“No, but I have other things to do.” Piper looked at the bucket and said, “Like bringing this drywall down to my truck. Good night, girls. I’ll see you in the morning.”
She glowered at Harley on her way out of the room, and he chuckled. The girls were way better wingmen than Jiggs, who was currently trotting downstairs after Piper.
After the girls were settled in bed, he went in search of Piper and found her in his bathroom closing her toolbox, which was resting on the sink. The bathroom was spotless; the only indication that there was work being done was the missing walls. He set his crutches by the door and put his arms around her from behind, kissing her neck.
“I would have helped you clean up.” He set her toolbox on the floor and put his arms around her again, kissing her shoulder.
“It was my mess,” she said, dismissing his offer.
“Yes, but I could have helped since you’re fixing my bathroom.” He slid his tongue along her neck, loving the way she pressed her ass against him. Thankfully, he’d changed into basketball shorts after work and didn’t have to deal with his zipper pressing uncomfortably against his arousal.
“Did you tell Jolie to ask me to stay over?”
“No,” he whispered next to her ear. “But I love the idea. I miss you.” He dragged his tongue along the shell of her ear and slid his hand up her belly, cupping her breast. He kissed and caressed until she was breathing hard, clinging to the edges of the sink. “What do you say we finish what we started earlier?”
“I haven’t showered.”
“I like the taste of your salty skin.” He sealed his mouth over her neck, sucking hard enough to earn another of those sensual sounds he loved as he unbuttoned and unzipped her jeans.
“What about the girls?”
“Their bedroom doors—and mine—are closed, and my watchdog is sitting in the hall.”
He pulled her jeans and panties down past her knees, and then he brought his mouth to her neck again as he teased between her legs.
“Oh yes,” she said breathily. She put her hand over his, pushing his fingers inside her.
“I love when you show me what you want,” he said against her neck.
“I love when you touch me. Suck harder.”
He sealed his mouth over the curve at the base of her neck, sucking harder as he pushed his other hand beneath her shirt and bra and gently squeezed her nipple.
“So good,” she panted out, craning her neck to the side, giving him better access to devour her heated flesh.
He quickened his pace between her legs, earning a sharp gasp with every stroke of the secret spot that had her rising on her toes. “Stay with me tonight,” he said into her ear.
“I don’t do sleepovers.”
He gritted his teeth against the sting of her response, wanting to be so much more than a good fuck. “You’re safe with me, Pipe. You can trust me.”
“I know, but . . .” She shook her head, pressing her ass harder against his erection, and said, “Just touch me.”
He knew she felt their connection as deeply as he did. If only he could figure out how to make her feel safe enough that she wouldn’t be afraid to acknowledge it.
Patience, he reminded himself as he kissed her shoulder, working hard to push those thoughts away, and sank his teeth into her flesh, giving her what she wanted.
“Harley” fell from her lips, followed by a low, hungry sound. She ground her ass against him as she rode his fingers and said, “Do that again.”
He brought his thumb to her clit and bit down on her shoulder, squeezing her nipple with his other hand harder. She gasped and whimpered.
“I want your mouth,” he demanded.
She turned her head, and he slanted his mouth over hers, swallowing her needful sounds. He ground against her ass, fucking her faster with his fingers. She was so wet and tight, when he pushed a third finger into her, her head fell back with a long, surrendering moan. He grabbed her jaw, bringing her mouth back to his as her climax took hold. Her sex pulsed tight and greedy around his fingers. He didn’t relent. His tongue plundered to the same frantic pace as his fingers, until her jaw fell slack, and she collapsed forward, her trembling arms braced on the sink.
“I want your cock,” she panted out.
“No.” He turned her in his arms, taking her in another passionate kiss.
She tore her mouth away, eyes narrowed, skin flushed. “I said I want your cock, so unless you’re not clean . . .” She licked her hand and pushed it into his briefs, palming his hard length. “I’m going to have it.”
