Chapter 13

Lilli

My desire to feel Devin’s body against mine just couldn’t be held back. I’d been thinking about him for weeks now. Fantasying about his hands on my body, and I finally felt like the moment was right.

His lips tasted like the beer he’d been drinking while we were at the go kart place. The aroma became intoxicating to me as my tongue and his played together. I would have had him right there in the garage, but as he pulled us into the house, I was a little relieved.

I didn’t have the kind of experience that I’m sure Devin thought I had. I’d only been with a couple of men in my life, and they were more like boys. Devin was already different as he took me up the stairs, and we kissed passionately at the door to his room.

“Are you sure?” he asked before we went in.

I couldn’t imagine him ever asking any of his other women if they were sure, but I appreciated the gesture. I nodded my head in agreement and started to unbutton his shirt as he opened the door.

I’d seen his large master suite on several occasions, but as we moved from the door toward his bed, I noticed the intricate details of his room. His walls were painted a dark gray, and he had beautiful black and white photos on the walls. They looked as if he’d taken them himself on his travels, and I wanted to stop making out and ask him about every single location. But I resisted and went back to kissing him instead.

My hands feverishly moved up and down his chest after I tore his shirt from his body. His delicious abs were like speed bumps that slowed my desire and forced me to linger there for a few moments. Devin took care of his body; it was never as apparent as in that moment as my hands felt the results of what had to be years of hard work.

Devin moved his lips softly from my lips and down to my neck. He let his movements gently guide him down to my collar bone. The scruff of his beard scratched me, but the gentle touch of his lips enticed my body to want more. I reached for the hem of my T-shirt to pull it up and over my head, but Devin stopped me.

His hand held my shirt down while his lips continued to move around the neckline of my shirt with soft kisses. It was clear that Devin didn’t plan on rushing our evening together, and that was an instant turn on for me. The way he took his time and explored my exposed skin was nothing any of my past boyfriends had done. In the past, the passion of the moment would have landed us in bed within moments and left me utterly disappointed.

I had a good feeling that Devin didn’t plan on leaving me disappointed at all. He finally let his hands slide up under my shirt, but instead of taking it off, he let them wrap around my waist as he lightly moved me toward the side of the bed.

His kisses moved back up to my neck when he finally decided to pull my shirt up and over my head. I pressed my chest toward him hoping he’d remove my lacy white bra next, but he refused. Instead, Devin lowered me onto the bed, and his eyes focused in on my legs. Soon he was gently kissing up my inner thigh and let out a delicious moan of pleasure as he reached the hem of my jean shorts.

“Mmm, these are nice shorts,” he groaned as his lips glided from one leg, across my middle, and over to the other leg.

He took his time moving back down my other thigh as his hands rubbed up and down my legs. I couldn’t help thinking about the shaving job I’d frantically done before my date that night. I almost hadn’t bothered and was very happy I’d taken the time to shave after all.

My hand played with Devin’s hair as he moved back up to my jean shorts and let his lips kiss around the top button for a moment. The warmth of his lips excited me as I thrust my pelvis toward him in the hope of getting more and more pleasure from him.

Devin gently unhooked the button on my jeans and slowly slid the zipper down as he looked up at me. His smile was so mischievous, I could hardly keep myself from laughing. Slowly, he pulled on my shorts and moved them down my legs and onto the floor. His eyes never lost contact with mine, and the desire I felt grew more and more.

Devin’s lips touched tenderly on the outside of my white lace panties. As the warmth of his touch met my body, I groaned. The desire was building up so hard that I desperately wanted to feel him.

My desire seemed to drive Devin to take his time even more, though, and he refused to move quickly. Instead, he let his lips move back up to my breasts, this time gently biting my nipple through the fabric of my bra.

“Ohh, yes,” I moaned as I grabbed onto him back.

He let his fingers move to my center as he slid them up and down the outside of my panties. My hips pressed firmly against him in an effort for more. Devin relished my longing for him and moved his lips over to my other nipple as he gently bit that one.

Finally, he used his mouth to press the fabric of my bra out of the way and take me into his mouth. I let out the air I’d been holding and gave in to the delicious feel of his lips on my skin. While his fingers teased me, and his lips played with me, I couldn’t think of what to do to him. Instead, I relished in the way he took control and took his time to taste and play with me.

