Besieged (31 page)

"Yeah, but men are arseholes and Cat's young and naive. I don't want to see her fucked over." He says sincerely.

I stare at him in the darkness of the car. "You two seem really close." I whisper.

"We are. Like I said, our mother was never around much. We only had each other. William and I were always competitive, so we weren't that close, but Cat's always been everything to me." The tenderness in his voice makes my chest squeeze. He sounds so much like Harry.

"Me and my brother are exactly the same." I say. "He pretty much raised me."

"You don’t talk about your family much." He says softly. Oh shit.

"I told you, my dad died in a car accident and my Mother's, well I wish she was dead, put it that way." I try to keep my tone short, unopen to questioning. “Harry’s my best friend, my brother…my saviour.” I whisper.

"So you don’t see your mother or talk to her?"

"No. I hate her." I'm curt, but I don't want to talk about that woman.

“Lilly…” He rubs his hand over his face. “I don’t want to pry, but something’s been bugging me for a while.” Oh god, where is this going? “Do you remember that night at Allure when I pulled you into that alley and you had a panic attack?”

I don’t answer him, only nod. “And then again after the Rosemary Trust function, and then that nightmare.” I sigh. Yep, this is not going to go well.

He turns away from me and looks straight out the windscreen. “What happened to you?” He whispers.

“I…” What can I tell him? Shit think Lilly, think. “I told you before, I have a bad past.”

He focuses on me again. “You never tell me anything about you.” He’s trying to be careful but I can sense his under lying frustration.

“I’ve told you everything about me. I just haven’t told you about my past, because that’s exactly what it is, the past. It doesn’t define me.” I don’t want him to feel hurt by this, but my sordid past is not something that I want to taint my present and my future. I take his hand. “Just trust me when I say you’re better off not knowing. Please?”

He studies me for a long time. His fingers brush my cheek and I can just make out his pained expression. I turn and kiss his palm. “Okay.” He whispers.

"Thank you." I whisper. He nods, but says nothing.

We go back to Theo's house. As soon as we get in I decide to take a shower.

Theo unzips my dress and places a soft kiss between my shoulder blades. "I just need to send an email. I'll be back in a minute."

"Okay" I respond as I step out of my dress.

The water in the shower is scalding hot, just how I like it. It burns my skin pleasantly, bringing it almost to the point of pain, but not quite. I wash my hair with Theo's shampoo, the distinctive citrus scent always reminds me of him. My eyes are closed, rinsing the shampoo away when his warm body slides up against mine.

He brushes his fingers across my cheek before kissing me softly, almost delicately. His touch is soft and careful. I grip the back of his neck and press my lips to his hard, his response is not the usual fire I’m used to.

I sigh. “Theo, don’t treat me like I’m breakable.” I growl. I kiss him again, running my tongue across his lip. His hands wind into my hair as he kisses me back fiercely.  He releases my lips and takes one of my nipples in his mouth, sucking hard. I moan at the sensation.

The look on his face is lust and burning desire, but also adoration. My hands explore the deeply etched lines of his torso. I run my hands down his sides until they reach the cut guidelines and trace them down until I reach his erection.

I grasp him in my hand and he moans against my lips. The water runs down my body, peaking off of my nipples and splashing down his stomach. He moans as I kiss him and slip my tongue inside his mouth. I Kiss my way down his chest and down over his stomach until I'm knelt in front of him. I take his hard cock in my mouth, flicking my tongue over the end. I suck and lick him, devouring him. He braces himself against the wall and groans. I take him as deep as I can, until I almost gag. He sucks in a sharp intake of breath. "Fuck." He growls before grasping the tops of my arms and pulling me to my feet.

He spins me and pushes me roughly up against the wall. My chest presses against the cool tiles making me gasp as my nipples stiffen. The contrast of the cold wall and the hot water heightens my senses. He presses his chest up against my back, wrapping his arms around me tightly. One hand trails down the front of my stomach. He rubs my clit, making me moan and I throw my head back against his shoulder.

"I'm going to fuck you so hard you won't be able to walk tomorrow." He growls in my ear. Oh god, I love it when he's rough like this. I love that I can drive him to this. He places a thigh between my legs and pushes my legs apart. The pressure on my clit increases, making me clench deliciously. My whole body shudders as I cry out. He slams into me just as my orgasm rips through me and holy shit.

