by Piper Rayne
I touch my messy bun. “If I’d known you were going to paint me, I’d have done my hair or something.”
“This is how I like you.” His chest hits my back and his fingers land on the top button of his shirt. “Except without the shirt.”
I barely blink before his shirt is open with all buttons intact. “How did you get so good at unbuttoning things?”
“When I was little, my mom had one of those blankets with the snaps, buttons, and Velcro? She said I loved the button one. Who would’ve guessed it would pay off when I got older?”
He pulls the shirt over my shoulders until it falls into a pile on the floor. His warm hands unclasp my bra, guiding it down my arms until it’s on the floor in front of us. Bending, he hooks his fingers into the sides of my panties and slides them down my legs. I step out of them and he tosses them somewhere.
“Remind me to thank your mom the next time I see her.”
His lips land on my shoulder, one hand running down my side and the other up my torso. With his body over mine, sheltering me with his bare chest, I never want to leave. Being with Liam, seeing myself through his eyes is enough to bring a fresh set of tears to my eyes.
“Congratulations, you’ve graduated from Find Yourself University. Your professor would like to give you your reward now.”
Goose bumps rise on every inch of my skin as his fingers slide through my folds at the same time he pinches my nipple. As much as I’d love to stay in this position, there’s something I’ve been wanting to do, and there’s no better time than now.
“Actually, Professor Kelly, I’d like to give you a thank you gift.” I turn and fall to my knees, unbuttoning and unzipping his jeans. Pushing them down his legs, I take his boxer briefs with them and watch how his hard, thick length springs out and strains toward his belly button.
He helps me get him out of his clothes and releases my hair tie so that my hair falls around my shoulders. “Sav,” he sighs when my hand wraps around him.
I cut our game of professor and student short, licking up his length and twirling my tongue around the crown. His fingers dive into my hair, twisting the strands. He watches me with a heated gaze that only makes me wetter. I close my mouth over him and pump him at the same time.
“Tell me you watched a YouTube video to be this good?”
I chuckle, my lips still wrapped around him, and stare up at him, not answering his question because he’s not listening anyway. His eyes roll back, and I thank him in my own way for helping me find myself again. I might not be that same nineteen-year-old girl anymore, but I’m enjoying my life again as the woman I am.
His fingers grip my hair harder, so I bob faster, suck harder, and pump tighter. Every moan and groan and growl that falls from his lips spurs me to keep going. The fact that I can get him to where he is right now elates me. He bucks into my mouth, and I moan. He looks so hot from down here. His eyes fly open and I stare at him, not wanting to miss a second of his reaction.
“Sav, I’m going to—”
I keep going, not relenting until he pushes into my mouth and finishes down my throat.
“Fuck,” he whispers.
I lick him clean before rising from my knees, and he wastes no time picking me up and taking me over to the stool I was painting on earlier.
“Leg on either side, babe. It’s my turn to feast.”
This time it’s him who falls to his knees.
Thirty-Five
Liam
I’ve been to Bailey Timber because of this library fundraising gala so often that Carrie keeps my name tag on the corner of her desk now.
I slide it off her desk as I walk by. “Hey, Carrie.”
“Mr. Kelly.”
I hop into the elevator. Phoenix no longer waits to direct me where to go. Lucky for me, Savannah’s fridge didn’t come in on time, so she’s still living with me until it arrives this weekend. Sunday after the gala dinner, I’ll sadly take her back home, but my plan is to spend the night. She doesn’t know that yet, but I doubt I’ll hear a complaint.
The conference room is empty, so I head down the hall and stop at Samara’s small desk.
“You can go in, Liam. She’s just finishing something. Dori’s running a little late,” Samara says.
“Thanks.”
I knock, and Savannah waves me in. She’s at her desk in her big office. I can’t imagine my entire day being spent in front of a computer.
“Hey, you,” she says, sliding her chair out from behind her desk. She presses a button and her blinds draw closed.
