Page 184 of Power Play

“So be with me,” I say, and his eyes blaze with fire.

Liam pulls his fingers out of me and reaches for a condom. I touch his wrist, stopping him, and he looks at me.

“You okay?” he asks, and I’m not sure I am.

“Would it be okay if—” I take a deep breath. “Can we try without a condom?”

His gaze is piercing, a lightning bolt to my heart. He drops his head back and blows out a breath, staring at the ceiling instead of me. I might of said the wrong thing, but before I can worry about it, he’s kissing me. Brushing his nose against mine and laughing into the crook of my neck.

“You want that?”

“I want it with you,” I say. “I’ve never had sex that way, and I want you to be my first.”

“I haven’t either,” he says, and the room is a blur of colors. Of shapes and sounds and sensations. “And I’ve wanted to with you from the first time I fucked you. But if I fuck you without a condom, Piper, you should know it’s going to be difficult to ever give you up. It’s going to be hard to walk away from you, because once I sink into you without anything between us, I’m not going to want anything else for the rest of my life. I’m going to want to fuck you every minute of every goddamn day.”

“I’m on birth control,” I tell him, running my fingers down his chest because that sounds magical. Magnificent and exactly what I want.

“Okay.” He nods and pulls away. “That’s good.”

Liam lies on his back and motions for me to straddle him. I throw a leg over his hips and look down at him. “I know being exclusive was part of this, but I haven’t been with anyone else, Liam. Just you. And I want you to know that.”

“It’s only been you from the beginning. No one else, Piper.”

Sinking onto him without the feeling of latex is dizzying. I transcend time, floating above my body as I work the head of his cock inside me first then relax enough to take the rest of him.

I let go, my body knowing his and the things he likes best. I realize as he cups my cheek, his touch heavy on my skin, this isn’t fucking. This is something so much more substantial, something far more monumental than anything we’ve ever done.

When he’s close, he looks at me, a question in his eyes.

“Can I?—”

“Yes,” I whisper. “I told you I’m yours, Liam.”

“You are. And I want everyone to know it.”

I revel in his release and the mess it makes and the way it finally feels like I’ve seen every part of him.

After, he cleans me up and hugs me tight. Pico settles between us, our breaths turning soft as we drift off to the world where this exists forever.

FORTY-NINE

LIAM

The bed isempty when I wake up.

When I turn over, I see Piper’s phone on her side of the bed, and I wonder if she’s on the balcony again because she can’t sleep.

I smile and kick off the sheets, making my way through the apartment to the noises coming from the kitchen. It might be the middle of the night but it’s bright as hell out here. I round the corner and find her in one of my big T-shirts. Socks that come halfway up her calves and a messy bun that makes her blonde hair look like ribbons of sunlight. She turns on the stove and sets a kettle on the burner, a mug sitting on the counter and Pico rubbing against her ankles.

I like the look of her in my space. Slotting into my life and revolving around me like we’ve been doing this for years. She’s not a distraction. Not a chore or a burden, and in the weeks we’ve been spending together, not once have I felt like I’ve had to make a sacrifice between hockey and her.

I clear my throat, wanting to make my presence known, and Piper jumps a foot in the air. She yelps and Pico darts away, taking off for the hallway.

“Jesus, Liam.” She turns and scowls at me, and I can’t help but smile at the dangerous look in her eye. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

“Did I do something?” I walk toward her and grab a mug for myself. “Or are you just skittish?’

“Asshole.” Piper huffs and checks the burner. “Did I wake you up?”

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