by Maggie Cole
Noah pulls my chin back to him. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I’m just not used to other people praising me.” I lean in and kiss him so we can get off the subject. Well, that and his luscious lips are right next to mine, begging me to claim them.
The waitress comes back and interrupts us again. I smirk at her once more, and she turns slightly red this time.
Good. Serves you right for touching my man. Hopefully, she doesn’t spit in my food.
We order our dinner, and she leaves.
Noah turns toward me. “What organization does Dawn work at?”
I pull out the card. “One I’ve never heard of. Sensecare?” I hand the card over to Noah.
“A resource for nonprofits,” he reads off the card.
“That sounds different.”
“You know, I was on a board in New York that sounds like what this is. It was kind of cool. It helps nonprofits find resources and keep their organization legit by helping with governance and things. I wonder if this is the same?”
“Isn’t that what she said they were helping the co-ops do?” I ask Noah.
“It sounded like it.”
“Are you familiar with co-ops?”
“Sure. They are big in New York. People pay hardly any money, mostly a dollar or so, and they become members. It’s kind of like owning a business, but you can have as many members as you can serve. And people get the benefits of membership, which may be better quality food, or clothing, or any other basics of survival. There are even housing co-ops.”
“Really? I’ve never heard of that before.” I take a sip of my champagne, emptying the glass, and Noah refills it. “Thanks.”
“I should talk to her. I need to find some causes for my foundation to support now that I’m in Chicago.”
“You have a foundation?”
“Yep.”
“That’s awesome. I’ve always dreamed of having a foundation someday.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. I thought about taking my settlement money and starting one with it.”
“Settlement money?”
Shit. How did I just say that without even thinking? My face heats up and I fidget with my napkin in my lap.
“Piper?” Noah pushes my hair behind my ear.
I turn toward him. “Sorry. I don’t know why I just blurted that out.”
“It’s okay.” He waits for me to continue.
I might as well tell him. “I got a really big settlement after they botched me up.”
Noah’s face drops. He pulls me closer.
“I haven’t done anything with it yet. It feels kind of weird, almost like, here’s your check in lieu of having kids.”
Sadness fills Noah’s face. “It’s not the same thing, but I can kind of relate to that. My parents didn’t have a lot of life insurance, but there was a little. When I got the check, I thought, this is all their life is worth? Even if it had been millions, it never would have been enough.”
“What did you do with it?”
His leg bounces next to mine. “I paid off the house and the rest went toward food and insulin. I was only eighteen. Bennett tried over and over to give me money, but I wouldn’t take it. I was such an idiot. Nathan would probably be here if I had let Bennett help.”
I put my hand on his leg. “If only we could go back. Like the day I went into surgery. My normal doctor was sick. Things were chaotic in the hospital, and I just knew something was wrong. I shouldn’t have let them put me under, but I did because I was too scared to speak up.”
Noah kisses the top of my head. “I can’t even imagine what that was like for you.”
I shrug a little. “Tell me about your foundation. What’s it called?”
Noah takes a breath. “The Nathan Parker Foundation.”
I smile at him. “That’s nice. What does it focus on?”
“Nathan loved kids, so the foundation does a lot for kids.”
I stroke his cheek. “That’s great. Can I do anything to help with it?”
Noah’s face lights up. “Sure. I’ll show you everything about it, and you can tell me what you want to do. Maybe you can meet with some nonprofits with me and help me pick some causes to rally behind?”
“I’d love that.” I lean in and kiss him, and while I usually can’t think about anything but Noah’s lips, suddenly, I jerk my head back, and a chill runs through my body. “Oh my gosh!”
“What?” Noah scrunches his face.
“Co-op!”
“Co-op?”
“Noah, that’s it!” I snap my fingers.
He gazes at me, confused. “I’m not following you.”
This is it. I know this is the solution. “Noah, why don’t we co-op insulin?”
28
Noah
The hair on my neck stands up. “Co-op insulin?”
She grasps my arm. “Yes! Let’s create a diabetes co-op.”
“Keep talking,” I tell her.
“You said people have to be members of a co-op, correct?”
I nod. “We could make the membership fee a dollar. Everyone could afford it, then.”
“And it’s a no insurance co-op, meaning they pay by cash, credit card, cashier’s check, whatever, but not with insurance.” Piper’s eyes light up with excitement.
“That would solve the insurance and middleman political problem.”
“Noah, do you think it would work?”
“I don’t know why it couldn’t. As long as people had to be a member and have a prescription, I don’t know why it couldn’t.”
She takes a sip of champagne.
“Holy shit. You’re a genius.” I kiss her quickly on the lips.
“Would this keep your name out of it?”
“There’s some more logistics we need to figure out, but I believe so.”
“Do you think Eric would go for it?”
“I think he’s going to be really excited about this.”
The waitress arrives with our dinner. She sets it down, batting her eyes. “Do you need anything else?”
I turn to Piper.
She shakes her head.
“We are all set, thank you,” I tell the waitress who gives me another flirty smile. I catch Piper roll her eyes again.
