Completely: A Cunningham Family Short Story (2 page)

“I fell asleep,” Lily says, sounding almost surprised at that fact herself. She rubs her cheek and looks around the room again. “I was hoping to get some of the decorations done for this weekend’s party. They’ve upped the number of guests again.” She smiles and waves her hand at the pile of décor next to her. “I only sat down for a minute. I was going to sort through some of this and see if anything was usable. I guess I was more tired than I thought.”

“You’ve been working too hard,” I tell her, pulling her into my lap.

“I could say the same of you.” Her eyes are steady when they meet mine, and I know that this isn’t just some witty comeback. She means it.

And she’s right.
Is this what I wanted? A life of sixteen-hour workdays? Lily is my entire world. I want
her.
The rest doesn’t matter.

I cup her face and lock her gaze in mine.

“When I saw you on the floor,” I say, “I thought…” I can’t even voice it, as if speaking my fears aloud will make them real. They feel so ridiculous, now that I have the softness of her skin beneath my fingers, now that her bright eyes stare back at me.

Her fingers touch my chest.

“I’m okay,” she whispers.

“I know.” My hands tighten on her face. She’s fine. She’s unharmed. So why is my chest still tight? Why am I still afraid to look away?

I pull her against me again, and this time she grips me just as fiercely. Our lips wrangle while our hands roam everywhere. I yank the hem of her shirt out of her skirt and push it up her back.

Lily pulls back, and her full, perfect lips curve into a smile.

“You know,” she says, gripping my tie in her fist, “it’s sexy that you’re so worried about me.”

Sexy
isn’t exactly the word I’d use, even though my entire body burns for her right now. This isn’t desire. This is the desperate need of a man who, in a moment of madness, believed he’d lost the very thing that gives him life.

A growl rises in my throat. I lunge forward, pushing her down against the floor. I bury my face in her neck.

“I should punish you for putting me through this,” I murmur against her skin.

“For taking an accidental nap on the floor?”

This might be a silly misunderstanding to her, but it isn’t to me. I nip at the skin below her ear.

“You didn’t answer your phone,” I say against her neck.

She gives a little laugh—which turns into a gasp when I bite at her skin again.

“I… left my cell… in my office,” she says breathlessly.

I nuzzle her hair. “Your car’s not in the parking lot.”

“Fuck, I forgot,” she says. “I dropped it off for an oil change at lunch. They’re probably closed now. But you’ll give me a ride home, won’t you?” She turns her head and catches my ear between her lips.

I can tell by her tone that she still doesn’t understand. But how could she? She was simply asleep. I created my fear out of nothing, and that fear still burns as fast and bright as desire.

My lips come down hard on hers, cutting off her next words. I drive my tongue between her lips, desperate to taste her, to have that living, breathing
essence
of her in my mouth.

She laughs again as she breaks away.

“What’s gotten into you?” she asks. Her cheeks are flushed.

Her eyes still shine with humor, but as she looks at me, really looks at me, I watch the realization spread across her face. She sees it now.
She sees it.

Her hands come up to either side of my face. Her skin is so soft, and her fingers know every inch of my body so well at this point that they might as well be another part of me.

“Maybe,” she says softly, her lips curving deliciously with each word, “maybe you
should
punish me for putting you through that.”

I need no other encouragement. My mouth attacks hers again, and my body presses hers to the ground, trapping her beneath me.

Her hands are still on my face, holding me firmly, but I grab her wrists and pull them away. Trap them with my grip. Hold them to the floor.

Look at what you’ve done to me
, I want to say.
Look at how much you affect me.
But I have no words—only my mouth and my body.

I let my teeth sink into her bottom lip as I drag my mouth away from hers. I want to devour her. To claim her again and again until no one—not even death itself—would dare to take her away from me.

She moans as my teeth graze her throat. She arches her body against mine, and her arms strain against my grip.

She asked me to punish her. She should have known better.

I lift my head. Her eyes are closed, her head thrown back, but when she realizes I’ve paused, she lowers her chin and her lids fly open.

Her gaze burns. For a moment, she just looks at me, and then she slowly raises her hips, grinding herself against my cock. Urging me onward. Asking me to do the things she knows I want to do. This is our game—the give and take, the control and submission.

Lily’s hands flex, her fingers spreading wide. Her hips shift again, and she slides herself against me through the fabric of my pants. There’s a sexy little gleam in her eye. She knows she’s playing with fire.

And the little minx better be ready to take the heat.

I release her wrists and grab for my tie. In a handful of seconds, I’ve loosened it and slipped it over my head, and in another few seconds, her wrists are in my control once again. I loop the tie around them and tighten it until the silk is tight against her skin.

“You asked for punishment,” I murmur, grabbing the end of the tie. “I’m not sure you’ve thought this through.”

If we were back at the apartment, I’d tie her to the bed. I want her completely at my mercy. But there aren’t any large pieces of furniture here in the gallery. I’m considering carrying her back to her office and binding her to her desk when I see she’s no longer looking at me.

I follow her gaze. She’s looking at the nearest window—more specifically, the heater
beneath
the window.

The Center is an older building, and it still relies on old-fashioned radiator heaters for warmth in the winters. Lily and her father have been saving money to overhaul the heating system, but lucky for me, they haven’t gathered the funds yet.

Oh, Lily is a naughty little thing.

She smiles as I sit up and lift her into my arms. She knows she’s made her point.

“I wouldn’t look so pleased if I were you,” I say into her hair. “You don’t know what you’re getting into, little minx.”

