He unbuttons my jeans that took me five minutes to get into, and I grab his hand. “You don’t have to,” I say quickly.
“I want to.”
Want to? Matt said no man wants to do this, they do it because they have to.
“I’m serious.” I give him another out.
Eli rises onto his knees then hooks his fingers in my jeans. “I’m serious, too. I want to taste you. I want to make you scream my fucking name so loud that everyone here knows what I’m doing to you.” The heat in his eyes melts me.
“I know that most guys don’t like it . . .” He stops, giving me a confused look, which makes me feel naïve and a bit stupid. “I mean, I’ve been told by . . . that . . .”
Eli pulls my pants lower. “Did you ever come on a man’s tongue?”
“No.”
“You’re going to come on mine.” He leaves no room for question. “A real man eats pussy. Only selfish pricks refuse to give their girl what they need.”
I lie completely speechless. But I don’t have time to think about what he said, because he’s ripping my pants and underwear off. Eli lifts my legs, throwing them over his shoulder, and his gaze melts me. He watches me as he moves closer, taking his time, causing my heart to race.
At the first swipe of his tongue, I’m done.
But it only gets better. Eli knows what he’s doing. His tongue presses against my clit, moving in circles, then up and down. It’s like nothing I’ve ever felt. Sweat starts to bead on my forehead as my climax builds. He wasn’t kidding about making me come.
My fingers grip the blanket as I try to hold back, try to stay on the ground. He forces me to climb higher and higher as he continues to drive me toward ecstasy. “Holy shit. Oh, my God,” I mumble.
He stops for a second, slips his finger inside, and sucks even harder. I twist and start to tremble as he continues to drive me forward. Another finger joins the first, and he pushes deeper, crooking them just right and hitting the blessed spot that no man has ever found before. I burst apart.
Everything inside of me clenches as I fall over the cliff. I scream his name, exactly like he promised I would, and then become mush.
Holy shit. I’m dead. Died. Gone to heaven. I’ve met my maker because this man is a God.
My breathing is erratic, and my heart is thumping so loud that I swear he can hear it. “Wow.”
“I told you.” Eli crawls his way toward my face.
“You made good on your promise.” My voice is low and full of appreciation. “I think you’re a little overdressed, Eli.”
“What are you going to do about it?” he taunts.
Making the most of the space between us, I slip my hand down and slide the zipper the rest of the way open. Then I remove his pants and boxers, allowing his impressive length to spring free. “This,” I say as I wrap my fingers around him.
He lets out a low hiss as I slide my hand from base to tip. I watch his face, learning what makes his jaw tick or his eyes close. My thumb grazes the tip, and he pushes me back. “I want to fuck you.”
Our mouths connect, tongues swirl, and our hands roam over each other. “I need you,” I beg almost desperately. “I need you right now.” I’ve never begged or been vocal during sex before. Ever.
Eli grabs a condom from the nightstand and rolls it on before getting back to where we were.
“You’re making me break my rules, too,” he confesses. I don’t have a chance to ask what the hell he’s talking about before he enters me.
My eyes slam shut as I stretch to accommodate him. He’s big. Bigger than I’ve ever had before. He doesn’t move like I expect him to, and I open my eyes.
“You okay?” Eli asks.
I nod quickly.
Eli drops on his forearm and kisses me with care. This kiss isn’t the same as the ones before. It’s slow, sensual, almost sweet. My fingers tangle in his hair as he begins to rock back slowly. He moans in my mouth as he continues to be gentle.
“Eli,” I groan. It’s too much. Everything about him is incredible. His thumb rubs back and forth on my cheek as he slides in and out. “You feel so good.”
“So do you. What are you doing to me?” I glance up at him to find him watching me. “I want to make you come again.”
Well, that would be nice.
He rolls over, forcing me to be on top. I never got to be on top much in the past. When I did, it was the only time I got off. Considering how good this feels, I doubt I won’t climax again.
