Lily and the Beast 2 (2 page)

My breathing hitched as I felt the first tremors of release, but it was no good.  Beyond the first sharp spasm, it petered out, and I gave a whimper of disappointment. 

“Do you feel how inadequate that was?” Aidan gloated, pressing the heel of his hand over my mound.  My pussy twitched in response, already up and ready for more at his touch.  “That’s all you’ll get if you cross me again.  Is that what you want?”

“No, Aidan,” I replied, fighting hard to keep from squirming under the pressure there.

His thumb rasped over my clit, barely wet, and I moaned at the exquisite friction.  In the next instant, his cock sank deep inside me, and I forgot how to breathe.  Without giving me a chance to recover my breath, he pinned both of my wrists up over my head and fucked me good and hard.

“Is this what you wanted?” he growled, slamming into me with punishing thrusts. 

“Yes!” I gasped, rocking my hips up to meet his. 

“I want you to think of this the next time you talk to your boyfriend.” Aidan hooked my leg over his shoulder, thrusting deeper. “I fucking own you, Lily.  You’re mine.  Say it,” he ordered, his voice dark with need.

“I’m yours,” I breathed, already close, his cock hitting me just right at that angle and the possession in his voice touching something deep inside me. 

“Make me fucking believe it!” he demanded, and my orgasm ripped across my nerve endings in dark delight, stealing my breath away.  I fractured into a million pieces, his name a ragged sob on my lips as I spasmed around him.  His body jerked as he came in a hot rush, “You’re mine,” he moaned, his head buried in my neck. 

“I’m yours, Aidan,” I whispered as he released my hands and I wrapped my arms around his powerful shoulders.  I don’t know how long we lay that way, blind and shaken, until he pulled out.  I braced myself for his withdrawal, but Aidan rolled off of me and hauled my body up in front of him, his still throbbing cock pressed up against the crack of my ass. 

“You’re mine,” he whispered, lips moving against my hair, and then he settled down, his breaths coming slow and regular. 

Relaxing, I molded my body to his, enjoying the warmth at my back and his heavy arm wrapped around me, under my breasts.  I felt more content and at peace than… ever, maybe.  I was his.  But was I his, like someone owned a Subaru, or
his
?  I fell asleep still trying to puzzle him out. 

When I woke the next morning, Aidan was gone, and I had a thick, woven blanket of the softest knit wrapped around me.  There was a fire going in the fireplace, banked low, as if it’d been laid hours ago.  The sex toys were all put away, and my discarded panties were folded neatly on the bedside table. 

I let out a deep breath, still processing what’d happened the night before.  At first I’d thought Aidan only wanted to punish me because I’d broken his rules, but then it’d turned into something more.  Of course, I realized I’d blown a perfect chance to see him while he was asleep.  But it didn’t matter.  I was his no matter what he looked like.  I wasn’t sure exactly what I was to him, but it was more than a contract, I felt it deep inside.  The question was – how much more? 

I had my blindfold at the ready, on the chance that Aidan would be in his office, but there was no sign of him as I left the playroom, wrapped in a short, silky robe I’d borrowed from the closet full of costumes.  My phone sat on the corner of his desk, right next to the computer, which was on and clearly had internet.  God, I was so tempted…  First to check my call log and see if he’d talked to Michael, and next, to check my email and see what I’d been missing.  Maybe there was something in there from one of my sisters, or even my dad?  Hell, I was so starved for the ’net, I would’ve been happy to watch an episode of
Reign
online.  Anything to connect to the real world again.

But in the end, I was too afraid of pissing Aidan off again.  Then again, I couldn’t complain too much about his punishment the night before.  Maybe it was worth a little risk?  I edged closer to the desk, my hand hovering over the mouse, when I heard a door close down the hall.  Snatching my hand away guiltily, I jumped three feet away from the desk, fumbling with the blindfold around my neck, snapping it into place just as the door opened. 

“What are you still doing in here?”  I heard the frown in his voice, and I struggled not to cower from it. 

“I… wasn’t sure if I should leave or not.”

Some of the bite left his tone as he strode past me, settling into the desk chair with a soft whisper of leather.  “You can go ahead and go, I think you’ve learned your lesson.”

“Yes, Aidan.”  I took two steps in the direction of the door before I hesitated.

“You’ve got a clear shot to the door, you can make it there fine,” he said, probably thinking I was afraid of crashing into furniture. 

“I was just wondering…” I licked my lips, turning slowly to face him again.  “I thought maybe you’d like some company?”

“You want to sit there and listen to me work?” He sounded amused, and I felt my cheeks grow warmer.

“Well, when you put it that way, it doesn’t sound all that thrilling.  But I thought maybe…”

“You thought maybe I could blow off my day and entertain you?”

“No...”

Aidan let out a tired sigh.  “I have a lot of work to do, Lily.”  He rose and put his hands on my shoulders, turning me to the door and gently propelling me forward.  “Go on and get some breakfast, you must be hungry.”

