Chapter Seven
W hen Tuesday rolled around again, Piper was more than excited about the evening. Ty was coming over in less than a half hour for the dinner that she offered to cook.
This was a big step for her.
She’d never had a guy over or cooked for one at her place since Zane. Not in France and not in the Poconos. But this felt right. And she was ready. Heck, she’d already opened her heart to her handsome neighbor, and that had been without trying.
Granted, she’d definitely attempted to hold back, but her heart had vetoed her usual “don’t let him all the way in” order right from the start. It didn’t work with Ty. He not only charmed her, but he also charmed her heart, too.
And they hadn’t even had sex yet.
Although, if he hadn’t been called away for work last week, their stargazing in the courtyard would’ve turned into earthmoving. And their schedules hadn’t lined up since, but that was going to change tonight.
Lasagna was baking in the oven, salad was made, wine was chilling, and Italian bread was cooling. The only thing missing was Ty.
Piper didn’t want to hold him at bay anymore. Once he’d returned from Houston, they volunteered at the shelter on Saturday and had dinner with Brandi and Kade that night. On Sunday, they’d volunteered at the sanctuary and had dinner with Mac and Stef that night, and last night he was working.
Tonight was their first night alone.
Butterflies swarmed in her stomach. Piper smiled. It’d been so long since she’d looked forward to seeing someone, and she definitely looked forward to seeing Ty, preferably naked.
Those swarming butterflies invaded her chest.
She’d been walking around with a smile on her face lately, and it had eventually made it back to her sister.
Faith had wasted no time calling her the day after their dinner at Brandi’s.
“Who is he? I need pics, I need deets. Tell me everything,” her sister had ordered, a smile evident in her tone.
Funny thing was, Piper readily gushed about Ty, then asked Faith if she thought she should slow down.
Her sister had immediately replied, “Hell no. You only live once. Don’t waste it waiting around for the right time, because trust me, the right time never comes, and soon you find life has passed you by.”
Piper had frowned, getting the sense her sister was speaking from experience. “Nico still hasn’t asked you out?”
Those two had been circling each other since high school, well more than a decade ago. They claimed they weren’t each other’s types, but they were the only two who couldn’t see how wrong they were about each other, and how right they were for each other.
Frankly, Piper was stunned that fate hadn’t intervened and opened their eyes.
“What?” Her sister’s voice rose several octaves. “No. And I wasn’t talking about that idiot.”
Oh, she so was.
Piper shook her head and sighed. “Maybe you should ask him out.”
“And give him the satisfaction of turning me down? Oh, hell no.”
And therein lay the problem. Two bullheaded people refusing to budge. She wasn’t sure what they were afraid of other than taking a chance.
But she was glad she hadn’t let fear keep her from opening up to Ty. So glad. She glanced at the clock on the microwave, and those butterflies in her stomach woke up. He was going to be here soon.
She rushed from the open kitchen-living room area into the lone bedroom and quickly removed her robe to pull on a plum-colored sweater dress. Earlier, Piper had agonized for almost an hour over what to wear. Should she get dressed up? Go casual?
Stay in her robe…
No, that was definitely out. Too desperate.
Besides, she kind of wanted to wear something pretty but not too dressy, so that was how she finally settled on the sweater dress.
She shimmied the material over her hips and tugged the hem down until it fell just above her knees, then shoved her feet into a pair of black flats before heading into the bathroom where she promptly screamed at her reflection.
Thanks to static, her hair shot out in all directions. She turned on the sink and wet her hands then quickly tamed her runaway hair with a few pats. Satisfied she no longer looked like a light socket licker, she debated the makeup question. Yes or no?
Since she normally didn’t wear that much, she went with an in-between answer.
Some.
A light dusting of eyeshadow would do fine, and maybe a quick coating of strawberry lip gloss, which would disappear by the time she was done eating. But it made her feel good, so she put some on anyway.
She had just put it back in the drawer when a knock sounded at her door.
Her pulse leapt, and the butterflies danced in her stomach as she forced her feet to walk, not run, to the door. After a quick inhale and slow exhale, Piper opened the door.
Her pulse and the butterflies switched places at the sight of Ty leaning in her doorway wearing a leather jacket, navy button-down shirt, jeans, and a sexy grin, as his gaze heated behind his glasses.
“You look beautiful,” he said,
Heat invaded her cheeks as it usually did whenever he paid her a compliment, looked at her, said her name…breathed.
“And you look amazing. Come on in.” Smiling, she stepped aside to let him in.
