Then her hands slid down his shaft and she dropped low. He pinched his eyes closed right as her warm, wet mouth engulfed his head.
"Ah, fuck," he muttered. It was heaven, especially as she swirled her tongue around the head. “Cheri.”
She took in more of him but not past the first third. Cheri grasped the rest of him with one hand while cupping his balls in the other.
His balls were on fire. He hadn’t been with anyone else or jerked off since they’d started their lessons and weeks of frustration, aside from the one release at the strip club, was clearly getting to him. He felt filled to the brim, balls heavy with cum, and his cock pumped and prime to launch. As much as he wanted to rush her, though, those feather light strokes and gentle suction were driving him wild.
His hips jerked and she pulled away for a second before diving lower to lick from his balls up the under side of his shaft. Then, she bobbed forward and sucked him good and hard. He felt it then, the tingling shooting up the length of his cock, the tightening of his stomach.
“You gotta stop. I want to come inside you this time,” he groaned.
But she refused to be deterred and renewed her attack on his cock. Her lips slid up and down his shaft and then her tongue wrapped around the head. When she took him in her mouth again with her tongue pressing against the head, his balls drew up and cock swelled to explosive hardness.
Something inside him snapped and, with a growl, he gripped her by her shoulders and dragged her up the length of the bed to straddle him. The second her searing hot pussy touched him, he shuddered.
"Girl," he said. "What you do to me."
"Good," she murmured, grinding on his cock like she couldn’t wait to get it inside her.
Deftly, he swiped at his jeans and pulled out his wallet. He took out a condom he had there and set it on the corner of the nightstand so he could find it. The jeans and wallet fell to the floor with a thump.
"Now," he said, "Where were we?"
"You were about to ravage me?" she said
"That sounds about right." He sat up and pulled her head down toward his, intent on giving her a long, slow kiss, but her hand brushed against his cock, jolting him with the shock of her touch. With a growl he took her lips, hungry and demanding, and she responded with the same immediacy. She groaned as she ran her fingers over his shaft.
He claimed her mouth ferociously and their tongues tangled with wild abandon.
Dev needed this. He needed her.
She pulled at his t-shirt to get it over his head, and he did the same. They were finally naked and anticipation lit her eyes. She threw her arms around his neck and pulled him closer.
"Dev, please."
It melted him. He shifted and ground his erection against her pussy. She shivered.
"I have to have you," he whispered into her ear.
Her eyes went wide as he ripped the foil off the condom and rolled it on his thick, and hard cock, wincing from even that pressure. He was so close, so fucking close, that burying himself in her slick heat might be enough to set him off. He said a silent prayer for patience as he guided her over his cock, using his hand to position himself at her entrance. A gentle push brought the head into the opening of her slit and, despite how wet she was, she was very tight. After all their foreplay, he was still afraid of hurting her.
"Okay so far?" he said, and she nodded.
He was shaking now as her pussy gripped him tightly, fighting his need to enter her and his want to take her as gently as possible. He inched up again and she gasped.
"Okay?" he asked again.
"Yes. Oh god, I didn't know it could feel like this."
Dev was too far gone to listen. All he knew that he was going to explode and soon, and he wanted to make this as good for her as he could. He sat up and drew a succulent nipple into his mouth as she gasped and arched her back.
"Hold on, baby," he said. "Things are just getting good."
Times slowed as her hips started to do the work, rising and lowering her body onto his, slowly at first, then faster, taking him deeper with each motion. Soon, she was taking all eight inches of him, her inner flesh dragging against him in a firm, sensual caress. She whimpered, her hips moving faster now, like pistons as her muscle tensed. Almost there, if he could just hold back for one more—
Suddenly, her whole body froze and she screamed as her molten pussy clamped over his swollen cock. There was no holding back now. Her body was milking him relentlessly and all he could do was ride it out. Her hips bucked as she came but, as much as he wanted to watch her face, his own climax gripped him, dragging him under like a tidal wave. His cock jerked hard as he spurted inside her with a low growl.
