Rules about Lily (5 page)

Lily beamed up at him, completely unaware of the true effect she was having on Jared. He felt pole axed and was aware
that his cock was rock hard, and he had only touched her elbow. He was long past the days where just the sight or touch of a woman could arouse him. He couldn’t believe that Lily was able to do this to him. He wanted to fuck her, just spread her over his desk and plunge into her wet pussy. Why now? If she was able to affect him this way he would have to have a talk with the ranch hands about the rules concerning her. Damn, this was a very unexpected turn of events and bad timing as well. She chose that moment to reach up and kiss him on the cheek, like she had done for years. If Jared had turned a few inches to the left his mouth would have covered hers and he would have been in heaven.

“Thanks Jared that means a lot to me. I wouldn’t have wanted to embarrass you in front of those women. I have a few things to take care of but I’ll check on you soon to make sure you’re ready.” She turned around and left the room. Jared walked to the side bar and poured himself a large shot of bourbon and shuddered as it went down, he was never a big drinker but right at that moment he needed it more than he needed air
. He needed his dick to lie down and stay down before he embarrassed himself.

Chapter 9

The evening was fast approaching and Lily was making a final walk through the premises to make sure all was ready. She had just made it back from her home where she had carefully gotten ready, copying the effects that the ladies at the salon had shown her. She was pleased with the results and hoped that Jared would be as well. All of the ladies had made it in earlier throughout the afternoon and been settling into their rooms.  The dinner tonight was supposed to be the first time all the involved parties would get together, it promised to be very interesting.  Lily went over the guest list and silently snickered over some of the names like Mitsi and Babs, were these names real and if they weren’t, why would they do that to themselves. The last thing left to check on was Jared. 

She walked up the stairs and knocked softly on Jared’s bedroom door.

“Who is it?” he yelled through the oak door.

“It’s me, I mean Lily” she corrected herself. “Are you decent so I can come in?” She waited for him to answer and got a frustrated grunt instead.

“I need help with this damn
tie; I think it’s trying to kill me.” He looked up as she approached him and his tongue felt glued to the roof of his mouth. She was simply stunning. Her hair had been cut to fall in natural waves down her back to her hips and shone so brightly it appeared silver. It only enhanced the figure hugging silver beaded dress she wore, strapless and almost non-existent in the back. It appeared to be held together by sheer will power and high rounded breasts. It’s length touching the floor with a slit far up her right thigh, exposing a perfectly shaped leg with every step.

She reached up to removed the offending strip of material and tried to repositioned it, which had her leaning on him from hip to breast with her arms around his neck.

She leaned in a little heavier than she normally would have, weakened at the knees by the very smell of him. Her eyes closed helplessly as the spicy tang of his aftershave and the warmth of his body invaded her senses and a soft groan slipped past her lips. Jared could contain his own desires but not responding to hers' was too much to handle. His arms came up to clench her in place where she lay against him and searched for her lips, they tasted faintly of bubble gum and then the potent taste of her sunk in.  

They were being swallowed up fast by dizzying desires; all other sounds or thoughts were soon drowned out by thumping hearts and audible moans. He parted the softness of her full lips, rubbing the tip of his tongue along the inside of her lower lip and against the smoothness of her teeth. Her tongue chased his demanding further activity and his mouth sealed over her, their tongues stroked one over the other, building the fire higher.

His hands tangled in her hair, handfuls of the silky material clenched between his fingers, while hers stroked his neck and shoulders. The couple struggles to get closer as their lower bodies rubbed in an age-old rhythm. Jared pulled away suddenly as his fingers touched the bare skin of her lower back. She didn’t know when the short zipper had come undone and Jared gently but purposefully lowered the bodice of her dress.              

His eyes burned feverishly behind his eyelids as he slid down her body, leaving a moist trail from her neck to her breasts. The pink-tipped fullness were engorged with arousal and he licked his way with a heated tongue from one to the other, finally settling down to suck strongly on her left breast. Finally the sound of laughter pierced his fogged brain and he lifted his head. He stared at her as she was draped over his arm and shook his head in disbelief. This was Lily for God’s sake, it was insane to react this way, as if his head would explode, but everything in him screamed to toss her on the bed and strip her bare. He could see her coming to her senses and the denial in her eyes.

“Lily,” he began hoarsely, “We have to talk about this, and it’s not accidental or funny anymore. I can’t seem to keep my hands off of you and you seem to be having the same trouble.”

She straighten
ed up and stepped away from him as thought he was some dangerous animal that was bent on her destruction.

“I don’t know how, but we have to stop this now. The last thing I even remember is walking into this room, I don’t even know how long we’ve been in here, but you have twenty women downstairs that are looking at you as a prospective husband and I’m not one of them. We need to forget this happened and make sure it doesn’t happen again.” She sounded stronger as she finished her statement and finished adjusting her dress.

