Devil's Kiss (11 page)

He circles his arms around me, still with his own towel wrapped low around his hips, and backs me up toward the bed. Then he steps away and unwraps his towel, tossing it on top of mine. Despite our recent shower action, I see that he’s already hard again, and I bite my lip in anticipation. We lie back on the bed together, my heart racing.

“Relax,” he whispers. “Close your eyes.”

I obey, and feel his lips on my neck, his tongue flicking against the tender skin along my collarbone. I gasp as he moves down to my breasts, sucking hard at my nipples. He slides down next to me, spreading my legs with his arms as he kneels between them.
He kisses the inside of my leg just above my knee, and I take a deep breath through my nose, trying to concentrate on what he’s doing right now. Trying not to think ahead. His mix of tenderness and aggression in bed turns me on so much. He trails kisses up my leg.

All at once, he lowers his face toward my throbbing slit. I cry out softly as his breath caresses me. As I sense his mouth moving closer to my clit, he palms my breasts, brushing his thumbs over my hard nipples. I arch my back into his touch and I feel his mouth finally touch that raw, tender button. I cry out as he kisses me there, working his tongue back and forth across me.

I writhe as my pleasure increases, and he presses me down, pinning me into place. Now I can’t displace the intense sensations with movement, and I whimper as he circles his tongue quickly around my clit. He sucks hard on me, and I almost come, but he backs off, circling his tongue a little more slowly now. I feel him pull away and begin to move slowly back up toward my chest. Damn, I was so close, why did he stop? My eyes flutter open and I frown down at him as he gently kisses my sternum.

“I want you to come while I’m inside you...here,” he says, sliding his hand below me and pressing a finger into my ass. “It’s going to feel so fucking good—for both of us,” he promises. I shiver a little at the desire in his voice.

He kisses me, his tongue working my mouth open. I feel his right hand glide over my stomach and down to my crotch, running over my clit and pressing inside me with two fingers. His touch brings me almost back to climax at once.

“Turn over,” he commands. I open my eyes and look into his, dark and excited. I trust him, I know. I do as he says, turning onto my stomach with my hands at my sides, turning my head toward him on the pillow. He presses his fingers back inside me, then slides them up to my ass, trailing some of my wetness with him. I feel him press a finger into my ass, massaging and stretching me.

I close my eyes and lose myself to the sensation. It’s so new, so illicit. So
good
. I feel him pull my hips back and push a pillow under me, angling my ass more into the air. He spreads something slick between my butt cheeks, and I know it’s lube.

“I won’t start there right away, OK?” he says. I nod, my eyes still shut. He thrusts his cock slowly into me, hitting my g-spot straight on. I groan as he pushes all the way in. One hand slides under me and massages my clit, while the other makes its way back toward my ass, fingers slipping easily inside. He thrusts faster and faster, working me right up to the brink. All it will take is a few more strokes...

But then he pulls out of me. I’m aching, all I want is to feel him inside me again. His fingers are still circling my clit, but they’re not enough anymore. I feel his dick against my ass, slick with the lube and my own wetness.

He presses his cock into my ass slowly and carefully. At first all I feel is intense pressure, but then there’s a twinge of pain. I inhale quickly at the sensation, and he pauses. He waits for me to get used to this new feeling. As he’s working deeper into my ass, I feel his fingers press into my slit, sliding up against my g-spot. The combination of sensations against my clit, g-spot and ass are completely overwhelming. I have to force myself to keep breathing.

As he pushes his cock into my ass, the pressure becomes almost unbearable. I’m almost about to tell him to stop when I feel his body flush against me, and I know he’s all the way in. I breathe out slowly, relaxing into the moment. Pressure and pain give way to pleasure. I press back against him, drawing him deeper.

“I’m there, babe...” he moans, his finger thrusting against my g-spot. He drives his cock into me with a little more force now. The pressure is still there, but the intense fullness feels insanely good. I bite my lip, reveling in all the competing sensations.

“Fuck, oh fuck!” he cries, so close to the edge.

I lose myself, and my mind goes blank. All I feel is him—his cock, his fingers, working me over everywhere. I tilt my hips up, feeling his dick plunge deep into me. Waves of pleasure break over me. I feel like I’m having an out-of-body experience, but also completely in touch with every sensation in my body at the same time. It’s exhilarating. Unlike anything I’ve ever known. I don’t know how much time passes before I become aware of my surroundings again.

As my eyes slowly open, I realize West is still behind me, kneeling on the bed. He gently pulls out of me and I release a low sigh. He drops like a heap onto the mattress beside me. He curls against me, resting his head on my back, his legs splayed across mine. I smile in the silence, amazed by this man beside me. I know that I’d follow his lead, wherever it might take me. There’s power in that, and fear as well.

