by Emma Nichole
I slide into the car. It’s very low to the ground, so it feels like it takes forever for my body to actually come into contact with the plush, soft leather. Even with the top down, it smells expensive. I’m nearly too scared to touch anything. I don’t want to make a thousand dollar mistake.
He gets behind the wheel next to me. Somehow, his tall form folds perfectly into the seat like this car was custom-made for him.
“There is a hat in the glove compartment should you decide you want one.” He tugs the sunglasses from his shirt and slips them over his eyes.
I reach down for my small purse, sitting at my feet, and pull my own shades from their case, then slip them onto my face.
“I’ve never ridden in a convertible before,” I admit. “I’m excited.”
He reaches over and gives my bare thigh a squeeze. “I’m glad I get to be your first.” He squeezes me again before using that hand to turn the key, firing up the engine that I can feel purring under me.
“Oh my God, it even sounds sexy.”
“Oh, baby, you have no idea.”
He pulls away from the sidewalk and we are on our way.
When we reach the tree-lined Jackie Robinson Parkway, he reaches into his jacket pocket and produces his cell phone.
“Here.” He hands it to me. “It’s connected to the Bluetooth. Had to add something modern to it,” he adds when he sees my confused expression. “You can pick the music. Anything at all. The tunes are yours.”
“Oh, I feel the power, the ultimate power,” I say dramatically.
He gives me the passcode to his phone, which already feels like a giant leap in the trust department, and I open up the streaming app he has downloaded.
It doesn’t take me long until the sultry voice of Citizen Cope is flowing from the speakers. Between the music, the air blowing around me, and Nathanial’s presence to my left, I’m flying high on serotonin.
I relax against the headrest and drop my eyes closed, letting the music wash over me, mouthing the words that are all about holding on. I feel free in this moment. The stress of everything back in the city becomes a distant memory with every mile we drive.
I don’t open my eyes when I feel his hand back on my thigh or when his thumb grazes my skin back and forth slowly, somehow perfectly aligned with the slow rhythm of the music. I feel like I could fly right now. Just put my arms in the air and glide right up into the sky.
I raise my arms slowly over my head, imagining as the air whooshes over my skin that I’m doing just that. I’m lost in the music. I’m lost in Nathanial and in my feelings for him. I don’t even realize that I’m singing out loud until the song begins to roll to a close and my eyes finally open to see him glancing over at me.
“What?”
“Piper, promise me that you’ll always remember how you feel this very moment.”
“What do you mean?”
“I think, for the very first time, I saw the real you. I could watch you that way forever.” He brings my hand to his lips and kisses the top.
I can’t stay on my side of the car any longer. My body just won’t allow it.
I unbuckle the seat belt and lean over so I can give him a full, heated, kiss. His head remains perfectly still, as his eyes have to remain on the road, but his mouth is as magical as ever.
***
Just under ninety minutes later, we are pulling up to a large gate in front of a long stretch of a driveway. Nathanial reaches out and presses a code into the keypad then the black, iron gates slide to the left, giving us entry to pull through.
When we take a small curve in the driveway, the home comes into view, and it actually takes my breath away.
“Holy fuck,” I say, which must amuse him because he chuckles quietly.
The property itself is completely surrounded by lush, green trees, but the scent of the ocean just beyond them in unmistakable.
We reach a large roundabout at the front of the house, and I’m able to fully appreciate it, when the car comes to a stop.
It’s a two-story, white affair with multiple windows dotting across it. The porch boasts four, white pillars, giving it a larger-than-life appearance and just beyond those lies a royal blue door.
“This is incredible. This is yours?” I ask, as he pulls my bag out from behind the seats, followed by his.
“It’s a family home. Technically it belongs to my parents, but they never really come up here. Not anymore.”
I turn to look at him, because the meaning behind his words is heavy, even if I don’t know exactly why that is.
“Well, it’s a beautiful home, and I’m sure the inside is just as spectacular.”
Honestly, spectacular is too small of a word to describe the inside.
With its open floor plan and double height ceilings, it feels open, airy, and inviting. Large windows in every room let the sunshine in, and I want to find the nearest window seat to read and nap in. I could stay here forever.
Just off the foyer is an expansive living area with plush, beige-colored sofas in the shape of an L around a coffee table, and a large television hangs above a gas fireplace.
“Did you come here a lot as a kid?” I ask him, as he shows me around to each room.
“Yes. We were here for every holiday and almost all summer. By we, I mean mostly my mother and me. My dad was usually too busy in the city. I have lots of memories here.”
I don’t push for more information about his dad. I trust that when he wants to share with me, he will.
We round the corner to a full kitchen with stainless steel appliances and an island in the very center.
“Can I cook in here later?” I ask.
“I was hoping you would. I didn’t want to assume, so we can order out or go grab a bite if you don’t want to cook.”
“Oh, I absolutely want to.” I place my purse on the island and turn to him, wrapping my arms around him. “Thank you for bringing me here.”
“Thank you for saying yes.” He kisses the tip of my nose. “Come on. There’s more to see.”
