by S. J. Sylvis
So, that was what I did.
Piper tensed as I dipped down on the other side and lay the same way she was, both of our backs flat against the mattress, staring at the white ceiling painted with our silhouettes. Our hands were millimeters away from touching, and it was daunting. I actually had to fight the temptation of interlacing our fingers.
“We’ve come a long way,” I whispered, still staring at the ceiling. I felt the shift of Piper’s head, and I knew she was looking at me. I swallowed. Being this close to her sparked something inside of me. Anticipation and exhilaration. She was such a tease, but innocently so.
“We really have.” Her soft breath floated across the bed and hit the side of my face.
My chest heaved. The dip in my core did not go unnoticed.
Silence passed between us, and I couldn’t help but wonder if she was thinking the same thing I was. The air was crackling; I could feel the zing of electricity through our hushed words. I loved these quiet, small moments with her—the two of us shut away from everything and everyone.
The soft sound of her moving her head back to look at the ceiling caused me to look out of the corner of my eye. I was mesmerized by the slow rise and fall of her chest.
“Have you decided what you’re going to say to your dad? Or when?”
I clenched my eyes tight and felt myself slipping into that territory I didn’t like to get into. “I don’t want to talk about that. Not right now.”
Another hushed moment passed, the low thump of music our only melody. I slowly shifted so I could see her again. I traced over her delicate profile as she continued looking straight. The high cheek bones, the long eyelashes, her dainty nose. The curve of her lips that I wanted to run my tongue over.
I moved back to my rightful position, taking my eyes off her. “Have you decided what you’re going to do once Tank is paid off? Where that’ll leave you and your brother?”
Piper sucked in a sharp breath. The slow rhythm of her breathing sped up. I wanted to rest my hand over her chest to let her know I was here, but when I felt her move, I turned, and our gazes locked. “I also don’t want to talk about it. Not right now.”
“We’re quite the pair, you and I.” I grinned and took pride in the fact that she was fighting her own smile. “Shoving away our problems. Hiding out upstairs during a party.”
“This isn’t the first time we’ve done this.” She said it so softly I almost didn’t hear, but her whispers were like a beckoning call to me. I clung to them hard.
The memory drifted back, and I had glimpses of that night again. The dark room, her soft curves, the slow in and out movement, the sloppy lustful kisses that I would never forget.
Groaning, I sat up in bed, pushing away the memory. I shifted some, putting much needed space between us as I rested along the headboard.
I wanted nothing more than to relive that night.
But this moment right here was nothing like the past. We had been able to let our boundaries down that night because there was nothing on the table but hidden secrets in a dark room. We weren’t invested. We didn’t care about each other. Feelings weren’t involved.
But now, they were. I could feel it, and she could feel it. There was something between us. Leaning over and kissing her had the potential to blow up in our faces. There was a frightening connection between the two of us, and it’d only grow stronger if we crossed into that territory.
“Do you remember that night?” she asked quietly.
My jaw clenched as I pushed my back further into the headboard. Stupid question, Piper. Of course I remember that night.
She whispered under her breath, “I told you something that night.”
I looked at her out of the corner of my eye again, too afraid that if I saw her longing eyes, I’d throw caution to the wind and take her right there, not caring about the consequences. I cleared my throat. “I remember. You told me you did something bad, and you came upstairs to escape the party. For a moment of silence.” There was nothing about that night that I could forget.
Piper shifted a little closer to me, and I held my breath. Our jeans rubbed together, denim scratching against denim. “And you told me you had just found out that your dad wasn’t really your dad.”
I huffed. “Just two teenaged strangers telling secrets in a dark room at a banger.” All of my nerves were at a standstill. A year of rising tensions rested between Piper and me, and I was certain we were seconds from exploding. The entire house was going to go up in flames if I didn’t get out of this room as soon as possible. But I couldn’t. I couldn’t leave with her looking at me the way she was. Her pupils were dilated, and the apples of her cheeks were tinted. Her soft lips did nothing to deter me from staying in my room with her.