“Ride me, baby.”
And I do. I glide up and down, allowing him to fill me to the brink. I rake my fingers across his chest, enjoying the way he groans. Eli is just as lost as I am. I move faster as my orgasm builds again. “I’m gonna come.”
“Good. Hurry, baby. You’re going to make me come the way you’re gripping my cock.” Eli grits his teeth as his fingers dig into the flesh of my hips, pulling me down harder as he thrusts up to meet me. I’m undone.
“Eli!” I cry out as my climax hits me hard. He continues to move me as he follows me to the end.
I fall next to him and try to catch my breath. Neither of us speaks as we come down from the high.
As I lie there naked, it hits me that this really happened. It isn’t just some dream. This is real. I had sex with a member of Four Blocks Down on his tour bus. Where he’s done this with I don’t know how many girls. I’ve never had sex with a random stranger before and now I’m lying here with a man that probably only does that. I’m not special, he probably doesn’t even remember my name since all he did was call me “baby”.
The bed shifts as Eli rises. “You need anything?”
A shower and a lobotomy. “No,” I reply quickly.
“I’ll be right back.”
He heads into what I assume is the bathroom, and I jump up. I can’t believe this. What the hell is wrong with me? What was I thinking? Clearly, I wasn’t. I blame Nicole.
“What’s your last name?” he asks from the other side of the door.
I quickly throw my clothes on. I need to get out of here. “Covey,” I reply while pulling on my jeans. Where the hell did my underwear go? I look around and under the bed but don’t see them. Damn it.
He flushes the toilet, and I’m out of time. I can’t look at him. I need to go before he returns.
I grab my heels and phone and rush off the bus. I need Nicole, and then we need to leave. Now.
I spot her as soon as I walk through the door. Thank God. Nicole is making out with some guy in the hallway. Typical. I grab her arm and pull.
“We have to go,” I explain.
She looks back at the guy, “I’m—”
“No. We have to go right now.”
“Heather,” she protests.
“Now!” I yell at her, and her eyes widen.
I’m not known for yelling, but when I do . . . I mean business.
“Bye.” She says to the guy, and I drag her along. “Slow down.”
I don’t even acknowledge her. My mind runs in circles as I think about what just happened.
“We have to go.” There’s no way I can look at his face.
“You said that,” she grumbles as we move. “What happened?”
I shake my head, pulling her into almost a sprint. I’m going to be sick. It was amazing, and so ridiculously good, but so wrong. I’m not a one-night stand girl. I’m a commitment and get-to-know-you girl. The guys at least know my last name. I’m a slut. I’m worse than a slut . . . I’m a groupie slut.
“Don’t make me stop walking,” Nicole threatens. “You know I will.”
“Fine,” I stop as we get to the exit door. “We had sex. Really good sex. You happy?”
The size of the smile on her face is all the answer I need. She looks like a proud mother at a talent show.
“Fuck yeah, I’m happy. Why are we running away?”
“Because . . .” I huff. “We had sex! I had sex with him! We have to go.”
I push through the door, still draggin
g Nicole behind me. “That doesn’t explain why you’re running barefoot through the arena.”
I’m not explaining this to her. “Just keep moving.”
We finally exit, and I could literally cry. They closed the gates to the parking lot.
“Now what?” she asks, looking at the tall metal gate with big ass locks on it.
We could go to the south entrance, but that would take too long. There’s only one option. “We climb.”
“The hell we do!”
I let out a heavy breath and glare at her. “Nicole, I just did something so unlike me that I’m not even sure it was me. So, we’re climbing the fence because you’re my best friend and I need to get the fuck out of here.”
“Babe.” Nicole’s eyes fill with sadness. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“I’m a groupie slut.”
“You’re so not a groupie. You’re the furthest thing from a slut.”
I don’t respond. Instead, I chuck my shoes over the fence and start to climb.
