Piper: A Last Score Spin Off

by K. L. Shandwick

  Chapter Ten

  Following Simon outside, I saw a light on in a pretty single story dwelling set back from the edge of the patio on the other side of the pool.

  Bending, I trailed my hand across the surface of the cool water. The ripples shimmered in the disturbed surface by the light of the moon.

  Glancing up in the direction of the pool house again, I noted Simon was still inside and wondered if I could get my clothes off and slide in the water unnoticed. It wasn’t that I was ashamed of my body, I was just shy about him seeing me in my underwear.

  My legs were sticky with perspiration from the humidity and my coordination was impaired from the wine. When I tried to pull down my Capri pants it wasn’t as quick and easy as I had originally imagined in my head.

  Continuing to struggle, my breath hitched when I saw Simon emerge from the darkness at the other side of the pool. I tried to move faster to free myself, but by the time he reached me, I still had one foot tangled in my pants and my bare ass showing in my thong as I lay on my side, pulling frantically at the material.

  My foot came free just as Simon hovered over me, grinning. A soft chuckle escaped his lips. Scurrying to my feet, I jumped into the water and heard Simon laugh again right before the sound of the splash I made.

  Initially the water stole my breath, the difference between temperature marked, but once I got used to it, I felt refreshed.

  For a few seconds everything appeared calm, almost serene beneath the water then as I broke the surface and grabbed for the side I came face to face with Simon who had bent down at the edge like I had been and was testing the water. “How do you feel now?” he asked with a small smile.

  Self-conscious? Shy? I thought.

  “Wet,” I replied, then groaned aloud because my attempt to be funny was loaded again with connotation.

  Unable to help himself Simon made another flirty comment. “Hmm, sounds inviting… the pool I mean,” he said in a low, seductive tone. I groaned, mortified at my comment and the innuendo implied in his response.

  Embarrassed, I ducked my head under the water and swam to the bottom end of the pool. As my head broke the surface of the water I heard a small splash.

  “Oh, goddammit, it feels cold,” he said and grunted as he broke the surface near me and shivered. If I had thought Simon looked hot before, it was nothing to when he stood next to me with wet hair and small water droplets covering his forehead and eyelashes.

  Unable to tear my eyes away I stared intensely, mesmerized by how beautiful he was by the moonlight.

  Shaking off my daze I grinned. “It's refreshing once you get used to it,” I argued and floated away on my back to make a little space from him. When I stopped and looked at him again, he was checking me out, his jaw slightly slack as his tongue tasted his bottom lip. When he knew I’d seen him, he cleared his throat.

  “Fuck, it’s harder being around you like this, than it seemed in my head,” he admitted. “Maybe we need some music to take our minds off the temperature difference,” he suggested, and I wondered if it was to take his mind off me.

  “Sounds good,” I agreed, because I felt the look he gave me was weighted with a level of intimacy I wasn’t prepared for.

  Maneuvering away from me, he swam in powerful strokes as his strong, athletic body made short work of covering the length of the pool. Reaching the edge, he placed his hands up on the side and hoisted himself clean out of the water in two fluid movements.

  I gulped, feeling out of my depth again when I realized Simon was totally naked. It was hard work fighting my shyness, but that was nothing to how flustered I felt because I knew when Simon came back into the pool he’d be naked right next to me.

  “Dreaming Out Loud” by One Republic suddenly filled the quiet and Simon threw a remote control he had in his hand onto a patio table, turned and immediately dived back into the pool. When he reached me he noted my awkward eye contact.

  “What’s the matter?”

  “You might have kept your boxers on,” I said honestly and cringed because I sounded like a prude.

  “I would have, Piper, except I don’t wear them. I did debate putting some swimmers on, but it would have meant going all the way back to the pool house. Nobody apart from Stevie and the guy who does the pool comes back here, and I never thought about it until after I’d stripped off.”

  “Ah, well this is awkward,” I said.

  “Why? Because you are sharing a pool with a naked man or because that naked man is me?”

  “Both… no, you I suppose.”

