Page 17

Lillian rose up on one elbow, one eyebrow raised. “You think you can beat me, buddy? Those are fighting words. I think you’re the one who’s gonna get the ass kickin’.”

“Shall we place a friendly wager?” I teased.

“What do you have in mind?”

I whispered my idea in her ear, and she burst out laughing. “I had no idea you were such a kinky bastard.”

I rolled her over, pinning her to the mattress with my hips. I grabbed my pants off the floor and slid my belt out of the loops, using it to tie her hands to the headboard while she pretended to struggle. By the time I was done we were both laughing.

“Well, now that you got me here, what are you going to do now?” she asked.

“I’m going to kiss my way down your body and lick your sweet pussy until you come all over my face.”

“I approve of this plan.”

We’d already had sex twice and between that and my teasing her, Lillian was soaking wet. I loved it. I gripped her thighs in my hands and licked up and down her opening until she was thrashing beneath me. Between having her hands tied above her head and my hands immobilizing her legs, she was pretty much at my mercy.

I’d learned early on that Lillian didn’t like to be treated like a delicate flower. She liked her sex hard and rough, and I did too, but it didn’t need to be that way every time we were together. As she began to trust me more, she was able to relax enough for us to mix it up and spend more time leisurely exploring each other’s bodies too.

Since we had all night, I took my time, bringing her close to orgasm again and again until she was swearing up a blue streak and threatening to castrate me with just her fingers when she was free again. I gave her a big smile from between her legs, then bit down on her clit, sending her right over the edge.

Lillian screamed so loud I was surprised the neighbors didn’t come over to see what was going on.

When she finally came down from her orgasm, I kissed my way back up her body until I was laying on top of her. Propping myself up on my elbows, I stared down at her for a long moment before I said what I’d been waiting to say since the night I met her.

“I need to tell you that I love you, Lillian. I’ve loved you for a long time.”

A range of emotions crossed her face. I didn’t know what I was expecting her to say, but “Untie my hands” would not have been my first guess. Terrified that I’d made a mistake sharing my feelings, I rolled off of her and freed her hands, taking a moment to rub both of her wrists with my fingers.

She popped up to a sitting position, watching me carefully.

“You love me?” she finally asked.

“Yeah, I do.” Still unsure what she was thinking, I did my best to convey all my emotions in my expression.

“Hm.”

After a painfully long pause she added, “I thought I was in love once, but I was wrong. Please don’t make me be wrong again, Martin.”

“Are you saying...?”

“Yeah, I’m sayin’ that I love you, Martin. I’m not sure if or how this is gonna work out between us, but I love you enough to commit to figuring it out.”

I pulled her into my arms, pressing her head against my chest, and kissed the top of her hair.

“I can’t believe you told me you love me.”

She sighed, but I could sense that she was smiling. “Yeah, yeah, just don’t let it go to your head.”

Lillian

When I sat down at the table in the lunchroom, all eyes turned to me.

“Well?”

I spared Jimmy a quick glance before returning my attention the Tupperware lid that seemed to be stuck on the container.

“Well, what?”