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

  [Why aren’t you picking up?] The first text read, followed by, [WTF Lily? I need to talk to you!!!]

  What was I supposed to say? I had to break things off because I was now some rich guy’s sex slave? [I told you, I won’t be home for a year.] I sent back. I didn’t expect a reply. It was late, he probably wasn’t even awake. But the screen flashed with a new message, seconds later.

  [I don’t understand you up and leaving like this out of the blue. Talk to me!]

  [I know, but it was necessary, believe me.] I couldn’t tell him why, I’d been promised to secrecy. The phone flashed with an incoming call, but I let it go straight to voicemail, and another text came hot on its heels.

  [At least talk to me, let me hear your voice.]

  [I can’t, it’s not a good time. Goodnight.]

  [When’s a good time then, Lil?]

  I turned the phone off and slipped it back under the mattress. I probably shouldn’t have returned his messages at all. The sooner I let go of Michael, and everything that reminded me of home, the easier it would be to accept my fate. I belonged to Aidan Pierce now, at least for the next year. And the thought filled me with equal parts apprehension and excitement.

  ~~~

  Aidan stripped off his clothes to step under the steamy spray of the water, desperate to wash away the restless crawl to his skin. Even though he’d known it was too soon to fuck her, he hadn’t been able to resist the urge to see her bound and blindfolded. And fucking A, it’d been hot enough to have him rock hard and ready to violate every one of her holes, safety be damned. Only sheer willpower had given him the strength to unbind her hands, and then he’d gotten the fuck out of there before he did something he’d regret.

  Picturing that plump little mouth, he squirted some bodywash into his palm and wrapped it around his cock, swirling it over the tip as he indulged his fantasies about every way he wanted to take her. His hand pumped faster as he thought about how she’d looked kneeling before him – the way her tits jutted out, begging for his touch. The taste of her skin, the exquisite dusky peak that pebbled under his tongue, the catch in her voice as she’d said she belonged to him. And when he’d probed between her legs to find her wet…

  Aidan shot his load, reaching out to brace himself against the wet tiles as his cum spurted in high arcs against the water. Swearing under his breath in disgust, he pressed his forehead against his arm. He’d blown his wad inside of sixty seconds, like a goddamn teenager. Gripping himself tightly, his cock pulsed, still dripping blobs of thick cum as he dared to think she might’ve been turned on by his kink. Was it too much to hope for?

  Letting out a harsh breath, he rinsed and caught up a towel, barely stopping to dry off before he reached for his phone. Aidan didn’t even bother looking at the time before he dialed Dr. Jeffries, nor did he bother with a greeting. “I want you to put a rush on her test results.”

  There was a pause on the line, and then Jeffries cleared his throat. “It’s not up to me, it’s the lab. The best I can do is two to three days, tops.”

  “I want them tomorrow,” Aidan barked, hanging up so there would be no argument. Already hard again at the idea of getting her spread eagled, he gripped his cock with punishing strength. Soon. He would have her soon.

  ~4~

  I had no idea what time it was when my bedroom door opened, only that the sun streaming through the window had to be stopped. Mrs. Fisk bustled in with a tray of something food-like, but all I had eyes for was the coffee as I sat higher on the bed.

  “What time is it?”

  “Half past eight, miss.” She set the tray down on the bedside table and poured out a cup of dark, magical brew. “How do you take your coffee?”

  “Light and sweet please,” I yawned, scratching absently at my shoulder. “Is there some reason why I need to be up at this hour?” Somehow I’d thought the summons would only come at night, but maybe I was mistaken. Maybe the master liked to start the day with a bang.

  “No, I suppose not,” she replied, taken aback by my question. “What time would you prefer to be woken?”

  “How about never?” I yawned again, settling deeper into the covers to avoid the shaft of sunlight that threatened to burn out my retinas. If I was going to be keeping such late hours, I didn’t see why I couldn’t sleep in. It’s not like I had the internet, and there was no TV in the room. What else did I have to wake up for? “I mean… if it’s okay, I think I’d much rather wake up on my own.”