But mostly, there’s just freedom.

Last night was the first night since Stick left that West and I didn’t have sex. We were sitting on the couch, talking until we got sleepy. I have a hazy memory of him picking me up, and now here I am lying next to him in bed.

The curtain is only pulled halfway across the window, and the light from it woke me up. It’s shining across the bed, splitting it in half. I’m overheating in the sun, but West is still sleeping in the dark half. He’s lying on his stomach with his face turned toward me, his lips slightly parted. I’m resisting the urge to reach out and touch his face. He looks so innocent when he’s sleeping.

I turn quietly onto my side. Stick is supposed to be home later today. I’m glad to know he’s safe, but his homecoming is bittersweet, since it means West and I will also have to stop...whatever it is we’re doing. A little pang of sadness twists in my stomach.

These couple weeks have been wonderful, but part of the reason was because I put an expiration date on this in the first place. So he wasn’t nervous about it getting too serious for him. Who knows how he would have been otherwise? I have to show him that I’m fine with it ending, otherwise it’s always going to be super awkward between us and we’ll never be friends. We both just have to move on and see other people.

I slide slowly out of the side of the bed, trying not to wake him. I want to fix up the house a little before Stick gets home, make sure West and I haven’t left any evidence of our relationship, such as it was, lying around. I pick up my jeans from the floor. I guess West must have taken them off for me, though he left on everything else. I pull them on, and pause, looking down at him. A cloud moves in front of the sun, dimming the light shining in from the window.

West shifts, and his arm extends out, toward the side of the bed where I’d been sleeping. He’s searching for me, his hand grasping the sheet. I take a step back. A small frown crosses his brow, and he turns over, his back toward me and the door. Tears well up in my eyes as I see how quickly he adjusts to me not being in his bed. I tiptoe out of the room, swallowing my pain down as I close the door quietly behind me, and head into my own bedroom.

I take a look at the mussed sheets on my bed and decide to pull them off and do a load of laundry. I toss the sheets in with the rest of my clothes in the hamper and take them down to the basement, putting a load of whites in the washing machine. I walk back upstairs. West seems to still be sleeping, so I decide to go to the grocery store. I want to make sure Stick has plenty of the foods he likes in the house when he gets back, since I assume he’ll probably be exhausted.

The Tahoe is back from the shop now, so I take it to the store, which is pretty full for a Sunday morning. I’m a little worried I’m going to see Kyle again, which would be awkward since I turned him down for a second date, but there’s no sign of him. It takes me a while to get through the busy store, but I think I’ve gotten all the food we need for the week. When I get back to the house, I spot Stick’s Harley in the driveway. He’s back! I pull the Tahoe next to it and grab a couple of the grocery bags and take them in.

Stick and Stacy are curled next to each other on the couch with giddy smiles plastered across their faces, clearly pleased as punch to see one another again. West is sitting in the armchair. Everyone looks to the door as I enter.

“Hey!” I greet Stick, dropping the grocery bags by the edge of the couch as he stands. We hug tightly. “Still have all your arms and legs?” I ask as we part and I look him over.

“Oh, yeah, don’t worry. Everything went smoothly with the Devils,” Stick assures me. “I stopped at Stacy’s to grab her first on my way back here. I thought we could all have lunch together or something.”

“Well, I’ve got a bunch of food in the car if you’ll help me unload it,” I say, jerking my head to the front door.

“Sure,” West offers. He stands up and walks out the door, and I notice the absence of a touch or look as he passes me. It feels so strange. Just a little over an hour ago, we were in bed together. I follow him out with Stacy and Stick and we quickly unload everything into the kitchen.

After we eat on the back porch, I head into the kitchen to grab another beer. I hear the door open and slide shut, and I look up, expecting to see West, but it’s Stick.

“What are you doing tomorrow?” he asks in a hushed voice.

“Um...the Black Rock is closed on Mondays,” I shrug, “So probably just hanging around, I guess.”

“You think you could come shopping with me?” Stick mumbles.

“I...What? You want me to go shopping with you?” I ask incredulously.

“Well...” Stick glances furtively toward the sliding door in the living room. “OK, don’t freak out, but I’m going to ask Stacy to marry me.”

My jaw drops. I know he warned me not to freak out but,
what?
My wild older brother is getting married?

“Oh my gosh! Stick! This is crazy!” I whisper excitedly.

“What do you mean?” he asks, frowning worriedly. “You think she’ll say no?”

“No, I mean crazy in a good way!” I say quickly, “I just...I’m surprised, that’s all! But you guys are so great together, really. Do you know how you’re going to ask her?”

