One Starry Night (Sinners on Tour 6.6)

When they were free of the press of bodies, he released her hand so he could rest his palm against her lower back and direct her toward the exit. It hadn’t escaped Devlin that she had just rebuked Wayne Bridges and was leaving with him, not with her high school boyfriend, but Devlin refused to gloat. Outwardly.

“Leaving so soon?” Claudia Bennett said from the reception table as they passed. “I didn’t get to catch up with you yet, Devlin McAllister.”

“I just need some air,” Michelle explained.

Devlin held the door for her. They walked down a short hallway to a second set of double doors and then they were free of his emotional prison. He sucked a deep breath of warm evening air and closed his eyes to clear his thoughts.

“You, okay?” Michelle asked.

He opened his eyes to look down into her concerned face. This was not how he’d wanted this evening to go. He’d wanted her to see the confident man he’d become, not the embarrassing remnants of the terrified boy he’d once been.

“Of course. It’s just a bit stuffy in there.”

She studied his face for a moment and then lifted a hand to touch his jaw. “Your life must have been hell in high school.”

“It wasn’t so bad,” he said. “I survived.”

“We were all so mean to you.”

“You weren’t mean to me, Michelle. Unlike your friends, you were actually nice to me when they weren’t looking. Which is probably why it hurt so bad when you laughed me out of the cafeteria when I asked you to prom.” In retrospect, he should have never asked her in front of Dee and the rest of the cheer squad. “I was sitting there at the reject table picking over my lunch and watching you—as I always did. Did you know I watched you?”

She shook her head and crossed her arms over her belly. “I was too full of myself to notice anything, Devlin.”

“I still remember it all. It had been raining all morning, but the sun found a break in the clouds and filtered through the window blinds. The golden rays danced upon the auburn highlights in your hair.” He touched the silky strands that had so enchanted him. She looked up at him—her gaze meeting his and sending his blood coursing through his veins. “I was completely under your spell. I just got up, walked up to you and blurted, Will you go to prom with me? I still remember the stunned look on your face. For one blissful second, I thought you were going to say yes, and then Dee said, The nerve of certain ugly people. And then all I remember is you laughing and saying, Why would I go to the prom with you? I swear I heard my heart shatter even over the laughter of every person in that cafeteria.”

Michelle wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him, pressing her face into the crook of his neck. He held her—gently at first and then his infatuation got the better of him and he pressed her firmly into his chest. Her warm breath against his throat, the sweet smell of her hair, and the feel of her curves against his body all drove him to distraction. Michelle was in his arms at last.

“I’m really sorry for hurting you,” she whispered.

“You can make it up to me,” he said, unable to resist touching his lips to her silky hair.

Her body stiffened slightly in his arms. “How?”

“Say yes, this time.”

She pulled away and tilted her head to hold his gaze.

“Michelle?” he said. “Will you go to prom with me?”

She smiled devilishly. “No,” she said and his breath caught as his aching heart threatened to strangle him. “Prom is for losers. But I will go out with you. As long as it’s not here.”

“Ashamed that your friends will see us together?”

She shook her head and slid her fingers into the hair at the nape of his neck. “Ashamed that I ever called them friends.”

She rose up on tiptoes and tugged him closer.

“Now are you going to kiss me or do I have to take advantage of you?” she asked, lashes concealing her remarkable blue eyes as she stared at his lips.

He curved them into a half smile. “You have to wait.”

“Don’t you know you should never keep a lady waiting?” a deep voice said from behind them.

Michelle’s body went taut. “Jake,” she said in a breathless whisper.

“Do you have a thing for that guy or something?” Devlin asked, though he was pretty sure they’d once been lovers.

“Had,” she said. “God, I had it so bad for him. You have no idea.”

“Had?” Jake touched her bare shoulder.

“Probably still do,” she admitted with a hard shudder.

“You know I would never keep you waiting,” Jake said and slipped the strap of her red dress from her shoulder. Jake held Devlin’s gaze as he dropped a kiss on her newly exposed skin. It wasn’t so much of a challenge as it was an invitation. Devlin wasn’t sure what to make of this guy. Or why every time Jake touched Michelle, it made Devlin’s dick stir with added interest.

“Well, hello there,” Michelle said, shifting her hip against the throbbing flesh in Devlin’s pants.

“Sorry,” he said, flustered by his lack of tact and the direction of his thoughts. As soon as Jake had arrived, his fantasies had drifted from slowly romancing Michelle to ripping off her dress and fucking her brains out.

When Devlin tried to move away so he could get his erection under control, she grabbed his ass to keep him pressed against her.

“Jake makes me think dirty thoughts,” she said. “Makes me crave sex.”

“It’s a gift,” Jake whispered, pressing another kiss to her shoulder.

Devlin wasn’t sure if he should tell this guy to take a hike or sing his praises. “If you want me to leave you two alone—”

Michelle pressed a finger to Devlin’s lips and shook her head. “I want you, Devlin. Maybe just for a night. Maybe for something more. I don’t know if this attraction between us will go anywhere. All I know is I can’t deny I want you.”

“What about me?” Jake said.

“I was hoping you’d join us,” she said and lifted her hand to stroke his tattooed neck.

“You know I’m up for that.” Jake shifted behind her, probably rubbing his junk against her ass, and her eyelids fluttered.

Two pairs of eyes stared at Devlin with longing, waiting for his response. If he said no, Devlin knew Jake wouldn’t have a problem sating Michelle’s lust. He also doubted he’d see her again and he couldn’t bear that thought. But could he stand to watch another man put his hands on her? His mouth on her? His dick inside her? Devlin’s cock twitched excitedly at the very idea.

“My place or yours?” he asked.

Chapter Six

Jake blinked at Devlin in astonishment. Jake had thought that by touching Michelle, he would either send the guy packing—a win situation for him—or have him step up to bat for the woman he wanted—a win situation for Michelle. Hell, Jake knew he wasn’t good for her and would love to see someone make Michelle happy. But Devlin had actually agreed to her lust-fueled suggestion and if the way Devlin was looking at them was any indication, he was more than keen on the idea. He was completely invested. There was so much win in that¸ Jake expected someone to hand him an enormous trophy.

“Wherever is closest,” Michelle said.

“We can head for the tour bus if you want,” Jake said. “I don’t have a ride though. Sed drove us here and I doubt he’ll let me take his Mercedes.”

Devlin lifted an eyebrow at him. “A tour bus? You’re kidding, right?”

“Hey! I live on that bus most of the year.” And it was a fucking disaster area. The band called it the pigsty bus for a reason. “What do you suggest?”

“Not a tour bus,” he said “We’ll go to my place. Just let me call my pilot.”

/>   His pilot?

Devlin stepped away to call his pilot—Seriously? Who the fuck had a pilot on speed dial?—and Jake slowly directed Michelle into the shadows of the large bushes to the side of the building.

“Where are we going?” she asked.

“I told you I wouldn’t make you wait,” he said. “I figured I’d give you a hand while we wait for Devlin to figure out his rich-boy plans to impress you.”

“But—”

“Don’t talk,” he said and turned her to face the stucco wall.

“Jake?”

He pressed his half-hard cock firmly into her ass and reached around to slide his hand up her loose skirt.

“Do you want to come or don’t you?”