by Piper Rayne
“Where’s mine?” Ian asked.
Piper laughed and shook her head. “It’s coming.”
“She likes me best,” Gavin said with a nod and a smirk.
“I’m okay with that,” Ian replied. “As long as I get another beer, too.”
Piper chuckled and set the rest of the drinks in front of us. She held her tray against her side and went back to Gavin’s side. “Need anything else?”
Gavin tilted his head up and pulled her closer. “Yep.”
Piper grinned and wrapped her free arm around Gavin as he pulled her in for a kiss.
I didn’t mean to intrude on their moment, but watching them made me think of Willow. She was always looking around when she was at O’Kelley’s, like she was waiting for someone to kick her out. She was never as comfortable as Piper was.
Then again, I wasn’t going to slide my hand to her ass in public and kiss her like I was starved the way Gavin was doing with Piper. Although I wouldn’t pass up the chance to kiss Willow like that again.
Gavin finally let Piper up for air. She blushed and licked her lips, bringing the bottom one between her teeth. He said something I couldn’t hear, and she nodded.
I’d never had that kind of comfort with another person. That connection. Maybe I was reaching, but there was something about Willow that made me think I could have it with her. If I was sticking around.
Which I wasn’t, so it didn’t matter.
The guys made it an early night, and after working so much, I was not interested in going home. I needed a break. I needed a woman. I needed Willow.
I didn’t have her number, so I opened the Book Boyfriends Wanted app and pulled up her information.
JustVisiting: Hey, are you home?
UpForAnything: Um, yeah. Why?
JV: I’m coming over.
UFA: How do you know where I live?
JV: I’ve been there. With you. This is Rowan.
UFA: I’m busy.
JV: Doing what?
UFA: None of your business.
JV: I’m coming over.
UFA: I haven’t heard from you since you walked out my door. I’ve moved on.
Ouch. That stung.
JV: I don’t believe you.
UFA: Doesn’t matter. It’s true.
JV: You know I can find out anything I want to know about you.
UFA: That’s an abuse of your power.
JV: Nope. It’s small town living. There are plenty of people willing to tell me anything I want to know about you. Some of them were talking to me tonight.
UFA: About what?
JV: Open your door and I’ll tell you.
UFA: You’re here?
I knocked on her door to prove it.
UFA: I told you I’m busy!
JV: Open the door, Willow.
I waited, straining to listen to her inside the apartment. When the lock turned and she opened the door just enough to peek out, I put my phone away. “Are you going to let me in?”
“No.”
I chuckled. “Why not?”
“Because I’m busy.”
The opening song for The Office played loudly behind her. I raised an eyebrow, letting her know I knew she was full of shit.
“You don’t want to know what people are saying about you?”
She shook her head. “Nope. I already know. Don’t bother. Stay away. She’s not worth it. She’s a liar and a horrible person, and you’re better off if you don’t get involved. I don’t need you to tell me they said it.”
“They don’t know me. I don’t back down. And I don’t listen to what others have to say about someone.”
She smiled sadly and nodded. “Well, I guess that’s good. Thanks for stopping by.”
She started to close her door, but I stuck my foot in the way. “When can I see you again?”
She chuckled. “Probably in another week when you decide you need more sex. For tonight, I’m going inside. Alone.”
I wanted to argue with her, but she closed the door before I had a chance.
I couldn’t deny I loved a challenge.
I sent Willow messages on Book Boyfriends Wanted all weekend. They ranged from asking what she was doing to asking what she was wearing.
She ignored me a few times, but she always responded eventually. Usually with something sarcastic. She was making it tough for me to resist her, especially when she messaged me late Sunday night.
UpForAnything: Have you ever gotten excited about something that wasn’t sexual at all, but it made you all horny?
My cock twitched at her words.
JustVisiting: I’m experiencing it right now. Then again, you said horny, so maybe it doesn’t apply.
UFA: LOL. I mean something innocent, but knowing about it gets you all excited.
JV: See my previous statement.
UFA: You’re useless. Maybe I should go talk to someone else.
JV: Don’t you dare woman.
UFA: You don’t get to tell me what to do.
JV: Next time.
UFA: Can I ask you something?
JV: Sure.
UFA: Why are you still talking to me?
JV: Because I want to.
UFA: You know I won’t be offended if you just disappear one day.
JV: Good to know, but I have no plans to do that. I need a chance to tell you what to do.
UFA: Is that what you like? Being in charge?
JV: It depends. I don’t mind a woman bossing me around once in a while.
UFA: Wow, that’s a shock.
I chuckled and shook my head.
JV: It has to be a fair thing. I’m a fan of fair. And doing things in kind. Like if I have a taste, I’m not going to tell her she can’t.
UFA: Now I get it.
JV: Get what?
UFA: You only go down on a woman if you know she’s going to suck you off.
I choked on my water and spewed it all over myself.
JV: Not what I meant. You just made me spit on myself.
UFA: You must be really flexible. I just heard about a yoga studio in town. Want to take a class?