When I was twelve, I could climb fences pretty quick. Especially growing up in Tampa where we would hop fences to get to each other’s yards. But I’m not even halfway up and I’m winded, my foot has slipped more than once, and I can only imagine what I look like from below.
“Shit!” I yell as my toe misses the next opening. Nicole’s laughter fills the air. “Stop laughing and start climbing!”
“This is priceless.” she laughs harder. “Wait. Let me get my camera!”
“Nicole! We need to get out of here in case he comes looking for me.”
“Fine. Fine. Chicken shit.” Her shoes fly over my head, and the entire fence shakes. “You owe me.”
“Stop moving!” I try not to laugh, but it’s futile. This is hysterical. “I’m going to pee,” tears fall from my eyes as I hold on.
“I need a Go-Pro for the next time we go out.”
“I hate you,” I say between giggles.
She purposely rocks back, causing me to almost fall. “You only wish you did.”
“If I fall . . .” I warn as I sway and try to climb higher.
“It’ll be what you deserve for making me climb a freaking fence at one in the morning!”
The amount of ways that I’m going to pay for this is unimaginable. My co-workers saw me being sung to on stage, I’m sure one of the guys from my squad caught me going backstage, I’m going to have scrapes from climbing a fence, and Nicole will never let me live this down.
I reach the top, one leg swung over on one side and one still in Eli-land. And that’s when I hear him. “You’re going to just run out?” Eli’s voice is filled with disbelief. “Just like that?”
I get myself over the other side and climb to the ground so I have the fence between us. Nicole is near the top, watching this unfold. “This was a mistake. It should’ve never happened.”
“So, you run?” He takes a step closer, and I thank God for the metal between us.
“Nic,” I whisper-shout, urging her to come down, and she starts to descend. I glance back at Eli, who stands before me with no shirt or shoes. His chest heaves as if he ran here to find me. I stare at him. “It’s better this way,” I say, wishing Nicole would hurry the hell up.
“Why? Says who? You didn’t even give me a chance!” Eli grips the back of his neck.
“This would never work. Seriously. You don’t have to try.”
Even if my life were completely peachy, which it isn’t, Eli and I would never work. We had sex, it doesn’t mean I want more, but there isn’t even a chance I could. I’ve already seen that men are selfish, and I can’t even provide enough attention for a local police lieutenant, there’s no way I can do it for a world renowned actor and singer.
Eli takes another step, his hand gripping the steel separating us. “You said you don’t do this before, well, I don’t chase after girls who run out, so we’re both doing something different. I wanted to talk . . . I wasn’t asking for anything, Heather.”
So, he does know my name, that makes me feel marginally better.
Nicole finally drops down beside me, and tears fill my eyes. I know she sees it. I’m not upset because of him. I’m upset because of me.
“Let’s go.”
She knows me well enough to know I’m in over my head. The reason I’ve never done casual is because I feel too much. I’ve had life-long friendships, one boyfriend who I married, and a sister who needs me—casual doesn’t fit into my life. Now that I’ve come down from the buzz and adrenaline, I feel empty.
I release a heavy breath and shove down my emotions.
“Look. I’m sorry I ran out, but I have to go. I don’t belong here anyway.” I’m not sure what the proper etiquette is for running away from a man you’ve spent your entire adolescent and part of your adult life dreaming of and then slept with, but this seems appropriate. I grab my shoes and start to walk away.
“Heather, wait.” I glance back at him over my shoulder. “I just—”
“Goodbye, Eli.”
There’s no way I’m looking back, because if I do, I might not keep walking.
As we start to sprint, my phone dings with a voice mail. It’s Stephanie’s facility.
With my fingers trembling, I press play. “Hi, Ms. Covey, this is Becca from Breezy Beaches Assisted Living. Stephanie had a . . .” She pauses as if she can’t find the right words. “She’s been transferred via ambulance to Tampa General Hospital. Please call me as soon as you can.”
