She sat up and he quickly placed her on the lavish pillows, leaning over her form as he softly kissed her cheek and said, "Thank you my princess, but now it's my turn to pleasure you." She settled in and smiled as he softly kissed his way along her collarbone, his legs straddled to either side of her hips. Cupping his hand over each of her full breasts, he traced her nipples with his thumbs and he could feel her breathing become quicker as her chest rose and fell.He continued to kiss her chest until he drew one nipple into his mouth, sucking slowly and deeply upon it as he gripped her mounds, caressing her smooth skin softly. He eventually switched to suckle the other one and his hands traveled down her belly, danced upon her hips, and flew over her shiny thighs. Spur-of-the-moment, she opened her legs and he slid back in between them, kissing his way down her radiant belly the entire time.Then, his thumbs spread her wet lips apart, exposing her syrupy love spot. He wiggled the tip
Taking his hand, she led him into the large bedroom, then turned the lock and stood there looking down at him in the half-darkness. He could barely discern her dark hair falling down her shoulders and he caught a scent of her shampoo. She leaned towards him and he could feel her eyes looking through his with such a powerful strength."You're beautiful," he knew that it wasn't sufficient the moment he uttered those words. "There is no way anything could ever explain how winded I get when you smile."She reddened at his adoring eyes and stepped forward instead, embracing him in appreciation. She leaned her head against his shoulder and he hugged her close, dipping his nose into her hair and pushing his body against her. She tilted her head upwards and breathed, "I love you."He bent down and kissed her forehead and he could sense her breath on his chest. Speechless, he just held her. When she looked up once more, he naturally bent down and their mouths touched, the seconds slipped by bu
Helena reached over the highly polished oak table and took Brenna's hand, her own fingers shaking as they met, wrinkled skin over wrinkled skin, neither one firm, but both of them wanting."I should have been there earlier," Helena whispered. "Years and years ago. When they put your son. your grandchildren in the ground. When Lily awoke without you. Shame made me a coward."Brenna gazed at her, eyes not full of resentment, but weary comprehension. "We were all cowards in various ways. But we're here now. And you arrived when it counted most—for her."The hallway clock chimed. A lingering silence hung between them, not silent at all, but the quiet throb of two women who'd lived too long with specters.Then Brenna smiled a little, a bittersweet smile. "You know what I've been thinking about? That time we first met. That charity gala. You had on a plum velvet dress and held a glass like it was a sword."Helena laughed softly. "And you had on black, as if you were going to a funeral, not
That evening, the dining room at Carlston estate glowed with amber. The formal table, usually symbolic of duty and familial responsibility, was trimmed and set coziest for four. Crystal glasses sparkled, soft piano music wafted from an old record playing in the corner, and the scent of rosemary chicken and roasted vegetables filled the air.Lily darted back and forth between dining and kitchen, cheeks warm from the oven and the excitement of hosting something that wasn't born out of necessity. Vandaulf put down the wine slowly on the table, then took a step back to look at the scene. It was plain—but it felt complete.At the heart of it all, Helena and Brenna sat across from one another.Two matriarchs. Two histories of pain, on the cusp of something that might at last seem like peace.It had been over twenty years since they'd shared a meal.The previous time had been at a charity ball, before the accident, before greed had undone the ties of their families. That night had been heavy
The sun rose early morning and poured through the high windows of the Carlston house, illuminating the sitting room with golden light as Lily rested in a snug armchair, a book across her lap that she had given up reading hours before. Her thoughts strayed somewhere far kinder than the pages—memories of waves crashing on the Amalfi coast, of Vandaulf's hands twisted in hers beneath moonbeams, and the soft, motionless moments when finally time was theirs. A knock echoed down the high hall.Before the butler had a chance to open it, Lily was rising, her heart anticipating the well-known rhythm of that knock before she heard it with her ears.She pushed open the door—and there she was.Brenna James. Tall, beautiful, and fiercely poised even at her advanced age, but with a light shining in her eyes that could melt steel."Grandma!" Lily whispered, joy lighting on her face as she launched herself into Brenna's arms."My Lily," Brenna breathed, her own voice trembling as she wrapped her arm
The front gate swung open with a complaining creak, the iron stubbornly cold from the early evening wind. Helena Carlston emerged from the town car with slow deliberation, her coat buttoned tightly across her body, although it wasn't the wind she was protecting herself from—it was everything else.Her movements were calculated. Controlled. Every step over the pebbled driveway rang out a reality that she could no longer ignore: Brigs was lost. Maybe he had been for years.The grand mansion towered ahead of her, golden light streaming from the windows. From the outside, it seemed the past had never existed. That the ghosts hadn't haunted its corridors. But Helena knew otherwise.The door had opened before she had even made it to the stairs.Lily had stood there.She was barefoot, wearing a light wool sweater and silk trousers, her hair a little messy from sleep or peaceful hours spent reading. And standing next to her—Vandaulf. One arm around the small of Lily's back, the other hand pla
The news had come like a wind whisper, biting and chill: Brigs was scheming.Helena Carlston planted her feet firmly in the marble entryway of her family home, one fist locked about her cane, the other around the letter smuggled to her by a faithful servant. Ink bled somewhat where her grip tightened—a letter that told of retribution, of schemes Brigs dared to revive even from prison walls.Her heels echoed down the hallway, hard and unyielding, as she made her way to the restricted visitor cell they housed in a special wing for high-risk contacts. Guards bowed but did not venture to speak. She required no introduction. Her rage rode ahead of her like a storm.The door groaned open.And there he was—Brigs Carlston. Her son. Her failure.He stood, shackled, yet defiant. As if his prison was only temporary. As if his power was inevitable.“Mother,” he greeted smoothly, lips curling into a shadow of the charm he used to wear like a mask. “I assume you’ve heard.”Helena did not say a word
Morning crept in unobserved—golden light seeping by the curtains, stroking rumpled bedding and soft, steady breathing. The world outside awakened with the sounds of a new morning, but in their sanctuary, time stood still.Lily slowly awakened, her eyelashes feathering against Vandaulf's chest. His arm crossed over her waist, fingers still encircling where they'd bunched the night before—in fierce, protective grip. His warmth enveloped her, grounding her in the here and now. The feel of him—his skin, his scent, the thrum of his heartbeat—was the softest armor she'd ever experienced.For the first time in years, she did not awaken in terror.No screaming.No shadows.No Ina clawing her way up.Just peace.She breathed in slowly, her nose against his skin, lips tracing over his collarbone."Watching you sleep again?" Vandaulf's voice was rough, muffled by her hair. His fingers released on her hip. "Third time this week."Lily laughed against his chest. "That's because you're cuter sleepi
He touched her pussy and used his tongue to circle the outside of it, then thrust it from the rim of her pussy to her back.'Mmmmmm' she whispered as her hips rose, he knew how much she adored having her ass toyed with.His tongue played with her ass as she could feel a finger against it. 'Ahhhhh' she groaned as he slid in slowly. He had put just enough lubrication on to slide in, not so much that it went everywhere.She could feel it going deeper inside her ass as his tongue returned to her pussy and clit.The finger stroking in her ass and his tongue on her pussy was too intense, she felt the muscles in her body building up tension as she approached closer and closer.She sensed it approaching as she caught her breath briefly, the waves of pleasure had accumulated from her pussy spread filling her until 'aaaaagghhhhhhh' the sensation had reached the point of no return, her orgasm was something she'd never felt before, all that bliss letting go and heat filling her body.He felt her