“This is for you,” he said after she closed the door.
Piper hadn’t even realized he’d been holding a flower until he held it out to her. She’d been too discombobulated by the sheer magnitude of his presence and sexy-as-sin grin.
“Thank you,” she said, taking the purple rose, unexpectedly relieved it wasn’t blue. That was her and Zane’s thing. She wasn’t the same person anymore, and Ty wasn’t Zane. What they had wasn’t the same. It was just as meaningful, but different. “It’s beautiful.”
“I see it’s fitting.” He motioned to her dress.
She smiled. “Yeah, what were the chances.” The urge to pull him close and finally have her way with him was strong, so she forced her legs to walk past him. “Let me put this in water and check on the lasagna.”
“It smells amazing in here,” he said. “What can I do to help?”
“You can pour us some wine,” she replied, pointing to the glasses and bottle chilling in a bucket on the counter before she stuck the rose in a small vase and added some water.
After setting it on the table, she turned to face him and nearly swallowed her tongue.
He’d removed his coat, and the fabric of his tailored shirt clung to his well-defined frame, emphasizing the subtle contours of his body while he poured out the wine. And when he turned to hand her a glass, she noted how his shirt collar framed his face, drawing attention to his strong jawline and chiseled features.
Piper’s mouth literally watered. It had never done that before.
She swallowed twice before she took the offered glass. “Thank you,” she said, her voice sounding a little hoarse, even to her ears.
Holding his gaze, Piper sipped her wine, not really tasting anything but her desire for the man.
He inhaled. “Piper, you have to stop looking at me like that.”
She shook her head. “I can’t. Unless you can stop looking at me like I’m good enough to eat.”
Ty muttered under his breath before he took the glass from her hand and set it on the counter next to his, then stepped closer. “Not possible.”
But bless him, he didn’t kiss her, he just stood toe-to-toe, chest-to-chest with her, still giving her the choice, the control as to the next move.
That was easy.
She slid her hands up his chest and into his hair while pulling his face to hers to initiate the kiss she’d wanted and needed since she opened the door and found him leaning against the frame.
He needed no more instruction. Ty slid his hands around her back and hauled her close as their kiss went from needy to desperate. The taste of wine on his lips intensified her thirst for him. He kissed her deep and long, and it wasn’t until air was an absolute necessity that she drew back and inhaled.
“Wow, Ty,” she panted as she set her forehead against his jaw. “Kissing you keeps getting better and better.”
“I agree,” he said, brushing her temple with his lips.
Her need for the guy was overwhelming, and since she was in control, she drew back to meet his heated gaze. “You ever have lasagna for breakfast?”
A sinful smile spread across his talented lips. “No, but I like where your mind is at.”
Piper’s heartbeat stuttered, knocking the breath from her lungs. The sexy man was the one who looked good enough to eat. And…oh, boy…she was starving.
For him.
Ty lifted a hand and gently swept a strand of hair from her face, and her pulse pounded crazy strong in her ears. He was close. So incredibly close she could feel the warmth of his breath on her temple. She’d never been so aware of a man’s body or her own.
“Are you sure about this, Piper? Sometimes things are said in the heat of the moment. You’re in control. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to…” His sexy voice trailed off, and he once again left it up to her to decide, and it endeared him to her all the more.
She released him to turn off the oven, then returned to glide her hands up his chest, thrilled at the heat radiating under her palms. Ty was on fire, and her knees shook from the intensity.
“Oh, I definitely want to.” She curled her fingers into the material of his shirt and tugged him closer.
His hands settled on her hips. “Thank God. Me, too,” he muttered against her lips.
Piper chuckled. “And, Ty?”
“Yeah?” He drew back just enough to meet her gaze.
“You’ve got the pole.”
His eyes widened a second before craving filled his gorgeous blue depths. “Roger that.”
He walked her backward until the fridge met her back, and that was when he shoved a hand in her hair and brought his mouth down on hers.
A crazy heartbeat later, he pressed against her with his amazing body, and a rush of heat swept through her. She moaned and held him tight, and he immediately took advantage of her open mouth.
There was a difference in his kiss and his touch now. The hesitation…the restraint was gone. The delicious man took and demanded and gave with a thrilling enthusiasm that left her breathless and longing for more.
It was as if he embraced his hunger and shared it with her. She had an immense hunger of her own. Needing to touch him, she trailed her hands all over his magnificent form. Even fully clothed, he felt so amazing that her insides trembled.
