Gilded Lily (17 page)

Tony continued to grin like a cat that’d eaten a bird. He didn’t attempt to cover anything; instead he folded his arms behind his head and laughed.

“I’m sorry if I’ve interrupted your…day,” Adam said as he fidgeted with the envelope.

The flimsy brim on the hat shadowed part of her face, but he could still see her ripe cheeks had been touched by the sunlight. He inhaled the scent of coconut sunscreen. A shiny sparkle caught his attention. He squinted in the sunlight. A thin silver chain hung from a thick leather collar surrounding her supple neck. He followed the shiny links to where the end pooled beside Tony. The dainty chain was laced between his fingers. Tony gloated.

The lucky son of a bitch.

“I see you got your invitation,” Tony said as he nodded toward Adam’s hand.

“Oh, yeah.” Adam pulled his attention from the sparkling metal. “I wanted to know what she meant by ‘costume.’”

“Well, poppet?” Tony gave a gentle tug on the chain. Lily snapped her head up.

Lily raised her chin, showing Adam her sun-kissed face. She wasn’t running away. Her confident stare let him know she wasn’t ashamed. She shifted her weight and sat back on her heels as Tony gave another tug on the chain. Adam watched as Lily slightly pulled away from the tiny links.

She squirted a generous amount of sunscreen onto her hands. “It means costume,” she murmured as she smoothed the lotion between her palms.

Adam knelt down on the other side of Tony to get a better view of her face. “I know what a
costume
is, sweetheart.” He reached over Tony and tipped the brim of the large hat so he could see her face. “What kind of costume would you like for me to wear?”

“One that conceals your identity.” She snickered.

He gave her a sarcastic grin. “Most costumes do.”

His smile eased as she turned her attention to Tony’s naked body resting between them. Tony lay, eyes closed, as Lily and Adam bantered back and forth.

“I mean one that will cover your body and hide anything that would reveal who you really are. Like hiding enough of you to leave the rest open to mystery,” she said and spread her sunscreen-coated fingers over Tony’s awaiting erection. Tony gave a gasp and raised his hips off the blanket to meet her touch.

Adam watched Tony’s body strain as Lily milked the thick shaft. God, he wanted to be the one lying there. Without thinking, he reached over Tony and pulled Lily toward him. She tumbled onto Tony’s hard chest.

Tony grunted, then laughed.

Adam took no time in claiming Lily’s mouth with his own. He sank his tongue deep between her soft lips. For a moment he feared she wouldn’t give in to him, but he was relieved when she melted against him, teasing the inside of his mouth with her delicate tongue.

“Touch him for me,” Adam whispered against her trembling lips.

Lily leaned back, eyes wide with disbelief. She grasped Tony’s stiff cock and massaged the generous length. The urgency to feel what Tony was feeling hit him like a freight train, and he fumbled, trying to unfasten his cargo shorts. Finally, after getting the damn button undone and zipper down, he tugged the shorts and underwear down at the same time.

His breath hitched when his cock bobbed free and slapped against his waist. He peeked down at Tony’s cock, feeling like a total jerk for checking out the guy’s junk, but how could he not? It was right there in front of him. The two looked so similar, his being slightly longer and Tony’s a little thicker.

Adam planted a knee on the other side of Tony’s leg to get closer to Lily’s hand.

He flinched when she wrapped her slick fingers around his aching cock. She had a firm pressure that was in perfect time with each long stroke. Tony grunted as Adam groaned. Lily pulled on his cock and wrapped her hand around Tony’s.

Tony raised his head to rest on his crooked arm. Both men knew someone had to give in first. Adam wanted to hold out a while longer. It felt too damn good.

“Fuck, poppet, I’m gonna come,” Tony groaned with a clenched jaw. The white cream oozed down Lily’s pumping hand as Tony strained his neck back, letting her stroke the last of his seed as it sprayed across his lower abdomen.

The pull in Adam’s groin got tighter. Adam was surprised that watching his cock so close to Tony’s turned him on so much. He went from hot to scorching in a matter of seconds. Tony sat up so Adam could get closer to Lily. As soon as Tony was out of the way, Adam pulled Lily against his chest, cradling her warm skin in his arms. Her fist pumped up and down between their bodies, forcing Adam’s balls to tighten. He wanted to kiss her, to hug her, to throw her down on the blanket and sink into her wet pussy.

