Bound by Her (17 page)

Emily only entered a few shops, and only tried on a handful of outfits; every one of them looked perfect. Even a simple faded pair of jeans made her look incredible. I was surprised when she informed me that she was in fact shopping for a new coat as she hadn’t so much as even glanced at a single one yet. I kept my eyes peeled, at her request, and actually got a little excited myself when I saw the perfect winter coat for her. I pulled it from the hanger and slipped it onto her shoulders as she grinned at me like a child on Christmas morning.

She studied her appearance in the mirror and made a strange kind of gasping sound. “I love it!” she almost squealed in delight. It was a simple coat, but it looked incredible on her small frame. The creamy colour seemed to set off the tone of her glowing skin and I was sure her eyes looked bluer somehow. The belt that wrapped around the middle was pulled in tight, accentuating her perfectly defined waist. I was semi-hard just watching her. As she pulled the coat off, her face dropped and I realised that she had seen the price tag.

“It’s on me,” I said, taking the coat from her hands and placing it back on the hanger.

“No, it’s not,” she argued. “You’re not spending that amount of money on a bloody coat.”

That amount of money? It was £429 for Christ’s sake, hardly breaking the bank balance.

“Call it an early Christmas present. Besides, it’s not for you, it’s for
us.
And we agreed I could spend whatever I want on
us
.”

“For us? Are you going to wear it on the weekends? ‘Cause if so, I’d better get a bigger size.”

I chuckled at her quick wit before thinking carefully how I could tell her how much it had just turned me on seeing her in it without sounding like a pervert. Right now, all I could think about was Emily wearing nothing but a pair of sky scraper heels and that coat.

“That size is just fine, Emily. I like you in it, you look incredibly sexy, and therefore it’s benefitting me as much as it is you, if not more.”

She finally gave in and allowed me to pay for the coat. Well, she didn’t really have much choice.

When I pulled out of the car park, Emily informed me that she needed to go somewhere and directed me to a small retail park. I glanced around, wondering what she could possibly want from here that she couldn’t have got earlier. There was a large sports shop ahead of me, I couldn’t imagine her in a pair of trainers, a large boots store, some sort of clothes shop that I couldn’t make out the name of, and what looked like a bed shop. A new bed?

I pulled into the nearest parking space. “What are we doing here?” I looked around me and raised my brows as if to say ‘what could you possibly want from here?’

“I just need to pick up a few things. For your mum.” She swung her bag over her shoulder and began across the car park towards the giant Boots store.

“For my mum? What things?” I asked, quickening my stride to catch up with her.

“I thought she might like some girly things, you know. Might cheer her up.”

“I’m not sure what she’s allowed in there.”

“I’ve asked already, everything I have in mind is fine.” Oh yes, creams and bubbles. At least that made sense now.

I followed behind Emily as she strolled casually down a number of aisles, filling the basket that now hung on my arm with various cosmetics. Bubble bath, a bath bomb - whatever that was? Cleansing gel, toning fluid? Total effects cream, which apparently fights the seven signs of ageing, according to the box, but I was certain it was already too late for that. A hair brush, some hair ties and various clips, and a few make up items later, Emily was finally at the till and reaching into her bag for her purse.

“Oh, no you don’t,” I warned, gently lowering her hand with my own. “I’ll get this,” I said, pulling out my wallet.

“No, I’m getting it. Put your wallet away.”

“You are absolutely not spending a small fortune on luxuries for my mother. She’s my mother, I’m buying it.”

“I want to do this for her, Julian. Please don’t try to stop me.” Her eyes narrowed as she looked at me, her eyes pleading with me. I was about to argue, but then I remembered the time when Emily had gotten really angry and stormed out of the cafe when I had refused to let her pay for breakfast. That had really upset her, and I had felt terrible for it. But I couldn’t let her pay for all this for my mother.

“Emily, please. I can’t let you pay,” I begged, sounding weak and like a moron in front of a queue of nosy onlookers.

“You can, and you will.” Emily pushed herself in front of me and handed the check out assistant her card.

“I would take him up on his offer if I were you. What a Gent,” the petite woman behind the counter chirped as she accepted the card cautiously.

