew, my mouth going dry as I recognized the sound of his belt buckle being undone. I waited for the zipper to follow, but instead I heard a long hiss, punctuated by a slap – his belt coming free. In the next instant, he wrenched my arms behind my back, pinning my wrists together at an awkward angle. My shoulders pitched forward, leveraging for a more comfortable position, and his hand closed around my throat, hauling me up against the solid wall of his chest.

  “You will submit without complaint or objection, that includes nonverbal actions,” he growled at my ear.

  “I didn’t complain, I was just trying to get more comfortable and…” His hand tightened, and I winced, remembering I wasn’t supposed to speak unless he asked me something. When I fell silent, his grip eased, and I dragged in a ragged breath.

  His voice softened again, became that lover’s tone, as his hot breath spilled over my shoulder. He let go of my throat entirely, hand roaming lower over the slope of my breast and to the flat of my belly. “There is no part of your body that is forbidden to me. If I want to hurt you, I can. I can take you however and whenever I want.”

  Despite his words, his hold on me shifted slightly, putting less strain on my joints, and I wondered if he even knew what kind of mixed messages he was sending out. Did he want to hurt me? Was that what I’d signed on for?

  “I own you, don’t I?” His voice became a sexy purr as his lips caressed the outer whorl of my ear, and I nodded, my breath coming faster as an unwanted thrill coursed through me. I was completely under his power, like he said. And I could tell myself that it was just sex, but there was nothing normal about this. I was utterly his to do with as he pleased. On one level, the thought was terrifying, but there was a rush of something else. Something that had my thighs pressing together against the slick heat that gathered between them.

  “Say it!” His hand closed roughly over my breast, fingers squeezing tight, and I cried out in shock, desperately trying to remember what he wanted me to say.

  “Y-you own me,” I stammered, and his touch instantly gentled, becoming a caress.

  “Good girl.” A flush of pleasure went through me, at hearing that simple praise. I wanted to hear it again, but his voice was harder when he spoke. “You exist only to please me. So instead of pulling away from me, you’d better be trying to figure out how to make me happy.”

  “But I have no idea what you want, I don’t know you,” I objected, and he patted me lightly on the belly.

  “I’ll teach you.”

  Something about the way he said it sent another wave of goose bumps puckering across my skin, especially when he grasped my wrists again, looser this time. It wasn’t painful, but a sweat broke out across my forehead when I felt the wide leather belt wrapping around my wrists, especially when he cinched it tight.

  “Does that hurt?”

  Was I supposed to say no, or yes? Did he want it to hurt? If I said it didn’t, would he cinch it tighter? “No,” slipped out, while I was trying to figure out what he wanted. To my relief, he patted my arm and let them go to hang behind my back. It wasn’t uncomfortable, just awkward to have my arms pinned back like that. It left me feeling more vulnerable, for sure, my boobs jutting out too far. I tried to hunch a little and sink back on my heels, but he didn’t let me, guiding me up on my knees.

  I braced myself for the next touch, and when it didn’t come, my tongue darted out to moisten my lips. “What do you want me to do?”

  “Be still.” His voice came from above, and I pictured him towering over me, my face level with his crotch. Was he going to make me suck him off? I strained to listen for the sound of his pants being undone, but the only thing I heard was the crackle of the fire until he spoke again. “When we’re in a scene, you’ll remember that I’m in complete control. You’ll only speak when spoken to, or I’ll have to punish you. Do you understand?”

  “A scene? Like a play?” It was actually easier to think about that way. It made it feel like it was less real, and more like playing a role. Not that I’d ever tried something like that with Michael or anyone else before, but it wasn’t the worst way to look at what was coming next.

  “Yes, a sexual scene. That’s what you and I will be sharing.” His fingers trailed along the curve of my jaw and then fell away. “The rest of the time you can go about your business and I’ll go about mine, as long as you stay out of my way until I call for you.”

  “Okay,” I nodded, feeling more at ease now that I got a better handle on what was expected of me. It answered some of my questions as to how I was supposed to eat while blindfolded and stuff – I’d only be blindfolded when I was around him, and I’d only be around him when he was in the mood for sex. If he was anything like Michael, that’d be a couple of times a week, tops. I could do that.