She doesn’t have a chance to respond. I put her on the floor next to the radiator, grab the tie, and knot the end around the nearest pipe. Now I know she can’t move.

She twists her body toward mine again, but her motions are restricted.

And I can’t restrain myself a moment longer.

I shove my hands beneath her skirt, forcing the fabric up her thighs. She gives a little whimper as my fingers dig into her skin. Every bit of her is flushed and warm and ready for me, and that makes my need even greater.

I don’t have the patience to undress her. One hand moves to my belt, undoing it deftly, while my other shoves the crotch of her panties aside. Normally I’d tease her. Torture her. Punish her completely. But now I want nothing more than to take her.

I grab her thigh and yank her toward me, sinking into her in one fluid, familiar motion.

She gasps, and I bury myself as deep as I can go, taking her completely. The radiator creaks as she strains against her binding.

I draw back and push into her again, then again. I have no patience for love-making right now. No desire for anything but the purest and rawest possession. I grip her by the hips and thrust into her sweet flesh again and again until her breath comes in ragged gasps. The lacy edge of her panties chafes me, but I push through the discomfort. Nothing can stop me from taking her.

My gaze never leaves her face. Her eyes fall open and shut in time with her lips. In between her cries of pleasure she says my name. That full, beautiful mouth has never uttered anything so intoxicating.

I press her thighs further apart and move faster, wanting to drive my name out of her again and again. It’s not long until she can hardly speak at all, until her words are little more than sobs. That’s all I need to push me over the edge. I’m almost painfully swollen, and I growl as I sink all the way into her and fill her with my seed.

Normally, after a vigorous session like this, it’s all I can do to stay upright. I don’t know what has come over me tonight—the fear, the adrenaline, the need to prove to myself and to her that I won’t let anything take her away from me—but I’m still hard. Still pulsing with need.

And Lily hasn’t come yet. I promised her punishment, and punish her I will.

She’s panting, and her eyes are closed. Strands of hair are plastered to her forehead and neck with perspiration. If I were a generous man, I’d let her rest for a minute.

Instead, I grab her by the waist and flip her over onto her stomach. The radiator creaks and I hear a couple stitches in the tie pop as I twist her. But she gives no indication of pain, so I don’t stop. I push up her skirt again, exposing her pretty round ass and her lacy little panties. I consider just tearing the panties off this time around, but I don’t have the patience to bother with the effort. I hook a finger around them and pull them aside once more, smiling a little as I feel how wet they are. Soaked from both of us.

Lily’s propped awkwardly on her elbows, and I slide my hands beneath her hips and pull her ass toward me. My cock slides easily into her again, settling back where it belongs.

This time I don’t thrust into her. Instead, I grip her hips and take control of her body, yanking her back onto me and then pushing her away again, using her as a tool for my pleasure. She’s enjoying it, too. Her cries of pleasure are interspersed with breathless words of encouragement, and I can feel her body starting to tighten around mine.

I could come inside her again in a matter of seconds if I continued to use her in this way, continued to direct her body for my own need. Instead, I pause, digging my fingers into her skin as I lean forward.

“You’re close, aren’t you?” I murmur in her ear.

“Yes,” she gasps.

“If I wanted to be cruel, I’d leave you like this,” I say, my own voice rough. “But I’d rather feel you come. Though this wouldn’t be a punishment if I made that easy for you.”

I straighten up again, and though I keep my hands on her hips, I loosen my hold.

“If you want to come,” I say, “you’re going to have to do it yourself.”

She twists slightly on her elbows and looks over her shoulder as best she can. One of her eyebrows quirks up.

“It’s hard to get myself off when I can’t use my hands,” she says.

“Maybe I’m not being clear.” I slide myself back into her again. “You can use me.” I push against her again for emphasis.

This time she understands, and she shifts her weight on her elbows. The radiator creaks. Slowly, she moves her hips forward, then slides them back once more down my length. Then again.

She builds speed quickly. She was close before, and it’s not long before she’s panting with the effort. Her skin is blazing hot beneath my hands, and there’s nothing sweeter than watching her use me so desperately, watching her fuck herself so passionately with my cock. She tightens herself around me, and it’s all I can do not to empty myself into her right there.

“Fuck, Lily,” I rasp. I want to drive into her again, to take us both to completion, but that’s not the game.

My eyes drop down to where our bodies meet, to where my cock disappears into her again and again. There’s nothing like the thrill of joining with her, nothing like the thrill of taking her—or watching her take me.

“I love watching you fuck me,” I said raggedly. I let my hands drift up over the curve of her ass. My fingers press into her skin. “Come for me, Lily.”

She makes a strangled sound, and when her core tightens around me again, I can’t hold back anymore. I spill into her, and I hold myself deep inside her body so I can feel every spasm of her muscles. My eyes soak up the way her body curves to the pleasure, and my fingers can almost feel the release ripple through her skin. She’s so beautiful like this, coming unwound while I’m inside of her.

She has already unwound me.

I could keep her tied up for a while. That raw need still runs beneath my skin. But I need something else more.

My fingers move to the knots of the tie, and a moment later she’s unbound and in my arms. Her muscles still tremble slightly, and she sinks against me with a sigh. I hold her against my chest on the floor. My hands seek out her wrists and massage them gently. Her breath heats the skin just above my collar.

Nothing will take her from me. Ever. What we have between us goes beyond all of that.

I release her wrists and slide my hands beneath her shirt. I want to feel her heart. She makes a contented sound as my fingers move across her ribs to where I can feel the life beating beneath her breast.