A little while later, I’m dancing with Robbie and he asks me how things are going with Declan.
“Robbie, I’m so happy. You should give him a chance. I think you’ll like him.”
“That’s great, Raven; Finn said he thinks he’s truly into you. I only want you to be careful. I take it you haven’t told him about our family yet?”
“He doesn’t know everything, but he knows Dad’s into security. The topic has never come up. Anyways, I think Declan still has a hard time with Finn and my relationship.”
“If you trust him, you should tell him everything. I think his outlook on Finn would change if he knew the whole story.”
“Yeah, you’re right. But how do you explain Dad’s business? Or the danger our family faces every day? Nothing else has happened since Emory so I try not to think about it.”
“I understand that, but if it was me, I would want to know.”
“We’ve only been together a short time. I’ll tell him eventually.”
“Whatever you say, Baby Girl, just be careful.”
We end up at the hotel bar around midnight. My parents decided to go home after the silent auction so we gained an extra hotel room. Finn called his roommates to see if they wanted it and they said yes, so they’re on their way. Harper and Charlie are excited to see the guys; the whole group will be together again. Except for Abbi and Ella, we all grew up together so everyone knows each other pretty well. The guys are surrounding the bar watching college football highlights on TV and the girls have claimed a table nearby.
Well into our second round I hear, “Fuck, it looks like even Finn’s ugly mug can clean up.” Tripp walks up and gives him a shove. Gabe and Jimi are close behind. Max is barraged in man-hugs. Harper gazes at Gabe and it’s obvious to me how she feels about him.
Jimi compliments us, “Seriously, ladies, you look like a group of Glamour Girls. You all look beautiful.” I see Abbi blush as she grins at him.
“Thanks,” we say in unison.
I had sent a text to Declan earlier to let him know where we were, but I haven’t heard anything back from him. I guess he decided not to come. A new round of Cosmos is delivered to our table and we raise our glasses in a silent toast.
Out of nowhere, I feel him. My skin prickles and goose bumps form. I haven’t seen him but I know he’s here. I look around the bar, but can’t find him. Right before I turn away, I catch his eyes staring at me. I rush up to meet him before he even has a chance to make it to our table. I notice he’s wearing black dress slacks with a blue button-down shirt. He’s not wearing his lip ring. It takes a minute, but I realize that we match. He smells delicious and my first instinct is to wrap my arms around his neck.
“Hey there, I didn’t think you were coming.”
He takes my hand and spins me around, “I wouldn’t have believed it if I didn’t see it with my own eyes. You are even more stunning than your picture.”
“What picture?”
“The picture Ella texted me before I went on stage. I swear to God I almost canceled the show right then and there. Instead, I cut it one set short to get to you sooner.”
“Ella sent you a picture of me?”
“Yeah, she said something like, Look what you’re missing! I decided I didn’t want to miss it.”
“You cut your show short for me?”
“Sparkle, have you seen yourself tonight? You look beautiful.” He leans down to my ear, “Actually, you look edible.”
The goose bumps return, and he notices. He grabs me quickly and pulls me back to his lips. Suddenly, I feel myself being yanked back with force.
“What the fuck is going on?” Max asks as he shoves Declan. He looks like he’s about to pound his fist into Declan’s face.
“Max! Stop it!”
I look behind him to see Robbie and Tripp headed our way.
“Max, this is Declan. He is my…”
“Boyfriend.” Declan finishes my sentence. Oh my God, did he just call himself my boyfriend? I was going to introduce him as my friend, but I like his term a lot better. I steal a look at him and grin.
“No one told me Raven had a boyfriend,” he looks at Tripp and Robbie. “You two know about this? Did you check him out?”
Sweet Jesus, I’m going to die from embarrassment. I can’t believe Max would bring that up here.
Robbie answers him, “Max, calm down. We all know about Declan. He is also RJ’s roommates’ brother.”
Robbie reaches out his hand to Declan, “Nice to see you again man. Glad you could make it. Sorry about my asshole friend here, Max. He’s an old friend and was in the Marines with Finn and me.”
Tripp steps up next, “Let’s get you a beer, man.”
I glare at Max. “What was that about? You looked like you were going to pummel him.”
“He had his hands on you and his lips on your mouth. I didn’t know you had a boyfriend.”
“Well, now you know. We’ve been seeing each other for several weeks. Quit acting like Robbie.”
“Sorry, RJ, I flipped a little. I’ll apologize.”
“Thanks.”
We join the crew back at the bar and I grasp Declan’s hand. “Come on, I want you to meet two of my best-friends in the whole world.”
When we get to the table, I interrupt the conversation, “Harp, Charlie, I want you to meet Declan Collins.”
They both openly gasp at him. Charlie starts to choke on her drink. Harper beats her back until there are tears running down her cheeks. I burst into laughter. “Maybe you shouldn’t inhale with a mouth full.”
“Bitch, you seemed to have left out a few details about your guy.”
I stop laughing because I know the next words out of her mouth will cause me humiliation.
“For example, I’m seeing a guy that looks like a fucking Greek God. Or possibly, when you meet him, you’ll need to change your panties. These are the kind of things you tell your best-friend when you describe your new guy.”
