Songs For Cricket

by Terri E. Laine

  “I—”

  “Jesus, Finley, you’re gorgeous.”

  I wanted to believe him, and though I trusted him, my self-esteem had never been high when it came to my body.

  “I know my boobs aren’t the biggest . . .” They probably rivaled as the smallest.

  He shook his head and leaned up on his arms, releasing his hold on me. “They’re perfect. You’re perfect.”

  Then he shifted me, so he was sitting again with us face-to-face.

  “Are you sure about this?” he asked.

  I nodded and ghosted my lips over his. “Besides, when will we ever have the house to ourselves with no one here?”

  He licked his lower lip, and I took advantage, nipping and then full on kissing him again.

  His voice was hoarse when he said, “I want to see you.”

  I moved off of him, getting to my feet.

  “I want to see you, too,” I said, feeling a sly grin widen on my face.

  He stood and reached behind him, and I watched as his shirt skirted up, revealing acres of well-defined muscles until over his head it went.

  His eyes traced over me, and I felt the lick of heat down to my toes.

  “Show me,” he said.

  An unexpected flushed crept over me. Suddenly nervous, I said, “Turn around.”

  He didn’t hesitate, just did as I asked, giving me a spectacular view of his shorts-covered ass.

  “We’ll turn together,” I directed.

  “Sure. Let me know when you’re ready.”

  I heard fabric hit the floor and hurried to take off the bra and shove my shorts down.

  “Okay.”

  Our eyes connected first, holding there. Oh how I loved this man with all of me.

  My gaze finally dipped and hung on that part of him I’d been thinking about since I felt it long and hard against me.

  I had no frame of reference, really, to judge the size. I’d only seen pictures of one and remembered hearing a girl complain that four inches wasn’t enough. Although I didn’t have a ruler, Shep far surpassed that.

  “God, you’re cute.”

  Hearing his voice, my eyes jerked back to his, but I immediately dropped them back down as I watched it grow and begin to levitate as if to point accusingly at me. Though I couldn’t say with certainty he was huge, what I did know was that his dick was far bigger than my finger. The few times I’d pleasured myself, one alone had been a tight fit.

  “I’m not sure—” I admitted.

  He stepped forward, tipping my chin up with one finger, kissing away anything I might have said.

  “I’m sure,” he said. “And no more talking.”

  My fears of the pain that everyone had spoken of heightened at the sight of him. But it couldn’t be all that bad, or why would women all over the world enjoy sex?

  His hands glided down my spine over my ass before lifting me up. I wrapped my legs around him and enjoyed feeling girly as he crawled onto the bed before gently laying me down.

  I cupped his head and drew him back to me, wanting his kiss now more than ever.

  “Finley.”

  He said my name like a promise come true. When he palmed my breasts and squeezed them reverently, my back arched, and I gasped as his mouth covered one nipple, circling it with his tongue. The connection was like a rubber band tightening all the way to my core. The pressure built there made me greedy for more.

  His head slipped from my hands where I’d held him in place and dipped lower. There was no chance to ask what he was planning before his hot tongue set me ablaze between my legs. Licks, sucks, thrust, and repeat, until I could barely hang on.

  “Oh my,” I cried out.

  The band snapped, and the most intense orgasm I’d ever experienced in my life exploded within me. For the next few seconds or minutes, I couldn’t be sure, I rode the wave until my body went limp. I felt drunk and sleepy as his head lifted. He licked his lips and grinned at me.

  “Good for you?” he asked.

  I playfully swatted at him. “Yes, and you well know it.”

  He was adorable with his self-satisfactory smile, but all too soon he turned serious.

  “We can stop now. I can wait for the rest when you’re ready.”

  I rose up some on my forearms, fighting for strength I didn’t yet have. “Are you crazy? I’ve waited too long for this.”

  What I didn’t tell him was that when I’d decided sex was an option I was willing to consider, he’d been the first and only person I’d wanted to explore it with.

  “So have I,” he said, throaty and low.

  He stretched over me reaching into a bedside table drawer. He pulled out a box and had to move to sit on the side of the bed to open it. I could tell by the noise the box made, it hadn’t been opened before.

  “New?” I asked.

  “Yeah, your—”

  He stopped what he’d been about to say, and I was grateful. I could guess my dad had gotten them all boxes of condoms before we left for school.

  “You haven’t used them?” was a bigger question.

  I didn’t go into this foolishly thinking that in the few weeks we’d been here Shep hadn’t banged a girl or two. He and August had made a sport of it in high school.

  “There’s been no one but you on my mind. I didn’t want to screw up any possible chance I had with you by hooking up with someone else.”

  I was up and tackle hugging him, kissing him like tomorrow wouldn’t come.

  We lost ourselves in the kissing and touching until I found the courage to curl my hand around him. He hissed through his teeth.

  “If you continue, this will end before it begins. I’ve wanted you so long, the anticipation alone is going to completely fuck with my ability to last.”

  I let go as if the heat radiating off him burned me.