After ten minutes of his touching and tasking, I couldn’t take it, though, and I finally reached for his belt and started to unbuckle him. I didn’t have the self-control that he had and found myself moving frantically to free his body and feel him in my hand. I pressed his pants down, but he quickly took control and rolled to the side of me and took them all the way off.

I got a quick glimpse at his raging body, and it only fueled my desire for more. I tried to reach for him, to grab his full hardness with my hands, but he had already started to climb between my legs.

Devin grabbed my panties and pulled them down as his eyes looked between my body and my eyes. His intensity drove me wild as I waited to feel him inside of me. Slowly, he pressed my legs apart and kneeled between them. I was ready, and I wanted him; I couldn’t imagine the torture of going another minute without feeling the pleasure of his body thrusting inside of me.

But Devin just sat there for a minute and smiled naughtily again, with his throbbing body obvious in its desire. He leaned down and let his lips touch my inner thigh and move up gently. Slowly, his tongue lapped against me, and I arched my back with the pleasure of his touch. His movements vacillated between quick and slow, pressured and soft until I was moaning and totally unable to contain my reaction.

I thrust against him and felt the tingling throughout my body as he delivered his pleasure to me. My surprise was evident as my body let release an explosion of desire, and my legs clamped around his shoulders.

Devin continued as I moaned out and shook with pleasure. His tongue moved even more deliberately as if he’d only accomplished a small portion of what he intended to do that evening.

Soon my legs were shaking, and I grabbed onto his hair in an effort to force him to let me rest. But my moans begged for more, and he obliged as his tongue worked to deliver another epic shaking explosion.

When he finally moved his kisses off my center and up my stomach, I could hardly move as the pleasure was so intense. Devin reached over to his nightstand and grabbed a condom and slipped it over his body as he balanced himself above me. His eyes intently gazed into mine as he pressed his body into mine.

“Oh, yes,” I moaned as I grabbed onto him and pulled him down to kiss him.

My moans were muffled by our kisses as Devin moved gently inside of me. His hips pressed firmly but slowly as I welcomed the feeling of pleasure he was delivering to me. My body shook from all the nerves of pleasure as our bodies moved perfectly together.

In our one evening together, I felt more comfortable with Devin than I’d felt with any other man. Maybe it was because he took his time with me. Or perhaps I had more emotions for him than I’d had for my other bedmates, but for whatever reason, I felt connected to Devin and wanted it to last all night long.

His body thrusts started to increase in intensity, and Devin let out a grunt of pleasure as I held onto his body. Faster and harder he moved, and I matched his thrusts with my own pelvic desires. As our bodies finally delivered the pleasure filled final thrusts, I gave in and screamed out when the ultimate shaking orgasm rocked through my body.

When Devin slid down next to me, he lifted my head and put his arm under me as he wrapped his other arm around me to pull me close to him. We both shook with fatigue, and I couldn’t help closing my eyes as it was close to four in the morning, and I was totally exhausted.

“Best first date ever,” Devin whispered and kissed the back of my neck as I fell asleep.

***

Saturday morning, I slipped into Devin’s shower as he continued to sleep. I’d hoped to run home and grab some things before Devin woke up, but I was surprised by him joining me in the shower only a few minutes after I’d stepped in.

“Do you mind?” he asked as he stood near the door of the large glass shower.

“I think it’s big enough for eight people, so I’m sure I can make room for you.” I winked at him and finished rubbing the soap in my hair.

“After we’re done, we can head to the airport if that works for you?”

“Yep, I need to run home, though. I’ve got to grab some appropriate clothes. Are we spending the night there?”

“Yes, I’d like to, if that’s alright with you?” he said.

“Yes, that’s fine. I just need to call my work and let them know.”

“Of course,” Devin stood and watched me as I lathered the soap and moved it around my body. “Do you need any help with that?” he said with a smile.

“If you help, we will never get out of here on time. When do we need to be at the airport?”

Devin chuckled a little at my lack of knowledge.

“Whenever we get there is fine. They will wait for us,” he teased.

“Oh, yeah, sorry. I bet they don’t care when we get there.”

“Well, they have to file a flight plan, but they are fine with leaving whenever it works for me. Trust me; I’ll pay for their time no matter when we actually leave.”

“Okay, I’ll just take a minute at my house, and then we can go,” I said as I rinsed my hair and tried to walk past Devin to leave the shower.

“Good morning,” he said as he grabbed me and pressed my body against his.