“Oh, God, Lily. Oh, God…I’ve got to come.” Adam leaned back and watched her hand working.

Tony reached out to place his hand on top of Lily’s.
What the fuck?
Adam started to pull away, but Lily held him tight. He was too close not to finish. Tony tightened the grip on top of Lily’s small hand, increasing the friction sliding along his dick. Tony’s hand was so much bigger and hugged more of his length.

Adam watched as Tony’s hand moved off Lily’s and took the root while Lily’s delicate hand worked the head. Within seconds Adam couldn’t hold it any longer. He spurted hot cum all over Lily’s breasts and neck. His abdominal muscles spasmed as he let out a deep moan. The intense peak seemed to last forever as he pumped into their hands.

“Goddamn, man!” Adam yelled as soon as he caught his breath. “Why in the fuck did you do that?” Adam’s stomach rolled with anger, mistrust, and, most of all, confusion.

“Adam…” Lily coaxed.

Adam tried to slow his breathing as he glared at Tony.

“Adam? He did it for me.”

Tony leaned back and propped himself up on his elbows, never taking his eyes off Adam. He’d better not look away, Adam thought. He was still deciding if he was going to beat the hell out of the guy. Either way, the tension was obviously making Lily very uneasy. Adam glanced over at Lily, who was staring at her cum-soaked breasts. She took a deep breath. Adam looked away and continued to stare at Tony.

“Please, Adam. Don’t be angry,” she pleaded. “It’s my fault. Tony knew it had been a long time and he wanted to please me.”

Adam finally took his attention from Tony and looked at her. Her eyes were brimming with tears. He softened his voice. “Lily, I’m sorry.” He tried to reach for her, but she pulled away. “I’ve never… I mean, I’m not—”

“That’s okay,” she whispered as she started to stand up. Tony gave a yank on the thin chain, and she tumbled onto his muscled chest.

“Poppet,” Tony said as he wiped the tears that were streaming down her cheeks. “He’s never done that before. You can’t expect him to open up to it the first time. The way he responded doesn’t mean what you think.”

Adam pulled his shorts up and listened to what Tony was saying. A nauseated feeling filled Adam’s stomach as he realized what Renee had been talking about. Lily had special desires, and he’d failed her at the first attempt of her trying to show him. He was pissed off at Tony for touching him, but he was more pissed off that he’d liked it.

“Please, Tony, let me go.”

Tony shortened the slack on the chain, and Adam caught a glimpse of Tony brushing his lips against her mouth. “Give him a chance,” he said.

“Please, Tony,” Adam heard her say. “It’s just not meant to be.”

Adam snatched the wide-brimmed hat off her head. “Listen to me, will you?”

Lily turned to face him with her hands clinging to Tony’s chest.

“I don’t know what is happening to me, but I sure as hell know I’m not ready to throw in the towel yet. So don’t you either.”

Lily eased her grip.

“Lily, I’ve never had another man—you know—touch me like that. Fuck, I didn’t know straight guys did that.” Adam plopped down on the grass, defeated. “Give me a chance to discover what it is you want from me.” He ran his fingers through his disheveled bangs.

“It’s okay, Adam.” Tony’s deep voice reassured him. “The first time Lily asked me to do it, I thought I was going to puke.”

“Then what happened?”

“I found out it felt too good to pass up.” Tony smiled and smacked Lily on the ass, making her flinch.

She stretched out beside him and nestled her nose into the crevice between his neck and shoulder. Adam looked down. Tony’s cock had risen again. Lily looked so peaceful lying next to him. Adam knew he was going to have to win back her trust. She’d been afraid he wasn’t going to accept her, and he’d made that fear come true. Nick had written about her being sensitive. Adam didn’t realize how much.

“Did my brother ever…you know, with you guys?”

Lily leaned down and whispered into Tony’s ear. Tony smiled and kissed her on the forehead. Adam waited for her to say something to him, but she never did. Tony unfastened the delicate silver chain from her collar and let her stand up. Both men watched as she walked back to the house.

“I fucked up, didn’t I?” Adam asked. God, he felt like his soul was walking back to that big house.

