Page 84 of Power Play

Her laughter bounces off the corners of the room. Dissolves the last remaining sliver of hesitation hanging between us and sparks a fire up my spine.

Fuck,I want to make her come.

I want to make her come more than I’ve wanted to do anything else in my life.

But I also want to make her laugh again. It’s been so long since I’ve heard a sound like that—sweet. Calm. Pure fucking joy, and I want a slice of her happiness.

“Forget ‘Jingle Bells’. How about ‘Jingle Balls’?” Her grin splits her cheeks, proud of her joke. “So, what’s the verdict?”

I step out of my pants and nudge them away with my toes, leaving me in a pair of black briefs. Her eyes flash in recognition when she realizes how hard I am.

“Underwear. Sorry to disappoint.”

“Wow.” She licks her lips, and I want that tongue on my shaft. Swirling over my head and licking me from the base to the tip. “Feels like I’m overdressed. Should I—do you want me to?—”

“Ditch your clothes and lie on the bed.” I reach for the drawer of my bedside table and yank it open, searching for a marker. “Get comfortable.”

She stands and takes off her dress. When the material gathers at her waist, she shimmies it down her thighs until it pools at her feet, leaving her totally fucking naked.

Thank god I’ve made her keep her clothes on up to this point. I’m not sure I would’ve been able to get through the first times we were together if she showed off her whole body.

She’s too mesmerizing, from her full tits to her belly button. Smooth skin everywhere and hips I can’t wait to grab when I fuck her from behind.

“I’m self-conscious.” Her hands cover her chest and her stomach. “I guess I’m self-conscious about everything these days. I know I shouldn’t hide from a guy, but I’ve never loved how I look without my clothes on. Probably because no one else ever has. I think my boobs could be bigger. My stomach could be smaller and my thighs touch.”

“Hey.” I hook my fingers around her chin and tilt her head back so she’s looking at me. “I have a mini lesson for you. Want to hear it?”

Her throat bobs around a swallow and she nods. “Yeah.”

“If you take your clothes off in front of a man and he doesn’t drop to his knees to worship you, get the hell out of there. I don’t care if you’re naked.Run.”

“And risk public indecency?” she whispers, and I laugh. “This must be a very serious mini lesson.”

“Might be the most important one I teach you. His jaw better be on the goddamnfloorwhen he sees you naked. If not? He’s not worth it. You’re too damn nice to waste your time with morepieces of shit,” I say, meaning every syllable. Every word and every goddamn letter.

She sits on the edge of the bed and wiggles back until she can stretch out. Until she can bend her knees and spread her legs, giving me a direct view of her pussy. She’s wet and pink and so fucking pretty. “Is your jaw on the floor?”

It is, and it feels like my heart might be too.

Somewhere down by my feet, and I’m never going to be able to pick it up.

“I don’t know my name right now,” I manage to get out. I climb on the bed and sit next to her, kissing her forehead. “I’m losing my mind.”

“Is that why you’re holding a marker?”

“No. I’m going to figure out the spots where you love to be touched the most. Going to mark them so I don’t forget. Soyoudon’t forget, if you want to touch yourself when I’m not around.” I draw a circle around her left breast, pinching her nipple as I go. “I’m going to learn everything you like, Piper. And once I do, I’m going to fuck you better than he ever did.”

TWENTY-THREE

PIPER

Time of death:10:37 p.m.

Cause of death: Liam telling meI’m going to fuck you better than he ever did.

It makes me feel sowanted. Sodesirable, I could explode from the heat of his words.

His touch is torture, teasing me as he moves the marker to the other side of my chest. He draws a circle around my right breast and my back arches off the bed. Liam’s chuckle is sexy, a wicked noise that tells me he’s just getting started.

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