Tiger Lily: Part Three (5 page)

Even though we had sex just 24 hours ago, he was starting over. And the depth of his understanding overwhelmed me. My eyes filled. “Oh, Jonas,” I said. He called me a romantic, but I had nothing on him.

Jonas reached up and placed his hands on the sides of my face, using his thumbs to wipe my cheeks. His eyes shone as they roamed over me. “I missed you,” he said softly.

My gaze didn’t stray from his eyes. “I missed you, too.”

He kissed my cheeks and down my neck, breathing me in. I kissed over the surface of his face, touching the soft waves of his dark hair. My breasts swelled and hardened before his sensual mouth reached them. And when he did, I arched, willing him as I watched him suckle and knead them in his large hands. Our breaths quickened, moaning on our exhalation. We were in sync in our desire for one another.

Groaning, Jonas let go of my breasts and captured my mouth again, kissing me deeply, delving his tongue between my parted lips and gliding it expertly against mine, kindling a scorching heat I felt all the way down to my core. His solid frame pressed against me, and mine answered by molding into him. Inhaling through my nose, I caught his intoxicating aroma, a collective blend that every fiber of my being recognized as
Jonas
.

My Jonas.

He reluctantly broke away and moved his lips down to my chest, forging a path to the flat plane of my stomach until he reached the top of my bare mound. He paused there, sought my eyes and bore into them. My heart stopped.

“You won’t try to stop me this time,” he said darkly. I sucked in my bottom lip and squirmed.
That I won’t do, Mr. Crane
. The throbbing ache there surged, knowing he would soon soothe it and more. “Please,” I whispered.

Placing my legs on his shoulders, he parted my slit with his tongue then closed his mouth around my clit and sucked. I called out an incoherent prayer, willing myself not to savor the sensation pulsating through my body as I clasped the sheets tightly in my fists.

“Mmm, you blessing me? I worship you,” he mused, then kissed my pussy with a hunger as sure as he took my lips, lapping through the slick folds and swirling his tongue around my clit.

My heart pounding hard in my chest, I grasped his head and lifted my hips.

He groaned and managed to crook a finger inside as he relentlessly licked and sucked me. Knowing my body, he stroked his finger over my spot. I came, calling his name, my hands gripping and thighs crushing his head as pleasure flowed through me. When I came down, Jonas extracted his head and rolled his neck. “I’ll need to tie you down,” he purred.

I shivered at his dark promise, imaging Jonas taking me over, and I heated all the more.

He journeyed up my body once more and lifted my head up. “Like that idea, my Tiger Lily?” He kissed my lips again and we ate my desire, still clinging to his tongue as he tangled it with mine.

Reaching his hand down between us, he guided his cock to my entrance. Lifting my hips, he pushed in one continual thrust until he was sealed deep inside of me. Every inch sending shocks of ecstasy coursing through my body.

“So perfect inside you,” Jonas growled as he rolled his hips.

Our gazes locked as he began short, hard thrusts.

My heart soared. I loved him. Did he see it?

The rhythmic strokes of his cock brought me close again. I felt my body stiffening and tightening once more. My eyes widened.

Jonas could feel it. “Oh. Yes. Come,” he hissed. He swiveled his hips as he ground his cock in deeper than he ever had before. My body wept in the feeling that arose within, and I climaxed, shaking underneath him.

“Lily,” he moaned as my inner walls gripped and spasmed around his cock.

I wrapped my legs around him as he pushed in deep and erupted in his release. Putting my arms around his neck, I tried to pull him down, but he stopped me.

“I’ll crush you,” he whispered.

“I don’t care. I love you.” I said. I just wanted him close.

He pecked my lips and eased me over until I was lying on top of him, then he held me in his arms. My head resting on his chest.

This is perfect.

I pressed my head against his skin and listened to his heart, wishing he would give voice to what resonated between us in all that he had shown. But in mine, I knew. Jonas Crane loved me.

