Pierced: Pierced Trilogy Boxed Set

by Lashell Collins

  I must have played that song about a hundred times, learning the riffs and licks. But I don’t think I’ve ever truly understood the words or the feelings behind them, until this very moment. And I think I could honestly stay right here, lost in this moment, forever.

  She stirs and her eyes flutter open. She looks surprised when she realizes that she’s curled up in my arms and I wonder what she’s thinking. She raises her face to look at me, uncertain green eyes crashing into mine. “Good morning,” I say softly.

  “Good morning,” she answers shyly.

  She looks so alluring tucked up against me and she stretches and runs a hand through her tousled hair self-consciously. It’s a sexy little gesture and my cock twitches in response. I lean in and kiss her softly, my lips playing with hers gently. She lets out a soft little moan and it makes me think about that sound she made last night. That sexy little whimper that drove me crazy. My cock twitches again just thinking about it and my kiss grows deeper, more insistent. As does my need.

  I roll her over onto her back and I can feel my erection digging into her thigh. She feels it too and she gasps. Hmm? Good morning, indeed. I think she’s nervous. She starts to ramble about nothing, like she did last night.

  “Um, I forgot to set the alarm last night,” she whispers, looking at me a little anxiously.

  “It’s still early,” I reply, kissing her neck and glancing over at her alarm clock. “What time do you have to be at work?”

  “I uh … the … the museum is closed on Mondays,” she stutters as I trail soft kisses from behind her ear down the length of her neck. “Um, it’s my day off,” she whispers.

  “Lucky you,” I mumble with a smile as I grab the last foil packet off the bedside table and tear it open with my teeth. I waste no time in removing the condom from the packet and rolling in on and when I look up at her, she is watching the process with great interest. I smile at her innocence and lean up to kiss her again. Our kiss is passionate and deep. Long, slow strokes of my tongue against hers and she tastes so good. So sweet. And as our tongues continue to slow dance, I enter her slowly and deliberately, driving deeper and deeper until I seat myself fully before pulling back and plowing forward again, just as slowly. She moans into my mouth and her hands find their way into my hair and I feel her give in to my languid pace, her hips rising up to meet mine with each leisurely thrust. Oh, she is so tight! I think my head actually starts to spin.

  “You feel so fucking good, baby,” I whisper into her ear. Then I nibble a trail from her earlobe, across her jaw and over to her lips, kissing her passionately once more. I keep up the slow, steady pace, in and out, as I continue to kiss her deeply and in no time at all I can feel her building, which is a good thing because, the way I feel right now, I know that I’m not going to last long. She starts to moan loudly and I feel her inner muscles start to quiver. Yes! “Joshua,” she moans my name and it sounds like a prayer. Fuck yes!

  “Oh, that’s it, baby,” I coax her softly. “Come for me, Sam.”

  She detonates and I can feel her spasms as she convulses around my cock. That feeling paired with her cries of pleasure is all that’s needed to push me over the edge and I explode magnificently, deep inside of her. Oh yeah. Best sex of my life.

  I trail soft kisses over her jaw and up to her mouth, ending with a soft pass of her lips. “Good morning,” I say again, quietly. She grins shyly at me and she blushes slightly.

  “Good morning, Josh.”

  Her bright green eyes seem to twinkle at me in the morning light and I get lost in them for a second. Jesus, Pierce, snap out of it! I look away nervously and glance at the alarm clock. 6:40 am. I need to be at the station by 8:00. I clear my throat. “I have to be at work soon. Is it okay if I get a shower?”

  “Yes. Of course,” she says softly. “The bathroom is right through there,” she motions toward the door with her chin. I look at her for a moment and I know that I should say something about last night. About what I told her. But honestly, right now I don’t know what to say exactly. I told her last night that I wasn’t sure how I would feel in the morning and that’s still true. I have no fucking clue how I feel about last night. About her. Hell, I don’t even know how I feel about me at this point. I can’t say anything right now.

