Chapter 4 Piper
PIPER
My hands rest against his chest, feeling the strong, rapid beat of his heart beneath my fingertips as he kisses me.
Six years of confusion and anger swirl inside me like a tempest, but desire and longing overpower every feeling that’s not Cristiano Moretti.
He deepens the kiss, each thrust of his tongue awakening nerve endings I thought had gone dormant years ago.
My resolve disintegrates like ash in the wind, and the heat of his body so close to mine sends warmth spiraling through me, breaking down the walls I've built since he left.
I should be focused on Lana. On the danger we're in. On anything but the way Cristiano is making me feel. But the promise in his words and his kiss makes me believe in us again. Believe in him.
My body remembers his. My heart recognizes its other half.
"Piper," he groans against my mouth, my name a prayer and a plea.
I answer by tugging at his shirt, needing to feel his skin against mine. He breaks the kiss long enough to pull it over his head, revealing the sculpted planes of his chest and abdomen. He's more defined than he was at twenty-two. Harder, stronger, sexier.
The shirt falls to the floor, then he catches my face with one hand and pulls on my t-shirt with the other. "If you don’t tell me to stop now, I’m going to bend you over and fuck you right here against this table.”
His crass words send a shiver through my soul, and the last thread of my resistance snaps. Despite everything I should and shouldn't be doing, I want nothing more than him. It’s been so long since I felt this way that I already know what I’m going to say.
“Don’t stop,” I tell him, and his eyes darken to the deep, rich color of sin.
“Perfect.”
Cristiano takes off my t-shirt, exposing my breasts to the air, then slides my yoga pants and panties down my legs. When I’m completely naked, his gaze roams over me, taking me in with raw desire.
"Beautiful," he murmurs, reverence in his voice. "Even more beautiful than I remembered. You have no idea how many times I've dreamed of this." His lips trail from my mouth to my jaw, then down my throat.
Something primal ignites within me, and I arch up against him, seeking more contact, more pressure, more of everything he can give me.
My hands explore the broad expanse of his back, relearning the topography of muscle and sinew, discovering new territories marked by time and experience.
Cristiano kisses his way down my collarbone, then lower, his breath hot against my skin. When his mouth closes over my breast, I cry out, threading my fingers through his hair to hold him there.
"Tell me what you want," he whispers against my skin, his fingers teasing circles around the swells of my breasts.
"You," I answer without hesitation. "I want you."
"You have me, Piper.”
The sound of my name on his lips pushes me over the edge.
He turns me around and bends me over the table just like he promised, then I hear the clink of his belt buckle.
Moments later his hard, thick cock is sliding into my pussy, and my body welcomes him. We both gasp at the sensation.
Completeness. Homecoming. Every poetic cliché suddenly makes perfect sense as he fills me and stretches me to fit him, becoming part of me again. Then he starts to fuck me and I allow him to consume me.
I arch against him, crying out as waves of pleasure crash through me. He holds me through it, murmuring praise and endearments in a mix of English and Italian that makes my heart swell alongside my body's release.
"Piper," he groans, his forehead pressed to mine, his body trembling with the effort to remain still. "You feel like heaven."
I rock my hips, urging him to give me more. And he does.
He fucks me harder, setting a rhythm that quickly has me clinging to the edge of the table, meeting him thrust for thrust. His hands seem to be everywhere, cupping my breast, gripping my hip, sliding beneath me to give me more pleasure.
I give myself over to the sensations, to the building pressure, to the man who's claiming me so thoroughly I can barely remember the years without him.
"Come with me," he commands, his rhythm becoming more urgent. "Together, Piper. Like we used to."
The memory of countless shared climaxes, combined with his skilled touch and the relentless pressure inside, sends me careening toward the edge once more. This time, I take him with me, his name a cry on my lips as pleasure overwhelms me.
He follows immediately, burying his face in my neck as he finds his release, my name a reverent whisper against my skin. The sensation of his cock pulsing within me prolongs my own pleasure until we're both shaking with aftershocks.
As I come down, breathing heavily, he pulls out and turns me back to face him, holding me close. Then he looks at me with such naked adoration that tears prick behind my eyelids. How is it possible to feel so much for him after so long apart?
Cristiano presses gentle kisses to my shoulder, my neck, my jaw, before finally claiming my lips in a kiss so tender it makes my body ache.
"I need to know," he says against my mouth. "Will you give me a chance?”
The vulnerability in his question catches me off guard.
I cradle his face in my hands, making sure he sees the truth in my eyes. "Yes. I will.”
Relief washes over his features, followed by determination. “I will never let you down again.”
I believe him.
He follows that promise with a kiss, then takes me upstairs to bed.
* * *
Cristiano makes love to me all night until I fall asleep. Drifting off, worrying about Lana was hard, but I do so in his arms.
When I open my eyes again, the morning sun greets me, but I’m alone in bed.
I sit up and find Cristiano sitting on the window bay. He’s shirtless, smoking a cigar.
A bright smile fills his face when he looks at me, and hope lifts my heart. “Morning, Bellezza.” That’s what he used to call me.
“Morning.”
He puts out his cigar and comes over to me. “I have good news. I found Lana, and we don’t have to worry about Donatio anymore.”
I gasp and clutch my heart. “Oh my God, seriously?”
His smile widens, showing the dimples in his cheeks. “Yes. Donatio has been dealt with, and Lana is on a plane home. She’s shaken up, but she’s okay. She’ll be back in Chicago by tonight.”
I throw my arms around him, savoring the feel of his skin against mine. “Oh, Cristiano. I can’t thank you enough.” The nightmare is finally over.
“I just want you. That’s all I want.” He brushes his nose over mine.
I inch away to gaze at him, smiling lovingly. “You have me.”
“Good, because I’m still madly in love with you.”
“That works perfectly because I’m madly in love with you too.”
We smile at each other, and he pulls me closer, his arms a fortress around me. Outside these walls, danger and uncertainty wait. But here, in the circle of his embrace, I find something I thought was lost forever.
A second chance with Cristiano Moretti, the love of my life.