I grin at Piper. “How was your slumber party?”
“It was fun. The girls all like your place.”
“Did you all sit around in your lingerie?”
She swats me on the arm. “Funny.”
I decide to do some digging. “So, what does Charlotte think of Xander?”
“Are you trying to find out info on Charlotte for Xander?”
I hold up my hands in the air. “Hey, I’m just curious.”
“Sure, sure.” She takes a bite of her fish.
I look at Piper. “Well?”
“She paid three grand for him. I think that sends a pretty strong signal that she likes him. But what does Xander think of Charlotte?”
“Let’s just say I think the feeling is mutual.”
“When does he move?”
“A few months.” I take a bite of my steak.
“That will be great for you to have a friend here.”
“Yeah, it was fun hanging out with the guys this past weekend.”
“I loved watching you interact with your friends in New York.”
“What did you like about it?”
Piper shrugs. “You just seemed relaxed and happy.”
“Well, you did pay twenty-five grand for me,” I tease her.
She blushes. “It was for charity.”
I smirk at her. “Just charity, huh? It didn’t have anything to do with that blonde who was ready to throw ten grand down?”
Piper laughs. “She wanted some dessert.”
I can’t argue because I’ve been in enough auctions to know she definitely wanted dessert, but I decide to tease Piper some more. I lean into her and murmur, “No one ever paid twenty-five big ones for me before, so I think
that makes you the hungriest of them all.”
Piper’s lips are inches from mine. “I think that means I get extra dessert.”
“You can always have extra dessert.” I cockily grin at her.
She puts her hand on my thigh, inching up toward my cock, then strokes it lightly, just to torture me a bit.
“I like you like this,” I tell her.
“Stroking you in a public place?” She smirks.
“Well, that and smiling. And laughing. I love your laugh.”
“I remember when you first laughed, and I thought about how I wanted to hear it more.”
“Really? When was that?”
“When you brought out your massive first aid kit.”
“You probably thought I was a hypochondriac or something.”
Piper laughs. “I wasn’t sure what to think. But now that I think about it, there’s something I’ve always been curious about.”
“What’s that?” I take a bite of my food.
“Did you hide your past?”
Picking up my napkin, I wipe my lips, swallow, and take a drink of water. “I wouldn’t say hide, just kind of steered people away from it. Why?”
“After our first night together, I googled you and couldn’t find anything except from when you hit the M&A scene at twenty-four.” Piper scans my eyes.
“I kept what I could out of the press.”
“Because of the insulin project?”
“Yes.”
She bites on her lip.
I put my hand on hers. “Anything you want to know, I’ll tell you.”
With a sweet smile, she softly replies, “I know.”
“You do?”
She nods. “Yes.”
“Good.” I lean over and kiss her, but we’re interrupted by the waitress again.
“Are you still eating, or do you want boxes?”
“I’ll take a box,” Piper answers.
“I’m good,” I tell the waitress.
“Do you want a dessert list?” the waitress asks and puts her hand on my arm again.
I grin at Piper and raise my eyebrow. She’s never displayed any sort of jealousy over me but is tonight. And I’m enjoying her jealousy. She’s claiming me...finally.
With wide eyes, Piper stares at the waitress. “No, thank you. We’re going to have our dessert at home. Several times.”
The waitress’ face turns red, and she picks up our plates and scurries away.
I laugh so hard tears are falling out of my eyes. “You did not just say that.”
Piper tries to appear innocent, but she isn’t doing a good job holding back her smile, and she laughs, too. We’re both still laughing when the waitress comes back, plops Piper’s box in front of her, and sets the check down.
I pull out my wallet and hand her my credit card. She quickly swipes it in the card scanner. Once the bill is paid, she tells us to have a nice night and promptly leaves.
I stand and help Piper stand then put my arm around her waist and lead her to the lobby. As we’re exiting, I notice several men ogling Piper, and I pull her closer into me.
She seems oblivious to the attention, but I’m not. When Bennett said that Piper is a perfect ten, he wasn’t exaggerating. She’s always beautiful, but tonight, in her red dress and stilettos, she looks like a model ready to strut the runway.
I give several men the “she’s mine” stare and want to go slap their lust-filled faces. When we get through the restaurant and into the lobby, our bodyguards stand up.
I had almost forgotten about them.
We get into the elevator and outside. The car is waiting, and we quickly get in. The bodyguards are up front, and Piper and I are alone in the back, and I put my arm around her.
“That was nice, Noah. Thanks.” She kisses me on the cheek.
“I think we just got through an entire meal together without any craziness.” I’m almost giddy at the thought that we finally are having a real date.
She glides the heel of her stiletto against my calf.
My dick pulses, and I lick my lips. “You trying to tease me?”
Piper tries to put on an innocent face and shakes her head.
I lean into her ear. “Don’t worry, I didn’t forget about fucking you in your stilettos.”
She turns her head more into me and brushes her lips against mine. Then, leaning into my ear she whispers, “Did I mention I’m not wearing any panties?”
