Nick and Lilac Page 9

  It had. Fuck his life to hell, but having Karla finger-fuck him in the ass had felt goddamn good and that was what was driving him over the edge.

  “I just wanted to make you feel good,” Karla whispered as she rose naked on her knees on the bed.

  The words made sense, but somehow they didn’t ring true.

  “Nick, please, don’t get angry---I won’t do it again.” Tears trailed down her beautiful face.

  His heart clenched. They had been through so much, and even though he still thought she had fucked up now, Nick couldn’t bear seeing her cry.

  “Come here,” he said roughly.

  She flew to him, and his arms wrapped around her body, the frailty of her bones reminding him as always of her impoverished past, of how she had always trailed after him when they were kids – and how he had always ignored her until that very night.

  “We’re going to be fine, won’t we, Nick?” Karla whispered against his chest.

  He nodded, tightening his arms around her.

  “But what about the takeover?” she asked. “Why won’t you just sell? And then we won’t ever have to worry about money again---”

  “Trust me,” he said quietly.

  But she hadn’t.

  ****

  Nick’s blue eyes were lost in the past as he continued tonelessly, “I can’t even completely blame her for leaving me. She got scared that I couldn’t save her the way she had saved me. She couldn’t go back to being poor and I didn’t know at that time she was deeply in debt.” His lips twisted again. “But I was furious, I did feel betrayed, and because of that I finally accepted my family’s help. They had the cash I needed to turn Christakos Industries around the way I wanted to---”

  At Lilac’s frown, he laughed mirthlessly. “You’re thinking about my billion-dollar trust fund, aren’t you?”

  She nodded.

  “Until I turn 25, I can’t use it in its entirety. I’m given a monthly stipend and it just wasn’t enough for what I needed back then. And since I was only 19, none of the banks had the confidence I’d make it.”

  “But…you did.”

  Nick answered with his own curt nod. “My mother sold her business while my brother gave up his inheritance and quit school to help me. They risked their entire fortunes on me.”

  “N-Nick…” Lilac couldn’t help it. She hurt for him so, so badly, reading between the lines, hearing what he couldn’t say.

  Now, it was her turn to be brave - the only thing she could do to show Nick how much his honesty meant to her. “I know…you’re trying to tell me…without saying it straight…” A smile flashed on her lips. “We can’t be more…than friends…like the other girls…would have wanted.” She looked at him knowingly. “Right?”

  “Right.” He couldn’t help smiling back even though he was still tense because they hadn’t yet spoken about whythis got started.

  “And…” Lilac inhaled sharply, and Nick stiffened when he saw it.

  “Y-you k-know…about me, don’t you?” Lilac didn’t wait for him to answer, reaching out to touch Nick’s hand, this time being the first to twine her fingers with his, telling him silently that she was…okay.

  But he wasn’t.

  Pain and anger – for Lilac – hit him and he said savagely, “Yes. I know what that asshole did. And I promise you, sweetheart, the moment I get my hands on that motherfucking son of a bitch---”

  Lilac shook her head and she said simply, “I don’t care…about him…anymore.”

  The smile that curved her lips made Nick swallow. Her smile was filled with such understanding it was positively heartbreaking. At that moment, Lilac York was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen on earth– so much so that he was afraid he would be the one who’d fucking stammer if he spoke.

  He watched her take a deep breath, as if preparing herself. “I want us t-to try again and b-be friends. I-it won’t be easy. W-we’re still messed up b-but I w-would really like it if w-we were friends.”

  God, he couldn’t remember his chest hurting as much as it hurt now, knowing how much courage it had taken for Lilac to say that long sentence, remembering in Mark’s report that Dr. Petersen had written in her notes how Lilac was still afraid that her stuttering would turn her into a victim of another predatory male like James Caruthers.

  Slowly, carefully, he took her in his arms. When Lilac’s arms went around his neck, the feeling that swept through him was indescribable. It was almost like…heaven.

  The Eighth Encounter

  Lilac woke at the soft knock on the door, yawning and stretching luxuriously on the four-poster bed. Nick had swept her up into this room from the helipad, so fast that everything about Briarwood had been reduced into a colorful blur.

