Harrison
“Rest,” I ordered softly, lightly pressing Lily’s head back, so it rested on the head of the bath. Steam swirled around us, and the gentle flicker of the candles I’d placed around the bathroom provided a tranquil ambience. Exactly what Lily needed.
“What happens now?” she asked without opening her eyes.
Dipping the sponge under the layer of bubbles, I collected more hot water and proceeded to dribble it over her shoulders. Insane anger bubbled in my gut when the track of Yulian’s knife down the centre of her throat glared at me.
“Nothing.”
She peeked at me through one eye. “The Bratva, Harry. They won’t leave me be now.”
“Relax,” I reiterated. “There is only you and me, and my friend, who knows who you really are.”
When Dean’s men had swarmed the house, Liam had stupidly drawn on them. He was dead before he even raised his gun. Although this meant Lily’s secret was now between only us, it still made me anxious for her future. Being involved with the Russian Mafia wasn’t anything to be taken lightly, especially if what ran through your veins made you the Bratva Queen.
“Unless you fancy dabbling in a bit of organised crime, that is,” I joked.
She opened both eyes and smirked, “Well, I figured it might be fun. You can play the cop and I’m the bad guy.”
“Hmm, role play, huh? Dirty girl!”
She grinned at me. “At least I have a genuine reason why I love vodka so much now.”
“Being Russian doesn’t give you an excuse, Lily.” I laughed at her silly reasoning. “But nice try.”
She sighed contentedly when I lightly wiped her face with a cloth. The purple bruise on her cheek would fade, but I wasn’t so sure about the scars in her soul.
“You know, it’s a good job Philly doesn’t discard her jewellery at the rate you do, or I’d never have found you.”
Biting her lip, she gave me a guilty look. “It was because of the bangle that Liam found me, but I am sorry.”
“You were proving a point,” I scowled, frustrated at her date with Mark.
“Yes, I was. You hurt me, Harry.”
I nodded and sighed. “I know. But you have to understand, I am not in a relationship with Ann. Yes, I should have told you about the pregnancy, but there was so much going on in your life that I didn’t want to add to it.”
She shrugged but finally smiled. “I know. Just no more secrets.”
“No more secrets,” I agreed.
“You know, we should do this more often.” She relaxed back once again when I lathered up the sponge and ran it across her shoulders and over her chest. “You make an excellent slave, Mr Cole.”
Gripping her chin in my fingers, I turned her head, so she was facing me. “I think you have this role reversal the wrong way around, Miss Cooper.” I frowned at the twist in my chest when I called her by her name. She was so utterly beautiful, both inside and out. I knew, in that moment, that I would protect her as long as I drew breath. I wanted to wrap her in cotton wool and protect her from this cruel world, but I knew, the stubborn woman she was, that would be impossible.
“Marry me.” It was out of my mouth before my brain even had a chance to process the thought.
We both stared wide-eyed at each other, both of us not entirely sure we’d heard the words correctly.
“What?”
Shrugging at my own doubts, I chuckled, unable to hold back the excitement. “So long as I breathe, I will shelter you from this merciless life, Lily. I’ll lift you up with every fucking hurdle you have to leap over. I’ll hold your hand through the bad times, and I’ll caress every moment of perfection this world can offer you. I want to celebrate with you, I want to cry with you, and I want to share every single minute of the time I have left with you.”
“There it is again,” she choked out, her beautiful eyes glistening in the soft light.
“What?”
“The side of you that never ceases to astound me.”
She blew out a breath and sat up, the sloshing water the only sound in the silence. I couldn’t dare to hope when she cupped her hand on my cheek. Her soft gaze adored me with the way she looked at me, and when a small smile lifted her perfect lips, I felt my soul leap. “Yes, Mr Cole.”
“Yes?”
“Yes.”
Crushing her mouth under mine, she gasped when I pulled her over the side of the bath, tumbling us both to the bathroom floor.
“My bloody ribs, you oaf!” she grumbled under my kiss.
“Oh, shut up, you’re a tough bird.”
“How fucking rude!” She scowled at me.
I chuckled darkly. “Oh, why, dear fiancé, you have no idea how fucking rude I can be.”
Quirking an eyebrow, she poked me in the chest. “Then you need to show me.”
“Is that a challenge?”
“Mm-hmm,” she nodded slowly.
Scooping her into my arms, I carried her across the hallway to my bedroom and laid her on the bed, mindful of every single bruise that did nothing to mar her exquisite beauty.
She watched me as I removed my clothes. The way she bit her lip and her eyes blazed with greed, had me hurrying.
Gently turning her over, I pushed at her knees, so she was on all fours, and before she could fight me, I rimmed her ass with my tongue. “I think it’s about time I possessed all of you, Lily Cooper.”
“Eh?”
I stifled a laugh and didn’t explain myself further as I reached into the bedside drawer and grabbed a tube of lube.
“Oh, fuck!” she mumbled when I tickled her clit with the tip of my tongue.
She rolled her hips, manoeuvring my mouth to where she wanted. I couldn’t help but smirk at her brazenness. She’d learn.
“Harry!” She panted when I slowly dipped a finger inside her. She was so wet I couldn’t resist plunging my tongue inside to taste her, but, she jolted when, applying a liberal amount of lube to my finger, I teased her arse. “Relax, baby. I won’t hurt you.”
“Will it… will it feel good?”
“So good,” I promised.
“Okay,” she whispered as I turned her around to face me.
“Let’s do this the easy way.” Laying back, I smeared my cock with more lube and motioned for her to straddle me. Dutifully she did as I bid and rested each thigh either side of me. Locking her gaze with mine, I smiled to encourage her. “Whatever feels right, baby.”
She nodded, but, grabbing my cock, she positioned it perfectly against her ass.
“Slowly, Lily.”
Locking my gaze, she lowered herself onto me inch by inch. “Oh, Jesus. Fuck,” she muttered as she sank down.
I had to pierce my lip with my teeth at how tight she was. I wasn’t going to last, but I had to make this feel good for her, so sitting upright, I circled her nipple with my tongue, teasing her senses so she could focus on something other than the pain.
Gradually she started to move on me. Her features were tight, and I watched her as pleasure began to override the pain.
“Oh my God,” she growled, speeding up. She rode me harder, chasing her orgasm as her nails dug into my chest. She was hungry for pleasure, almost savage in the way she took me.
The ecstasy in her eyes had me meeting every plunge with an upward thrust, filling her and stretching her wide. I knew, as long as I lived, that this woman, and the way she looked at me right now, would be the axis of my world. She would be beside me through thick and thin and hold my hand for everything life threw at us.
“Harry!” She cried out as her climax took over every fibre of her glorious body and she convulsed around me.
Clutching her, I joined her euphoria and spilt into her, our synchronised breathing joining us together in a different way.
“Bloody hell,” she gasped. She looked at me with so much emotion that I wondered if I’d hurt her.
“You okay, Lily?” I asked, worried by the way she stared at me incredulously.
Her features relaxed, and she smiled at me with so much adoration, I swore my soul got down on its knees and worshipped her.
Running the tip of her finger down the length of my nose, she pressed her forehead to mine. She didn’t have to say anything, it was right there in her gaze, but as always, she replied, “Aye, aye, Cap’n.”