by Marni Mann
I laugh so hard. “You nailed it.”
“In all seriousness, you know what you’ve got to do, don’t you?”
As nice as it is, this place isn’t for me. I can vacation here, even spend a few months on the beach during off-season. But, as long as hockey’s in my life and I’m not ready to give it up, I need to be in Boston.
And I need to go home soon.
“Yeah,” I answer, “I know.” I turn my back to the sand and look through the glass again. “But I still wanted to hear your opinion.”
“Go check your email. Text me to tell me which one you took.”
“You got it.”
I end the call and pull up my email, clicking on the one from Jesse. I read his entire note and all the attachments. I need to have Lloyd review it, but the contract includes private flights, hotels of my choosing, a salary that’s double than what they originally offered. They want me so badly that they’re willing to pay for my relocation and a year lease on an apartment.
It’s everything I want.
Now, I just have to tell Piper.
Piper
When I wake up, the bed’s empty, but West isn’t on one of his runs. He’s outside on the balcony, on the phone. Automatically, my mind drifts to Tilly and whether she’s trying to poison his mind with more threats about me or Cannon.
I pretend to be asleep when he crawls back in bed. He kisses my temple and brushes my hair away from my face.
“Mornin’,” I whisper as I open my eyes.
“You’re so fucking beautiful, you know that?”
“You’re just saying that because I’m naked.”
His eyes worship mine, and the intensity of his stare takes my breath away.
“I’m saying it because it’s true.”
Something happened on that phone call. His words are bold, just like his eyes, and I’m worried.
But, instead of digging for information, I wait, and I ask, “What do you want to do today?”
He’ll tell me when he’s ready, and if that time doesn’t come, I’ll ask him on my own.
“I thought we’d take a swim, soak up some sunshine, and have a drink. Pretend we’re tourists.”
West hates the racket down at the pool. He loves the beach, but he’s sick of listening to the partying and drinking. His response isn’t him at all. But, if that’s what he wants to do, we’ll do it.
“Okay. Let me put on a suit.”
“The black one?” he asks with a wicked gleam in his eye.
“Black bikini, it is.”
He rests his hands behind his neck and crosses one leg over the other. “Go ahead. I’ll watch.”
“You want to watch me put clothes on?”
“That suit is lethal, Piper. I want to watch you wiggle into it.”
Rolling my eyes, I purposely climb over his body to get out of bed. He groans when I brush against him, grabbing a handful along the way just because I want to see him smile. I get another hard stare.
In the bathroom, I throw my hair into a ponytail and brush my teeth. After I’m finished, I grab the black suit out of my drawer and stand beside the bed, completely naked. Then, I throw my suit at his face, hoping to cheer him up.
He pulls the fabric off his cheeks and sits up. And then he slides out of bed and grinds his ass into me. “Turn around,” he says.
I turn around and say, “Will you help me put it on?”
Without blinking, he bends down to the floor and lifts my foot up. I step into my bikini bottoms, and he slides them up my legs, over my thighs and ass, and then adjusts them on my hips.
My hands are shaking when I grab my lotion and throw it in the bag. He takes his time, changing into his swim trunks, not moving his eyes off my body. He’s not making this easy on me. I want him. I want him so bad, I can feel him between my legs. But he’s giving me nothing. Not a single clue about what’s bothering him.
He stays quiet in the elevator, and it’s only when we’re outside that I take a real breath of air, sucking the fresh oxygen into my lungs. West takes my hand and leads us to a set of chairs in the sand. A server is by our side within seconds, and he orders us drinks.
“Isn’t it a little early?” I ask him.
“It’s never too early,” he says cryptically.
Before I can respond, his phone rings. He glances at the screen and then at me. “I have to take this real quick, okay?”
“Sure,” I tell him.
As long as it’s not Tilly, I don’t care whom he talks to. That’s a lie. If this has anything to do with Boston, which I think it does, I’m scared. I’m scared to find out which job he’s going to take and how fast he’ll be gone. Because I know Boston is what he wants. I just don’t know what that means for us. Or if there will even be an us once he accepts.
West’s gone for about fifteen minutes, and by then, I’ve finished most of my drink.
He stands next to my chair and holds out his hand. “Let’s go in the water.”
His tone isn’t good. Another phone call and another side of West.
This time, not caring what response I get, I ask, “Is everything okay?” I need the truth from him, no matter what.
“We’ll talk in the water.”
I take his hand and let him lead me across the sand.
The second the water touches our toes, he says, “Piper, that was my agent.”
“Okay. What did he want?”
He licks his lips and turns his head. We wade a little further in, and then he grabs my hips and says, “I’m taking a job in Boston.”
I knew it was coming. I’ve been preparing myself for this conversation since our trip. We wouldn’t have gone to Boston if he wasn’t seriously considering moving there. It’s not just the job either. I saw how he changed the second we got off the plane. He left a piece of himself in that city, and the only way I’ll ever see him whole again is if I go there with him—permanently.
“I’m happy for you,” I whisper.
I’d be ecstatic if he’d have finished his sentence with an invitation for me to join him. But he didn’t.
