We’ve been underway for several hours before Lillian makes her way on deck. I can tell she’s been crying as she heads toward me. I open my arms, allowing her to walk into them, and pull her tight.

“We have to go back, Lincoln. As much as I want to run away and hide from who I am, I can’t. Not now. There is too much happening.”

I take Lillian’s hand and walk us to the lounge, pulling her down to sit beside me. “No, Lillian, now is not the time to head back. Now is the time to hide you and protect you. This is what Angelo wanted and what I promised I would do. I am a man of my word, baby.”

Tears run down her face faster now. “There’s been an issue back home, Linc. I have to go back.”

I quickly silence her with a kiss. Lillian fights me at first but then gives in. Her lips enjoy the dance with mine. When I break the kiss, her eyes meet mine. I can see the fire in them, but they are also marred by fear. “I know what is going on back home, baby. I know Salvatore is dead. Try not to worry, Lillian. I won’t lie to you and tell you everything will be alright, because I can’t promise that, but what I can promise is that I can protect you, and I will even if it is from yourself.”

Lillian nods her head in acknowledgment, then places it on my shoulder. “I’m scared, Linc, not just for my family but for yours. If they find out where I am and who I am with, they will come after your family. I’ll never forgive myself if anything happens to them.”

I understand her fear. It was the same fear I felt when I sat down and planned this rescue mission, but Lillian is worth it. I put measures into place to ensure additional security. The Eastwick name comes with top security to protect them and their assets. Carolyn and her husband live on base. I’ll never worry about her and her kids. But Bethany and Peanut only have me, so before I left, I ensured there was added security for her. I understood the risks. Angelo made it clear to me before he agreed to release Lillian into my protection.

“Right now, baby, I’m going to feed you, and then I’m going to run you a hot bath, and you are going to relax and think of nothing else but how good it feels to be with me, alone and away from the drama that is unfolding in New York.”

I feel the rise and fall of her chest against me. The arm wrapped around my waist tightens as she pulls me closer to her. “Just hold me, Linc. I feel so safe when your arms are around me.”

I let my hand slide up and down her back, comforting her and letting her know I am here for her. When her sobs subside and her breathing evens out, I reach down, take her face in my hands, and press my cheek to hers, then whisper, “You’re safe and protected. I’ll never let anything happen to you.” Then my lips kiss her neck below her ear. She trembles in my arms, causing my dick to harden. It knows what it wants: To be buried deep inside her.

David appears from the galley, a tray in his hands with two glasses of wine, cheese, crackers, fruit, and thinly-sliced prosciutto. He places the tray on the table in front of us, and I reach, grabbing a glass of wine for each of us. Lillian takes her glass from my hand, bringing it to her lips and sipping slowly. When she pulls the glass away, she licks her bottom lip. I growl with desire, anxious to taste her. I reach out, placing my finger on her bottom lip, pushing slightly down. Lillian’s tongue darts out, licking the tip of my finger, sending a jolt of lightning down my spine and making my length harden even more.

We look into each other’s eyes, neither of us wavering. Lust, heat, and desire burn within us. Her eyes mirror what I assume mine look like. Lillian’s crashes her lips against mine, forcing her tongue between my lips. My hands grip her hips, pulling her onto my lap. Lillian’s center grinds along my shaft as the intensity of our kiss grows.

Unable to control myself any longer, I stand with her in my arms. Her legs wrap tightly around my waist as I walk us out to the deck and lay her down on an oversized lounger. The light from the moon shines down on her, shadowing her body with just the right amount of light to make me want her more. She’s beautiful, her mahogany hair glistening around her head. As I stand there looking at her, her fingers begin to unbutton the shirt she is wearing. When the last button is freed from its hole, Lillian raises off the lounge, tossing her shirt to the floor. Her eyes dart to mine, daring me to claim her.

“What do you want, babe?” I need to hear her say the words.

“You, Linc. I want you.” Lillian shivers as she says the words. “I want your hands and mouth on my body, driving me crazy with desire.”

Lillian doesn’t have to ask me twice. I strip my shirt from my body and lie atop her, pressing our skin together. Lillian wiggles beneath me, trying to grasp a little friction on her pussy as she rubs it against my length. “You want my cock, baby? Just say the word, and I’ll give it to you.”

“Yes, oh God, yes, I want it.” The words tremble from her lips.

Her words resonate in my soul, something I’ll never get tired of hearing. My lips brush against her neck lightly as I nibble across her collarbone and down to the top of her breast. My hand glides up from her waist. The feel of her skin beneath my palm only excites me more. I squeeze lightly once her breast is in my hand, my teeth grabbing at her nipple at the same time.

“Yes, yes, yes.” Lillian’s soft cries of desire fill the evening air. I restrain from taking her right here in the moonlight because I know that tonight, tonight needs to be about her and not my desire or wants. Lillian needs the release, to let go of everything that has festered inside her since we left New York, and as much as I’m dying to sink balls deep into her, I won’t.

“Tell me, baby, do you want my mouth on that cunt of yours, my fingers inside you, or both?”

“I want everything, Linc. Don’t make me think anymore. Please, just let me feel.”

Letting her feel is exactly what I do. I move to the end of the lounger, reach up to unfasten her jeans, and tug them down her legs. Navy blue and black Agent Provocateur Clancie briefs hide the prize I’m looking for. Yes, those briefs are sexy as hell. If I weren’t so desperate to get what lies behind them, I’d ask her to stand and model them for me. Instead, I rip them to shreds with my bare hands. Lillian’s mouth opens, but before she can speak, I tell her, “Don’t say a word. I’ll buy you ten more pairs. Just relax, baby, close your eyes and feel.” My tongue makes one long swoop between her legs before my lips tighten around her nub and I begin to suck. I let two fingers slide inside her, her hips rising off the lounger as she moans. Slowly, I tease her clit with my tongue while my fingers plunge in and out. I make sure to pay special attention to that little bundle of nerves inside her. I know I’ve found her spot when she begins to tremble beneath me.

“Oh God, Linc. Stop, please stop. I can’t take it. It feels too good.”

I let go of her clit briefly. “Not going to happen, baby,” I say. “You can beg all you want, but it isn’t going to happen.”

Her first orgasm comes with her screaming out my name, but I don’t let up. “Come on, baby. Give me one more,” I tell her, her legs shaking as my lips make their way up her body to find her mouth. I plunge my tongue inside, letting her taste herself. To me, she tastes like heaven.

It isn’t long before Lillian’s body surrenders to another release, but I still don’t give in. No, I may give her cunt some reprieve, but she isn’t getting off that easily. My teeth find her nipple, and I bite lightly, causing Lillian to cry out. My mouth finds hers as I silence her moans. My free hand massages her other breast as her hands tug at my hair, forcing my head harder against her. I growl at the pain that only pushes my own desire higher. My hand once more finds its way to her pussy, thrusting three fingers inside her this time. Immediately, Lillian’s body rises off the lounger, sending her over the edge once again.

I watch her face as she rides out her orgasm. Contentment and exhaustion mar her beauty.

I stand and walk toward the salon. “Where are you going?” Lillian asks.

“To get you a blanket, baby.” When I return, Lillian is half asleep. I cover her with a blanket, then lift her legs and sit, placing them in my lap once more. My fingers stroke her arm as I tilt my head up toward the sky and close my eyes.