“Did you know it was me that night? When we had sex? Did you know?” I asked, curious.
Piper nodded, and my eyes went back to her mouth. I watched the words fall out. “I did. And then I recognized you the first day I started at English Prep.”
Something felt heavy inside my chest. “And you still never told anyone about my dad?”
Her head shook back and forth.
“Not even when I pretended like I didn’t know you?”
My heart grew so large in my chest I thought it might split my ribs open. Piper knew my deepest, darkest secret, and she didn’t tell a single soul, not even when I’d made her stumble over her words or caused her to sway on her feet from flirting. If there was one thing I loved most about her, it was her gentle heart. Her loyalty. Her need to help others. She protected me and my secret well before she even truly knew me.
“Your secrets aren’t mine to tell, Ollie. And even though, in the beginning of all of this, when I said I’d tell Christian, I knew deep down I never would. I couldn’t do that to you.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose before pushing down a rising lump in my throat. “You’re a good person, Piper. You have a heart of pure fucking gold.” I paused before meeting her face. “I really hate that it’s broken.”
She quickly looked back to the ceiling, keeping her features calm. “It’s not broken.”
“It is. The broken ones are always the ones who help others. That’s you.”
Silence fell between us like a brick wall as she gathered her thoughts. I felt unsettled. My words were true, but part of me wished I’d never said them.
Piper slowly rose from the bed, and I waited for her to leave the room. I was certain I’d upset her, but instead of her swinging her legs over the side of the bed and walking back down to the party, she turned toward me leaning against the headboard. “Then mend me.”
I stilled. “What?”
She was staring at my mouth, and I grew hot. Don’t tempt me, Piper.
“You were the one who said I was broken.” She scooted closer, and the bed dipped. Her hand wrapped around my bicep, her warm palm on my searing skin. There was a single lock of her copper hair that fell onto her face. “So mend me.”
Fuck.
I wanted to be a gentleman. I wanted to tell her no, because I knew, deep down, fucking her wasn’t going to fix things, but at the same time, I knew it would put a Band-Aid on her heart, and if that was all I could give her right now, then so be it.
Whatever she wanted, I’d give to her. Even if it tore my own heart out in the process.
It happened fast. My hands were on her body, her hair spilling out all around her as I pushed her flat to her back.
Piper gasped as I towered over her. One of my knees wedged in between hers. “You really want to do this?”
I bounced my eyes back and forth between hers as my chest constricted. Please say yes. Piper kept a hold of my stare, and her pretty lips parted. “Yes. Let’s be us again…the us that no one else knows.”
And just like that, every single coherent thought left my head. Even if this was only a trip down memory lane, I didn’t care.
Piper and I were like putting gasoline on a flame.
There was no putting us out.
Not tonight.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Piper
My legs trembled as Ollie shot up from the bed. The beating of my heart drummed so wildly it drowned out the low music from the party. His long legs carried him over to his bedroom door, and for a moment, I thought I’d made a fool out of myself. I thought I’d read the situation all wrong, but when I heard the click of the lock, I clenched my thighs together.
Ollie’s sharp jaw was pointing toward me, his pretty blue eyes burning all the places he touched. My chest was heaving as shivers skittered down my back.
This was it. Ollie and me, again.
And there was absolutely no way I was denying this feeling. Something was different between us. Like we were tethered by a fraying thread of twine. I wasn’t sure if it would hold, but for tonight, we weren’t pulling in opposite directions. It wasn’t pulled taut with tension. Tonight, we were on the same side. There was no question about it.
I lay still on the bed as Ollie appeared at my feet. I felt small on his king-sized bed, his dark comforter soft underneath my body. The small lamp on his desk made the room glow in warmth. There were shadows underneath his firm jaw, on his high cheekbones and straight nose. He ripped his shirt off, and I felt my jaw fall slightly. Peaks and valleys of muscles lined his torso, and I couldn’t stop staring.