“LILY,” JONAS GENTLY
shook my shoulder.

I stirred and lifted my head from his chest to look at him. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to drift off.”

He petted my hair. “I would have let you sleep, but I’d like you to eat dinner first. Were you uncomfortable?” The concern on his face brought a smile to mine.

I licked my lips. “I don’t know why I’m still feeling tired. I felt like I’d woken from a bad dream earlier, but still felt rested.”

He moved my body up so he could kiss my forehead. “I wish I would have been in here for you,” he said.

A flutter went through my chest. “I’m fine. Or, I will be fine now. Thank you for the phone to use. I called Mary. She’d like to chat with you about a visit soon,” I said.

He lifted the corner of his mouth. “She can come whenever you’re ready. I’ll tell her the same. And the phone is yours.”

I half-lidded my eyes. “Thank you. You’re too generous. The hotel spa, moving me in with you, not to mention all the other things. You shouldn’t spoil me.”

“That’s hardly spoiling. Most of those are for my own pleasure. I plan to do better in spoiling.” He kissed my lips lightly.

I lowered my head. “Why? You don’t have to do anything else. I won’t care. I’m just happy you’re here. With me.”

He cuddled me to him. “That’s the reason I want to give you everything. You will be spoiled and adored, as you so rightly deserve.”

His words were heartfelt, and I drank them in. But my mind grabbed hold of the last time I had heard similar words, and the change that had occurred in that relationship after those words were spoken.

Jonas cupped my face. His eyes fixed on me. “Did I make you sad?” The empathy in his expression had the truth I would normally hold onto flowing from my lips.

“Declan used to say things like that in the beginning, too. He was generous and kind. But then he wasn’t. Towards the end, he called me a ‘fat spoiled princess.’ I guess the idea of being spoiled makes me think you’ll think…”

“No. Never,” Jonas said, cutting me off and cupping my chin. “I’ll never do that to you.” He squeezed me closer. “I know sharing those details doesn’t come easily for you. So thank you for telling me. But please know, I’m not Declan.”

I nodded, unable to speak. I tried to smile, but my lips trembled too much.

His gaze was pointed on mine as he continued. “He was leagues beneath you and never deserved you. He will pay for hurting you. That, I will make sure of.” He kissed me tenderly.

“Have I received any more messages?” I asked in a small voice.

His jaw tightened. “If you did, I’d never tell you,” he said bluntly. “That’s a closed subject for you and your wellbeing. Promise me right now you will not try to retrieve messages or pursue any contact with him. This will be our resolution on the matter.” From Jonas’s stern expression, he wasn’t open to compromise.

I gave him a nod and said, “I promise.”

“It’s late. Let’s go have dinner and discuss what we will do with the rest of our week,” Jonas said, changing the subject.

He moved us to a sitting position and my arms involuntarily moved around his shoulders. He then lifted and moved me off the bed, walking us into the bathroom where he sat me down next to the sink. Turning on the tap, he dampened a cloth.

I parted my legs a little and he moved between them, widening them more. He then thoroughly commenced with an embarrassingly intimate cleanse between my thighs. He had done as much before, so I didn’t interrupt him, though it still puzzled me. Finally, I asked what this cleaning ritual was all about. But he responded with another question within a question, asking, “How does it make you feel?” for the second time today. Though it irritated me, I decided to answer.

“It feels good, but it still embarrasses me. So why do you do it?” I asked.

He walked away and collected matching terry cloth robes for us to put on. Once his was in place, he held mine open. “Taking control, caring for you, even cleaning you; it turns me on. And I know, even though you blush pretty for me, that you’re turned on too.”

I put my arms through the sleeves of the robe and he closed and cinched the tie in place. “So you do it just to turn us on? You must have another reason. I’d like to know,” I pressed.

He sighed and gazed at me, a hint of amusement at what I imagined to be a rapt expression on my face. “Because you’re mine, and I want you to feel like you’re a part of me,” he said.