  “Well I don’t feel awkward because I got a good glimpse of your ass when you were struggling with your pants earlier, so we’re kind of even,” he replied playfully.

  Flicking water at him, I lifted my hand to smack him and he caught my wrist with his hand and pulled me closer. The water was deeper than I was tall and I almost went under. I grabbed his shoulders to keep my head above it.

  “Oh, I see, can’t keep your hands off me, huh?” he teased in a murmur close to my ear. My heart skipped a beat at his playful tone. His breath warmed the shell of my ear, and I shivered when a thrill ran down my spine. His hands slid around my waist and my whole body tingled from the contact of his skin next to mine.

  “Am I all right to hold you like this?” he asked, suddenly aware of my lack of experience. I cringed he’d had to ask, and I nodded, swallowed nervously and moved a hand from my waist and shifted my hair behind my shoulder.

  “I got you, Piper. I’m not gonna do anything you’re not comfortable with, honey,” he said, feeling the tension I held in my body. “We’re gonna take this real slow, okay?” he asked, softly.

  As I shifted again in the water his huge palm landed on my back and he trailed a finger down each bone from the center of my spine to the string of my thong. A pang of desire shot through me and pulsed between my legs. Oh, Lord, this is crazy.

  The tune “Hold My Hand” by Jess Glynne blared out and the upbeat number matched my racing heart.

  “You got to tell me where the lines are and when you need space. My body wants to devour you, but my mind has got the brakes on hard. You understand what I’m saying?” I nodded, thankful for his caution and my gaze fell to his lips. “You want me to kiss you, sweetheart?” he asked in a low gentle tone, picking up on my unspoken gesture.

  Holding me up with his arms tightened firmer around me, my feet were barely off the ground. For the first time that night I stared back with the confidence to nod my head, certain I never wanted anything more.

  Instead of kissing my mouth like I had prepared myself for, Simon bent and kissed the crook of my neck. When a sharp zap of electricity radiated through me, I moaned. A small gasp of surprise came from my mouth as his lips moved over mine.

  Simon drew me closer, his lips moving gently, and when his tongue slipped into my mouth, a thrill of excitement radiated through me. Losing all power to resist, my arms snaked around his neck as I lost myself in the moment.

  By the time we broke the kiss, I had wrapped my leg around his. Clinging to him, I buried my face in the crook of his neck and he shifted my leg further up his thigh. In turn I wrapped both of my legs around his waist like it was the most natural thing in the world, until my center met his hard, erect cock. I stilled, suddenly a little scared of how fast things were moving.

  Tension gripped me for a second and I shocked myself at how natural everything felt in his arms and took a deep breath to calm my adrenaline fueled desires down. Oh, sweet Jesus.

  Sensing my unease, Simon lifted his head away from me and looked into my eyes. “It’s okay, baby. Nothing you don’t want, remember? You want me to stop?” he said, encouraging me that if I was happy with what was happening then so was he.

  “No l like it,” I replied.

  His careful questions were very timely and it gave me confidence to know, if I said no at any point, he’d respect my decision.

  “You’re doing great, baby. Look, I know your mind is probably full of uncerta
inty, but I’m determined to go at your pace, sweetheart. I get that no means no. I never expected us to have come this far tonight and any taste of you is a bonus, you got me?”

  Heat rose to my face and I let out a shaky sigh. The inadequacy of my virginal position at the age of twenty was never more apparent in me as I stood in the pool with Simon. I sighed. Swallowing nervously, I reminded myself of how often I had dreamed of a moment like this.

  Acutely aware of how close his face was I noted we were breathing the same air. It was intoxicating and powerful and found myself nodding.

  When I looked into his lust-filled eyes, I believed him… trusted him, and it was the intensity and weight of his stare that finally freed my mind to take what I wanted.

  That want and my curiosity outweighed any awkwardness of the few previous intimate moments we’d had. The burning desire inside me had been awakened, and I knew I wouldn’t be satisfied until I took what I needed from him.

  Leaning closer with my heart pounding, I pressed my lips to his, taking my first kiss, on my own terms, of any man.

