Piper’s asleep, her long dark hair spreads out over a pillow while a light blanket covers her. She looks so damn beautiful and innocent lying there that my heart kicks against my chest.
You threw away the chance to be with her.
No, I was trying to prevent her from wasting her life on me. Now I’m not so sure I did the right thing.
I liked you better when you were all about pussy.
Yeah, well, I liked me better when I didn’t mind-fuck myself thanks to Yoda Emmett.
Kneeling, I scoop her up in my arms. The scent of Cacharel Anaïs Anaïs washes over me. On impulse, I had saved up all my extra money and I bought it to give to Piper on her sixteenth birthday. After all these years, I can’t believe she still wears the same scent.
“So fucking sweet,” I murmur, pressing my lips in her silky hair.
“Driving or walking?” Seth asks.
If I drive, then I won’t have her in my arms anymore, and I fucking love the feel of her.
Seth rolls his eyes. “I’ll get her purse, and drive y’all home. God forbid you put her down for the minute it would take to get there.”
Piper snuggles into me and lets out a little sigh. “Jase?” Her lashes flutter open.
“I’m here to take you home, kitten.”
“Okay.” Immediately, her eyes close. She is so trusting that my heart actually begins to ache. Unfortunately, the feel of her makes other parts of me begin to ache, too.
“Ready to go?” I ask, impatient to get her home. Having her this close is almost unbearable.
“Dude, I have to get my shoes on. The gravel hurts like a motherfucker,” he says.
Who knew that a big bad Marine could be so sensitive about his feet? Then again, it is Seth and he’s attuned to his feminine side, which is why my sister is a goner for him.
He listens to what I have to say, she likes to tell me over and over again. Like really listens, not just listens so he can get some.
“Move your ass, solider,” I say, just to piss him off. Marines fucking hate being called soldiers, but I’m the closest thing Rowan has for a dad, so I consider it my duty to give Seth a hard time whenever I can.
“Say that on base, motherfucker,” Seth warns.
“You sure are sensitive.”
“You’re a pain in my ass.”
“Aw, you missing your battle buddy?” I ask with a smirk. Yeah, it is my patriotic duty to give him a hard time.
Seth rolls his eyes. “Let’s go.”
It takes less than two minutes to get to my house. Piper doesn’t wake up during the ride and I don’t let her out of my arms. I figure self-inflicted punishment is what I need in order to pay penance for hurting her today.
Seth loops the strap of her purse over my head. “Don’t forget this. Her meds are in there.”
“Thanks.” I manage to open the door and get out of Seth’s truck without much trouble and then head inside, but not before pressing in a code to the keypad I had installed a few months back.
When I first got out of prison, I went on a bender of sex, drugs, and alcohol as I tried to fit seven years of abstinence into a space of two months. Luckily, I got my shit together and my head on straight—thanks in part to my parole officer and Emmett. Manwhore with questionable morals he might be, but the dude is legit serious about getting and staying clean.
In any case, things had gotten so bad with me that I was letting anyone roam in and out of my house at all hours. Some shit had gotten stolen and that had pissed me the hell off, so I’d asked another buddy of mine to help me out. Now that Piper’s living with me, I feel even better about my decision to keep out the riffraff.
Slightly adjusting her in my arms, I carefully make my way upstairs and to her bedroom. It already smells like her and I smile. Moonlight shines through the beveled glass at the top of the windows, illuminating the room, so I don’t bother turning on the lights.
Gently, I lay her down in bed and take her purse off from around my neck, placing it on the nightstand. “Night, baby.”
She rolls to one side and suddenly sits up. “Where am I?” she asks.
“In your bed,” I say, attempting to edge away from her and go to my room.
She slumps over, not saying another word.
“Piper?” Panic grips me and I grab her shoulders, shaking her lightly. “Baby, are you okay?”
Her head lolls to one side. “Stop shaking me,” she orders and I let go long enough for her to flop back on the bed. “Get in bed, Rowan. Mother doesn’t know you’re here, by the way. I’ll tell her in the morning.”
