35. Liam
THIRTY-FIVE
LIAM
Me
Come over.
Piper
Can I hang out with Pico?
Me
I’m offended you want to see my cat more than you want to see me.
Piper
Can you blame me? He’s cute and cuddly.
Me
And what am I?
Piper
You’re tolerable.
Me
Well played, Mitchell.
“Hi!” Piper wiggles out of her coat and hangs it on the rack in the foyer. “Sorry it took me so long to get here. I was at dinner with the girls. Traffic was a nightmare, and I had an Uber driver who would not stop talking about the stock market.”
“Thinking of making some investments?” I lean against the wall and watch her shake off snowflakes from the ends of her hair. “Didn’t know you were into finance, Pipsqueak.”
“It’s only my favorite hobby.” She unzips her boots and puts them against the wall, next to my sneakers. Her smile is bright and wide. Her cheeks are a little pink from either the early February wind or the wine she had at dinner. “You look good.”
“My sweatpants and T-shirt do it for you?”
“You know what they say about sweatpants.” Piper saunters past me in her tights and skirt, heading for the living room. Her soft footsteps pad across the hardwood floor, and Pico peeks his head out of my bedroom. “Especially gray ones.”
“I don’t know what they say.” I sit next to her on the couch, watching Pico jump up and curl into her arms. “Care to enlighten me, Mitchell?”
“Big dicks and all of that,” she says, and I burst out laughing. She strokes the cat’s fur, her smile turning softer as she relaxes against the cushions. “Are you having a good night?”
“I made a cup of tea after dinner. Had a long shower. And now you’re here. I’d say we’re moving toward the average stage.”
“Did you hear that, Pico?” Piper whispers loud enough for me to hear. “Your dad thinks I’m average. Isn’t that sweet?”
“How was dinner with the girls?”
“So fun. Hanging out with them is the highlight of my week, honestly. Trying to coordinate four schedules is almost impossible, but I’d give up time and energy in other parts of my life so I could see them.”
“I’m glad.” I rest my hand on her calf and yawn. “How much did you have to drink?”
“Only a glass of wine.” Her eyes turn a shade darker, and she bites her bottom lip. “It’s been a week since you fucked me, and I’m going out of my mind.”
“One time and she’s addicted,” I murmur, wrapping my fingers around her ankle and giving her leg a gentle tug. “Someone’s needy.”
“I only came here for Pico. And to talk about our trip next week. Not you.”
“Mhm. Sure you did.”
“Are you excited to see your family?” Piper rests her head on my shoulder and brings her legs to her chest. Pico closes his eyes and settles into her embrace. “I can’t believe they haven’t come to a game this season.”
“They normally do, but my dad’s branch is understaffed, so getting time off to visit is difficult. I was going to head that way for Christmas until Coach put us through the hell with practices during the holidays, and I told my parents I’d make it up to them.”
“Please don’t think you have to entertain me while we’re in Spain. I can handle an afternoon or two by myself while you spend time with them. The last thing I want to do is to get in the way.”
“You could never be in the way. They’re going to love you.”
“Are they going to love me , or are they going to love that I’m the person they think you’re dating?”
“They’ll love you while also feeling sorry you’re stuck with my irritable ass.”
“You do rank high on the irritability scale. Have you ever introduced them to a girlfriend before?”
“Once. Someone I dated in college. She came home with me for Christmas break.”
“Oh really ?” There’s a mischievous glint in Piper’s eye. “And why did you two break up?”
“She didn’t like the demand of my hockey schedule. Said she needed more attention, which I get, but this is my life. It fizzled out my junior year.”
“And no one since.”
“A model I was seeing my rookie season. We met on a plane on my way to the NHL draft and my agent set us up. Dated three months and it didn’t work out. She’s the face of Calvin Klein now, so I don’t think she misses me all that much.”
“Oh, wow. Okay. Your parents are going to think this is serious.” Her laugh is nervous and she clutches Pico tight. “No pressure.”
“It’s going to be fine. I doubt my mom is going to ask you what I got my degree in.”
“What did you get your degree in?”
“Spanish and math.”
“Hang on.” Piper sits up and stares at me. “You majored in math ?”
“That tone tells me you’re surprised, and I’m offended.”
“I didn’t mean it like that . I imagine math is a hard degree on its own, but add in the pressure and time commitment of being a D1 athlete, and that’s a heavy workload. You know I think you’re smart, obviously, but I didn’t know you double majored.”
“I did. I wanted something to fall back on if the whole hockey thing didn’t work out, but fuck if I had any free time my senior year.”
“Will you tell me about Alana? You always light up when you talk about her, so I’m guessing she’s very special.”
“She is,” I say. “I never wanted a sibling. I was pissed when my parents brought her home from the hospital, and my dad tells me I ignored her for months. One day she was learning to walk and fell. She scraped her knee on the rug in our living room, and apparently I ran through the house looking for a first aid kit to take care of her. Guess I cared about her more than I thought.”
“Such a sensitive soul.” Piper drums her fingers over my heart. “Were you two close growing up?”
