Lily's Mirage (Hell Yeah! ) Page 8

  “Come closer.” He slipped his right arm under her and gathered her to him, his front to her back. His hands found her soft breasts and covered them, milking the nipples as he thrust inside her with short, hard jabs. “God, I love being inside of you.”

  Lily was at his mercy, lifted off the bed in a shock of pleasure. Her whole body tingled at the power of his possession, she was hopeless to resist anything he wanted to do to her. Blade moved against her blindly, his mouth devouring her lips as their bodies moved in rhythmic and intimate contact that caused her breath to catch in her throat.

  “Come for me, Lily. I want to feel you explode around me. I want to give you the sweetest pleasure you’ve ever dreamed of.”

  Lily flamed, so hot with desire that she was blind from it. Held in his arms, his hands molding her breasts, his breath on her neck, and him filling her up – pushing, penetrating - over and over, she keened his name as she was lifted higher and higher.

  “That’s it, that’s it, baby.” Blade drove for fulfillment, then shuddered as the pleasure captured them both, melding them in a hot fusion that was so incredible he thought he might pass out.

  “Blade!” Her passionate cry was smothered by his mouth, he inhaled it as the convulsing of her femininity drained every drop of his essence from his body.

  For a few minutes, the only sound in the room was their breathless pants. They lay together in a tangled, damp heat. Lily was satiated and trembling, her body still moving helplessly, luxuriating in the aftereffects of their loving.

  “That was amazing.” He lay on his back and pulled her to over to rest against him. “I bet we’ll be able to rest now.”

  She smiled, her fingers playing in the sexy hair on his chest. “I think you’re right.” Rubbing her cheek against him, she closed her eyes, refusing to think about anything other than how happy she was at this moment.

  Lily…Lily…Lily…

  Lily’s eyes popped open. What had she heard?

  “Lily…”

  A woman’s voice sounded somewhere in the house.

  Blade lay on his stomach with his arm over Lily’s waist. Easing herself gently to the edge of the bed, she did her best not to disturb her bedfellow.

  “Lil…y!”

  Again, the distant voice called out to her. She didn’t answer, but Lily tried to hurry, scrambling around the end of her bed for the gown Blade had hastily torn off the night before when they’d been anxious to be in one another’s arms.

  “Lil…y!”

  The sing-song voice had to be Bliss. Lily wondered what she was doing here and if something was wrong.

  As soon as she was decently covered, she made her way from the sunroom suite where they were sleeping to the front of the house. No light had been turned on, so she flipped on a few when she was a decent distance from Blade. She didn’t want to wake him unnecessarily.

  “Bliss?” she whispered, “Where are you?”

  No answer. “Bliss?”

  “Lily?”

  The voice coming from right behind her made Lily jump. She turned around, hand on her chest, fully expecting to find her friend.

  Nothing.

  Odd.

  Moving farther across the house, Lily came to the front. The moonlight was almost bright as day. She peeked out the window flanking the front door and was shocked to see a woman standing on the porch in a long, flowing white gown. Her hair hung to the middle of her back and she was hugging herself tightly. “Bliss?” She opened the door and when she did, the woman turned so she could see her face.

  It wasn’t Bliss.

  “Hello?” The woman was crying and she was soaking wet, standing in a puddle of water. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

  Lily was just about to push open the screen door when the woman vanished in front of her eyes.

  Warm lips. Layered over hers.

  Lily returned the kiss, enjoying the sweet dream.

  “Wake up, sleeping beauty. Breakfast is ready.”

  Opening her eyes, she found Prince Charming sitting by her bed, holding a tray full of goodies. “Blade? Thank you!” She sat up, pushing herself up to lean against the bedstead. “Are you trying to spoil me?”

  “I am.” He sat the tray over her lap, thinking how pretty she looked in the white cotton gown, her dark hair slightly tousled, her big eyes bright with surprise. “I made French toast and sausage links. And I found some chocolate chips, so I made chocolate milk. Sound good?”