“Can you forget this Lily? We almost started a fire in here and that kind of heat doesn’t just disappear. I don’t think I will ever get the taste of you out of my head.”

“There is nothing else to do Jared. We need to go downstairs and greet your future wife. I’ll send Bella up to help you with your tie.” She left quickly and closed the door on a still aroused Jared.

Chapter 10

Ava paused midway up the stairwell as she saw Lily exit Jared room. She stared at the young woman and was both concerned and elated at the same time. Lily looked distraught and disheveled, her hair was roughly mused and her clothes needed straightening. It was obvious what had happened and she wondered when it had all started. She continued up the stairs and decided to see what he son thought of it.

“Jared it’s mom, open up.” She kept her voice light and cheerful. The door was pulled open a few seconds later. He looked no better than Lily had looked. She had never seen him quite so confused and frustrated.

“I came to see if you needed anything before you went downstairs but I saw Lily leave, so you must be ok.” He had used that time to pour himself a shot of bourbon and finished the expensive liquor in one swallow. She had hardly ever seen him drink and used it as an opportunity to question him.

“You look a little shaken son, is everything alright? Is tonight more than you expected?” she meant too much to deal with the party but she knew he was thinking of one woman in particular.

She moved to sit on the bed and watched as he finished getting ready. He look a brush to his hair and smoothed the ruffled locks into
it’s perfectly order. He looked impeccable in everyway and she felt pride that her son had turned into wonderful man. She tried to keep an open mind and knew that although Jared was responsible and hardworking that he never had a problem in getting what he wanted whether it was with work or with women. He was too secure about what life had to offer and for the first time that she could remember he didn’t seem to know what to do with the problem at hand.

“I’ve met some of the ladies downstairs and they all seem very nice, beautiful too, there shouldn’t be a problem finding a woman you want to marry. Lily did a great job in choosing that group.” She laughed a little. “That girl sure knows the kind of women you favor, not an ugly one in the bunch.”

He turned to look at her, a serious expression in his eyes.

“Mom
...” he paused as thought searching for the right words. “How do you feel about Lily?”

She kept eye contact with him when she answered.

“You know I love Lily, she’s a great girl; she’s smart and funny and quite beautiful. She’ll have no problem finding someone to love her when she goes to Dallas.”

“What are you talking about, Lily’s not going anywhere,
and I wouldn’t let her.” His eyes gleamed angrily. “Did she say when this great move was going to happen?”

“I believe she will leave when she’s gotten you the wife you wanted. You don’t have to worry about her not knowing anyone. There are several young men downstairs, I believe they were cousins or brothers of a few of the girls, anyway several of them live in the
Dallas area and had already shown some interest in our little Lily. There is one fellow named Brian that’s talked to her several times this evening and has asked her out on a date for tomorrow evening.” She kept her voice in a very conversational manner but gleefully cheered on the inside at the growing anger in Jared, the vein in his forehead throbbed noticeably.

“Like hell he has. There are rules around here where Lily’s concerned. No one touches her.” He fairly growled the words.

“No one but you is what you meant; she’s not a baby chick Jared. Let the girl live a little and have some fun. She needs a little experience before she gets out into a bigger city, and Brian seems like a fine man. He’s also a stranger and doesn’t have to follow the rules that the ranch hands follow. He doesn’t know about the Lily rule.” She walked over to him and brushed a speck of lint from the jacket that sat squarely on his huge shoulders.

“Jared
its curtain time and your audience awaits you but you might want to wipe off the lipstick before you go downstairs.” She winked at him as his hand went to his mouth and came away pink. Her laughter lingering in the air as she left.

The music and conversation reached his ears as Jared stepped out of his room. His eyes scanned the crowd as he descended the stairs memorizing the layout and the flow of foot traffic, sharply aware of the staring eyes and quieting voices. This was his wish after all and it was being played out as he had directed, his eyes continued its search finally coming to a stop on Lily. Lily’s breathe caught in her throat as she stared at Jared, perfectly groomed and looking like he just stepped off the pages of a GC magazine. His tuxedo fit him beautifully, tailor made to cover his broad shoulders and long torso but no clothes could cover the raw sex appeal or confidence that flowed off him in waves, every woman was affected and Lily hated them all. Unreasonably jealousy clawed at her chest and she felt the urge to scream at them to leave her man alone, but he wasn’t her man and she stood still, waiting for him to speak.

             
“Good evening everyone, I hope you are all having a great time. There will be lots of time for me to meet each of you but in the meantime please avail yourself to the all the amenities that have been provided. If you need something that is not readily available any of my staff would be happy to accommodate you. Lily can you come up here please.” He watched as she made her way through the crowd and came towards him. She turned to the crowd as she stood on the step below his.

