Between Brothers

by Lauren Gallagher

  “I don’t know, I’m starting to wonder.” Especially since wild sex seems to be written into your family’s DNA.

  “Please,” he said, rolling his eyes. “There was a time when I was so bad, I probably would’ve been no better than some of the guys you fucked not too long ago.”

  “Now that I find hard to believe,” I said.

  “Believe it.”

  “You couldn’t have been as bad as the guy tonight.”

  He paused. “Okay, I wasn’t that bad. But I had my moments.”

  “I can’t imagine you being crap in bed.”

  Darren shrugged. “Believe what you will. Everyone has to start somewhere.”

  I was quiet for a moment, then looked at him and said, my tone serious, “But you don’t strike me as the type that’s ever been a selfish lover. Being inexperienced is one thing. Being selfish? I can’t imagine you that way.”

  “I certainly hope I’ve never been that way,” he said, running his fingers through my hair again. “But I think someone who’s selfish in bed is no different out of the bedroom.”

  I cocked my head. “How do you figure?”

  “Well, if someone only cares about himself,” he said with a shrug. “Why would he be any different in bed?”

  “Good point.”

  “He might be able to pretend that he’s a charmer, a caring guy, but I don’t think he could keep that façade up in bed.” He paused. “Like that douchebag tonight? I’d be willing to bet money that he was a total charmer, but say you started seeing him? Six months from now, he’d be treating you like crap.”

  I sucked in a breath. I hadn’t even thought about that. “Really?”

  “In my own experience, the bedroom is where those true colors always begin to shine first.”

  “Had a few selfish women?”

  He rolled his eyes and nodded. “God, yes. One of them—Kate—Jesus, I don’t think she knew anything existed beyond the tip of her own damned nose.” The bitterness in his voice startled me. I vaguely remembered Kate. They’d only dated a few months, and she’d always struck me as a bit of a narcissist. He continued, “She seemed really sweet at first, but I should have known that first night in bed.”

  “Do tell.”

  He raised an eyebrow and smirked. “You want to hear my horror stories now?”

  I snickered. “I’ve told you about the losers I’ve fucked. I think I’ve more than earned the right to hear some of your

  bedroom failures.”

  He laughed as he shifted his weight and sat up. “All right, all right. So, Kate…” He paused, pursing his lips. “That first night, it wasn’t too bad, but the first inklings were there. She didn’t just ask for what she wanted, she demanded it. And if I didn’t do it right, good God, she let me know it.”

  “How so?”

  “Oh, she’d roll her eyes, grumble, tell me to figure it the fuck out.” He ran a hand through his hair and shook his head. “I mean, tell me what you want, guide me a bit, but don’t treat me like an idiot if I don’t get it right the first time.”

  I sat up beside him. “I can’t imagine you getting anything wrong in the bedroom.”

  He laughed and kissed me, wrapping his arm around my waist. “Trust me,” he said. “It’s happened.”

  “So what happened with Kate?”

  “She just got worse and worse,” he said. “Demanding little cunt. I finally decided I’d had enough when she’d let me get her off a few times, then go to sleep and leave me to my own devices.”

  I blinked. “You can’t be serious?”

  “Oh, I am. I ended it in fairly short order after that. I mean, if I’m going to have sex with someone, I’m going to get her off, but I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect a bit of reciprocation.”

  “Not unreasonable at all,” I muttered. “I can’t believe how many jackasses I’ve been with that don’t reciprocate.”

  He trailed his fingers up my spine, sending a shiver through me. “But you’re not going to put up with that bullshit anymore, are you?”

  “After fucking you, there isn’t much I’m going to put up with anymore.”

  He laughed and kissed my shoulder. “Silver-tongued she-devil.”

  I kissed him lightly. “So tell me more. I want to hear about the other crazies you’ve had in your bed.”

  “Sadist.”

  “So?”

  “You’re evil.”

  Funny, your brother said the same thing. “Tell me

  about them.”

  “Well, there was Dana. Remember her?”

