When I was naked, he lay me on the bed, his gaze scraping over my body as he shucked off his pants tossing a condom on the bed. He pushed his boxer briefs down and his dick popped out. It was long and thick, and my pussy convulsed in need.
“Look at my cock, Serena. Don’t think you’re sexy? Think again.” Then he was over me, his hands and lips doing delicious things to my body. I felt like I was in a netherworld of sensation. It felt so good and at the same time frustrating as tension coiled tighter and tighter.
“Can I fuck you?” His voice was hoarse.
“Yes.”
He rolled to his back, grabbing the condom. I looked down at his dick, so long and hard, I wondered how it would ever fit. I reached out to touch it.
He hissed. “Careful, he’s about to blow.” He rolled the condom on and then covered me with his body. “I’m going to try and go slow but I’m so fucking hot right now, I’m afraid I might lose it.”
I nodded, feeling more needy than nervous. “I’m hot too, Devin. I need to come.”
“Let me take care of you, baby.”
A different sensation washed through me at his use of “baby,” but I tried to stop it. This was just a hook-up, I reminded myself. He didn’t care for me. I wasn’t his baby.
“Open up for me,” he said, settling between my thighs. “Bend your knees.”
I did as he said, feeling a little vulnerable at being so exposed. But then he ran his finger through my pussy lips and all thought left. I gasped and arched to his touch.
“So wet. So responsive,” he said. He gripped his dick and rubbed the tip over my clit and through my folds. “Tell me you want this.”
I appreciated that he was concerned about me, but at the same time, I was frustrated because he was delaying.
“Fuck me.”
He groaned, and then pushed his tip inside me. It was soft and hot, and unfulfilling. I needed more. So much more.
I gripped his ass, pulling him. “More.”
He levered up on his hands, shifted his hips and pushed in deeper. “You’re so tight. Jesus…fuck…so good.”
At least he was enjoying it. I was still annoyingly frustrated. “Devin…please…I need…”
He withdrew and I was about to protest when he thrust hard, and his cock plunged inside my body, filling me.
I cried out, but I didn’t feel pain as much as I felt shock and then fullness.
“Are you okay?” His breath was coming in gasps.
I inhaled a breath when I realized I’d been holding it. “Yes.” I rocked my hips, trying to fulfill the ache inside me.
“Ah fuck,” he said at my movement. He withdrew and slid in again. He did it slow and gentle the first few times. My body seemed to know what to do as it rocked in time with him. Soon we were moving faster. The graceful rhythm of before was replaced by a frenetic pounding of our bodies.
“Do you need to come?” he ground out.
I gripped the sheets as pleasure coiled tighter and tighter. “Yes.”
He dipped his head, sucking my nipple hard and deep into his mouth, and I felt that pull right to my pussy. He plunged in and pleasure burst like a nova, shooting out to every nerve ending. I cried out as my body went taut.
“Fuck, I’m coming…” He drove in again and again, and his movements seemed to hold me in suspended pleasure. It was even better than I could have imagined.
Finally, he stopped and collapsed on me, his breath harsh in my ear. It was several minutes later when he asked, “Are you okay? Was it okay for you?”
“Yes.”
He lifted his head and stared down on me with concern in his eyes. “Are you sure? What are you thinking?”
I felt like I was in blissful heaven. “I’m wondering how long before we can do that again.”
His smile was wicked. “I’m young and virile. Give me a few minutes.”
I started to leave later that night but he convinced me to stay until morning. That night turned into two and two turned into three. We spent our days hanging out in New York, with me showing him all the wonderful things the city had to offer away from the rich and snooty. And at night, he showed me all the wonderful things he could do to my body. He let me explore his and showed me how to turn him on too.
During the week, he’d meet me at my college to take me to lunch, where he introduced me to sex in public locations.
“Come with me to Europe,” he said mid-week as we sat in the large tub of yet another fancy hotel room. “If you come with me, I won’t be so miserable.”
I turned in the tub to look at him, not quite believing what he was asking. Sure, I was head over heels in love with him by now, but I’d been pretty sure this was just a fling for him.
“I have to finish school.”
“Do it online. Besides, what better place to learn than in Europe?”
I wanted to go so badly. Not to see Europe, but to continue to see him.
“I know it sounds nuts, but I’m not ready for this to end and I can’t get out of going.” He held my face in his hands. “I’m crazy for you, Serena. Tell me you feel the same.”
I nodded. “I do.”
“Then come with me.”
I swallowed. “Yes. Yes, I’ll come with you.”
The day before I was supposed to leave, I was preparing to tell my parents, but having a hard time figuring out how. They’d think I was being impulsive. They’d say this was young love that wouldn’t last. How could I convince them otherwise?
A knock on my dorm room door interrupted my plotting. I opened it to find an extremely well-dressed woman in her early fifties.
“Ms. Serena Moore?”
“Yes.”
“I’m Katherine Roarke. Devin’s mother.”
Oh crap, I thought as I looked down at my sweatpants and t-shirt. “Mrs. Roarke. Come in.”
She glanced through my room like she was afraid it was infested. But she stepped inside. “I’ve come to tell you not to go to Europe with my son.”
