Apologies for the late update, I've been having some personal turmoil and things have been too up in the air the last little while for me to sit down and upload anything. But I'm back. I may not be updating in my usual 3 times a week fashion, but I'm going to aim for one or twice at the very least. Anyway, thanks for all your wonderful reviews and know they're motivation to keep going during hard times.
This chapter is also rated M.
He awoke sometime later in the darkness, Lillian barely stirring beside him. He knew what had awoken him, the mattress still jostling as she settled more firmly on her stomach, a slight snore indicating that she was on the verge of being fully unconscious once more. He hadn't meant to fall asleep here, no doubt he would have to ask Cam to cover for him later when his mother began to ask around to figure out where he had spent the night. The sun was barely over the horizon and casting a pale yellow glow over the room; he still had another hour at least before he was due to start work. He could feel his muscles aching after having spent the night cramped in Lillian's tiny bed, his back having been forced up against the wall in his sleep.
He had never seen Lillian look so calm before. More often that not when she was awake she reminded him of a lit fuse to a firework, always counting down the seconds until whatever emotion she was feeling decided to burst. But for now, her face was blank; her lips slack as air whispered out her lungs, her back rising and falling with each breath.
He propped himself up on an elbow and reached for her, pulling her hair out of her face and sending it cascading down her back, trying to arrange it so it followed the gentle curve of her spine. She sniffled slightly as his fingers trailed against her flesh, starting slightly.
"Morning." She said thickly, adjusting her position and turning to look at him. "Sleep well?"
He nearly laughed at her bleary expression, watching as she buried her face in the crook of her elbow. "Not a morning person, I should have expected it."
"I am a morning person." She said against her arm. "Just not when large men are in my bed and hogging blankets."
"Sorry." He tugged the blankets up over her shoulder and smoothed them over her back, a small tug sounding in his stomach as she emerged from her elbow and smiled. "I'll get the coffee then?"
He felt a little sheepish as he got out of bed, knowing her eyes were on his naked form as he scrambled awkwardly into his trousers and made his way to the kitchen. Although things between them were arguably less awkward than they had been before, he was still a little embarrassed about the previous evening's happenings. But perhaps that would fade with time, the more they... were acquainted with each other.
"You know," She began, watching him prepare coffee as she curled the blankets around her. He was grateful that her kitchen was barren for the most part; it was much easier to find things when her cabinets were only filled with the bare essentials. "I was wondering, about some of the stuff you said last night. Before... Everything."
He dropped a lump of sugar into both their cups and began steering his way back to bed, trying to avoid spilling on her floor. They had left quite a mess- Lillian's clothes were scattered about the floor, making his trip back to bed more difficult than it should have been. "What are you wondering about?"
She let him settle on the edge of the bed before she took her cup from him, sitting upright. She seemed a lot more at ease around him than he did around her; he was having a hard time focusing on her face, her bare breasts perking above the pool of blanket at her waist. "It's just before... Well, you mentioned that your Dad made it harder for you to leave Bluebell, is all. And I was just wondering how that was? I mean, when I moved in, Rutger practically begged me to have this property. I mean, surely if you wanted to leave..."
"Someone would want to buy it from me?" He finished for her, watching her nod into her cup. He sighed, trying to find the words to explain such a complex matter. "I don't blame you for thinking that. But it's a little bit different for my property than yours. Back generations ago, all the land was owned my by family- your farm, actually, used to be an extension of my own. Same with the orchard between our houses. But as time went on and the town expanded and people began to marry into different blood lines, deeds were argued over and eventually sold to the state in favor of more practical things, like animals and crops... things we couldn't just get on our own. Today almost all the land in the village, and even the next town over, belongs to the state. But my family is one of the few that didn't sell." He paused for a moment and waited for her to come to the right conclusion, but she only stared back at him, confused.
"Because we didn't sell our land," He continued after taking a sip. "The state can't interfere with the original specifications of the deeds... We don't pay taxes to the state. No help from the government and no tax, pretty fair trade, right? Granted, also means we don't get much in the way of insurance but... Anyway, because we didn't sell the land, the original deed and all it's specifications are still binding to this day. And because my great-great-great grandfather was a bit of an asshole who liked to make things inconvenient, one of the conditions in that contract was that the deed can only be in the name of a male heir related by blood."