“Not too much. She’ll come around. The first time she asked Keith—” Adam didn’t remember Nick mentioning a
Keith
in any of his letters. He must have given Tony a fierce look, because Tony was quick to explain. “Her ex, Keith, was Lily’s fiancé before I ever came into the picture. He wanted Lily in counseling after she told him what she liked in bed. It took a lot of courage for her to pour her heart out like that, and the bastard made her go to a shrink. He wouldn’t discipline her either. It took my poppet down a dark road. She needs guidance with a firm hand. When she doesn’t have a strong partner, she spins out of control. By the time I got to her, she was working sixty-plus hours a week, eating only junk food on the run, and had chronic insomnia. She’s had trouble sleeping ever since her grandmother died. I think that she stopped going to the therapist because he was forcing her to open up about such a tragic event in her life. It was so traumatic that I don’t even acknowledge the subject unless she brings it up first.”

Adam rubbed the back of his neck. “She went to a psychiatrist?”

Tony lay back down. “For quite a while, from what she’s told me. At least until after she and Keith split. He had her convinced something was wrong with her. Lily opened me up, Adam. I thought I was her teacher, and I quickly found out she was mine.” Tony squinted up at Adam. “Do you care about her?”

“I’ve cared about her longer than she knows.” Adam lay on his back next to Tony. “Nick’s letters were filled with stories about his Lily Flower. I guess I fell for the woman on the pages.”

“And…”

“And what? I come here to get my brother’s things and find an intriguing, stunningly sexy, and vulnerable woman.”

“And…”

“And I don’t know. God, Tony, I have to have her. I’ve never met another woman like her. She likes to fuck as much as I do; only she doesn’t do it with men. It’s like I’m in some kind of nightmare and can’t get out.” Adam gazed up at the floating clouds. It was as if they were the same ones that floated by when he and Nick would lie on the lawn, bikes tossed aside, while they argued over which cloud looked like Darth Vader and which one looked like Yoda. His smile couldn’t quite reach its potential. He wondered if it ever would again. “I never expected this to happen.”

“What to happen?” Tony asked.

“For my ideal woman to have been my brother’s girlfriend. Or lover. Or whatever in the hell she was to him.”

Tony sat up. “What do you mean, girlfriend?”

Adam folded his arms across his chest. “I just figured Nick and Lily had slept together. But Lily told me she hadn’t been with a man in a while. She even said they hadn’t been together. So I’m not sure what went on between them.”

“Adam, I think you have the wrong idea about Lily and your brother.”

“How so?”

“Did your brother ever tell you about the people he dated?”

“Sure. There were a couple of women several years ago, but he dated around until his letters started to concentrate on Lily. I figured they were—”

“They weren’t dating, Adam. Nick was gay.”

Adam sat straight up. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Yes, I do. Why do you think he and Lily were so close?” Tony paused, and Adam felt his gut clench. Surely Nick would’ve shared something that important with his brother.

“Holy shit.” Adam rubbed his forehead. “She would watch him fuck another guy?” Tony patted him squarely on the back. “And she loved it. So did he. Don’t be upset with your brother. It was simply his thing. We all have urges. Nicholas’s preference didn’t involve men and women, only men.”

“But he wrote about her as if he was in love with her.”

“He was. They were like kids when they were together. They spent almost every day hanging out. They were very close.” Tony rolled over onto his stomach and stretched his lean body out to its full length.

Adam tried not to watch his naked body moving to get comfortable.

“Nicholas never had the stomach for her punishments though. He’d always make some excuse to leave. Oh, he’d stay every once in a while if Lily begged him. He’s the only other person who she’s ever let in while she got disciplined physically. I mean the light punishments, of course.”

Adam tried to look away. “Renee doesn’t watch?”

“Not when I work on her. Renee gives her little marks on occasion when I’ve been out of town or something. But she’s never been invited to watch me with my poppet, and Renee is only allowed to give commands that I’ve approved.”

“I see.” Adam knew his voice was shaky. This whole scenario seemed unreal.

“Hey,” Tony reached for Adam’s hand. Surprisingly, Adam didn’t pull away. “Your brother loved you and admired you. He was a good man.”

“I know.”

Tony squeezed his hand and let go.

Adam lay back onto the ground next to Tony’s sprawled-out figure. “Did you and Nick ever…”

“No. We messed around a little, but nothing too involved. We’re both dominants. It didn’t work.”

Adam couldn’t believe he was discussing this with another man, and rationally at that. “How did Lily come to like watching men together?”

“I don’t know. It’s part of her.”