He kissed me softly, but I felt his body rise as we stayed there pressed together. I desperately wanted to let my hand feel him, rub his body, tease him a little, but I resisted and pressed away so I could get dried off and dressed.

“I better get going.” I smiled as I wrapped the towel around me. “That was a good first date, though.”

Devin nodded his head in agreement and walked under the shower so he could get cleaned off. I stood and admired him for a minute as the muscles in his legs flexed while he leaned back and let the water run through his hair. Every inch of him was covered in muscles, and his body was perfectly tanned, everywhere. I had to wonder why he didn’t have a single tan line on him, but I figured I’d wait and ask that question another time.

I hurried and slipped back into my shorts and T-shirt and then went over to my house. Luckily, my parents weren’t home, and I was able to grab some things and leave them a note that I’d be back Sunday evening, and they could call if they needed anything.

It wasn’t all that unusual for me to take off for a few days with my friends, but it was a little unusual that I’d do it over two weekends in a row. Since being home, my parents had been really understanding about giving me my freedom, though. I thought they weren’t going to like having me home, but whenever we got time together, my mother was doting over me and clearly happy I was home.

By the time I got back to Devin’s house, he was in the garage waiting for me. He had a small black backpack in the trunk of his car and put my small bag in there with it. We went straight to the airport and drove in to park in the same spot he had parked the last time we were there.

After a quick visit with the TSA security guy, we loaded onto the plane and were up in the air shortly after. This time, I made sure Devin sat right next to me, and I held onto him tightly and didn’t look out the window as we took off. I still felt very nauseous, but it passed quicker than it had the last flight.

“Tell me more about Ashley,” I asked. “What is she going to want to know about me?”

Devin contemplated my question for what seemed like forever before he finally decided to answer me. I couldn’t tell if his trepidation was because of my question or because he was trying to think of how he wanted to describe his ex to me.

“When Ashley and I used to date, we were both into the party scene. We stayed up all night, drank, and even did some recreational drugs. I was making a ton of money at the startup tech firm, and we were blowing through it having a blast. Both of us loved that lifestyle at the time.”

“Not anymore?”

“Well, I kept partying after she had Izzy, and that was the reason why she ended up leaving me. I was working too, but I admit that I was mostly partying.”

“You kept partying even after Izzy was born?” I asked just to clarify.

It didn’t seem like something Devin would do. From what I knew about him, he was kind and caring. I just couldn’t imagine him leaving his girlfriend to care for their newborn. But I also believed what he was saying.

“I disguised it as work trips. I justified having to travel all the time because I was building my name as an angel investor. But really, I just had a lot of money, and I was young. There’s no excuse. When she finally decided to leave me and go stay with her parents, I didn’t even argue with her. It seemed like a good idea to me.”

“Wow.”

“I know. We obviously weren’t a couple anymore, and I was relieved that she would have someone to help her out. I thought I’d feel less guilty about it all if I gave her a large amount of money for child support, but that didn’t really help.”

“So when did you decide you wanted to get more involved?”

“About a year ago at Izzy’s birthday, I started to realize I wanted to see her more often, but Ashley was always trying to talk me out of it. When we would talk on the phone, she said Izzy was better off without me coming in and out of her life, so I started to believe her.”

“But you wanted to be there for her?” I asked.

“Yes, I just wasn’t sure I had the right to force myself on them. And at the time, I thought Ashley was the perfect mom. I didn’t realize she was having troubles with her drinking again, and I really didn’t suspect she was taking pain pills. When that all started to come out a few weeks ago, I knew I had to do something.”

“So you said you were married.” I laughed and tried to bring a little levity to the situation.

“I was so desperate for them to see me as responsible that I said the first thing that came to my mind. Her parents had always gotten onto us about not being married and said how irresponsible I was. I thought if I said I was married, they would have to think of me as responsible. It was a mistake, but I can’t fix it right now.”

“Despite me teasing you about it, I do understand why you said it. But my concern for you is what your end plan is going to be? I can’t exactly move in with you and Izzy when this is all said and done.”

“What? I thought you were going to really marry me,” he teased.

“Just start thinking about how you want this all to end. You’ll have to tell them sooner or later. Or perhaps we could have an epic breakup, but that might not make you look all that responsible either.”

“I get what you’re saying. I’ll start thinking about how to handle the end of our relationship.”