I laughed out loud at her and shook my head again. I’d never known a woman who could make me laugh. In Phoenix, I spent most of my time moving from one woman to the next without pausing to figure out if they had much of a personality. If they started to get attached, I was gone, but most of the time I didn’t stick around long enough for them to even think about getting attached anyway.
But Willow…I couldn’t explain her if I tried. She had a backbone and a hard side. She wasn’t willing to back down from anything. She was definitely not my type at all. A little loud and brash. She didn’t even try to blend in with the crowd. She looked like she wanted to piss everyone off.
Unless you looked into her eyes. In the depths, you saw the fight. She wanted to push them away before they rejected her. Didn’t she know by now that I was not going to say no to her?
JV: Not what I meant, but sure I’ll take a class with you. I’m assuming you’re going, too.
UFA: Seriously?
JV: Yeah, why not. Don’t women wear tight clothes to do yoga? You have to be in front of me so I can check out your ass.
UFA: Yeah, right. Nothing good to look at there.
JV: Well, it sure felt good. How about we try out some naked yoga sometime?
UFA: Do you think about anything other than sex?
JV: Nope.
UFA: At least you’re honest.
JV: Lies aren’t good for anyone.
UFA: I learned that lesson the hard way.
JV: Oh yeah, how’s that?
I knew the answer, but I wanted her to tell me about it. Hearing from Ramsey and Hudson and Rucker about Willow was nothing like hearing from Willow. She had her side of the story, and I wanted to hear it before I believed what everyone else said.
UFA: Sorry, I need to go.
JV: Seriously?
UFA: Yep. I’ll let you know about yoga. If you’re real
ly interested.
JV: Regular yoga and naked yoga. Yes to both.
UFA: LOL. We’ll see.
JV: Looking forward to it.
She signed off the app before I sent the last message. I hoped she told me about yoga, not because I loved it, but because real yoga might lead to naked yoga, and I was all in for that.
Speaking of which, I needed a cold shower.
9
Willow
A new yoga studio. I never thought I’d see it anywhere near my town. It was exciting and a little scary. I’d thought about opening one, but I didn’t have the money and didn’t know anything about running a business. And the one person I knew who did was not speaking to me.
But I could take classes and I could be a member and I could learn what I could and hopefully it would translate into more experience for when I found another job somewhere that wasn’t MacKellar Cove.
I was sure Rowan was joking about taking a class with me, but when I mentioned I would be at the one Tuesday night, he said he’d join me. Even bigger shock was that he showed up.
“You have to promise you won’t laugh at me,” he said as we found spots in class.
I shook my head. “I make no promises of that nature.”
He grinned and my insides did funny things.
I didn’t want to like him. Yeah, the sex was spectacular, but he was a cop. And he was friends with Ramsey. The fact that he was still speaking to me was enough of a shock and made me wonder if he was a spy, but the way his eyes lingered on my curves and the way his sweatpants bulged in the front…I was pretty sure his ulterior motives had nothing to do with my brother-in-law.
He laid the hot pink mat I brought for him on the ground. When I handed it over, he raised an eyebrow but didn’t make a comment. I was sure he would refuse to use it and had a black one in my car just in case, but he took it like a man and embraced his feminine side. Or so he said.
He could embrace my feminine side.
I put my lavender mat next to his and sat down to remove my socks. He looked at me then folded onto his mat, looking less than comfortable.
“Are you sure I should be here?”
“You’re the one who said you wanted to come.”
“Always, but I don’t know anything about yoga.”
I rolled my eyes at his pun and said, “There are newbies in every class. You’ll pick it up. And if you don’t, it’ll be fodder for later.”
He chuckled softly and shook his head.
The instructor moved to the front of the class and welcomed us. She went through a brief intro about the studio and herself, thanking everyone for trying out a class. She turned on music and dimmed the lights and began.
All my stress filtered away.
I followed along with the instructor and owner of Balanced Life, Sylvia, and felt so at ease. She had a soft voice and a calming presence that melted over me and made me feel like I could do anything. That was what I loved about yoga. I was limitless. Yes, I needed to work to perfect a pose or maximize a stretch, but I was always able to do something that helped my body.
Rowan, on the other hand, didn’t seem to feel the same way.
More than once during class, he swore under his breath. He fell over, and he grunted a few times. Sylvia was helping another attendee at one point, so I went over to Rowan and helped him get into the right position.
“If you open your hips, this is easier. Try it like that,” I said softly.
He grunted his thanks and nodded.
The next time he was struggling, he asked me to help him. I became his personal instructor while Sylvia guided the class. I showed Rowan a few alternative moves for some of the harder poses since he was obviously the only newbie there.
Sylvia saw me helping him but never interrupted us, so I figured she was okay with it. I wasn’t trying to overstep, but I also had a feeling Rowan was feeling self conscious about his inability to move the way the rest of us were.
When Sylvia made it to sun salutations, Rowan groaned. I shot him a look and hissed, “What is wrong with you?”