“Okay.”  He didn’t sound mad anymore.  In fact, he almost sounded like he wished he didn’t have work to do.  “Will I see you later?”

“No.”  My heart sank, but then he leaned forward, his breath fluttering over my ear.  “But I’ll be thinking about you.”

“You will?”

“Yes, and I’ll send for you when I get back.”

“Back?  You’re leaving?” I gasped, too shocked to keep the dismay out of my voice.  It seemed to please him, and he stroked my back lightly.

“Yes, for a few days.”

For some reason I’d thought he never left the house anymore, that was the way the tabloids always spun it.  He’d mentioned that he went places once, but it’d seemed like more of a boast.  “Where are you going?”

Just like that, his good mood was gone and Aidan pulled his hand off of my back.  “None of your business,” he snapped, and I frowned at the sudden change.  Honestly, he was the most exasperating man to keep up with.

“I was just wondering.”

He let out a long breath and his voice softened.  “I’m not accustomed to answering to anyone.”

“Yeah well, I’m not accustomed to half the things you make me do,” I murmured, and he wrapped an arm around my waist, pulling me close.

“I’ll send for you when I get back.  So behave, I wouldn’t want to have to punish you again.”

“Oh, I don’t know, it didn’t go so bad last night,” I teased, pleased to hear him laugh softly into my hair.   

“Goodbye, Lily,” he said, giving my ass a playful swat.