His words sat in my ears and made my stomach turn with dislike. I had just had an amazing night with this man, so I certainly wasn’t ready to be talking about the end of our relationship. But I also didn’t want to be fake married to him either; it wasn’t sitting well with me. I didn’t like even the appearance of the lie when it came to Izzy.

When we landed in Jacksonville, we drove straight to the rehab facility instead of the hotel. My nerves were growing with each mile as we got closer to the facility. I’d never had to actually interact with anyone’s ex-girlfriend and certainly not in a situation where I was pretending to be the new wife.

“What should I say to her?” I asked as we got closer.

“Hopefully, you won’t have to say much. I’ll go in and talk to her first and then I can bring you in. Basically, I think she just wants to see you and make sure you’re normal. But we will just play it by ear.”

“Maybe I can just wave to her from the window and be done with it?” I playfully suggested.

“Thank you again for coming. I know this whole thing is crazy, and I really appreciate your efforts here.”

“Are we going to see Izzy today too?”

“Hopefully. I asked Mrs. Edwards if we could take her for the evening, and I haven’t heard back. I think she might be waiting to hear what Ashley has to say about it all.”

“So is Ashley going to jail?” I asked.

I was genuinely trying to understand how a DUI and possession charge could land her in jail for so many years. I’d had friends get both of those charges, and most of them ended up with some sort of treatment requirement and probation. It was a complex legal system, though, and I felt bad for Ashley because of everything she was going through. Even if she wasn’t the greatest mother in the world, she loved her daughter, and it would be so hard on Izzy to have her mother away.

“Yeah, she’s going to jail, but she still hasn’t had her court hearing. The one this week was just some motions her attorney filed, and she might even get to go home after treatment. But at her hearing, it’s my understanding that she’ll have a minimum of five years.”

“Wow, poor Izzy. That’s a lot of big life events that her mom is going to miss.”

“I know. Hopefully, what I’ve heard is wrong, and she’ll get to have a lighter sentence. Maybe with this long treatment, she will be able to show them she’s committed to staying clean and sober?”

“Hopefully.”

As we pulled into the treatment facility, it looked more like a jail, and I looked over at Devin to see what was going on. I’d expected some sort of plush establishment that had green grounds with walking trails and hang out spots. Instead, we pulled up to a stark building that had a tall chain link fence around it with barbed wire on the top. Nothing like the treatment facilities I’d heard of.

“She’s in a locked secure facility. It’s where the criminals go for mental health and substance abuse. It’s a co-occurring facility,” Devin said as we parked and got out.

I couldn’t stop looking at the pointed barbed wire on top of the fence. Ashley was locked inside that building, just like she was in jail. She clearly couldn’t leave anytime she wanted to.

“Why is she here?”

“Her lawyer told her it would be better if she went to this place and dealt with her depression and other issues at the same time. Plus, their reports are taken and weighed more heavily by a judge because the program is so strict.”

“Oh, I can see that it’s strict. This is more like a prison.”

“Well, some of the women here are from jail. If they can’t bond out, and they have some major issues, they are sent here while they wait for a treatment.”

“Wow, okay. So she’s in there with criminals?”

“Technically, she is also a criminal,” Devin added as we walked into the lobby.

There was a glass window, and behind it sat a woman in a security officer’s uniform. Devin checked us in, and we went to sit down in some chairs in the corner of the lobby. My hands were shaking as I was so nervous. I’d never been to a prison or a treatment facility that looked like a prison; it was scary.

The lobby was filled with dozens of chairs and even a small play area for children. It was sad to think that kids had to come to a place like this to visit with their mothers. I couldn’t even imagine it, yet I knew Izzy had probably been here to visit with Ashley at some point over the last few weeks.

“Devin Graham,” the security guard said as a door opened on the other end of the room.

“I’ll come get you in a little bit,” Devin said to me as he gently squeezed my hand and then let it go.

“Sir, I’ll need you to empty all your pockets and put your things in this container,” the guard said.

Devin did as he was asked, and the guard gave the container to the woman behind the front desk. I assumed they had to empty their pockets to ensure people weren’t bringing in some sort of contraband to the women, but the guard didn’t pat Devin down or anything.

I sat alone in the lobby for what seemed like forever, wondering what Devin was telling Ashley about me, and what she was asking him. I could only imagine she’d have a lot of questions for me, and I tried to run some possible ideas through my head as I waited.