  I pull out of her and roll over to the other side of the bed. Sitting up, I run a hand through my hair and take a deep breath and sigh. I remove the spent condom I’m wearing and bend down to pick up the two from last night off the floor. Then I get up and head toward the bathroom and I can feel her eyes on me the whole time but, she doesn’t speak. When I get to the door of the bathroom she says, “There are fresh towels in the linen closet in there.”

  “Thanks,” I nod, looking back at her with a small smile. Her answering shy smile makes me melt. She is so … sweet.

  I turn and head into the bathroom, closing the door behind me and just stand there for a second looking around. Jeez, this is really some place. The word ‘huge’ would be an understatement. The bathroom is nearly as big as her bedroom is. In fact, my entire bathroom at home would fit inside Samantha’s shower! This place looks like a spa or something. I shake my head and walk over to the linen closet for a towel and wash cloth, dropping the spent condoms into the trash as I go. I grab a towel, suddenly feeling out of my depth again. Even the towels are a great big flashing reminder that this girl is way out of my league. Extra big and super fluffy. They’re the kind of towels that you know cost a fortune from one of those boutique stores that I would never shop in. What the hell are you doing here, Pierce? Opening the glass shower door, I step in and turn on the water. The shower head is the size of a dinner plate and I stand beneath it letting the hot water and the steam engulf me as my mind begins to work overtime.

  Seventeen years. That’s how long I have actively avoided any romantic entanglements. I smirk to myself as I run my hands through my wet hair and raise my face to the cascading water. Seventeen years is a really long time. I was fourteen years old when I made that vow to myself. Fourteen years old when the explosive situation in my house finally imploded. I will never forget that night as long as I live. The nightmares won’t let me. Neither will the guilt. I carry it around with me every single day. And at night … the nightmares take over.

  Nightmares. Suddenly, it dawns on me that I didn’t have a nightmare last night. I frown as I grab the soap from the small shelf and lather up the wash cloth. I have nightmares every night. Sometimes they’re just the random, garden variety kind where I see him using my mom as a punching bag and knocking her to the floor. Those are the ones that wake me up in a cold sweat. But most of the time, I dream about that night, and I wake up screaming. But it’s always one or the other. Every single night of my life since I was fourteen. Except last night. I frown again. Why not last night?

  Surely, it can’t be the girl. What … ‘true love conquers all,’ and all that shit? Please. I roll my eyes at myself and continue to run the wash cloth over my body. That can’t be it. Samantha Colby is a beautiful, smart, sexy young woman. And yes, I do find her unusually bright green eyes magical. But she does not have the power to take away my nightmares just by sleeping with me. That shit doesn’t happen. Does it? Of course not.

  But, regardless of the nightmare situation – and the insanely good sex – I can’t honestly expect this to go anywhere. I mean, look around you, Pierce. This apartment is top of the line luxury and this girl can afford it. She drives a one hundred and sixty thousand dollar car, for crying out loud. I frown again. So what? So do you.

  I smirk to myself again as I realize that, with all the money and care I’ve put into restoring the Charger over the years, she’s now worth close to that. The supreme condition she’s in. All numbers matching. If I wanted to sell her, I could demand that much for her and get it easily. The thought makes me smile in spite of myself. And then I reel it in. Yeah, okay. So your car is worth about as much as hers is. Big deal. She could still buy and sell you any day of the week if the mood s
truck her.

  Maybe. But even though she’s got the cash in the bank, it just doesn’t seem to be that important to her. She doesn’t act like one of those self-entitled, self-important, too good for the little people types. In fact, she seemed genuine when she talked about helping others with her money.

  I sigh as I wring out the wash cloth and rinse off. I reach for the bottle of shampoo sitting on the shelf and when I open it and squirt some into my hand, the shower is soon filled with the soft, fresh scent of citrus and it instantly brings to mind an image of Samantha sleeping soundly in my arms this morning. God, that felt good. And I wonder idly if that’s how Conner feels each morning, waking up with Lindy. Is that what he meant when he said I needed someone to wake up with?

  “Someone to wake up with in the morning and greet the day with. Someone who makes you happy.”

