Hard Lesson: A bad-boy, rock star romance

by Savannah Skye

  Pure obliteration.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Cheri still hung in his arms, bliss playing over her beautiful face. Her long lashes fluttered as she opened her crystal blue eyes slowly to lock onto his. She smiled lazily and his heart filled with the warmth of it.

  He had never felt this way before. Dev Lachlan, rock star, had fallen away to Dev Lachlan, a man who held the most beautiful woman in the world in his arms. Satisfying her had his cock pulsing and his heart filled with something warm he refused to name. No matter what happened between them, he would never forget this night. Her gasp as she came undone, the look on her face, like she’d been handed something surprising and wonderful, took his breath away.

  Before this, it had been simple. He made no promises and told no lies. He liked women, and their bodies, and it felt oh-so-good to have sex with them. But that was as far as it went. Now he sensed that was about to change, whether he wanted it to or not.

  Calling on every ounce of self-discipline he possessed, he gently tugged up her zipper and groaned as his fingers skimmed across her belly. She leaned closer, the satisfaction in her gaze now tinged with renewed interest as she traced his lips with her fingertip. They melted into each other, and she trailed her hand down his jaw, skimming past his chest and lower, closing it over the prominent bulge beneath his jeans. His cock pulsed with reined-in need and her touch fired him up to eleven all over again.

  “Dev,” she whispered hotly in his ear. “I want you.”

  Oh, good lord, he wanted her too. Maybe with some stranger. But with Cheri? This place didn’t seem worthy of her for the first time they made love.

  First time?

  Where did that thought came from? He never thought in those terms. One and done was his usual MO. But holding Cheri in his arms, he knew from the deepest part of him that one time wouldn’t be enough.

  He let out a growl. “You know I’m right. You know this isn’t the right place,” he managed to get out before her hand squeezed his cock, causing him to shudder. Good intentions or no, he was going to lose it right here and now if he didn’t distract her.

  Her face fell and she nodded, her hand falling away. “I understand.”

  He raised her chin with his fingers.

  “I don’t think you do. I want you. I will have you. But not here and not tonight. And that thing you were doing with your hand was driving me crazy, so if I didn’t stop you, we’d never have stopped.”

  She perked up, a gleam coming to her eyes. “It was, was it?” she asked with a hint of mischief in her voice. “I think I can drive you even crazier.”

  “I’m not sure I can take anymore,” said Dev. He was at the edge of his control, every nerve ending on fire, ready to catapult him to oblivion.

  “What it we don’t have sex. What if it just…take care of you? The way you took care of me, sort of.”

  Cheri licked her lips and her lashes lowered. It took a few seconds to register in his lust-fueled that she was staring at his crotch.

  “You want to--” he broke off, images of Cheri with her lips wrapped around his cock making his pulse pound.

  She stared him in the eye as she worked his belt buckle open and then his fly. He watched as she sunk to her knees, tugging his jeans down as she went. His cock, unrestrained by underwear, stood straight and slapped against his stomach.

  “Commando, Dev?” she asked, her eyes wide.

  “No time for laundry,” he managed, his throat suddenly as dry as the Sahara.

  She gingerly lowered her face toward his shaft.

  “God,” she groaned as she took a deep breath. “You smell so good.”

  Her first tentative licks lashed the underside of his cock and sent shivers of pleasure flashed up his spine. Her soft hands wrapped around the base and brought the sensitive head to her mouth. She used the tip of her tongue to bat at it gently, and then swirl around, which was at once too much and not enough.

  He let out a groan as she drew just the tip into her mouth, suckling.

  “Damn, woman.”

  “Is it okay?” she asked, gazing up at him.

  “Fuck yeah,” he said through gritted teeth. Her hands clasped at the base of his dick and her mouth playing at his tip kept him on the edge of torture with the delicious promise of more. She slid her hand along the length of his cock, slicked her palm with his pre-cum and her saliva, and travelled down the length again, slowly, sensuously, drawing a path of pleasure with her lazy strokes. Up and down, slow, long strokes meant to make him lose his mind.