  “Yes, thank you.” She took a sip of the chocolate milk. “This is a lot of food. You’re going to share it with me, aren’t you?”

  “I ate as I was cooking yours, but I’ll sit with you.” Blade walked around to his side and crawled in beside her, making certain not to jostle the mattress enough to cause her to spill anything. “Did you get up during the night? I thought I woke up once and couldn’t find you, or did I dream that?”

  Lily chewed the bite of toast in her mouth, savoring the sweet flavor. After swallowing, she licked her mouth and reached over to brush a crumb off his lip. “I thought I heard something.”

  Blade frowned. “You thought you heard something and you got up to investigate? Alone?” He sat his coffee cup down on the bedside table. “You should’ve woken me up. Dammit! What if it was some crazy ass reporter? You could’ve been hurt!” He stood and headed out into the hall. “I’m going to look around, I’ll be right back. Finish your breakfast.”

  Lily ate a few more bites, but she was unsettled. Rising from the bed, she set the tray on the nearby dresser and went to wash and dress. Memories from last night made her uneasy. The shock of seeing the woman disappear before her eyes had been unnerving. She didn’t think Blade would find any evidence of an intruder. The apparition hadn’t been a dream, she’d come back to the bathroom and splashed water on her face, staring at herself in the mirror. Flora would tell her the vision had all been in her head, along with the adversary pillaging her gray matter. Lily didn’t think so, but she had no proof. Telling Blade what she’d seen would serve no purpose other than to make him wonder about her sanity.

  “Lily?”

  This time her name wasn’t called by a phantom, but by a man who was larger than life. “Right here.” She flipped her hair over her shoulder, then went to join Blade. “Did you find anything?”

  “No, I didn’t.” Blade took his hat from a hook on the wall and placed it on his head. “If you hear anything else, you let me know. Don’t put yourself in danger. Even though we’re on this secluded island, that doesn’t mean persistent people won’t invade our privacy.”

  “I know. I’ll be careful.” She knew he was thinking about Katy’s abductor.

  Blade let his eyes rake over Lily Bastien. No, she wasn’t classically beautiful, but every feature appealed to him and every facet of her personality was endearing. “You look gorgeous this morning.”

  Lily blushed, knowing she was nothing special. “Thank you. I just brought comfortable clothes.”

  He gestured at his own blue jeans and sleeveless T-shirt. “As did I.” Moving close enough to touch, Blade pressed his forehead to hers. “You’re a very sexy woman. Every time I see you, I’m blown away.”

  Lily’s heart soared. “High praise from one whose sexiness has been officially recognized world-wide.”

  “Makes me an expert, if nothing else,” he teased. Taking her hand, he tugged Lily toward the door. “Let’s go. Isaiah told me about a water tower with a viewing platform. I’d like a bird’s eye view of this place.”

  Lily went with him, but she wasn’t exactly thrilled. High places made her nervous. “I presume there’s no elevator.”

  Blade barked out a laugh. “No, let’s check it out, though. If it doesn’t look safe, we won’t try it.”

  As Lily left the house, she stared at the spot on the porch where she’d seen the vision of the woman. Everything looked normal. She could see their reflection in the mirror, the blue color of the door was part of the picture, as was the gleaming bottles on the tree near
the porch. If the vision she’d seen last night had been real, those supernatural safeguards hadn’t prevented the spirit from darkening their door.

  As they strolled through the yard, a butterfly flitted from flower to flower. “The mail boat comes today.” Lily pointed out.

  Blade tugged her around to face him. “I hope you’re still not considering leaving, I was a fool to ever suggest it.”

  Lily searched his eyes, seeing his earnestness. “Are you sure?” she half-teased.

  “Don’t even think about it,” he growled under his breath, then claimed her mouth and kissed her breathless.

  Once she recovered, she gave him a smirk. “What I was going to say, is that I don’t know their routine, but we might need to keep an eye out, you don’t want them to catch sight of you.”

  Blade marveled at how his outlook was changing. “I’m not really worried about it.” He squeezed her hand. “I guess I’ve got more important things to think about now.”