“Oh, he’s already been generous enough today,” Emily replied, glancing at me and raising her brows in a scolding manner. It reminded me of the time my English teacher, Mrs Pike, had caught me shoving a boy’s face into his locker at school and she had been disappointed in me, she had said, rather than being angry with me. And I had actually felt a little guilty after that. If Mrs Pike had shouted and dragged me to the head’s office it would have only fuelled my own anger and I had never been capable of feeling remorse whilst anger still coursed through my veins. But to speak softly to me and manage to sound genuinely hurt by my actions, that had gotten to me. Pissing people off, sure, that was fine by me, but disappointing people, that was something entirely different.

“As you wish.” I managed a tight smile as I shoved my wallet back into my jeans pocket. I suppose I should be grateful each time Emily proved to me that she wasn’t at all interested in my money, but I wasn’t. I wished that, just for once, Emily would happily take my money. I wanted nothing more than to spoil her and ravish her with gifts and luxuries, but I knew she would never accept it. And I knew I would only make her feel cheap by doing so, so I fought hard against the urge every day.

Samantha called Emily and practically begged to keep Maia for the night, so as soon as we got back to my apartment, I poured Emily a glass of wine, grabbing a beer for myself, and ran a hot bath. Emily slipped in in front of me, resting her back against my chest as she sipped slowly at her wine. Every damn time she moved, no matter how slight that movement was, the base of her back rubbed against my already hardening erection.

“Do you want to go out for dinner tonight?” I asked her, in a desperate attempt to think of anything other than ramming myself into her. I was hoping my bubble bath idea would be a romantic one; I wasn’t planning on it turning into a fuck-fest.

“Hmm,” she mumbled. “I think I’d rather stay here and keep you all to myself.” Her tone was seductive, her words breathy, and I knew instantly that she was thinking on the exact same wave length as I was.

I pushed her hair over her shoulder to reveal one side of her neck and pressed my lips against her clammy skin. As I traced an imaginary line across her shoulder with my tongue, I could taste the vanilla essence of the bath oil, but I wasn’t too bothered. It only added to her sweet taste. As I devoured her neck, she let her head roll back onto my shoulder and a quiet groan escaped her. God, it drove me wild when she made those desperate little noises. I took her glass from her hand and placed it on the edge of the bath as I continued to lick and nip at her skin. I ran my fingertips slowly up her thigh and she shuddered in response. When my hand reached its destination, between her thighs, I could feel her readiness for me, even through the water that surrounded us. A groan rumbled deep in my chest and I pulled her chin around to face me, needing to taste her sweet mouth. As I kissed her hungrily, and my fingers circled steadily against her, she rocked her hips against my hand, over and over, teasing me with the friction it created against my erection. I was aching for her. And I couldn’t wait for her. I promised myself I would take more time with her next time, but right now, I simply had to be inside her.

I grabbed her hips and lifted her, spinning her around so that she was hovering over me. Her warm, wet skin stroked at my pulsing head as she bent forwards to kiss me and it was almost enough to have me coming there and then. She positioned herself above me and slowly, agonisingly slowly, began to lower herself onto me. I felt my eyes flicker and roll into my head as the sensational feeling encased me. God, she felt so good. I supported her hips with my strong grip and guided her up and down, up and down in a steady rhythm before sitting forward to deepen the contact. She screamed out as she rocked herself against me, her clit rubbing against me as she moved. Her hands were tangled in my hair, her head facing up at the ceiling as she moaned. Her fantastic tits slipped easily up and down my wet chest and I couldn’t help but take one of her pert nipples between my teeth. She gasped, and then groaned, and then I could feel a light shudder rippling through her body as she tensed around me. She lifted herself higher, almost withdrawing me completely, before slamming back down onto me. And the sound of our wet skin slapping together, and the swirling motion all around me as the water lapped up and over the sides of the bath, had me coming harder than ever. I pulled her tight against my hips, purposely circling my hips and pressing deeper into her as I poured myself into her, my body shuddering against hers. And then she was right there with me, screaming my name as she tightened herself around me.