  His fingers combed through my hair and I waited for him to pull me closer, wondering how close I was to his cock. Instead, he let go and I heard him shift position, feeling the heat of him in front of me an instant before the next touch came. “I like your skin, it’s so soft,” he rumbled, fingers splaying across my belly, slowly questing higher until they reached the band of my bra. I bit back the urge to say thanks, trying to remember that he hadn’t asked me a question.

  “But I don’t like this bra.” I could hear the disapproval in his voice, and seconds later, he shoved it down under my boobs so that they sat unnaturally high, poking up at him. “I don’t want to ever see it again. Is that clear?”

  “Yes,” I breathed, heart pounding loudly in my ears as I waited to see what he’d do next. The seconds ticked by, stretching on and on, my bare skin tingling and aware of the lightest stir of air as I felt his breath upon me.

  “Very nice.” His murmured, lips brushing over one nipple in the ghost of a touch and it took everything I had in me to keep perfectly still – my mind urging me to pull away even as my body clamored to lean closer. All at once his lips closed over the tip, sucking me into his mouth with a groan of pure greed. I arched against him as the heat of his tongue seared me, and he drew harder, the pleasure mingling with pain until I cried out. He sucked harder and then released my breast with a soothing lick, turning to the other one.

  A rush of heat flowed straight to my pussy as I waited for the same treatment, but instead, he reached for my nipple, rolling it firmly between his thumb and forefinger. “Did you like that?”

  “No… yes… I don’t know,” I answered as truthfully as I could. My nipple tingled where his mouth had once been, still hard and wet with his saliva. I wasn’t into pain, exactly, but he’d sure gotten my body’s attention.

  “I think you did.” He sounded vaguely amused, his free hand trailing up the inside of my thigh while his fingers pinched and kneaded my breast. My thighs quivered, the closer he got to my pussy, my breath coming in short gasps as he stroked the outside of my panties. “Oh, you did,” he chuckled, and I felt a stab of embarrassment that he could feel my arousal, despite my fear. His fingers slid along my damp cleft, the thin fabric the only thing shielding me from his skin.

  “I’ll have to rem
ember that for next time.” All of a sudden he withdrew, and I didn’t know whether to cry out in relief or disappointment as he leaned around me to unbuckle the belt. “We’re done for tonight. Wait here until you hear me leave, then you can get dressed and go back to your room.”

  Stunned, I massaged my wrists, but they weren’t too sore. “You’re not going to… to…”

  “Not until your test results come back. I’m not risking disease, no matter how innocent and healthy you look.”

  Gathering a deeper breath, I tugged my bra back over my breasts, half expecting him to tell me to leave them out, but he didn’t object. I heard him open the door, but before I reached for my clothes, he called out, “I expect you to remember what you learned tonight when I call for you again.” And then he was gone.

  My head whipped around as I tore off the blindfold, hoping to catch a glimpse of him, but all I caught was the door clicking shut. Probably for the best anyway, I didn’t want to piss him off on the first night. Tugging on my clothes, I went over the strange encounter in my mind, figuring I’d gotten off fairly easily, all things considered.

  My wrists were a little red, but not too bad, and my nipple still ached – though it wasn’t unpleasant – it served as a reminder of where his mouth had been. Aidan Pierce was definitely not what I’d expected him to be, and I couldn’t help but wonder what would happen once my tests came back clean.

  Mrs. Fisk waited out in the hallway to take me back to my room, with nothing on her face to show she either approved or disapproved of the master’s activities. Still, I think I blushed harder knowing she probably had a good idea what went on in the study, than I had being practically naked in front of Aidan.

  I was glad she was there to show me the way back to my room, I would’ve spent way too long wandering around before I found the right part of the house. Still, I was glad she wasn’t feeling chatty on the way there. Back safe and sound, I dug out my cell phone and climbed onto the window seat. Three missed calls from Michael and two texts. He hadn’t taken the news of my sudden departure very well, especially because I’d been kind of vague about where I was going.