Mr. Hot Stuff Next Door

20. Piper

CHAPTER 20

Piper

I pull the curtain half closed and step away from the French doors before going back to put the finishing touches on all the breakfast fare I prepared for my man.

The sun is glaringly bright this morning and is giving hell to my poor, overworked eyes.

It’s been ten days since I opened my door and found my Mr. Hot Stuff standing there looking beyond pissed and sexy as fuck, and things between us are going great.

I’m so happy I feel like I’m not walking but floating over the hardwood floors as I move around Gage’s apartment.

We exchanged keys to our respective places a few days back, and I used mine to let myself in just after he kissed me at my door to go down to the gym to exercise so I could come in and surprise him with breakfast after he’s done.

And, okay, also maybe so that I can take a little teensy tiny peek at him while he’s still all sweaty and yummy when he comes back from his workout before he steps in the shower and changes.

We slept in my bed last night.

Or rather, he slept after we were done… ehm… cuddling .

Me, I went on to complete one of the best, most satisfying writing sprints of my life and was up until five a.m. typing away so that I could finish Trouble by Name –which I did just in the nick of time. My deadline was this morning, and even if I cut it too close, I managed to finish literally on the gong and sent the manuscript off to my editor.

During my breaks, I might have had the occasional very distracting thought running through my head about a certain gentleman, but when my fingers hit the keyboard, I was more than inspired. I’ve never written a book while having these types of feelings for someone in my heart, and I don’t know how it is possible, but I think they helped me understand my story and my characters even more in some way.

I'm really proud of this work, and I hope my readers will come to love it as much as I did, especially after my wonderful editor works a round or two of her magic on it to make it beautifully polished, sharp, and as spick and span as only she can.

I've been so enthralled by Gage that keeping up with my working schedule has been difficult, though.

For some reason, writing with him working away at his laptop a few feet away, or in the nights while he slept near me and I did my thing in bed using my portable desk, turned out to be productive beyond my wildest dreams, but the moment he was out of my sight, I could not get two words on the screen. Weirdest thing ever.

When I told him about it expecting he would get a laugh out of it and confirm how insane it was, he shrugged, ruffled my hair, and pulled me into a one-armed hug in that way that I love so much because it makes me feel precious and small, and, kissing the side of my head, said: “Welcome to the club, it’s nice to know I’m not the only one dealing with this shit.”

We reached the conclusion that this is probably something that will settle down and start to normalize with time once we find an everyday routine that works for both of us.

Right now, we feel our best when we spend almost every hour of every day together, and we're just enjoying each other's closeness and company and going with it.

I’ve never felt so joyful and so… understood in my life.

It’s not just the physical attraction that keeps me glued to him and not even only the off-the-charts hot chemistry we share that’s always at work to make me want more, to make me want to have everything with him.

It’s the way we can laugh and tease together, the way we can talk and talk for hours about all manners of things without getting tired, and without even realizing that any time at all has gone by.

Gage says that it’s because of the bond between us that stuff outside of us two just ceases to exist once we are in the same air space. He says that things might be new between us, but they don’t feel that way. And he’s right.

It’s like we have our own little magic bubble, and once we step into it, the rest of the world just fades away.

I love spending time with him.

Usually, I'm kind of a loner, so this is really unusual behavior for me.

Aside from my parents, Sylvianne is the only person that I like being around for long stretches of time, but I'm a real introvert, so afterward, even if I had the most fun ever with her, I tend to need a bit of alone time to recharge. And it's always been like this for me since I was little.

Even when it comes to spending time with my parents –which I both love to pieces– sometimes I need to step away for a bit.

With Gage, though, things are different. I never feel wary. I never tire of being around him, and the hours I’ve spent immersed in my book have been all the alone time I needed. I never feel depleted of all mental energies when he leaves my side like I normally would, after any prolonged interpersonal interaction. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. I feel recharged when we’re close, and as soon as he leaves me, I miss the heck out of him and can’t wait to be back in his presence.

I guess it’s because I’ve fallen in love with him. I’m pretty sure of it.

That’s what makes it all so different. It’s not a simple crush that I’m experienced.

It’s… love.

This one man, even with all that growly possessive attitude of his and the sometimes-bordering-on-the-obsessive protective behaviors he puts into action when he’s around me. Stuff like putting my seatbelt on for me, making sure the carpet in front of the shower stall is close enough for me to step on it, walking on the outside of the sidewalk while he keeps me on the inner part of it, and the list goes on. And on.