  “As you please,” she nodded, sounding anything but pleased herself. Here I was trying to make things easier on her, not harder, and she looked like I’d asked her if I could paint the walls hot pink. “I wasn’t sure what you liked for breakfast, so I brought you an assortment of fruits and pastries, as well as sausage and eggs with toast. If you’ve any special requirements, you have only to ask.”

  I looked at the tray, trying to mask my revulsion at the thought of eating so much before noon. Most days I was lucky to grab a bagel on my way to classes, but the coffee looked heavenly. “That’s really sweet of you, but I’ve never been much of a breakfast person. Please don’t feel like you have to go through so much trouble for me. Coffee and toast is more than enough.”

  “It’s my job, miss.”

  “Please, call me Lily,” I reminded her with a smile. “I’ll be here for a while, right? There’s no reason to be so formal, is there?”

  “I suppose not,” she replied hesitantly, handing over the cup, and I breathed in the much appreciated aroma.

  “Thanks,” I smiled. “This is just what the doctor ordered.”

  She straightened, a pucker of worry pinching her brow. “Did Doctor Jeffries prescribe you anything?”

  “No, sorry. It’s just an expression. I’m as healthy as a horse, always have been.” It was why I didn’t expect any problems with my test results. That meant I’d be on the hook for whatever the master had planned as soon as they came in.

  “Oh, that’s fine then,” she eased. “Eat what you like, I’ll be back to pick up the tray later.”

  “Thanks, Mrs. Fisk,” I said around a mouthful of buttery toast. “Oh… hold on a sec, before you leave,” I called out, frowning over the crumbs spilling over my pajamas. “Do you think I could get like a book or something to pass the time?”

  “Of course, you can choose one for yourself from the library.”

  “Oh, I thought...” A flush of embarrassment crept into my cheeks. I’d thought I was stuck in my room until Aidan wanted me again. “Could you maybe point me in the right direction?”

  “Of course,” she smiled, giving me pretty straightforward directions on how to find it. “The master gave instructions that you’re free to roam the house except for the west wing second floor. You’re not to go there for any reason.”

  That sounded better than being a prisoner of my bedroom suite, but it piqued my curiosity. “Why can’t I go into the west wing?”

  “Because it’s the master’s wishes.”

  I was getting tired of being told that. What was he hiding up there? I couldn’t imagine what kinds of secrets he had breeding in the west wing. For all I knew, he had six more girls locked up in chains, ready to be at his beck and call. Was that why he’d left me without exercising his rights over my body the night before? Mrs. Fisk didn’t seem inclined to chat about it, and frankly, I was just relieved to find out I could go explore the rest of the mansion.

  “Lunch will be served promptly at noon in the family dining room, so don’t be late, dear,” she added, picking up my boots from the middle of the floor and setting them neatly by the door.

  “Will he be there?” I asked, but what I really meant was – will I have to wear my blindfold?

  She shook her head. “No, the master takes his meals alone.”

  “Oh, then you don’t have to bother to make me anything special for lunch. I can always grab something later. I’m pretty handy in the kitchen.”

  “It’s no trouble,” she replied with an easier smile. �
��Cook will be preparing the meals for the master all the same, but it’s up to you if you want to take it up with her. Between you and me, she’s a bit jealous of her kitchen, and doesn’t like the rest of us setting foot into it.”

  “Ah, gotcha,” I nodded, making a mental note to be nice to the prickly cook, so I didn’t end up with spit in my food. “Thanks again for the coffee and breakfast. And thanks for telling me about the library.”

  “See you at lunch, dear,” she nodded, offering me an almost kindly smile on her way out.

  After the coffee, toast and a few berries, I swept the worst of the crumbs out of my bed and hopped into the shower. The old pipes creaked and groaned, but the water was good and hot, the scent of lavender soap soon filling the steamy room. When I finally emerged with a towel wrapped around my hair and another thick one tucked around me, I realized someone had already been in my room. The breakfast tray was gone and the bed had been neatly made, with no sign of bread crumbs on the floor beside it.