He was so hungry for her touch, to make love to her, his thoughts shattered as she stroked him, slow and tight. He gritted his teeth and grabbed the edge of the sink to keep his balance. Fucking ankle. If he weren’t injured, he’d haul her ass into his arms and toss her onto his bed, taking her every which way to Sunday.
She held his gaze as she yanked down his shorts, dropped to her knees, and lowered her mouth over his shaft.
“Christ,” he hissed out.
She grinned around his cock, and he shifted, leaning his butt against the sink, allowing him to stay off his bad ankle while burying his hands in her hair. When he thrust his hips, her challenging gaze hit him with the force of an earthquake. She let him lead, taking his cock to the back of her throat time and time again. Lust pounded through him as he watched his shaft moving in and out of her hot, willing mouth. When she cupped his balls, a loud groan escaped his lungs. She grabbed his thighs, pulling back and teasing the head of his erection with her tongue. The sight of her loving him with her hands and mouth sent heat searing through him. He grabbed the base of his cock to stave off his orgasm, wanting to enjoy every second of her. Her eyes narrowed, and she reached between her legs, touching herself as she loved him. Holy. Hell. She took them both right up to the edge of ecstasy.
“Keep going,” he ground out. “I want to see you come while you suck me.”
He wrapped his hand around his cock, stroking himself as her mouth moved along his length. She quickened her efforts between her legs, then slowed for both of them, and he didn’t miss a beat, stroking in time to her lead. He could barely see, couldn’t think, as she brought him to the brink of madness. The glimmer of achievement in her eyes made him go wild, thrusting harder and deeper. She grabbed his ass with both hands, pulling him in deeper. Fuuck. He gritted his teeth against his mounting orgasm. His chin fell to his chest, eyes trained on Piper as she wrapped one hand around his cock, dropping the other between her legs again, stroking them both as he fucked her mouth. She moaned around his cock, the vibration sending lust spiking down his spine, and he lost it. His body bucked, and he ground out her name as he came. She stayed with him, taking everything he had to give. When the last pulse moved through him, he closed his eyes, trying to catch his breath.
“Watch me,” she practically purred.
His eyes flew open, hypnotized by her. He’d have stood on his head if she’d asked him to. She licked his half-hard length, touching herself until her head fell back, and she came loudly and unabashedly, her sinful sounds filling the bathroom.
“Jesus, Piper.” He stroked her cheek and said, “You destroy me.”
She didn’t just destroy him. She owned him.
Body and soul.
She rose to her feet with a sultry and victorious look in her eyes, pressed her hands to his cheeks, and crashed her mouth over his. She thrust her tongue into his mouth, fucking it as he’d just fucked hers. She kissed him like she knew she owned him, and he realized that if he wanted her to trust him with her heart, to realize—or rather acknowledge—that he wasn’t like every other guy, he needed to slow down and make sure she felt it.
When their mouths parted, her lips were wet and tempting. He kept her close, loving the feel of her bare skin against his. The last thing he wanted to do was slow down.
She kissed his chin and said, “I should go.”
“Stay with me.” He wanted to hold her in his arms, to spend time j
ust being together, but he knew she’d balk at opening herself up emotionally, so he said, “I haven’t tasted you in days. I need a hit of my girl.”
Her brows lifted, and she said, “Good. At least now I know you’ll be thinking of me today.”
Her words sounded familiar, and as she hiked up her jeans, he realized it was exactly what he’d texted to her the morning she’d run out of his house after seeing him naked. He pulled up his shorts and hauled her back into his arms.
She gave him another scorching kiss, grabbed her toolbox, and with a sassy wink, she said, “I’ll walk your watchdog before I go and lock the door when I leave, so you don’t have to hobble downstairs.”
His heart hurt for both of them. He went for another dose of honesty, hoping to break through her walls before she left the room. “Pipe, you don’t need to play games with me or try to scare me off.”
The sass in her eyes faltered.
“I’m not going to hurt you, Piper, and I’m sure as hell not going anywhere.”
Her gaze hit the ground, and she gripped the handle of her toolbox so tight her knuckles turned white. She stood still for a few hopeful seconds before walking out the bathroom door.