His hands were warm and sure on her body, and the feel of them sliding up to skim the sides of her breasts had his name falling from her lips in a hitched breath.
She should probably be shocked at her utter lack of control, but not with the hot, sexy, hard man rocking against her while his tongue plunged in and out of her mouth with perfect rhythm.
He drew back slightly to drag in a breath. “I’ve wanted to do that all damn week.”
She groaned. “If I would’ve known this was what I’d been missing out on, I would’ve relinquished control sooner.”
He slid her a sexy grin. “I’m just getting started.”
Another thrill shot through her, then his lips were kissing a path down her jaw to the curve of her neck, making it hard to concentrate on conversation. His talented hands were gliding over her now, around her back, sending tiny shivers to all her good parts.
Needing to feel him—all of him—she unbuttoned his shirt, then pushed it over his broad shoulders, before standing back to watch it fall to the kitchen floor.
Holy wow…
An array of muscles and ridges not overly pumped but deliciously defined, met her gaze. Piper’s mouth watered with the need to kiss and lick every muscle and ridge on display before her. That urge propelled her forward, and she eagerly pressed her lips to one of his shoulders, across his chest to his other shoulder, while her fingers explored the ridges of his torso.
“Piper…” He slid a hand into her hair and tugged her mouth back to his. “So sweet,” he murmured against her lips before kissing her with a hunger that fed her own.
When they broke for air, she was clutching his upper arms to keep from dropping to the floor. Ty was potent and sneaky. Somehow, he’d zapped the strength from her legs.
He was potent in other ways, too. And sneaky. He found his way past her defenses. Not once had her heart bothered to block him from finding his way to hers. His honesty and genuine soul were exactly what hers wanted, longed for…needed.
She glided her fingers down the hard valleys and ridges of his stomach, and she thrilled at the way his flesh quivered under her shaky touch.
“It’s been…awhile for me.” She felt the need to warn him, especially since she knew he hadn’t been celibate since Erika the Cold.
“That’s okay,” he said softly. “Define awhile?”
Piper dropped her gaze to a scar near his collarbone. “A little over a year.”
“It’s all right. We’re going to be good together, Piper.”
His words and tone reminded her how sweet the man was, so she met his gaze. “I don’t doubt it for a second.”
His gaze darkened to a delicious navy. “Good.”
Before she could blink, Ty swept her into his arms and carried her across the living room and straight through her open bedroom door. Since his cottage had the same layout, she knew he needed no guidance. Instead, she kissed a path up his neck.
He muttered an oath when she sank her teeth into the curve that met his shoulder, and her whole body sparked to life when the hand cupping her breast as he carried her found her nipple through her sweater and brushed it back and forth.
Damn, he was amazing.
After setting her on the bed, he turned on a lamp, and she quickly kicked off her flats before he sat next to her. “You still sure about this?”
Warmth flooded her heart at his sweetness. “Yes. Very.”
“So am I.”
Her ribs took another pounding from her out-of-control heartbeat as he reached for her, his hands lightly grasping her upper arms before he slowly pulled her against him. He was close. So deliciously close, she only had to lean forward, and their lips would touch, but he just held her there and stared at her mouth, his eyes heavy-lidded and deliciously heated.
Desire spiked through her, heating all her favorite parts, and the easy strength with which he held her against his hard chest had those butterflies fluttering in her stomach again.
Still gazing at her mouth, Ty swallowed as if it were an effort to hold back. “Do you feel that?”
“Yes,” she whispered.
She felt so much. She felt everything. His hot skin and rock-hard body were a heady combination that made her tremble.
“Me, too. And like I promised, it’s going to get better,” he murmured as he pressed her down until her back hit the mattress.
Once again, the man was leaning over her like he had in the courtyard, but this time, she could see his face, see the emotions she’d only felt last week because the setting sun had been behind him.
This was so much better. Plus, now he was shirtless. He looked amazing—all lean and ripped, and hungry. Those gorgeous eyes were heated as they stared into hers, and anticipation pulsated, driving her a little bit crazy before he finally bent to kiss her.
Yes…
Needy and ready, she opened her mouth for him, sliding her tongue against his, thrilling at the deep, raw sound that rumbled in his chest. She’d never get tired of hearing it.
His hands found her hips and gripped tightly, lining their bodies up just right. So right. Instinctively, she made room for him between her legs and rocked against him.
“You’re killing me,” he muttered as they broke for air.
“Sorry.”
He chuckled and set his forehead to hers. “No, you’re not.”
The feel of him on top of her was too incredible, and she couldn’t stop her hips from undulating again. He muttered a curse and pressed back with his impressive erection.
