Love & Lies Read online

  “My limo driver will be here at seven o’clock tomorrow night,” Liam instructed, without even waiting for a response from her. “The driver will drive you to my mansion for dinner. No need to pack a bag. I will provide everything you could ever need. Check out the mansion for yourself. If you decide to stay, I will loan you the money you need to save your Adams Corporation. If not, then good luck to you Miss Adams, and to your family and employees. You can leave and I won’t stop you. I have made my offer. Whether you accept it is completely up to you.”

  Gemma was still in shock as she entered her apartment. She swiftly turned the bolts on all the locks, feeling vulnerable as violated. Tigger sensed her distress and curled between her feet in an effort to comfort her.

  Gemma picked up his furry body into her arms and hugged him close.

  “What should I do, Tigs?” she asked him, knowing he wouldn’t reply. She didn’t need him to. Her eyes focused on the picture frame sitting on her bookshelf across from the front door. It was a photo of her parents smiling proudly in front of the Adams Corporation with Gemma as a toddler in their arms. The answer was clear. She had promised to do whatever it took to save the family business. And that’s exactly what she would do.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Gemma trembled with nerves as she sat in the back of the luxurious limousine and stared out the window at the vast mansion surrounded by manicured gardens. The chauffeur had tried to make casual chit-chat with her as he drove the distance from her apartment, but when it became clear she didn’t want to talk, he left her alone to brood over her own private thoughts.

  Doubt and regret were already churning in the pit of her stomach. She honestly didn’t know if she could go through with what this Liam Taylor wanted her to do. She was no virgin, but she wasn’t a whore either, and that’s exactly what she would be after this. As much as she wanted to save her family business, her self-respect seemed like a high price to pay for it.

  As the fatal moment drew closer, everything within her told her this was wrong.

  Liam himself greeted her at the front door looking devilishly handsome in a tailored dark blue suit and silver tie. He took her chivalrously by the hand and escorted her inside.

  “Welcome to my home, Gemma. It’s good to see you,” he said with a practiced smile and cold eyes.

  Gemma wondered if he could hear the pounding of her heart against her chest as she let him lead her inside.

  She had dressed up for the occasion and he openly admired her like someone appraising a prized horse. Her long chestnut hair had been styled into an elaborate bun, with just a few soft tendrils left loose to frame her face with elegant curls. She owned a single cocktail dress and had put it on, wanting to look the part of a guest dining at a mansion and not the bankrupt beggar that she was. The emerald green color of the shimmering satin dress was the exact shade of her eyes and it hugged the curves of her body in all the right ways. The strapless sweetheart bodice made it hard for Liam to tear his eyes away from her exposed cleavage, which gave Gemma a touch of power in what was otherwise a very lopsided arrangement. Black stiletto heels completed the look, along with a light amount of make-up carefully applied to perfection to highlight her eyes and lips.

  “You have a lovely home,” Gemma said in a quivering voice, trying not to stare as he escorted inside the grand and lavish entryway. “I’m not sure I belong here.”

  “You should believe in yourself more,” Liam said with a cocky air Gemma found annoying. “You are a bright and caring woman, filled with passion for the things you care about; your family, the business you grew up with, the work you do there. I knew you wouldn’t pass up the opportunity I was offering.”

  “Then you must know me better than I know myself,” Gemma said bitingly. His words about her family and Adams Corporation had been intended to remind her of why she should stay, but instead, it reinforced her instinct to flee. She felt like she was violating all the values and integrity her parents had instilled in her and it made her feel cheap and ashamed.

  Liam guided her through the mansion and she tried not to gawk as each room appeared more extravagant than the last. It became very clear that Liam was a man who usually got everything he wanted. Gemma felt embarrassed at the thought that this was about to include her too. For the promise of a loan, she was about to sell her body to him.

  When they arrived in the dining room, the table had been set for a romantic dinner for two, complete with glowing candles and champagne served in crystal glasses surrounded by a sea of red rose petals.