  “Sleep,” Nick had urged. “You look so goddamn tired, I’m scared you’ll fall down flat on your face at anytime.”

  A glance at the clock told Lilac it was a little after one in the afternoon, making her blink several times. She couldn’t believe she had slept for over three hours or how well rested she felt after that nap.

  “Lady Lilac?”

  Had she heard that correctly? She rubbed her eyes and pinched herself. It hurt.

  “Lady Lilac, I’m coming in.”

  The door opened quietly, and a young woman wearing a cap and uniform bustled in, a smile wreathing her face. She bobbed a curtsy.

  Lilac rubbed her eyes more furiously.

  The maid presented her a parcel. “Master Nicholas wants you to wear this for afternoon tea.” She looked at Lilac expectantly. “If I may, milady?”

  At Lilac’s uncertain nod, the maid expertly worked on the parcel until it revealed the most beautiful gown, the kind that reminded her of what gentle misses in Regency London used to wear for afternoon carriage rides and tea parties. It was made of silk and lace, its shade matching her eyes.

  The maid carefully hung the gown on a stand. When she walked back to Lilac, she had two more boxes in her hands and presented it to her with a smile. “To go with the dress, milady,” she explained with a wider smile.

  “T-thank you,” Lilac whispered. It was the best she could do, her head whirling at what was taking place.

  “Would you like me to help you dress?”

  “Uhh…no, i-it’s…okay.” She paused, wondering if it was okay to use ‘okay’ since that wasn’t yet a word in the Victorian period. “It’s…fine.” She pinched herself several times. It still hurt and yet – the maid still didn’t disappear.

  The other woman stopped smiling.

  Shit. Lilac wasn’t prone to swearing, but this seemed a good moment to do so. If the walls suddenly turned into something dark and terrifying, then this wouldn’t be a daydream – this would be a nightmare, like a scene straight from Silent Hill, her favorite RPG-turned-movie.

  “Am I too convincing?”

  “Err…”

  The other woman grinned. “Sorry. I can see you’re halfway to thinking you’re on your way to Bedlam.” Seeing Lilac’s look of horror at the word Bedlam, which no one in today’s time ever used, the other woman said hastily, “I mean…you look like you think either I’m a loony or you are and---” She sighed. “Relax, hon. I’m just an actress, paid an obscene amount of money to play lady’s maid. That’s all.”

  Lilac collapsed against the headboard. “Thank…God.”

  The other woman laughed. “Sorry if I scared you.”

  She shook her head. “I’m sorry…for being…silly,” Lilac returned lamely.

  “It’s my job to make you believe, hon.” Then her expression smoothed, and any trace of the woman Lilac had spoken to disappeared into the shy hopeful face of a lady’s maid wishing to please her mistress. “Do you require anything else, milady?”

  Still in a daze, Lilac shook her head.

  The maid nodded, bobbed another curtsy and walked backward to the door. “Shall I tell Master Nicholas you’ll be down shortly, milady?” She then whispered confidingly, “He is very anxious to see you, if I may so bo
ld to tell you, milady.”

  The words only made Lilac feel dizzier. “Umm, could he give me fifteen minutes?”

  “Of course, milady.”

  The moment the door closed, Lilac worked on the boxes, and she sighed after discovering what it contained. The first, an exquisite pair of silk slippers – exactly how the books described them! And, oh, the most beautiful ivory fan she had ever seen, even better than the one she had glimpsed in an exhibit.

  Lilac jumped off the bed, excitement making her giddy. When she took a bath – for it had to be a bath since there was only the most magnificent tub and no shower in sight – she was unable to contain her laughter once more. The water that came out from the tub’s built-in tap was perfectly warm and she leaned back, luxuriating in the feel of warm water enveloping her body.

  There was an assortment of flower-scented shampoos and body washes.She chose lilac, knowing that Nick would also expect her to.

  She closed her eyes and leaned back against the tub.

