Chapter 35 Grayden
THIRTY-FIVE
Grayden
Sunlight speared my eyelids. I was under a pile of blankets with something warm and soft and just the right amount of heavy on top of me.
Piper burrowed her face against my chest, making a sleepy sound.
I stroked her back and sighed with contentment. Last night, I’d had big ideas about keeping her up all night. Like my cock was her personal amusement park, and I had to take her on every possible ride.
Ha. After we’d given each other earth-shattering orgasms, we’d both been too wrecked to stand. Much less gear up for round two. We’d managed to stumble to her bathroom to get ready for bed. But after that, we both passed out.
I hadn’t slept that soundly in a long time. Not since sleeping on her couch on Thanksgiving night with a stomach full of good food. But her bed was far more comfortable.
Having Piper pressed naked up against me, using me as a pillow, had been best of all.
She shifted. With her cheek still on my chest, she looked up at me, and I dipped my chin to look down at her.
“Morning,” I said.
Her eyelashes fluttered as she blinked. “Hey.”
My heart squeezed. She barely had to do a thing to get that kind of reaction from me.
I rolled so I was on my side. She tucked up against me. My arm lifted the blankets higher around us.
Piper traced her fingers over the tattoos on my upper chest. Then followed the designs across to my shoulder and down my arm. “You shouldn’t be this sexy. It’s wise you keep these covered most of the time. Women would be throwing themselves at you constantly. Gay men too.”
“You haven’t seen me in the summer. I’m usually less clothed.”
“Is that a warning? You’ll be waving this sexy around all over the place when June hits?”
I liked that she was talking about the future, even indirectly. “Doesn’t matter. I won’t be looking at anyone except you.”
Piper’s teeth dug into her lip, and her gaze moved away. Maybe I’d said too much, suggesting we would still have something going on months from now.
But it wasn’t easy to hide how I felt. I didn’t ever want to lie to Piper.
“I used to be a string-bikini girl,” she said. “When Grace and I used to drive out to the lake a million years ago in the summer.”
I ran my hands down her body beneath the blankets, mapping her curves. “I’d love to see that. We should do that sometime when it’s warm. Go to a lake. Does Ollie like to swim?”
I knew I was pushing my luck. Piper chose the avoidance route, sitting up and dangling her legs off the bed, arms stretching up. “I’d better get the coffee started or I’ll be a zombie all morning.”
“You don’t seem that zombie-like.”
“The orgasm last night and lots of sleep helped. But I’m running on fumes now.”
“Stay here. I can give you another orgasm. I’m fully stocked.”
“Coffee first.” She popped up, sending me a coy glance over her shoulder and wiggling her round butt cheeks.
After grabbing a fleece bathrobe, Piper went out to the kitchen. I threw on my jeans and followed.
Unlike yesterday, when she’d been hungover, Piper was all smiles this morning. She made the coffee, and I threw together breakfast again. An omelet this time with shredded cheddar and some roasted red peppers from a jar in her fridge. A little more fresh cilantro.
We ate at the counter. It felt casual and easy. The kind of morning I could get used to. Ollie wasn’t here, but of course he was on Piper’s mind. She checked her phone and found some texts waiting.
“They’re already up and getting food before the big game.” She showed me the latest selfie of Callum and Ollie decked out in Broncos gear. They were all wrapped up to face the cold. I smiled at Ollie’s goofy expression.
Hell, I missed the kid. I really did. His attitude and his big personality. While I loved having Piper to myself for a while, I could imagine the three of us on a Sunday morning like this too. Relaxing and laughing. Going for a walk and playing keep-away in the park.
Was I an idiot to hope for that? To dream of Piper giving me that kind of chance?
Probably. But hope was free. Disappointment hurt, but so did all the shit that life dealt out whether you hoped for better or not.
I had hope where Ashford was concerned, too. My ideal future didn’t just have Piper and Ollie in it. It had both of our families together. Acceptance.
That happy ending seemed a long way off. Maybe it was nothing but a pipe dream. The kind that could break your heart just from how real it seemed before true reality crashed down.
But I wanted so fucking badly for it to be real.
After breakfast and more coffee, we wound up in the shower in Piper’s bathroom. The shower was like the rest of her house. Not huge, but inviting and cozy.
I stood behind her and kissed the wet droplets that ran down her neck.
My cock was throbbing and swollen against her lower back. Balls heavy and full. Like I hadn’t come last night at all. She made me so hard. Especially because of how much Piper clearly enjoyed sex. Her mouth made me crazy, not just her talented lips on my cock but the things she said.
She arched her back and wiggled against me. “Want you.”
“Here? Or your bed?”
“Right here. I can’t wait. I need your tongue again. Please.”
Nngh. My cock thumped from how horny and desperate she sounded.
I turned her to face the shower wall. “I’ll give you what you need.”
“I know. I trust you.”
Fire ignited in my veins, flames licking the underside of my skin. She’d said those words to me before, but not like this. Not like she was putting something precious in my hands.
“That means a lot to me. Your trust. I’ll take good care of you.”
Piper could pretend this was just about sex if that made it easier for her. But to me, my promise was about so much more than today.
“Hands on the tile, sweetheart. Spread your legs.”
Kneeling on the ground behind her, I gripped the backs of her thighs. Used my thumbs to spread her open more. Piper arched her spine.
Oh, that was heaven alright.
I moaned and closed my eyes at the first taste of her. Just as good as last night. But I didn’t think either of us were in the mood to drag this out. For one, we had the water heater to consider.
So I was merciless. Sliding my tongue over her clit with the pressure that had made her scream last night.
“Like that,” she moaned. “Please. Just like that.”
