She smoothed a hand along his side, up and back, soothing him until he relaxed into her, until the tension left his muscles. “I should have told you, but I never expected…I never thought…” She clung tighter.
He did his best to comfort her, moving his hand in circles on her back. “How long has this guy been hanging around?”
“A few months.” She tilted her head back, and her silky hair slid over his bicep. The simple contact lifted goose bumps across his skin. “Do you think it was him? What if it was someone else?” He felt a shiver move through her.
Fuck. “I’m not going anywhere. I won’t let anything happen to you. You believe that, right?”
She held his gaze. “Yes.”
“Seeing you afraid like that…I felt…”
“What?”
He needed to shut up. Now.
“Please, Cole. Talk to me?”
He could deny her nothing. Not now, not after everything that’d happened. Not when she was wrapped around him, small hands warm against his skin. Not when she was looking at him like that.
He released a shuddery breath. “I felt powerless, Pipe. I don’t…I can’t…” He held her tighter, like she could hold him together, stop him from shattering, from dissolving into nothing. Like she alone could prevent him from reverting back to the hollow shell he’d been without her. “I don’t know what to do with that, how to deal with it. Not after what happened in New York. But I’m trying. I’m fucking trying.”
“I know, baby,” she whispered. “I know.” Then she cupped the side of his face. “I’m not going anywhere, either. I’m here as long as you need me.” Leaning in, she pressed her lips to his, giving him the sweetest kiss of his life before tucking back into his side.
He held her in his arms, threaded his fingers through her hair, and tried to keep his shit together.
There was no way to stop this now, this thing between them. And he realized he didn’t want to.
It was out of his control.
And maybe for once—that was okay.
Sun lit the backs of Cole’s lids. He’d been awake for several minutes but hadn’t opened his eyes yet. He hadn’t felt this rested, hadn’t slept that deeply in months. Piper lay beside him, body pressed against his, driving him crazy with the way she was lazily tracing his abs with the tip of her finger.
He smiled to himself and grabbed her wrist, tugging her forward. She squeaked, falling over him, tits smashing into his chest.
Nice.
“You gave me a fright.” She playfully slapped his shoulder.
The breathless way she’d said it was sexy as hell. He cracked his lids and grinned up at her. “You were asking for trouble, and you know it.”
She gave him that shy, sexy smile he loved so damn much. “Maybe.”
“No maybe about it. My girl needs me, and I’m more than happy to help her out.” He slid his hands down her back and cupped her ass, giving it a light slap. “Up.”
She blushed but didn’t deny it, looking cute and a little unsure, until he fisted the green satin still covering her body and tugged it higher over her belly. She lifted her arms so he could pull it over her head. His breathing grew choppy at the sight of her bare breasts, smooth and heavy, her nipples pink and puckered. He dragged her over him, and sliding his hands behind her knees, pulled them up so her thighs straddled his. He smoothed his fingers higher, where she had that sexy rose tattoo on her upper thigh and hip. Skin hot and silky. Beautiful.
“Ride me,” he rasped.
Her blush deepened as she reached over and grabbed a condom. She rolled it down his rigid length, then shimmied forward. He rested his hands on her thighs as she lifted up and positioned the head of his cock.
“That’s it, sweetheart. Fuck me.” Heat ignited in her eyes, and she sank down, taking him all the way, forcing a deep groan past his throat. He cupped her tits, her soft flesh overflowing in his hands. Jesus. He couldn’t get enough of her. Plucking and squeezing her nipples, he worked her as she rode him. And every time he tugged, her belly quivered, and she gasped.
More color hit her face, and her mouth dropped open when she ground hard against him. Nothing had ever felt this good. Nothing. He needed her mouth, her taste on his tongue. Cupping the side of her throat, he pulled her down for a deep kiss. The new angle made her moan into his mouth as their tongues slid together, matching the grind of her hips.
She pulled away slightly, panting against his lips. “Oh God.”
She sucked her lower lip, excruciating pleasure covering her face. He’d never seen anything more stunning in his entire life. Piper fucked him harder, bouncing and grinding on his cock, lost to her fast-approaching orgasm.