Lily and the Beast 2 (11 page)

The bar was super cute, the décor a mixture of modern touches and old Hollywood glamour.  Michael was already there when I walked in, waving me to a corner table in the back.  The glass on the table in front of him was nearly empty, and I wondered how long he’d been waiting for me already. 

Michael looked good, really good.  He’d always been a handsome man, tall and trim, with brown hair that curled around his ears and green eyes that crinkled when he smiled.  Dressed casually in an emerald sweater that made his eyes really pop and button up shirt over a pair of jeans, he didn’t stand out more than any one else in the bar, until he smiled and you caught sight of those dimples – my downfall.  I couldn’t resist a man with dimples, never had been able to.  And Michael was beaming at me like he knew it as I threaded my way to the back table. 

He stood when I approached, leaning in to kiss my cheek.  “Hey, I’m so glad you made it.  I was worried you wouldn’t come.”

“I said I’d be here.”

“I know but things have been off between us, and I’m so glad you’re ready to make things right.”

Shit
.  “Ah, Michael, that’s not why I agreed to meet you here.”

“You need a drink.  And I definitely need another drink,” he said, blowing right past my response.  “What do you want?” 

Not you,
I wanted to reply, but I wasn’t that cold.  “Um, I’ll have a beer, thanks.”  Technically, I wasn’t supposed to drink, or even be in the bar, but I knew I could pass for twenty-one even without my fake ID. 

“Cool, I’ll be right back.”  He flashed me those dimples again and practically jogged for the bar, smiling over his shoulder at me every ten seconds, as if he was afraid I might bolt if he turned his back for too long.  He was more right than he thought about that, I wasn’t looking forward to the way the conversation was going to go down.  Maybe he was more nervous than he let on, as he downed a shot of something before he picked up our drinks and returned.

“Here you go,” he grinned, setting the beer in front of me with a tiny slosh.  “You look amazing, by the way.  Did I tell you that?  You look amazing.”

“Um, thanks.”  Was he drunk?  His eyes were over-bright, his smile too wide.  How many drinks had he had while waiting for me to arrive?  I didn’t think I looked amazing.  I’d gone for pretty but casual, with a simple black dress cinched with a wide red belt, and tall boots.  I hadn’t even worn much make-up, having gotten out of the habit from wearing the blindfold all the time and avoiding
hooker lips
. 

“So, you’ve got a place in the city now?”

“Yeah, it’s a couple of blocks from here.  You should check it out, the kitchen’s kind of a joke, but after the dorms, it’s like paradise,” he grinned, drinking deeply from his glass before he spoke again.  “Maybe you could come back with me when we’re done talking here?”

“I think that’s probably not a very good idea,” I hedged, and he reached for my hand.

“No, it’s a great idea.  I can’t wait to hold you in my arms again.  I’ve missed you so much, Lily.”

Gently, but firmly, I tugged my hand free.  “Michael, I’m sorry, but that’s not going to happen.  I didn’t come to see you to go back to the way things were between us.”

“Fine, no, I get it.  It won’t be like that, it’ll be better.”  His face shone with hope.  “I really want to make this work.  I think you’re the one.”

Shit
.  He wasn’t getting it.  “No, Michael.  I’m really not.”

His smile didn’t dim.  “You’re my Venus, my muse.  Without you, I’m nothing.”

“That’s ridiculous.  Of course you’re not nothing.  You’re just not the guy for me.”  Where was this even coming from?  He’d always been so low key, he’d never been the one to do the pursuing.  Not until I’d been the one to call things off the last time.  Maybe he was one of those guys who only wanted something when you took it away? 

“Who is he?”  His eyes narrowed, tearing me away from my inner thoughts.

“Who is who?”

“The guy you dumped me for.”

“That’s not why we broke up.”  Okay, technically it was, since I’d left him in order to fulfill Dad’s contract with Aidan, but the truth was, Michael and I had never been perfect for each other.  We’d been on again, off again too much for it to ever be more than a casual thing.  I could see that now.  I’d never felt any of the heat with him like I felt with Aidan.   

“Then why don’t you want to give it another try?  I know we can make this work, Lily, if you give us a chance.”

“That’s the problem, Michael – I don’t want to give it another chance.  Can’t we just agree that we had a good thing while it lasted and be friends?”

“Friends?” he said on a long sigh that turned into a bark of bitter laughter.  “Of course, yeah.  Why not?”  He drained the rest of his drink, slamming the empty glass on the table.  “We can be friends after you’ve stomped on my heart, sure.”