I frowned. “Why not?” Inwardly I kicked myself. She didn’t want me to sully her son, I was sure.
“Because he’s leading you on.”
Huh?
She gave me an apologetic stare. “I’m afraid my son is spoiled and entitled. It’s one reason we’re sending him to Europe. He needs to grow up. Learn to be responsible.”
The Devin I knew seemed grown up and responsible enough.
She sighed. “He’s not in love with you. In fact, you’re not the only woman he spends time with.”
Something in my chest shifted. I didn’t want to believe her, and yet, I could feel my faith in Devin slip. He was young, rich and handsome. He could have any woman he wanted. In the near-week we’d been together, I couldn’t figure out what he saw in me.
“I hate to do this. Every time I have to talk to some young woman, I hate it. Somewhere I’ve done wrong by him.”
My heart began to split as she pulled out something from her purse. She handed it to me.
“This is Devin the other day.”
I looked at the photograph of Devin with a gorgeous blonde woman who was clearly from his world. He had his arm around her, and she had her hand on his chest, gazing up at him with adoration. He was smiling down at her.
“Why Evelyn puts up with his philandering ways, I don’t know. My husband doesn’t stray. We’re hoping he’ll grow out of it.”
Evelyn. Was that the Evie that sometimes came up in conversation?
I stared at that picture, as I replayed the last days I spent with Devin. The man in this picture, that his mother was describing, wasn’t the man I knew. But then, how much did I really know about him? Only what he told me.
“This younger generation does love to sow its oats.” She smiled sympathetically. “At the expense of nice young women like you. I do apologize for my son.”
I handed the picture back.
She put the photo back in her purse. “I’m prepared to compensate you. Sometimes money can soothe the hurt.”
I was pretty sure Fort Knox wouldn’t fix my hurt. I shook my head. “No. That won’t be necessary.”
She studied me for a moment, and I guessed that the other women she’d had this talk with had taken the money.
“So, you won’t go?” she asked.
I shook my head. “I have to finish school. I graduate in May.”
“How wonderful. Your parents must be very proud.” She handed me a business card. “If there’s anything we can do to help you get a job after you graduate, let me know.”
I felt numb as I shoved the card in my sweatpants’ pocket. “Thank you.”
I didn’t respond to Devin’s calls or texts that night or the next day. I didn’t show up at the airport when he left. Within a month, I began to feel like maybe I’d be able to put him in the past. And then I discovered I was pregnant.
1
Serena—Five Years Later
Life can change in an instant. One impulsive action can rewrite the trajectory of a life. For me, it had been getting caught up in Devin Roarke. One minute I was a college student studying business with the goal of a corporate job and the next I was planning to run off to Europe with a man I’d only just met. That short encounter changed everything that would happen in my life from then on.
I looked in on Andrew, the sweet child borne from that impulsive week. I wasn’t complaining about the impact he had on my life. While I’d been terrified to learn I was pregnant, I couldn’t regret that it had happened.
My parents were disappointed and even suggested I consider adoption for my unborn child. Of course, once he was here, he gave new joy to all of us. My mother retired from teaching to help me care for him as I set out with my degree to find work.
Lucky for me, I got a job at an events planning firm. It turned out I was good at it, and with Nikita Wilson as my mentor, in five years, I had my own office and my own team. My clients were mid-level status, but I was working my way to the big-time celebrities and hotshot businessmen.
With Andrew still sleeping soundly, I hurried through the morning routine I developed when he was one and I committed myself to achieving success and giving him the best life possible without his father’s family’s money.
I meditated for ten minutes, read something inspiring, journaled, and did thirty minutes on the treadmill. The exercise wasn’t about my weight, as I was still a big girl. The short morning workout helped me keep up with a four-year-old boy. I showered and then went back to his room.
“Drew, Drew…time to get up,” I said leaning over him.
His arm snaked out from under his sheet and wrapped around my neck. “I want pancakes.”
I laughed. “Maybe Grandma will make you some. I’ve got toast and peanut butter with a glass of milk for you.”
His eyes popped open. They were an unusual mixture of green and blue. Almost like my and Devin’s eye color were mixed together. He had my dark hair, but Devin’s features were strong in the shape of Andrew’s face. Like his father, Andrew would be handsome. I hoped he wouldn’t be as cocky or irresponsible with people’s hearts.
I left him to get dressed in the clothes I’d left out for him, going to the kitchen to fix his breakfast and get a second cup of coffee for myself. I’d been lucky to find the tiny one-bedroom apartment in my parents building in the East Village not far from Tompkins Square Park. It had a little nook that I was able to turn into a room for Andrew. My parents lived one floor down in a two-bedroom. All in all, things turned out well despite my impulsive behavior five years ago.
Even so, I wasn’t impulsive now. I learned how rash decisions could impact a life, and now that I was a mother, I couldn’t afford to have anything happen to hurt the safety and security I’d built for me and Andrew.
Andrew ran to the table with his toy airplane making jet noises. He grinned up at me, and in that sweet face, I saw the same smile as his father. In times like this, I wondered what Devin would do if he knew about Andrew. Would he deny being the father? Would he try to shirk his responsibility? Would he want to take Andrew away from me? Would he be happy?