  I mull over his words as I rinse the shampoo out of my hair. I don’t know about all that. I’m starting to think that maybe what I need is to have never met Miss Colby. Maybe what I need is to walk away. Fuck. Maybe I should just excuse myself from this case and walk away. Conner’s right. I am too involved with this victim. And he doesn’t even know the half of it. I stepped way over the line last night; what the fuck was I thinking? I snort. You were thinking about her unbelievably green eyes. And her soft, full lips. And her silky, chestnut brown hair. And her tiny little waist and perfect tits and the curve of her ass … that’s what you were thinking about, Pierce!

  I sigh and turn off the water in the shower. As I open the shower door and step out, I realize that I still haven’t sorted out a damn thing. I still don’t know what to say to her about last night. About what I told her. And I still don’t know what the hell I’m doing. Part of me wants to walk out of her door and never look back because that’s what I know how to do. One-night stands are easy. But there is another part of me that is screaming out for something else. For something … more. I have never wanted more before now. What is it about her? Why does this girl make me question the possibilities? And how can I tell her that I can’t get involved with her because I’m afraid that if I do, at some point in our relationship, I will physically hurt her? How do you tell a woman that and still expect her to look at you the same way? Last night she called me sweet and thoughtful. She would never think that about me if she knew what a fucking monster I am. What I’m capable of.

  I dry off with the impossibly fluffy towel and then open the bathroom door. The minute I step out of the bathroom I am hit with the amazing aroma of coffee and bacon and my stomach begins to rumble, and I remember that we didn’t eat last night. We were much too busy to think about food. Fuck. I shake my head at the realization that I know what I have to do.

  I dress quickly, pulling on my briefs and my jeans and stuffing my gun into the belt-clip holster at my back. I hurry into my socks and shoes and grab my shirt as I’m walking out of the bedroom. I am working on the buttons of my shirt when I stroll into the living room and hear Samantha say, “Oh, just in time.”

  I look up and she takes my breath away. She’s standing at the breakfast bar, setting two plates of food down on the place mats. The food looks delicious. But nowhere near as delectable as she does in a soft mint green nightie that hits her at mid-thigh level and makes her look good enough to eat. She is a fucking goddess. I swallow reflexively.

  “This looks … great,” I mumble distractedly. “You didn’t have to do this.”

  She ignores my protest and continues, “Well, I made bacon and scrambled eggs but, then I realized that I don’t know if you like eggs so … I also made some pancakes.”

  I take a seat on one of the stools and she sets a steaming cup of black coffee in front of me. “You did all this in the fifteen minutes it took me to get ready?” I say, pouring some syrup on my pancakes.

  “Breakfast doesn’t take long,” she shrugs, taking a seat beside me. “I’m sorry, would you like some orange juice?”

  I’m lost again, looking into her eyes. The green of her nightgown really makes them stand out. “No. Just coffee is fine, thanks.” My voice sounds hesitant to me and I know it’s because of the decision I made while I was getting dressed. She starts to eat her breakfast and I follow suit. We eat in silence for a few minutes and I’m grateful for the distraction. But the food is delicious and my plate of pancakes, bacon and eggs is soon clean. I take a few sips of my coffee and take a deep breath. But before I can open my mouth to say what I need to say, Samantha speaks.

  “Josh, I really want to thank you again for last night.” Her words halt me in my tracks, as does the pale rose color that creeps over her lovely face. “I … I mean for coming to wait for me in the museum parking lot. Not for … what happened later,” her voice trails off nervously and her magic green eyes sparkle with embarrassment. Shit! She is so pretty. “Not that I didn’t appreciate what happened later, because I did! I just meant … um. I’m … just going to stop talking now.”

  I can’t help the slow smile that spreads over my face. She is just so … cute. And despite everything I told myself in the shower and the decision I made as I was getting dressed, I hear myself saying the exact opposite of what I had intended to say.

  “Listen, Sam,” I begin hesitantly, “everything I said last night. About not dating and only having one-night stands…”

  “Yes.” She fixes me with those big green eyes and I’m not sure what she’s thinking. But she’s giving me her full attention and I am suddenly very nervous.

