Willows, Jennifer - Lust for Life [The Moreland Brothers 2] (Siren Publishing Allure) (2 page)

Chapter Two:

Sleepless in Carolina

Present Day
,
the morning of Makenzie and Charyn’s wedding at Ft. Fisher beach, North Carolina

“Shhh...” Deven whispered to Charli, eyes devouring her whole.

“Please, Dev, I need you,” she whispered, voice hoarse from her screams of desire.

He touched her, peeling down her black merry widow under her breasts, springing the heavy pendulous weights into waiting hands. She was panting, pleading for more. He gave her a teasing touch below. His hand just stroked the fabric hiding her woman’s mound. She tried to force him to give her a firmer touch, something more than she was getting. Dev laughed, and the sound was wicked and hearty. She wanted more and would get it somehow. But every time she rubbed against him, he would take a step back, forcing her to back him in a corner. He just smirked down at her, and her knees went weak, forcing her to clutch at him, all just so she could stay upright without melting into the floor. He finally gave in, lifting her legs around his hips. She wrapped them tight, squeezing him.

He freed his hardness first, moving his hands under her thighs to keep her positioned to his liking. Charli rolled her hips, undulated her waist, against the snake nestled in her grass. Deven let gravity take its course, spearing her bit by bit. The head first, a rich slide that quenched some of the need. His size didn’t allow for a quick entry, but she wanted it anyway, arching her back so she could take more. She popped her hips over and over, every motion earning her more of him. Finally, he took mercy on her and, hands on her hips, speared her on the last two inches. When she got them, she screamed, scoring his shoulders, leaving raw welts and just a few drops of blood. He turned with her, placing her back to the wall. His treatment of her was raw and uncut, giving no mercy. She didn’t want him to either, and begged for more.

“Ooh, Deven!”

She cried out, hoping he would deliver her from this, more cock than she could take. Charli found out she was wrong, and he gave her more, plowing her. His thrusts were so strong and utterly intense, each punt from his hips drove her up the wall. Each motion she made was to run from him any way she could. He watched her run, and the wickedly sensual smirk he made told her he loved it. She couldn’t believe she was taking him fully, and still begging for more. Charli wanted Deven to fuck her dumb, deaf, and blind. And he was, until ringing kept interrupting his stride. After the tenth ring she asked, “Is that your phone?”

“No, it’s yours.” His response was quick. Too quick.

“Huh,” Charli muttered, confused. She didn’t have her phone. It was—

The ringing phone intruded, the alarm blaring, as it had been for fifteen minutes. Charlene Anderson was exhausted. She rubbed her eyes, crusty from the two-hour nap she got this afternoon, and sat up in the too-soft bed. She felt definitely angry and in need of coffee, as she had been cheated out of her wet, nocturnal fantasies. When she looked in the hotel mirror, her eyes were wan and her bags had bags. To reduce the swollen skin she rubbed a thin layer of Preparation H under her eyes. Next, she perked a small pot of coffee. She was in a rush, having slept at least fifteen minutes too late. Since she was late there was only time for a duck bath.

Now she had to scurry about, opting to drink the strong coffee black, the time not allowing her to make it palatable. Charlene had been up working on her best friend’s wedding all night. For the last weeks until the wedding, the groom, Charyn, had asked her to help with the usual bridesmaid support and for her best friend’s sake, she couldn’t say no. She helped him put together favor boxes at his office along with Sharon, Makenzie’s mom. She picked up the stragglers from ILM airport, attending family from out of town, as they arrived. She had to have filled her tank a dozen times in one week. At this rate she may as well buy stock in Shell gas. Her feet were aching. And she was depressed. The saddest part was that after the wedding she would be alone. As always.

But she didn’t have time to worry about the small stuff. She had a bride to attend to and a smile to hoist onto her face. When Charli looked in the mirror, her eyes were bright, too bright. She barely saw herself, the chocolate skin, doe eyes, pert nose, or even the full bow of her lips. She made her face up quickly, slipping on the gold-goddess, one-shoulder gown and her heels. She dusted her face with mineral powder one last time before walking across the hall to the bride’s penthouse suite hotel room. She got it for the bachelorette party the night prior and the wedding day to get ready. Before she knocked, she composed herself, not wanting to detract from Makenzie’s special day with her morose thoughts. Sliding on her mock Audrey Hepburn frames, she knocked at the adjoining door.