  There was such a knot of nerves in Gemma’s stomach that she didn’t know if she could eat and the conversation between them was halting and awkward. Liam did his best to try and put her at ease but it soon became clear that she was too preoccupied with what she knew was expected to happen that evening.

  “I’m sorry, I just can’t do this!” Gemma cried out when the tension in the air finally became too unbearable. “I know I said I’d do anything to save my family’s business, but I just can’t be your prostitute. I’m not going to let you fuck me just for the promise of a loan. I need to leave.”

  Gemma stood up from the table, with tears of humiliation burning in her eyes, but Liam caught her by the hand and held her gently. He looked up at her with the wounded expression of a beaten puppy and said softly, “Is that what you think this is?”

  “Isn’t it?” Gemma countered, with fire flashing in her eyes. “You’ve demanded that I stay with you for a month as your companion to fulfill to your desires. What else could I think other than you want me to have sex with you?”

  Liam stood up and put his hands on her shoulders. Gemma was surprised to find soothing comfort in the feel of his strong hands on her bare flesh.

  “While I do find you extremely attractive,” he said in a calm and sincere voice, “I don’t want you to let me fuck you. What I desire is much more than mere sex. I told you, I want the passion that burns in you to ignite new life in my empty existence.”

  “What does that even mean?” Gemma asked, sitting back down in her chair. She knew that she should just leave, but he seemed so vulnerable in that moment that her curiosity outweighed her fear.

  “Let me show you,” Liam said, his voice rich and smooth. Gemma nodded her consent but was surprised to see Liam take a cloth napkin from the table and fold into a narrow blindfold that he bound over her eyes so that she could no longer see.

  She started to object and raised her hand to remove the blindfold. But Liam put a gentle hand on her own and placed her palms to rest on her thighs.

  “Put your hands on your lap and keep them there,” he instructed. “No matter what happens, don’t move your hands.”

  “What are you going to do?” Gemma asked, feeling thrills of excitement and nervous anticipation running through her. She knew that if he tried to do anything terrible she could just rip off the blindfold and run away.

  “I’m going to draw out your passion,” he said cryptically. “Taste this and tell me what you think of it.”

  Gemma felt the sensation of something brushing her lips. She opened her mouth and the sweet taste of berries dipped in chocolate made her smile and yearn for more. Far from being awful, it was wonderfully delicious and playfully fun.

  “Describe to me about what you taste—what you feel.” Liam said.

  “It’s succulent. Sweet. Juicy. Addictive. My lips and tongue want more,” Gemma said in a sultry voice as she began to lose herself in the moment. As she spoke, she could sense the sexual tensions in the room rise with every new adjective and to her surprise, she liked it.

  She felt the increasing heat coming from Liam’s body and sensed the tensing of his muscles as he became aroused. It surprised and amused Gemma that she could have that affect on a man as rich and powerful as this Liam Taylor, simply by describing eating fruit. Far from being a victim, at that moment, she felt sexy, strong, and a little bit naughty too.

  On a whim, she decided to play along with it and be in the mom
ent. As he fed her new foods to sample, she tried to describe them in as sensual a way as she could. The game was fun and Gemma was surprised to find it was arousing her too. They felt like even partners on a playing field of sexual appetites. Her nipples were growing taunt beneath her dress and she could feel them rubbing against the silky fabric of her bodice. Instinctively, she knew they must be visible through the thin material.

  “I’m getting hot. I think I need something cold to cool me down,” Gemma said, wishing at that moment she could see his expression.

  She heard the sound of ice-cubes clinking in a glass and then suddenly felt the shocking sensation of freezing ice being applied to her nipples through the fabric of her dress.

  She gasped and arched her back to escape the burning cold, but kept her palms plastered to her thighs as Liam had instructed her to do. Gemma found it incredibly erotic as thrills of sexual pleasure radiated down her body and dampened her panties.

  “That might be a little too cold,” Liam said, his voice filled with restraint. “Do you want me to warm you back up?”

  Without evening thinking, and to her own surprise, Gemma nodded yes.