"Ah, fuck." He groans as my body clenches around him, pulling him deeper.

He grabs my hips and slams into me. My palms are pressed against the wall, braced against the onslaught.

He pulls me back a step away from the wall before pushing my back down so I'm bent over in front of him. The water cascades over my back. He pumps into me, growling in his frenzy. He grabs my hair, wrapping it around his hand and pulling my head back. My back bows and he slips even deeper inside me.

I cry out as I start to tremble. "Not yet sugar." He says.

He folds his body over mine and kisses my back. He grabs both of my shoulders, pulling me back against him.

"Oh god, I'm going to come." I moan. He picks up his pace and I explode around him. My insides tremble and shudder. I cry out as he growls and then stiffens behind me.

He pulls me up and leans back against the wall, holding me against him. We're both breathing heavily.

"Wow." That's all I manage to say. He laughs before pressing a kiss into the side of my neck.

The next morning I'm woken up by my phone ringing. I check the clock as I reach for it. Who the hell is calling at nine on a Sunday? I quickly answer it as a creep out of the room and into the hallway. Theo stirs but doesn't wake up.

"Hello?" I rasp in a sleepy voice.

"Miss Parker?" A very formal female voice asks.

"Speaking."

"Miss Parker it's Detective Harwood here." My stomach bottoms out.

"Oh, hi."

"Sorry to call on a Sunday but I thought you should know immediately...We've had a DNA match for your attacker. He was arrested after another attack last night."

"Um...Okay." I whisper.

"Are you okay?" She sounds concerned.

"I'm fine. That's good news." I rasp.

"It is. I'll keep you posted on court dates. The case should be pretty water tight, but if you have legal representation then do tell them. They can contact us if they wish to obtain evidence."

"Um, yeah, sure. Thanks for letting me know." I whisper.

"Of course. I'll be in touch." Then she hangs up. My knees buckle and I slide down the wall. The cold of the wooden floor bites into my bare thighs as I fall in a heap. I bring my knees to my chest and pull Theo's oversized T-shirt over them. I wrap my arms around my shins and rest my chin on my knees holding myself together. I feel numb. This should be a good thing, but right now it's just a shock. I've pushed it so far from my mind for so long. Tried to pretend it didn't happen, along with all the other shit in my life and now it's right there, staring me in the face. I fix my stare on a painting hanging on the wall opposite. It's a scene of a lake with a small rowing boat drifting across it. Everything about it seems so serene. I try and absorb it's serenity and calm my panicked state.

The door clicks open beside me, but I don't turn to look at him.

"Lilly?" He crouches down beside me and strokes my hair softly. "What's wrong?" I swallow hard. I open my mouth to respond but no words will come out. "Lilly you're scaring me. You're as white as a sheet." He holds my face, forcing me to look at him. His eyebrows pinch together, his beautiful deep blue eyes etched with concern.

"I'm fine." I manage to whisper. He searches my face. I won't lie to him, but I'm not ready to tell him this. I need a few days to get my head around it. It feels like I’m keeping so much from him, but its better this way.

Without a word he hooks his arms underneath me and picks me up off the floor. I sink into his chest, taking comfort in his warmth.

He puts me back in the bed and crawls behind me, pulling me back against him. He strokes my hair over and over, soothing me.

"Whatever it is, we'll deal with it." He whispers. He wouldn't be able to guess in a million years what the problem is. He's probably panicking thinking I'm pregnant or something. This is so much worse. I've seen the way people react when I've told them my story before, even trained professionals. Their reaction is pity, they see me as a victim. It makes me sick to my stomach. The one person I couldn't bear to have look at me like that is Theo.

Theo wakes me up later in the morning. He sits on the edge of the bed wearing a T-shirt and sweats, holding a cup of coffee. His hair is messy and catches the light streaming through the window. I smile at his ridiculous beauty. His lips pull into a heart stopping smile, making my heart flutter. I grab the front of his shirt and pull him down to me. He kisses me softly. I run my nails over the back of his neck, inhaling his fresh citrus scent.

