Chapter Two
Shepherd’s pie, a simple yet truly English dish. Lily held her breath as everyone dived in. Her father glared daggers at her, along with Stephanie and her mother. She didn’t have the first clue at what she’d done wrong, but from the nasty looks, it would leave a bitter taste in anyone’s mouth.
“Pass me the wine, Lily,” Stephanie demanded. Swallowing against the lump in her throat, she passed the bottle of wine and cringed at the cheap brand. She noticed as Wayne sent a stern look at her family. What had she missed?
“Who taught you to cook?” Wayne interrupted the tense silence. He directed the question at her.
For the past few days, he’d been staying with them. He was the only one who tried to include her in the conversation.
“Why, is it bad?”
“No, it’s really good.”
“Oh,” she whispered. The dinner continued in tense silence until Lily moved to collect the dishes.
“Put those down, Lily. Stephanie can handle those. Would you join me in the study with Wayne and your mother.” A command not a question from her father.
“Excuse me, but what am I supposed to do?” Her sister fumed.
“Put them in the sink, add hot water, and rinse them. Easy and simple, so you should enjoy it,” Wayne said. He followed behind Lily.
A giggle erupted from Lily before she could stop, and she clamped a hand over her mouth. “Does she even know where the sink is?” he asked, and the giggle came forth once again.
This shouldn’t be right. She shouldn’t find him funny. She hated him, didn’t she? Confused by her own thoughts, she followed all three, silent. They entered her father’s study. The one place in the house she despised more than others was her fathers study. The room stank of superiority, and it made her stomach turn with sickness. She eased down to sit on the edge of the seat and looked at her father. When she was called to this room, it was usually to receive a punishment for some crime or other she’d committed. Would he punish her for simply breathing? Lily was shocked to see Wayne stand behind her father, staring out of the window. Even her mother stayed clear of the power of the desk. Wayne’s lack of fear caused her to relax a little. Only a little. This was her family, and she knew what they were capable of.
“Lily, I don’t know if you’re aware, but our family has fallen on hard times,” her father said. Did the man think she was thick? She may not have attended university like her sister and the rest of them, but she still excelled in school. Cheeky bastard.
The desire to go “well, duh” was strong but she held her tongue. Lily had no desire for Wayne to see the way her father treated her for running her mouth.
“Well, these hard times have come to a head, and Mr. Brown here has offered to help.”
“Oh, for fuck sake, she’s twenty-one-years-old. She knows what’s going on for crying out loud.” Wayne turned to the room, glared at her father, scolding the man who still scared her, and then settled his gaze on her. “There’s no money. Your father squandered the entire fortune passed down through generations of your family. The house is up for auction. The valuables inside will be pawned, anything to make a profit on this place. To put it frankly, Lily, the amount of debt is higher than anything you own.”
Licking her lips, she glanced down at her hands clasped together. The news was worse than anything she could have imagined.
“What will happen?” The sea of uncertainty was unbearable for her to think about.
“You’ll be kicked out onto the street. Do you have any work experience?” he asked. Lily shook her head. The only thing she could do was cook. The other thing was for her private pleasure, and no one would take it away from her.
“I figured as such. Anyway, I’ll let you continue telling her the outcome, George.” Wayne didn’t go back to studying the gardens but sat in a chair off to her left. She could see him if she turned her head slightly.
“Wayne has offered us a solution. He’ll pay off all of our debts and keep us in a life of reasonable comfort, providing we live within our boundaries.”
“Well that’s nice,” she said. Nothing so wonderful came without a price.
“But there is a condition. A condition which concerns you, Lily.” Okay, not the direction she was expecting.
“What can I do?”
“Marriage, Lily.”
“What?”
“Wayne will pay all of our debts and write everything off. Our name will remain firm but with the exception of your hand in marriage.”
Had she stepped into an alternative universe?
“No, I can’t do it.”
Lily got up from her chair and moved away from the group. Her hands were shaking. “Can’t you just agree to pay the debt, and we’ll pay you back?” she asked him.
“How will you do that? With buttons?”
“What you’re suggesting is barbaric and old-fashioned.” Caged in the tiny study was too much. She ran shaky fingers through her hair.
“There is only one solution here. Marry me and I’ll make your life worth living. Don’t and I leave today and won’t come back,” Wayne warned.
“Leave then.”
“George, Wayne, leave me alone with my daughter.” Jessica stood. The two men looked at the older woman but decided better than to argue. They left the study and once again, Lily was alone with a woman who despised her.
