The Gelid Woman

Professional Reviews

5 TEA CUPS: "The Gelid Woman by Lillith Payne is a wonderful book. The way Payne wrote out their love story and how it would have continued if certain circumstances did not get in the way, was great. Elizabeth cannot let her pride down but Carter does not fall very far behind with his ego. Since they were not able to communicate what actions were done by Carter and Elizabeth, they divorced. Payne did a wonderful job in writing how a one night of passion for their 5th Wedding Anniversary has just ruined their lives, their private moments together taking from them. Elizabeth and Carter will have to face this together to overcome this tragic incident. Will they find their love back and reconcile after 3 years of not seeing each other? Payne did a wonderful walk through of the how the villains that pirated their lovemaking paid their justices. Payne’s characters were very well defined, Elizabeth Maitland is an ambitious, independent woman but with amazing pride and a wall to cover up her true feelings. Carter Alton is a man with a big ego—not going to clarify the situation that he was caught in that altered his life. Carter regrets every minute of his life and regrets not going for what he wanted. Payne describes their intense situation so well that you can only be carried in their intense pain, especially Elizabeth. How can someone just violate their privacy and think that Elizabeth and Carter won't retaliate against them. Elizabeth holds her ground and it amazed me on how she composed herself and defended herself and Carter. I highly recommend this book, The Gelid Woman by Lillith Payne, it was amazing. The way Elizabeth and Carter lost their love due to them not communicating their actions or feelings, but found love again. I love how the book has a beginning and ending and everything in-between, experiencing all the courageous moves in order not to have their lovemaking tape out in the public eye. All questions are answered and justice is paid." -- Monica, Happily Ever After Reviews

Excerpt

STORY EXCERPT

“Everybody ready for the show?”

Her attempt at humor failed as the words died in her throat. It took all the courage she owned to lift the remote control and start the disc once more. The screen filled, fading to black with only the sounds of rain and wind filling the room. Slowly a room faded into view. It was a bedroom, typical of most hotels. The matched bedspread and drapery material coordinated with the industrial-looking carpet that showed in the background. Along credenza was part desk, part drawers, and part luggage rack. Just in the corner of the screen, you could see a black suitcase, the top thrown open and leaning against the wall. The wallpaper matched the bedspread. There was a television on the bureau. Its screen was black.

For long seconds, nothing happened, and then offscreen, someone pulled back the spread and blankets. Long, hairy legs came into view, but the person was bent over. As the man stood, she knew Carter Alton would realize he saw himself.

Liz watched Carter watch himself walk onto the screen, a white towel slung low across his hips with the end tucked in, holding it in place. He dropped the pencil on the desk as he moved his feet to the floor. Carter continued to view the man on the screen taking short, round chunky candles from the suitcase and lighting them with stick matches. Then he adjusted the knobs on a clock radio sitting on the bedside table. They observed him pull back the drapes, revealing a heavy rain pelting against the window. He turned off the lights and left the room in a soft glow. Just as he pulled the towel from his waist, Carter let out a gasp. Naked, he laid face down across the bottom half of the white sheeted bed, his tight muscular legs and butt within direct view of the camera lens.

Liz shut the video off and waited. Waited for what, she wondered. Would they scream or cry as she had. Would Carter break something or toss the items on his desktop? She was disappointed. Neither Carter nor Owen said a word; neither took their eyes from the screen. With a sigh, she continued the movie. This time, Carter laughed openly at something as he rolled over onto his back, his semi-erect penis coming into view. He laced his fingers behind his head as the bottom half of a woman appeared on the screen. She wore something black and knee length, but she had long legs, and when she reached over to Carter with a glass in her hand, she knew Carter would see the diamond engagement ring he’d given her on-screen.

His breathing was rapid and shaky at best. She should have remembered to bring a paper bag, Liz thought, shaking her head. She had the advantage of knowing when to shut off the tape, and she fully intended to use it today. Just enough to let them both understand what she had viewed last night. Carter would react differently from Owen.

Owen would feel the protector that was always his role, he’d defend her now, make this go away.

As for Carter, he’d only begun to understand the implications of what he was seeing. Beyond their careers and embarrassment, watching them move together on the screen had been a living hell for her. She remembered every caress, every touch, and every move he had made inside her.

She had spent three years pushing all those memories away, discounting them because of the incident in his office. The movie had made it all real for her again. It brought it slamming back in her face, the love of her life, her soul mate, her lover, and her husband, together again. It hurt beyond anything the divorce brought. Seeing them like this, she knew it was such a waste.

And she knew, had it positively reinforced, that she’d never find anything like the closeness she had with Carter. While it had ended badly, she had to admit that there were times when it had been wonderful.

On the tape, the woman leaned down to take the glass from Carter. Liz knew the diamond necklace she wore was another dead giveaway. It was an anniversary present from Carter. Five years married, a diamond for each year. It was on a spun platinum chain so thin that it looked almost as if the stones floated around her neck held side by side at the base of her throat by some useable force. Brown hair covered the woman’s face until she returned to the camera’s eye. Liz watched herself on screen give Carter a seductive smile, then drop the straps of the black slip from her shoulders. The material caught on the swell of her breasts, and that was where she turned off the tape.

ADULT EXCERPT

“Welcome home, Liz. I’ve missed you.”

“Oh, Car.” It was all she said before he kissed her words away. Minutes later, he used his thumbs to wipe a stray tear from her cheek.

“Liz?”

“Carter, is this wrong?”

“Probably,” he told her with a smile. “But let’s not let that ruin the moment.”

When he kissed her this time, he didn’t hold back his emotions. Liz could feel his energy and his warmth. She felt wanted and feminine. As she stroked his side and belly with one hand, she slipped the other between his towel and skin. Stripping away the cloth, she leaned against him and used her palm to capture his erection. She felt it grow longer and thicker in her hand. Pulling back, she gently tugged him by his cock, pulling him toward the bed.

“Liz, are you sure?”

She almost laughed at the tortured expression on his face. “No, but I want this anyway. Want you, Carter.”

In the quiet of the night and darkness of a strange hotel room, Liz stroked Carter’s body as he stood before her. Her hand teased his erection to straining before she dropped her pajama bottoms. When he attempted to pull her to the bed, she stopped him. “I didn’t ask you to move, did I?”

Carter froze at her statement. It was one of their old ways. Without further words, Liz continued to tease and taunt him, making him stand before her as she did. His thighs trembled from the strain of standing still while, with her skilled hands, she relearned his body. Liz sat on the side of the bed. When she breathed against his skin, he moaned. When she took him against her lips, he groaned. When at last she took him into her warm, wet mouth, she knew she’d found home. For a long time she loved Carter’s cock, remembering his size and taste, how his body reacted when she swirled her tongue in a certain way. She tasted several drops of his precome and knew that he was near a breaking point.