“I better be the only guy you’ve done that for.”
“I promise.” She rises up on her tiptoes and kisses me.
After working late last night, I crawled into bed with her but didn’t get up this morning before she left for work. Shame, because now I see she’s wearing her wrap dress again. “Are we trying the two-second trick?”
She laughs. “Not unless we want Grandma Dori to catch us.”
I tug on the strand of fabric and find the button. She gasps, but I splay my hand wide and run it up her stomach to cover her breast. The dress falls away from her body as I capture her lips.
“You don’t play fair,” she mumbles against my lips.
I tweak her nipple, pushing her to the edge of her desk. She follows my non-verbal command and spreads her legs to make room for my hips.
“I never said I did.”
Her lips are soft, and I slide my tongue into her mouth to meet hers. Having her in my arms, with my lips and my hands on her, I’m not sure I’ll ever tire of this. Nor can I really believe it’s happening. It still feels surreal sometimes. My lips cascade down her neck and my hand pulls down the cup of her bra. I’m shocked she hasn’t stopped me yet.
“Guess what?” she says, and I look up at her, taking her nipple into my mouth. “We got two contracts, so we’re going to be okay. I mean, we have to get more, but this will keep us in the black for a while.”
My mouth comes off her tit with a pop and I capture her lips again. When I draw our kiss to a close, I say, “Congratulations. Let’s celebrate.”
“Tonight?”
“Yeah, at Terra and Mare. Not to brag, but I know the owner.” I wink and her face falls.
“About that…”
My dick deflates just as things were getting good. I step back. “What?”
“Just listen for a second, okay?”
I’m already annoyed. I’ve given her time, but this is ridiculous. I stand silent, waiting.
“I figure it’s only a few days. Let’s wait until after the gala. We don’t want to overshadow the event. So many questions will come up about us, and the focus should be the charity. Right after—Sunday, if you want—we’ll go to dinner and I’ll give you the biggest kiss on the mouth right in the middle of the gazebo in the town square.”
I blow out a breath. Seeing my reaction to her shitty news, she puts her breast back into her bra and fastens her dress in less time than it took for me to get it open.
I sit on the couch and put my head in my hands. “I can’t pretend to be cool with this. I was hoping to go to the gala with you. To hold your hand and get your drink. Hell, I’ll hold your purse for you. I’m done with this hiding shit.”
She rushes over and sits next to me, putting her hand on my thigh. “Me too. You think I don’t want the same thing?”
“Truthfully… I don’t think you do.”
She grips my thigh and presses her lips to my jaw. “I do. I really do. It’s just the timing is off. But we’re at the finish line.”
Finish line being that we can announce our relationship on the same day she moves out of my house. Stellar.
But I nod because what choice do I have? We’ve gone weeks. I can go a few more days. “Okay, but I expect a quickie in the coatroom.”
“Done.” She smiles at me and her lips meet mine. This time it’s her tongue sliding into my mouth and pushing the physical relationship.
I know my anger is transparent
Her office door opens, and I’m relieved we’re actually dressed. Dori and Phoenix stand at the door, staring at us.
Dori beams while Phoenix rolls her eyes. “Heard you two were doing the nasty.”
Dori shakes her head. “Don’t mind Phoenix. She’s in a mood.”
“Yeah, because you fired me this morning but gave me two weeks’ notice. The two-weeks thing is supposed to be the other way around.”
Dori sits in a chair, her overjoyed eyes on Savannah and me. “How about a thank you?”
“You want me to thank you for firing me?” Phoenix puts her feet on the table. “And I’m not getting any drinks today. I read my job description, and it never said anything about waitressing during meetings.”
Her indignant behavior pulls a laugh out of me, even in my sour mood.
“The day is almost here, so let’s get all our ducks in a row and make sure this event goes off with a bang.” Dori’s excitement doesn’t entice anyone else to slide to the edge of their seat.