The full accusation of her stare levelled on her. “So you’re going to be a selfish bitch once again.”
Lily knew this was coming, the hatred for her clearly written on her mother’s face. “‘A selfish bitch?’ When have I ever been a selfish bitch?”
“Personally, I think he should have chosen Stephanie. Look at you—fat and ugly—nothing at all like your sister. I can’t believe we’re being blackmailed for a lesser woman.” Each word cut into Lily, but it wasn’t anything new. After all, her mother spent a great deal of times over the years telling Lily how much of a disappointment she’d become.
“She can have him. I want nothing to do with him,” Lily said each word even though her body told her she lied. Every time he was around, it was as if she felt him deep inside, and she didn’t want to let go. Even if she did hate him at certain points.
Her mother moved next to her. She took Lily’s chin in a vicious hold. Some time had passed since the last time she’d been up close to her mother, but she could see the aging take effect, the signs even Botox couldn’t hide. “Now listen to me, you little bitch. You’ll marry Wayne Brown, and you’ll do it with a smile on your face. You’ll fuck and play happy family with him. Don’t and we’ll all be out on our arses. Am I making myself clear?” Tears formed in Lily’s eyes, the pressure from her mother’s grip started to take hold and hurt. “I didn’t hear clearly, Lily Jones. Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes, perfectly,” she whispered. Her mother let her go with a shove. Lily fell back and caught herself in time before she hit her face on the floor.
“Hopefully, Wayne will see the disappointment in you and shift his attention to Stephanie. Until then you’ll be the picture of acceptance.” Her mother sneered and left the room.
Lily touched her face. She felt to see if her mother had broken anything. Once she was sure, Lily slowly got to her feet.
“What are you doing on the floor?” Lily cringed when she heard his voice. Before he turned up, everything was going fine, and now, she was left with nothing but blackmail.
“I think the floor is comfortable.” She lied. Nothing about the study gave any indication of comfort.
“Witty comments. I’ve been told you have an answer for me.” Lily stood and put her back to him. She knew from the dull ache near her jaw that the marks would resemble her mother’s touch, and like every other time, shame built inside her. She needed to keep the marks hidden. “Look at me, Lily.”
“Yes, I’ll marry you,” she said.
“Turn around, Lily,” he repeated his request.
“Why?”
“I want to see the face of the woman I’m going to marry.”
Lily took a deep breath before she turned to face him. He gasped, and instantly, her hand went to her face. The marks weren’t that bad, surely.
“Why me?” she asked.
The marks didn’t matter. What she was going through didn’t matter but this did.
“What are you talking about? Who did this to your face?” He came over and reached out to touch her. He didn’t lay a finger on her. Her flinch kept him away.
“I’m not Stephanie. You could have any number of girls. Stephanie would be more than willing to be anything you want. Why me? I’m not good—” She stopped, unable to bear the years of hurt brought by the people who were supposed to love her the most. Ironic really, the amount of pain family could produce.
“Stephanie isn’t you.”
“She’s pretty and slim.”
“I don’t want to fuck a bag of bones.”
Lily gasped. His words were crude, vulgar, and strangely erotic. “There is no need for that. I get it. You want me to fuck. Fuck the fat Jones girl, is that it? Take one for the team?” She started to shout, and the tears she’d held in so long suddenly overflowed and poured down her cheeks.
“Don’t you dare talk about yourself like that,” he growled. Wayne took her in his arms and held her against his chest.
Lily pushed him away, lashing out, and hit him.
“I don’t want to marry you. I hate you and everything you stand for. I hate you,” she screamed. She raved and through it all, he let her. When she was finished and exhausted, he held her close. No words were spoken.
“You’ll marry me because I demand it. One month from today, you’ll be at the church where we decide, putting a ring on your finger, and you’ll belong for me for better or worse.”
“And if I don’t?” Lily couldn’t believe the rebellion in her. Why was she attacking the man who was prepared to give her the whole world?
“If you don’t, I’ll make your life and the life of your family a living hell. I’m a beast, Lily. You should have heard about my reputation by now. I take and take and very rarely give. Take this opportunity as the gift it is.”
Yes, she’d heard about his fierce reputation in the boardroom and the bedroom. The Beast with his face like sin, he tempted everyone and everything. Oh, the power and pleasure he could give. What would it feel like to be the one to receive such pleasure? Lily gazed up into his handsome face, struck again by the magnetic green of his eyes. She could sink into their depths without a care in the world. His lips were firm but Lily imagined they held the promise of pleasure and sweetness. The pages in magazines and papers were always prepared to dish out the latest kiss and story on Wayne and his current girlfriend. Wayne was built, his muscles showing he didn’t spend all of his time behind a desk.