“Michael… I didn’t mean to stomp on your heart.  Come on, you know I’m not the love of your life.”

His eyes pleaded with mine, and I hated the torture I saw behind them.  “Please, Lily.  Won’t you give us another shot?”

“I can’t.”

“Can’t or won’t?” 

“Both,” I shrugged.  He was going to make me come right out and say it.  “You’re right, there is someone else.” 

He took my beer, downing half of it in one long gulp.  “Who is he?”

“Nobody you know.”

“I’ll fight the guy, I don’t even care.”  He was getting sloppier by the second.  I tried to take the beer away from him, but he held it out of my reach, greedily drinking the rest.

“I don’t want you to fight him, I want you to accept that I’ve moved on, and you should too.”  Besides, Aidan would beat the crap out of him with one hand tied behind his back, and I knew Michael didn’t have any health insurance. 

“Fine, if that’s the way you want it.”

“That’s the way it has to be.”

“Fine.  You got it.  I won’t stay where I’m not wanted.”  He lurched up to his feet, clutching the table as he swayed unsteadily. 

“Hey, take it slow.”

“I got it,” he scowled, his eyes closing, as if having trouble focusing. 

“Are you sure?” I asked.  He looked kind of sick to me.

“Sure, I’m sure,” he boasted, his eyes snapping open.  “I think I’d better walk you home, Lily.  You can’t be too careful in a neighborhood like this.”

“I think maybe I’d better walk you home instead,” I frowned, grabbing my purse.  Otherwise he might end up tripping over a curb and knocking his head open. 

“That’s what I said, I’m walking me home,” he grinned wide, dimples in evidence, and I couldn’t help but smile.  He was such a dorky drunk. 

“Okay, time to go.  Where’s this apartment of yours?”

“Can’t wait to get me naked, can you?” he tried to wink, but it came out as more of a double blink. 

“Yep, you found me out.  I can’t wait to take advantage of you,” I muttered, guiding him out of the bar – which was no small feat – he kept bumping into the other tables. 

“I like that.  You take advantage of me, and then I’ll take advantage of you, and then I’ll take advantage of me and you take advantage of you,” he babbled as I pulled him outside. 

“Yeah, that’s a terrific plan, Michael.  Which way is your apartment?”  I’d hoped the brisk air would sober him up a bit, but he stared blearily at the street signs.  “Which way?” I prompted gently.

“This way,” he declared, wrapping an arm around my shoulders, and I didn’t complain, as long as it got him moving.  I tucked my arm around his waist to help propel him forward, and he wasn’t too unsteady. 

“You smell like night blooming jasmine,” Michael declared, his nose burying in my hair.

“Yep, that’s the hotel bath products for you,” I nodded.  They were far more luxurious that any I’d ever bought for myself, and I already had a pocket of my suitcase stuffed full of them to take home with me.

“Which hotel?”

“Oh, the big one,” I hedged, and he simply nodded, his drunken mind filling in the blanks I’d deliberately left.  “Is it this building here?”

Michael stopped to look up, his face scrunching dubiously, before he gave a single nod.  “Yep, that’s the one.  I have keys…”  He fumbled with his pockets for a full thirty seconds before I brushed his hands out of the way and dug for them myself. 

“Here you go,” I murmured, letting go of him to open the outer door.  “Now up the stairs with you.”  I tucked the keys back in his pocket; that was as far as I planned to go.

“I like stairs, they’re super comfy when you need a rest,” Michael said, settling on the bottom three to lay his head down. 

I stared down at him in dismay, wondering if I could leave him like that.  He was off the street, safe from muggers, but still out in the main hallway of the apartment building.  There was no guarantee that his neighbors were any better than the people on the street, and anyone could come along and rob him or worse.  With a long exhale, I acknowledged what I had to do. 

“Come on, let’s get you up to your apartment,” I sighed, urging him up, off the stairs.  “Which one is it?  What floor?”

“2B.  2B or not 2B,” he snickered to himself.  At least it wasn’t too many stairs to climb, unless he was just rambling.  His key did fit into apartment 2B though, and I let out a long breath of relief as I walked him inside, dropping his keys on the table by the door.

“I’ll say good night then.  Get some rest, Michael.”  I patted him on the shoulder and he grabbed for my wrist, his reflexes faster than I would’ve thought.

“No, no… come in and see my apartment.  It’s really super awesome.  Come and see.”  Those dimples were back as he gave me a pleading smile, and I caved, shutting the door behind me.

“Alright, just for a minute.” 

“See!  I have a kitchen, just like I said,” he declared, his chest puffing out with pride as he pulled me deeper into the apartment.