This was what he’d been waiting his whole life for. And now that he’d found it, he wasn’t giving it up without a fight.
Chapter Eighteen
Morning light shined through the window and Dev’s eyes flickered open. He shifted only to find himself pinned in place. He breathed deeply, dragging in Cheri’s citrusy scent, and smiled, remembering the previous night.
Cheri over him, taking all of him. Cheri under him, giving him everything she had. Cheri bent in front of him…
It had been the hottest night of his life, and now, if he had his way, there would be and endless supply of nights like it. Maybe he wanted to do it for the rest of his life.
When had Dev Lachlan ever felt that way?
Never.
He had told her that he wasn’t a forever kind of guy, and at the time he said that, it was true. He never lied to any of the women he was involved with, never made promises he couldn’t keep. Now, with Cheri, he felt the promises he wouldn’t make to anyone else on the tip of his tongue.
Beautiful, smart, funny Cheri who took his breath away each time he touched her.
He’d known her for over a decade, watched her grow from a child into an amazing woman, and perhaps there wasn’t a time he didn’t love her. But he never loved her like this. It was a Sunday mornings in bed with coffee, the newspaper and each other kind of live. A home kind of love. The white picket fence, a dog, and who knew, maybe even kids kind of love.
And it terrified him as much as it excited him. He literally had no compass to steer by. Romantic love itself was a foreign concept to him. Could he straddle the world of a committed man and that of a rock musician? And could share handled a home when he would spend a part of every year on the road? The non-stop parties, and the women who threw themselves at him? Would she get sick of wondering what he was doing when he wasn’t at home? Marriages and rock stardom didn’t mix well.
Still, he had to admit, he was tired of the faceless women, and of not having someone to stand beside him as he climbed the rungs of his dreams. It hit him that when he thought of that ladder, it was Cheri in his mind’s eye with him there. And if there was anyone who could navigate the two lives, celebrity and normalcy, it was Cheri. She knew the life…had been part of it for years. And he knew as sure as he knew his own name that what they had was worth the risk.
If he could get her to believe that, they would only have one more hurdle to jump. It was a big one, but now that he’d finally seen what had been right in front of him this whole time, he hoped that it wasn’t going to be as big as they’d first thought. Sure, Rory didn’t want his sister with a bad boy rocker. But if Dev told him how he felt about her, and what she meant to him, and how he was willing to change his ways, surely Rory would understand and forgive them for their deceit until now.
His stomach rumbled, interrupting his thoughts. They hadn’t eaten the night before, so she would wake up starving too. Once they got some food in their bellies, he’d broach the subject and tell Cheri how he felt. Hopefully, she felt the same way and they could work out how best to break the news to Rory, together.
Feeling cautiously optimistic, he slid out of bed and silently put on his jeans, slipping his t-shirt over his head. Cheri stirred and he didn’t want to wake her, so he picked up his boots and carried them into the kitchenette.
There had been a bakery they’d walked past on Main Street that was closed when they caught an Uber to the hotel. Cheri mentioned she loved pumpkin bagels, and he ran through his mental files to recall how she liked her coffee.
He gently pushed the door open and let it close behind him with barely a click, then he bent to slid into his boots. As he straightened, he found himself staring into Rory’s narrowed gaze.
“I thought you were in three nineteen? Isn’t that Bug’s r--”
Dev’s blood ran cold as understanding dawned in his friend’s eyes.
“Is that…” Rory stammered, “Were you just with my sister?” His tone was icy with rage and shock as he stared at Dev incredulously.
Dev’s guts churned as he thought how to reply. There was no point in denying it. Not when he wanted to be with her for real. But also, his band mate had caught him leaving her hotel with his boots in hand. What was the point of lying now?
“Look, Rory--”
“You motherfucker,” spat Rory. His fist snaked out and connected with Dev’s jaw. A crack resounded through the hall and Dev stumbled back into the wall.
He wiped at his stinging mouth and blood stained his hand. “You got it all wrong,” gasped Dev.