Last time we did this, we were fumbling in the dark. I’d felt his hard muscles and traced over the lines with trembling fingers, but now that he was standing right in front of me, I was certain I'd never seen anything so beautiful.
“Take your clothes off.”
I sucked in a breath at the sound of his demanding tone, but I loved it all the same. I gingerly sat up and reached under the hem of my shirt and flung it off. Ollie watched my every move with each tracing line of his eye, and I swore it made things ten times hotter.
I liked this. I liked watching him fall to his knees with lust. His chest was moving quickly, the veins in his forearms bulging as he clenched his fists together.
You like this, Ollie? ‘Cause so do I.
The button of my jeans sprang free, and his hooded eyes widened. I shimmied off the bed and pulled the tight material down my legs, kicking my pants across the room.
A black lacy bralette and a skimpy pair of underwear were the only things left on my body, and for some reason, I wasn’t timid in the slightest. The last time we’d done this, it was too dark to see anything, which was good, because I was nervous. I had been way out of my comfort zone but so desperate to rebel that I had pushed away all doubts and uncertainty until afterwards.
But tonight, the nerves were gone. The only thing I felt was excitement.
A hiss between his teeth had me smirking. His nostrils flared as he stomped toward me. His warm hands went around my hips, and I swore they seared my very skin. For a moment, we just stared at each other. My chest pressed along his, his fingers digging into my hips. I gulped as he took his hand and angled my chin up. “I’m going to ask you one more time, Piper. Are you sure about this?”
It only took half a second for me to nod and the other half for him to kiss me. His tongue slid in and moved over mine languidly, and I fought back a moan. Ollie was a damn good kisser. Warm, soft lips and a slow, calculated tongue that dipped in my mouth, making warm tingles float over my skin.
But soon, our slow and sensual kiss turned into a starving thirst that neither of us could quench. Our teeth clanked, and my lip was tugged by his bite as he quickly backed me up against his closet door. My legs involuntarily spread open as his knee slid in between them. Our kisses were rushed and raw, his hand pulling on my hair as I opened myself up to him. The heat between our bodies was enough to melt anyone who came near.
His hardness hit my belly, and I panted, pulling away for a moment. The softness of Ollie’s baby blues was gone, and in its place was an untamed need that I was clawing to get at. His dark pupils were dilated with lust, and I simply felt wild. There was a part of me that craved to be timid and self-conscious, but when Ollie kept hold of my stare and crept his hand past my hip, gripping the inside of my thigh, I bit so hard on my bottom lip that it bled.
“Open those legs for me, babe.”
A rush of breath fell out from my mouth, and I fluttered my eyes shut. His palm was rough along my soft skin as he very slowly traced a line from the inside of my knee to my most sensitive spot.
A growl from him had me withering against the wall, my legs opening even wider.
I felt the cool air brush over me as he moved my panties to the side, and I had to force my legs straight to keep my knees from buckling. I was shivering.
When his finger slowly dipped inside of me, my eyes flew open.
Ollie was watching me, his eyes lustful and dangerous. His free hand came up, and he gripped my face as he dipped his mouth onto mine again. His kisses mixed with the swirl of his finger had me losing my breath. I couldn’t breathe or think clear thoughts. The line I had drawn between us over the last year was completely invisible now, and I didn’t care in the slightest. Hate blurred with love, and I wasn’t sure where I stood anymore. The only thing I cared about was riding his hand.
“Ollie,” I managed to croak out.
His knee pushed my legs even further apart, and I threw my head back. His hand slipped from my face and rested along my neck.
“That’s it, baby. Right there.” He seemed to find my sweet spot, and I moaned. “Let go for me.”
And I did.
My body exploded, and I all but collapsed in his arms. He caught me quickly, scooped up my legs, and wrapped them around his waist. They felt like Jell-O as he laid me on the bed.
