Dale dodged it, laughing. “It’s true, though. Especially mister serious lead singer.”
Unable to stop them, my eyes flicked up to Everett, whose jaw shifted as he looked away from me and to the window, and drained the rest of his beer.
Jealousy suffocated me, and the fissures inside my chest cracked wider.
“Parents, dude,” Graham said. “Respect.”
Dale smiled apologetically at Mom, who shook her head and began collecting the empty pizza boxes. “I just hope you boys don’t find yourselves in too much trouble.”
Sick to my stomach, I took my chance to leave and did it fast. “I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”
“Little sis,” Graham called. “Congrats on not being so little anymore.”
I waved over my head, then all but ran down the hallway to my room and locked the door.
Falling back into it, I covered my mouth with my hand and slid down to the floor, where I stayed until my ass grew numb and the noise outside faded as everyone headed out or to bed.
My face was sticky, my throat dry and scraped raw with the effort it took to keep the sobs silent.
I’d never thought myself all that naïve, but apparently, I was. He was in a fucking band, and here I’d hoped he’d do the impossible and wait, while knowing all along he wouldn’t.
Knowing was one thing, but hearing it confirmed was a whole different kind of hell.
The window opened, and the familiar, heart-stopping clomp of his boots hitting the floor penetrated the fog.
Strong hands wrapped around my arms, hoisting me up off the floor, and then he was carrying me to the bed. On his lap, I sat defeated, my head on his shoulder as he crooned, gentle and desperate in my ear, “Don’t cry. Not over me, Clover. Never because of me.”
“It hurts,” I croaked, wheezing. “It fucking hurts.”
“Fuck.” He squeezed me to him. “I’m sorry.”
“Why?” I straightened and crawled off his lap to the bed. “I don’t understand. You said… wait…” My eyelids felt like they were filled with cement. “Oh my God, was it after I went out for my birthday?”
His non-answer and the twist in my gut told me yes, it was.
Rage bit at every muscle, every aching part of me. “What happened to one day, Ever? Huh?” I sniffed, rasping out, “What happened to eventually?”
His voice was hard but quiet, eyes blazing as he glared. “That was before I left, before I realized you still have a life to live. And before I remembered that no matter what, you’ll always be Hendrix’s sister, and I’ll always be no fucking good for someone like you.”
Tears arrived anew, and seeing them, his voice softened, sounding pained. “Things don’t change just because we want them to, Clover. Why can’t you see that?”
I sniffed, leaning forward to growl at him. “Because all I see is you.”
His chest heaved, and so did mine, and then our lips collided, refusing to part even as our clothes were torn off.
His fingers found me, and he cursed, discovering I was already drenched, fucking me with one as he rolled over me and kissed his way down my throat to my breasts. “Want you so bad,” he mumbled to my heated skin, licking and sucking at my hardened nipples while his fingers sent my body rocking.
“Take me,” I pleaded, out of my mind, desperate enough to ignore the hangover for the high.
He licked his wet fingers, then wrapped one of my legs behind his back, aligning himself and pushing forward.
I winced at the tight fit, and he groaned, low and deep, sinking all the way inside in one slow thrust.
Lowering his head, he rolled his hips, and his teeth sank into my neck. My head fell back, the burn subsiding and my hands raking through his longer hair as he slowly tortured me.
I could feel it building when he tucked an arm beneath my back, then sat up, taking me with him. My nails sliced into his biceps, my breathing heavier, and a moan escaped as I adjusted to the depth of the new position.
He licked my chin, trailing to my bottom lip. “That’s it, move your hips. Do whatever makes you feel good, Clover.”
He had one hand tangled in my hair, and the other held me over him as I closed my eyes and circled my hips. Feeling his hot chest pressed against mine, his attention fixed wholly on me, and his cock rubbing all those perfect places brought me to brand new heights, and when I fell, I exploded.