Surrendering (Surrender 1)

Since he put it that way, I can wait to argue the differences between CR and triple X.

“Honey, let me run to the bathroom real quick. I’ll be right back.” He lets me up, but rolls over groaning. When I get to the bathroom, I make quick work of brushing my teeth and rubbing lotion on my body.

After freshening up, I return to find Declan lying on his bed with the sheets pulled up to his hips. I walk slowly over to him and crawl up his body, trying to be sexy and seductive. He hauls me up to where I’m on top and positions my arms around his neck. He kisses me gently while caressing my lower back and sides. “You taste like mints and smell like flowers. You look extra hot. I do like your pink bra and panties.”

I nod against his lips. He moves his hands up my back and snaps the clasp on my bra, easing it off my arms and throwing it on the floor. He moves his hands down to my hips and starts to lower my panties. Then he flips us so he’s on his side and I’m on my back. He pushes my underwear the rest of the way off and pulls the sheets around both of us. I don’t want to think about how he knows all these swift moves to get us naked and in the right position so fast.

“Tonight is about both of us. I spent the day worshiping your body. But tonight, I want you to know how much I worship you.”

His words give me goose bumps and he notices. He runs his mouth from my ear to my collarbone and across my chest. He makes his way up the other side, paying close attention to my neck. He positions himself over me and covers my mouth with his while he pushes into me. I feel every inch of him entering me. As he slides further, I use my muscles to draw him up and arch my back for better access. Once I wrap my legs around him, he’s all the way seated in me.

I stare into his eyes and see the same depth of emotions I am feeling at this moment. Tears form in my eyes. He rubs his thumbs under my eyes to wipe them before they fall. Our lips meet and merge together. Our tongues swirl while our bodies move. He flips me over so I’m on top and he urges to move faster. He knows I’ll come quicker in this position. When I’m close, he lifts his whole body up and takes my hardened nipple in his mouth. “Oh God!” The movement sends me over the edge and I continue to gasp in his ear. I know he isn’t done, but he won’t let himself go first. I’m still coming down when he gently rolls us over and continues to move in and out of me slowly. His strokes are gentle and sweet. I look up to find him staring at me with an unreadable expression. His gaze travels over my face and chest before he starts whispering in my ear.

“You are so beautiful; I never thought I could feel like this. You unravel me. I am yours in every way. Please come with me.”

Running my hands up his torso and chest, I nod. The repetitive motion of his even slow glides has me ready again. I tighten against him with each stroke. He quickens a little, but allows the slow burn to grow in each of us. I pull back my hips as he withdraws and then I slam forward to meet him. He screams my name as he explodes, taking me with him.

When we finally regain our breath, he touches his forehead to mine. We’re both glistening with sweat, but I don’t care. This is the most beautiful moment we’ve ever shared.

“Declan, I love you.”

“Baby, like I said before, that makes me a lucky man.”

*****

Declan

I am one lucky son of a bitch. This girl is made for me. She gives as good as she takes and I’m not sure what I did to deserve her. Between all of my escapades and fucked up times, she’s the breath of fresh air I need. Sayge has had a lot of fun through the years and we’ve made a good name for ourselves. But Cooper and I’ve talked about the pathway to moderate success. Our band is a dime a dozen, especially around this area. Nashville is a hub for musical talent.

We met Jay on luck- pure luck- and we asked him for his help. At the time, we had nothing holding us back – no girls, no kids, and no responsibilities. Our families understood. The four of us made a pact to stay together and start our climb. I know music festivals and outdoor openings weren’t going to give us our rise to fame, but we agreed when the time was right we would follow the path. First we start with local audiences, and then we move to the travel scene. This includes whoever and wherever will have us. We play our music, we energize the crowd, and we seduce with our sound.

Pretty soon, we’ll have a decent following and maybe we’ll be able to record an indie record. Never leaving behind our love for Nashville, the local scene, or the local crowd, but all the while trying to get our music to the people. We want people to love music the way we love music- the riffs, the solos, the emotions that go into a song when you finally piece it all together.

If the next few months go as Jay says, we need to prepare to be on the road all the time. Small gigs, small venues as a sideshow, small crowds; we don’t care. At least I didn’t care until I met Raven. She won’t graduate for another year and a half. She’s determined to get her MBA and I wouldn’t have it any other way. But I’m not sure how I can be away from her. She has become a huge piece of my heart. I know she’s The One.

Chapter 29

Thanksgiving

I’ve been preparing for Thanksgiving for days. Since I came home from dance on Monday, I’ve spent every night making dishes that can be either frozen or refrigerated until Thursday. My mom gave me her southern dressing recipe which took me three hours. Who knew boiling eggs, chopping vegetables, and baking breadcrumbs could be so tedious. Ella opted for stuffing the turkey, but I had to explain this recipe was Robbie’s favorite dish ever. I also made several casseroles. The Collins family was responsible for desserts, rolls, and drinks. I thought this was best because they don’t like to cook that much and they could buy most of it from the local specialty store.

Robbie talked me into deep-frying the turkey. I love fried turkey so I agreed and kept that to myself until the last minute.

Apparently Mr. Collins thought the idea of dinner at our house was great. Declan has been busy these last few days with the band. They’ve been going over their sets. We leave for Atlanta next Friday for their first performance. I’ve already texted Ken, Harper, and Charlie and they promised to be there.

My birthday is on Saturday night this year and we haven’t talked about how we’re going to celebrate it. Since Sayge is playing a special show Friday night, I assume Declan has Saturday night free. He hasn’t mentioned it, but I’m going to suggest we stay in and celebrate at his house alone.

It’s 4:00 and there’s a knock on my bedroom door; someone’s early.

“Come in.”

Robbie steps in and looks around the roo

m, which looks like a tornado hit. “What the fuck happened?”

“I tried on a few outfits. No need to panic.” I start to clean up my mess on the bed and the floor.

“You look awesome as always, Baby Girl,” he says hesitantly. He’s hiding something.