  “That was all true,” I tell her honestly. “And I don’t know how to do anything else. That’s all I’ve ever done. I don’t know anything about being in a relationship. I don’t know anything about … dating.” My heart is pounding in my chest like it’s trying to escape and I try to ignore it as I go on. “But I really want to see you again.” I pause for a moment for a reaction from her, but there is none. So I ramble on. “I mean, I know that I’ll see you until this investigation is over but … I’m talking … outside of this case.” She still says nothing and I am sitting here with my heart in my throat. I go for broke. “Can I see you again?”

  She is silent for a moment and she seems to study my eyes. And then her face erupts into a huge grin. “Yes,” she answers softly.

  I respond with a grin of my own, feeling a mixture of foolishness, relief and terror. What the hell have I just done? I shake my head in disbelief at my own actions. What the hell are you doing, Pierce? “Okay,” I say a little bashfully. “After work, maybe? I could stop by after my shift ends at six.”

  “Okay,” she smiles shyly. “I’ll make us dinner.”

  “You keep cooking for me,” I smile at her.

  She shrugs and smiles. “I enjoy cooking. Something about it is very artistic, I think. Besides, it’s more fun cooking for someone.”

  I get lost in those eyes for a moment and then remember that I’ve got a job to get to. I glance at my watch. “I have to go,” I say reluctantly, standing up to leave. “I have to stop by home and change and brush my teeth before I go to the station. I’m sorry to eat and run, Samantha.”

  “It’s okay, I understand,” she says, standing. I take her hand as we turn and walk through the living room to the door, and I wonder if she is as nervous right now as I am. We reach the door and I look down at her. She’s chewing on her bottom lip nervously and she looks sexy as hell in that little green nightie.

  “You know, if you wanted to serve dinner in this tonight, I wouldn’t object,” I say softly as I run my index finger down the front of the nightgown and she blushes crimson and looks away. Her reaction makes me smile and I take her chin in my fingers and raise her lips to mine, kissing her chastely. “I’ll see you tonight.”

  She nods, still having a hard time looking me in the eye. “Bye, Josh.” I open the door to go, but before I do, I tap on the lock and give her a stern look. She nods again and I close the door behind me. I stand there for a few seconds until I hear the click of the lock. Then I smile to myself and head for the elevator.<
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  *****

  I ran home just long enough to brush my teeth and change into a clean shirt and jeans. And as I jump back into my truck and head to the station, my thoughts are filled with all things Samantha Colby: her eyes, her smile, the scent of her hair, the softness of her skin, the feel of her body moving beneath mine. And the way she felt in my arms this morning. That was incredible!

  I had planned to tell her that this can’t continue. I was going to say that I had compromised both her case and my job. I was going to apologize for taking advantage of her trust in me. How the hell I ended up asking if I could see her again, I have no idea. My resolve was set, I knew what I had to do, what I needed to say. But then she started to thank me again for escorting her home and, I don’t know what happened. As usual when I’m around her, I just lost all good sense! But the way she looked at me … those big green eyes of hers, so trusting and sweet. It was all I could do not to take her into my arms again right there in the kitchen. I think I’d give just about anything to have her look at me like that forever.

  What the hell is this? I feel like I am losing my edge. Like I’m … going soft or something. Maybe you’re in love, Pierce. Bullshit! I don’t fall in love. And, even if I did, I just met this girl. Things like that don’t happen this fast, do they? Hell, I have no freaking clue. All I know is, this woman has me tense and anxious and thinking about things that I have never thought about before. And why can’t I get those damned green eyes out of my head?

  I park my truck in the back lot of the PD and stride into the station. As I walk through the corridors of the building I become aware of a few strange glances and raised eyebrows at my expense and I wonder what everyone’s problem is but, I’m too preoccupied with memories of being with Sam to concern myself with it. I enter the detective’s bull pen and head for my desk, and again, out of the corners of my eyes, I notice that I’m getting some stares. As I pull out my chair and get ready to sit down, I glance around at the bemused faces.