The tears I fought back fall without a thought. “It’s Steph. We have to run.”
Chapter Five
Heather
“I’m fine,” Stephanie says while swatting my hand away as she lies in the hospital bed.
“If you’d stop fidgeting.”
Her seizure was the worst one yet. Thankfully, there hasn’t been any damage that has manifested, but I’ve refused to leave her side, not even for a second. I hate myself for being at that stupid concert instead of here with her. She’s my entire world.
“Go to work, Heather. I can’t handle you being around me. You’re like a fucking helicopter, always hovering over me. You annoy me.”
One of the worst parts of Huntington’s is the mood swings. Stephanie was a sweet, kind, and happy-go-lucky kid. When she was nineteen, she had her first onset of tremors. Her body would go stiff and she couldn’t move. Immediately, Matt and I took her to the doctor, but they couldn’t find anything.
Then her mood did a complete one-eighty. It was as if someone stole my sister’s identity and replaced it with the angriest person I’d ever met.
“I am going to work today, thank you.”
“Good. Do I go back to Breezy tonight then?”
“Depends what the doctor says.”
According to the neurologist, we can expect her to continue to deteriorate, and she’s at high risk of another seizure that could leave lasting effects. The younger you are when you become symptomatic with Huntington’s the faster things get worse.
“Yet again, I have no say in anything. It’s always you and the doctors. I’m a fucking adult!” She rolls her eyes and turns onto her side.
“I know you are, but yelling at me isn’t going to help.”
My patience with Stephanie is unending, but at times, I lose my cool. Being told how awful, worthless, and depressing I am eventually wears me down. I know it isn’t her. She acts this way because she’s frustrated and in pain, but I still hate it.
However, it was Stephanie who made the decision to move into Breezy Beaches. She knew I couldn’t quit my job to take care of her. I needed to make whatever I could, and a live-in nurse was way over our budget since insurance wouldn’t cover it. She needed around-the-clock care that I could no longer provide.
It was the single most devastating day of my life. I cried harder after dropping her off than I did the night our parents died.
“I hate you. I hate this disease.” She flips back over and throws the cover back, staring up at the ceiling. �
��I hate it all.”
I touch her shoulder, and her hands start to move. They took her off the medication for the tremors when she was admitted, and it took less than forty-eight hours for them to come back.
“Steph,” I say carefully. “Please don’t shut me out.”
“I c-ca-can’t.” Her eyes well with frustration and tears. “I h-hat-t-e th-this.”
I move to the side of the bed and lace her fingers with mine, trying not to cry as well. Our hands move together as her body takes control. I do my best to comfort her. “I know, love. I hate it, too. Right now, we’re just dancing. That’s all.”
In the beginning of the disease, this was what I used to say when her hands and feet would go. It was our dance break. I muster a smile and start singing as we move with no rhythm or purpose.
My heart breaks as I watch this disease rob my sister of a life she deserves. It isn’t fair that she got the gene and I didn’t. I would gladly take it for her if I could. So many times I’ve watched her and tried to stay strong, but sometimes there is no strength. Sometimes I can’t help myself from losing it. My lack of strength sometimes won’t be my demise—love will be. Love is what breaks me down. Love is what makes it so hard to forgive God for doing this to us. Stephanie should be hanging out with her friends, working, living life. Instead, she’s stuck in a facility because we have no idea when the next symptom will arise.
The tear I was fighting so hard to push back, falls.
Stephanie’s eyes lock on mine, and we both cry together.
“Is your sister better?” Matt asks as we finish roll call.
“Yeah.” I nod. “She should be going back . . .” I stop myself from saying the word “home” because it isn’t home. It’s a fucking group home, and I hate that she’s there. “to the place soon. Thanks for covering for me.”
“I know this is hard for you,” he says, trying to comfort me. “I hate seeing you like this.”
Right. I’m so sure that’s the case.
We Own Tonight Page 4