"Hmm, I think I'll keep you. You're a very nice alarm clock." He smiles against my lips, before dipping his head and kissing down my neck.

"I would happily wake up next to you every morning." His tongue traces a line to the edge of my jaw. I small moan escapes me as I wrap my arms around him, pinning him to me.

His hands run up over my thighs. "Very happily." He chuckles before pulling back away from me.

"Where do you think you're going?" I whine.

He laughs. "Well we are eager this morning." He smiles that perfect, dripping in sex smile.

I raise an eyebrow. "Don't look at me like that unless you’re prepared to do something about it." I grumble.

"I will most definitely do something about it, but first I have a surprise for you. Get dressed." He kisses my forehead before standing.

"This had better be really bloody good." I grumble.

"Oh it is."

"Better than you naked and on top of me on a Sunday morning?" I raise an eyebrow. He just laughs before leaving the room.

Theo is waiting for me in the hallway when I open the bedroom door. He hands me something. I open my hand and plastic fob.

"What's this?" I frown down at the object.

"Why don't you go outside and see." He steps aside as I move to the front door. I look down at the fob again and notice the little silver trident against the black plastic. My eyes dart to his. "Oh my god you didn't?!"

I yank the front door open and there in the driveway is the midnight blue Maserati. The number plate: L1LLY. I squeal and turn to find Theo stood right behind me.

"You brought it all the way from Italy?"

"Well, you two seemed rather attached, so I had her shipped over. She's all yours." He smiles widely.

"Theo!" I slap his chest lightly. "You cannot give me a car!" I whine. "Especially not that car. I mean it's sooo nice." I look longingly at it.

He laughs. "I only use it when I’m in Italy. And I would donate a hundred cars just to put that smile on your face." He brushes his knuckles across my cheek.

"But it's a ridiculous amount of money to gift someone."

"You're not just someone, you're the one Lilly. I'd lay the world at your feet to make you happy." Oh my god, how the hell did I end up with this man. Any day now something is going to happen and he'll disappear in a puff of smoke.

"You're good." I raise an eyebrow and smile at him.

He leans in and kisses me. "I know." He murmurs against my lips.

"Want to go for a drive? Christen the inside?" I giggle.

"Sure." He flashes his sexy little wry smile.

Best weekend ever!

Chapter 21 – Theo

I wake up to the loud buzzing of a phone vibrating against a surface. I groan and reach over the bedside table in search of it.

"Hey." Lilly's sleepy voice breaks off the hideous sound.

"What! How?" She sounds panicked. There's a long pause. "Yeah I guess...Okay, thanks for calling babe. I'll look now." She puts the phone back on the bedside table and leans down to pull an Ipad out of her bag beside the bed.

"What's wrong?" I ask her.

"That was Molly, apparently we're all over every gossip site there is, as an official couple." She mumbles. She taps the screen a few times before turning it towards me.

The page is titled: Ellis' New Squeeze.

There are three pictures. The first is a picture of Lilly and I at the Rosemary Trust fund raiser. We're dancing, her back is to the camera and my face is pressed into her neck in a clearly intimate way, my arms are wrapped around her. The second is of me holding open the door of the Aston for her, and the third is of us outside the opera in Rome. She looks smoking.

"You look hot Sugar." I kiss her shoulder and flick my tongue teasingly along her skin. She slaps my chest gently.

"This is serious Theo. They know who I am." She looks upset.

"Don't panic." I take the tablet from her and read the article.

It appears that our very own millionaire playboy Theodore Ellis has finally settled down. He's previously been romantically linked to Darcy Lorell, Tina Cortilla and Nancy Porter, but never in an official capacity.

He arrived dateless last weekend as he attended the Rosemary trust fundraiser. However once inside the event he was quickly spotted with the same red head he's been seen with several times over the last month. Sources have confirmed that the pair are in fact an item. So who exactly is the woman that has managed to capture the ever elusive Theodore Ellis I hear you say. Based on her looks you’d think perhaps a model? Wrong.  Sources have confirmed her as Lilly Parker, a solicitor for Florell and Simmons. Yes that's right brains and beauty, but we wouldn't expect anything less from the woman dating Britain’s most notorious ladies’ man. One thing’s for sure, they make a sickeningly good looking couple.