“Bye.  Have a safe trip,” I smiled, sneaking in a last touch of his magnificent chest.  Aidan kissed my forehead and then left me alone in the hallway. 

~~~

I spent a lazy day, mostly reading and writing about the crazy, wonderful, messed up night before in my journal, and I took a walk in the garden after lunch.  I didn’t know too much about his business, only that he was worth a fortune.  My father had done some managing of his personal finances, which was how he’d been able to embezzle from him, but Aidan had been savvy enough to catch on to it on his own.  I’d seen his name in the news before, usually in connection with his private foundation, donating to various charitable causes, which took up some of his time.  But I had no real idea what Aidan did all day. 

So far I hadn’t seen anyone else come to the house and he didn’t have a secretary or an admin.  Was he going on a business trip?  Maybe.  Was it a ploy not to seem too desperate to see me after last night?  That sounded better to my ego, so I went with that one while I plodded through my day. 

The night was lonely.  I hadn’t realized how much I’d come to look forward to his company.  Not just for the sex, but for someone to talk to.  I’d gotten used to staying up late too, and after the house settled down for the night, I went wandering for a midnight snack.  Unfortunately, there wasn’t much in the way of comfort food in the kitchen, and I wasn’t really all that hungry, so I wandered from room to room, exploring in a way I hadn’t done since I’d first arrived. 

I ended up in the forbidden west wing, pausing every few steps to make sure it was really deserted, and Aidan wasn’t hiding out in his bedroom trying to avoid me.  Most of the rooms were vacant, the furniture draped in cloths that made it seem creepy as fuck as I wandered around in the dark.  Only one room was locked, the ornate double doors making me think I’d found his bedroom.  If I’d thought I stood the least bit of a chance at success, I might’ve tried picking the lock, but the idea that he might be in there and catch me scared the crap out of me.  Instead, I tiptoed down the hall, back to his office, shutting the door behind me. 

My eyes adjusted quickly to the gloom, the moonlight streaming in through the windows providing more than enough light for me to avoid the furniture.  His computer was still on, the screensaver changing between nature landscapes, everything from majestic redwood forests to snow covered mountains.  Beautiful, but impersonal.  Somehow, I didn’t think he’d ever gone to those places. 

Settling into his chair, I caught a waft of leather and that scent that was unique to him, and I closed my eyes, inhaling deeply.  Less than one day, and I missed him already.  Did he miss me too?  He probably wasn’t even thinking about me.  He was probably fast asleep.  No… it wasn’t all that late, and he was used to staying up pretty late too.  I wished I’d asked him to give me my phone back and call me while he was gone, but he probably wasn’t into that sort of thing.  Pity, because I had a feeling he would fucking
own
phone sex. 

My hand closed over the mouse and the landscapes went away, the prompt for a password appearing in the center of the screen.  “Fuck…” I whispered.  So much for the internet.  Darlene probably would’ve been able to bypass it no problem, my sister was a whiz with computers, but the closest I came to hacking was watching that old movie with a teenage Angelina Jolie on Netflix. 

The login was already there, I figured I could take a stab at his password, and he’d never know it.  Only what the hell was it?  I didn’t know his date of birth or the city he was born in or his mother’s maiden name.  Thinking he might be a simple kind of guy, I typed in – PASSWORD – but that wasn’t it.  It wasn’t GOD or DOM either.  I tried a bunch of random words, and came up with nothing, until I got an idea, and typed in PEACHES.  Instantly, the box disappeared, and his desktop came into view.  Score!

His computer background was Titian’s nude,
Venus of Urbino
, and I spent a few seconds gazing at the rich work of art.  Opening a browser window, I logged into my email account, frowning over how few actual emails I’d received since I last checked.  There were a few from Michael at first, but then nothing beyond a few SPAM emails and a notice from the university that I’d better send in my intention to defer if I expected to ever return. 

I drafted a quick email, asking about Dad’s health, cc’ing both of my sisters to double my chances that at least one of them might answer.  Then I wrote a note to my father himself, letting him know I was thinking about him and hoping he was well.  I stalked a few people on Facebook, but didn’t dare like anything or talk to anyone, since I didn’t want Aidan to find out I’d been online, in case he was keeping tabs on me.  Not that I thought he was seriously putting that much thought into keeping me offline, but better to be safe than sorry. 

I felt a brief stab of guilt for abusing his trust, using his computer like that, but I wasn’t causing any harm.  He was the one with the unreasonable rules and the need for secrecy.  I wouldn’t have minded showing him the emails I sent my sister or my dad.  Besides, I hadn’t contacted Michael, knowing that would probably bother him. 

And then I started to wonder.  Why the need for all the secrecy?  What difference did it make if I contacted the outside world?  Why the need for the blindfolds?  And what was that stuff Mrs. Fisk mentioned about an accident? 

I started searching on his name, scanning through the tabloid articles, looking for any kind of dirt on Aidan.  Links turned up vague mentions of his foundation or the fact that he’d bought a villa in the south of France.  The farther back I looked, the more I started wondering why there were never any pictures of him.  Surely someone had to have snapped a shot of him in public
somewhere
. 

I searched under
Aidan Pierce academy
, figuring he had to have gone to a private school, and sure enough, I got a grainy picture of him on the soccer field with about ten other guys, cheering next to a trophy.  He was tall even then, the tallest guy on the team, with broad shoulders and short blonde hair.  It was hard to make out his features with the victorious cheer on his face, but he didn’t look like anything to be ashamed of. 

Aidan Pierce graduation
, led to another old picture, this time of him in a maroon graduation cap and gown, standing at a podium to deliver his valedictory speech. 
Holy fucking Jesus
… he was beautiful.  Tall and tanned, his blonde hair flopping over bright blue eyes, he smiled like he had the world at his feet.  This was the man who made me live in darkness?  Why the hell wouldn’t he want me to see him? 

I scanned the article, but there were few details, other than the fact that his speech urged his class to “seize the day and take what the world had to offer and make it their own”.  It sounded like typical rich boy stuff, figuring the world offered him everything, but for a guy like Aidan Pierce, that was the truth. 

No matter what other links I checked, that was the only picture I could find, and I sat there staring at it for a long time, trying to reconcile that image with the man I was losing more than my inhibitions to.  He seemed so full of laughter and light.  What had happened to turn him into the brooding control freak, who holed himself up in his house like a hermit? 

In a sudden burst of insight, I typed in
Aidan Pierce+Felice+accident
, and I got a hit
.
  The article was more than ten years old, and there wasn’t much to it. 

Wealthy socialite, Felice Hallowell was killed in a high-speed car accident late Friday night. A preliminary investigation revealed that Hallowell was driving her Jaguar XK2 convertible, traveling southbound on Old Canyon Road, when it veered off the roadway, and crashed head on into an abandoned barn.  Fiancé, Aidan Pierce heroically pulled her from the vehicle moments before it burst into flames, but Hallowell was pronounced dead at the scene.  Pierce sustained minor injuries in the incident and was taken to the hospital for treatment and later released. The investigation is ongoing, as detectives work to determine what caused the driver to lose control of the vehicle.

The grainy picture showed a mangled car in the wreckage of the old barn, half consumed with fire, and little else.  So that’s what Mrs. Fisk meant when she said they’d
lost
Felice.  And Aidan had been right there, pulling her from the wreckage and everything, and she’d died in his arms.  How devastating!  Was that why he’d closed himself off to normal relationships and love? 

I typed in
Felice Hallowell+obituary
, and got the link to her obituary. 

East coast heiress, Felice Hallowell died in a fiery car crash, late last Friday night on a lonely stretch of road, not five miles from her wealthy fiancé, Aidan Pierce’s ancestral home.  Emergency crews were dispatched when the “huge fireball in the sky” was noticed by a neighbor, from Miss Hallowell’s crash into an abandoned barn, and tried to resuscitate her, but she was pronounced dead at the scene. 

“I’m so excited, I’m planning my honeymoon! Barbados here we come!” the twenty year old socialite was quoted as saying earlier that same day. 

The coroner’s office will do an autopsy to determine what killed Hallowell, but it was a violent, tragic end for a young woman who lived so much of her life helping others.  The beautiful heiress was very active in her family’s Save the Kids charity, and had traveled all over the globe, championing the needs of the disadvantaged.