“You’ve been sitting next to me all night in stilettos and no panties?”
“Mm-hmm.” A sweet smile plays on her lips.
I inch my fingers up her thigh and under her dress till they are touching her naked slit. “Fuck,” I groan.
The side of her heel digs into my calf harder. I’m about to pull her onto my lap when the car stops. I forgot how close I live to the restaurant.
I pull my hand out from under her dress. The bodyguards open the door, and I step out, reach in, and pull her out with me.
I lead Piper into the lobby, then the elevator, and push the penthouse code. Once we get to the penthouse, I turn to the guards. “You guys go in. We’ll be on the roof.”
“We should check it first, just to be safe,” Hans replies.
I sigh. “Okay, but do it quick, please.” I push another code. Piper and I stay in the elevator while the guards sweep the roof.
Piper tilts her head at me in question. “What are we doing here?”
I casually say, “The weather is nice and warm. Thought we could hang outside for a bit.”
“Okay.”
The guards come back. “All clear.”
“Great. Go back down to the penthouse. We’ll be down later.”
They nod and get into the elevator. I guide Piper out with me. The door shuts, and we’re finally alone.
It’s a beautiful May night. The sky is clear, and there are lights from the buzz of the city as well as the stars.
Piper points to the sky. “There’s a full moon.”
I glance up but I have zero interest in the moon. I have other things in mind. I hold her hand and lead her to the other side of the roof.
“Wow!” Piper exclaims.
Before I moved in, I had glass installed from the floor and up ten feet, on the entire side of the building that faces Lake Michigan. It’s dark, so you can’t see much of the lake except near the shoreline where there are streetlights, but the rest of the city twinkles everywhere.
“It’s a pretty incredible view during the day.”
“Noah, this is amazing.”
“Next month, my contractors start building the rest of the rooftop out,” I tell her.
“What are you doing to it?”
“Pool, hot tub, lounge areas, a garden...the works,” I tell her.
Piper surveys the roof. “That’s going to be amazing. You did a good job in that area.” She points to the small lounge area that was done earlier this month.
I step forward and grasp her waist. “I think it’s time we break this roof in,” I growl then greedily smash my lips against hers, parting her lips quickly with my tongue.
Her arms automatically go around my neck, and I move her backward, one step at a time until she’s in the corner, up against the glass. I’m debating in my mind if I want her dress on or off, and I decide I want it off, so I quickly unzip it from the back and shove it down her shoulder.
Piper only has on a see-through, push-up bra, stilettos, and jewelry. “You’re so naughty,” I murmur against her, still not believing she sat next to me all night with no panties on. I hungrily kiss her shoulders and cup her butt. Bending down, I shove my tongue on her cleavage then gently bite her already hardened nipple through the flimsy material of her bra.
A soft moan escapes her mouth, pure heaven to my ears.
“You’re too sexy,” I mumble as she trembles slightly against me.
How the hell could any man have ever let her go? There is no woman on earth like Piper Cadence. Smart, sexy, sassy...she’s all of it, and no on
e on earth comes close to the perfection that I recognize in Piper.
She shoves my sport coat off me and grabs my shirt, pulling it over my head before consuming my lips with hers. Her warm palms are pressed against my naked back, and her heat is grinding into me. “I’m so happy you’re back,” she whispers against my lips, sending surges of joy through every cell in my body.
I push my forehead against hers. “I hated being away from you.”
Piper nods. “I know. I felt lost without you.” There’s an honesty and rawness I haven’t seen in her eyes before, and it reminds me that we’re in a new place.
She’s mine. Finally. After all the fighting and worries, she’s finally mine. And there’s no going back.
It’s not planned out. But at this moment, I know my truth. My truth is I love Piper and will never love anyone else. And I want her forever.
I cup her face in my hands. “Marry me,” I blurt out.
Her head jerks back a bit. Her beautiful hazel orbs become glassy and she blinks.
“Noah?” she whispers so quietly I almost don’t hear her.
“Marry me,” I repeat adamantly, a bit louder than before, as my heart thumps. “I love you. I’m never going to love anyone else. I want you forever. Marry me.”
She blinks quicker, but a tear slips down her cheek. I brush it away with my thumb, not taking my eyes off hers.
“Noah—”
“Don’t overthink it.”
She smiles. “I’m not. I love you, too. I’m not going to love anyone else, either.”
“And you want me forever?”
“Yes, forever,” she whispers.
“Does that mean you’ll marry me?” I’m holding my breath and feel like my heart is in my neck.
Another tear falls down her cheek. “Yes,” she breathes, and I exhale and crush my lips into hers, claiming her forever as mine, knowing that she’s all I’ve ever wanted and needed.
I wrap my arms tightly around her, and she pushes her tongue hungrily in my mouth, wanting me, worshipping me, making me feel like I’m the reason for her entire existence.
My pants are suffocating my cock, and she has mercy upon it, as she quickly releases my belt, button, and zipper. After she pushes my pants to the ground, I pick her up so her legs wrap around me then I take one more step so she’s right against the glass.