“Piper.”
She turned, and he saw a glimpse of something deep and meaningful in her eyes, but it disappeared as quickly as it had come. He wanted to ask her to stay again, but he knew he hadn’t yet earned that rung on her ladder of trust, so he said, “We’re bigger than sex, Pipe. You’ll see.”
Her mouth twitched, as if she liked the sound of that, but she turned away and said, “Good night, Harley,” and left the room.
CHAPTER TWELVE
DUTCH’S WAS BUSY for a Tuesday afternoon. The local Kiwanis club was having its monthly lunch meeting, and the knitting club ladies had rescheduled their normal Wednesday-afternoon meeting to today. Doris Pilcheck, the leader of the knitting club, had a date later that evening with someone she’d met on a senior dating site, and her girlfriends were bringing her up to speed on the dating scene. Doris was a lovely woman in her midseventies who had lost her husband, Rodney, several years ago. She’d known Harley all his life, as had most of the gray-haired ladies around Sweetwater. Doris had pumped him and Jasper for advice for a long time after she and her friends had first arrived. At the top of his list of advice was to meet her date someplace public and to drive her own car, so she wasn’t put in a compromising position. He watched them across the room, talking over their iced teas and salads, and wondered why it was easier for some people to open up than it was for others.
“You okay?” Jasper asked as he wiped down the bar. “Your ankle hurting?”
It had been six days since Harley sprained his ankle, and it was finally doing much better. He couldn’t walk on it yet, but the swelling was coming down. The light throb in it was a reminder that he needed his next dose of medicine. He’d been able to go longer stretches without it, but as Piper had reminded him that morning when she’d come to pick up him and the girls and shoved a bottle of Motrin into his hands, being upright for several hours caused his ankle to swell. Piper was funny like that, keeping her emotions locked down tight, then taking extra measures to ensure that he was okay.
“I’m fine.”
“How about Doris and online dating?” Jasper raised his brows.
“I just hope she doesn’t get herself into trouble. I don’t like all that online dating crap.” And he was glad Piper wasn’t on any of those dating sites.
“I heard two of her friends say they would show up wherever she went on her date as backup.” Jasper chuckled. “Seems like not much changes as chicks get older.”
Harley sure hoped that wasn’t true. He didn’t want Piper to change who she was, but he’d like to get that lock off her heart at some point.
As if he’d conjured her from his thoughts, his beautiful little spitfire strode through the door, rocking her construction boots like no one else ever could. Her lips curved up as she climbed onto a barstool, looking like a golden-haired gift from the heavens above. Unfortunately, he wasn’t the only one checking her out. Just about every other man in the bar was, too.
“Stare much, Dutch?” she said casually.
“Hello to you, too, beautiful. It’s been a few days since I’ve had the pleasure of seeing you walk in here.” Since he wasn’t working nights, he hadn’t seen her in the pub since before he’d hurt his ankle.
She looked down at her keys as she set them on the bar, as if he’d embarrassed her.
When she looked up, he held her gaze and said, “You never come in for lunch, which must mean you missed me.”
“What I missed was Dutch’s famous chicken wings.” She smirked. “I’ll take an order of wings and a Coke, please.”
“Ah, yes, the wings.” He laughed and leaned across the bar, stopping within kissing distance, and said, “Missing me is a good thing, Trig. Own it, ’cause I sure missed you.”
She tried unsuccessfully to school her expression. “Do you hit on all your customers?”
“Just the lucky ones.”
“I’ll get the wings for you,” Jasper said, patting Harley’s back as he passed behind him.
“Jasper’s a good man,” Piper said tauntingly.
He knew she was trying to rile him up, but he wasn’t jealous. She didn’t look at any other man the way she looked at him. “He is a good man. One of the best.”
He got her soda, and she eyed him curiously as she took a drink.
That’s right, Pipe, you can’t scare me away that easy.
“How’s your ankle?”