  He rolled me underneath him and threaded his fingers through my now free hand, guiding it to the side of my head. His mouth tasted of me, and I marveled at how natural it was to do this after he’d feasted on me.

  “Are you sure?” he asked one final time.

  That time I didn’t verbalize an answer. I moved my head in a quick jerky motion, drawn to the square package he tore with his teeth.

  Then he rolled it over himself, and I marveled at how it could stretch without breaking. His probing fingers were next as he tested my readiness.

  Once he positioned himself at my entrance, I had a moment to think, this is it, before he pierced that veil creating a sharp pain inside me that stole my breath.

  When he didn’t move, I opened my eyes, which I’d squeezed shut. I met his confused gaze and waited for him to say something because I couldn’t yet speak.

  “Shit, I’m sorry. What you said the other day . . .”

  I blinked, unsure what he was talking about.

  “You said Billy wasn’t the first,” he finished.

  My lungs expanded with the air I drew in. “I—uh—I just said that to get August off my back.”

  My concentration was torn between the dull ache the fullness inside of me caused and his mystified expression.

  “I’m so fucking sorry. I would have been gentler. Forgive me.”

  I lifted my head, unable to move anything else with him heavy atop me. I pressed my lips to his, trying to sooth his feelings. “It’s fine.”

  “It’s not.”

  He started to move off me, and I snaked my arms around him to hold him in place.

  “What’s done is done. Don’t ruin this moment by stopping now,” I urged.

  I loved him more for the concern on his gorgeous face.

  “But I hurt you,” he said, sounding angry with himself.

  “According to everyone, it was going to hurt no matter what, and you’ll hurt my feelings more if you stop.” I let go with one hand and brushed hair away from his eyes. “Please,” I added.

  He closed his eyes a second, then opened them with mor
e resolve. “Promise me if this gets too uncomfortable, you’ll tell me to stop.”

  I felt tears prick at the back of my eyes, knowing the waiting had been worth it. He was everything and more. His love for me was the most unexpected gift I could have asked for.

  “Don’t cry.” He swiped the pad of this thumb under my eye.

  “They’re happy tears. No more talking,” I said.

  I pulled him back to me so our tongues could tangle together, and I wiggled beneath him, trying to spur him on.

  When he started to move, it didn’t feel great. Not at first. But Shepard knew exactly what to do. His fingers played over my skin like I was his guitar. He tweaked the strings between every peak of my breast to the valley between my legs until all pain was forgotten.

  Soon, I was meeting every thrust while clawing at his back with my other hand. I might have cried out when I found a release for the second time. But nothing left my lungs except puffs of breath as his strokes became longer and more determined, extending the pleasure within.

  He groaned in the crook of my neck before stilling his movement. Our sweat-damped skin began to cool, and I was grateful for the heat coming off him.

  When he rolled us on our side and let go of me, I protested.

  “I’ll be right back.”

  He stood, all six-foot-two of him. His body was a work of art, and I watched as he removed the condom from his softening cock. Had that really been in me?

  Though no one had been home when I’d entered his room, I’d been too caught up in him to notice any other sounds other than the ones we made. He took time to open the door a crack and listen intently before exiting the room.

  I brought the cover up over my mouth, not out of embarrassment. I wanted to hide my utter happiness at what I’d just done and with Shepard. He loved me, and I loved him, and I’d just given him the ultimate prize I had to offer.

  My only worry now was how August would take the news that Shepard and I were together.

  24

  shepard

  When I went back to my room, would Finley really be in my bed? I stayed in the bathroom a little longer than I should have thinking about that very question. Maybe it had all been some waking fantasy.

  I rung out the wash cloth and drifted back to my room. But it wasn’t a dream. She was there nearly covered head to toe by a sheet that didn’t quite hide her flush.

  Though my blinds were mostly closed, light filled the room.

  “Hiding?” I teased, removing the cover and exposing her mouth so I could take advantage.

  She only giggled when I moved the sheet away completely to use the cloth to gently clean between her legs.

  “Are you sure you’re okay?” I asked.

  Though I’d removed traces of my invasion from her skin, drops of her crimson innocence marked my sheets, but I kept that to myself. I didn’t want her feeling self-conscious.

  Her grin eased some of the self-hatred I’d felt for the pain I’d unexpectedly inflicted on her. “I’m better than okay.”

  She stretched and bit her lower lip, stirring my desire for her. I dropped the towel to the wood plank floors and curled myself around her. The feel of her naked ass against me swelled my cock to proportions I didn’t think possible in such a short amount of time.

  “Why Cricket?” she asked out of the blue.

  Her face was hidden from me, so I nuzzled her neck, burying my face in her hair and enjoying the coconut scent of her shampoo.

  “You remember that time you told your brothers you liked sitting outside to listen to the crickets.”

  She laughed. “Yeah, and I remember Cooper bringing me one hidden in his hands. When it landed in mine shocking me, I scared the poor thing as I dropped it.”

  “You screamed,” I reminded her.

  Her body shook. “I did, didn’t I?”

  “And after you tried to beat the crap of out of us for laughing at you, you admitted you liked to listen but didn’t want to touch one.”