  “The blonde with the ‘Vette?”

  “The one and only.”

  He’d dated her for almost two years. Christ, that woman was a bitch. “So what happened with her?”

  “She was actually fun in bed, at least at first,” he said. “She’s the one that was into BDSM.”

  I blinked. “Really?”

  He nodded. “In the beginning, it was awesome. We’d take turns being dominant and submissive. It was hot. Smoking hot.” He rolled his eyes. “But after a couple of months, things started to shift. It was always about what she liked, what she wanted, and she really wasn’t interested in putting any effort into what I wanted. That imbalance was painfully obvious in our sex life, and within a few months, it was the same in the rest of our life.” He exhaled. “You really can tell a lot about someone by the way they fuck, I’m telling you.”

  “So I’ve come to understand.” I paused, pursing my lips.

  “What?”

  I looked up. “Huh?”

  “You’re thinking something.”

  I hesitated. “You, you said you were into BDSM with her.”

  He shifted a little, turning so we were facing each other, and rested his hands on my knees. “I’ve been known to dabble in it with the right woman, yes.” He winked at me.

  “Let me ask you something,” I said.

  “No, I won’t wear a gimp mask.”

  I laughed aloud. “Not that.”

  “Thank God. Okay, shoot.”

  I chewed my lip. “The whole BDSM thing,” I said. “Why?”

  He smiled. “Why not?”

  I rolled my eyes. “Okay, smartass. Seriously, what’s the attraction to it?”

  “Besides the black leather and corsets?”

  “Besides that.”

  “Okay, in all seriousness,” he said. “It’s three things:

  Trust, pain, and control.”

  I raised my eyebrows. He went on. “There’s two sides to the control thing. One is being in control of someone else. You have total power over someone else, you control how much pleasure they have, how much they can move. On the other hand, there’s being submissive: Letting someone else control you.”

  “Interesting,” I said.

  “It’s a blast,” he said with a devilish grin. “But in order to let someone control you, you have to trust them completely. I mean, I don’t know about you, but I’m not going to let some girl I’ve just met handcuff me to a bed and whip me.”

  I grimaced. “I don’t know that I’d let someone I knew do that.”

  He winked at me. “Don’t knock it ‘til you’ve tried it.” He laughed at the incredulous look on my face. “Seriously, being able to do that with someone—to surrender completely to their control—is a thrill in and of itself. And having someone else surrender completely to you—” He paused, closing his eyes for a moment. “There’s nothing in the world quite like it.”

  I had to admit, I was intrigued at this point. I’d never considered getting involved in any kind of bondage or dominance, but he’d piqued my curiosity. “So, what about the pain?”

  Darren grinned. “It’s hard to describe, but it ties into the trust and control. There’s also the endorphin rush, and just the intense sensations.” He cocked his head. “You like being fucked hard, right? Thrown around a bit?”

  I smirked. “I think you know the answer to that.”

  He laughed. “And sometimes i
t hurts, doesn’t it?”

  “When it’s done right, yes.”

  “Bingo.” He grinned. “Different people like differing degrees of pain, but I think we understand each other, no?”

  I shivered. I’d never thought of it that way, but he was absolutely right. I thought I’d enjoyed the roughness, the hair-pulling, the fingers digging into the point of bruising, in spite of the pain. But now that he mentioned it, the pain was just as thrilling as the pleasure.

  He put his hands on my knees and traced his thumbs

  in small circles on my bare skin. “So, about that gimp mask—”

  “Absolutely not,” I laughed.

  He chuckled. “Kidding. But you should give some of this stuff a try. I have a feeling you’d enjoy it.”

  “I’m not sure I’m ready to have my hands cuffed,” I said, suppressing a shudder.

  “Well, no, but you don’t have to start with that,” he said. “Play around with some light restraint, nothing hardcore.” He grinned at me. “You said that Casanova likes to play rough, right?”

  “Oh yes, definitely.”

  “And he enjoyed your lap dance, when he wasn’t allowed to touch you?”