He looked down, leading my gaze to his tented sweatpants. My eyes widened.
“What the hell?”
“You’re wearing tight clothes and bending in all kinds of ways. Touching me and shit. What do you expect?”
My entire body burned at his words. The look in his eyes said he was not joking. He was hard as hell because of me.
“Tell me we’re almost done.”
I nodded and focused on the movements instead of on Rowan. I tried to. He grunted and groaned his way through them all, his tones low enough that I was likely the only one who heard him.
When we finished and moved into the cool down and rest period before the session ended, Rowan looked over at me. “My place or yours?”
I grinned and shook my head, but we both knew naked yoga was next on the agenda. My panties were soaked, and it wasn’t because I was sweating so much.
Rowan rolled up his mat and accepted the praise from the rest of the people in class. They told him they hoped to see him again on their way out, the way most yogis did when a new person joined.
I slid our mats into my bags and was about to leave with him when Sylvia approached us.
“You know your stuff,” she said to me. “I’m Sylvia.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Willow.”
“Where have you trained?”
I shook my head. “Nowhere really. I do a lot of yoga online since there isn’t, or wasn’t, a studio in the area. This is great.”
“Thanks. I’ve been wanting to do this for a long time, but I was raising my kids. The last one graduated from high school last year, and I told my husband it was time for me to do something for myself.”
“I’m glad you did. This was a great class.”
“Thank you for coming. And for helping. I see you’re new? Unless that’s your pink mat,” Sylvia said to Rowan.
“Um, no. I’m more of a gray fan. And definitely a yoga virgin.”
“Well, I’m happy you decided to end that streak with us. You can tell your friends you lost your virginity with a dozen women at once,” Sylvia said.
Rowan snorted a surprised laugh. “I’ll have to share that one.”
“I hope you’ll both come back sometime soon. I’m only hosting a few classes per week right now. I have another teacher starting next week and we’ll have a few more classes, but I’m starting slow until I know this will do well.”
“Makes sense,” Rowan and I both said.
I was a little disappointed that I didn’t see anything about the studio opening or about Sylvia hiring, but if I was leaving MacKellar Cove anyway, it didn’t matter. I had to find a new path. One that didn’t involve living in the same town as my sister.
“I thought so. But I hope this works. And I do hope to see you both back again soon.”
“We will. Or, I will,” I said.
“I think she can convince me,” Rowan said with a wink.
“Well, enjoy the rest of your night. Thanks for coming out.”
We waved and said good night and headed out into the cold.
“That was more fun than I thought it would be,” Rowan said.
“Really?”
He shrugged. “I like watching you bend and twist in those tight pants. And I like having your hands all over me.”
“Again, do you think about anything other than sex?”
“Nope. That’s the most important thing.”
“Sex is the most important thing? I guess if I was thin I could think that. For me, food is the most important thing.”
“Food is up there, but I’d give up food for sex any day. Especially sex like we had.”
My cheeks burned at the heated look he raked down my entire body. He stepped closer until I had to tip my head back to look up at him.
“As for you being thin, you don’t need to change a thing about yourself.”
A ragged laugh tore from my throat. “I think you’re t
he only person in town who feels that way.”
The side of his mouth quirked up. “I don’t mind being different.”
I chewed on my lip and nodded. I didn’t mind being different either, most of the time. I didn’t know a lot of people who were content to go against the grain, though. Most people wanted to fit in and be invisible in a crowd.
“So, my place or yours?” he asked.
I drew back in shock. “What?”
He raised an eyebrow. “I thought we were going to get food. You said it’s the most important thing.”
I chuckled. “That is not what you meant.”
He grinned. God, it was a beautiful thing. For a man who was more badass than anything else, seeing him smile was stunning. It made me want to see it again.
“Well, if we’re already close to a bed…”
He let his words trail off, and I couldn’t deny I wanted him again. There was no way for me to resist him. I wanted to tell myself I was starved for attention and affection, and I was, but I genuinely liked him. He was kind and sweet and he was on my side. Or at least, he wasn’t on Ramsey’s side. It was refreshing.
“I’m not far from here.”
“I’ll follow you.” He grabbed a helmet off the motorcycle parked next to me and snapped it on.
“That’s yours?” I asked.
He nodded.
“Isn’t it cold?”
He shrugged. “It’s the only thing I have.”
“Do you want to ride with me?”
He shook his head. “I need to get it back anyway. I’ll be fine. You can warm me up when we get to your place.”
I bit my lip and hoped he wasn’t a popsicle by the time we made it to my place. He climbed on the bike like it was no big deal. The engine roared to life, and my body trembled. If he was still around when it wasn’t below freezing, I was going to need to talk him into giving me a ride.
I got in my car and started up the heat to ward off the cold. I glanced over at him, and he gave me a thumb’s up, so I pulled out.
I watched him in my mirror on the drive, making sure he was still following me. I pulled into my parking space in the driveway, and he parked right behind me. He got off the bike and removed his helmet, then followed me up to my apartment without a word.