Nathanial
Seeing her in my family home is having an effect on me that takes me by complete surprise. I’ve never brought a woman here. Ever.
Not even quick fucks when I’ve used the house in recent memory to get away from the city.
This place has been off-limits to anyone except close family and friends, so having her within these walls is making me feel something in my chest I’m not ready to acknowledge yet.
I show her the media room, multiple bathrooms, and the pool. All of which she reacts the same way to. With complete respect and adoration, though I can’t tell if she’s comfortable. That will be known just beyond the next door we walk through.
The master bedroom. Under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t use this bedroom, but I want to for her, for us. It’s big and beautiful. I want her to feel special.
The room is broken up into two sections in the open floor plan. The right side is a sitting room with two large windows on each side, and to the left is the large, California king-sized bed covered in white sheets and a white down comforter. The bed we will undoubtedly lay ourselves bare in the next two nights. The bed where we will explore one another and explore what this is brewing between us.
That reality is thick in the air when she walks over and sits on the edge of the bed.
“Is this where we’ll be sleeping?” she asks, sliding her hands over the soft fabric.
“It is.”
“This place is amazing, Nathanial. It really is.”
I walk over to her and stand just in front of her knees. She reaches out and wraps her arms around my body so she can pull me closer, then she rests her forehead on my stomach.
“Tell me what you’re thinking.” I slide my hand over the top of her head and down her back over and over, petting her, appreciating her.
“I’m thinking that I’m happy and I feel so relaxed, but I’m also nervous, and I hope you will finally show me the real you. The one I kn
ow is inside of you somewhere. I want to be Piper and Nathanial this weekend. Nothing more than that.”
“Look at me.” I place my finger under her chin and tilt her head back. “Here is what I want you to do. Let go of anything you’re currently overthinking about, and instead, think about what you need me to stock the kitchen with for two days, and I’ll call for it to be delivered. Then I want you to change into your swimsuit. We are going to see the water and maybe take a dip. After that, we’ll play every single moment by ear and just do what we want and what feels right. Deal?”
She gives me a smile. “Deal.”
I bend down to give her a kiss, which she happily accepts.
She slides her hands underneath my shirt and grazes her nails up and down my back, causing me to groan into her mouth.
She parts her lips, offering me sweet access to her tongue. I didn’t want to hop immediately into bed with her. I wanted to make sure she knew this trip wasn’t just about sex, but when she makes that small purring sound under her breath when she’s turned on, I lose all willpower. A man can only handle so much.
She starts to lean back, pulling me with her until I am bracing my entire weight on my hands on the mattress by each side of her head.
With a simple widening of her thighs, I fit my hips between them and things progress from a simple kiss to foreplay almost instantly.
Clothes are disappearing. Breathing is becoming more labored and audible. She pushes up on her elbows and shimmies backward up the bed, and I follow her, sans shirt and jeans now pushed down under my ass.
Her romper is in a heap on the floor, panties right along with it.
“Hurry,” she begs, clawing at my waist, trying to pull me even closer than I already am.
I reach into my boxer briefs to pull my erection free and the sound of my ringing cell phone in my pocket slices directly through the moment.
“Fuck’s sake,” I say, as I drop my head to her shoulder.
“Take it,” she says with a giggle.
“Absolutely not. No way.” I kiss her neck, her chin, her jaw, and the ringing finally stops, but before there’s even a hint of peace, it starts ringing all over again.
“It could be important.” She pushes me back a bit with her hands on my shoulders. “Maybe your parents?”
That one sentence is like an ice bucket over my libido.
I move from her body and sit on the side of the bed, pulling my cell phone from my pocket.
It’s Gabrielle.
I turn around to Piper and hold my screen up. “I need to take this. It will just be a second.”
“Take your time.” She sits up and grabs her panties from the floor.
“I’ll be right back,” I tell her before answering the call. “Hey, Gabs.”
I cradle the phone on my shoulder and right my jeans, zipping them up.
“Jesus. Why are you so hard to get a hold of?”
“I told you I was going to The Hamptons house this weekend.” I look over my shoulder just in time to see Piper step into her romper and disappear into the bathroom.
“Yeah, but you always answer your phone, no matter where you are. Workaholic, remember?”
“I’m more than aware of that fact as it is thrown in my face often. Look, Gabs, I have company with me. Let’s make this quick.” I step out onto the patio just off the master bedroom, closing the door behind me.
“Wait a second. Company? As in company with a vagina?”
“Jesus, Gabrielle. Don’t start.”
“Yes! I knew it. Okay okay. I don’t want to ruin this alternate universe we have clearly slipped into here, so I’ll say what I need to say and be done with it.”
“Which is what I asked for from the start, but I digress.” I pinch the bridge of my nose.
“Okay, so we’ve run into a couple of hiccups with the current owners and some pushback, but I’m working through all of that now. I just wanted you to be aware of the situation. You know I don’t like making these moves without talking to your first.”
I look back over my shoulder and through the window to look for Piper, but she isn’t in the room anymore.