I allowed my body to relax back against the bath, taking Emily with me and holding her close against my chest as I kissed her hair. Emily was incredible. She simply amazed me. Never before had any woman had the ability to pleasure me the way Emily always did. And Emily didn’t even have to try. I couldn’t imagine anyone else had it this good. I felt like the luckiest bastard alive at that moment. Emily was stunning. She was beautiful. We had the most powerful connection that I had ever known of; we had the most mind-blowing sex I had ever known of. And she was mine. I knew it, and she knew it. There would never be anybody else. I had never believed in soul mates and fate and all the bullshit that came with it. But now I was beginning to have a little faith. We were simply meant for each other.

Early on Sunday morning I took Emily with me to visit my mother. I had only planned to check in with security to make sure there hadn’t been any contact from my father, but Emily insisted on taking in the bag of luxuries that she had purchased yesterday.

My mother reminded me of a child on Christmas morning when Emily picked out each item from the bag and set it out on the small desk in the corner of my mother’s room. Which reminded me, it was only just over a month until Christmas and I hadn’t even thought about gifts yet, well, other than one particularly special gift, and I was sure Emily hadn’t done a single bit of shopping yet, either. I pulled out my phone and scrolled to Samantha’s number.

‘Could you keep Maia a little longer today? I was thinking of taking Emily shopping for Christmas gifts for Maia.’

I sent the text and received a reply before I had returned my phone to my pocket.

‘That’s fine; tell Emily she’s been asking me for a unicorn all day!’

Great, that’s the babysitting sorted but I wasn’t sure of where to start with a unicorn. Maybe a rocking horse would suffice.

“Why are you buying me bombs? What did I ever do to you?” My mother’s pained voice snapped me out of my thoughts of unicorns. “And I thought we were friends. Julian, why is your fiancée trying to blow me up?”

What the fuck had I missed?

“No, no. It’s called a bath bomb, you put it in the bath and it fizzes. It gives you lovely soft skin and smells amazing, look.” I turned around just as Emily held the bath bomb towards my mother. I must admit, I had wondered what that was.

“Get that thing away from me!” my mother shrieked before running and throwing herself into my arms.

“Gloria, it’s not what you think. It just makes the bath smell nice,” Emily pressed.

My mother pressed herself further into my embrace and appeared to be trying to hide her face in my arm pit.

“Mum, it’s okay. It’s not really a bomb, look, smell it,” I soothed whilst taking the bath bomb from Emily and holding it in front of her nose.

It took the two of us a good ten minutes to finally calm my mother down and convince her that Emily wasn’t trying to blow her up. I had watched Emily’s eyes pool with tears at one point, when my mother had sobbed, and my heart had ached for her. I wanted to go to Emily, to comfort her, but I couldn’t. I didn’t trust my mother enough to let go of her when she was so upset. What she had taken as a hug of comfort had actually been me pinning her frail body against mine so she couldn’t spring free and attack even if she wanted to.

Emily was less than impressed with the surprise shopping spree, complaining that her feet still hurt after yesterday’s exhibition. She was happy to begin with, that she now had the chance to get Maia’s Christmas presents sorted, but as soon as I attempted to buy Maia a gift her mood had changed.

“You’re not spending that amount of money on a bloody rocking horse,” she had scolded when I had picked up what was in fact a rocking pink unicorn with a white flowing mane, not a simple rocking horse. Maia would love it; I couldn’t believe my luck when I saw it staring at me from the end of an aisle in Hamley’s. It was perfect. Emily had no choice but to give up in the end, after all, it wasn’t a gift for her so she couldn’t refuse it, I had politely pointed out.

We picked out gifts together for Adrian and Samantha, both of which Emily had finally agreed to let me pay half of, then she helped me pick out a necklace for Natalie before complaining that her feet were going to burst and putting an end to our shopping trip. I did consider informing her that feet couldn’t in fact burst, but thought better of it, assuming it probably wasn’t the best idea to be making fun of a tired and exhausted female.

“I said we’d let Samantha know when we were finished,” I called to Emily as I stuffed the last bag of toys into the cupboard of my spare room. I found myself surprisingly excited about watching Maia open them all on Christmas morning. That’s if I was invited for that special moment, which I sincerely hoped I would be.