by R B Hilliard
“Gage,” I whispered through my tears.
He dropped to his knees in front of me, wrapped his warm hand around the back of my neck and slowly pulled me to his chest. “I got her,” he said.
“You sure?” Cas asked, not sounding convinced.
“Very.”
“Piper, all you have to do is shout if you need me. I’m not far away,” Cas told me.
“I said I got her,” Gage growled. Then he pulled me the rest of the way onto his lap and whispered in my ear. “Talk to me, Princess.”
“Do you hear the m-m-music, Gage?”
He gave me a strange look. “I do.”
“Eddie V-Vedder would be so pissed that Dillon is singing this s-song…to her. He d-doesn’t even like her!”
“How ‘bout we deal with one thing at a time. Tell me what you need from me right now.”
I pulled back and stared at him. My shoulders heaved from crying so hard. “Are you-s-serious?” I could tell by his facial expression that he was. Well, damn it, so was I! “I need you to forgive m-me!”
He pulled me back to his chest and said, “Done.”
I reared back from his grip. “Just like t-that?”
“Just like that,” he repeated.
The cold weather on top of the alcohol had numbed my normally sharp brain, making me an emotional mush. I tilted my head back and stared into his blue eyes. Tonight they were the color of the sky right before it rains. “I n-never got the chance to tell you that you were my forever guy.” Hot tears poured down my face and he wiped them away. “I n-never got to tell you how special I felt our love was. I didn’t tell you what D-Dooley was doing because I was afraid that you wouldn’t believe me but I wanted to. I really, really wanted to.”
“Shhhh, Princess. It’s okay.”
I shook my head. “No, it’s not! And before you walk away, I n-need for you to know how I feel.”
His eyes flickered with something that my drunken mind couldn’t quite make out. “Why would I be walking away?”
“You’re right,” I sobbed and flung my hands in the air, barely missing his nose. Before I could do any serious damage, he grabbed them and held them against his chest. “I believed that n-nasty old man. I ran and I will regret that every day for the rest of my l-life.” My teeth chattered and I couldn’t feel my toes anymore, but I had to get it all out, purge it once and for all. “From the bottom of my soul, I love you. I never stopped. You were it for me and there will never be another.” Sadness engulfed me as Dillon’s voice echoed through the night. “Such a great song,” I whispered.
“For fuck’s sake, Piper! Dillon isn’t singing that song for her, he’s singing it for you!”
What? No!
I sat there in stunned silence then I started scrambling. “Dillon is just my friend, Gage. I swear that’s all there is to it. He’s like a brother and I would never in a trillion years sleep with one of my brothers because that would be really gross, not to mention just wrong.”
He wrapped his arms around my body, pulled me deeper and shook with silent laughter.
I yanked my head back from his chest. “Are you laughing at me? You are!”
Tears of laughter rolled down his face. “I asked him to sing that song for you because it’s one of my all-time favorites, Princess. It was an attempt to show you how I felt. As you can see, it royally missed its mark.” My breath hitched, but before I could question him he yanked up one of my bare feet and scowled. “Holy hell, where are your boots?”
Oh shit! I had completely forgotten about my boots. “I gave them to Reyn.”
“Why?”
“Because it hurt to look at them.”
“That’s it, let’s go!”
“No! Don’t go yet! I want to hear more about the song!”
“How ‘bout we finish talking upstairs in my bed or, better yet, in a hot bath? Anywhere except out here. I should have never kept you out here this long as it is.” The second the words left his mouth the heavens opened up and it started snowing.
“But…what about Missy? I mean, no offense, because I really, really want to take a bath with you, but I can’t. I can’t believe I’m saying this because she is beyond nasty, but I can’t do that to her.” His strong hands lifted me up off his lap and onto my feet. I made a move toward the door. “Wait! I can’t go with you! You told me I was a waste of your time!”
“And you told me you wished you’d never set eyes on me,” he countered.
“I lied!”
“Well, so did I!”