“I don’t know yet. I’m having a cut embroidered for her,” he smiles, “She’s expecting that, I think—for me to ask her to become my old lady. But I don’t think she’s expecting a ring, too. I don’t know what kind, or shape, or whatever, to get. I mean, what the fuck is a fucking ‘carat’?”

“OK, don’t worry, I know this little boutique place near the mall we can go,” I smile, “Stacy actually pointed it out to me. Hey, I wonder...”

“What?” Stick asks.

“Well, it might be a good sign that she pointed it out to me,” I tell him, “I mean, pointing out a jewelry store that you really like to your boyfriend’s sister? Maybe it wasn’t completely casual.”

“Wait, really? You think—?” he asks excitedly.

“What are you two doing in here?” Stacy asks, sticking her head in from outside.

Stick and I both jump guiltily. “I was just explaining to my sister here that I’ll be picking her up after work tonight, since West already has plans,” Stick explains to her.

“Speaking of, I better go get changed. I have to be there soon.” I say, heading into my bedroom. Does West really say he has plans tonight, or was Stick just covering? He’s hung out at the Black Rock every night I’ve worked while Stick was gone. Well, I guess this is the new normal, then. The faster I get used to it, the better.

That night at the bar, I feel distracted and zoned out. I mix up a few drink orders and forget to serve another couple. It’s not like me at all, and I see Franchise watching me a couple times. I tell Sharon that I’m just tired, and she tells me to leave a little early since her kid’s with his dad anyway. I text Stick, and soon I’m riding behind him back to the house.

The next morning, I wake up late and cranky. I take a hot shower and try to shake off my mood. I don’t want to be in a funk when I go ring shopping with Stick. I know it’s a big deal for him and I don’t want to ruin it. We take the car over to the mall, and I point out the Little Blue Box – the jewelry store that Stacy liked. We walk in and the woman behind the counter smiles at us.

“I think we’re just going to look around a little first,” I tell her preemptively. She smiles knowingly. God, I hope she doesn’t think Stick and I are the couple. I wave Stick over to one of the cases and point out the different kinds of cuts. He frowns down at them, unsure.

“Hey, there’s something I wanted to bring up,” I say. He looks at me questioningly. “Well, I know you and Stacy are going to want to move in together, maybe start a family...” Why does my throat feel tight all of a sudden? I rush ahead. “I just wanted to bring it up first, so that you don’t feel awkward about it. I’ve been saving up my money, so I’ll be able to find a place really soon.”

Stick looks relieved. “Oh, Olive, don’t worry about it. Stacy loves you. I mean, hopefully if this goes well, she will move in, but there’s no rush for you and West to move out or anything. Besides, the house is just as much yours as it is mine.”

“Well, not really, though. Dad left it to you,” I point out.

“Dad...” Stick begins, frowning. “He didn’t know what he was doing. He just never knew what to do with a daughter. I mean, I know I can overcompensate sometimes because of the way he was...”

I raise my eyebrows at him. He’s never really acknowledged what’s at the root of his overprotectiveness before.

“Yeah, yeah. Stacy’s been pointing some things out to me,” he acknowledges. “But the thing is, he should have left the house to both of us. And when the market’s better and we can sell it, you’ll have half of what it brings.”

“No, no,” I protest. “That’s a great house for kids, for a family. It’s different now that you’re asking Stacy to marry you. You should keep it.”

“But don’t you want to be able to have a nest egg for yourself?” Stick asks, “For when you find someone and start a family?”

That tightness in my throat is back, worse than before. I struggle to speak.

“Well, I don’t know. We’ll see if that ever happens,” I say, “I think I might have a broken compass when it comes to guys or something.”

“When you meet the right guy for you, you’ll know,” Sticks says, nodding sagely.

“Well, I had that feeling about someone once,” I begin tentatively. I know I can’t talk to Stick about West too specifically, but I feel like I’m going to explode if I keep it inside. “We got along so well, like we could have been friends, on top of the...you know. But he also balanced me out really well. And he was exciting.”

“But…” Stick prods me.

“I don’t really think he’s a relationship kind of guy,” I say.

“Olive,” Stick says, and I can hear the beginning of a lecture coming on.

“Forget it. We’re here to find you a ring, not break down my personal life,” I say, swallowing the knot in my throat. “OK, I think you should consider these square cut ones over here. And I don’t think you should only focus on the diamonds either. There are a lot of beautiful stones here,” I add, waving my hands to the other cases.

“What about this one?” Stick says, pointing to a cushion cut.

The sales lady begins to sidle over, sensing her opportunity.