Yep, complete humiliation. He chuckles behind me and I throw my face in my hands. Harper tries to diffuse the situation.
“Hi, Declan, I’m Harper and this is Charlie. Obviously she has no filter.” I peek through my fingers to see Harper swat Charlie’s arm.
“Declan, that is my former best-friend, Charlotte. We call her Charlie and she speaks before she thinks most of the time.” I shoot a look at her to tell her to shut up.
“Sorry, Rave, I was just being real. I didn’t mean to call you out.”
Abbi and Ella are watching our exchange with amusement.
I move to sit down in front of my drink, but Declan takes my wrist before I can. He turns so he’s seated instead and I have to sit on his lap. I pick up my glass and drain the whole drink.
“Careful, Sparkle, I have plans for us tonight. Don’t want to carry you up to our room.” He says in my ear.
Did he just say our room? I glance over at him and he smirks before taking a slug of his beer. I settle on his lap and turn to face the group. Everyone has pulled up a chair around the table. I have one more drink, but I notice that each of the girls has had several more. I can tell Harper and Charlie are drunk when they start talking about our upcoming girls’ weekend.
“Rave, Kendall’s able to come for the weekend. We decided we want to do NNN on Thursday.”
“Sounds good, what about the rest of the weekend?”
“Friday night we want to go dancing.”
“Okay, where?”
“Kendall got an email from Adam that said we should go to the new place in East Nashville. He’ll be spinning that night.”
The conversation hushes. Robbie moves his elbows on the other end of the table at the mention of Adam. Adam and I used to date, but I broke up with him my first year of college. I had decided we were better off friends. My brother thought he was a jerk. I personally didn’t care, but I’m not sure I want to discuss this with Declan present.
“Then you can plan Saturday night.”
This
sounds reasonable. Declan speaks up behind me, “You should all come see Sayge play Saturday night. I’ll make sure you get in.”
“That sounds fucking great. RJ, it must be awesome to have a friend in a band.” Charlie shouts across the table.
“Boyfriend, boyfriend in a band.” Declan quickly corrects her.
All eyes move to me and I smile and shrug. “It’s all planned then. NNN, dancing, and live music; we can plan the menu later.”
Ella speaks up, “Not to sound like a chump, but since Abbi and I are new to this, what is NNN?”
Harper leans in to answer, “Naughty Nightie Night.”
There’s a collection of groans from every man in the group. They’d been kicked out of the house several times over the years for NNN. It was a girls’ only event and my mom always made sure Robbie and his friends weren’t around. It became a tradition right after high school graduation.
“What does that mean?”
I take to answering the question this time. “We all get dressed up in sexy nighties and have a girls’ night in. We play games, gossip, order-in dinner, and get inebriated.”
“What kind of games?”
“We can’t discuss it here because it’s a girls’ only event. But I promise you will have a blast.”
Gabe shouts from across the table, “I’ve been trying to get an invitation to NNN for three and a half years. One year we even snuck back into the Hayes’ house to eavesdrop, but that was a big mistake.”
“What happened?” Declan asks.
“Mr. Hayes met us in the hallway with a shotgun. He reminded us we had other places to be. That was the last time we tried to crash it.”
All of us laugh at the memory. I start to hiccup because I can’t catch my breath. Declan hands me some water and runs his hands over my shoulder. I shudder. I want to be alone with him, but I can’t invite him back to my room. We already have five girls and our stuff is everywhere.
“I’m going to sign the tab and head to the room. Jimi brought beer for anyone who wants to continue the party. I think we should start a game. Declan, you’re more than welcome to join us.” Robbie states as he gets up.
“No thanks, I think I’m going to bed. It’s been a long night.”
I look at the clock on the phone on the table. It’s already 1:30 in the morning. I slowly rise out of his lap and get my purse. “I’ll walk you out.”
Declan reaches in his wallet and tries to hand Robbie a fifty dollar bill. “Here’s for Raven and my drinks.”
Robbie declines and explains the tab is on the room.
“Thanks, man, I owe you.”
I wave good night to the table and tell the girls I’ll see them in a few minutes.
When we hit the foyer, Declan directs me to the elevator. He takes out a keycard and hits the button for the fifteenth floor.
“What are you doing? I’m on the twentieth floor.”
“I know, that’s why I got our room on the fifteenth floor. I don’t want to answer any questions.”
“What kind of questions?”
“Well, there are six guys in that bar that will kick my ass if they see you in our room. So, I specifically asked for another floor for privacy.”
“Our room?”
“Yes, our room. You didn’t think I could stay away from you tonight after seeing you in that dress, especially since we’ve spent the last few nights apart, did you? I got us a room away from everyone, but close enough where you can get together tomorrow for breakfast before your friends leave.”
“How did you do this?”
“My sisters helped.” He dips his face and kisses me quickly.
“I need to get some stuff from my room.”
“I have your stuff. All you need to do is let your friends know where you are.”
I get out my phone and send a quick message to Harper and Charlie.
Me: Dec got us a room for tonight. Staying with him, but will see you in the morning.