I tilted my head up to see his eyes. “You did?”
“Yes, baby, I did.” He cupped my face between his palms and rubbed his thumb across my lower lip. “So beautiful,” he whispered and lowered his mouth to mine for a tender kiss. “I haven’t been with Missy since the bonfire in January, Princess.”
“You were with her tonight,” I said against his lips.
He pulled back and sighed, “I hate when you drink.” Before I could say anything else, he swept me up into his arms, carried me through the kitchen, up the stairs and into his bedroom where he set me on the floor and said, “Strip.”
I swayed on my feet. “But, we need to talk.”
“What I need is to feel your skin next to mine. It has been way too long and I’m not waiting another second, so either you strip or I’ll do it for you.” I contemplated my choices. Him doing it for me sounded really good, but I was so cold and his bed looked so warm and inviting. Hesitantly I peeled off my freezing cold sweater. Then I stripped off my jeans. This left me standing in my baby pink French lace bra and boy short panties.
“My fantasies don’t even begin to compare to the reality,” he rasped. The idea of him fantasizing about me made me tingle all over. He pulled back the covers and I remembered what he’d said earlier.
“Wait! What about the bath?”
His eyebrow quirked upward. “You really want a bath?”
I thought about it for a second. “Naw, I’m pooped.”
“What you are is drunk.”
“That, too.” I swayed dangerously to the left and he righted me.
“Get in,” he said and patted his hand on the bed.
“Aren’t you getting in with me?”
“After I get you some water and Advil I will gladly join you. I have plans for tomorrow morning and they do not include you being hung over. Be right back.” He kissed the top of my head and headed out the door.
Without thinking, I pulled off my bra and panties, crawled into bed and jerked the covers over me. I was enveloped by the comforting, masculine smell of Gage and wanted to stay like this forever. A few minutes passed and my eyes started to droop. I needed to stay awake. I had so much to say but I was so tired. Right as I was about to give up on him he reappeared.
“I don’t want to fall asleep, yet,” I yawned.
“Here, drunk girl. Take these.” He handed me two Advil and a glass of water. “And make sure you drink all of the water.”
I took the pills and chugged the water. While I was doing this, I watched him undress. His body was everything I remembered and more. Leaving his boxer briefs on, he crawled in next to me.
“All of it, I murmured sleepily.”
“Tonight is all about you sleeping off your drunk, Princess, and nothing else.”
“Please, Cowboy? I need to feel all of you.”
“Well, when you ask it like that, how can I resist?” I felt the bed shift and then Gage pulling me back into his body…his very hard, naked body. I couldn’t remember the last time I felt this good. “Promise me this is real,” I said as I glanced over my shoulder at him.
“It’s real,” he said and lowered his mouth to mine for a chaste kiss.
“More,” I murmured against his lips.
He pulled back and smiled. “Tomorrow.”
I sighed deeply and then snuggled in. “It feels good to be home,” I whispered and drifted off to sleep.
The next morning I awoke to what felt like ants march
ing up and down my spine. I was on my stomach with my head facing the wall. The heat from Gage’s body surrounded me like a warm blanket. His fingers trickled up my spine. Slowly, as not to dislodge his hand, I turned my head to face him. His eyes were cornflower blue this morning and traces of reds and golds peaked out from his goatee. “Did you really end things with Missy?”
His fingers trickled down my arm and laced with mine. “I did,” he said and I thought about how much I had missed his deep, rumbly voice.
“So, the day that I came to the garage to pick up Ellie and you told me that Missy was up here in your bed, you were lying?”
“I was.”
“Why?”
“Because you wouldn’t talk to me. Because I was so in love with you that my dick wouldn’t cooperate with anyone but you. Because I was hurt and pissed and you were sitting there looking like an angel and spouting shit about my junk falling off.”
I snorted out a laugh and his eyes narrowed. “Sorry. I was just thinking about how insanely jealous I was that day. You looked so hot and all I could think about was seeing Missy in your lap with her lips on you and how that should have been me.”