“Yeah, you sure do.  Okay, I’m gonna go now, Michael.  Why don’t you sleep it off and we’ll talk soon.”  I turned to go, but he called me back, his voice shrill with desperation.

“Wait!  Wait, wait, wait… Lily.  I have something important to tell you.”

“What?”

“I have a present for you.  It’s in my pants…”  He started to unbutton them and I rolled my eyes in disgust. 

“Really?”  I turned to go.  “I’ve already seen it.”

“No, wait, Lily.”  He caught my wrist again, holding me in place.  “Why can’t you be mine?”

“I already told you why.  Now let me go.”

“Not until you tell me why?  Didn’t we have it good together?”

“Sure, it was good, but that’s all.  I want more than good now.”

“I can make it very, very good for you, Lily,” he smiled, one hand slinking around my waist, pulling me close.  “You know I know how.”  His other hand let go of my wrist to slide down to my crotch and I slapped it away. 

“Stop it!”

His eyes hardened, lips curving cruelly.  “Does he kiss you like this?”  He mashed his lips over mine, his breath reeking of sour alcohol and peanuts.  I pressed my lips together, turning away from the forced kiss as I struggled to pull away from his grasp, but he was surprisingly strong.

“Michael, I said stop it!”  I hissed, my fingernails sinking into his skin, but it didn’t slow him down.

“I can make you love me, I can make you…”

I screamed, and three things happened at once.  The front door burst open with a splintering crash, Michael dropped me like a hot potato, too shocked to comprehend what was going on, and I screamed again as Aidan barreled into the room, his face twisted into a snarl.

“Don’t you fucking touch her!” Aidan roared, his momentum crashing Michael to the ground.  I spun away from the contact, my hip connecting with a stack of boxes, but I regained my balance right away.  The sickening sound of flesh pounding flesh split the air as Aidan’s fist cocked back again and again, meeting little to no resistance from Michael, who was too drunk and stunned to defend himself. 

“Aidan, stop!” I yelled, sickened by the way Michael’s nose gushed blood.

“Don’t you dare defend him,” Aidan growled, his arm coming back to hit him again.  “I’ll fucking kill him!”

Shit, from the thunderous look on his face, I really thought he might.  “Aidan, stop now or I’m calling the cops!”

“Go ahead and call them, he’ll still be dead.”

“Aidan!”  I grabbed hold of his fist and threw my entire weight backwards, trying to slow his motion.  He shook me off, and I got a glimpse of his eyes – dark with anger and fear – what was he so afraid of?

“Aidan, please.  There’s no need to hurt him anymore.  Hasn’t he lost enough?”

“He touched you, he tried to… to…”

“But he didn’t, you stopped him,” I pointed out, holding onto his wrist.  Michael had passed out, which was probably for the best.  One wrong word and his ass would’ve been dust.  “Please, let’s just go.”  Aidan didn’t hit him, but he didn’t let go of his lapel either.  We stared at each other for long seconds, his stubbornness pitted against mine.  “That’s it, I’m out of here,” I muttered, grabbing my purse and heading for the door. 

“Lily…”

“No.  If you want to talk to me, you’ll have to come out here,” I called out over my shoulder, not bothering to slow down.  It was a calculated risk, but I was pretty sure Aidan would follow.  I had to get him out of there, for both of their sakes. 

“Lily, wait!”  Aidan started after me, but I kept going, and he caught up with me on the first floor.  “I’m trying to talk to you!” he growled, grabbing a hold of my arm.

“Then let go of my wrist,” I snapped back at him. 

“I didn’t hurt you,” he scowled, letting go as I demanded.

“That’s not the point.  I’m not in the mood to be manhandled right now.  Whatever this testosterone fest is, I want nothing to do with it.”

His expression darkened.  “I saved you from that jackass!”

“Yes, and I’m grateful for it.  That doesn’t mean you have the right to act like an animal and beat him into the ground for it.  What are you even doing here?”  He was the one who’d said it wasn’t possible for him to come into the city, and now he turned up out of the blue?  How had he even known I’d be there? 

“I was worried about you,” he replied, his face softening with concern.  “Did he hurt you?” he asked, brushing my hair away from my neck.

“No, I’m fine.”

His hands moved over me, as if checking for himself, too concerned to think about the fact that I could see him, for once.  “When I heard you scream, I just… I fucking lost it.  I’m sorry if I scared you.  I needed to know you were alright, and when I saw him with his hands all over you…”

“I know, but I’m fine.  Really.”