Ollie’s hair was a rustled mess, the light strands sticking up in the hottest way possible. His tongue darted out and licked his swollen lips as he stared down at me with a look that had me burning up all the same.
“Fuck me,” I whispered, surprising myself.
His eyes flared as his hands wrapped around my legs. “Only if you promise you’ll say those words to me again, preferably in the near future.”
Was that even a question?
I slowly sat up in his bed and kept his stare in line with mine. I reached my shaky fingers behind my back and unclasped my bra, letting the straps fall down one by one against my shoulders. “Fuck me, Ollie. Fuck me like I’m the only girl you want to fuck.”
In an instant, Ollie was completely naked and pulling a condom over himself. He was hovering over me with a look that I'll likely take to my grave. “Don't you see, Piper?” His mouth was a breath away from mine. “You”—he pulled my panties down my legs and tossed them to the side—“are”—he began to slide into me, and I arched my back—“the only”—he was one thrust in, and I lost my ability to focus on anything other than him—“the only girl I fucking see.”
His thrusts were slow at first, but as soon as I began moving below him and our lips fused, they were hard and fast. His name fell off my lips through a muffle of moans as I found another release, and just as I thought it couldn’t get any better, he flipped me around mid-thrust and took me in a completely different way.
His hand trailed over my spine slowly as he paused for a minute, and I felt myself tighten almost instantly. This is way too good. If I wasn’t careful, I could completely lose myself in all things Ollie. This might ruin me for life.
My body was spent, but it was winding up again as Ollie moved over me. “Fuck, Piper,” he moaned as I began crumbling. His hand found my breast, and all it took was one handful and his body stilled. His head dropped to my back, and his heavy breathing coated my skin like a warm blanket. He placed a soft kiss to my spine, and I felt something I’d never ever felt before.
Ollie was all sunshine and smiles around a group of people. He was chivalrous and a true flirt. But behind closed doors, he was dark and raw and unforgiving in every single way, and I loved every single second of it.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Ollie
Never in my life had
I acted so feral. I was wild with lust and desire at the sight of Piper opening herself up to me, and I took every single part of her. Her creamy skin and fuck-me eyes. Pair those with her dirty mouth, and I could fuck her every day for the rest of my life, and it still wouldn’t be enough.
Nothing else mattered now that I had her like this. I had her completely. It wasn’t a secret locked away in a dark room, disguised as a one-night stand. This was unforgettable. We did it, and we knew it. This wasn’t something you brushed under the rug. This wasn’t something you came back from.
Piper was mine.
And I hoped she knew it.
Once I pulled out of her and wiped the sweat off my brow, I got dressed and threw her one of my T-shirts. She sat up in my bed, her hair tumbling down her chest, hiding those perky breasts that were in my hands a second ago, and pulled the shirt over her head.
I smirked as I walked over to her, standing at the foot of the bed. “Don’t steal this one, okay?”
Her head tipped down as she took in the English Prep shirt. “I make no promises.”
I chuckled as I climbed onto the bed. Piper tried to sit up straight, but I wrapped my arm around her and pulled her in close. Her warm body snuggled up to me as she fit in the crook of my arm. The bareness of her leg hooked over mine, and for the first time in months—maybe even all year—I felt at peace.
Calm.
Serene.
Like all was right in my world again.
We lay in silence for a little while until our breathing evened out. I listened to the music downstairs and the muffled laughter from the party.
“Do you think next weekend will be the last race?” she asked.
Yes.
“Depends on how much we make tonight from the party. Tank texted and said he’d profited over 5k from the races. So, I think so.”
Piper peered up at me, her hair brushing along my arm. “I was thinking, if we need to make more money, I can ask Andrew to have a party like this. I’d help him, of course. We can make it a themed party. He’s the equivalent to Christian and you, but at Wellington Prep. He could charge $1,000 and people would still probably pay it.” She shrugged. “He’d be down for it. He felt kind of bad after I explained the situation when you threatened Cole.”