“You’re right. It should have. How do you feel this morning?”
“Other than needing to use the restroom and brush the funky taste out of my mouth, pretty good. Be right back.” I hauled my stinky breath into his bathroom, where I quickly used the facility and brushed my teeth with his toothbrush. Then I bounded back onto the bed and crawled back in beside him.
He smiled down at me. “You okay?”
I grinned up at him and stroked a finger down his chest and around his tattoo. “You’re bigger than I remember.”
He caught my hand before it dipped below the covers and gave it a big tug. With an “Umph” I landed half-on, half-off of him. Every hard, velvet inch of him pressed against me and I vibrated with pent up need.
“When guys hurt they do one of two things. They either drink themselves sick or they work out. I started with the former and ended with the latter.”
“Or they find someone else to replace what they’ve lost,” I quietly added.
“They may try, but if what they’ve lost is irreplaceable, they quickly figure it out. That leads to two choices.”
“Oh?”
His hand stilled. “Getting it back or giving it up.” His eyes locked on mine as he dipped his head and captured my mouth in a quick kiss. With a voice full of promise, he said, “I decided to get it back.” His words seared straight through me and for a second I forgot how to breathe. Desire, lust and need pulsed through my blood and I felt as if I was burning up inside. I wanted. What did I want? I just wanted… him. Whatever he was willing to give, I would take. A needy moan escaped from my lips and the corners of his mouth quirked into a knowing grin.
“Tell me what you want, Princess.”
“You,” I answered without hesitation and watched his eyes darken with arousal.
“Yeah?” he asked.
“Yeah.”
“What are you willing to do to get me?”
“Anything.”
His brow slightly lifted. “Are you sure about that?”
“You caught me trying to break into your room. If that wasn’t enough, you watched me walk around dressed like a hooker for a week in order to get your attention. So yes, Cowboy, I can honestly say that I would just about do anything to get you.”
“Then marry me,” he said.
I pulled back and stared at him. “What did you just say?”
He leaned across the bed and opened his nightstand. I watched him pull something out and close it back. Then he turned to me and held out his hand. In it sat a little red box. I stared at his hand in complete and total shock. “I found this in Arkansas,” he explained. “I knew that you disliked Dooley and I knew that you were frustrated with me because I kept getting called away. You thought I was choosing him over you. I wasn’t. I was getting out from under him. I was so close to freedom I could taste it and all I could think about was how I was going to spend the rest of my life busting my ass to make you believe that there never had been and never would be anyone for me but you. When I got back from Arkansas you had vanished into thin air and with you…a piece of me.” He ran his hand through his hair and held up the box. “I have been carrying this with me ever since, believing that this moment…right here…right now…would miraculously happen for us.” He opened the box and the floor dropped out from under me.
“Oh my god,” I breathlessly exclaimed. Perched in red velvet sat my future with this man. A giant square diamond was the centerpiece. Surrounding it on all four sides were smaller diamonds. The same smaller diamonds trailed down and all the way around the platinum band. It was breathtaking. Tears sprang to my eyes and trickled down my face. “Last night when Missy showed up and you left me sitting there, I thought you had made your choice and something inside here,” I placed my hand over my heart, “broke.”
“I’m so sorry, baby.” He pulled me onto his lap and wrapped his arms around me. “I knew what you were trying to do and I got caught up in enjoying it so much that I didn’t realize how much it was hurting you.”
“What do you mean you got caught up?” I sniffled.
“Babe, I caught your sexy ass trying to break into my room. I should have taken you then, but I wanted to see what crazy thing you were going to do next, so I waited. I can’t say I’m sorry I did because those outfits were off the charts hot.”
“You saw them? But…how? Max stopped me twice before I even made it to you.”
“I know.”
“What do you mean, you know?”
A wicked smile spread across his face right before he gave me his one word answer. “Cameras.”
I knew that Max had a camera in the offices but it never occurred to me that he might have them elsewhere. I closed my eyes and shook my head. Typical Max.
