Chapter 17: Ben
"I would like that very much. Lead the way to the tortoise," I say.
Lilah grins nervously at me and fidgets on her feet. She seems determined to fight it, but I didn't miss the way she leaned towards me, clearly as drawn to me as I am to her. She's a skittish thing, but I grin to myself as I realize that I'm starting to win her over.
Lilah seems to have forgotten that she's still trapped in her apron. It's covered in llamas and cacti and makes her look fucking adorable. She turns and leads me through her living room to the back door. I need something to hold on to because the sight of her ass wrapped up in a black stretch dress is almost more than I can take. Somebody is going to have to wipe the drool off my chin after they restart my heart.
We stop in front of a wire enclosure with rocks and a happy-looking reptile chilling under a heat lamp. Lilah waves a hand at it. "Just pop it in there. She's greedy."
We watch for a minute as the tortoise chugs her way towards the greens and munches it with the most Zen expression I've ever seen on a living creature. How can such a bizarre little reptile be so... cute? I'd probably lose my man card if I openly gushed over a tortoise, but damn is she adorable.
Lilah must have remembered the apron because she starts fidgeting with the ties, trying to undo the knot again.
"I thought that was my job," I tease as I grab her hips and spin her around. She squeaks but holds still, letting me work at the ties. One of them is frayed and so tangled that I don't see how she could have only been wearing it a couple hours. It's taking far too long to free her because I'm so distracted. The scent of her strawberry shampoo keeps wafting up into my face, making me desperate to bury my face in her neck and breathe her in. Let's not even get into the way her dress hugs her hips and ass as she stands there still as a doe in the wood.
My fingers keep grazing her spine and I can't help enjoying the way she shivers at my touch, leaning back into me. It's probably subconscious, because I seriously doubt that I'll ever be able to get her to confess that she actually likes me.
She pulls her hair over one side and looks over her shoulder at me, giving me a long view down the front of her dress. "You can just cut it off if you have to," she says, her voice a husky whisper. It's my turn to shiver because holy damn, all I can see, hear and smell is Lilah and now I'm picturing myself cutting her dress and panties off her body after I finish with the apron. Because sure, why not? Maybe she's stuck in those too.
"Do you want scissors?" she asks, eyes wide and innocent. There's no way she knows the dirty thoughts running through my head right now. Yes, I want scissors. Or even better, I want to rip this ridiculous apron off her body with my bare hands, followed by every stitch of clothing she's wearing.
I pause for a second, just so she'll keep looking up at me like that. "I think I've almost got it, but scissors would be faster."
I follow her back to the kitchen, desperately hanging onto the last scrap of gentlemanly behavior I have left. She pulls scissors out of a drawer and hands them to me, eyeing me carefully before turning around.
"Still not a serial killer," I promise as I take them. I make quick work of the strap and reach around her to set them down on the counter. Lilah lifts the apron over her neck and turns, her body inches from mine, backside pressed against the counter. This feels awfully familiar. My dick is stirring, and at this point I'm fairly sure it's a Pavlovian response to having Lilah near me in a kitchen. She doesn't seem to be in any hurry to move as she watches me, bright green eyes piercing.
She doesn't flinch or pull away when I run a finger up her arm, smooth skin gliding under mine. I lean down, placing my hands on the counter, caging her in before I put my lips next to her ear and breathe her in. She trembles against me, her breathing faster and deeper than normal, like she's trying to maintain control. That won't do.
"I've been thinking about you," I tell her quietly as I brush my nose against the shell of her ear.
"Have you?" she whispers back.
I let my lips trace the side of her neck, loving the way little goosebumps pop up on her skin. No matter how hard she tries to deny it, her body was made for mine. No one can fight this kind of attraction, especially me. Not that I want to. My mind races with the dirty things I'd like to do to her, but I move slowly, taking my time as I kiss the tender skin below her ear.
"I can't seem to stop thinking about you," I whisper as my lips graze her neck. Lilah practically purrs against me as her hands slowly move over my biceps and chest in soft exploratory touches. The combination of her sweet cinnamon skin and silky soft hair is doing dangerous things to me. I couldn't resist her if I tried.
"What do you think about?" Her soft breath fans over my collarbone, sending tingles across my skin.
I groan softly. "If I told you every filthy thought I've been having, you might just run for the hills, and I'm not trying to scare you off, Princess," I whisper.
Lilah leans back to look up at me with a little scowl. The motion arches her back and does breathtaking things to the front of her dress. It's all I can do not to groan out loud. "I'm not a princess. I'm a grown-ass woman. Don't patronize me."
Even the defiance that flashes across her face can't disguise the lust in her hooded eyes, and the spark of temper does nothing to abate the need pulsing through my body. If anything, the way she challenges me turns me on even more.
She wants to hear it?
Alright, then.
Slipping my hand to the small of her back, I pull her soft curves into me, letting her feel every inch of her effect on my libido. She exhales roughly and pulls her bottom lip between her teeth as her eyes grow wider.
"I think about unzipping your dress and peeling you out of it. Slowly." I run a finger up her back to emphasize my point and she lets out a little shiver.
"I think about the way your legs felt wrapped around me when we kissed. I picture you naked. In my bed, in my shower, bent over the kitchen counter. I remember the way you taste, the sounds you make when you like what I’m doing... and I wonder what it would take to make you scream in bed." I nip her neck, eliciting a small moan. "I think about setting you on this counter and picking up where we left off. Mostly I think about kissing you, sinking into your tight pussy, and making you so needy you beg me to let you come."
She pulls her head back and looks at me, defiance and lust battling for control in her narrowed eyes. "I would never beg for it. I could just do it myself."
With a groan, I pull her hair into a ponytail, tilting her head farther back, watching the desire in her gaze win as I tell her the truth. "And I would beg you to let me watch."
Color flushes her cheeks. She wets her lips before saying, "Anyone ever tell you how dirty you are?" Her voice is breathy and rolls over me like silk. Her shallow, rapid breathing is causing her chest to rise and fall, brushing against my rib cage. She's trying to sound indignant, but lust is curled around every word as they tumble from her lips. She may think I'm dirty, but she obviously loves it.
"That's just the tip of the iceberg," I tell her, trying not to grin like a cocky bastard.