  Suddenly, she felt the sensation of Liam’s hot wet mouth upon her bare neck, throat, and shoulders. He kissed his way down her chest, slowly peeling away her dress until her breasts were exposed. A sigh of pleasure escaped her lips when she felt Liam take her full, heaving breasts into his strong hands and fondled them, gently at first but with more urgency with each passing second. Suddenly, she felt his lips on them and his mouth and tongue began to suck and lick her hard, pink nipples with a hunger she’d never experienced before, causing her to moan uncontrollably with ecstasy.

  Gemma threw back her head, arched her back, and reveled in the pleasure she felt coursing through her body as Liam carefully and slowly made love to her huge, luscious breasts. He massaged them with his hands, pinched them with his fingers, lapped them up with his tongue, kissed them with his lips, and suckled them with his mouth. By the time he was done, Gemma was panting and gasping with pleasure. She wanted more.

  She spread her thighs wide over the sides of the chair, inviting him to do whatever he wanted with her now. The dress fell down against her waist and revealed what was hidden underneath, her sexy lacy panties she was now glad she had decided to wear tonight that left very little to the imagination. She felt the cool air against the thin damp layer of fabric that separated her wetness from him.

  But to her surprise, nothing more happened. She did not feel his hands ripping off her dress or caressing her inner thighs. She did not feel his manhood entering her as she now found herself longing for him to do. The room was completely quiet, the air was silent and still. Long moments passed as Gemma waited for Liam to make his next move and she wondered if he was even still there.

  Finally, she had enough of waiting. Ripping the napkin off her eyes, she realized Liam was no longer there. She was sitting completely alone in the empty dining room.

  A hand written note had been left on her plate that read:

  Gemma,

  I do not desire a prostitute or an unwilling victim. I desire your passion willingly shared. Thank you for letting me experience a taste of that tonight. I will loan you the money whether you stay for the month or leave, but I sincerely hope you will stay. There is so much more we could experience together.

  Liam

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Gemma walked through the mansion on weak legs, still taken aback by the incredibly erotic experience she’d just had in the dining room with Liam. She clutched the still unzipped cocktail dress to her breasts to keep it falling and hoped she wouldn’t run into any of his household staff.

  To her relief, they seemed to be all gone. Her black lace panties were still damp from her arousal, but her body was unfulfilled and yearning for the sweet release of the orgasm that she was deprived of.

  Gemma no longer felt pressured to do things she wasn’t willing to do, but empowered to seek out what she wanted and hungered for. She wasn’t the rabbit anymore, but the tiger. When she first arrived at Taylor Mansion, she didn’t think she would ever be able to bring herself to sleep with Liam Taylor. But now, to her surprise, there was nothing she wanted to do more—now, she just had to find him.

  Beside the note he had set on the dining room table, he had left a map for her of the mansion. It led her past an office, indoor pool, library, and media room to a grand staircase in the middle of the entry hall. She walked slowly up the stairs, her mouth agape at the splendor of her lavish surroundings. Antique furnishings and pieces of rare art were around every corner. It almost felt surreal, like she was in a dream.

  Finally, Gemma came to the X on the map. With her heart pounding in her throat, she drew in an anxious breath and opened the doorway.

  On the other side of the door she found a huge bedroom suite, beautifully decorated in soft pinks, with cherry wood furnishings and bouquets of freshly cut pink roses. A hand written note on the bedside table explained that this would be her own personal suite to enjoy in privacy. Everything about the suite was very feminine and elegant. But what Gemma really wanted at that moment was something hard and masculine.

  She took a moment to explore the room, hoping she might find Liam hiding beneath the bed or inside the cherry wood wardrobe.

  But she was bitterly disappointed. She did, however, find a closet full of clothes, everything in her size, beautiful jewelry, and a nice assortment of make-up and toiletries. She took a moment to strip the rest of the way out of the uncomfortable cocktail dress she’d been half-wearing and slip into a white lace negligee with matching panties she found in the top dresser drawer. She covered herself with a long, silk robe and stepped once more into the hall to search for Liam.

  At the end of the hallway, Gemma spotted soft rays of light coming from beneath the crack of a door that gave her a glimmer of hope. Pushing the door open carefully, she peaked inside and was delighted to find Liam in a vast and elegant bedroom suite, with his back to her.