             
“This is Lily; she is my personal assistant and the person responsible for putting all this together. In case of emergencies you can also contact her; she will always be able to reach me. Now, let’s adjourn to the dinner table shall we?” Jared tucked Lily’s hand through his arm and led her to the dining room where he pulled back the chair to the right of his own and seated her. They dined on a plethora of succulent meats, grilled vegetables and sweet wine, all laid out on the finest china that was a combination of several generations of Maguire marriages.

Jared mingled for several hours, dancing and talking to first one woman and then another. The evening progressed very well and would have been called perfect if the strained link between him and his best friend didn’t exist. She had yet to talk to him since the party started but acted like the perfect hostess, directing the staff discretely and carrying on light conversation with the guests. 
             

It was late into the evening when the band started a slow bluesy tune and Jared had seen her in the arms of yet another adoring male for too long. He walked up to the dancing couple and tapped the man on his shoulder a little harder than was necessary.

“Excuse me, you don’t mind if I cut in do you?”  Mingled with Jared’s icy stare it was more of a statement than a question. The man nodded and stepped back allowing Jared the space in front of Lily. She slipped into his arms easily but refused to look at him. Jared settled her in his arms and swayed to the music without effort, her head nestled in the notch between his shoulder and chest and Jared rested his cheek on the top of her head. He felt her relax and tightened his hold on her just a fraction more, it was by far closer than he had held any of the other women tonight. Why did he never notice before how perfectly she fit into his arms, not just his arms but also his life? Her left hand clutched at his back and the right was trapped under his much larger one over the steady beat of his heart.

             
The song ended as did their few minutes in heaven and Lily stepped away from Jared.  Anything they might have said was interrupted by the departure of the guest for the night. The last person left, leaving the two of them alone in the foyer. An awkwardness that never existed between them now hung in the air.

“We need to talk Lily. We’ll go over the events from tonight and double check the plans for tomorrow.” He walked towards his office leaving her to follow behind him, never doubting that she would. Her professionalism was doing battle with her urge to run.

              He waited until she closed the door behind her, making sure to keep the distance of the desk between them.

“I could tell them all to leave.” He said without any hesitation.

“No, why would you do that, your goal hasn’t been reached. You haven’t even gone out with anyone yet.” Again the clawing fingers of jealousy ripped through her chest at the thought of Jared and any one of those women.

“I wouldn’t need to if you married me.” It wasn’t a question.
“Our lives already blend together and there sure as hell isn’t any doubt if we’ll be sexually compatible.”

Lily’s heart jumped at the word marriage, not daring to believe that it came from Jared lips and directed to her.

“That’s actually the problem in a nutshell. Why is this happening to us now? We’ve known each other for twenty-two years and nothing has ever happened, I’m afraid that this might just be a case of convenience and familiarity.” She was trying to be practical but Jared wanted noting to do with it.

“You need to finish this with an open mind and give all these women the attention you had intended in the first place.  I don’t want you to settle for me because I’m
handy; it would make us both miserable in the long run.”

“I understand that you think you’ll be moving to
Dallas. When were you going to tell me about the job interview? He came around the desk to lean against its edge not two feet from where she sat.

“It’s been crazy around here recently and I didn’t have the opportunity.” She wondered how he found out but quickly remembered that nothing stayed secret for long in a household like this one.

“Didn’t have the opportunity to tell me you were leaving me? And when were you going to tell me about your date with Brian?” He glowed at her angrily and his anger fueled her own.

“I wasn’t going to tell you about my
date; it’s none of your business.”

“Like hell it’s not my business, after what’s been going on between us? Men like him are used to women who know the score and will expect you to play the game. Do you have any doubt that if he touches you that I will likely kill him. I almost punched him out for dancing with you tonight.” Jared had always been possessive of her but also protective in a brotherly sort of way. The last few weeks proved that they weren’t related and his threat was savagely violent. It was a side to Jared that she had never seen before.  The friendly banter between them seemed like something that existed in the distant past instead of just weeks ago. All that was left was heat and tension.

              “I know that you’re aware that I don’t have very much experience when it comes to men and sex.” She ignored his heavy grunt and continued. “I won’t do anything I’m not comfortable doing but I also need know a little of what I’ve been missing. You will go on your date and I will go on mine. Don’t worry Jared, I’ll be alright.” She reached up and kissed him on the cheek and he responded with the kiss to her forehead. He knew she was searching for a little of what was normal between them and he needed to defuse the situation. She seemed to breath easier when he released her without issue and left to go to her own place.

             
He would do as she asked and continue with his dating itinerary and he couldn’t stop her from going on her own date but she would have an unseen chaperone, Brian would never lay a finger on his woman and whether she chose to accept it or not did not change the fact that she definitely belonged to him.  It wouldn’t be long before the only place she had to go was going to be upstairs in his bed and permanently installed in his home.

