42. Theo
THEO
Strawberry Springs Neighborhood Watch
Mollie Wilson: Now would be a good time to go support Jade’s Goodies . . . for reasons.
Comments:
Kerry Winsor: What’s going on? Is Jade poor?
Mollie Wilson: No, no! Not that. She could just use some . . . cheering up.
Kerry Winsor: I’m on my way! I can ask about Gabriel while I’m at it.
Grace Day: DO NOT ask about Gabriel.
Jade Clark: I don’t need your pity purchases!
Jade Clark: . . . but I’ll take them.
“Funny seeing you here,” I said to Piper as she walked into the shop. We’d spent the last night at our own places since I had to go to sleep at a decent time. She had a bad habit of keeping me awake, and she had plans with her friends.
“I know, right? It’s almost like I live close by.” She matched my expression as she leaned on the counter. “Hi, by the way.”
“Hi.”
“No hello for me?” Kelsey asked from behind me. “Rude.”
“I would’ve said hi last night if you’d come to girls’ night,” Piper replied.
“I had a date with a job-hunting site.” She sighed. “Like all my other dates, it went horribly. Did you have fun?”
“Uh, yeah. Mostly.” Piper shrugged. “We played some games.”
This had to be the first time Piper didn’t have something glowing to say about Mollie, Wren, Grace, and Jade. I silently raised an eyebrow in her direction.
“Nothing’s happening,” she said to me. “One of them is going through something, and I doubt you wanna hear about it.”
“I wouldn’t say that,” Kelsey replied. “Theo here has been listening a lot more. It’s almost like he cares about what’s going on.”
“Really?” Piper asked. “Building a future here, huh?”
“A little,” I muttered. “And you’re avoiding the point, love. What happened?”
“Jade’s a little sad. About this guy.”
“Gabriel,” Kelsey added.
“You know?”
“Even I’ve heard about this one,” I said. “But Kelsey was probably here when everything went down.”
“I was. No one knows everything that truly happened, but it ended with a massive fight in the square.” She pointed outside. “We talked about it for years, but I thought she was trying to move on.”
“Trying, but not succeeding.”
“I’m not surprised. They were always something together. A lot of us thought he would either stay or she would go with him.”
“But never break up.”
“Yes. It’s sort of like you two.” She gestured between us. “One look and you just see it.”
Piper frowned and crossed her arms.
“I’m sure Jade will find someone,” I said softly.
“I know. I guess the romantic in me had ideas.” She shook her head. “I shouldn’t worry too much about it. I could always write a second-chance romance or something. Not about Jade, though. Something tells me she wouldn’t like that.”
“You’d get away with it,” Kelsey said. “She likes you.”
“And I like her too. Maybe we should go to one of those rage rooms or something.”
The Piper I’d met all those months ago wouldn’t have suggested something like that since she wouldn’t have been able to follow through. She’d truly blossomed ever since she moved here.
I loved to see it.
My eyes flicked up as Jackie walked in. I could stay and talk to my girlfriend forever, but I did have a job to do.
“I’ll get you your drink. Are you staying late?”
“Always.”
“Gross,” Kelsey said behind us.
“You were the one advocating for this,” I reminded her.
“Yes, but now that I see it, I feel extremely single. How dare you two be so cute.”
Hours later, Piper had somehow convinced me to let her help close the shop, and I was paying the price.
Usually, I tried to focus on my work so I didn’t stare, but we were together. I didn’t have to do that anymore.
And one look nearly sent me over to her.
Piper kept bending over for me, showing off her perfectly round ass. It was like she was finding excuses to do it as she made sure tables were clear and the floor was spotless.
The fourth time broke me.
“Love, if you don’t want me to jump you tonight, you have to stop doing that.”
She turned to me, not bothered at all by my words. “That’s exactly what I want you to do, Theo.” Her voice was low and it hit me like a train.
“You’re a vixen, Piper. I fucking swear.” I shook my head and went back to work. I was determined not to look at her, but as usual, I failed.
When I did turn, she was right in front of me. Her gaze was already heated.
“You know, if you want us to get home at a decent time, we should probably focus.”
“We don’t have to be home, do we?”
“Wait, here? My coffee shop?” My eyebrows crept into my hairline.
“You’re closed.”
“Y-yeah, but isn’t that risky?”
Her hand landed on my chest. “The blinds are closed, so no one will see. And trust me, we wouldn’t be the only ones who have done something in one of these buildings.”
I blinked. “Who the hell would’ve—” I paused. “Was it Grace and Dean?”
“Yes. She told me last week. Wren and Henry have done it in the clinic too.”
That made my jaw drop. “Henry? Buttoned-up Henry?”
Piper laughed and nodded. “It’s definitely more people than you expect. So, we could go home, but I have a feeling you’ve imagined bending me over the counter.”
“I haven’t. I’ve been nothing but respectful.” She gave me a doubtful look. “Seriously. Never here.” I rubbed the back of my neck and found the skin there was on fire. “But now that you mention it . . .”
She smirked and then sank to her knees.
“Fucking hell, Piper.”
Her hands went to my belt and she tugged down my pants.
The sight of her on her knees for me was impossible to ignore. I needed her like I needed air, and I doubted it would ever stop. Closing be damned, I had Piper to handle.
The second my pants were off, her mouth covered my cock. My words from last time must have stuck with her because I didn’t need to guide her this time. I immediately saw stars.
There were so many things I wanted to do, but she’d gotten way too good at this. There was no way I could even begin to tell her to stop, purely because her lips felt too good for me to have any thoughts.
The wet heat of her mouth was a dream. My entire body tensed to avoid thrusting.
She caught on and pulled away.
“You don’t have to stand there like a statue,” she said.