My blood was thick with arousal. My cock begged for attention, but not yet. Not until I had her falling apart on my tongue. Adding my fingers, I sought out the perfect movements that would take her apart.
“There! Don’t stop.” Piper cried out, convulsing around my fingers and tongue.
I gentled the pressure but kept giving her what she needed until her legs tried to close, and I let her go. She leaned against the shower wall.
Standing, I grabbed the bottle of conditioner and slicked my cock. “Can I use your thighs, wild girl?” I didn’t have a condom, and it was important to me that we have that talk. Now wasn’t the time. I was way too close to the edge.
“Mmm, yes. That sounds hot. Do it.”
My cock slipped and slid as I thrust between her clenched inner thighs. Piper was just the right height for me, the perfect combination of flirty and sweet and filthy. She kept urging me on. Begging for more.
I came with a roar of her name on my lips, my head swimming as black spots stole my vision.
Perfect.
I would’ve taken Piper back to her bed to spend the day there. But I had to return Milo’s Kawasaki Ninja before he decided I’d taken off with it.
Piper stopped to kiss me as I sat astride the bike, ready to fire it up. “Maybe we could borrow it again sometime?” she asked.
“Yeah. I bet we can. Have a special place in mind for our next date?”
Her cheeks pinked. “Just thinking about how sexy you look riding it. That’s all.”
“Okay. I’ll make it happen.” I winked and pulled the helmet on. Piper could play coy all she wanted. She’d brought up a next time, and that was enough for me right now. “See you in a few.”
Piper followed me to Milo’s shop in her Subaru. I was going to return the bike, but from everything she’d said, we weren’t going to say goodbye just yet. We still had hours and most of the day until Ollie and Callum would return.
The motorcycle shop had a closed sign in the window when I pulled up, but Milo’s head popped through the door a moment later. “Hey! I’ll pull up one of the garage bay doors. Pull in.”
I rode the bike inside and parked it where he pointed. The shop was full of bikes in various states of repair, tools, and parts. The place smelled of metal and grease and a hard-day’s work.
“Hope you weren’t waiting for me,” I said, placing the borrowed helmet on a table. “I slept in.”
He laughed knowingly. “Nah, I was just in here tinkering. Dealing with some paperwork before the week starts. Your date went well, I take it?”
“It did.”
I hadn’t mentioned to Milo that Piper was my date, but I had a feeling he could guess after seeing us together the other day.
“I really appreciate this,” I added. “You’re a good friend, man. Anytime you need a favor, just ask. You’re first on my list for ink when my studio’s open.”
He nodded, but something darker passed across his features. A moment of uncertainty.
“What’s up?” I asked. “Need a favor sooner?”
He hesitated, then shook his head. “No, nothing like that. But there’s something you might wanna know. That cop who was with Chief Nichols when they responded to the drug tip at your place? Chad Bronski?”
My shoulders tensed. Officer Bronski, who despised me for existing. “Yeah, what about him?”
“He was in here yesterday afternoon with his pal Dillon Kirby, picking up a couple dirt bikes that were in for maintenance. They were talking about you.”
“Dillon? Is that the same kid who works at Silver Linings?”
“Yep. He works there. From the way they were shit-talking you, I’m guessing Dillon isn’t president of your fan club?”
“Hardly. Officer Bronski’s the president. Dillon Kirby is the chief executive officer.”
Milo snorted. “Well, Bronski said you were prowling around Piper Carmichael’s house on Friday night.”
“Fuck’s sake,” I muttered. “That was someone else. A guy broke into Piper’s garage, and she called 911. Bronski barely lifted a finger to find the real culprit. He let the guy get away.”
Milo held up his hands. “Look, I knew it sounded like bullshit. I piped up, telling them Piper’s your girl and that must be why you were at her place. I mean, I assume she is, right? That’s who you were out with yesterday?”
The muscle in my jaw worked. Piper had said, over and over, that she didn’t care who knew about us spending time together.
“I’m not sure I can say Piper’s my girl. I’d like her to be. But yes, she was with me yesterday. I was only at her place on Friday because I was invited.”
He crossed his arms, nodding along. “Exactly what I figured. But anyway, when I said that, Dillon seemed pretty pissed off. He clearly didn’t like hearing it. Just wanted to give you a heads-up.”
“A heads-up that certain people don’t like me in this town? It’s not news, but I appreciate it. Hey, you won’t believe what was actually in that suspicious ‘drug’ package planted at my house.”
I told Milo the brick of powder turned out to be powdered sugar. He thought that was seriously messed up, considering how much trouble it caused me in the short term. But funny in a sick way.
“So you still think it was Piper’s ex Danny?” Milo asked.
“I’m sure of it. He all but admitted it to me later that night. Then he said he’d take a payment of two hundred grand in exchange for Piper and their son. Said I could have them if I paid him off.”
Milo whistled. “Dude. That’s fucked.”
“Couldn’t agree more. It could’ve been Danny behind the break-in at Piper’s garage on Friday too.”
“He’s that desperate for money?”
I dragged a hand over my beard. “I don’t know. I have no idea what’s in that man’s head. He’s essentially a coward, though. Sneaks around and threatens and tries to intimidate Piper, but I think he’ll back down.”
I’d seen Danny put his hand on Piper’s throat, and I wasn’t going to forget that. But I’d known many violent men in my past. Ruthless killers. I simply didn’t believe Danny Carmichael was one of them.
I would protect Piper and Ollie from him, but Danny would slink away soon enough. Like a rodent seeking out the shadows.
Milo blew out a breath, shaking his head. “You know, I’m impressed. For someone who hasn’t been back in town long, you’ve made a lot of enemies.” He clapped me on the shoulder. “Let me know if you ever need backup.”
“Thanks.”