Rory shoved Dev hard and painfully into the wall. “Don’t you dare go near sister ever again, you goddamned man-whore.”
“Look who’s talking,” Dev muttered. It was one thing to be angry, but Rory was beyond rational thought and getting punched in the face wasn’t making Dev exactly warm and fuzzy about trying to explain.
“Yeah, but I didn’t fuck your sister.”
“Only because I don’t have a sister.”
“I wouldn’t have fucked her if you did have one,” Rory snapped back.
“So my sister isn’t good enough for you now?” Dev mocked. He knew he should stop. Take the high road and try to diffuse the situation, but after weeks of denying himself because he valued Rory’s friendship so much, his harsh judgment felt like a stab to the gut.
“No, I’m saying you aren’t good enough for mine, fuckboy.”
“Fuckboy? Says the guy who hasn’t met a groupie he hasn’t stuck it in.”
Rory swung again, a wild body shot that landed in Dev’s solar plexus. Dev grunted and doubled over, then Rory smashed an upper cut into his jaw. A sky of white stars exploded behind his eyes and he stumbled forward, shoving Rory back.
“Cut the shit, you goddamned idiot. I don’t want to have to hit you back.”
“Who’s an idiot, moron?”
Rory lunged at him again and Dev threw his arms up, body checking Rory hard. He stumbled from the force of Dev’s charge and their bodies became one great tangle of flesh. Both went flying into the wall, their heads hitting it with a thud. They slid down to the floor, stunned and breathing hard.
“What the fuck, man?” gasped Rory. “You were like a brother to me. I trusted you and this is what you do?”
Were?
Rory’s words spread ice through Dev’s blood. He hadn’t even said his piece and already Rory was ready to write him off?
“You don’t understand. Give me a fucking minute to explain. I care about Cheri.”
Rory laughed bitterly. “Sure. Like you cared about that girl in Springfield or those triplets in Boston. Remember them? No. I doubt you do. They were the human equivalent of blow-up dolls for you.”
“That’s harsh, don’t you think?”
“No, you’re the one who isn’t thinking. Cheri is too damn good for you, and you had no fucking right to lay your hands on her.”
“Now, look—”
“You look,” he shouted, jabbing a finger into Dev’s face. “Touch my sister again, I’ll kill you.”
Rage came rushing in, washing away the last of the pain, and Dev was glad for it. “Last I looked your sister is a grown woman that can make her own decisions. And believe me, bro, she was more than willing.”
Rory swallowed hard, his face turning different shade of red. “You’re a fucking asshole,” said Rory. He pushed himself up.
“Where are you going?” said Dev, misery coming back in a rush. “Look, we need to talk this out. We still have another gig and I want to--”
“I don’t fucking care what you want, Lachlan. As for me? Find someone else for tonight, because I sure as fuck ain’t sharing a stage with a guy who fucked my sister behind my back and then got caught sneaking out of her room before she even woke up. Yeah, you’re a real stand up guy,” Rory muttered.
He stalked away, his shoulders rolled forward in misery and Dev felt like he was being torn in two.
“Rory,” Dev called after him. But Rory’s only response was a big, fat middle finger high in the sky as he stepped onto the elevator.
Dev sat on the floor, never feeling shittier in his life. Rory hadn’t given him a chance to explain, but fact was, this was all his fault. He should have told Rory about him and Cheri before he found out like this, with his bed friend walking out of his sister’s hotel room.
He was man enough to accept responsibility for that. But the thing sticking in his craw was Rory’s words after that.
“Cheri is too damn good for you.”
Maybe he was right. Maybe all the things he’d told himself earlier that morning had been lies. Ways to convince himself that he was worthy of the kind of love Cheri had to offer.
As he thought about his past and the broken hearts he’d left in his wake, unintentionally or not, the thought of leaving Cheri sad and broken made him physically ill. If he went through with this now, in spite of Rory’s heated objection, he would not only lose Rory as a friend. It would cause a major rift between Rory and Cheri. And no matter what the band said, those two were the only true family of the bunch.