Chapter 12

Jared stared impatiently at the itinerary that was to be his life for the next two weeks His morning coffee took a little longer to get through as each of the ranch staff stared at him under lowered eyes and he had caught a couple of the cleaning ladies giggling behind there hands. He also noticed that each trip to the kitchen had them all giggling anew. What in the hell was going on? He wished he had the time to find out but the strict lines of the schedule said otherwise. He had an early horseback ride with Mitzi Boka a tri-county beauty queen that had aggressively sought him out last night. Next was a picnic by the shady pond with Laurie Black, who he didn’t seem to remember at all and finally dinner with Babs Fitzpatrick. She was the daughter of a business collogue that had mentioned his darling daughter and what a beauty she was every time he had ever run into Jared. Lily had once found a picture of Mr. Fitzpatrick and had drawn an apple in the center of the his eye and left it in his briefcase so that when he had opened it during a very important meeting he had almost burst into laughter; which would of course spoiled the image he was trying to project at the time.

Jared made his way to the east wing of the house where his guests were staying and collected Mitzi. She certainly was a beautiful woman, blond hair swept up in a complicated twist and clothes that fit her like second skin. She batted her eyes and found endless reasons to touch Jared, she reminded him of a rattlesnake just about to strike.  Jared saw all of it and he felt nothing. It also became obvious to Jared that the woman knew nothing about horses; she seemed frightened of them and complained almost from the start about the odor of the animals. However, she seemed determined to try and it was the longest three hours that Jared ever spent. He was glad for it to end and took her back to her suite, gallantly bowing over her hand and thanking her for the date. She smiled widely, unaware that Jared had forgotten her completely as he turned and left. He had to grab a quick shower and get ready for date number two.

Ava sat in the kitchen of the main house talking to the ranch family. There was an excited buzz as she told them what she suspected and they all added what they had observed in order to collectively create a complete story. Just imagine, Jared and Lily, they had all started to give up when they were told of “The Plan” but there was hope yet. Maybe there was something they could do to help push the pair along, but what? Ava had placed items that belonged to Lily all over the house, a hair clip here and scarf that Jared had given her there. He would not be able to turn without some reminder of her. If they had only asked Jared he would have told them that he already knew what he wanted and that it was Lily that needed convincing.

The second date went as he suspected it would, Laurie Black was a cute twenty-five year old, but was so shy that trying to have a conversation was like pulling teeth. She blushed at every compliment and deferred to him on every occasion. They had spent most of the date staring at the water in uncomfortable silence, most of the food had remained uneaten as she had been too nervous to eat and Jared too much of a gentleman to eat without her. At the end of the date Jared thanked her for her time and she seemed as glad for it to be over as he was.

Again he returned to the main house and waited for the third and final date. He took that time to make arrangements for Lily’s unseen chaperone, her upcoming date never far from his mind. He also made sure that she was having dinner at the same place he had planned to take Babs.  He picked up a familiar looking scarf and ran it absently through his hands; he inhaled deeply at the scent that clung to the material for a long moment. It was the first moment he had enjoyed all day.

Chapter 13

Lily rolled out of bed with a groan. Her eyes were heavy and filled with sand and it was all Jared’s fault. She did nothing but think of him for hours or was it days? This man that she knew so well, even better than she knew herself and yet suddenly there were countless things she didn’t know. The most shocking of course was the way her body was reacting to his. He set her on fire, gave her a fever that seemed to continuously burn in her veins. Her body had been humming since he kissed her two weeks ago and kicked into an almost painful pitch last night. When she did manage to finally fall asleep, he had invaded her dreams.  The dreams had changed every time she had woken up and drifted off again.

One dream included a waterfall, one occurred in an open field on a hot summer day and yet another in a hayloft, but the one thing that remained constant was that it always consisted of her and Jared and bone melting lovemaking. It surprise her just how vividly real her dreams were, if you took into consideration that Lily had never yet had sex. She had woken up each time sweating and panting on the verge of satisfaction that never happened.  She felt like she was given some sort of drug, unable to think reasonably and unable to cool down. She stood in front of her mirror and barely recognized herself, she was still getting used to the hair-cut but it was more than that, it was an awareness of herself as a sexual being for the first time and that Jared was able to unleash that part of her was amazing. She ran a light hand over her lips, then her breasts and finally her hips. She sighed and went into the shower hoping that it would shock her back into the person she was two weeks ago.

Lily dressed in a dark blue skirt that reached her mid-thigh and an ivory colored blouse that tucked in neatly and showed off the high swell of her breast to modest perfection. Her hands paused in the middle of tucking in her shirt as she remembered that Jared really had asked her to marry him and it wasn’t a part of her dreams. He had asked her to marry him and she had said no.  Her hands shook as she completed her dressing rituals. She had a job to do and she was late for work, she chanted her work ethic all the way to the main house.