by Maggie Cole
She glares at me. “No.”
“Piper—”
“You promised me you wouldn’t hold what we’ve done against me.”
“That isn’t what this is about.”
“Then tell me what it is about.”
“I can’t.”
“Then I’ll see you in New York.” She picks up her laptop bag to leave, but I’m standing in front of the door.
“Why can’t you give me the benefit of the doubt and not think I’m out to harm you?”
She laughs. “And what have you done to earn that, Noah?”
“Seriously?”
“Every chance you’ve gotten to tell Bennett to remove me from this project, you have.”
“It’s for your own safety.” Crap. Now I’ve done it. I’ve given away too much.
“My safety?”
I have no reply.
She shakes her head in disgust. “Move.”
Sighing, I close my eyes then step aside. She storms out and, once again, Piper hates me.
13
Piper
All week I sit next to Noah, sharing monitors, getting up to speed on the meetings we will be presenting at. Bennett has made himself present often and seems to be adamant that I go on this trip, but Noah isn’t happy about it.
I spend most of the week trying to be professional around Bennett and not give him any indication that things aren’t good between Noah and me, but they aren’t.
It’s Wednesday night. The girls are at my house as I’m packing.
I’m trying to steer the conversation away from Noah and me, so before the girls can ask me anything, I focus on Charlotte. “I think we need Xander details.”
“Yeah, and did you actually break up with Damon? We didn’t get to that part the other night before the guys came over,” Quinn asks.
Charlotte turns her head. “Of course. You know I would never cheat.”
“So, how was it?” Vivian asks.
Charlotte blushes a bit. “Za-za zing!”
“So, your heat is back?” I tease.
She shrugs. “It was with him.”
Quinn claps. “Are you going to see him again?”
Charlotte shrugs again. “He doesn’t move here for a few months. We have each other’s numbers. I’m sure a guy like Xander isn’t going to wait around pining over me.”
“Please.” I wave my hand in the air. “You’re the real deal, and I’m sure he knows that.”
“Enough about me. What’s up with you and Noah?” Charlotte raises her eyebrows at me.
“And did you find out if he has a brother?” Vivian asks.
I groan. “Let’s not talk about Noah.”
Quinn snorts. “Nice try. Spill it.”
I put my hands over my face. “I think I’m a masochist.”
Vivian laughs. “What makes you say that?”
“Because he’s an asshole, and I keep going back for more. He doesn’t want me on this trip and even told Bennett that.”
“Why?” Charlotte asks.
I roll my eyes. “He claims it’s for my safety.”
The girls don’t say anything.
“What?”
“Is it?” Quinn asks.
“Of course not. His ego is just so big he wants to do everything on his own to be the big man in the office.”
The girls all look at me like I’m exaggerating.
“I’m not crazy. He’s cocky and arrogant and only cares about himself.”
Vivian clears her throat. “He seemed to care about you the other night.”
“Yeah, to get in my pants.”
“From where I sat, you seemed more than happy to get into his,” Quinn teases.
I tilt my head at her. “Thanks for that.”
“What are you going to do for four nights in New York with him?” Charlotte smirks.
“Nothing!”
The girls all stare at me like they don’t believe me.
“I’m not touching him. He’s an asshole, and I’m done being a masochist,” I insist.
I can tell they still think I’m lying, but I’m not letting Noah touch me ever again. At least, that’s what I tell myself.
Our flight is on Thursday afternoon, and Bennett insists that Noah and I travel to the airport in his company car. Since I woke up, my nerves have been in a constant state of chaos.
Bennett had told me not to come into the office since I was working over the weekend, and I wish he hadn’t because at least then I would be able to think about something other than spending four nights away with Noah.
Nothing has changed. I am still angry at him for trying to keep a work opportunity from me and not telling me why he’s going after these companies that don’t make a lot of sense on paper or for our existing portfolio.
But when I try to sleep at night, I can’t hide from the fact that I’m still attracted to him, and the thought of another night with him makes my insides turn to Jell-O.
I don’t even realize that the car has turned up, and I hear a knock on my door.
I open my door, and he’s standing there, in jeans and a fitted T-shirt that’s hugging his muscles in all the right ways. My body pulses, and I try to remind myself I’m mad at him. “What are you doing up here?”
“I came to get your bags.”
“I can do that myself.”
Noah’s jaw clenches. “Yes, I know, Ms. Independent.” Before I can do anything, he grabs my suitcase that’s next to the door along with my tote bag and steps into the hall. “You okay walking with me, or do we need to take a separate elevator?” he says sarcastically.
“You’re the one who doesn’t want me on this trip.”
“It’s not that I don’t want you on the trip. I think I’ve explained why I don’t want you involved in this.”
“No, you haven’t.”
“Piper, can we play nice? Otherwise, four days is going to be a long time.”
“Fine.” I grab my purse, step into the hallway then turn and lock my door, as the smell of his skin hits my nostrils and makes my belly flip.