“When do you leave?”
“As soon as I can. There’s not much to wrap up here since Tilly took over the rental house. My attorney is handling the rest.”
Little things. I wonder if I fall under that category?
“That’s why we’re on the beach today, isn’t it? It’s your last chance to soak up the sunshine, just like you said.”
He nods. “I like it here because of you, Piper. But it’s not home, and that’s where I need to be.”
“I know you do,” I tell him. “I’m happy for you.”
I don’t want to cry, so I drop his hand and start to move back toward the chairs.
“Fuck,” he says. “Come here, baby.”
He’s by my side in seconds, grabbing me and walking further into the water. I wrap my legs around his waist and hold on, just in case it gets too deep and I can’t touch the bottom.
“I’ve never had sex in the ocean before.”
Shaking his head, he laughs. “That’s not what we’re doing. But I like the way you think.”
“What are we doing then? This water is cold.”
“I wasn’t going to ask you this. I…”
I can tell it’s hard for him to continue, that he’s been thinking about what he wants to say and he’s still struggling with the words.
“I even spoke to Eddy about it, and he gave me advice, and this is what feels right.”
“What does, West? You’re not making any sense.”
“I know your life is in Florida. Your family, your kids, everything that matters to you. I’m an asshole for asking you to throw all that away for me, but I need you, Piper. Boston is my home, but it won’t feel the same unless you’re there with me. Tell me you’ll come with me.”
A tear falls as I smile. I’m a total contradiction. Happy and sad. Elated and devastated.
“West—”
“Think about it,” he says
. “Don’t just immediately say no.”
“No isn’t an option,” I tell him. “I don’t need time. I’ve done all the thinking I need to do.”
“What are you saying?”
“I’m saying, I’m in. I’ll go with you.”
“Just like that?”
It’s not just like that. I’ve spent days thinking about leaving Florida. Days going back and forth about where I’ll be the happiest. My classroom means the world to me, but if I’m going home alone every night, I’ll still be missing a piece of my heart. And, when push comes to shove, I want West by my side. I want the good and the bad with him.
“My answer is yes.”
The smile I’m rewarded with is his usual times a million. All the worry lines around his eyes disappear, and he squeezes me so hard, I think I might break in half.
Sliding a palm down my stomach, he dips his fingers beneath the fabric, plunging two into my pussy.
“West, what are you doing?”
He bites my earlobe and sucks on my neck. His other hand grabs a palmful of my ass, making me squeal. “I think it’s about time I fucked this pretty little ass of yours.”
“Right now?” I’m breathing so hard, it’s embarrassing.
“Nah, not yet,” he says. “And not here.”
“You’re going to make me wait all day for your cock?”
He pinches my clit, and my back bows.
“I need to make sure you’re all wet and ready for me, Piper.”
“Please don’t stop,” I beg.
“You’re such a greedy little girl.” He pulls his fingers out of my warmth and starts moving us out of the ocean. “I like the begging. Give me more of that.”
West
I carry Piper through the lobby of the hotel, into the elevator, and straight into our room where I throw her on the bed. She’s familiar with my roughness and the places I can bring her body. I’m sure that’s the reason she’s going to trust me inside her ass. But I’ve been waiting so long to have it, I don’t know if I can be as gentle as she needs me to be.
I’d never hurt her intentionally.
But there’s no way around it. This is going to be painful.
I crawl up her body until my mouth is next to her ear. “Tell me again. I want to hear it.” With one of my hands, I reach into the nightstand and grab the small bottle of lube I bought just for this moment.
When I return, she uses her heels to slip off my shorts, and she cuffs my cock in her hand.
“You can have my ass, West.” After each word, she pumps my dick. “Do whatever you want to it. I can take it.” Her strokes become faster, squeezing me tighter in her palm. “But do it now. I can’t wait any longer for you to touch me.”
That virgin hole is going to be mine.
All fucking mine.
“It’s going to take some prepping,” I say, breathing the warning over the side of her face. “So, you’re going to have to wait.”
“No—”
“Piper, that means I’m going to be getting you ready, and my hands will be on you in order for that to happen.”
Her head pushes into the pillow, and her back arches. I haven’t even put a finger on her, and the anticipation is already making her squirm.
“As long as you’re touching me, then I can wait.”
She runs her thumb over the tip of my crown and brings it up to her mouth. When she surrounds it with her lips, I know she’s tasting a bead of pre-cum. And, as she swallows, I know it’s going down her throat.
She tries to move her head to face me, and I stop her, wrapping my fingers around her neck. My lips press just below her jaw.
“That was so fucking hot. I promise, I’m going to reward you for it, but there’s something I need to hear you say first.”
She hasn’t stopped jerking my cock, and it’s starting to feel too good. I’m sure she senses that because she’s treating it like her mouth is around it, brushing the tip before diving down to my base, swirling around the shaft as she works her way up.
“Anything,” she moans.
“Tell me, you’re mine.”
“I’m—”
“And that you’re coming to Boston with me. I need to hear both of them again.”
When she tries to turn her head this time, I let her. Her stare is powerful and telling, and I know what I’m going to hear before she says it.