“Fuck’s sake. Okay. Let’s go over this, but we need to make it quick.”
Chapter 19
Piper
I’d like to say I was able to take it in stride that he completely ruined whatever moment we were having to answer the call from another woman, because let’s face it, I told him to answer, but that doesn’t make me less annoyed by it.
The sting of jealousy is a sharp bitch, and I don’t handle it well, especially when I know the woman he’s talking to is a blonde bombshell he carves out meeting time with every single week.
I’m in the kitchen making a grocery list in my phone when he finally comes back inside, fifteen minutes after stepping outside.
“Sorry about that. I didn’t mean for it to take that long,” he says, coming up to my side and placing a kiss to my temple.
“It’s okay,” I simply say, staring at my phone, adding onions to the list.
“Hey.” He uses his hand on my jaw to turn my gaze to him. “I know that look. What’s the matter?”
Lay it all out, Piper. That’s what this weekend is for.
“Who is Gabrielle? I see her at the office a lot, obviously, and she seems pretty important in your life.”
He winds his hands around my waist, lifts me to sit on the kitchen island then makes a home standing between my knees.
“Gabrielle has been my best friend since we were little shits playing in the sandbox. She is also my business partner. We are 50-50 owners and co-CEOs of NCL Properties. She called because she needed to fill me in on some property we are looking to buy.”
Now I feel stupid. I drop my forehead onto his shoulder.
“That actually makes a lot of sense. Jesus, what a jealous lunatic I must seem like,” I giggle.
“Actually, I never thought that about you at all. We were having a pretty intimate moment, and I stopped it to answer a phone call. I would have been shocked if you didn’t question who I was talking to.” He slides his hand up and down my spine.
“Tell me more about what you do. I think I have an idea, but I want you to tell me.” I rise up from my spot on his shoulder so I can see his face.
“Well, my passion is architecture. I love seeing an empty lot and imagining what I can help put there.”
“But you also buy real estate, right?”
“Yes. If there is a property we are interested in, we make our offer, purchase it outright, knock down existing structures, or remodel, develop them up, and sell to the city, or private buyers.”
“No wonder you don’t enjoy working at Lennox.” I place my hands on his strong shoulders, softly massaging the knots.
“It’s not that I don’t enjoy it, because there are definite perks.” He turns his head to the right and gives my forearm a nibble. “But it’s just not where I want to be. Does that make sense?”
“Complete sense. It’s not like I aspired to be an assistant when I was a little girl.”
“What did you want to be when you grew up?”
I can’t stop the smile on my lips. “A gardener,” I giggle. “I was obsessed with flowers and plants when I was little. Obviously, they aren’t exactly in abundance in the city, so my dad had built me a little rooftop garden. I would grow herbs for my mom to cook with.”
“And what about college graduate Piper? What did she want to be?”
His hands haven’t stopped exploring my body the entire time we’ve been talking. It’s not sexual. It’s comfortable.
“Grown-up Piper wanted to work in publishing, which is how I ended up applying to Lennox in the first place. I love books and discovering new authors. Obviously my parents had hoped I’d take over the restaurant one day, but that’s clearly not an issue anymore.” I look down, but he lowers his head so he can still see my face. “And even if it was an issue, my brother’s really enjoy the work and are passionate about it, so the
y’d take it, I’m sure.”
“Your passion for the industry is clear every single day at the office, Piper.”
“It won’t matter if I’m out of a job soon.” I feel his body tense at my comment, so I slide my hands to cup his face in my hands. “No more work talk. Not now. Not while we are here.”
“Thank fuck,” he says, and we both laugh.
It’s too easy to fall back into the same routine, like bickering about work, but that’s not why we are here, and we shouldn’t let it in.
“I’ve made a small grocery list of things we’ll need for me to cook some meals while we stay here.” I flip my phone around and let him see the menu I came up with.
“Sweet Christ, I’m going to leave this place fifteen pounds heavier than when I arrived.”
“Nah, we’ll find a way to work it off,” I tease.
“Oh, will we?” He leans forward, aiming to kiss me.
“Of course. Yoga, Pilates, hell, maybe even a jog on the beach or two. HEY!” I screech when he lifts me up and tosses me over his shoulder like a caveman.
“Leave your phone on the counter. Wouldn’t want to ruin it.”
“What? What do you mean?” I hand him my phone so he can discard it. “Put me down.” I swat at his ass, but yelp when he gives me a return smack of the ass.
“Nope.” He pops the P like a little boy who is very proud of himself.
“Where are you taking me?” I ask, when he walks out the back door.
“You’re a bit of a tease, Ms. Kingston. Are you aware of that?”
I try to look around, but it’s hard to tell exactly where he’s going from my upside down angle, but I don’t have much time to contemplate or even ask any more questions before I’m launched into the air.
I screech out some version of his name right before my body lands in the cool waters of the swimming pool.
I emerge from the water, coughing and sputtering because I’m pretty sure I inhaled ten liters worth of chlorine.