  Friends…

  She did want them to be friends, but now – just now – she wanted to pretend he was someone else…that they were both other people than their real selves.

  Lilac’s fingers brushed over her sensitive nipples and her mouth parted in silent pleasure. In her mind, it was Nick’s warm hand touching her.

  She let her fingers drift lower, her eyes squeezing more tightly shut as she reached the core of her womanhood.

  Nick…

  She gasped softly when she traced her folds. It was extremely sensitive, and she knew that it wasn’t just wet because she was neck deep in the tub’s warm water. She let her fingers drift up and down, slowly increasing the speed until her body was arching.

  She slowly slid one finger in.

  “Lilac?” It was Nick’s voice, followed shortly by a knock. “Are you okay in there?”

  She gasped, her finger slipping in deeper, and she gasped again.

  ****

  The soft, husky gasps coming out from behind the bathroom door told Nick everything he didn’t need to know about what Lilac was doing.

  Fuck, fuck, goddamn it to hell motherfucking---

  Nick’s fingers clenched impotently into a fist as it landed noiselessly on the door. A part of him wanted to growl at Lilac. Why did she have to do this now, when he had sworn to himself that they would just be friends?

  But another part of him was fucking rejoicing, his cock nearly bursting with need. This part of him thought differently. Why had it taken her so fucking long to do this?

  “Lilac?”

  There was no answer.

  He pressed his ear to the door, and he heard her softly muffled gasps then, as if she didn’t want him to hear her touching herself, pleasing herself, imagining herself fucking him.

  In seconds, he had his cock free.

  “We won’t talk about this, but just this once – just this fucking once, let’s pretend we’re not friends.” Nick started to stroke himself. “Just this fucking once, we’ll pretend we’re free to fuck each other.”

  The softest moan came from inside the bathroom, and he groaned, rubbing himself further.

  “How many fingers do you have inside you, sweetheart?”

  ****

  Lilac couldn’t believe what Nick was asking, but what was more unbelievable was hearing herself answer. “O-one,” she choked out, her finger knuckle deep inside her.

  “Ah, sweetheart, that won’t do.” Nick’s hoarse voice reached her from the other side of the door, making him sound if he was out of breath with wanting as well. She kept her eyes open, knowing that if she closed her eyes it would be over. She would picture him touching himself like she was touching herself, his cock – surely longer and thicker than she could ever imagine – extended proudly, waiting and wanting to sink into her. She gasped at the thought of it.

  “Fuck, Lilac, don’t gasp like that.”

  “C-can’t…” Her finger slid completely in and she moaned.

  “Ah, Lilac, you’re killing me here, sweetheart.”

  You’re killing me, too, she thought helplessly, her entire being filled with need and desire for Nick.

  From the opposite side of the door, Nick let out a hoarse laugh, as if he could read her mind. “Turn off the tap.”

  Shakily, she did as he said, and everything became intimate. The vastness of the marble bathroom with its elegant en-suite dressing room became cozily warm, her silent breathy gasps bouncing against the walls, deliciously wanton sounds that just made her ache even more for Nick’s possession.

  More sounds reached her from outside, the slick swipes of Nick’s fingers around his cock as he stroked himself.

  Lilac let out another moan, her entire body shuddering at the thought. “N-Nick.”

  “Fuck, sweetheart, you make me want to…” Outside, the sounds became louder. “Do you think you can get another finger in, sweetheart?” Nick rasped. “That one finger is not fucking anything like my cock. It’s too small while I’m too big, too long, too fucking hard…my cock would fill you completely until you can only think of me, only feel me.”

  Looking down at herself, Lilac saw her nipples becoming pointedly hard past the surface of the water, and the sight of it turned her on even more. “I…c-can…try.”

  Nick choked. “Try then, sweetheart. You gotta fucking try it before I die here.”

  Swallowing, Lilac carefully tried to push another finger in, her index finger sliding bit by bit to join her middle finger. Touching herself was something she rarely did, only when she found herself suddenly turned on by one thing or another. And this…this was something she had never done before.