And I’m eating it all up! I don’t feel stifled by it, not even a little bit.

I love it all.

This man is mine. He is my person. My one and only. I’m positive about this.

I’m not stupid: I know this is fast, but I also know what this is and how much more it could be.

I wasn’t expecting this to happen in my life right now or anytime soon, really.

I always thought I was meant to tell these kinds of romantic stories but not live them myself.

I considered being able to write those books a privilege enough, but actually having a hero I couldn’t have been able to imagine if I tried being in my life, it’s priceless and goes beyond my wildest hopes and dreams. So, I’m going to throw my heart over the damn obstacle and embrace what’s happening between us because it’s not every day that you meet someone that you’re not only attracted to, someone that can be your lover, but also someone that can be your friend, your protector –even if you thought you didn’t need one– and someone you can build something amazing and everlasting with.

And I have! I’ve met someone that’s all of those things for me.

My soulmate.

I think I’m meant to spend the rest of my days with him. Or at least that’s what my heart wants. The mere thought of not having him in my life, or even of not seeing him soon, is enough to make my tummy hurt.

I don't know how to explain it, even being someone of my trade, someone who really believes in love.

I never thought I would be this lucky… and yet, here I am, crazy happy at the thought that I’m going to be with him again shortly as if weeks had gone by since we last were together rather than mere hours.

It’s a scary feeling but oh-so-wonderful, too!

My phone goes off with Sylvianne's unique ring, and I run to pick it up from where it's lying on the teak coffee table.

“Syl?” I answer the call and take a seat on the sofa.

“Hey, girl! You alone?” she asks.

“Hmm… yes. Why?”

“Why? Cause I’ve got a third degree to run you through about a certain Mr. Hot Stuff Next Door, and we don’t want him to be around for that, do we?”

I laugh at the conspiratorial tone in her voice. "If you want to ask what I think, then the answer is still not yet, I'm afraid."

My friend gasps in shock. “What?! Piper, come on! He sounds amazing and totally lost over you, plus I’ve seen pics of the guy. What are you waiting for? Are you insane?”

I huff a strand of hair away from my face. “I just… I don’t know… maybe I’m overthinking things…”

“Pretty sure we can scratch the maybe off that sentence, babe. Seriously, though. If not this guy, who?”

I sigh as I take off my glasses and clean one of the lenses on one leg of my shorts. “No one. It’s going to be him, I know that…”

“Then what’s the holdup?”

I laugh. “The hold up is that I just met him, Syl. And why are you in such a rush to see me jump in the sack with him?”

“Well, I actually have a list of reasons, but I’m going to stick to the principal ones since I need to catch some ‘ Z ’ pretty soon.”

I rest my head back, bringing my glasses in front of me so I can look at the clear lenses. I frown when I see a little speck of dust clinging to the glass and use the front of my tank to wipe it off. “I’m all ears…”

“Well, for one thing, you’ve been holding onto that damn V-Card for far too long. Secondly, I need to get my vicarious jollies somewhere, and since you’re the one who ended up living the romantic adventure, you’re stuck with making me happy… and thirdly, based on the things you’ve been telling me, this guy is crazy about you. Now, can you argue with any of these things?”

I sigh, putting my glasses back on. “No?”

Sylvianne laughs. “You said that like a question, but, girl, you should be able to answer that on your own, right?”

“I guess… but isn’t the fact that I’m asking it, reason enough to maybe stop listening to my heart and hormones for a second and be rational?”

My bestie scoffs at that. “And why would you even think of doing such a silly thing? I mean, all kidding aside, not listening to one’s hormones, I could maybe understand, but when is it ever a good idea not listening to one’s heart?”

I tap a finger on my thigh, and I eye the Alexa monitor to check the time.

I smile to myself, taking a deep breath. “Never?”

“Atta girl! You wanna know what’s your problem?”

“No.”

“Come on!”

“Fine, tell me! But make it quick. Gage’s gonna be back soon, and I don’t want to have another awkward conversation about my virginity with him… I still have to live down the one we had, even if he was super understanding and sweet about the whole thing.”

“Okay, I’ll be a flash. Sweetie, you’re just nervous… it’s normal. You’re getting cold feet. It happens. There’s nothing more to it than that, trust me. Another thing I can tell you is that if it was just physical attraction and a good dose of lust at work to turn your ovaries against you, virgin or not, you would have already slept with Gage. But, considering the type of person you are, the reason you haven’t done the deed yet is probably that you’re afraid you’ll mess things up, which is ridiculous, and/or because you have deep feelings for this guy to the point that I could, I won’t, but I could use the ‘L’ word already, and you know this is going to be important and huge…”

I sigh. This is what happens when your bestie knows you too well. “I think you’re spot on as always… this is huge… and I just don’t know how to handle it.”