  It was killing him. Dev arched his back, pushing his hips forward, pushing his cock toward her luscious mouth.

  One hand slipped to his balls and she cupped them in her delicate hand and rubbed the flesh with the tips of her fingers

  He gasped.

  “That’s so good,” he muttered.

  Fuck. His cock swelled and he didn’t think he could get any harder. But as she moved faster, tongue lapping at his swollen head, hand working his balls as she jerked him off, his shaft grew as rigid as a steel rod, throbbing and begging for more.

  “Suck it,” he gasped.

  Words stuck in his brain as images of what he wanted to do to that mouth rushed through mind. Cheri opened her full lips to form a perfect “o” and he arched forward, sliding his taut, straining shaft into her mouth. He stopped short of filling her, not wanting to overwhelm her, though he shook with the thought of going deeper.

  He fisted his hand in her silky hair and tried to think of anything but the overwhelming urge to explode in her mouth. Then, he leaned in slowly, holding her head on either side as he inched forward. Her welcoming mouth felt as if it was meant to hold him. She cupped his ass and urged him to keep going. To plow deeper. He squeezed his eyes closed as she swallowed him whole, her tongue flicking the underside of his cock even as she sucked him further down her throat.

  “So good. Your mouth is so hot…like fucking fire.”

  He fought the urge to buck forward and bury himself to the hilt. To fuck her face until his balls drew up tight and he spurted hot cum into that waiting mouth.

  She moaned and the vibration sent a shock through him. She closed her hands around his hip and yanked him hard against her, until the head of his cock touched that back of her throat.

  Then, it was over. Liquid coursed up his aching length as every nerve ending shot off sparks.

  “Jesus,” he groaned as she bobbed up and down, deep-throating him with every pass. He tugged at her hair to let her know it was coming, not knowing how she would feel about taking his load. But Cheri held on tight, taking him deeper and deeper into her mouth and then sliding back, and then sucking him in again. He threw his head back in a silent howl as all the tension and energy he’d built up poured out of him in a sensual storm. His muscles quaked as his cock bucked and jerked in her mouth, cum jetting forward in rush.

  She held on tight, sucking until he was dry, muscles feeling like jelly.

  Dev breathed raggedly as Cheri pulled away. One, pearly drop of liquid leaked from the corner of her mouth and the sight was so erotic, Dev’s cock gave another twitch. He wiped the droplet away with his fingertip and she grabbed his hand, pressing it to her mouth. Dev stared as she sucked it, gently licking away the cum. She sighed with satisfaction around his digit.

  “Fuck,” he said, entranced by the sight. If he didn’t get out of here soon, his resolution to wait was going to fly right out the window. What he would give to be able to spend an entire night with her…

  His cock agreed with that idea and began to get hard again. Lord, this was crazy. How could she do that to him so soon after the most mind-blowing orgasm he ever had?

  She leaned back on her heels and stared at him in the eye.

  “How did I do, Teach?” she murmured, her voice low and husky.

  He shook his head and let out a low chuckle. “I think that, pretty soon, you’ll be giving me lessons.”

  Cheri leaned forward with sheer wickedness in her expressi
on. “Oh, yeah?” she said. “Would you like a lesson now?”

  Her heated stare threatened to ignite another round of lust and need. How could Cheri, little Bug, stir this much passion? A rush of emotion bore down on him, like an unstoppable freight train rattling as it took the rails too fast, threatening to derail at the next turn.

  He reached out to stroke her jaw and she stared back at him with something he’d never seen before.

  It was unmistakable. This was not the gaze of some lusty groupie who set their sights on their own fifteen minutes of fame. This was a beautiful, full-grown goddess who stared at him with affection and naked desire. And as he looked into her eyes he found that he wanted what she had to offer very much.

  Shit.

  Too fast, too far. This was the rabbit hole he’d avoided all his adult life. A hole he needed to avoid especially when it came to Cheri.