“Where?” I asked.
“Everywhere except for the bedrooms and bathrooms,” he answered.
“So Max saw?”
“Everything,” he chuckled. “I thought he was going to piss himself over the nail file incident he was laughing so hard.”
I glared up at him. “You are enjoying this way too much.”
“No. What I enjoyed, was you in that hot little red skirt with the see through top and the boots that stretched to your pu…”
I held up my hand and stopped him before he could finish his sentence. “Let me get this straight. You allowed me to debase myself for days, while you and Max sat back and laughed?”
“Don’t forget Zip, Kurt, Garrett, and Cas,” he added.” My eyes bugged which caused him to laugh harder.
“It’s not that funny.”
“I want you to wear my ring, Piper.”
“I’m not sure I want to now,” I pouted.
His eyes twinkled with laughter as he drew me flush against his body. I felt his tongue touch the shell of my ear and my core quivered with arousal. He threaded his fingers into my hair and used them to hold me captive. “Marry me,” he whispered softly into my ear. “I want forever with you.”
Completely taken by his words, I said, “Yes, I will give you forever.”
Before I knew what was happening, he had the ring on my finger and me on my back looking up at him. The anxious look on his face as he stared down at me spoke volumes. “Don’t leave me again, Princess. Whatever happens, we can work it out. Just…don’t run. Promise me.”
I wrapped my fingers around his neck and pulled his face down to mine. “I promise. No matter what, I am in this for the long haul.” With that, I fused my mouth to his. He growled out my name and deepened the kiss. Setting a slow, sensual pace we explored each other as if it was our first time. Using our hands, tongues and lips there was not a part of our bodies left untouched. Finally, when I couldn’t stand it any longer, I begged him for relief. He gave it to me by gliding his tongue down my stomach into my hot, wet center.
“It’s been too long,” I
panted. “I’m not going to last.” I felt his lips turn up into a smile against my core right before he latched on and sucked. Ripples of pleasure shot up my spine and out the top of my head. It took me a full minute to come back down from the high.
When I could focus again, Gage’s heated stare was on me. “I love you, Piper O’Connell.” The raspy tone of his voice made me shiver. He sat back on his knees and stroked his hand up and down his thick, hard shaft. Watching him touch himself was eroticism at its finest and I wanted to devour him. He shifted his body over mine and gripped the base of his erection as he slowly eased the tip inside. The burn…holy hell… the burn… felt so good. It had been so long. That’s when I remembered Missy.
“Protection,” I panted, “we aren’t using any.”
He paused, yet didn’t pull out. “Are you still on the pill?”
I didn’t want to do this right now. I didn’t want to bring her into this moment but how could I not? He had slept with her and she was known for her promiscuity. “I am…it’s not me I’m worried about.”
In one swift motion, he slid inside. Once every last inch of him was inside, I squeezed my eyes shut. The pleasure of having him inside me after all this time almost eclipsed the pain of knowing that he had been inside her…almost.
“Look at me, Princess,” he commanded. I opened my eyes and a tear spilled out and rolled down my cheek. His head came down and he traced its salty path with his tongue. “I never slept with her,” he whispered as he slowly pulled out and thrust back in. I gasped out his name and my sex starved body arched up to take him deeper. I knew that I was three seconds away from the point of no return.
“Promise?” I whimpered.
He gave a quick thrust and then his mouth swooped down again. This time he slowly traced his tongue over the shell of my ear before whispering, “Only you, I promise.” Using more force, he pulled out and pushed back in. His lips slammed down on mine and our tongues laced together. I could feel his arousal throbbing inside me and I couldn’t stop myself from moaning out his name. Over and over again he pounded into me. All I could think was…more. The pressure that had been building suddenly spiraled out of control and wave after wave of orgasmic bliss washed over me. With one last powerful thrust he made a sexy-as-hell noise in the back of his throat, released a full-body shudder and collapsed on top of me.