Gilded Lily (28 page)

Adam leaned back and took her tear-streaked face into his hands. The soft kiss he pressed to her lips made the trembles vibrating through her body intensify. She let the moment imprint on her mind. The feeling of him so close, the way he said her name, the firm hold he kept her in. These were the memories she’d file away.

“Look at me. There is nothing on this earth that will ever take me away from you. Understand? Nothing.”

Lily ran the pad of her thumb over his bottom lip. “Just keep your promise.”

He kissed the tip of her thumb. “Always.”

Chapter Fifteen

The telephone’s buzzing was relentless. Lily hurried out of the bathroom, crossing the bedroom in quick strides with the still-bubbly toothbrush hanging from her mouth. “Hello,” she mumbled, hoping that it would finally be Adam’s voice on the other end of the line. For the past three weeks, every time the phone rang, her stomach sank. Adam had been away for nine weeks. Over the last few days, with no update on his status, she’d been having daily headaches that kept her resting on the couch with the drapes closed.

“Ms. Desclose?” A very cultured, masculine voice came through the phone.

She knew from the way her stomach dropped that another headache wasn’t far behind. “Yes?”

“I’m sorry to bother you so early in the morning, but I was told to call you.” The gentleman paused. “I’m Tom Stark, Adam’s father.” Lily’s heart sank as she dropped the toothbrush from her mouth. “It’s about Adam.” The tears were already falling down her cheeks. The man must have heard her weeping, because he quickly cleared his throat and continued to speak. “He’s been admitted to Mount Sinai here in New York.”

“Wh-what?” She tried to gather her thoughts. “He’s home? When?”

“About five days ago. The surgery went well. He’s awake and asking for you.”

“Is he okay? Is he?” The realization he was home and injured sank in. “How badly is he hurt?” She wiped the tears from her cheeks. “I mean, I’m on my way. I’m catching the first flight out.”

“Ms. Desclose, take your time. He’s comfortable and resting. The surgeon said he has a compound fracture to his leg. The doctors seem confident he’s going to be all right. Oh, I almost forgot—he said to have you bring his belt?”

A sweet and grateful laugh escaped her lungs. She knew her Adam was going to be okay. “You tell him I have one ready to go.” Lily sat on the window seat and smiled. “Tell him I’ll be on the first flight I can get.”

“He’ll be happy to hear that. He must be quite smitten with you from the way he was carrying on about you while he was under the pain medication. Apparently, you make a wonderful sangria.” His gentle laugh made her heart warm.

“If I may ask, what happened to him?” She wasn’t sure if she wanted to know the answer.

“All we know is he was involved in some kind of gunfire. They patched him up over there to get him home, and he made it through surgery yesterday afternoon.” Lily could hear the tears welling in the back of Mr. Stark’s throat. “We’re very lucky.”

Lily shared his sentiment. “Yes, we are. Tell him I’ll see him soon.”

“Very well.” He paused. “Ms. Desclose?”

“Please call me Lily,” she said.

“Are you the Lily Nicholas spoke of so often?”

“I am.”

“You must be pretty special to have captured the hearts of both my boys.”

“I’m not the special one, Mr. Stark. Your sons are.”

Lily hung up the phone and hurried to finish getting dressed. She called Tony to explain what had happened and she’d be going out of town. The man she loved above all others was lying in a hospital bed waiting for her. She was thankful he was alive and home. Excitement filled her belly as she sat in front of the computer and booked the noon flight to New York. By the evening she’d get to see his face and hold him in her arms again. She could hardly wait.

* * * *

“Room 2335. Take the elevator to the second floor, and it’s the wing to the right,” the woman at the reception desk said as she watched the flickering computer screen.

“Thank you.” Lily could hear the tremble as she spoke. She stopped at the restroom outside the elevators. After she took a quick look in the mirror, she reapplied her rosy shimmer lip gloss and made her way into a waiting elevator.

Stepping off the elevator, she noticed a nurses’ station with room numbers listed on the sign hanging above. She started down the right hallway labeled Surgical Unit. As she approached room 2335, she spotted a tall, handsome gentleman in his early sixties standing outside the open door. He was talking with an attractive, slender woman who looked to be somewhat younger. It was Adam’s father; she recognized him from Nicholas’s funeral. She cautiously walked up to the couple.