  Shifting his position, his arms shifted to my hips then slid slowly round to my butt and he cradled both cheeks in his hands. I felt weightless… between the buoyancy of the water and his support.

  “Jesus Christ,” he muttered, his mouth tearing free just long enough to say it before his passion grew.

  As the kiss grew deeper, his hands gripped tighter, and he gently rolled my center over his hard cock. Before long, I found myself move in response. My nub aching with a pang of need so strong that shot a strong pulse into my core.

  “Fuck,” an urgent cuss mingled with his hot breath as he jostled me further up on his hips, then I heard him growl in frustration.

  Next thing I knew we were on the move, heading toward the shallow end of the pool as his kisses grew in urgency and depth. His tongue lashed against mine as he pressed me closer.

  I had never been kissed like the way Simon, kissed me. His kiss was laced with urgency, hunger, care and desire, but without the sloppy demands of the ones I had experienced from a teenage boy.

  Our bodies positively vibrated with desire as he continued to kiss me slowly and I reveled in the feel of his soft warm lips in contrast to our cool skin from the pool water.

  “Goddamn it,” he muttered shakily under his breath as he broke the kiss. Easing me gently down his body, he slid me onto my feet. I whimpered at the loss of his arms around me, but before I could think his hands were back, this time, cupping my face as he bent to kiss me again.

  Taking my mouth hungrily, a thrill of ecstasy shot through me when his hot wet tongue swept over my swollen lips and I parted my mouth, giving him entry. Holding my head, he moved it sensually as it filled with desire and the way he possessed me left me breathless for a moment.

  My heart skipped a beat when he deepened the kiss and his cool hands slid back over my butt. A deeper more urgent wave of desire passed through me.

  Suddenly I felt light-headed again and I sagged against him for support temporarily surrendering to all the new sensations flowing through my veins.

  Losing his balance, Simon staggered backward and up against the side of the pool, pulling me along with him.

  “Fuck, Piper, we gotta stop, baby,” he muttered, a frustrated gruff tone in his voice. Dipping his head he groaned against my neck then pressed his lips back against mine, ignoring his own warning. He allowed his hands to glide sensually over my skin in all the right places.

  When he pulled me closer against him, I felt how hard and turned on he was. For all my inexperience there was no denying the effect I had on him.

  As the kiss became more heated, Simon broke it again and tenderly wound his hand in my hair. Tugging my head back he extended my neck.

  Placing his lips seductively over my neck he muttered, “We need to get out, sweetheart. We’ve got to cool our jets, or I may not be able to stop myself from asking for more.”

  Gently, he pushed me away. The frustrated look in his eyes made me feel powerful that I had affected him as much as I had, and I felt a little put out by his restraint. I hadn’t wanted to stop.

  Kissing the top of my head, he turned me in the direction of the steps and led me out of his Roman shaped pool with one arm around my shoulder.

  “A dip in the pool was supposed to cool us down, not set me on fire,” he mused in frustration and shook his head as he chuckled. I glanced up, my eyes meeting his, and I felt my shyness return.

  Disappointment tightened my chest and my body felt both weak and frustrated from all the cravings, desires, and unfamiliar emotions that ran through my body, and it ached for more.

  As he left me by the edge of the pool and wandered over to grab the towels I realized they were bathrobes instead. When he bent down to pick these up I couldn’t resist checking out his firm, lean body. As my eyes scanned down I caught a better glimpse of his cock and I swallowed, roughly.

  Standing proud it bobbed in front of him at a forty-five-degree angle from his body. Suddenly a fresh wave of desire flowed through me, along with fear, panic and want in equal measures.

  “Night Changes” came on the playlist by One Direction as I stood waiting for him to come back and I fought the urge to hide when he cast his wide curious eyes filled with desire all over my body.

  Shaking off my attack of self-consciousness, I gave him a look of surprise when still naked, he dropped one bathrobe to the floor and held out the other for me to walk into.

  “Thank you,” I said, sounding shy.