He swiped the blood from his split lip and grimaced. Because, suddenly, no matter how much he wished it wasn’t true, he realized with total clarity that he was nothing but a wedge between them.
Which left only one option.
And it made his stomach curdle.
Cheri woke smiling, remembering the delicious things she and Dev had done the night before. She thought she knew what an orgasm was until Dev entered her the first time and showed her what pleasure really meant. And he kept showing her throughout the night. She tried to count, but couldn’t remember exactly how many time they made love.
Because that’s what it was. It couldn’t be anything else. He was more into making sure she was satisfied than with his own pleasure. It was as if he couldn’t give her enough. Finally, exhausted they feel asleep, but not before Dev promised more in the morning.
Oh lord. Cheri didn’t know if she could take any more. Now in the morning’s light she was feeling sore in places she didn’t know she could. Still, there was a deep satisfaction running through her body, one that told her that the world had changed. Dev had shown her what it meant to be a woman, his woman, and she loved it.
But she loved Dev more.
Now, where the hell is he?
She peered around the dim room and realized he was nowhere to be found. Almost by magic, the door creaked open and she sat up, tugging the sheets over her breasts in case it was the maid.
“Dev?”
“Yes,” he said.
“Where did you go?”
Dev didn’t say anything, and Cheri gathered the sheet around her like a toga, making her way to him. She threw her arms around his neck, reveling in his scent, and the solid maleness of his body. God, she wanted that body again.
He stood motionless, and Cheri stood on her tiptoes to kiss him. Her lips brushed his, but he stepped back.
“Cheri, we need to talk,” he said, the seriousness of his tone sending a chill through her. As his words registered, Cheri felt her stomach drop.
We need to talk.
The death-knell of every doomed relationship ever.
This couldn’t be happening. Not now. Not after last night…
“You’re an awesome girl. You are. But the lessons are over now
. You’ve passed, by the way, with flying colors.”
What the hell? Lessons? Ice did a slow cold burn through her crystalizing into disbelief.
“What the fuck are you talking about, Dev? Don’t try to pretend that--”
“I’m not pretending anything. It is what it is. I told you from the start I wasn’t a forever guy.”
He wouldn’t meet her gaze and she swallowed past the lump lodged in her throat. “I don’t believe you. I was there. I felt it.”
“Cheri,” he said, his voice an appeal for understanding. “I’m sorry you got the wrong idea. I really care about you—”
“Care?” she said. Her voice rose an octave, but she didn’t give a shit. “People care about their cars or how their hair looks in pictures. Last night was a shitload more than that.”
He shook his head slowly and she began to shake. “I’m sorry. I thought you understood. That’s what we agreed. When we finished with the lessons, we were done.”
“But, but…” stuttered Cheri, still too stunned to believe what he was saying. “I thought—”
“What, Cheri?”
“I thought you loved me?” She trembled as she said the words, but she had to hear it, hear him deny it, before she could believe it.
“Oh, Cheri,” said Dev miserably. “You do deserve to be loved, by a better man than me.”
“I don’t want another man. I want you.” Tears shimmered at the edge of her vision. How could she have been so stupid?
“It’s not going to happen,” he said, his voice devoid of emotion now.
The earth opened at Cheri’s feet and she fell headlong into darkness.
“I’ve never loved anyone else. I’ll never love anyone but you.” She thought she heard a choking noise, but then Dev cleared his throat.
“You will. Bug, you are a great girl, and you’ll find that great man.”
“Cheri,” she screamed. “My fucking name is Cheri. And you’re a pussy, Dev Lachlan. A lily-livered, chicken ass, pussy. You’re denying how you feel about me because it scares you. But I felt it last night. I know in my heart that you love me.”
“You’re wrong,” he said quietly and evenly. There was such sadness in his voice that Cheri’s heart could break just from the sound of it. “I’m not made for that kind of love. You should know that. You know me better than almost anyone.”
Hard Lesson: A bad-boy, rock star romance Page 16