by Ali Parker
“Sure, I do. You feel guilty because you don’t want the life your parents laid out for you. You think it has something to do with his heart attack. And this Casanova Club. And sure, the timing is shitty, but—”
“I did this for the money, Christian,” Piper whispered.
“Did what for the money?”
Her eyes shifted slowly back and forth between mine. She swallowed. Her mouth worked to give words to her thoughts but failed.
I frowned. “The Casanova Club?”
Piper nodded.
“I don’t understand.”
She reached for me. “I know. And I’m sorry. But this… this was all a way for me to help them. I never thought I had a real chance at being chosen. I thought this was my one shot to make enough money to get them out of debt and save their business. I thought I was doing the right thing. But now, the water is muddy, and I’m confused, and I don’t know what’s right anymore. I don’t know who is right anymore.”
She did this for the money?
“Christian. Please. Say something.”
I shook my head. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Anything. Yell at me. Tell me I’m worthless. Tell me I deserve all of this for being a dishonest, greedy, heartless—”
“Enough,” I grated out.
She buried her face in her hands. “You must hate me. I understand. They’d all hate me if they knew.”
“Piper.” I reached out and pulled her shaking hands away from her face. Then gently, I wiped the tears from her cheeks and offered her the warmest smile I could muster. “I don’t think you’re greedy. Or worthless. Or dishonest. I think you took a big chance to try to save your family. And there is no wickedness in that. I just think you didn’t realize what it was going to cost.”
She quivered. “No, I didn’t.”
“You’re a good woman, Piper. Your father is lucky to have you in his corner looking out for him.”
“Don’t.”
“This only makes me like you more, Piper.”
She finally lifted her gaze to me. Her lashes were dotted in tears, and they stuck together when she blinked. “Why?”
How could she not see it? How could she be so blind to the strength it must have taken her to do this all year?
“Because,” I said simply, “you’re doing this out of love. The same reason why I’m doing this. For love. We’re not so different, and I understand why you did what you did.”
She wiped her eyes. “Please don’t tell anyone.”
“It will stay between us. I promise.”
Chapter 13
Piper
Christian poured me a glass of champagne about halfway through the flight. I sipped it slowly, and he helped himself to a glass, too. We both sat back, and he told me about all the different places he’d flown to.
I listened in rapture. It was nice to have a distraction from everything buzzing around in my head. And a handsome distraction, at that.
His understanding and compassion after my confession had left me feeling some kind of way. Vulnerable. Safe.
Horny.
I couldn’t make sense of it, but I was sure I wasn’t the only one feeling that way. I’d caught him shifting in his seat a few times, and I’d also caught him casting glances at my breasts and my legs.
“Thanks again for everything,” I said softly as I finished off the champagne. “I really needed you.”
“Don’t mention it, Piper. Seriously. If there’s anything you need from me, just let me know, okay?”
“Anything?”
Christian searched my eyes and gave me a curious smile. “Yes. Did you have something in mind?”
I licked my lips. This was so out of character for me. And it was strange. Sex wasn’t something I should want after everything I’d just been through. But damn, did I ever want him.
Badly.
“Piper?”
I blinked. “Sorry. I, uh, never mind.”
He turned in his seat to face me directly. A knowing smile spread across his lips, and he took a long, slow look at me, from breasts to the tip of my toes, and then back up to my eyes. “You’re sure?”
Damn him. And damn my body.
My nipples rubbed against the inside of my bra. There was a tightness forming between my legs that ached for release. The air felt thin and hot and—
“Are you all right?” Christian asked.
“Uh huh.” I nodded.
He reached for me, trailed his thumb along my jaw, and leaned in. “Are you sure?” he asked. “Do you need anything? Water? Something to eat?”
I sucked in a breath. You. I need you. Inside me. On top of me.
I bit my bottom lip.
His thumb moved from my jaw, and his eyes slid to my lower lip. He traced it with his thumb, gently pulling it from between my teeth. He never took his eyes from my mouth when he spoke. “You have beautiful lips, Piper.”
I swallowed.
“And a beautiful body.” His hand trailed from my mouth, down my chest, to the neckline of my shirt, which he tugged at gently, his eyes flicking to mine to see if I was going to stop him.
I wasn’t.
He pulled my shirt down, revealing my pink cotton bra. A sound escaped the back of his throat as he pulled the cups down. My tits spilled out, and he flicked his thumbs over my nipples. I let out a shaky whimper.
“Is this what you want, Piper?” he asked.
Despite myself, I nodded.
Christian peered toward the front of the plane. “We should go somewhere a little more private. Come on. And don’t put those away,” he added as I went to pull my shirt back into place.
I left my boobs out, and we stood. He took my hand and walked me to the back of the plane, where he let me into the stateroom. I’d never been in this part of the plane before, but there was a small bed, like one might find in a luxury first-class jet, complete with a curtain for privacy.
Christian smiled and turned me around. He slowly began undressing me. He took his time and paused to trace my skin, to press kisses to my flesh, to pinch with his teeth. I descended into bliss at his touch, and by the time I was naked, he had me on my knees on the bed before him.