“We were inseparable. She followed me everywhere; to the hockey rink, to the skate park the summer I thought I liked skateboarding. You know I don’t like many people, but I love Alana.”
“Do you like the guy she’s marrying?”
“He’s not bad. He treats her right and makes her happy. I also threatened to ruin his life if he hurt her.”
She laughs. “I’ve always wanted a brother who looked out for me. I guess I kind of have that now with the team. Sometimes I feel like they’d punch someone if they hurt me.”
I want to tell her about what Maverick did. The way he decked Charlie in the face and smiled afterward. But I’m not sure I want Piper to know that I know what the asshole said to her. She’s moved past it, and the last thing she needs is bullshit from the past coming up when she’s been so successful in her role this season.
“They’re good guys, aren’t they? I mean, Ethan’s infatuation with hot dogs is something else.”
“They’re the best. Present company excluded, of course,” Piper teases.
I smirk. “Fuck you too, Sunshine.”
“Can we talk about PDA?”
“In general? I’m not a fan.”
“I meant around your family. Our physical relationship applies to the bedroom, not out of it. Are we going to hold hands when we’re at the wedding? Kiss? I want to make sure I’m prepared so if I try to give you a hug you don’t look at me like I’m an alien with five heads.”
I knock her arm with a pillow. Pico glares at me, pissed at being disturbed, and I roll my eyes.
Little shit.
“I wouldn’t look at you like you have five heads. Just three. As far as PDA goes, some might help us sell this relationship. Don’t make out with me in front of my eighty-year-old grandmother, but you can hold my hand.”
“Okay. Hand holding goes on the list. Making out doesn’t. Got it. What about kissing?”
“If you want to.”
“Do you want me to? This is your family, Liam.”
This sounds like a test, and I’m not sure how to answer it correctly.
Fuck yes, I want her to kiss me.
Why wouldn’t I?
She’s soft and warm and a real fucking delight. Maybe I want to show her off. Maybe I want my family to think I’m a lucky bastard who landed an absolute knockout, even if this is all going to end when we get back to DC.
“Sure,” I croak. “You can kiss me.”
“Got it. Also, I feel like I should tell you I’m not a very good flier. I hate planes. I promise to not make a scene, but I’m definitely going to squeeze your arm during takeoff and landing.”
I frown at her. “We fly all the time. I’ve never seen you panic.”
“Watching me, Sully?”
“I’m six feet tall, Pipsqueak. I can see over the seats and could tell if you were up there freaking out.”
“I try to focus on what’s happening in front of me, not what’s happening around me. Distracting myself helps.”
“What could help distract you?”
Her eyes darken and she leans forward. She runs her finger down my chest and grins. “I can think of a few things.”
“Let’s hear them.”
“I’m not sure joining the mile high club with two hundred passengers as spectators sounds like my cup of tea, but maybe we could practice tonight.” Piper sets Pico down and turns all of her attention to me. “I had an idea, and I wanted to run it by you.”
I cup her cheek and run my thumb along the line of her jaw. “You have my attention.”
“I thought, well, maybe the best way for me to learn in the bedroom is to critique myself. So to do that, I was thinking, um, we could film ourselves having sex.”
“You want to record me fucking you, Piper?” I sit up on my knees and ease her onto her back. Pico darts away, but he’s the last thing I’m thinking about. I put my hands on her thighs and push her legs open. “You want to go back and watch how I fill you up when you’re home alone and missing my cock?”
“Yes,” she whispers, grabbing my shirt and tugging me down until our mouths are inches apart. “But don’t pretend like you’re not going to watch it too.”
I am going to watch it.
On repeat, until I have it committed to memory.
I’ll use it when I’m in my hotel room and can’t have the real thing, because fuck if I could ever get off to anyone else.
Haven’t been able to in four years.
Not since the day I met her.
A video I can play back whenever I wanted to see the way her tits bounce when I bend her over and fuck her into the mattress sounds like the greatest gift in the world.
“If we do that, it could end up anywhere.” I pinch her nipple through the wool of her sweater, and her back arches off the couch. “If your phone got stolen, a video of you taking every inch of my cock could end up on the internet. Does that bother you?”
“No.” Her eyes flutter closed and her legs wrap around my middle. The skirt she’s wearing inches up to her waist and shows off the thigh-highs with little black bows tight on her skin. I rock forward and graze the head of my hard dick against her underwear. She moans and opens her legs wider. “Let them see. They’d know I was yours.”
Possessiveness surges through me.
There’s an aching need to feel her.
To sink into her.
To consume every fucking inch of her so there isn’t a goddamn doubt in her mind she really is mine.
“We’ll try out your idea,” I murmur, bringing my mouth to her ear. I drag my teeth down her neck and she shivers under me. “But only if you let me film the whole thing. I want you to watch yourself fall apart. I want you to see the way my fingers stretch you out before I fill you up. I want you to hear how you beg and say my name right before you come. I want you to know how much I fucking love being inside your tight cunt. And when we’re finished, I want you to look at the camera and say thank you.”