  In the past, Lilac only had the courage to take one finger inside her, fearing that anything else would get rid of her virginity – her only proof that James hadn’t taken away everything from her.

  But now, there didn’t seem any reason to be afraid any longer.

  Nick believed in her, didn’t think she was bad or that she was meant to be abused.

  As her second finger slid in completely, another gasp was wrenched from Lilac. The sensation was even more powerful than she anticipated, rawer than she could ever imagine. “N-Nick…”

  “It’s all in?”

  “Y-yes.”

  “Fuck.”

  His strokes were louder this time, and it was easy to imagine his fingers moving faster and more furiously.

  Lilac cautiously pulled her fingers out before just as carefully sliding her fingers back in, and the resulting sensation made Lilac throw her head back. “N-Nick.”

  “Touch your breast,” he growled.

  She did, and the sensation doubled, causing every inch of her skin to prickle in awareness.

  “Pinch your nipple.”

  She obeyed, and a wildfire of sensations exploded inside her, urging Lilac to start a rhythm with her fingers. Her body also started to writhe, and she knew she was close. Oh, God, she was so, so close.

  “Pinch it hard, sweetheart,” Nick gasped from the other side, his voice raw, the strokes harder, and Lilac knew he was just as close. “Twist your nipple with your finger then pinch it hard.”

  She did this, too, and with it she was unable to hold back her moan. It was loud, long, and filled with desire, and outside Nick groaned.

  “Move your fingers as fast and as hard as you can, sweetheart. We need to come now.”

  Her fingers moved as he bid, hard and fast, and she couldn’t stop moaning. Outside, she could hear him doing the same, groaning as he stroked himself closer to a climax.

  “Now, sweetheart,” Nick commanded.

  She pushed her fingers as deeply as she could, brushing the barrier of her virginity. Lilac came with a gasp, and the sound mingled with Nick’s guttural groans.

  “Nick.”

  Long minutes passed before Nick spoke, his voice quiet. “I’ll remember this forever, sweetheart.”

  The Ninth Encounter

  “You are more than unfashionably late, milady,” an
amused voice drawled from the foot of the stairs.

  Her eyes widened at what she saw and then she was flying down the stairs.

  Nick laughed. “Slow down, milady,” he chided, but inside he was feeling extremely good at the way he had brought stars in Lilac’s eyes. She deserved to look like that and he was determined to make her feel like that as often as possible.

  “What…” She shook her head, speechless in wonder. Nick was dressed like she was, in full costume. Ebony black coat, starched white cravat, soft gray britches, and what looked like an honest-to-goodness pair of Hessian boots.

  “I am…” The back of her hand touched her forehead. “---going to…swoon.”

  It took him a second to realize Lilac was joking, and then the sound of Nick’s laughter rang out, bouncing all over the vast hallway.

  Her eyes were a soft pale violet when they met his. “How did…you know?”

  “I had your past investigated,” Nick answered lightly, but he couldn’t help stiffening as he waited for her to reply. He wouldn’t blame Lilac if she became mad – or maybe even find his actions unforgivable.

  But Lilac only cocked her head to the side. “And?”

  “And I found out, among other things, that your thesis requires you to write a historical novel and you want it to be as accurate as possible.” He was slowly gaining more hope that he hadn’t fucked up as bad as he had feared, that Lilac wouldn’t hate him for what he had done.

  “Mm…”

  When he couldn’t bear the silence any longer, he grated out, “Lilac?”

  She answered with an impish smile. “I was just…making you…squirm.” She paused. “Milord.” And then she curtsied prettily.

  Nick had a great view of her décolletage as she did.

  Ah, fuck, being friends was going to be much harder than he thought.

  Lilac had always been a knockout in his eyes, but this time – right this very moment, she was ethereal. She had always been a lady in his mind, in the real sense of the word, and this kind of attire only made the truth a vivid reality.

  Wisps of hair curled becomingly around her face, with the rest of her dark hair twisted up in a loose chignon. The silk afternoon gown he had chosen embraced Lilac’s gentle curves lovingly, emphasizing the upper swell of her breasts and her tiny waist.