When her best friend, Makenzie, opened it, she was beautiful in bridal finery. Poor Mak, she had been painting day and night for months and didn’t have the time to look for a gown. Her doting fiancé made several choices and had them delivered to try on at home. The final choice was Mak’s of the three sample gowns he sent her. Charyn had outdone himself with the wedding, and the dresses he chose for her were no exception. The gown she wore wasn’t a true white. The undertones of the color appeared more golden than anything. The dress seemed plain on the rack, but was resplendent on the bride. It had a simple sweetheart neckline, covered in netting, from the empire waist to the foot-long train. There were some wispy butterflies that scattered across the fabric in random places, clustered at the base of the short train. He commissioned her jewelry, golden ropes at her neck and wrists both dripping with jewels.

The jewelry in itself was a nightmare. Charyn spent many nights fretting about when it would arrive. But the package made it in the nick of time, arriving just two days before the event. Even Charli was sweating bullets by the time they were three days out. Mak’s fiancé begged her to leave her hair natural, loving the curls and kinky feel of it. The bride agreed and wore it pulled back in a large tuft of curls at her nape, three flowers clustered at one side. The blooms were the same ones as in the bouquet, jasmine and garden roses. All the scented blossoms were provided from the hothouse of the groom’s mother, Charlotte. Jamie, the only other bridesmaid, stood slightly behind the bride, quiet as always. Jamie was beautiful, golden skin, bright eyes. But she didn’t really see herself that way, due to the fact she spoke with a strong stammer at inopportune moments and the low esteem showed in her demeanor. Jamie still worked at Charli’s old job, Southern Wireless, but she was a highly successful indie film blogger as well. Most of her vacation time was spent each year on some movie set or at a film festival. Charli wondered vaguely why Jamie hadn’t quit work yet. Most people would have long ago.

Shaking her musings about her too-shy friend away, Charli shed a few tears looking at the bride-to-be, who also teared up.

“You ready to jump the broom with your stud, girl?” The words were spoken as a joke to make everyone laugh, and it worked.

“Hell yeah, he even made us hold off on lovemaking for this whole week. I’sa ready to get married now.”

Mak’s dry humor made everyone chuckle once more. They walked out of the suite, taking the elevator to the entry twenty floors below. Charli saw the reactions of guests and hotel staff alike. Everyone who saw her just stopped and stared at how wonderful the blushing bride looked. She even heard a small child ask her mom if Makenzie was a princess. Walking past, the radiant bride stopped and laughed, smiling at the youth. She told the toddler girl, “No, I’m not a princess, but I feel like one today.” She leaned low, handing the towheaded girl a flower from the gold ribbon-wrapped bouquet. They climbed in the stretch Hummer limo reserved for the bridal party, and left for the beach.

When they arrived, the guests were waiting at the surf, each holding one hurricane filled with sand and a candle. Charli exited first, then Jamie, then the bride. Charyn waited at the end of the double file line and escorted his intended to the gazebo. They exchanged vows so beautiful that Charli spent half the wedding blotting her eyes with a lace-trimmed handkerchief bundled in her hand. She didn’t hear two-thirds of what was said, but one thing stuck with her. It was the way Charyn announced to the world that he would be with Makenzie no matter what, that he was happy to make children with her, hold them and raise them as long as she would love him. The way he looked at his bride made it evident that he meant every word he spoke.

Then he asked her once again to be his wife and slid home a gold band his brother, Deven, held out to him. Taking a good peek, she saw the band matched everything else. The necklace, bracelet, even the engagement ring she wore. A golden rope. The groom only saw his bride, and when given permission by the officiator kissed her until all the watching women were breathless. The newly wedded couple ran up the surf, laughing as they clung to each other. They looked... content with the world and their love. She was a touch jealous, but a discreet peek beneath her lowered lids revealed a blue-eyed monster watched her, silently.