“I’m not—”
“Please. I hate it when you sleep on the floor.” She sticks out her bottom lip, pouting. “It hurts my feelings.”
My sister slept on the floor at Piper’s? That’s odd.
“If you don’t, then I’ll be forced to join you again.”
“Piper, honey—”
“Shut up and get in bed, or no new shoes for you,” she says in the bossiest, most adorable voice I’ve ever heard. “I’ll tell your brother about you and Seth, too, if you don’t.”
The thought of sleeping with her is so tempting that I can taste it. Of their own accord my legs and feet move me closer to her.
“Pretty please. You know I have bad dreams after Mother and I argue,” she pleads.
Her admission is my undoing. Unlacing my boots, I toe them and my socks off, before pulling my shirt up and over my head. Automatically, my fingers go to the button fly of my jeans, working at the opening. I get the fly half open before my hands freeze. I can’t climb into bed with Piper wearing only boxer briefs, even if she’s fully dressed.
She thinks I’m Rowan, for God’s sake.
Piper rolls to one side again, drawing her shapely legs up. Her skirt rides up nearly to her waist, exposing rather modest white panties that stretch over the most perfect ass I’ve ever seen. My dick gets hard, so hard that I have to squeeze it to get rid of the pressure.
I let out an inaudible groan.
Yeah…I’m keeping my pants on.
Slowly, I climb into bed with the woman of my dreams and lay carefully beside her. That seems to settle her down, until she rolls to my side of the bed and slaps me in the face with her arm. Then she kicks me in the thigh and tries to dig her toes into my skin through the material of my jeans.
No damn wonder my sister didn’t sleep with her. Piper is a menace while she sleeps. Another punch to the side and I grunt, then take action. Grabbing Piper around the waist, I pull her into me and throw one of my legs over hers, effectively trapping her in one place.
I wait another minute or two to see if she settles down. First sign of discomfort or struggle, and I’m out of there—bad dreams or not.
Finally, she exhales, her hair puffing out with the movement. I smile and brush the long strands out of her face before skimming my hand along her jaw. Diamonds the size of my pinky fingernail sparkle in her ear. Pretty sure they’re real—a sixteenth birthday present from her parents, if I remember correctly.
Too rich for my blood.
Yet she’s never treated Rowan and me like we’re beneath her.
Then you know—you have to know—that I care about you, too…So much, Jase. I always have. Her words echo in my brain. I won’t ever forget them. Best present anyone ever gave me.
My eyes grow heavy as her warmth seeps into me. She’s soft in all the right places and fits against me just right. Her ass is tucked into my groin; my now semi-hard dick is nestled against her cheeks.
Fucking perfect.
Though I’m turned on, a sense of rightness and peace invades my senses, much like her perfume. It’s subtle and at first I barely notice it, but as the minutes tick by, they overpower me and I allow my eyes to finally close.
Chapter 6
Piper
The next morning I wake up in my bed, completely mystified as to how I got there. I know I fell asleep at Rowan’s house and, despite the fact that I can have coherent conversati
ons while fully asleep, I’m pretty freaking sure I do not sleep drive.
Maybe I’m still dreaming.
Squeezing my eyes shut, I attempt to flop over in my bed and end up hitting the wall. A warm wall. My heart races as my eyes snap open.
“Morning,” Jase says, leaning up on one arm.
I gasp, then shove away from him. “What are you doing in my bed?”
“Funny thing about that—you ordered me to sleep with you.” He yawns, stretching his large, perfectly honed body. Muscles and tattoos ripple in the morning sunlight. His ripped lower abs have the most tempting happy trail that leads directly under the waist band of his jeans.
He slept in his jeans? That seems very un-Jase-like. I would have pegged him for a commando type of guy at night.
I swear I stare at him for a full minute before I’m able to talk.
“Why would I order you of all people to sleep with me?”
“You thought I was Rowan.”
What in the world did I say to him? “And you let me think that?”