“God, Lily, if anything happened to you…” he breathed, his mouth closing over mine and I opened to him, my questions falling away under the magic of his touch.  He walked me backwards, under the stairs where it was dark and semi-private, his mouth never leaving mine.  My emotions were still all jumbled inside, but his hands and mouth lulled me into an alternate state, where all I could focus on was the taste of him, and the way he made me feel. 

The next thing I knew, he was hiking my skirt up, blunt fingers teasing along the edge of my lacy panties.  My mouth dropped open to protest, and he tangled his tongue with mine again, my thighs nudging apart as I opened to him in every way.  The hard wall against my back was cold and unforgiving, but not as punishing as his fingers as they dipped inside me, desperate to feel my slick heat.  His fingers pumped my pussy, cock grinding against my hip telling me he wished it was something else down there. 

I moaned against his mouth as he circled my clit, wanting more, and knowing I couldn’t have it.  Anyone could come along at any time, and though there were no apartment doors behind the stairs where we stood, we could be easily seen if someone looked in our direction.  The stairs were made without front kickplates, and I could clearly see the apartment building door.  Though the shadows afforded us some privacy, we were wholly exposed if someone were to open the door to the street.    

Aidan started to fumble with his belt, and I made a mewl of distress, wrenching my mouth from his.  “We can’t, not here.”

“I want you, Lily.  I need you.”

I wanted him too.  We were both dressed in dark clothes, maybe we could risk it?  “Make it fast then,” I groaned.

Aidan grabbed hold of my wrists, pinning them together above my head.  “Not a fucking chance.”  With his other hand, he tugged my panties down first on one side, and then the other, until they fell around my ankles and I stepped out of them, gasping as his hand plunged back into my sopping pussy.  “Are you ready for me, peaches?” he said in that lover’s voice.

“So fucking ready,” I nodded, reaching for him, but he pulled away with a smile that promised dark delights. 

“Then hold on and enjoy the ride.”  Aidan dropped to one knee, and for a moment, I thought he was going to take his shoes off or something, but his mouth fastened around my clit in the next second, robbing me of my breath, and my last fucking shred of sanity in the same instant.  My hands sank into his hair, trying to pull him away, but he grunted against my pussy and sucked harder.  I gasped at the sensation, trying my best to stay upright, but it was hard, pinned to the wall, my legs turning to jelly. 

“Don’t look at me, you know the rules,” he added, his lips tracing over my clit as he spoke.  I looked away obediently, but that didn’t help the situation.  Aidan seemed to realize I was having trouble, and hooked one of my legs over his shoulder, surging higher on his knees to keep me pressed against the wall. 

Holy fucking Jesus it felt good!  And then I heard it, the slam of the stairwell door, I couldn’t tell how many floors above.  “Aidan… someone’s coming,” I hissed.

“Not yet,” he rumbled against my wet folds, his tongue probing deep. 

“No… can’t you hear them on the stairs?”  The sound echoed all around us, it was definitely more than one person coming down.  “You have to stop.”

“Don’t tell me what to do,” he growled. 

“But they might reach us at any moment,” I whimpered, my head falling to one side as I tried to peek through the cracks of the landing above us. 

“Then you’d better not make a fucking sound,” he purred, inserting two fingers deep as his tongue got back to work.  I bit my lip to keep from crying out as the shoes on the stairs kept ringing, getting closer… closer.  Two guys, chatting casually about which one of them was going to drive, and there I was being eaten out under the stairs.  At least I was fully clothed.  Almost as if he’d read my mind, Aidan reached up and yanked down the bodice of my dress and the lacy bra cup after it, exposing my breast to the cool air.  I managed to swallow the gasp of surprise, but barely held back the moan as he expertly rolled my nipple with enough pressure to make my nerve endings sing. 

The men were on the final flight of stairs.  I could see their feet, and then their legs…  If they looked back, they’d catch sight of me being ravaged up against wall, my boobs thrust up into Aidan’s hand, his head bent to my pussy, tongue working busily as fingers thrust deep.  That’s when he did it, he crooked his fingers against that spot… that fucking spot that he knew would do the trick while he sucked my clit between his teeth. 

My mouth fell open as I came hard, holding my breath, red faced, unable to make a sound.   Again and again, he punished me with pleasure, drawing it out, giving those fingers another twitch when it started to fade, mouth working faster, torturing my swollen, oversensitive flesh to force me to cry out. 

But I didn’t do it. 