  I thought of the way Eric chewed his lip, the way he begged me to let him fuck me. “You could say that.”

  “Try some domination with him, then,” Darren said. “A little bit of restraint for him, putting yourself in complete control of him.”

  “You want me to tie him up?”

  He laughed. “Not necessarily. Honestly, ‘bondage’ is a bit of a misnomer. It’s more about restraint than actually binding someone to something. You don’t have to use cuffs, or anything like that. A pair of nylons, a shirt, even—” He closed his hands around my wrists and pinned them to my sides. “Hands. Because now, just by holding you like this—” He leaned towards me. “I can do whatever I want to you, and there isn’t a damned thing you can do about it.”

  He kissed my neck. I tried to pull my hands away, wanting to put my arms around him, but he held my wrists. “See?” he whispered. “I’m in control.” He flicked his tongue across the hollow of my throat, and I whimpered.

  He let me go and leaned back, chuckling as I shivered. “Give it a try with him,” he said. “Seriously. He’ll love it.”

  “So, what do I do? Just restrain his hands and…” I shook my head. “What?”

  “Restrain his hands and do whatever the fuck you want to him. It doesn’t mean you have to beat the hell out of him or any of that. Just being the one who’s one hundred percent in control of everything—of what he touches, of how fast you’re fucking him, of how deep he can get inside you—can be incredibly hot.” He ran his fingertips along my inner thigh. “For both of you.”

  Indeed, I was intrigued now. “You really think so?”

  “Absolutely.” He leaned forward. “Trust me. Take control. He’ll love it.”

  I gave him a devilish grin. “Assuming he’s a pervert like you?”

  He feigned offense. “I am not a pervert.”

  “Bullshit,” I said with a grin just before I kissed him. “The depth of your perversion never ceases to amaze me, Darren.”

  “My perversion?” He laughed against my lips and pulled me into his arms. “You are mistaken.”

  “Liar,” I said.

  “If these accusations were true,” he said, lowering me slowly to the bed. “And I was the pervert you claim I am, then I’d grab another condom off the nightstand and fuck you until you screamed again.”

  “Is that so?”

  He kissed me. “Indeed, it is.”

  He reached for the nightstand.

  Twenty Five

  Take control, he’ll love it. Darren’s words resonated through my mind as I waited for Eric to show up. I lounged on the sofa, glancing at the clock for the hundredth time. I wasn’t nervous this time, not like I was the night I’d given him a lap dance. If anything, I was anxious. I wanted him. I wanted him now.

  And I wanted to see the startled look on his face when he came through the door and saw me waiting for him…completely naked.

  A knock at the door startled me. “It’s open,” I called out. A split second’s worth of panic went through me as I thought it might be someone else, but when the door opened, it was him.

  His jaw fell open and his eyebrows lifted. He pushed the door shut and leaned against it, still staring at me.

  I grinned at him. He returned it and came towards me as I got up off the couch. He put his arms around me and kissed me, his smoky-flavored kiss making me weak. Stay in control, I told myself.

  He kissed my neck and slid his hand towards my pussy, but I stopped him. He looked up, raising an eyebrow.

  “I’m calling the shots again tonight,” I said.

  “Is that so?” He kissed my neck and ran his fingers up my back. I resisted the urge to shiver. My knees shook as he rested his hand on the small of my back and pulled me towards him. As confident as I’d been before he arrived, I’d forgotten just how hard it was to keep myself in control, let alone dominate him.

  I swallowed hard. “Yes, it is so.”

  He looked at me and smirked. “And just what makes you think I’m going to let you take control again?”

  I grinned. “Because I know how much you enjoyed it last time.”

  His lips parted slightly and he shivered. Busted.

  “That’s what I thought,” I said with a laugh.

  He kissed me, then cocked his head. “So what evil things do you have in mind tonight?”

  I stepped back. “Strip.”

  He blinked. “What?”

  “You heard me.” I gave him a cheeky grin.

  “I don’t have to dance, do I?”

