7. Gideon
GIDEON
Vanilla and strawberry surrounded me as I lifted Piper onto the counter and buried my face in her hair. Her legs wrapped around my waist, and a heat sparked low in my gut.
She pulled away. Perched on the counter, she could meet my gaze head-on. Her beautiful blue eyes searched mine. “Gideon.” Her soft voice sent a shiver through my body.
“Yeah?”
“Can we be friends tomorrow, if we… tonight?” Her cheeks turned the same shade of pink as her lips.
Neither of us was looking for something serious, but for the first time in a very long time, I’d met someone who made me wonder if there was room in my life for something other than hockey.
“Do it?” I filled in the blank to her question. It was immature, but “make love” didn’t seem to fit, and neither did the f-bomb.
The pink from her cheeks migrated to her collarbones, but instead of playing coy, Piper held my gaze. “Yeah. Do it…” She winked. I didn’t think that my cock could get any more on board, but her amused smile sent it to an eleven out of ten on the boner scale.
I fought it for a tenth of a second, but hell, if it was a one-night thing she wanted, it would be unsportsmanlike not to give it to her. Right? “Of course we can be friends. We’re neighbors.”
“I mean, you’re not looking for something serious.
And I’m not either.” She pressed her hand to my chest. A familiar knot tightened in my gut.
She’s being honest, right? I didn’t have the best track record with women and their ability to tell the truth.
The thought was an unwelcome one that I quickly shook from my mind.
After spending a year thinking that my brother slept with my girlfriend, betrayal was something I’d never knowingly inflict on another person.
That woman stole a year away from me and my brother, and I would never forgive her for it.
She’d also ruined my hockey game. It was a reminder that women and sports didn’t mix.
But still, why didn’t Piper want something serious? It was a question I should’ve asked, but sometime during our make-out session, the rational side of me flew out of the building and was probably floating somewhere above Delray Beach.
Standing in front of me was a beautiful woman who didn’t want anything from me. I shouldn’t have trusted any woman, but for some reason, I believed Piper. Any of my remaining resistance evaporated.
My hand slid up her tanned thighs, fingertips flirting with the hem of her skirt. My dick was as hard as a can of beer, shaken and filled with pressure, and Piper was about to pop open the tab.
Just like in a hockey game, my brain was a few plays ahead. Three moves were all it would take to be inside of her. Unbutton my jeans, slide aside her panties, and execute a solid thrust.
My fingers continued their journey under her skirt, but instead of meeting panties, they were met with… shorts. It wasn’t a skirt after all. My play was foiled, the unexpected layer of fabric snapping me out of my horny three-move plan.
I rested my head on her chest. “It’s easy to get carried away with you.” There must have been some blood flowing to my brain after all. She was more than a frantic, unprotected fuck on my marble counter. I took a step back, meeting her eyes. “You’re beautiful,” I whispered.
She bit her bottom lip, her muscular thighs squeezing my waist as she drew my body to hers. I cleared my throat and managed to extract myself from her leg hold.
Tilting her head, her eyes searched mine. She thought that I was stopping things. I wasn’t—I was just taking my foot off the gas. “I’m not going to fuck you on the kitchen counter.” I scooped her into my arms and kissed her again.
Her eyes glinted, and the quirky smile was back. “Well, then where are you going to fuck me?” The bluntness of the question coming from her wasn’t crass; it was adorable.
“I haven’t decided,” I whispered in her ear.
“How about by the pool?” The glint and smile combo made a return.
I wasn’t expecting an actual suggestion and had planned to drop her onto my king-sized bed. She seemed to be into the dirty talk thing, and I was game to play along. “I was thinking about bending you over the sofa, but I suppose the lounger will do.”
Stepping outside with Piper in my arms, we were met with a wall of humid air. CC scampered ahead, disappearing into his favorite bush. “Set me down.” This time, her voice was stern, completely different from the raspy one she’d used inside. This time, it was an order, and I obliged.
When her feet met the ground, she pressed her body into mine. Hard. “Kiss me.” Another order.
I cupped her face in my hands and did what I was told.
Softly. Her lips nipped mine. Our soft kisses turned hard with an unspoken urgency.
At first, I thought we’d be gentle with each other.
Had I misread Piper? Did she want a rough fuck?
Her silky ponytail could easily wrap around my fist a couple of times, if that was the way things went.