Neither of us talks much in the car, and the airport isn’t far. Security takes longer than we anticipated, and we make it to our gate right as they begin boarding. We’re in business class, so we’re one of the first people on the plane. I settle into the window seat, trapped in close quarters for a few hours, next to Noah, smelling his sexy scent.
In our rush to get to the gate, I didn’t have time to buy a magazine or book. My electronics are in the overhead bin, and I don’t want to ask Noah for any favors. I’m trying to think about how I can occupy my time when Noah leans into my ear. “I’m claiming my twenty-four hours this weekend.”
Shoot. I had forgotten about our deal. As much as I want to tell him I’m calling it off, my flutters are once again in full motion at the thought of spending time with him outside of work.
“Maybe I already made plans,” I tell him.
He laughs. “Really? What’s that?”
Great. Now I’m caught in my lie. I’ve never spent much time in New York outside of Times Square. “None of your business.”
With a cocky grin, he says, “I didn’t tell you which twenty-four hours.”
My face flushes, and I bite my lip and gaze out the window.
“Tell you what. Since you have plans, I’ll give you blocks of time for my twenty-four hours.”
I turn toward him. “Blocks of time?”
“Yep.”
I’m not sure if I should agree or not and I debate it over in my head.
“Unless you want to be with me for twenty-four hours straight?”
I roll my eyes at him. “No, I do not.”
“Okay. Tonight. Eight o’clock. First time block.”
“What’s tonight?”
“You get to meet my friends.”
A part of my insides do a happy dance because he wants me to meet his friends, but the rest of me reminds myself that he’s a jerk and trying to hold me back in my career.
“What if I need to stay in my room and wash my hair?”
Noah runs his hand through my hair. “I think your hair is pretty clean. Unless you’re scared and want to forfeit the bet and give me back my desk now?”
I try not to smile, but I can’t help it. I should tell him not to touch me, but I don’t. “Should I be scared of your friends?”
Noah laughs. “Nope.”
“Fine. Where are we going?”
“I’m not going to tell you.”
“How will I know what to wear?”
Noah licks his lips. “You can wear whatever you want.”
I tilt my head at him.
He grins. “Casual. Jeans.”
“Do I need to know anything about your friends?”
“They are normal, nice people.”
“Says you.”
“Hey, I’m nice.”
I raise my eyebrows at him.
“Piper, let’s not start the ‘I’m an asshole, I’m not an asshole,’ debate again.”
Taking a deep breath, I decide to cut him some slack. “Are you happy you’re going home?”
“Not my home anymore, but yeah, I love New York.”
“Was moving hard?”
Noah’s eyes darken. “Little bit.”
“Why did you do it then?”
“If I wanted to take over for Bennett, then I needed to move. It was nonnegotiable.”
“Yeah, but you’ve made your own money. You don’t have to do this.”
Noah grins at me.
“What?”
“So you researched me, huh?”
Heat flushes through my face. “I’m sure everyone in the company did.”
“Oh, I don’t know about that,” he teases.
Ignoring his comment, I ask, “So why did you decide to take Bennett’s position?”
Noah doesn’t answer.
“It has to do with these mergers, doesn’t it?”
He closes his eyes for a minute then locks gazes with me. “Yes.”
I see Noah bracing himself, ready for me to ask him again what this is all about, but I don’t.
I sadly ask, “You’re never going to tell me, are you?”
Noah holds my hand. “Piper, I want to tell you, but I don’t want to put you in harm’s way.”
“I don’t understand why you keep using my safety as an excuse.”
“It’s not an excuse.”
“What’s the worst thing that can happen if you tell me?”
Noah sighs. “I don’t know. That’s what scares me.”
I’m frustrated. I shake my head, roll my eyes, and sigh because I’m so fed up with him not telling me what that means, but he also seems like he’s genuinely scared to tell me, and I don’t know what to think anymore.
Noah puts his head on my forehead. “I told you I would never hurt you, and I meant it.”
“But you already have.” As soon as it’s out of my mouth, I curse myself. We’re on the plane in the air, and there isn’t any way to escape him.
“I know, and it kills me.”
Paralyzed. That’s what I am. His forehead is still against mine, and he seems sincere. I can’t move because I’m not sure what to do or say. Then he hits me with another bomb.
“Don’t tell me to be an asshole anymore.”
I bite my trembling lip.
“Tell me you aren’t going to want me to be an asshole anymore, Piper.”
Our eyes are scanning the other’s. My heart is beating in my throat, and it’s clear Noah is serious. It makes me think that he really didn’t like being an asshole, and now I’m even more confused.
He’s waiting for me to answer him, so I finally agree. “Okay.”
“Good. And since we aren’t in the office, I’m going to kiss you, unless you tell me no right now.”
As usual, I say nothing, and within seconds his hands are on my face, his lips are claiming mine, and no one else on the plane exists, just Noah and me.
“As much as I don’t want you here, I want you here,” he murmurs between kisses, confusing me even more.
Hands gently entwine in my hair, as fingertips push against my head, and Noah once again owns me.
Gentle kisses turn into heated ones, and without thinking, I press the buckle of my belt then turn completely into him, bending my knee on the seat, wanting everything he can give me.