  While the middle class girl in me acknowledged that it was cool to have invisible maid service, it was also a little creepy having such a lack of privacy. But what choice did I have? My door had an old fashioned lock on it, and there was no sign of the key.

  And that wasn’t the only sign that elves had been busy while I was in the bathroom. Not only were my clothes put away in the walk-in closet, but there were more clothes in there than I’d come with. Fancy ones, like I’d never wear in real life. Soft silks, buttery leather, elegant lace and decadent cashmere hung beside my simple cottons. And in the dresser drawers, I found an assortment of matching bra and panty sets, and satiny nightgowns. I knew they had to have come from him, but how had he known the right sizes?

  Remembering what he’d said about not wanting to see my bra again, I selected a simple white set to wear, but left the rest of the finery alone. For some reason, I felt more comfortable wandering through the house in my own clothes. But I still pulled my hair up in a pony tail to get it out of the way. If he sent for me, I could always put it back down again. As a last thought, I grabbed a blindfold out of the drawer and stuffed it into my pocket, just in case.

  The house was a lot less spooky in broad daylight, but the grandeur of it all still struck me as I roamed through the halls, in no particular hurry to get anywhere. I ran into the random servant from time to time, but none of them spoke to me beyond a mumbled greeting. After a while I assumed they’d been instructed not to interact with me, and gave them little more than a smile in return when they passed by.

  There were a bunch of other bedrooms in my part of the house, all empty from the look of it. There was also another study and a big room with a bunch of tables in it, that I couldn’t guess the reason for. Downstairs was much more interesting. In addition to the parlor I’d met the doctor in and Aidan’s study, I found the family dining room, and the morning room as well as the solarium, all in the same part of the house.

  I also found a fully stocked gym, packed with every kind of cardio machine the big clubs had, a large selection of free weights, and a bunch of machines I couldn’t identify on first glance. There went the idea that Aidan Pierce was hiding a beer gut. I might get to the point where I was bored enough to exercise, but I hadn’t reached it yet, and continued with my exploration.

  I made it to where Mrs. Fisk said the library would be, and Jesus fucking Christ... I almost had a bookgasm right there on the spot. When someone said their house had a library, I expected it to be more like a study with a lot of bookshelves, but this one was fucking huge. It’d take me way more than a year to wade through all of them, and I spent the next hour trying to figure out the screwed up way the books were organized, pulling out all the ones that sounded interesting.

  Fortified with an armload of books, I found my way back to my room to curl up on the window seat and dive into the world of Scarlett and Rhett. The rest of the morning slipped by, and when I heard the grandfather clock out in the hall strike twelve, I wandered out again. Lunch was a silent affair, me alone in the “family dining room” which was still big enough to seat fourteen people, easy.

  Mrs. Fisk was right about the cook. She didn’t appreciate me sticking my nose into the kitchen at all, chasing me out with a wooden spoon and mouth dirty enough to make a sailor blush. I started back to my room, thinking about trying to call my father, or at least send a text to Cass or Darlene to see how he was doing. His lungs hadn’t sounded very good right before I left, and I didn’t trust them to make sure he made it on time for his breathing treatments unless I bugged them about it. If he died while I was gone, then… I didn’t want to think about the possibility.

  When I got back to my room, my eyes were drawn to a large wooden box sitting in the middle of my bed. Half afraid of what I’d find inside, I sucked in a sharp breath when the sparkle of jewels winked back at me. Rubies and sapphires, diamonds… they couldn’t be real. Even costume jewelry of that quality had to be worth a fortune, and I set the box on the chest at the end of the bed, scared I’d lose a piece and catch holy hell for it.