Harper: OMG! That is so cool, what should we tell the guys?
Me: Say I went to bed early and for God’s sake, tell Charlie to keep her mouth shut. A & E know where I am.
Charlie: Bitch, I am included on this text chain and I won’t say a thing. Have fun and please tell me you are having sex with that beautiful man.
Me: Charlie! No sex, but a lot of fun.
Charlie: Give up the V- see you in the am.
Me: xoxo to you both!
I notice Declan reading over my shoulder as he starts to open the door. He smiles to himself and leads me into the room. There’s no doubt he saw the sex comments, but I can’t seem to make myself care.
When he turns on the light, I see my small bag on the bed. I go get my stuff and head to the bathroom.
“Where are you going?”
“I’m getting ready for bed.”
He makes it to my side in two strides. “You’ve been gone almost two days. I saw you looking like a fucking model in your picture only six hours ago. I’ve had you in my lap the last hour. There’s only so much I can take. I need to taste you now.”
He grips my chin and tilts my head up. His lips are on mine in less than a second. I fall into him. His scent is intoxicating. His mouth tastes like beer and bourbon and I wobble as I try to take him in. His kiss is demanding. The lust is evident and I feel his hard length on my stomach. In this moment, I know I’m falling for him. I reach up to run my fingers through his hair and he reaches around my waist to hold me up. I only break the kiss when I know I’m about to pass out from lack of oxygen.
“That’s more like it,” he says against my lips. “Now can I help you get ready for bed?”
I’m not sure what he means, but I nod my head in agreement. He reaches under my arm and unzips my dress while biting down my neck. The dress starts to fall and the cool air is a relief to my overheated skin. When the dress pools at my feet, I realize I’m only in my lingerie and heels. I reach to cover myself, but he stops me.
“Don’t cover yourself. Let me see your beautiful body. I want to do things to you to show you how much you mean to me.”
I slowly step over the dress and into his arms. He lifts me up and carries me to the bed. When he lies me down, he stands up and looks down at me. ‘Stunning’ is all he says.
I find my voice. “You have too many clothes on.” I reach up to undo the buttons on his shirt. He kicks off his shoes and shrugs his arms out of the sleeves. When I finally get to his pants, he stops me.
“No, this isn’t about me tonight. I’m going to pleasure you.”
“But what if I want this to happen tonight?”
“It will happen, Raven, but not tonight. Tonight is all about you.”
I run my fingers over his zipper and feel is entire length. “What about you?”
He hisses through his teeth. “Please don’t test me.”
He removes my hand and swings it over my head. He starts back at my neck and leisurely kisses his way down my body. He unhooks my bra and throws it behind him. His mouth sucks gently on my nipples. I’m out of breath by the time he moves to my abdomen. I begin to squirm from the uncomfortable aching between my legs. I feel every kiss he gives me because they light me on fire. When he reaches the edge of my lace panties, he lifts his head up to me. His eyes have turned a darker shade of green.
“Is this okay?”
Hell yes! I nod.
He slowly rolls the panties down my legs and pulls each foot through until I’m lying on the bed with just my shoes. It hits me that I’m completely naked, but I don’t feel shy.
“Unbelievably beautiful.” He trails kisses up my thighs until he reaches my center.
I feel the light feather kisses he plants over my core as he spreads my legs. I silently scream with the first touch of his tongue. He moves his thumb to my clit and circles. His tongues starts to weave a pattern though me and my body responds.
“Oh my God, Declan, don’t stop!”
He chuckles against me and it almost sets me over the edge.
I rock my hips against his mouth and he lifts my leg over his shoulder. His tongue goes deeper and he inserts a finger. As he moves his finger in and out of me slow and steady, he runs his nail over my slick walls making me squirm. I scream against him. He continues his oral assault and I claw at the bed.
“Declan, I’m so close.”
“Come for me, Sparkle. Just let go.”
With the vibration of his lips against me I lose it. I come violently, repeating his name over and over. I can’t feel anything because I’ve gone into another universe. I see black spots again. I feel myself coming down as he removes my shoes. He lifts me and lays me back down under the covers. When he scoots in beside me, I snuggle up next to him unable to speak. He lays me over his chest and I hold onto him tightly trying to catch my breath.
*****
I wake-up during the night and Declan has me cuddled against him. I’m still naked, but he has on pajama pants. I lift up and try to cover myself with the sheets until I locate his shirt on the ground next to me. I make my way into the bathroom and screech when I see my reflection. My hair has partly come undone from the clasp and my makeup is all over my face. I have swollen lips and my neck has brazen marks all over.
I quickly use the bathroom, brush my teeth, and wash my face before heading back to the bed. As I crawl on top of him to nestle against his side, I swear he says, I missed you. I smile and fall immediately back to sleep.
*****
My phone rings loudly from the nightstand, but I ignore it and slip closer to Declan. I know immediately he’s awake and look up to find him staring at me.
“Hey there.” I croak.
“You got dressed.”
“Not really, I picked up your shirt when I went to the bathroom and fell back into bed.”
“I like you in my clothes.” He kisses my forehead.
Surrendering Page 11