I’m pissed, Phoenix is pissed, and Savannah can’t stop touching me. It’s a welcome change from her usual hands-off approach around her family but I can’t help but think it’s because she’s afraid I’m going to cut off whatever this is between us. I use the word whatever, because if we were in a relationship, I’d be sure that everyone in Lake Starlight knew.
Thirty-Six
Savannah
It’s finally the night of the charity gala. Since Liam and I couldn’t arrive together, I chose to get ready at home instead of at his house. I want to catch his eye from across the room when he sees me in my red dress for the first time. Plus, I had to sneak in his big surprise.
The venue we chose is the Lakeside Grill. It’s in Lake Starlight and big enough that we can fit all the tables that sold. I’m organizing the silent auction items while the waitstaff finishes setting the tables and filling water glasses.
“This is so cute. This was our best idea ever,” Grandma Dori coos. “The Cat in the Hat table is my favorite. Oh, but the Goodnight Moon one is adorable too.”
I face her as she’s walking from table to table. “They turned out great, right?”
“If this doesn’t get us enough for the addition, I’ll be shocked.”
We’re both happier now that Bailey Timber has the new contracts we obtained this week.
“I’m partial to Charlotte’s Web myself. And did you see the dessert tables with each theme? Greta outdid herself.”
Grandma Dori shifts her attention to the back wall where the dessert tables are lined up. Each one has a cake to go with the theme, along with bite-sized sweet treats. “She sure did.”
Silence fills the room, other than the clinking of silverware. I straighten the pads of paper and make sure there’s a pen at every station. I double-check the silent auction for a one-of-a-kind painting by a new Lake Starlight artist and bite my lip while staring at the easel I placed it on. Liam did an amazing job of capturing the town of Lake Starlight—the gazebo is lit up with twinkle lights, and the changing trees surrounding the square have the most vibrant colors. Even down to the miniscule details of each storefront. I question whether I’m doing the right thing, but he won’t be upset once he sees how high the bids reach.
“Whoa! It’s gorgeous in here,” Brooklyn says. Her gold dress and Wyatt’s black suit make them look as if they just flew in from New York City. Wyatt bought a table but put it in the name of Brooklyn’s company. He could’ve used the resort, but he said Brooklyn’s business needed the advertising more. He’s a keeper. “Heard about you and Liam. You cougar, you.”
I smile tightly.
She sighs since she knows my body language. “It’s a joke. I’m kidding.”
“I know.” But I hold up my hands to say we’re not talking about it here.
“It’s a good thing. I’m sure all that anger is good for your sex life.”
“Brook.” Wyatt shakes his head but slides his arm around her back. “We said we weren’t going to say anything.”
“She’s my sister. She’s secretly dating the town bad boy. Come on.”
“We’re going to look around. You did a great job.” Wyatt whisks an arguing Brooklyn away.
Her remark about my anger throws me off-kilter. I haven’t fought with Liam for weeks. Unless you consider this semi-silent toddler treatment he’s been giving me since I said we’d be open about our relationship after tonight. But Brooklyn hasn’t seen us together lately. All she remembers is how much we nitpicked one another.
I help the manager put up the barriers for the silent auction since I’m going to announce each item and describe it right after dinner.
More guests arrive, and I make the rounds. Austin and Holly look as though they’ve spray-tanned themselves because no one gets that dark during the summer in Alaska. Rome and Harley already have drinks in their hands by the time I catch them.
“No kids!” They clink their glasses together.
Denver comes with Phoenix, and they sit at the Lifetime Adventures table. Juno and Colton come to represent the veterinarian’s office. Kingston got called to a fire, and Sedona isn’t coming back from New York for this.
The Baileys in attendance appear to be doing their own thing. The one person I don’t spot while greeting and thanking everyone is the man who bought the Smokin’ Guns Tattoos table.