“You’re very persuasive.” He grins and I’m confused by that grin. Just yesterday, he’d made it very clear how he felt about me. Clarity returns with my next breath. That’s why he had no problem sleeping with me last night. Heck, we both have the majority of our clothes on, and he wasn’t copping a feel when I woke up. In fact, he wasn’t scooted up to me at all.
“Not to mention you insisted you had bad dreams.”
“You slept with me out of pity?” Lovely. I frown. This morning is going downhill fast.
Jase laughs. His blue eyes are as wicked as ever as he runs them up and down my body. “If anyone should be pitied, it’s me.”
I throw the covers back and huff. “Yeah, it’s such a chore to sleep with me.”
“Damn straight it is. I need pads, a helmet, shin guards—you kick like a motherfucker.”
My eyes round, I asked, “I still do that?”
“Yeah.” He rubs his chest. “You can throw some elbows, too.”
“I’m so sorry.” I move closer to him so that I can inspect his body for bruises. “Really, really sorry. Rowan should have told you to ignore me and then be on your way.”
He sucks in a breath as my fingers trail over his pecs. “She was asleep when I picked you up, so it was up to Seth to explain everything. Obviously, he forgot to share that tidbit about your sleeping habits.”
My fingers stop exploring him as I glance up into his face. “You came and got me from their house?”
“Yeah.” He shifts away from me. “You needed to come home, sleep in your own bed.”
“Did I need to sleep with you, too?” I ask.
Last night, Rowan had lectured me even more on talking less and doing more, unless I was saying something very bold that would be followed up with an action. She is completely convinced that Jase misunderstood me, or that he thinks he knows what’s best for me. Only because we have been friends for years will I follow her advice again…Only because I trust her implicitly will I follow her advice right now.
But this time, if it doesn’t work and he rejects me again, then I’m done. I’m not going to force myself on a man who wants nothing to do with me. It hurts too much.
“Bad dreams…remember,” he says, his voice deepening.
“No, I don’t remember.” I trace the outline of a snake and skull tattoo that for some absurd reason reminds me of the Death Eaters from the Harry Potter books. His stomach contracts again, but he does not push me away from him. I take that as a very good sign. “Is there anywhere else I hurt you?” Peering at him through my lashes, I lower my head until my mouth is inches from his skin. “I can kiss you there and make it all better.”
“Fuck,” he breathes. “Fuck, Piper. I’m trying hard to be real good, but you…you—”
I press a small kiss to the center of a tattoo. “Are you saying that you lied to me yesterday? That maybe you do feel something for me?” Purposefully, I allow my hair to fall forward so that it brushes against his skin as well. His entire body shakes, and I smile a little.
“I have no clue right now.” He curses again when I swipe my tongue over one of his nipples. “But you have to—I need you…I’m trying, baby. God, why don’t you listen?”
“Because I want what I want—and I want you.” I push him down to the bed and straddle his hips. The fabric of my skirt gets pushed to my waist by my position and his big hands. “I want you. I need you.”
“Damn, you’re soft.”
“You’re hard.” I move my hips experimentally. “Very hard.”
“Where did you learn to do this? Who taught you—” A low groan tears from his mouth when I begin to rock against him.
“No one. It’s how you make me feel.” I lower my mouth to his, tracing the outline of his lips with my tongue. Though I am a virgin, I’ve had years of reading romance novels and daydreaming about this moment to guide me. I can make up for my lack of experience with lots of enthusiasm.
His hands come between us. He’s going to push me away again. A lump begins to form in my throat and my vision blurs. But then I feel his hands on my face, framing it. His touch is so gentle that I want to cry.
“Yesterday, I lied to keep you safe, but in the end, all it did was hurt you.” A look of pain covers his face. “If you and I, if we decide to be together, so many people would be against us.”
I know he’s speaking of my family, and my family’s friends who would turn up their noses at me and never invite me to another function again. “Who cares if they are as long as we’re a team?”
He searches my face, a look of awe shining in his eyes. “Are you sure?”