I beamed at him. “I want to be.”

He rested his hands on my shoulders. “Then you are.”

Jonas took my hands. “Lin left dinner for us. We need to eat and plan out the rest of our week.”

“Can’t we just wing it?” I whined. “I mean, I’m on stress vacation. Can’t I just rest in front of the TV or read a book?”

He laughed as we walked together out of the bathroom. “I wish I could wing it, as you so eloquently put it, but to spend time with you and still meet all my business obligations, I have to plan.”

We walked together down the stairs to the living room, the sound of Paul McCartney and Wings still playing in the background. The song “My Love” started and a pang went through my heart. I lowered my head while Jonas eyed me inquisitively, as I realized too late that I had stopped walking.

“I love this CD. Thank you again for it.” I recovered.

“It’s one of my favorites, too,” he said. I took steps and he continued his path back to the kitchen, where the table was already set and included our food, protected under metal place covers. I took the seat I’d taken earlier and removed the lid to find pasta salad with some sort of cream sauce and artichokes. Jonas poured me a glass of wine and himself a scotch before joining me at the table.

I ate a quick forkful of pasta.
Delicious.
We ate in silence, until I asked, “Have you seen my clothes? I didn’t have much at the hotel and I wonder if David could drive me over…”

“They should be delivered tomorrow, and then Lin will put them away for you. You have a counseling session on Wednesday. Samuel has arranged for an appointment at Barney’s on Thursday. While you were napping, it became clear I will have to go to Miami. So, we’ll be flying to Miami for the day on Friday. I was to do a game on Saturday with Paul, but that depends on the weather. You can go to that, too. On Sunday…”

“Slow down.” I said. We smiled at each other. “If I get new clothes now, I probably won’t fit in them in a couple of weeks.”

“Then you’ll get more. But all that depends on how you’re feeling,” he said.

I sipped my wine and glanced over at him. “So, where is this psychiatric session on Wednesday?” I asked.

“Upper West Side. You nervous?” he asked, then took another bite from his plate.

“Yes,” I admitted.

“You can call me after the session, and I’ll be here over lunch. I could get Dani to go with you,” he offered.

I shook my head. “I’ll be fine. I think I’m more worried about talking about everything.”

“Isla is the best and comes highly recommended,” he said.

“Have you ever been to a psychiatrist?” I asked.

He didn’t answer immediately, and I thought he wasn’t going to. But then he said, “Well, I was seeing Melissa at the end of our marriage. But that stopped once the situation changed.”

I pursed my mouth. “She’s not supposed to date her clients. That’s completely unethical.”

“Well, I wasn’t her client for long. She was really more a friendly ear.” He sipped his scotch.

“Yes, and then you became more than friends.” I spit out the words.

“I was having problems adjusting to Alan with Dani and Paul. My brother Vincent was causing me grief when I decided to base myself in Texas. Melissa provided perspective, though now I know she wanted more from our arrangement.” Seeing my face, he redirected. “And that’s enough on her, Lily. I’m sorry about what occurred between you two, but don’t be jealous.”

I furrowed my brow. “Why not? You were jealous of Ian. I can be jealous of Melissa.” I ate another bite of pasta.

“Yes, I was…am,” he admitted.

I sighed. “You already know I don’t want Ian, but you don’t want me around him. I want the same for Melissa. I trust you, but…I don’t trust her. And I would just feel better if you stayed away from her, like you want me to do with Ian.”

“They are both friends that I know well. These situations are completely different. Melissa is going through a difficult time. I can’t just disappear,” he sighed in exasperation.

My face fell. “They’re different because Ian doesn’t love me, but Melissa loves you.” He didn’t respond, so I continued. “So, you plan to see her again?”

Jonas put his fork down. His eyes flashed at me. “Come over here, Lily.”

I tilted my head down and stared at my plate. “I don’t want to fight about your friends, but you still don’t accept what we both witnessed today. She’ll say and do whatever it takes to have you.”