He squeezed my ass. “I didn’t think you’d want to join the mile-high club.”
I could hardly speak, I was so turned on. “Me neither.”
“But you’re okay with this? We can stop.”
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “Please. Don’t stop. I need you.”
Christian didn’t need any more permission. He ran his hand between my thighs, dragging his fingers through my wetness, and stopped to massage my clit.
I moaned.
Christian eased his fingers inside me. “That’s it, Piper. Take it.”
I took it. I took all three fingers he pressed into me. When he was buried in deep, he reached up and took a fistful of my hair. He jerked my head back and forced me to look up at him as he leaned over me. I let out a surprised gasp.
He worked his fingers hard inside me, and my eyes rolled back into my head as I approached an orgasm. Christian released my hair, pulled me upright, and held me against his chest. Then he grabbed hold of my jaw and pressed two fingers into my mouth. I sealed my lips around his knuckles, and he continued pounding my pussy with his fingers.
“Do you like that?” he breathed against my ear.
I nodded.
He fucked my pussy and my throat, and all thoughts of reality slipped away. I hadn't expected this. Not even a little bit. Christian, with his strait-laced outfits and his chivalrous manners, had not struck me as the kind of man who liked to get a little rough.
But this was glorious.
This was what I needed. What every woman needed every now and then. A good fuck to wash away the stress of everyday life.
Christian kept his fingers in my mouth as he used his other hand to quickly undo his jeans. He shook them down around his thighs and pulled his cock out of his boxers. I tried to peer down at him, but he he
ld me in place, with his fingers pressing hard against my tongue.
“Condom?” I tried to ask, but my voice was muffled.
He knew what I was saying and plunged a hand into his pocket. He had one with him. Lucky me. He tore the wrapper open with his teeth and rolled the rubber on with one hand. Then he ran the tip of his cock along my opening until my body responded of its own volition.
I pressed my ass back, arched my spine, and opened my mouth wider for him. I tilted my head back to rest it against his shoulder.
He pressed his fingers deeper down my throat as he eased his cock inside me.
“Fuck yeah,” he hissed.
I moaned around his fingers and breathed when he let me. He fucked me deep and slow until I started to bounce on his cock. Knowing what I was after, he released me, pushed me forward onto my hands, and started fucking me faster.
I cried out his name when he made me come.
Christian seemed to only take this as a challenge to make the next orgasm an even more powerful one. He lifted my leg, twisted me sideways, and buried his cock in me, over and over, until a second and even more intense climax tore me apart.
When he came, a growl escaped his throat. He slowed his rhythm and then collapsed onto the bed beside me. We both lay down, our knees bent and legs hanging off the side of the bed as we fought to catch our breath.
“Wow,” I breathed when I had the sense of mind to find the word.
He looked over at me and smiled sheepishly.
I pressed a hand to my forehead and tried to fight the smile spreading across my lips. “That was… I don’t know how to put it into words.”
“Intense?”
I nodded. “Yeah.”
“Everything you imagined?”
I rolled onto my side and propped my head up in one hand. “Not exactly.”
He frowned. “Not exactly? Should I be offended?”
“No!” I shook my head and pressed a hand to his chest. “No. Not at all. It just wasn’t what I imagined.”
“And what did you imagine?”
“Something simpler.”
He barked out a laugh. “Simpler?”
My cheeks burned. I wasn’t explaining this properly. “I just didn’t expect the Ivy League professor to fuck like a beast, okay?”
His eyebrows inched toward his hairline. “Did I push too far?”
I chewed the inside of my cheek. “No.”
“You’re sure? I’ve wanted this for a long time. And when I got you down on your knees like that? Fuck, Piper. My body took over.”
“Christian,” I said firmly. “You rocked my world.”
He grinned. So did I. Then I giggled and hid my face behind my hands.
“Don’t be bashful,” he said, pulling my hands away. “I want to see you.”
Chapter 14
Christian
Piper slept in the back of the cab on the way back to my house from the airport. I sat with an arm wrapped around her shoulders, and she rested her cheek on my shoulder, and everything in the world was right.
Well. For the most part.
For me.
My mind was still spinning with thoughts after the revelation that Piper had never joined this Casanova Club to find a fiancé, but rather to win the money at the end to bring home to her family. I understood her motive. I just couldn’t help but wonder if those were still her intentions.
What would happen if she really fell for someone this year? What if she met the guy she was supposed to be with? Would she cast him aside to still bring the money home?
I wondered what I would do if I was in her position.
If I didn’t have money. If my family was drowning in debt. If I was the only one with an opportunity to make all their problems disappear.
Would I choose family, or would I choose a girl like Piper?
Her hair caught the glow of the setting sun through my window, which painted it a lighter shade of brown than normal. I reached up tentatively and ran my fingers through it, brushing it gently away from her forehead to better see her.
This girl was changing the way I saw everything.
And even though I spent half my time willing her to choose me, I hadn’t been able to shake the feeling that she wouldn’t. Or she couldn’t. And now I had my answer.