“That’s blackmail,” she accused. Lily was trapped in a corner, no way to get out. Any other person would tell their family to go fuck themselves after her treatment, but she couldn’t do it couldn't leave her family high and dry after everything.
After all the insults and years of torment, she still loved them.
“It’s what I call life, sweetheart. And sometimes we have to make decisions we don’t like, so deal with it.” Wayne threw his hands up in the air and walked away.
“Can’t I have time to decide? This is too much to take in.”
“You’ve got until I walk out of the room.”
“But that’s too soon. I need time to think.” Lily moved away and faced the shelves of books. Useless material, her father didn’t even know what they possessed.
She jumped when Wayne’s hands came down on her shoulders, spinning her around. He pressed against her, trapping her between the wood and the hard length of his body.
“Life is full of hard decisions and now is the time for you to make some, Lily. Will you marry me and save your family along with this mausoleum, or will you reject me and leave your family and yourself to rot?” Lily, about to answer his question, got cut off by the position of his lips on hers in a heart stopping first kiss. Lily gasped. Before she could stop herself, Lily wrapped her arms around his neck and gave herself over to his ownership. The way her life had been for the last few years, she’d never dated many boys. Interaction of a physical nature always consisted of a peck on the cheek or a brief press of lips. Wayne wasn’t a boy but a man. Pure, dominant, and masculine. Lily moaned as his tongue pressed against her lips, seeking entrance. Without question, she opened and when her own tongue met with his, she moaned. His taste erupted on her tongue, coffee and mint exploded inside her mouth. Wayne pressed her up against the shelves. His hands intertwined with hers and locked them above her head.
Lily cried out when he moved away, and his lips travelled down to her neck. He bit into the delicate, sensitive flesh between her ear and collarbone. Heat pooled at her centre, her panties soaked with cream. She screamed as his hand landed at the apex of her thighs through her simple dress.
“You’re so fucking wet,” he said, and the noise only served to drive her arousal higher.
Taking her lips again, he kissed her, and his hand explored between her legs. Lily knew she should stop his exploration but the part of her that had laid dormant for so many years was awakening. It called out to her to let him do whatever the hell he wanted.
He pulled her summer dress out of the way. She opened her legs, inviting him in, and he pushed aside her flimsy panties. Now Lily truly knew what it was like to have a man between her thighs. His touch burned every part, and she could do nothing but stare into his eyes. One hand still trapped her own above her head, stopping her from moving away from him. She should find her voice and scream at him to back down and leave her alone, but Lily knew she wanted his touch more than she wanted to take her next breath.
“You’re burning my hand, so hot and wet.” He moaned and took her lips. He seemed addicted to her kisses already. “Tell me what you want?”
“I can’t.” Lily sobbed. Wayne's fingers teased her swollen nub, and her legs were shaking from keeping them open, unaccustomed to anything he put her through. No man had ever been between her legs, and Wayne was breaking all of her own rules.
“You can tell me to play with your pretty pussy. Tell me to let you come. Tell me you’ll marry me.”
Lily shook her head. She couldn’t do it. Marry a man she didn’t even like very much, let alone love. As a young girl, she’d promised herself to never ever allow money and position to get in the way of love. Jessica and George married for money and to further their own situations, and look where it had gotten them. Bitter, twisted, and totally broke.
“Please don’t make me do this?” she begged. Lily bit down on her lip to stop her calling out. No one would come, and she knew her family had as good as abandoned her, only satisfied in their own position.
“You’ll be mine, eventually, Lily. Give in and offer yourself to me.” To state his point, he fingered her pussy, going from her clit down to the entrance of her cunt.
Pulling one hand free from his hold, she stopped him with a hand at his wrist. “Please don’t.” If he penetrated her walls, he’d take something from her she wasn’t ready to give him—yet.
“Why are you holding back?”
“Because I don’t love you.” Lily respected him more when he didn’t push her hand aside and proceed with his invasion. He moved up, fingering her clit.
“Love is for fairy tales and saints. I don’t need your love, just your wedding finger for now.”
Wayne sounded so cruel. All of her life she craved the love and affection of her family to no avail. This man—rich, attractive, and sexually willing gave her an offer she really couldn’t refuse, but also, one she wanted to turn down with all of her heart. If she gave in and allowed him to marry her, she knew her feelings wouldn’t even settle into the equation in the future. Sex, money, and more sex would be in the cards.
How could she live a life without love?