  She sighed and wistfully said, “August took that to heart. I woke up that night hearing one that he’d captured and put in a jar next to my bed.”

  The triplets shared a soul-deep bond that made me envious at times. I was grateful to share in their memories. This was one of many we had.

  “You also wondered why they sang,” I said.

  She nodded. “I’d forgotten that.”

  So had I. “A few nights before we left to drive to Layton, you were sitting outside by the pool, and it reminded me.”

  When I’d first moved in with them after everything, Finley had found me at that same spot, and I told her things I hadn’t told August.

  “We used to talk until things got weird,” she said, a sadness in her tone.

  “It wasn’t you. I fell in love with my best friend’s sister and knew your father would never approve. I backed off, knowing being near you was better than nothing at all.”

  She turned in my hold to face me.

  “What does my father have to do with this?”

  Everything, I wanted to say. “He would never had let me stay if I’d made a move on you. Besides, August would have kicked me out first.” I glanced away, hating what I had to say next. “We have to tell him.”

  Her sigh blew across my cheek as if she didn’t relish the idea any more than I did.

  “I still wonder why crickets make those sounds,” she said, avoiding the topic of her brother.

  We couldn’t avoid the subject forever, but I gave her time for now and stuck to the subject she’d chosen. “I found out.” I’d looked it up after being reminded of her curiosity. Her eyes waited with an eagerness I recognized, having known her most of my life. “According to my research, males have three types of songs.”

  “Males?” she asked.

  “Go figure, it’s us guys that use our songs to attract a female.” I winked at her. “To entice them into mating, and most importantly, one to fight, or what I like to dub the attack song to keep other males away.”

  “Oh, I see,” she said, giggling. “And your song was which one?”

  She hadn’t seen it yet, and I thought about playing it for her.

  “It was me hoping that one day . . .”

  She didn’t let me off the hook.

  “We’d what?”

  I surprised her with my answer.

  “One day, you’d see how I felt about you and give me a chance.”

  Her fingers stroked down my cheek and over my lips.

  “Only you didn’t know I’d been yours all along.”

  I snagged her hand and kissed her fingers. “If only I’d known.”

  “We wouldn’t have wasted so much time.”

  “Exactly. And I don’t plan to waste another minute.”

  For the next few hours, I found something I might have enjoyed more than music. Kissing and holding Finley like I’d wanted for so long turned out to be my new favorite pastime.

  The only thing I was unenthusiastic about was letting her go. It was getting close to the time she needed to leave for practice.

  “You’re not going?” she asked.

  Conflicting thoughts collided in my head.

  “What if someone has connected me to my father?”

  Her amazing hazel eyes flashed with sincerity. “You’re not him.”

  I swallowed. It was my greatest fear just eclipsing losing her to someone else.

  “People will see what they want when it comes out, and it will come out.”

  Riled up, she rolled off the bed and gathered her clothes. “Which is why you need to go to practice. Show them that you have no reason to hide because you’ve done nothing wrong.”

  I only followed as far as sitting on the bed. I was afraid if I stood, I would find a way inside her again. Regardless of my decision to go or not, she had to.

  With the bundle in her arms not covering the pink buds of her beautiful tits, I instantly grew hard.
/>   “I’m going to take a shower.”

  There was an invitation in her flirty statement. Then she was gone.

  It took monumental will and a steadfast resolve not to follow her. As I waited, I heard the melody in my head and began to write in my notebook.

  Eyes of Fire

  Eyes of Gold

  Being inside you

  Was like no story ever told

  Though I’ve reach my destination

  We still have many places to go

  Together was my destiny

  Forever is my goal

  When the bathroom door opened, I stopped. She gave me a gorgeous smile before disappearing in her room.

  She was right. It would be cowardly to stay home and miss practice. I’d done nothing wrong. So I gathered my things and went to take my own shower.

  It was hard keeping my hands off of her, especially since we were alone. When she asked me to drive, I’d thought good, maybe I could make it to practice without pulling over and touching her again.

  As it turned out, I wasn’t the only one who couldn’t keep their hands to themselves. Finley found it extremely amusing to get me hard and watch me squirm.

  “I’m going to get you later,” I said when we parked.

  “I’m counting on it,” she said.

  Damn her for the sexy wink she tossed over her shoulder. I watched her for a second and allowed male pride to swell in my chest as she hopped out and walked toward the door with a hitch in her step. It only reminded me how deep I’d buried myself inside her that we ceased to be individuals and became one.

  Finally, I got out and that’s when I noticed the TV van pulling up. If not for fear they were there to harass her, I might have ducked out of sight, worried that her little show that morning when I’d been arrested would have them tying us together.

  I jogged through the doors as they were still unloading equipment at the curb. I spotted Tori and hesitated. Remembering that Finley was more important than any condemnation I might get if Tori had heard about my troubles. I went to her.

  “There is a news van outside,” I said.

  She nodded and smiled warmly at me. “I know. They reached out to the main office, and we were alerted. I’m going to help Finley through it.”