  Lily didn’t ask him to clarify, she could see the answer in his face. He was looking at her with this intensive focus that thrilled her, yet at the same time, scared the living daylights out of her. Warning signals began to go off in her head. This wasn’t right… “Blade, I…”

  Blade didn’t catch her concern, he was in too good of a mood. “Other than the news reporter from the mainland, I don’t think there’s going to be a problem. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but most of the people on Saint Helena are on a different wave length than the rest of the country, they aren’t media hungry. When I booked my trip out here, the folks in the rental place had no idea who I was. I think there’s one theater in the area and twenty-something churches. I’m just not a big deal here, I think we can go over to the Saint Helena tomorrow and take in some sights. Is there anything you’d like to see or do?”

  Even though Lily knew there was some things she needed to sort out, the idea of an adventure appealed to her. “Yea, hang-gliding. It’s one of the things in my Wish Book.”

  Blade chuckled. “All right. Hang-gliding it is. It’s been awhile since I did anything like that.”

  “Yea, Isaiah’s not here to do it for you,” she teased.

  Hugging her close, Blade kissed her cheek. “There are some things a man needs to do for himself. So, what’s this Wish Book you speak of?”

  “Just things I wish I could do in my life, dreams I have that would make me happy.”

  “You probably need to give me this list. I delivered on the orgasms, I bet I could make a few more things happen.”

  Lily didn’t doubt it. Blade didn’t realize it, but he embodied every dream she’d ever dreamed. He was everything she’d ever wanted in life. “I bet you could, too.” She gave him a jaunty smile and a wink, determined not to get bogged down in regrets.

  They continued their walk, veering off down a trail through the woods. “Look, there it is.”

  Blade pointed ahead and Lily could see the tall beige water tower with St. Phillips Island painted on it in big black letters. “Wow, that’s pretty tall.”

  “Oh, this will be great. Come on.” Like a big, excited kid, Blade started up the side.

  Lily came in behind him, a bit slower. The ladder seemed sturdy and substantial, so she started up, holding tight to the handrails and placing one foot carefully behind the other. She was trying not to look up and she certainly didn’t want to look down. “How much further?”

  “Not far at all, you made it.” Lily felt Blade take her arm, helping her the last couple of steps and up onto the platform.

  She let out a relieved breath and grasped his hand like a lifeline. “Whew, I’m glad to get to the top.” Lily didn’t look down until she was against the back rail and safely tucked under Blade’s arm. Only then did she allow herself to take in the sights. “Oh, how beautiful.” From their vantage point, they could see the whole island, the white sands of the beach, the rolling blue ocean, and the jade green marshland. Her eyes followed a flock of seagulls winging their way over the island, they looked so free and alive. She felt a pang of loss hit her so great it almost stopped her heart. “Nothing like seeing the big picture.”

  “Yea, my own view has been clouded for a long time.” He captured her face and looked into her eyes. “I’m finally able to see clearly for the first time in a great while.”

  Lily swallowed, emotions warring in her heart. She searched for something to say, anything to say that would diffuse the situation. “Yea, our vacation fling is helping me put things into perspective. I realize I need to make more time in my life for fun.”

  The smile faded from Blade’s face and he let his hand drop. “Is that what this is?”

  Lily closed her eyes, absorbing his nearness like a freezing person taking comfort from a warm fire. How easy it would be to love him. “Of course, cowboy,” she tossed off lightly. “What else could it be? We’re from different states, different worlds.”

  Blade listened to her words, then listened to his heart. She was saying one thing, but his gut instincts told him that she was thinking something else entirely. “Right.” He called upon all his acting skills and gave Lily a carefree grin. “Well, I’m enjoying this vacation fling and I say we should make the most of it. You never know what the future might hold.”

  His response surprised Lily a little. If he was saying exactly what she implied she wanted to hear, why did she feel so unsettled?

  “Look at the ship.” Blade drew her attention to an ocean liner in the distance.