  I laughed. “No. Just get your clothes off. Now.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” He kicked his shoes off and pulled his shirt over his head. I chewed my lip, staring at his tattoos, his muscles. It never ceased to amaze me how gorgeous he was, particularly without clothes on. I resisted the urge to lick my lips as he tossed his jeans over the back of a chair.

  He looked at me, lifting his eyebrow curiously. “I suppose I’m not allowed to touch you?”

  I grinned. “Absolutely not.” I stepped towards him, putting my hands on his shoulders. “But I’m allowed to touch you.”

  “You’re evil,” he whispered hoarsely as I kissed his neck.

  “You haven’t seen evil yet,” I said. He opened his mouth to question me, but I slid my hand between us and wrapped my hand around his cock, stroking it gently. He took in a sharp breath. I leaned forward and kissed his neck, flicking my tongue across the edge of one of his tattoos. “I’m going to do whatever I want to you,” I said, letting my lip brush his ear as I spoke. “And you’re going to lie back and take it.”

  He laughed softly. “You make that sound like some sort of punishment.”

  “Punishment? Not at all. But I loved watching you beg for it last time.” I squeezed his cock. His breath caught. “And I intend to make you beg for it again this time.”

  He tried to speak, but I trailed a fingertip along the underside of his cock and he paused, closing his eyes and letting his head fall back. He exhaled, then said, “You’re an

  evil woman.”

  “And?” Before he could respond, I went to my knees and ran my tongue around the head of his cock.

  “Oh fuck,” he whispered as I did it again.

  I stroked him lightly, my hand barely touching him as it ran up and down his cock. My lips were less than an inch away from him. I looked up at him and he was watching me, barely breathing, his eyebrows lifted slightly. I licked my lips and he closed his eyes and did the same.

  “Fucking tease,” he growled in that smoke-roughened voice.

  “Last time I checked,” I said, making sure I was close enough to his cock that my breath whispered across it. “You enjoy being teased.” His cock twitched in my hand and I grinned at him.

  “You’re a wicked, wicked woman,” he said.


  “How so?”

  He opened his mouth to speak, but without warning, I deep-throated him. He grabbed the back of the sofa to brace himself as I did it again and again. “Jesus Christ…”

  I fucked him with my mouth and stroked his cock, savoring his every gasp and groan.

  His cock twitched in my mouth and his knees buckled. “Fuck…” It came out as little more than a whisper.

  I slowed down, not wanting him to come just yet. “Tell me what you want,” I said, looking up at him as I squeezed his cock with one hand.

  He moaned. “I want—” His breath caught as my tongue circled the head of his cock.

  “I can’t hear you,” I said with a grin. Again he tried to speak, and again I distracted him with my tongue.

  Finally, he managed a hoarse “I want to fuck you.” The unmistakable desperation in his voice turned me on.

  “I still can’t hear you,” I said, not even trying to hide how much I loved this.

  He looked down at me. “I want to fuck you. Please let me fuck you.” I shivered; just like the night I’d stripped for him, I had him exactly where I wanted him.

  I stood and kissed him. He started to put his arms around me, then stopped, evidently remembering the rule about not touching me.

  I led him into the bedroom and handed him one of the condoms off of the night table. He quickly tore it open, his hands shaking as he put it on. As soon as it was on, he pulled me into a deep kiss. For a moment, I forgot my own rule and let him do it, but through the delirium of his ravenous kiss, I remembered.

  I stepped back and nodded towards the bed. “Get on your back.”

  His expression was blank as if he was either surprised at what I’d said or was struggling to comprehend it. Perhaps a little of both. From the way he was trembling, I doubt he understood much of the English language at that point.

  I gently pushed his shoulders. “On your back.”

  His eyes never leaving mine, he did as I ordered. I followed, straddling him and leaning forward to kiss him, rubbing my pussy against his cock.

  “Fuck me,” he pleaded, his voice barely a whisper.

  “You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”

  “God, yes.”

  I pushed harder against his cock. “You’d like to be all the way inside me, wouldn’t you? Fucking me hard and deep?”