This wasn’t about finding a husband for her. Or a soul mate. Or whatever word one wanted to deem most appropriate for the winner of the Casanova Club. This was bigger for her.
It was life or death.
I couldn’t ask her to choose me over that. And if she did, what sort of resentment might build up in the future? If her father became sick again and things took a turn, would she hate me for stealing her away?
That was simply unacceptable. It would be better to lose her at the end of this month than have her and ruin her. At least, that was how I felt in this moment, staring down at her as the sunlight bathed her in a warm glow. I pulled her in closer and shifted lower in the back seat of the cab to rest my cheek on her head. I closed my eyes.
Maybe I could help financially. Maybe we were close enough that she would accept a handout. I had plenty of money in the bank. There was no way her parents needed more than what I had.
I was a Casanova Bachelor, after all. It was part of the requirements. A fat bank account.
The sweet coconut and grapefruit aroma of Piper’s shampoo filled my nose and muddled my brain with cock-twitching memories of our time in the airplane. Of her body twisted and contorted before me, one leg up, spine arched, lips parted in a desperate cry of need.
I tugged at my jeans and lifted my ass from the seat to adjust myself.
Damn her.
I’d fallen just as hard for her body as I had for her soul.
My movement disturbed her. Her cheek slid from my shoulder, and she caught herself with a sharp intake of breath. One hand pressed flat to my chest, and I closed mine over hers. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.”
She blinked fatigue away and raked her fingers through her hair, drawing it back in a tangle of curls that had only become increasingly fuller and wilder since our passionate fuck session in the air. She truly looked like she belonged on the cover of a magazine with her hair like this, her eyes heavy with sleep, her lips puffy.
Oh yes. She was heavenly.
“It’s all right,” she said as she peered blurrily through the car windows. “Are we close?”
“Five minutes. Tops.”
Piper snuggled back into my side. Smiling to myself, I held her to me and continued to breathe in the smell of her until we arrived at my house and the cab driver stopped in my driveway. I saw to paying his meter and tipped him, then collected our small bags of items we had picked up while in New York. Piper was practically glued to my side as we made our way up the driveway to the front door, where I set the bags down, unlocked the door, and let us in.
Even though we’d been gone just shy of twenty-four hours, it felt like I’d been away from home longer. It welcomed me with open arms, as it had since I was a child, and I looked to Piper to see if she found comfort in returning here.
She was stepping out of her shoes and shrugging out of her coat. She hung it in the closet and nudged her shoes under the shoe rack before drawing the door closed. Then she rubbed at her eyes, reached her arms over her head, and indulged in a full-body stretch that lifted the hem of her gray shirt halfway up her lean, toned stomach.
I had to mentally check myself to keep my tongue in my mouth.
This was not the time to ravage her with more fucking. She probably needed time to regroup. To get her bearings. To continue processing the changes that had just seized her life and that of her family.
But still, that body of hers called to me.
She turned away, and I watched her ass as she went. I couldn’t help myself. Her hips swayed with each languid step, and she paused at the base of the stairs, resting a delicate hand on the banister as she peered over her shoulder at me. “I’m still so tired.”
&
nbsp; I nodded as graciously as I could manage. “Then you should rest. You’ve been through an emotional storm and a half.”
She drew her bottom lip into her mouth. Her cheeks puckered. My cock grew by the second.
“I don’t want to be alone,” she whispered.
“Me neither.”
Genuine warmth touched her eyes, and she smiled. “Come to bed with me?”
She didn’t have to ask me twice. I crossed the foyer in six easy strides, met her at the bottom of the stairs, and slid a hand in the back pocket of her jeans as we ascended. Her fingers whispered up the railing, a steady tempo to our footsteps on the stairs. At the landing, we turned toward my bedroom, not hers, and neither of us spoke a word as we stepped into my gray room, bathed in the cool light of dusk.
Piper wasted no time going to the bed and drawing back the covers. She paused as she undid the fly of her jeans and looked up at me. “Do you have a side of the bed?”
I shook my head.
I watched the woman I was falling head over heels for strip down to her lace bra and panties before sliding into my sheets. The sight tickled something inside me I hadn’t felt in a long time. It wasn’t a sense of longing, per se, but it was similar. A reminder that I hadn’t had something this intimate with a woman in a very long time.
There wasn’t anything sexual about it. There was no promise of things getting hot and heavy. This was simpler than that. It was sheer need for closeness.
And I was going to be there.
I joined Piper in the bed after taking off most of my clothes. I left my boxers on and rolled onto my back. She slipped back under my arm, where she’d lived for the last twenty-four hours, and I stroked her hair, intertwining it in my fingers and letting it roll softly over my knuckles before falling back to the pillow.
She draped her arm over my ribs. “Thank you, Christian.”
“I’m here, Piper. I’m not going anywhere.”
Her breathing evened out quickly as sleep took her. I stayed where I was, not wanting to wake her, and stared at the ceiling for a good forty-five minutes before tiredness even touched me.
When I fell asleep, my dreams were blessed with Piper. And when I woke every hour on the hour like clockwork, my waking minutes were as good as my dreams.