  He was stripped to the waist, with the muscles of his bare torso glistening with a light sheen of perspiration. An exercise bar hung from the ceiling in the corner of the room, and Liam was expertly performing chin-ups in an effort to work away his pent up sexual frustration. His muscles moved with a strength and skill that Gemma found impressive and she felt her nipples immediately tingle with sexual arousal.

  She clapped her hands softly together in admirable applause, gaining his attention so that he dropped from the bar and turned to stare at her.

  His eyes flashed with joy at the sight of her, and he took a step forward to greet her before suddenly stopping himself and forcing his expression to turn to stone.

  “What are you doing here?” he asked, his tone devoid of emotion. “Have you decided to stay?” A spark of hope seeped from his voice.

  “I wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed our dinner together and that I shouldn’t have said what I did earlier,” Gemma said. She slowly walked up toward him until they were so close she could feel the heat emanating from his body.

  “I’m glad you said them and I meant what I said in return,” Liam said with warmth shining in his eyes. She was so close to him, he could feel her breath on his skin. It took all his will power not to sweep her into his arms and kiss her. But he knew the decision to have sex needed to be hers. With a mischievous twinkle in his eyes, he said, “You know, just because you said you wouldn’t let me fuck you, doesn’t mean you can’t choose to fuck me if you want to.”

  It was just what Gemma needed to hear. With a gentle nudge of her fingers, she let the robe drop from her shoulders and smiled widely at Liam.

  “Well that’s exactly why I’m here.” She gazed up at him, her eyes seducing him with promises of what she would do next. “I choose to fuck you,” she said with a devious smile, her voice emphasized the word fuck, feeling the power it gave her to be the one in control.

  He caressed her voluptuous body through the scant, lingerie befo
re suddenly scooping her into his strong arms. Gemma squealed with delight as he carried her across the suite to his massive king sized bed and laid her gently on top of it.

  Gemma pulled him onto the bed with her, rolled him onto his back and stripped him of his slacks. His cock was already rigid. The sight of it made her wet with desire.

  Liam groaned with pleasure as he watched with amazement as Gemma took him into her mouth. Her tongue expertly swirled around his shaft as she eagerly sucked, moving up and down the entire length his cock. She sucked him until he was so stiff, he feared he might burst.

  “I’m going to fuck you now,” Gemma purred.

  “Not yet,” Liam objected. He knew that in order to seduce her into staying, he would have to make this a night to remember—not just for him, but for her.

  He flipped her over onto her back and pulled the negligee from her body. “I already pleasured your breasts,” he whispered as he kissed her neck, “but I still need to pleasure you from the waist down.”

  He started with her feet, kissing his way up her long, supple legs, over her knees, and up her thighs. When he came to her delicate white lace panties, he kissed over the fabric tauntingly while Gemma squirmed with pleasure beneath the touch of his lips.

  When Liam pulled the panties off her body and his lips made direct contact with her most delicate folds, the pleasure was even more intense because of it. With skilled devotion, he made love to her with his lips, mouth, and fingers. He stroked, caressed, kissed, licked, lapped, suckled, and fingered the lips of her labia, the nub of her clitoris, and the tunnel of her cunt until she was writhing on the bed, panting and moaning with the throes of her orgasm.

  “Fuck me now,” she cried out between gasps of ecstasy, “I want to feel that huge cock deep inside me!”

  Liam complied, unable to hold back anymore himself. He quickly slipped on a condom and with a groan of pleasure, he shoved his raging hard cock deep inside her dripping, wet pussy. Her walls enveloped him and her muscles rippled around him as she wrapped her thighs tightly around his waist. She thrusted her hips to meet him, stroke for stroke. Liam held off as long as he could, thrusting deeply within her, but his own orgasm exploded powerfully from within and they spasmed and screamed together as they climaxed in unison. It was the most intense experience either of them had ever felt and when at last the waves of their pleasure ebbed, they collapsed in each other’s arms, both fully exhausted and satisfied.