I walk over to Rhys, who’s sitting at the table with four girls I don’t recognize and two guys. The guys work at Smokin’ Guns. The girls don’t. And why are there four of them? I repeat in my head how much I trust Liam. I just don’t like that I’ll be at the Bailey Timber Corporation table at the front while he’ll be in the back, but I chose this.
“Hey, do you know if Liam is here?” I ask.
One girl turns to me and looks me up and down, but I ignore her.
Rhys bites his lip. “I haven’t seen him yet, but he told me to secure The Cat in the Hat table.” He fidgets with a red-and-blue bowtie left on the table for photo ops.
I nod. “Thanks.”
The one girl asks who I am as I walk away, and Rhys tells her I’m the organizer. Great. That doesn’t grate on my nerves at all.
As I walk out of the room, Greta stops me. She and a few other smaller businesses went in together to purchase a table. Sweet of them. It tells me my original idea to include more than just the wealthy businesses in this town would’ve been nice.
“Greta, it all looks great. We’re in love with them,” I say.
She carries on about the molding of the pigs’ figures and how her air conditioning went out and she had to make room in her fridge. I feel horrible for what she had to go through to get it all done, especially with six different themes. I’m grateful, but mid-conversation, Liam appears at the door. I want to give him a small wave, but Rhys raises his hand at him and Liam nods, walking across the room to him.
My gut and heart plummet.
“Are you okay, Savannah?” Greta’s hand touches mine.
I plaster on a smile. “Great. I have to cut you short though. I have to make sure everything is set for dinner.”
“Of course. Go.”
I walk past Liam’s table, noticing the girl who appraised me earlier is making Liam the center of her attention. He doesn’t stop me, and I don’t glance his way because what’s the point? Obviously we’re going for the we-still-hate-one-another vibe tonight.
The manager tells me that dinner will be served shortly, so I head to the microphone, not feeling as confident as I usually do. I purposely ignore the back left side of the room and clear my throat.
“Excuse me,” I say into the microphone. “If you could all find your seats, dinner is about to be served.”
Rome sits with Denver and Phoenix because Terra and Mare couldn’t afford a table and Denver said Chip and Nancy couldn’t come. Bailey Timber has two tables with employees seated at them, except for Austin and Holly since Austin sits on the board he sits with us.
Once everyone sits, Grandma Dori gives me a thumbs-up. She’s been doing that since I was twenty and she made me take over these thank you speeches at all the charity functions.
“On behalf of Bailey Timber and the Lake Starlight Library, we’d like to thank all of you for joining us tonight. The extension for the library…” I continue my speech, not having the nerve to look at Liam’s table. “After dinner, I’ll fill everyone in on the silent auction prizes. The businesses have been very generous this year.”
When I finish, Holly’s eagerly tapping the chair next to her, but I signal that I’ll be right there. I head toward the bathroom but decide to get some fresh air instead to calm my nerves. The valet guy glances at me as I stand by the side of the brick building, inhaling and closing my eyes.
“Great speech.” Liam slow-claps while he walks toward me.
“Hi.”
“Hi.” He tucks his hands into his pockets and stands feet away from me. God, I miss him. Why did I get ready at my house? His gaze takes me in from head to toe. “You look breathtaking.”
I could say the same about him. He’s wearing a black suit, white shirt, and black tie. His hair is gelled, and the tattoos sneaking out from under his cuffs and collar only increase his sex appeal.
“Are we okay?” I signal between us, purposely not acting like a jealous girlfriend by asking about the girl at his table.
He shrugs. “Yeah.”
“Then why are you all the way over there?” My voice is shallow, and I hate it.
“I thought we were still in the closet. Don’t want to tip anyone off, right?” His malicious tone says we’re having a fight but not admitting it. Passive-aggressiveness at its finest.
“All right then. I can see you’re still mad.” I walk away, but he performs his signature move by grasping my elbow. The valet guy steps forward and Liam digs into his pocket then hands him some money. “Go find a car to attend to.”
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