  A knock on the door shattered the charged atmosphere.

  “Time’s up,” said a rude voice.

  Dev pulled her to her feet.

  “You don’t want your brother knocking the door down looking for you, do you?”

  “No,” her voice quavered.

  And neither do I.

  But he knew how she was feeling. This was a cocoon. A false sense of safety where only the two of them existed. The second they walked out, they belonged to the rest of the world again.

  How easy would it be for him to forget everything, his friends, his band, everything he worked for in the arms of this woman? Far too easy he suspected, and the thought shot an alarm through him.

  The knock sounded again. “Hey,” a gruff voice rumbled.

  “Be out in a minute,” Dev called as he pulled up his jeans and fastened his leather belt. Cheri, with an uncertain look on her face, hooked her bra and smoothed her clothes in place. He should reassure her, let her know everything was okay.

  But it wasn’t. Because they’d crossed a line tonight, and he had no clue how to get back to where they’d come from.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Cheri shot a glance at Dev on the stage noodling around on Quinn’s guitar and then looked away, the heaviness in her stomach congealing into a tight knot.

  Five days. Five frigging days since the night at the strip club, and she’d barely seen Dev alone for more than a minute or two at a time.

  She beat her fists into her thighs. Cheri hated these feelings, despised the hurt and anger. Worse, she hated that Dev’s behavior affected her more than it should have. She’d known him a long time. It wasn’t as if they hadn’t gone long stretches without talking before. It was ridiculous for her to feel this way.

  But Dev hadn’t so much as given her a glance since that night. Each time she’d seen him, he was preoccupied with either sound check, or the new songs that the band was putting together, or even the latest crisis with Quinn’s favorite guitar, which had cracked its neck when some venue crewmember had dropped the instrument when he pulled it from its road case.

  AL legit stuff. He was just busy, that was all.

  Too busy for you.

  After being so close to him, so intimate, Dev’s indifference cut as sharply as a blade. She could sit and take it, or she could do something about it.

  Screw it.

  She wasn’t going to let Dev Lachlan get away with ignoring her. If he wanted to stop their lessons or pretend like the other night didn’t happen, he’d have to man up and say it to her face. Her hands shook as she tugged out her phone and tapped out a message.

  And waited for his reply.

  And waited some more.

  She stared at her phone, but only her own words blinked back at her forlornly.

  Hey you. My lessons are falling way behind. Only a week or so left on tour and at this rate, I’m barely going to squeak by with a C- :o)

  She shoved her phone back in her pocket and focused on work. The next couple hours flew by in a haze and the next thing she knew, the guys were pouring off stage, all smiles.

  She was standing at the stairs the led off the stage as their feet pounded on the metal steps. Dev looked her way and their gaze caught.

  She hadn’t been this close to him in five days, but now he was less than an arm’s length away. It was now or never.

  “Hey, can I talk to you about a blog post I was thinking of doing?” she asked with a bright smile.

  He nodded, his face tightly inscrutable, and she led him off to an empty dressing room at the end of the hall. Her hands had begun to shake and she started to have second thoughts. What was she thinking, forcing this conversation? It could only end badly for her, couldn’t it?

  Dev closed the door behind him and she wheeled around. He gazed at her with such a look of innocence, as if he had no clue about the emotions churning through her. And why would he? Dev hadn’t so much as looked at her to see the pent up frustration of the past days coming to a head.

  Suddenly her mouth was dry and the words she wanted to say stuck in her throat. She tried to speak, but at that came out was a dry squeak.

  “Bug?” he said with concern in his eyes.

  Bug.

  Now she was back to being Bug. That called the anger and frustration back tenfold and, this time, the words spilled past her lips.

  “Did I do it wrong?” she asked, despite her abject humiliation.

  His brows caved into a frown. “What do you mean?”

  “When I…went we were together.” She swallowed hard and shrugged helplessly. “Was it that bad that you don’t want to talk to me anymore?”