Once inside the flagged tent, Charli saw everything was perfect just as planned, the reception was set up as harem, swags of sheer fabric strung from the roof. Cushions and tables of different sizes and shapes were arranged as well. For some of the elder guests, there were groupings of higher couches as well. Each table bore hanging lanterns and carved cigar boxes filled with favors.

She looked at the cake, a towering sculpture of a sandcastle confection, scanned her eyes over the face of every guest, anything but the male next to her. Deven was devastating with his blue, almond-shaped eyes, that strong jaw, just a hint of stubble no matter how often he shaved. Amazingly enough he had gotten a haircut. The few times she’d seen him in passing, he appeared to disdain barbers. The golden hair was always shaggy and very blond from the sun. Even his skin was dark bronze from his love of the outdoors. Of course he was tall. All the Moreland men were giants. Everyone was a giant compared to her. She saw him from the corner of her eyes and continued ignoring him, scanning the crowd to make sure all were satisfied. She noticed Marques, who was paired with Jamie for the wedding ceremony, walk around his assigned bridesmaid to mingle with yet another gathering of people. The youngest Moreland brother used his quick wit to keep pockets of attendees laughing and highly entertained along the way. The chefs were roasting meat outside in pits, and most of the guests were satisfactorily occupied with appetizers. Served family-style, the guests chatted as they passed dishes around. Seeing most were content with the free food, she walked away looking for the cake artist. The baker was in the corner, setting up the dishes. Everything looked good so far, and she continued on her walk, intending to go outside for a breath of fresh air. As she opened the flap to walk out, the beaming newlyweds came in, trailing joy and happiness with them.

Charli was grateful to be away from the radiant couple. She toed off the sandals and walked to the frothing water. She tuned out the commotion coming from the tent, wanting just a minute for herself. These were the first moments she’d had to herself in weeks. She really wanted a joint right now, but she was short on that end until she got this dog and pony show cleaned up. But she could have a cigarette. Opening the small, gold, vintage Judith Leiber clutch, she took out the singular smoke she’d put in it for the wedding. She lit the end, her back turned to the spray of the roaring ocean. The first drag was heavenly, and it calmed her almost immediately. She walked and thought about her life. She had called her friend out a year ago and made changes to her life as well. But now she was adrift. She no longer had her grow houses or dealt smoke. Charli hadn’t decided what she wanted to do next but needed to figure it out. She was plagued with ennui, a bit restless, and never before thought those words would apply to her. She had seen the good, bad, and ugly in her lifetime, and the concept that boredom would be the biggest problem she had in life was stupefying somehow. Ennui was a rich man’s poison, for those wealthy enough to have everything presented to them on a platter, not someone like her.
 

* * * *

Deven Moreland knew Charli wanted what her friend had, though she would never admit it aloud. She wanted a man who would be there for her, somewhere deep inside. Too bad he wasn’t it, although he wanted to be. Despite the sadness plaguing her features, she was amazing with her mocha skin and round eyes with the longest eyelashes he’d ever seen. Her lips were a succulent, ripe, bowed fruit and stained a deep red. Charli wore her hair in a new cut that fell to her jaw line. For the wedding, she opted to comb it back in a twenties-inspired wave with a flower over one ear. She was lovely, but her eyes were saying she was lonely instead. Her frame was built small, barely five feet when shoeless. To a man like him, she was a munchkin.

Today she compensated for her stature with five-inch heels, sexy straps over the toes and around her trim ankles. The dress fit her like a second skin, gold silk, single strap, toga-style at her right shoulder. She was a vision, one he’d love to sate himself with. Fully satisfy himself with her, as long as that would take. The one time he’d had her wasn’t enough. But he knew if he dipped in her well again, he’d never stop coming back for more of her. After that singular time, he almost called her daily, but he always stopped himself in the nick of time. More than once, he caught himself slipping. He had already pulled her number up and was ready to send the call. After that, he deleted her address book listing so the temptation wouldn’t be there. But he still remembered it, the numbers burned in his brain.