Crossing the Line

by Maggie Cole

  I realize what I’ve just said and I freeze, except for my breathing which is now going back into anxiety attack mode because I wasn’t supposed to reveal that.

  My lungs are tightening and my heart is squeezing so hard I have to move Piper off me, and I swing my legs over the edge of the bed and onto the floor. I bend over with my head between my knees, trying to breathe.

  Piper cannot know I need to buy these companies so I can destroy the big pharma insulin suppliers. Millions of Americans are rationing their insulin because they can’t afford it, and it’s marked up over 5,000 percent. So my plan is to buy these three companies who have rights for insulin, merge them, and drop the price to starve out the other companies. I know once I do this, there is going to be a price on my head, and I don’t want Piper to have any part of it.

  Piper jumps off the bed and kneels in front of me. “Noah, do I need to call an ambulance?”

  “No. I just need to breathe.”

  She pulls my face out of my knees and kisses me then makes me breathe then kisses me again.

  With my heart still racing, I wrap my arms around her and lift her off her knees. I fall back on the bed and pull her on top of me. She pushes her forehead against mine. “No more questions tonight.”

  She slowly nods, and I roll her off of me, onto the bed, and stroke her cheek. My heart is calming down and my breathing is getting better, but I continue to just stare at her.

  Piper bites her lip and caresses my head, running her hands through my hair just above my ears.

  “Don’t leave me in the middle of the night, Piper.”

  She nervously scans my eyes.

  “I mean it.”

  A small smile plays on her lips. “I’ve never left in the middle of the night. It’s always been morning.”

  “Don’t leave me in the morning. I’m not joking, either.” Piper may find the humor in what I’m telling her, but I’m serious about her not sneaking out on me.

  She doesn’t respond and tries to kiss me, but I don’t let her.

  “Piper, promise me.”

  “You aren’t going to kiss me?”

  “No. Not until you give me your word.”

  “Is that so?” Piper gives me a challenging stare.

  “Yes. So promise me and let’s get down to business,” I tease.

  Instead of promising me, Piper rolls off the bed, scrolls through her phone, and puts some hip-hop dance music on.

  I sit up on the edge of the bed. “What are you doing?”

  Smirking at me, she performs a striptease.

  Fuck, she’s hot.

  Trying to act like she isn’t affecting me, I raise my brow at her.

  When she is down to her bra and panties, she straddles me and gyrates in motion with the music on my cock that’s already pushing hard against my zipper.

  The smell of her skin alone makes me pulse in my pants, but when she leans in and nibbles on my ear, I groan.

  “There’s lots of things we can do without kissing,” she seductively whispers as she unzips my pants and grinds her wet panties against my cock that quickly pops out of my boxers. “Unless you don’t want me to touch you, Noah. Is that what you want? You don’t want me to touch you?” And then she sucks the curve of my neck.

  Tell her to get off you until she promises.

  I’m trying to find the strength to remove Piper from my body when she pulls her panties to the side and slips onto my dick.

  “Fuuuuuck, Piper,” I mutter, as her wet heat slides across my shaft, sending my mind into the land of no rationality, as I grasp my arms tightly around her and lose my mind to anything other than her.

  17

  Piper

  Noah is adamant that I tell him I won’t sneak out on him. I find it rather adorable, but I decide to tease him when he tells me he won’t kiss me without my promise to stay.

  I slide on him. Noah’s delicious, throaty groan rings in my ears, and my kisses are on his neck, his ear, his jaw, anywhere but his lips. I’m close to his mouth, and and he crushes his lips to mine.

  I murmur, “I thought you weren’t going to kiss me,” circling my hips on him some more.

  He groans again, and ignores me, pushes his tongue into my mouth, and unclasps my bra.

  I yank the back of his shirt over his head, and we’re skin to skin, humming against each other until Noah dips his head to my chest and marks me as his own.

  “Oh shit!” I cry out as his lips send surges trembling through my body.

  He laughs then continues to mark me as I tremble on top of him, before he stands up. I’m wrapped around his body, and his pants fall then he pulls me off of him and drops his boxers before ripping my panties off me.

  “Noah!” I yell out.

  He spins around and pins me on the bed. “Tell me you don’t like it, and I won’t do it again.”

  But I can’t. I like it. “They’re expensive.”

  With a cocky expression, he says, “I’ll buy you some more.”

  I wrap my legs around him and push him back in me as his thick cock wreaks havoc on my walls once more, while I grip him tight.

  Noah slips his arms around me. “Fuck, you feel so good, Piper.”