  “How beautiful, I bet it’s a cruise ship. The water is such a deep blue today.” As she stared into the distance a wave of dizziness swept over her. Lily closed her eyes, this wasn’t good. She took a couple of deep breaths and waited for the feeling to pass.

  “What’s wrong, kitten?”

  Blade was concerned and she tried to pass it off. “Nothing, my head’s swimming a little, that’s all. I’ll be all right in a moment.”

  He gathered her close. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have insisted we come up here.”

  “No, it’s okay. I’m trying to conquer my dislike of heights. I still want to go hang-gliding. I’m not sure what’s wrong.” She refused to think this had anything to do with the growth in her cerebrum.

  “You probably didn’t eat enough breakfast. When we start down, I’ll help you,” Blade assured her, his attention completely focused on Lily. “We’ll eat an early lunch, how about that?”

  “I’ll be fine.” She took his hand. “Let’s just enjoy the view for a while.”

  They did this until Lily felt better, but when they started down, Blade surprised her by going first, then waiting just two rungs down. When she waited for him to proceed, he directed her to join him and he blanketed her body from the back, so every step she took, he was right there with his arms around her. “Thank you, that was so sweet,” she told him once their feet were on the ground.

  “I would never let anything happen to you if it was in my power to prevent it,” Blade told her as they started back. Taking her hand, he caressed the smooth back with his thumb. “What do you want, Lily? What is your greatest wish?”

  Lily considered her answer. She weighed her words. Finally, she decided to tell the truth, it would be a fairly standard answer, just more applicable to her than to most. “For time, time to do everything I want to do, everything I dream of doing. How about you?”

  Blade kept his eye on the trail ahead of them, choosing his words just as carefully. “I guess I want two things, I want to find Katy’s killer and,” he cleared his throat, “I want to be happy again.”

  Lily squeezed his hand. “I hope you achieve both of those goals.”

  The sound of a boat engine caused them to pause. “Must be the mail boat. Let’s go make a reservation for them to come back after us in the morning for a day on Saint Helena.”

  Lily hurried with him, noticing he put on his sunglasses. She didn’t think that was much of a disguise, but he’d said the native inhabitants didn’t pay much attention
to celebrities. After they made their plans with Seba, she had to admit Blade was probably right. The young man seemed only interested in telling them about a great white shark that had been spotted off the island the day before. “So, if you get in the water, you must be extra careful,” he warned them.

  “We will,” Blade assured him, “just be back after us at eight in the morning.”

  The young man agreed and bent to start the boat engine when Lily stopped him.

  “Seba, you told me this house was haunted, what did you mean? Can you give me any details?”

  Seba gave her a mysterious smile. “Have you seen her?”

  “Seen who?” Blade asked, glancing between Lily and the young man.

  “Lili Renaud, she haunts the house named for her. The original house has been renovated and added onto, but parts of it date back to the 1600’s.” He raised one eyebrow speculatively.

  Lily didn’t answer his question directly, instead she asked another one. “What can you tell me about her? How did she die?”

  “She drowned.”

  His explanation sent chills down Lily’s spine. She remembered the woman’s clothes were soaked and her hair had hung in wet tendrils.

  “Lili committed suicide in the surf, trying to escape Blackbeard.”

  “Oh, wow.” Now, Seba had Blade’s attention. “The pirate?”

  “Yes, he made these barrier islands a second home. He waylaid a ship setting sail from Charleston on its way to England and captured a young woman.”

  “Lili.” Lily breathed the name like a prayer.

  “Yes, her fiancé followed, but Blackbeard killed him, severing his hand and throwing it at Lili’s face. She managed to escape him, but when she couldn’t get off the island, she chose the arms of the sea instead of Blackbeard.”

  Blade could tell Seba enjoyed telling the tale. He also could see how it affected Lily. “Very fanciful.”

  Lily shook her head, dispelling the trance she found herself in. Seba’s story unsettled her almost as much as Blade’s expression. He was looking at her with bemusement, but also with a tenderness she was finding hard to ignore. “How sad. Thank you for telling me.”