“Your fault,” she muttered. “I can’t control my body’s response to yours.”
To prove it, she rocked up against him again.
Ty let out the sexiest damn growl before his lips devoured hers, taking what he wanted without apology. Things got crazy, then they went from aroused to wild as they took turns on top, her dress tangling around her hips. She kissed and nipped and licked, enjoying the trip down the muscles and ridges of his magnificent body, then made another pass for the sheer thrill of it.
A second later, she was flat on her back with her wrists pressed into the mattress on either side of her face. Piper moaned. He covered her completely with his entire weight, shocking sensations to life. Craving more, she wrapped her legs around him, bringing him even tighter against her.
“Piper,” he murmured, pressing hot, open-mouth kisses down her throat, then he bit the special spot behind her ear.
She gasped and eagerly turned her head to give him better access. He needed no further instruction, and sensations rippled through her body, causing her to close her eyes and clutch his back.
The air changed. Their connection amped up.
“Ty…” she whispered, forcing her eyes open as she tried to form words.
“Yeah?” he asked, still kissing her neck.
“I need you.”
He stilled for a moment, then grasped her bunched up dress. She happily sat up and let him tug it all the way off. Her bra disappeared next, followed by her panties.
When she fell back onto the mattress, her breasts bounced, and he sucked in a breath.
“Gorgeous…”
She smiled, running her hand up his strong chest. “Yes, you are.”
Muttering under his breath, he gazed at her, his eyes dark and heated.
Knowing that she could affect a man as tough and handsome as this Navy aviator empowered her like never before.
He dipped down, nuzzling the curve of her neck, then kissed a path down one breast before gently sucking the peak into his mouth. The feel, the motion, was so incredibly perfect, she arched up and moaned.
While he teased her other nipple with his wicked tongue, Piper cupped the back of his head and arched into him again. He made a sexy rumbling sound in his throat and thrust against her.
Breath hitched in her throat. She definitely liked that.
He released her nipple to draw back, and his smoldering gaze slammed into hers. “You like that?”
“What gave me away?” She brushed her thumb over his jaw.
Heat and humor lit his eyes. “You did.”
“Oh, right.” She caressed his lower lip with her thumb, needing to taste him again.
As if reading her mind, he brought his mouth to hers, kissing her deep and unhurried, stoking the fire that simmered inside. When he finally lifted his head and stared at her with so much raw need, she trembled.
“I can’t wait to be inside you,” he murmured and used his thigh to open her legs farther. His hand slowly caressed a delicious path south, then holding her gaze, he slid a finger between her thighs.
She cried out on the first stroke, uncaring how needy, ready and pathetic she sounded. It was incredible. His touch was magic, and sensations intensified so much she nearly lost it on the second stroke. So perfect.
“Ty.” She inhaled. “That feels…so good.”
He winked at her. “I’m just getting started.”
Then his mouth was on her skin, and he kissed a path over her ribs, her belly button, and hip. “Damn, Piper,” he murmured, gazing up her body. “You’re so beautiful.”
He palmed her thighs and wedged his shoulders between her legs, and her heart was pounding ruthlessly in her chest. “Ty…I need…”
She didn’t know what, just that she ached.
He knew.
The intuitive man leaned forward and lapped at her, ripping needy, low sounds from her throat. Piper didn’t care, not as long as he kept doing what he was doing. She shoved her hands into his hair and held him there as she pressed into him.
Then he added a finger, and she cried out, barely comprehending all the sensations, only knowing it felt perfect, so incredibly perfect.
And Ty seemed to be enjoying it just as much. A light sheen covered his shoulders as he continued to take her into the stratosphere.
Trembling, and with every muscle taut and seeking release, she clutched him, so close to the brink. He held her at the edge for a beat before increasing the pace and pressure, and his long, sure strokes sent her over the edge.
Swift and wickedly intense, her orgasm burst through with merciless force. Ty brought her down slowly and as she shuddered against him, she released his head and tried to find her way back to earth.
He lifted his head and smiled. “You taste fantastic.”
His words sparked heat low in her belly. How could she possibly be capable so soon?
He rolled off the bed and quickly shucked the rest of his clothes. And as he dug a condom out of his pants on the floor, Piper enjoyed the show. Watching the light play off his muscles and ridges had her itching to touch him…with her tongue. And when her gaze fell to his erection, breath hitched in her throat, and her body trembled in anticipation.
She had the feeling she was about to get her “wings of gold”.