“I’m yours, West. Every part of me. There isn’t a doubt in my mind, and there shouldn’t be in yours. I’m coming with you to Boston whenever you want to go.”
I release her neck and travel down her body. As I reach her ass, I grip the sides of her bikini bottoms and rip them off her. Then, I dip my face until my lips are hanging right next to her pussy.
“You mean that?” I say as I look up at her.
Her knees are bent, and she stares through them. “Yes.” She twists her hand in my hair and tries to urge me forward. “Now, touch me, lover.”
It’s the first time I’ve heard that word from her.
I like the sound of it.
And she’s going to get what she wants for saying it.
I flatten my tongue and lick my way up her clit, wedging it between her folds so that I can reach all of it. This is part of the workup. I need her as wet as I can get her before she gets my cock in her ass. I want her to enjoy it enough that she’ll ask for it again. Not just to please me, but also because it feels good. Because she wants it. Because it gives her a kind of orgasm that her cunt can’t.
As I flick her clit, I circle a fingertip around her ass. Her hips pump, moving my tongue even harder against her. Her moans tell me how close she is, and so does the way she wiggles beneath me.
I’m going to use that to my advantage.
Scooping some of her wetness, I lube my finger and give her almost half of it, kneading that hole until I can slide in a second one. When I know she can handle it, I push my fingers apart and start to stretch her.
“West!” she screams, now tearing at my hair. “That feels so good.”
I speed up the way my fingers drive into her and gradually replace my tongue with my thumb. Piper’s eyes are closed, and her sounds tell me she hasn’t even noticed my mouth is no longer on her. So, while I continue to build her toward an orgasm, I rise from her pussy and position my cock right next to my fingers. After only a few more thrusts, I pull out my fingers, cover my dick in lube, and insert the head.
“I’ll be as gentle as I can,” I tell her. But, as the crown slips in about an inch, I don’t know if I can keep that promise. “Fuck, Piper. You’re so much tighter than I thought.”
“Oh my God,” she hisses.
“Am I hurting you?” I dip in a little more, but it doesn’t feel like she’s loosening at all. It feels like she’s getting tighter. And it’s so wet and so fucking hot in that hole.
“I don’t know what you’re doing to me,” she breathes, her legs beginning to shake, her hands moving to the sheet where she squeezes it into her palms, “but don’t stop.”
I keep my thumb on her clit, circling it over and over, and slide until I’m halfway in. “Piper,” I say through gritted teeth, “I’m afraid I’m going to break you.”
Her eyes finally open, and she lifts her head. “I know you won’t hurt me.”
I take more of the wetness from her pussy and give another squirt of lube, and I rub them both over my cock while I rock my hips back. She closes in around me as I pull out to my tip and then sucks me in as I force in half of my shaft.
“Harder, West.”
I turn my head, making sure I heard her right. “Harder?”
“Yesss.”
I do it again, but this time, I go in a little faster, adding more of her juices to my skin so that I can keep her damp enough where I continue slipping in.
Within a few more pumps, I’m almost fully buried, and she still hasn’t loosened at all. I know the way I’m grinding her clit is taking some of the attention off the way I’m abusing her ass. But I also know thi
s is painful for her. Yet she keeps on trusting me, keeps on believing I will do everything I can to make this enjoyable for her.
Completely inside her now, I stay still, letting her ass relax and get used to me being in it, before I begin my assault. As I look down, I see her pussy clenching. She’s already so full of me, but her body’s telling me she needs that, too. Keeping my thumb on her clit, I drop a finger down to her cunt and rub just the inside of it.
“West,” she groans.
“Does that feel good, baby?”
She reaches up above her head and drives her nails into the pillow. “I can’t. I can’t control anything. It’s too good.”
She’s ready.
I move my hips back and drive in. As I work my way through the tightness, it feels like I’m trying to swim into the narrowest cave. There’s wetness and struggle, and finally, I pop through. She screams the whole time, but it isn’t the kind of sound that tells me to stop. It’s the kind that urges me to keep going.
“West!” she shouts once more.
And I feel what she’s trying to tell me.
Her pussy contracts around my finger, and her clit feels like a knot under my thumb. I know she’s seconds away from coming. I start to pound into her ass, making sure she feels the orgasm in every spot.
I’m not far from having one of my own, but I need to taste her while I’m doing it.
I wait until she’s done moaning, and then I grab her arm and lift her off the bed.
“I need your mouth,” I roar.
She’s only halfway up to me when I grip her ass cheeks and shift our position. Now that I’m sitting on the mattress, I spread her legs around me and keep her steady at the tip of my cock.
“You know what you can handle,” I tell her. “Take as much of it as you want, but you’d better kiss me while you’re doing it.”
She lowers on top of me, her lips hitting me the same time she swallows the whole length of my cock. Then, she eases up to the crown and dips again.
My fingers squeeze her ass so fucking hard, but I don’t lead her. She’s doing this all on her own. Same with the way she teases my tongue with hers.
“West,” she breathes, her hole quivering as she reaches the top of me.
“Yes?” I release one of her cheeks, so I can grip her face.