Her switch to a safer subject did not go unnoticed. She’d tried to get him to use the walking boot this morning, but he hated that uncomfortable thing. He preferred to wrap his ankle and use crutches. “It’s holding up. I’m glad you’re here. It’s nice to see you.”
“You just saw me a few hours ago,” she said a little dismissively.
He knew she was there to see him, but hearing the truth from her would make it that much better. “True, but nothing brightens my day like seeing you, Pipe.”
She glanced at the door to the kitchen and said, “Where are those wings?”
She was adorable trying to keep her feelings under wraps, fighting a smile. He grabbed the crutches and went around the bar to sit beside her. He lowered himself to the barstool next to her and leaned the crutches against the bar. “It must be hard keeping all those emotions reined in. You don’t have to, you know. You can trust me not to hurt you.”
She rolled her eyes. “When did you become an armchair psychologist?”
“Isn’t that what a bartender is?”
“I’ve known bartender Harley for a long time, and he doesn’t dissect everything I do. Can we get that guy back?”
He shifted to the edge of the stool, putting one leg on either side of her, boxing her in. “Sure. But how about boyfriend Harley? Do you like that guy?”
Her eyes flamed, telling him just how much she liked that guy. She glanced over his shoulder and sat up straighter, schooling her expression just as Doris walked up to them, smiling warmly.
“Hi, Doris. Do you ladies need refills?” he asked.
“Oh no, sweetheart.” Doris had short, layered white hair, pale skin that looked soft as butter, and naturally pink cheeks—probably from smiling so often. She patted his arm and said, “I just wanted to say thank you to Piper for helping me with my roof last week.” She turned kind eyes to Piper. “I meant to make you my special raspberry brownies this past weekend, but I got a little busy.”
“You don’t have to do that,” Piper said. “It was my pleasure.”
Doris patted Harley’s arm again and said, “Isn’t she just the sweetest little thing?”
Piper arched her brow, as if she found Doris’s use of sweetest funny.
“She won’t take money from me,” Doris explained. “But she loves my raspberry brownies.”
“It’s not a big deal, really,” Piper said. “You don’t need to make me an
ything.”
“The way you help people is a very big deal. My Rodney used to say there weren’t enough Piper Daltons in the world. It’s a wonder you can make a living the way you help folks like me.”
Harley recognized the struggle on Piper’s face. Taking compliments was not her strong suit, but it only endeared her to him even more. Her generosity knew no limits, and he didn’t think it ever had.
“At least you didn’t fall and hurt yourself when you were working at my house,” Doris said. “Poor Harley was fixing a flooding toilet in the ladies’ room for our knitting group—you know how Martha is when she drinks iced tea—and look what happened to him. I felt so guilty the whole way to the hospital.”
“That’s funny,” Piper said. “He told me he hurt his ankle wrestling a bear.”
“Oh, goodness. Harley, I’m sorry to have outed you for embellishing,” Doris said.
Piper smirked. “Don’t worry. I’ll never let him live this down. It was nice of you to take him to the hospital.”
“Of course! I would have waited to drive him home, but when he was in with the doctor, I called Debra to let her know he’d been hurt and she insisted that you would want to pick him up.”
Piper looked curiously at Harley.
“Don’t look at me. I’m sure she just didn’t want to keep Doris from her knitting club.”
“Your mother is such a doll, Harley. Well, I’d better get back to the girls.” Doris looked at Piper and said, “Maybe you can share the brownies with your new beau.”
Piper’s mouth dropped open as Doris walked away. “I’m going to kill my mother for gossiping about us.”
“Maybe I should thank her,” he said as Jasper returned with her wings and set them on the bar.
“Who are we thanking?” Jasper asked.
“Nobody.” Piper snagged a wing and took a big bite.
Jasper looked at Harley and said, “Right. Anyway, I saw you guys on the kiss cam. It looked like you had a great time at the game, but you know you were supposed to kiss, right?”
“I’ve endured two days of harassment from the guys at work about that.” Piper pointed her wing at Jasper and said, “I don’t do nerd-reel kisses.”
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