Chapter Seven
Without a word, Lily snatched the flowers out of Christian’s hand and bolted to her cabin before she completely lost what tiny shred of control she still had over her emotions. Flowers. He’d brought her flowers. No one but Daisy had ever brought her flowers. Scrubbing a hand roughly over her leaking eyes, Lily sniffed loudly and rummaged for a tall cup she could fill with water for the blooms. But it wasn’t the bouquet that had her eyes betraying her, it had been what he’d said…strong, coming back beautiful year after year.Feeling a fresh rush of hot liquid overflow her eyes, Lily growled, ripped off a wad of paper towels, and hid her face.That bear! And to think, the day had actually started off pretty good.
Lily had woken up in her own bed, in the same clothes she’d donned before crawling under the covers, with no tell-tale mud tracks anywhere to be seen. As far as she could tell, she hadn’t had a replay of the prior night’s sleepwalk routine and she was ecstatic. Couple that with the thought of kicking that bear’s ass… Hell yeah, her mood had been practically giddy.
Taking several deep breaths, Lily opened the floodgates on her past and let the memories play like a movie in her head. Normally those thoughts would bolster her anger, give her strength, but the little yellow trumpets on the daffodils kept distracting her, so instead of a belly full of fire and vitriol to sustain her, those gooey swirls invaded and swelled.
With a snarl, Lily picked up the cup holding the flowers, ready to chuck them across the room, but at the last moment, she halted the forward momentum of her arm and closed her eyes in defeat. She couldn’t do it… What she could do, however, was to march her ass back outside and beat on that bear until he begged for mercy. The thought actually brought a smile to her face as she pictured the scene of her standing above him, triumphant in victory as he cowered in awe… okay, maybe that was a bit much, but it was a nice fantasy that completely banished any remnant of tears.
Stepping out of her door, she glanced around, half expecting that Christian would have taken off considering her abrupt departure. He hadn’t. Currently, he had his back to her and was bent over inspecting something on the ground. With an evil grin, Lily lowered her body, shifted her weight back and forth to get the best traction under her feet, and with a mighty heave, she leapt forward, landing with a roar on his back.
The momentum, coupled with the unexpected attack, should have sent them both tumbling to the ground with Lily in the superior upper position, but she had underestimated the sheer strength of the bear; aside from a surprised ‘oof’ and a little lurch, Christian was barely effected by having her suddenly latched onto his back.
His arm came around to catch her around the waist and with disgusting ease, he pulled and then tossed her away from him. Lily landed lithely on her feet, raising her hands to chest level, she squared off against her opponent as he threw back his head and let out a loud, triumphant laugh. The game was on.
Lily was immediately on the offensive, leaping at Christian, not allowing his size to intimidate as she practically climbed him, wrapped her arms and legs around him, and pulled in another attempt to bring that big body down. This time it worked. With the somewhat squishy ground and fragrant grass beneath them, they grappled for the upper hand amidst snarls, growls, and bellows, Lily having to kick free numerous time else cry defeat. He was such a big bastard, strong, yet careful – in complete control of all of that strength. While he was taking the match seriously, she could tell that he was just trying to win rather than cause injury, allowing her to pummel him to her hearts content, and honestly, Lily’s heart was soaring. Best day ever.
By the time they called it a draw, they were both laying on their backs on the ground panting from their exertions. They were sweaty, filthy with mud and grass stains, and Lily was pretty sure they would both be sore tomorrow, but she felt wonderful. So wonderful in fact, that she couldn’t contain it any longer and the first trill of laughter broke loose, and then another, and another, until Christian joined in her merriment and they were both gasping and holding their bellies.
When things wound down, Lily turned her head to see that Christian was watching her, his brown eyes glowing with mirth and contentment, his lips smiling. Lily couldn’t help but stare at that mouth, wondering how it would feel… Strange, she hadn’t been curious about such things in a very long time, and never thought she would be again. Without conscious thought, she lifted her fingers and ever so lightly skimmed them over his mouth and watched in fascination as his eyes shifted to amber and filled with enough heat to scorch.
Lily had to give Christian credit for not pouncing on her. She was definitely giving him enough provocation, hell, she may as well have issued him an engraved invitation, but the male just watched her, allowing her to touch him, allowing her to control the pace. And maybe she was crazy, but those gooey, swirly feelings in her belly started heating, making her body throb, and she couldn’t deny herself the opportunity to explore this new feeling. Carefully, she moved forward, keeping her eyes trained on his until the last moment when her lids fluttered down and she pressed her lips to his.