  I admit it, I spent the next hour playing dress up. Trying on some of the expensive outfits and jewelry, and admiring myself in the three way mirror in the closet. It was almost a crime to have such pretty things, knowing I had no place to go out and wear them. Somehow I didn’t think the master spent much time out at fancy dinners or Broadway shows – at least not that he intended to take me to. The blindfold might be hard to explain. Or maybe the super wealthy didn’t give a fuck? I still changed back into my normal clothes though, before settling in to my book again.

  The afternoon faded into evening, and I only got up to pee and turn on the light, wrapped up in the world of the old South. When the knock came, I jumped, turning in time to see Mrs. Fisk hovering by the door.

  “He’s ready for you.”

  ~5~

  I didn’t stop to put on my shoes, figuring there was no point if I was just going to have to take them off again down the hall. Of course, I started to rethink the wisdom of that decision when my feet hit the cold marble tiles out in the hallway, but it was too late to go back then. I’d picked a pale pink blindfold this time, to go with the pink sweater I had on, and at the last moment, I remembered to ditch the scrunchie, shoving it in my pocket.

  Mrs. Fisk guided me into the room once I had the blindfold in place, and I caught myself holding my breath, ears straining for any sign of him. The crackling of the fire sounded the same, but this time, she backed me up against a chair and instructed me to sit. I reached back for the armrest, lowering myself awkwardly, to perch on the edge of the chair. After the heavy thunk of the door closing, I expected an order to take off my clothes, but it never came. Was he even in the room? Mashing my lips together to keep from asking if anyone was there, I waited, pressing my toes into the carpet to keep my legs from bouncing nervously.

  “Talk to me.” His voice was a low rasp in the darkness, roughened by something I couldn’t identify.

  Licking my lips, I wondered if it was some sort of a trap. “What happened to only speaking when I was spoken to?”

  “We’re not in a scene. You can talk freely for now, I’m trying to get to know you better.”

  “Oh.” It seemed at odds with what he’d told me the night before, but if he wanted to talk instead of weird, kinky things, that was fine by me. “It’s kind of hard to tell with the blindfold and all.” I started to reach up to pull the blindfold free. “I don’t suppose I could…”

  “Drop your hands unless you want them secured.” His voice sliced at me, hard and unyielding, and I froze, my hands halfway to my face like a deer in the headlights. My heart pounded furiously, still reacting to the tone which promised a swift retribution I didn’t want to experience. It took me a few seconds to process that setting them back down again would be an okay move, and I returned them to the armrests – slowly – in case he changed his mind about what was allowed and what wasn’t.

  “Sorry,” I murmured, drawing in a steadying b
reath. “So, um… What do you want to talk about?” There was a long awkward pause. Didn’t he know? Somehow that made me feel better. “I’d say we could talk about movies, but something tells me we don’t have a whole lot in common.”

  “What makes you say that?”

  I shrank away from the bite in his voice. “Nothing! Just… never mind.” Boy, was he prickly.

  “Why aren’t you wearing any of my gifts?”

  That caught me off guard. “I… wasn’t aware it was a requirement.”

  “It’s not,” he snapped irritably.

  The silence stretched between us as I spent my time divided between trying to figure out what he wanted to talk about and what must’ve crawled up his butt to put him in such a shitty mood. He’d been firm the night before – his words deliberately cruel sometimes – but I’d gotten the idea that it was just to show me who was boss. But tonight he was being kind of a dick. Which one was his natural state?

  “They’re not to your tastes, I suppose?”

  “Huh? Oh, the gifts? Well… to be perfectly honest, not really,” I admitted with a half shrug. “The clothes are a bit fancy for me. I’m more of a jeans and a t-shirt kind of girl.”

  “And the rest of it?”

  “I mean, who doesn’t like jewelry, but what’s the point of wearing sparklies if there’s no one to see it.”

  “I would see it.” Something about the way he said it told me he’d like to see it very much, and I made a mental note to remember that for next time, the desire to please him hitting me sharper than I would’ve liked. Why should I care what he’d like to see? Maybe because he controls your fate for the next twelve months – my common sense kicked in. Whatever I could do to make him happy had to rise to the top of my list, but for the moment all I could offer him was conversation.