The only thing that breaks us up is the combination of the ding of the seat-belt sign, the turbulence that shakes the plane, and the stewardess telling me to put my belt back on.
Pulling back from Noah, I quickly sit back and buckle my belt.
As soon as my belt is buckled, Noah puts his arm around me and pulls me into him then nips my neck. I moan and catch the stewardess still standing next to him.
“Sorry, do you need anything else?” I ask her.
Noah’s head jerks, as if he didn’t know she was there.
With a fake smile, she shakes her head and leaves.
Noah turns back to me and softly laughs. I laugh, too, then he pulls my face back to his, and we spend the rest of the flight lip-locked, not fighting, and whispering to each other.
When the plane lands, all thoughts of how much I hate Noah have disappeared, and all I know is that I once again want him as mine.
14
Noah
By the time we get to New York City, Piper and I can’t keep our hands off each other. It’s a hot day in the city, but the car ride is scorching, full of us grinding and moaning.
Skipping the bellhop, we quickly check into the hotel, and I don’t even ask her if she wants to come to my room. I just lead her there.
Within seconds, we are both naked and pressed against each other. I don’t ask her this time who she wants me to be, and she doesn’t tell me to be an asshole. It’s only Piper and me, and nothing has ever been better.
My mouth is on her neck and she’s digging her fingers into my back, moaning and slightly quivering. I mumble, “Condom.”
She freezes.
Crap. What did I do now?
I scan her eyes. “Everything okay?”
“Mm-hmm. Where is it?”
Grabbing my bag, I unzip the pocket and pull out a strip.
“Come prepared, did you?” She’s smiling, and I laugh.
“Maybe wishful thinking,” I admit.
Piper takes the condom pack from me, pushes me onto the bed, and tears it open with her teeth.
“That’s hot.” I grin at her.
She laughs.
“I love your laugh,” I tell her. And I do, but I hope that we’ve turned a corner and I’ll get to hear it more often.
For a second, she pauses, as if debating something in her mind. I put my hand on her cheek. “Piper, you okay?”
She hesitates.
I wait for her to answer.
She nods, puts her lips back on mine, and sends me back into a perfect reality.
I’m sitting on the bed as she rolls the condom over me. I groan and pull her to straddle me. “Your hands are heaven, Piper.”
She laughs softly and strokes me a bit more.
Pushing her head into mine, I urgently swipe her tongue, wanting all of her and needing every piece that she’s willing to give me. And I tell myself not to screw this up this time, not to do anything unless it’s completely worshiping her as she should be.
Because I want Piper, more than the air I breathe, I want Piper Cadence as mine, and she doesn’t deserve to be anything but worshiped.
Slowly, I sink into her, and wonderland is upon us, as inch by inch she submits to me, moaning, slightly shuddering, and grasping her palms on my back.
“Noah,” she quietly cries out near my ear, driving her knees deeper into the bed, sinking all the way down on me.
Groaning, I wrap my arms around her tighter, rubbing her back, sucking on her neck, marking her as mine once more.
“Oh God,” she calls out as I pulse inside her slick walls that are already throbbing against
me.
“I want you as mine, Piper,” I tell her for what feels like the millionth time since it replays in my mind every day, all day long, even though I’ve only told her a few times in the past.
“I’m yours, Noah,” she whispers.
I push my forehead to hers. “Not just now. All the time.”
She scans my eyes then shakes her head.
“Yes,” I growl at her.
“This weekend. I’ll be yours this weekend,” she breathes, swallowing hard then closing her eyes.
And because that is progress, I don’t fight her on it. “Okay,” I whisper, claiming her mouth as mine again and thrusting harder in her.
“You always feel so good,” she murmurs.
Rolling heat waves of perfection flow through my veins as I surrender to her touch, sounds, and scent.
“No one feels like you, Piper,” I admit.
We sit on the edge of euphoria, our bodies glistening, vibrating, and melting against each other’s as any notion of hatred or nastiness disappears.
“Noah,” Piper whimpers, and I pull her closer to me, kissing her jawline and down her neck.
My lips are humming against her skin, her warmth and heat scorch me, driving me to the place only she can take me.
Trembling, she calls out my name again, with her chest heaving and mouth in an O.
My body hardens more, ready, waiting to unleash within her. In the past, I would make her beg, plead, and tell me things she didn’t want to admit but not today. Today I push my forehead back to hers, stroke her hair and whisper, “Just let go, baby.”
And she trembles. Harder than I’ve ever seen her convulse, creating a sea of tremors within me, as she grips me like never before, moaning my name in a sound so glorious it should be a song.
Pulsing together, we soar, in a heavenly bliss of ecstasy, holding each other.
When the rush of adrenaline slows, I pull her down on the bed. As if we’ve been apart for years and are only now finding each other, I kiss her with a new fervor, desperate to not lose this Piper...this version of us.
“We’re so good together,” I mumble between kisses.
She doesn’t respond but I know she can’t deny it. And I vow to take this weekend to make sure that when we leave New York, she won’t be able to resist agreeing to be mine for the long term.