I’d been so focused on Piper and wondering how hard I’d pull her hair that I hadn’t noticed we’d been inching toward the pool until my heel dropped off the edge. “Whoa,” I shouted. Windmilling one arm, I teetered on the edge but was able to regain my balance. “Don’t you dare,” I growled.
Piper pumped her eyebrows, then with both of her hands shoved my chest with all her might.
My balance was gone, and I was heading for a back-flop into the pool.
Her triumphant look was short-lived. Shooting out my hand, my fingers wrapped around her wrist. With an easy tug, Piper flew into the air, both of us splashing into the saltwater pool at the same time.
The water should’ve cooled things down between us, but it had the opposite effect.
Her giggle was the cutest thing I’d ever heard, and while I liked her serious side, the silly side of her cracked me open.
When was the last time I laughed like this?
The realization hit me like a body check. I couldn’t remember.
Water dripped down her face as I worked to slide her wet top over her head.
Once it was tossed aside, her nipples puckered in the warm night air.
They were the exact shade of pink I’d imagined, the same as her heart-shaped lips.
She tried to pull my shirt off but couldn’t reach over my head.
With one arm wrapped around her body, I used my free hand to pull the T-shirt over my head.
My skin prickled with goose bumps as her warmth met mine. She moaned and arched her back, presenting the skin of her vulnerable neck to me. I kissed along her clavicle and down her breast before taking her nipple in my mouth.
“Gideon,” she gasped.
We made out like teenagers. The urge to yank her out of the pool and toss her onto my bed didn’t disappear.
It was still there but had been replaced with wanting to savor the sensation of her body against mine.
“Oh, Gideon,” she moaned when my hand slipped between the waistband of her skort and her body.
My fingertips met a landing strip. “No panties?” My eyebrows shot up at the fun discovery.
“Is that a problem?” The light from the bulbs that hung over the pool reflected in her eyes.
“You tell me.” I popped the button on my jeans and pressed her hand to my lower abs.
“Gideon Bailey.” She grinned. “You seem to have forgotten your underpants.”
“Underpants?” I couldn’t help but smile.
“Yeah.” Her fingers gripped the waistband of my jeans as she tugged me toward her. “Underpants. Without knowing if you’re a boxers or briefs man, underpants covers it all.”
She was so cute. “It could’ve been worse. You could’ve guessed underoos.”
Her forehead fell to my chest as she let out a belly laugh. “I don’t know much about you, Gideon, but I do know that you’re not an underoos m-m-man.” Her teeth chattered. Dammit, she was cold. I cursed myself for not noticing earlier.
“You’re freezing.” I rubbed her arms.
“It’s o-okay.”
It reminded me of when Ace and I were kids in Marquette. Our mom would have to pull us out of Lake Superior with blue lips and numb hands and feet. Here, the pool was a lot warmer than the lake but still colder than her body temperature.
The water swirled as I swept her in my arms and rushed out of the pool. “Not on my watch.” How long had we been making out? Her fingertips were icicles gripping the back of my neck.
I grabbed a blue-and-white striped towel and wrapped it around her. She looked up at me, opening the towel to wrap it around the two of us. I held her tightly, willing my body heat to transfer to her. The only sound was the rustling palm trees and waves crashing in the distance.
“We should get you out of these clothes,” she whispered and pulled out of the embrace. She’d stopped shivering, and the pink was starting to come back to her cheeks.
“You’re right. The first rule of surviving hypothermia is to get out of your clothes.”
“Is that true?” She dropped the towel and unbuttoned my jeans.
“I have no idea,” I laughed. “But it sounds good.”
“It does.” She let out a quiet grunt as she pulled my pants over my ass.
“They don’t come off as easy as I’d imagined.
” Her arm muscles flexed as she peeled the wet denim down my legs.
I stepped out when they reached my ankles.
In the distance, ocean waves pounded the shoreline almost as hard as my heart pounded against my ribs.
When you’re a star player, paparazzi are always a concern. I should’ve been thinking about those parasites, but as Piper licked up my shaft like it was a popsicle, that worry was shoved to the back of my mind.
“I can barely fit my hand around it.” Her eyes were wide as she looked up at me from her knees. It wasn’t the first time I’d heard that comment. So when she followed it with a deep throat, it caught me completely off guard.