“I’m trying not to lose control. It’s your second time doing this.”
“I’m a quick learner.”
“Piper.”
She met my eyes. “Theo, I want you to fuck my face.”
Fuck. There was no way she’d just said that to me. I wanted to more than anything, but my last shred of control made me pause.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. I’ll tell you if I need a break.” Her lips turned upward. “I doubt I will, though.”
I moved slowly at first. As much as she said she was ready for this, I always wanted her to be able to back out if she needed to.
But when she moaned and took all of my cock, the sight was too much to bear. My hips moved with more intensity. She responded with vigor, taking it deeper and deeper. I wanted to keep my eyes shut to focus on how incredible she felt, but the sight of her on her knees was too irresistible to ignore.
My hands ran through her hair and she leaned into the touch, even now.
I was working up to it, and I would make sure she got what she wanted tonight and tomorrow if it meant I could come.
But the second I was close, she was gone.
“W-what?”
She blinked innocently. “What?”
“Did you know I was about to come?”
“Maybe. You might just need to work for it.”
“Fuck,” I said. “Where did you get this idea from?”
“I can have good ideas.”
“I never said it was good.”
“Do you not want me to try new things with you?” She tilted her head to the side.
“Don’t try to be cute right now. You know it always works.”
“So, give in and return the favor.”
The heat of my near orgasm was fading, and I was able to remember one thing she’d offered when posing this. I was gentle with her, but still needed her on the counter. The second she was on it, I yanked at her leggings, earning a gasp from her as I brought her pussy to my mouth.
I’d had a lot of coffee behind this counter, but none of it tasted as good as she did. Piper’s hips moved, grinding into my mouth as she grew impossibly wetter.
“God, Theo,” she moaned from above me. Her voice was higher, and judging by her breathing, she was getting right where I wanted her. I renewed my efforts, pressing in harder. “I’m gonna . . . I should—”
Piper went to pull away, no doubt wanting to edge herself the way she had with me.
Only, I wasn’t as strong as she was when it came to stopping right at the edge. She tasted too good for me to let go. My hands tightened on her legs and I kept her close.
And she fell apart on my face.
It took her nearly a minute to catch her breath, and when she did, she peeked at me from under her arm that had been slung over her eyes.
“That wasn’t the plan.”
“I have terrible self-control. Sorry, love.”
“You didn’t date anyone else for over a decade. I would say that’s pretty good self-control.”
“Then you walked in. Now I’m a mess.”
Piper tried to pout, but a smile made its way onto her face instead. She leaned down, and I scrambled up to meet her halfway. She pressed her lips to mine once, and then again before pulling away.
“It’s hard to be mad when you’re so into me.”
“I’ll remember that for when I inevitably mess something up. Now, are you gonna keep edging me, or are you giving up already?”
“You know I never give up,” she muttered as her hand curled around my cock. I sucked in air before slotting our lips together.
I almost couldn’t focus on kissing her. Piper’s hand went from the head down to the base, soft at first. As she gained confidence, she added pressure until I was seeing stars again. A few times, I had to pull away to remember how to fucking breathe.
It was easy to forget when she was so close to me.
“You can tell me if I need to change anything,” she offered.
“N-no.” It took effort to say it. “You’re so fucking perfect.”
My head fell onto her shoulder as I surrendered to the feeling. I thrust forward into her hand, chasing the release I knew she wouldn’t let me have.
She stopped her movements at the perfect time and far too soon.
“This is torture,” I panted into her shoulder.
“But it’ll be worth it.”
“Why do I have a feeling this is what you do to yourself?”
“Sometimes,” she said. “Need to stop?”
I finally pulled away to look at her, seeing her eyebrow delicately arched in challenge.
“No,” I nearly growled. “Do your worst.”
I knew I was going to regret it, but her smile made it worth it.
“So, can I continue?” she asked.
“Don’t you fucking dare,” I muttered. “Your turn.”
A giggle escaped her, but it was quieted when one of my fingers slipped inside of her and she let out a loud moan. “You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”
“Way too much.” She leaned back, my angle shifting right to her G-spot, and she bucked into the movement.
I alternated between her swollen clit and her core, taking my time on each. She was a mess within minutes, begging for more.
When she lost words and her sounds increased in pitch, I stopped.
Piper looked at me with wide eyes. “What happened to having terrible control?”
“I managed to find it.”
She huffed. “Maybe I didn’t want you to.”
“It’ll be worth it.”
“Don’t use my own words against me.” Her legs wrapped around my midsection and my cock was right at her entrance.
“Love, if you wanna keep going, we cannot do this. I’ll lose control.”
Her legs only tightened. “Lose it then.”
“I won’t be able to stop.”
Her eyes met mine, and they were full of the same heat I felt. “Don’t.”
“How the mighty have fallen.”
“Shut up and fuck me, love.”
That was all I needed. I slipped in, one inch and then more. We were both a mess by the time I was fully inside of her. My body was already hot from the two times I’d gotten close to coming, and I had to pause and hold her up until I wasn’t near the edge.
“See what I mean?” she whispered into my ear.
“If you’re still being a smart-ass, I’m not doing my job right.”
She laughed, but it was quickly cut off by me thrusting harder into her. She arched into each one, trying to grind into me, but I didn’t relent.
When I came, it felt like every part of me exploded. I was overwhelmed and needed her. Without thinking, I bit into her, earning a cry from her as I emptied my load.
I didn’t realize what I’d done until my brain came back online.
I pulled away immediately. “Shit, sorry, I—”
“Do not apologize,” she said as she rubbed her neck. “I’ll wear this hickey loud and proud.”
“You were good with it?” I asked slowly.
“I’m good with anything you do.” She tugged me close again. “When are you going to get that through your head?”