I didn’t make a sound, not even when I started to get dizzy, bright spots swirling around the edges of my vision.  I didn’t make a sound until the outer door banged shut and in a fucking heartbeat, Aidan was up and thrusting into me.  That’s when I buried my head against his shoulder and sucked in a long breath, letting it all out against his chest in a deep moan before I dragged in another one and repeated the process. 

It was fast and hard, the way I liked it, and I don’t think I stopped coming the entire time, not completely.  I was one big, throbbing nerve, sharp delight rippling through me at every touch.   Every thrust had my greedy pussy clenching around his cock as another wave of pleasure rocked through me, until I couldn’t take it any more.  I clamped my pussy around his cock as hard as I could, and he let out a guttural cry, spilling into me with hot, frantic jerks. 

Our hearts pounded together as we came down, both hot and sweaty despite the chill in the air, neither one of us wanting to move apart.  But eventually, my leg started to cramp up, and I eased it back to the ground.  Aidan picked up on my cues and gently pulled out, making sure I was steady on my feet before he put himself back into his pants. 

“I can’t believe we did that,” I sighed, my eyes fluttering shut again as I sagged against the wall. 

“I can’t believe you went into his apartment.” 

“What?” 

“Forget the whole lying to me thing, it was just fucking stupid, putting yourself at risk like that.” 

His sharp tone cut through the haze of pleasure, and I opened my eyes.  Fuck the rules, I wasn’t having this argument with my eyes closed.  “I didn’t lie to you about anything.  And Michael’s never behaved like this before, I had no reason to suspect he’d turn on me like that.”

“Oh, come on, it was pretty obvious he wanted to get into your panties from the moment you met up,” Aidan scowled, turning away when I wouldn’t.  “You never should’ve gone up with him in the first place.  What were you thinking, Lily?”

“Hold on – when did I become the asshole of the day?” I demanded, trying to get back into his field of vision again.  “He’s the one who tried to jump me.”

“Because you put yourself in that position.  Well, it ends now.  I don’t want you to ever see him again.”

And even though I was right there with him on the whole not seeing Michael again thing, I didn’t like that tone of voice. “Wait… what were you even doing there?  How did you know I’d be there?  Did you follow me?”

“Hey, I showed up here to surprise you, because I felt bad about shutting you down over the fucking Skype thing.  Imagine my surprise when I get to the hotel to see you all dressed up, looking to drive your boyfriend wild while you sneak out to meet him.”

Did he even stop to examine the words coming out of his mouth, or had he completely decided to bypass his brain today?  “Okay, first of all, I’m not all that dressed up, and I
definitely
didn’t dress provocatively to try and get a rise out of Michael, and there was nothing sneaky about my making plans to meet him.”

“Then you admit, you went out on a date with him.”

“No, I met him to tell him I’d fallen for someone else.”  I poked him hard on the chest.  “A conversation I didn’t want to have over the phone with him.”

“How the hell was I supposed to know that?”  His face scrunched up with an emotion I didn’t recognize.  It could’ve been embarrassment, or maybe he had a stomachache.  I was starting to think I didn’t know him as well as I’d thought.  “All I saw was you meet him in a bar, him drooling all over you and then you going up to his apartment with him.”

“That’s when normal people come up and say –
Hey, I came to see you after all ’cause I missed you, baby.  Where are you going?
  You don’t turn into a stalker and then pretend you’re on the moral high ground.”

“I don’t care, I don’t want you seeing him again.”

“Is that what this is going to be like?  You issuing orders and I don’t get a say in it?”

“Yeah, pretty much.  As long as you keep making stupid decisions,” he glowered and I lost my temper big time.

“Hey!  Just because I enjoy acting like the submissive in bed doesn’t mean you get to treat me like shit and walk all over my rights.  Your following me around was way out of line, and I want an apology.”

“Not a fucking chance in hell!” he thundered, forgetting to turn away from me as his temper kicked in too.  “I was worried about you, and it turned out it was for the best, or you would’ve ended up raped or worse by that asshole.  You owe
me
an apology!”

“I’m glad you were there to stop him, but I’m not apologizing for standing up for myself. You can’t just show up here and expect to dictate where I go and what I do.  You’re not my father and you’re not my boss – and even if you were, that sounds like a job I’d quit.”

Aidan backed me up against the wall again, his voice dropping low.  “I own you, signed, sealed, and delivered.” 

The intensity in his eyes sent a ripple of unease through me.  “Look, I know I signed that contract that says you own me, but you get that it’s not real, right?  You can’t actually own another person.” 

“You belong to me,” he insisted, and there was a plea there that I responded to.  Aidan desperately needed me to be his, but for the first time, I wasn’t sure I could give him what he wanted.