“I’m positive.” My face heats. “I didn’t lie to you when I said I cared about you. I l—”
Jase’s mouth covers mine. It’s not hard and demanding like I dreamed it would be. Oh no, it’s a million times better. He cups the back of my head, fingers sifting through my hair while his lips move slowly, gently…almost reverently over mine.
Even with his gentleness, fire races through my body, rendering my breasts heavy and aching, my nipples hard points. His fingers continue to touch me, stroke me, until the need for something…anything to happen makes my entire body throb.
His lips part, his tongue teasing the seam of my mouth. “Open for me, baby.”
My stomach flutters. “My mouth or my thighs?” I ask.
“Both.”
Kissing Jase is pure, unadulterated pleasure, and I eagerly, shamelessly comply. I spread my thighs wider, grinding down on his hand, and open my mouth, letting my tongue play with his.
“Just like that,” he says, encouragingly. “More tongue. I want to suck on it before I put my face between your thighs.”
Heart stuttering at his dirty talk, I sweep my tongue inside his mouth to tangle with his.
Suddenly he groans, rolling me beneath him. His massively hard erection rubs against me, and my head falls back against the pillow. The friction drives me crazy.
Jase pushes up on his elbows, keeping his upper body completely off of mine while he works his hips. The thin material of my panties doesn’t offer much of a barrier and I grow even wetter.
I feel his tongue on my neck, his teeth scrape at my skin, and I’m lost to the sensation of him, of what he’s doing to me.
“More,” I moan as he kisses me along my collarbone.
“Unbutton your shirt and I’ll give you what you want.”
Nearly mindless with lust, my hands shake as I attempt to take off my shirt. Finally, I give up and rip at the bottom buttons, then shove it over my shoulders and off my arms, leaving me only in a lace demi cup bra.
As my chest rises and falls, the barest hint of my areolas show. I want his mouth there. I want to feel the wet heat, the suck and pull. I want everything I’ve never had, and I want it with Jase.
“You really do want me, don’t you?” he asks, his tone disbelieving.
I stare into his dark blue eyes. “You asked me not to lie
to you. I’m not lying when I say I want you in me…all over me.”
He sucks in a breath. “Piper, we’re moving too fast for you, I think.”
I shake my head and rise up to kiss him, and not just any kind of kiss. A kiss that holds all of my pent-up need and closely guarded fantasies. I take his face in my hands, slanting my mouth against his in a hot kiss.
“We’re moving just right,” I say and dive for his mouth again.
In an instant, his hands are everywhere, tugging at my bra, shoving at my skirt, pulling down my panties until I’m bare. Utterly bare to him.
“You are so pretty…so pink.” He touches a hard nipple and I suppress the scream that’s fighting to get out. “So soft.” His head dips and he takes my aching nipple into his mouth, sucking hard. My back arches off the bed, my hips slamming into his.
As he sucks me, I rub shamelessly against him, trying to use his body to make myself orgasm. He presses his leg more tightly against me, one hand going to my hip to help me ride his thigh.
“Oh, God.” I am so close.
“Not yet, baby. Need you to come on my tongue.” Jase lets my nipple pop out of his mouth.
Kissing his way down my body, I have no time to think that he can see me. All of me. He doesn’t let me. With a soft inhalation of air, he settles between my thighs, gives me the most seductive look I’ve ever seen in my life, and then licks me.
Crying out his name, I grab his hair. He licks me again and again, then begins to draw circles around my clit with his tongue, frustrating me to no end. I want an end to the torture, yet I don’t want him to stop.
A long finger slides inside of me and I moan loudly, fisting his hair as my body begins to convulse. He scrapes his teeth over my clit and then sucks it into his mouth. My body flies apart. I scream, sob his name, and attempt to hold him in place, but he doesn’t seem to mind. He keeps licking at me…stroking me…making me come undone in a way that I never expected.
“Don’t stop. Don’t stop,” I chant.
In answer, he adds another finger and presses up. My body tightens in on itself. He uses his fingers to…draw something inside of me, and I fall apart once more.
When We Fall Page 6