"So, that means-"
"Cheryl and my mother don't have a legal right to the property, exactly. Stupid, isn't it?" He sipped. "So that means the only way we could keep the farm in the family is if I marry and have a son, and if that son marries and has a son, and so on.
She frowned. "Then why don't you just sell to the state?"
"Here's the hard part: I could sell to the state, but the problem is that our property is worth triple what it was then. While we'd get a lot of money from the initial sale, and would have a lot of help with animals and trade... If I left, there's no way my mother and Cheryl would be able pay the taxes every year without me. And even if they could, my mother's getting older and can't do the work; Cheryl's too young still and we couldn't afford to hire long term help... We'd be broke in less than 5 years, and the farm along with its contents would be seized."
He watched as she became lost in thought, her mind swirling around her empty cup and no doubt trying to find a loophole he had missed. "Tough spot." She said after a while.
"Yep." He replied, downing the rest of his coffee.
"But it's not fair for you to always be stuck here." She sighed, taking his mug from him and setting it on her bedside table. "I mean, what if you wanted to leave? What would happen?"
He shrugged. "I would get over it, I guess."
"I know, it's just..." She shrugged, her cheeks going pink as she took his hands. "You know, I plan on being here for a while. And if you ever feel like you need to... Whatever. I just wanted you to know that I won't let them starve, or anything."
He smirked, squeezing her hands. "Lillian, if I didn't know any better I'd say you're getting attached to me."
"Shut up." She snapped, allowing him to take her face under his palms and kiss her.
She sighed into his mouth as he pressed her back into the sheets, her legs running up his sides and looping about his back. He had every intention of taking her again; after the jumbled mess they had made it through to arrive at this point, he planned on making good use of the hour or so they had left together.
He reached up to cup her breasts, doing his best to keep the majority of his weight off her as he squeezed, her nipples puckering beneath his thumbs. Taking one gently between his knuckles, he twisted it, reveling in the moan he enticed from her before her lips reclaimed his.
He only had enough patience to allow her to remove his pants before he pounced on her; his lips leaving a trail of wet kisses against her jaw. His hands left her hip to trace her, the cleft between her legs already slick for him as he began to tease her clit.
She whimpered into his shoulder as his index finger began to slide in and out of her, her lips finding his shoulder to keep herself quiet. He would never get sick of the effect he had on her, would never tire of the way her cheeks flushed as she got excited... He had struck her sweet spot, watching as she bit his shoulder to keep from crying out, her hips rocking against him in such spasms that he had trouble keeping her under his grasp.
Somewhere outside a rooster crowed, making him jerk his eyes away from her and to the clock on her bedside table. It was later than he thought. "Shit," He hissed, taking his hand from her and moving to grab his clothes off the floor. "I'm late."
He had barely sat up before she he jerked him back down, her grip on his shoulders surprisingly rough as she pinned him to the bed, her sex rubbing against his cock and making him hard beneath her. "Not so fast."
He had opened his mouth to protest but was silence by his own groan, Lillian having slid his cock inside her and slammed herself down on his hips. "Lillian..." He gasped, watching as she began to move herself up and down, her breasts jiggling pleasantly in front of his face. "I h-have to go..."
She bent forward slightly, the change in angle making his cock fit more snugly inside her, her lips pressing against his temple. "5 more minutes." She whispered to him, taking his hand and guiding it up to play with her bouncing nipples.
She was true to her word; about 5 minutes later they both cried out, Ash struggling to extract himself from her as they both came. He gasped slightly, trying to control himself as the after effects of being inside her rocked him, sending waves of pleasure radiating from his abdomen. She collapsed into bed beside him, careful to avoid the wet spot they had both created, nudging him out of with her toe. "Weren't you late?"
He jumped slightly and began to struggled with his trousers, so light headed that he was beginning to see spots. Once he got the leg holes sorted, he attempted to send her a cheeky grin. "Weren't you horny?"
"No anymore." She mused, watching him grab his shirt off the floor and hurry out the door.
Hope that satisfied. Read and Review please :)