My friend starts to giggle. “Oh, that’s too good, girl! I hope that’s not the only huge thing you’ll have to handle! Other than that, I’m going to pass up and not tease you further about this, but really, you served it to me on a silver platter.”

I laugh. “That’s just because your mind lives in the gutter!”

“Oh, Dr. Seuss, is that you?” she mocks me.

“Funny! And… for your information, it isn’t.”

There’s a moment of silence on the other side of the call, and then my friend starts to guffaw. “Oh, girl! You are one lucky lucky bitch!”

“I know! Alright, get some sleep, Syl. It’s really late over there… I’ll talk to you later…”

“‘K, but please keep things simple, hon, and always, always lead heart-first.”

“I will. Thank you, babes, bye!”

“Bye, have fun and be safe! And remember, if you need it, I’ve got a baseball bat under the bed in my room.”

I laugh out loud. “I won’t. Go take a nap now! Sleep deprivation is making you talk crazy…”

“Yeah, let’s blame it on sleep deprivation… sure… alright, talk to you tomorrow.”

“Sure thing. G’Night!” I end the call and walk back into the kitchen for a glass of cold water.

I feel better after my talk with Sylvianne. More empowered.

That woman knows me just as much as I know her, which is pretty thorough, considering we share everything, and she’s right: it’s not wrong for me to follow my heart for once in my life.

I always let my characters do that, but when it comes to reality, I'm always hyper-rational and thinking of the worst.

Not this time, though.

Not with the way Gage makes me feel.

I'm on top of the world every time we're together and I intend to stay there. With him. Always.

Even my parents —or at least Mom— seem to be thrilled at the idea of me thinking I've found someone.

A few days back, I told my mother all about Gage.

However, I did downplay some aspects of our relationship a bit because I did not want her to get worried about the warp-speed of our relationship, and she pretty much said the same things Sylvianne did, but of course, with less spice and more mom-appropriate worries thrown in the mix.

Her advice was to try and be open to the possibilities but don't forget to be cautious, and her only request was not to be kept out of the loop and to meet Gage as soon as it can be arranged. A thing that should have totally freaked me out but didn't.

Now, I only have to hope that Gage manages to sweep my parents off their feet, too, when they meet for the first time, and I’ll be set.

To reassure my mother, I had a long convo with her about how special I think Gage is, and she was over the moon that I’ve found someone who makes me feel this way.

Besides, she immediately understood the significance of me sharing with her about Gage so soon since I’ve never introduced a past boyfriend to either parent before, so she’s very excited for me. Daddy was less pleased at the prospect of me having a man in my life, especially someone older –Gage is thirty-six, so is my senior by twelve years.

When I told Gage about my dad’s grumpy reaction, he said, “Of course, he is not pleased, who would be?”

At first, I thought he was being sarcastic, but no… he really meant that.

So I guess he and my dad are going to have much to bond over once they meet since they can find new ways to drive me bonkers together and gang up on me with their overprotecting asses.

I sigh, picking up my phone to review some notes I've started making about my next book, and I soon fall into another world.

About twenty minutes later, I hear the door unlock and jump up from the sofa to greet Gage, dropping my phone on the arm of the couch.

As soon as he seems me, his handsome face breaks into a huge smile.

“Baby? What you doing here?”

I grin at him as I walk up to him before he’s even through the threshold.

“I wanted to surprise you. I made us breakfast…”

“Thank you, Piper. You really are a doll!”

He cups my chin in his palm, his rough fingers caressing my skin and making me shiver. He bends down and softly kisses my lips before pulling back.

I go in for a hug, and he takes another step backward, arms held out in front of him. "No, babe. I'm all sweaty, and I'm pretty sure I stink," he explains with a chuckle.

I shrug and grab his arms, making him wind them around my waist as I plaster myself against his front. “Not a problem…”

He loosely holds me to him, smiling down at me, a twinkle in his dark eyes.

“I see… I’m gathering you enjoy the look, then?”

I feel a blush light up my cheeks, but I still find it in myself to play along.

“Very much so… in fact, I pretty much ambushed you so I could catch you before you hit the shower,” I quip.

He laughs, takes a step back, and whips his sweaty white tee off of him before folding it over one of his powerful shoulders. “Ogle away, babe,” he says and spreads his arms, an infectious smile on his lips.