“Um, hello.” Lily held out her hand. In her quiet voice she introduced herself.

“Of course.” Mr. Stark’s voice carried down the hall. “My sons have good taste.”

The woman he was standing with smacked him square on the shoulder. “You’re a Neanderthal,” she teased. “Hello, Lily. I’m Charlene Madigan, Tom’s girlfriend.”

“It’s nice to meet you both.”

“Lily?” She heard Adam’s voice coming from inside the room. “Get your ass in here!”

“He’s just like his father.” Charlene smiled and patted Lily on the shoulder. “But they’re pretty charming when they want to be.”

“Yes, they are,” Lily agreed.

“Now, Lily Flower!”

Lily excused herself and stepped through the doorway to find her handsome Adam in a hospital gown, reclining in the bed. His arms were resting above his head to reveal the strong forearms she remembered. Her heart leaped, and her belly quivered. The door clicked closed behind her.

“I thought you’d forgotten about me.” She let her hands slide behind her back as she nervously bit the corner of her lip.

“Forget about you? Are you crazy?” He reached his arms out. “Come here and let me touch you.”

She approached the bed as if she were wearing the red hood and he were the wolf. The white cast on his leg was propped up on a couple of pillows. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

“You’ll hurt me more if you don’t get over here, because then I’ll have to come after you.” His devilish smile warmed her, and she couldn’t resist any longer.

She gently sat on the edge of the bed and let his steady hands explore her face. Her hands rested on the back of his, taking the scarred one to her mouth for a soft kiss.

“Ah, Lily, I missed you.”

“I missed you too. I thought about you every day.”

“Come here.” He motioned for her to rest her head on his chest. She scooted up into the bed and snuggled close to him. “You smell so good,” he mumbled through the handful of hair he had his nose buried in.

She peered up to lock his gaze. “I…love you, Adam.” There it was. She’d said it without sex, without innuendos, without hesitation or fear of rejection.

She watched as his chest stopped rising. When he took a deep breath, she realized she’d been holding her breath too. He leaned forward and pressed his lips against her cheek. The heat from his breath warmed her ear as he spoke.

“I love you too. I’ve loved you since the first time I saw your picture. I even loved you before you knew about me. You’ve been a dream, and now that I have you, I realize you’re still the dream I never want to wake up from. I love you, Lily. Always.”

He trailed gentle kisses across her cheek before his lips finally rested at the seam of her lips. He slipped his silky tongue between her lips to tease the inside of her mouth. The tension in her body melted as she released the precious control she was trying to maintain. This was what she wanted, to feel the vibrant excitement of love. To know this man loved her in return. She opened her mouth and kissed him with the passion she’d been keeping inside.

Adam was the first to pull away. Lily rested her cheek in his palm as he studied her. Normally, she would be uncomfortable with such scrutiny, but she knew her Adam was taking her in, accepting everything she could give.

“I’ve craved the taste of you ever since the day I left. Even in the desert I could swear I heard your voice, your moans, the crack of the belt on your delicate skin. Every picture I took, I saw your face on the other side of the lens.”

As she leaned in closer, she felt him wince beneath her mouth. She leaped from the bed, looking him over as if she’d injured him. “Oh, God, Adam. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you. Are you all right?”

He let out a husky laugh. “It’s okay. I’m still sore, that’s all. Now get back down here before I get up and punish you.” Lily giggled and sat back down beside him, only this time not as close. She raised the blanket.

“Looking for something?” he asked. “I can promise you there’s something under there that’s been looking for you.”

“Oh, yeah?” she teased.

Adam’s gaze turned from dreamy to lustful. “Reach down there. It won’t bite.” Adam’s lips slid into a sultry grin, making Lily’s skin feel prickly.

“Adam,” she said as she pulled back the covers, “you
have
been waiting for me.” Adam was hard as a stone. She shivered at the sight of his big cock tenting the modest hospital gown. “I thought you were sore.”

“My side is sore, not my dick.” He reached for her hand. “Now, make me feel better and give me my medicine like a good girl.”

Lily smirked and looked back over her shoulder. Someone could walk in on them at any moment. She turned back to Adam. “What about your dad? He’s right outside the door.”

“Well, I guess you’re going to have to be quiet about it then. Consider it my treatment. The nurse won’t come in if I don’t press the button. Come on. It’ll be good for me.”