  Dev winced and his eyes filled with something that looked like pity.

  A hot flush crept up her cheeks as he eyed her with utter dismay. He shook his head, and then raked his dark hair with one hand.

  “Bug--”

  “Cheri. My fucking name is Cheri,” she said defiantly.

  “Yeah, Cheri, look, I’m sorry--”

  Cheri’s stomach thudded toward the floor as all hope drained away.

  Here it was, the “it was fun while it lasted speech,” where he’d declare she was a nice girl and all but—

  “It’s my fault. I’ve been…preoccupied. I don’t how else to explain it. I had some things to work out.”

  “Like what?” she demanded, still feeling the heat of her anger. She stepped in so close that she could feel his minty breath on her face. She looked up into his needy eyes and cocked her head in confusion.

  “Like how I can want you so much,” he said simply, his voice all grit.

  “Y-you do?” Her heart fluttered as the ember of hoped glowed in her chest.

  “Yes,” he said through gritted teeth, “In fact, it’s been hard to think of anything else.”

  Cheri’s hands balled at her side.

  “Don’t you play with me, Dev Lachlan,” she snapped. “You haven’t had a word to say to me in five days. What the hell is that about? I-”

  With one sweep of his arm, Dev tugged her solidly against him and caught her gaze, disarming her with its burning intensity. And just as quickly, he slanted his mouth over hers in a greedy kiss, bruising her lips, slaying her questions and setting her aflame. His chest was like a brick wall against her soft breasts and her nipples peaked at the pressure.

  He pulled away, though the heat between them still smoldered.

  “Now,” he said, “can you shut you and listen to me for a second?”

  Cheri nodded, slicking her tingling lips with her tongue.

  “We’ve known each other a long time. And I had to think some things through. I’m sorry if it looked liked I was paying attention to you. Believe me, the only thing I paid attention to was trying not to molest you or let your brother see how I was feeling. I’ve been nearly useless to the band this past week. If I didn’t get up there and sing every night, they might as well have sent me home.”

  “Remembering the other night has me aching, twenty-four seven.”

  Dev took her hand and pulled it between his legs where she traced the outline of his hard cock.
>
  “This—this is for you. Only you. I’ve never felt like this, all the fucking time, for anyone. Just you.”

  His eyes begged for her understanding, but confusion and doubt still assailed her. “So what does that mean to you, Dev? What does that mean for us?”

  “Damned if I know. That’s what I’ve been thinking about. But I have to be very, very sure, because you are my best friend’s sister, and as much as I want you, I don’t want anything to come between me and Rory.”

  “Is that what you think will happen?”

  “He does hang the moon on you, Cheri. I don’t know how he would act if he found us together. For all I know, he could haul out a shotgun and drag us to a justice of the peace.”

  “Well, that wouldn’t work,” laughed Cheri.

  “It wouldn’t?”

  “No. Usually there are blood tests and permits. Can take days.”

  “I don’t know if that would matter to Rory, him being armed and dangerous.”

  Cheri laughed at the ridiculous images Dev was stirring in her mind. She tried to imagine Rory holding a gun. But she couldn’t get past how she scared him when she was little by jumping out from behind the couch and firing a water pistol at him.

  “Stop now,” said Cheri with a grin. “Rory would most likely hurt himself with a gun than anyone else.”

  “Still the problem remains,” said Dev in a low voice staring at her intently. “He and I are like brothers. It would kill me to lose that, and I think it would kill him too.”

  She knew he was right. Dev had been a safe space for Rory growing up. Whenever Rory had gotten a beating, he’d pedal over to Dev’s and, while they never talked about, Dev had been there. To shoot hoops with, or make him a frozen pizza. A lifeline…something to show Rory that someone outside their miserable little house cared about him.

  It was part of the reason she loved him. He was a good man and an even better friend.

  “I know it’s wrong and we’ve got to work through some things, but I just…” she shrugged helplessly and slid her arms around his waist. “I just want you.”