I give him a slow once-over, giggling as I do it. “Uh, yum!”

He laughs and takes me into his arms again. “You should have come to the gym like I asked you then…”

I pull away from him, making a face. “Me, exercising! Nevah! Getting back in shape is not at the top of my list.”

He shakes his head. “I didn’t mean it like that, babe. You don’t need to shape up. You look great… I like you all soft and curvy… I meant you could sip on a smoothie while walking on a treadmill…”

I smile up at him, feeling a bit shy. Not all men like curvy women and some of them can be pretty rude about it, but not my Gage.

I like him big and strong, and he likes me tiny and soft. We're absolutely bread-and-jam perfect together.

“Oh, that’s a really nice idea… we can totally do that tomorrow!”

“Deal!” he says, stealing another kiss before starting to nibble my chin, making me laugh out loud.

He picks me up and twirls me around, making me squeal.

I love that we can laugh and play like this. We can be silly and open with each other and say whatever pops into our minds, and there's never any judgment.

I've never felt this free with someone else in my life.

Holding me into his arms, Gage walks through the open space, not stopping until we’re at the breakfast bar. He gently lowers me into a stool and goes to open the fridge. His eyes study all that I’ve prepared, and his smile gets bigger. “Darling, this looks fantastic! You’ve been here cooking and baking since I left this morning?”

“Hmm, hmm,” I mumble, my eyes trained on his sinewy back as his muscles strain and pop here and there as he flexes to get a bottle of Avian out of the cool box.

He turns back to me, stealing a piece of turkey bacon before opening his water and chugging down half of it in one go. I watch his throat work and feel a pulse between my legs.

Damn! I’m so gone over him that I find everything he does sexy as hell.

The poor man can’t even drink water in peace!

I don’t know if it’s because he’s naturally this hot or if my wanting him so much just enhances his appeal somehow.

I see his thumb and forefinger in my line of view and pull back when he snaps them in front of my face.

“What?” I ask. Like, I don’t know!

He laughs. “Nothing just wanted to bring you out from your muscle-induced trance… you really do have a thing for my chest, you know that?”

I push my arms together, squeezing my breasts between them as I slightly bend forward over the breakfast bar to show cleavage and laugh when I see his eyes drop to my chest like clockwork. “And you don’t?” I tease.

He shrugs. “Fair enough…”

I steal his water from him and take a sip. “It’s funny if you think about it…”

He frowns my way, his hand stopping midway over the platter full of pancakes. “What’s funny?”

“Us… well, not just us… you know, men… women… heterosexual ones, I mean. You guys thinking you are all tough and stuff and then liking soft things… you know… plush breasts, pink bits, delicate silky skin.”

He laughs, crossing his arms over his naked Greek-god-like tatted chest. “Where are you going with this? I can’t be tough and like soft things?”

I shake my head. “Exactly! Now women, I mean the ones that are into men, we like hard muscles, scratchy beards, rough hands, hair pulling and stuff… so who’s the tough one between you and me in the end? I mean, really think about it!”

He walks up to me and doesn’t stop until he’s towering over me, looking like a total giant compared to me, even if I’m sitting on a stool. “So you’re tough, uh?”

I nod, looking up at him. “Absolutely. I’m a total badass.”

“And what am I, then?” he asks.

I grin. “That’s easy. You’re the sweetheart of the equation.”

He chuckles. “Can’t really argue with your logic, babe… I never thought about things this way…”

He holds my face in his hands. “I do love your soft, silky skin,” he whispers on my lips as he caresses my cheeks.

“And your long soft hair,” he continues, stroking his fingers through my strands. “And your pillowy curves… but tell me one thing… do you really like it rough?” he asks, his voice harsh and husky, his hot breath bathing my lips as his mouth touches mine.

“I do,” I say and gasp when I feel one of his hands grip the back of my head and then fist my hair in a ponytail before he starts to kiss me. Hard.

He gives my hair a good pull, and I moan into the kiss, squeezing my legs together when I feel his tongue giving chase to mine while his free hand goes to my back and then down to forcefully knead one of my butt cheeks as he pulls me up and off the stool and into his hard, strong body.

I feel his erection vigorously spring between us and whimper into our kiss.

Oh, boy.

I think I might have poked the bear one too many times today!

But I can’t really say I’ll be very much against it if the bear… eats me.

In fact, I think I'd be very much in favor of it.

After all, it’s two thousand degrees today, so it’s not like breakfast will go cold.