  My body tries to accept all of him as he’s teasing and taunting me with every thrust. “Harder,” I whisper to him and dig my nails into his ass.

  “Promise me, and I’ll give it to you harder,” he whispers.

  I try to push him into me, but he slows his thrusting and puts his forehead to mine. “Say it.”

  I should tell him no. I know that I should. He’s revealed a lot today, but he’s still gray and my boss. My career is the most important thing in my life. I can’t have kids, my only surviving parent is old, my siblings don’t really know who I am, and besides my few close friends, work is all I have. This can’t go anywhere, no matter what he thinks.

  And I know Noah wants more. He thinks it’s okay for me to risk my career, but it isn’t. When I told him he could have me as his during our trip, I shouldn’t have. But I couldn’t tell him no. Deep down, I want Noah as mine and all of him, but my two-plus-two world is telling me that Noah doesn’t equal four, he equals five or six, or any other number besides the reality of the situation.

  His hot skin is gliding against mine, filling me up, pushing on my sweet spot, making me feel whole, while his eyes are intensely staring into mine, promising me a future I know we can’t have. I quiver around him, desperately seeking the high only he can release within me and craving his every thrust, every look, every touch.

  No matter how much I’ve tried to forget about Noah and tell myself not to want him, I can’t. And I lie to myself, telling myself that just this weekend is fine, and after this weekend, we will go back to just working side by side.

  “Piper.” He scans my eyes, waiting for me to promise him.

  So I do what I know I shouldn’t. I whisper, “I promise,” and grip his body tighter.

  Noah’s lips crash into mine, ravaging me in a way that only he can, telling me I’m his without saying a word, as heat whips through me on a current of adrenaline.

  As his thrusts become faster and harder, I surrender to his force and allow him to own me once more.

  “Noah,” I cry out, my breath heavy, my mouth in an O, gripping him and trying to focus as white light encroaches on me and my tremors become quicker.

  Noah pants, “Oh, you’re so good, Piper,” and suddenly explodes into me.

  “Oh God,” I cry out as Noah unleashes in me.

  Pumping.

  Trembling.

  Groaning.

  In the aftermath of our high, Noah kisses me, rolling me on top of him, claiming me as his once more.

  At this moment, I allow myself to be his. I tell myself that it’s just for the weekend, to let myself have him in this way just this once and that when we return to Chicago, we’ll go back to the way things were. I rationalize it by telling myself Noah knows it’s only for the weekend. I made myself clear earlier tha
t day. But I know deep down he wants more, and so do I, but I stay in my untruth.

  Noah rolls us over on our sides and pulls out of me, a lazy grin on his lips, but suddenly his face changes.

  “Shit, Piper.”

  I furrow my eyebrows. “What?”

  “Fuck,” he groans.

  “What?”

  “We didn’t use a condom again.”

  “Don’t worry about it,” flies out of my mouth.

  Shit! Why did I say that?

  Noah’s face contorts. “What do you mean, don’t worry about it? Are you on the pill now?”

  I hesitate too long, debating whether to lie or not.

  “Piper!”

  “What?” I ask a little too loud.

  Noah goes quiet then finally calmly says, “I’m not blaming you for this. This is on both of us. But you just looked like you were thinking about whether to lie to me or not.”

  “I wasn’t!”

  “Yes, you were! I saw you!”

  Heat rushes into my face, and I turn away.

  Noah stays calm. “Piper, we can’t keep doing this. We can only oops so many times before you get pregnant. You need to get on the pill.”

  “No, I don’t!”

  Shut up, Piper! Think before you talk! But I’m clueless how to get out of this.

  “Is there a reason you can’t go on the pill?”

  I’m still staring at the wall and don’t answer. Minutes fly by.

  “Holy shit,” Noah mumbles.

  I jerk my head. “What?”

  “Are you pregnant now?”

  “What?”

  “You are. That’s what your secret is and why it has to do with me.”

  “No, I’m not!”

  “Yes, you are. And you weren’t planning on telling me, were you?”

  Quickly, I jump off the bed and throw clothes on. I need to get out of here.

  “What are you doing?” Noah holds my elbow.

  I jerk it away. “Don’t touch me.”

  Noah puts his hands in the air. “Fine.”

  I go to the desk where my hair tools and makeup are still strewn from earlier, and I throw my cosmetics into my zippered pouch.

  “What the fuck, Piper?”

  I ignore him and continue tossing my stuff in my toiletries bag, but the zipper won’t shut because it isn’t placed correctly. As I’m trying to zip it, Noah reaches for me, and the contents of my bag go flying everywhere, including my medicine bottle.