The heat in her belly burst into an inferno with that first taste. A surge of electricity seemed to arc between them, and Lily gripped both sides of his face, the whiskers of his beard, soft and springy in her palms. Feeling the need to hold onto this moment, she may have dug in a bit harder than necessary, but Christian didn’t complain, in fact he easily rolled her on top of him and the press of her body fully against his nearly had her whimpering with need.
The kiss deepened, tongues dueling and then dancing together, teeth nipping, their breath mingling in ragged puffs as Christian’s hands skimmed over Lily’s back, down to her hips and then back to the nape of her neck. She was voracious, her body starved for attention she hadn’t realized she had been denying it, and when Christian rolled her beneath him with a growl, she welcomed his weight for several heartbeats, even wanted to pull him in closer.
And then her brain had to go and spoil her fun… Memories flooding in of being held down, of pain, of lack of control, and something inside of her snapped as panic squeezed in like a vice. Ripping her mouth from his she let out a snarl and then heaved that weight off of her with a shouted “No!”
Lily leapt to her feet, turned with a low growl, and hissed loudly, her eyes and teeth shifting in response to the fear that had overtaken her. Christian remained on the ground, his eyes wide, his hands held palm out before him. It was the look on his face that finally broke through Lily’s muddled emotions and she started to tremble violently, her lip quivering with disappointment. “I’m sorry,” she choked out, backing away, her head moving slowly back and forth in denial. “I’m so sorry.” With a sob that she was no longer able to contain, Lily ran – not back to her cabin, but deep into the woods, disappointment pounding through her. Would she ever be free of her past?
Christian stayed where he lay on the ground and crossed both forearms over his face as he blew out a frustrated breath. He’d fucked up. It was all his fault, rushing her like that, he should have known better. An idiot could see that her past was rife with stories of males hurting her and yet in his aroused state, he’d done what he knew he should avoid, and had tried to take control. Stupid. Things had been going so well – she’d been totally into it, her scent heavy with arousal, her responsiveness more than he could have ever hoped – and his dick had never been so eager, the thing had practically been jumping for joy behind his zipper.
With a low growl, he lowered his arms and hit the earth beside him with his fists in a proper tantrum worthy of a two year old who had had his favorite toy taken from him. He didn’t know if he could come back from this, or if she’d even let him try. God, the look on her face before she’d run off… He’d done that, he’d put that fear and pain in her lovely eyes when she’d just started to warm up to him. How did someone even make up for something like that? ‘I’m sorry’ certainly wasn’t going to cut it.
Rolling to his feet with a grunt, Christian slapped at his clothes in an attempt to remove any grass, and if he did it a little harder than was absolutely necessary, well, he deserved a pounding, and if Lily wouldn’t do it...
He looked toward the tree line where she had disappeared, longing to follow, to prostrate himself before her if need be, and beg forgiveness, beg her not to hate him, and to promise her he’d never be such an idiot again. He pictured the high color in her cheeks before she’d run away, the quaking in her limbs, that trembling bottom lip, slightly swollen from his kisses, as she fought for control. He desperately wanted to pull her into his arms and hold her while she cried out all of her pain and misery – and wasn’t that a shock to the system – him, Christian Black, selfish asshole extraordinaire, concerned enough about a female’s feelings to want to actually do something to make them better. Sobriety – and Malsum Pass – had certainly changed him.
Christian hadn’t even realized he’d been walking toward the trees until he heard the screams: high-pitched cries of a pissed off panther that stopped him in his tracks. Pissed was good. An angry female was pretty much what he was used to and much preferred to tears in his opinion. He should have known better than to think someone as strong as Lily would hide and cry for days. No, not his panther. Right now, she was good and angry, as it should be, and unless he wanted her claws taking off an inch or two of his flesh, it was probably best to let her use the trees as her scratching post.
Feeling a tiny bit lighter, Christian headed back to his place. He’d see her later, once he had some sort of plan – at least something more palatable than throwing himself at her feet. Licking his lips, he realized he could still taste her, and he closed his eyes to savor the moment. Things were definitely not done between them. When it came to Lily Oremun, things may never be done.