  Placing the robe regally over my shoulders, he pulled the lapels to the front and held them tightly together in his fist, trapping me inside as he placed another small kiss on my mouth.

  “You are so damned adorable, Piper,” he whispered, placing another kiss on my forehead. When he let go of my robe, he turned and treated me to a full display of his rippling muscles, firm glutes, and his strong back as he picked up his own.

  Shrugging himself into it he tied the belt at the waist before turning toward me. I figured it was a deliberate move to save my blushes now we were up close to one another again.

  I may have gotten Jeff wrong in my assessment of him, but I was certain I hadn’t made the same mistake with Simon. He had been nothing but upfront in his intentions toward me. A man who was upfront and honest was far more important than someone who only treated me well to get what he wanted.

  Chapter Eleven

  Waking in a light and airy room, I squinted sleepily at the sun shining though some vertical blinds. The sound of gulls or geese and soft rolling waves jarred me up onto my elbows. My heartbeat picked up its pace when I remembered where I was.

  Flopping back heavily on my pillow, I felt heat rise to my cheeks when I thought about what had happened the night before.

  Glancing at the clock on the nightstand, I was amazed when it was already 9:30 am. I strained to listen for movement in the house and vaguely heard what I thought was Simon in the kitchen.

  We’d both headed to bed almost immediately after leaving the pool and I was thankful for the space to think. Fortunately, the wine was still at play and when I lay down my concentration was centered on not throwing up instead of anything else, and I fell asleep almost straight away.

  Once I had showered and washed my hair, I dug into my duffle and pulled out the spare denim shorts and small purple tank top I had stowed there for emergencies due to the Californian heat, because the outfit I had on the night before still lay by the side of the pool as far as I knew.

  After a quick check in the mirror I had wished I hadn’t, because in my attire with my braless top I looked less than elegant and more slutty than sexy.

  My bra was still damp and stank of chlorine, so after I had a quick shower I had no choice but to suck it up and go downstairs to face Simon.

  An attack of self-doubt gripped my stomach as I reached the top of the stairs. What if what happened was all a mistake? What if he had regrets? Did Simon really want me or was I his only opti
on last night? My feet were moving regardless of the questions in my mind. What else can I do? Hide in his guest bedroom all day?

  As I made my descent toward the kitchen, a slender, golden tanned female with platinum blonde hair came into view. She looked too comfortable behind Simon’s counter as she swayed sexily to the radio.

  My heart stopped for a beat and fear flowed through my veins because Simon had a woman in his house who looked perfectly at home. What the fuck did you expect, Piper? The first thought I had was to run back up the stairs, and I was about to turn away when I heard her speak.

  “Hey. Sorry, I didn’t see you there. Did I wake you?” I recognized the soft tone immediately as the woman I’d heard on the phone and I glanced back to the upper floor over my shoulder.

  Looking toward her again, I was embarrassed Simon had put me in such a position. “No. I was awake,” I said, giving her no more than necessary without being rude.

  “Coffee?” she asked in a friendly tone and held up the glass pot of freshly made black liquid.

  I shook my head, my nose turning at the smell. I hated coffee. “Got any orange juice?” I croaked, still feeling the remnants of wine which had left a seedy feeling in my stomach.

  “Sure, just a sec,” she replied and pulled open the fridge door. Pulling out a gallon carton she placed it in front of me and grabbed a pint glass from the cupboard. “Anything to eat or are you waiting for Simon to come back?” Come back? Where did he go?

  Slowly, I poured the citrus liquid into the tall glass as I came to terms that he’d left me alone with another woman. When my glass was full, I screwed the lid back on and shoved the carton back in her direction.

  “Thank you,” I smiled, “Sorry, did you say Simon’s not here?” I asked, bursting to ask who she was. What was more intriguing was she didn’t appear to be fazed at all, by my presence in his home.

  “Don’t panic, he hasn’t gone far. He’s on the beach taking his morning run. He’ll be back in…” she hesitated and looked at her wristwatch, “ten minutes if he’s on his short run, which I guess is all he’ll be fit for given that I found an empty wine bottle by his bed this morning,” she added and snickered.