Just as she uncovered the treasure that was making her salivate, a soft knock on the door was soon followed by a tall, slender woman walking in. Lily threw the blanket over Adam’s waist and stood up.

“Adam, my God! I just found out. I’m sorry I didn’t come sooner.” The woman rushed inside the room with one hand on her hip and the other pressed against her chest. “I’m sorry,” she said before skimming her gaze toward Lily’s oversize cable-knit sweater and peasant skirt. “Did I interrupt something?”

The woman’s hair was bleached blonde with soft highlights. She was strikingly beautiful with her tiny waist and long legs. Lily found herself timidly stepping away from the bed. Who was she?

“What are you doing here?” Adam finally asked.

“I’m here because I thought you were dead, and then Jake told me you broke your leg or something. So, here I am. I can see you have someone who is tending to you.” The woman, who towered over Lily’s petite height, examined her with precision. “Are you going to be his home health nurse?” the woman asked.

“Ah, I’m… I’m…” She turned to Adam as she trapped her hands behind her back.

“Well, I can come by and see to him. Adam?” The woman set her expensive leather purse on the edge of the bed. “I can bring you to my apartment if you need someplace to stay while you take time off.”

Lily’s mood went from lustful to angry in two seconds. No one other woman was going to take care of her man. Adam looked over at Lily. He must have seen the fire in her eyes, because he winked and returned his attention to the blonde. “Ellen, this is Lily. Lily, this is Ellen, my ex-fiancée.”

Lily nodded. She would’ve tried to shake the woman’s hand, but her hands wouldn’t unclasp.

Adam reached out and took her hands into his, pulling her closer to him. “Lily is my girlfriend.”

Ellen snickered.

“I love her, and she’s quite capable of taking care of me.” Adam looked over at Lily again and spread his lips into a big smile. “In every way.”

“Well, I see. I just thought since you were back in town—”

“Thanks for coming by, but we’ll be fine.” He held firmly on to Lily’s hands as Ellen gathered her purse and stomped out of the hospital room.

“You had a fiancée?” Lily asked as she chewed on her bottom lip.

“Yes. We’d planned to get married before I went to Iraq last time. I knew when I stepped on the plane it wasn’t going to happen. I didn’t have the guts to tell her. After my pictures ended up in magazines all over the world, she wouldn’t stop calling. We weren’t right for each other. She wanted different things out of life. She wanted a new Mercedes. I wanted to expose corruption around the world. I, as you know, have certain needs, Lily. She wasn’t able to fulfill them. Are you ready to fulfill my needs?”

“Yes, Adam,” she quickly answered. “I am. I’m so ready. I hate to say this, but I’m so thankful you didn’t have the same needs as her. It led you to me, and I’m grateful.”

“Lily?”

“Huh?”

“I have the guts to tell you that I love you and will never let you go again.”

“Oh, Adam. I love you too.”

“Now, how about that medicine?”

Lily sat down on the edge of the bed. “Adam, someone could walk in any minute.”

He raced his fingers over her thighs, leaving goose bumps in their wake. “That can be part of the excitement. It’ll be fun. You’re so beautiful. No one will ever measure up to you, Lily Flower.” He tried to lean up to kiss her.

“Just be still.” She rested her hand on his strong chest, coaxing him back against the pillow. She went to him, leaning in and softly pressing her lips to his. Giving him time to taste her, to learn her again. “I trust you. We…fit together, don’t we?”

“Yes, my sweet, beautiful, courageous, gorgeous little flower. Did I mention sexy? We most certainly do.” He laced his fingers through the hair cascading past her shoulders. “I missed you so much. Now, put your hands on me, or I’m going to ring for the nurse, and she’ll make you jack me off. She gives one rough sponge bath. You might like it.”

Lily giggled as she pulled the two covers back to find him still ready for her. She licked her lips in anticipation of tasting his familiar flavor. “Tell me if I’m hurting you.”

“Don’t worry about me. It’s the back of your throat you have to worry about. Now”—he firmly pressed her head down to his waist—”suck it.”

* * * *

“He’s right here,” Lily said into the cell phone. It felt like forever since she’d last heard Tony’s voice. “He’s doing fine. I made him eat a grilled cheese sandwich, and he’s sitting here smiling at me.” Lily handed Adam the phone as he set the glass of milk on the kitchen table.