Most people, including my parents, believed Andrew was the result of one night of a nameless hookup. It wasn’t so far from the truth and so it had been an easy secret to keep. If people knew the truth, they’d either hate me for keeping Andrew a secret from his father or wonder why I wasn’t going after him for money.
I knew keeping Andrew from Devin wasn’t a nice thing to do. The truth was, I’d tried to reach him, but he had a new phone number in Europe, which meant I had to seek out his mother to get his contact information. I hadn’t wanted to tell her about the baby, but she’d left me no choice as she refused to give any information. Even after knowing I was pregnant, she didn’t give it to me.
To say she reacted badly was an understatement. She tried to say he wasn’t the father, but I told her a DNA test would prove that he was. She must have believed me because she then offered me an obscene amount of money to go away and never speak of the issue again. She said that Devin was building his life in Europe and hadn’t mentioned me once since leaving, so clearly, I wasn’t important to him.
I realized then that I was on my own. I passed on the money, and instead decided to raise Andrew on my own. I didn’t want him to be around people who were so ruthless and uncaring about others.
“Mommy, how do airplanes stay in the sky?” Andrew set his plane on the table and took a bite of his peanut butter toast.
“It has to do with thrust and airflow,” I said trying to remember high school physics.
“From the engine?”
“Yes. And how the air goes around the wings. We can get a book at the library if you want.”
“Grandma is taking me to the library,” he said with a mouth of toast.
“Be sure to get a book. You can show me tonight when I get home from work.”
“’k.”
Twenty minutes later, I dropped him off at my parents’ apartment, and then took the subway up to midtown to my job.
I was just putting my purse in my desk when Nikita poked her head in my door. “I’ve got something for you.”
“Oh?” I waved her in.
“I’ve been planning that party for Tony Gallagher,” she said of the standards crooner of the 1960s who was having a resurgence in popularity after his music was featured in a blockbuster film. “Mari has the flu and Jacob is still out on family leave,” she said of two people on her team.
“So you need some people from my team?” I asked, sitting at my desk and taking a sip of the fancy coffee I bought. Expensive coffee was my one indulgence.
“I want you and your team. Can you meet me at Roarke’s this afternoon?”
I tried to keep my face impassive, but I was sure I flinched. It happened every time I heard the name Roarke.
The NYC restaurant owned by Devin’s family was so fancy-schmancy that I’d yet to be involved in any events there because my clientele wasn’t quite that rich. The few that were that wealthy were younger, and while Roarke’s was for the elite, it was for the older elite. The rumor was Devin was changing that in their European establishments and that he’d opened a few clubs in an attempt to cater to the younger crowd. But here in New York, Roarke’s was still something for older, richer people.
My instinct was to say, “No,” but if my career was to continue its upward momentum, I needed this experience and the connections I could make. Devin was still in Europe, and I was certain that Mrs. Roarke wouldn’t remember me if she happened to be at the restaurant.
“Yes, of course. Wow. Roarke’s.”
“We’ve got most everything set up, but I need to walk through with Roarke’s staff, and this is a big deal, so I’d love it if you could attend. I want our top, top people there making sure the event goes over. Gallagher has lots of friends who have lots of friends. It comes from over fifty years in the biz.”
I nodded. “Absolutely.”
She handed me a binder. “Everything we’ve done so fa
r is in there. I’ll see you around three? Bring your team too.”
“I will. Thank you, Nikita. I appreciate your including me.”
She smiled. “You’ll have my job before long. Just wait until I retire before taking it though.”
I laughed. “No one would take your job.”
I busied myself through the day to distract myself, but it was no use. I couldn’t stop worrying about walking into Roarke’s. Chances were no one would know or remember me, so it was crazy to be worried and yet I was.
At three o’clock, I stepped out of the elevator on to the thirtieth floor where Roarke’s overlooked the Manhattan skyline and a perfect view of the Empire State Building. The restaurant was elegant, making me think of a private men’s club with dark leather chairs, dark walls accented with gold. It had an outdoor terrace and several event rooms.
I made my way to the larger of the rooms that had its own terrace where Mr. Gallagher’s party would be.
“Ah, there you are Rena. I’m just finalizing the menu with Alison here,” Nikita said waving me over. “Here’s a list of things that you and your team to check out.”
She handed me a folder. The first item had to do with seating set up for the outdoor area. “Let’s look this over on the terrace,” I said to my little team of three.
We stepped outside into the chilly air.
“What if it rains or snows? Isn’t it a little cold for an outdoor event?” Debbie asked as we all pulled our coats around us in the chilly February air.
“They’ve got outdoor heaters, but I’ll check on rain or snow,” I said. We spent the next twenty minutes going through the list of items. Nikita was the best at the job, so there weren’t any issues that needed us to troubleshoot or fix.
When we were done, I sent my team back to the office while I hunted down Nikita again to let her know all was well.
I stepped into the large room and immediately, the hairs on my arms stood up as I walked into Devin Roarke.
“Excuse me,” he said, his voice as deep and velvety as I remembered.
An Irish Affair Page 2