  Stunned, we freeze, then quickly, we both reach for my pill bottle.

  Noah grabs it first.

  “Give me my stuff, Noah.” I jump up, trying to get it from him, but his arm is extended so high I can’t reach it.

  He turns the bottle to read the label.

  “Noah, don’t!” I cry as tears fall down my cheeks.

  Slowly, he gazes down at me. “Piper, why are you on all these hormones?”

  “Give me my stuff back,” I demand through my tears.

  Noah scans my eyes and reluctantly hands me the bottle. I snatch it and throw it in my bag. My insides are shaking, and I can’t stop the tears from falling.

  Suddenly, Noah’s body is against mine, and his arms wrap around me. His face is on my cheek. “Tell me what’s going on.”

  Closing my eyes, I shake my head.

  He holds me tighter. “Please.”

  “I can’t,” I barely get out.

  “Why?”

  Without even thinking, I blurt out, “Because it hurts,” then I sob.

  Noah turns me around so my face is in his chest. “Shh.”

  But I can’t stop. I assumed I had cried all my tears over the years, but a fresh river flows out of me. It’s as if all the dreams I used to have come rushing to the surface, and I’m once again drowning in them.

  The faces of the two serious relationships I’ve had come crawling into my mind, and I sob harder. Although I’ve told myself it couldn’t be with Noah, I know that this will seal the deal, and he will no longer be interested in me. And even if he claims it’s okay tonight, a day, week, or a month down the road, it won’t be.

  Men don’t want me once they have time to process what my reality is. I know it from experience, and Noah Parker will be no different.

  “Shh.” He caresses and kisses the top of my head.

  I try to push out of his arms, but he holds me tighter. It makes me cry harder because perfection exists within Noah’s arms, and I know I won’t have access soon.

  He moves me over to the bed and sits me on his lap. I bury my face into his neck. “Tell me what’s going on. Please,” he pleads.

  Just get it over with and tell him. Tell him and pack up your shit and go to your room.

  “I’m botched up,” I mumble into his neck.

  Noah lifts my chin up. “What do you mean?”

  “The doctor was supposed to remove the cysts on my ovary, and instead, he...he...” I turn away.

  Noah kisses my head and quietly asks, “What did he do instead?”

  “He gave me a hysterectomy,” I blurt out as fresh tears fall out of my eyes.

  His eyes widen in horror and he pulls me into him.

  “So no, I’m not pregnant,” I cry out.

  “Shh.” He tightens his arms around me. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry I said that.”

  He’s just pitying you. Go to your room, Piper.

  “I need to go to my room.”

  “No, you don’t, and you aren’t.”

  “I don’t need your pity. Let me go.” I try to push out of his arms.

  Noah locks his arms around me. “No. You promised me you would stay. You’re staying.”

  “I don’t care about that promise. Let me go.”

  “I care. You aren’t going.”

  Shoving my body out of his grasp, I stand. He grabs me. “Noah, let me go.”

  “Damn it, Piper. Stop fighting me.”

  All the anger and sadness I have I take out on Noah. I stop moving. “Fighting you? Did you hear a word I said?”

  He scans my eyes. “Yeah. I heard every word. That doesn’t change how I feel about you.”

  Sarcastically, I laugh.

  Noah furrows his brow. “What’s so funny?”

  “How you feel about me? What feeling is that, Noah?”

  He doesn’t even take a second to think and blurts out, “I love you. That’s how I feel about you.”

  Frozen, I don’t move.

  He reaches out for me and I take a step backward, with my insides quivering. “You didn’t hear what I just told you.”

  Noah steps forward. “Yes, I did, and it doesn’t change the fact that I love you.”

  You won’t feel that way a week or a month from now. Hell, you might not even think that tomorrow.

  “You don’t love me.”

  “Yes, I do, and I’m sick and tired of this game that we’re playing.”

  “Game?”

  “Yeah. This game where you don’t want to admit you want to be with me.”

  “I told you this can’t go anywhere. I wasn’t lying.”

  “Just stop it, Piper. There is no reason we can’t be together. Let’s sign the HR form and stop this charade.”

  “Yeah, easy for you to say, Mr. Boss Man.”

  Noah’s eyes darken, and he scowls at me. “When are you going to get over that?”

  “Never.”

  Pain crosses Noah’s face. “Why?”

  “You know why.”

  “Because of what other people might think?”

  “That, the fact you’ll wake up tomorrow or a week from now and realize what I just told you and what that means. Oh, and the fact you don’t trust me enough to tell me why we are even in New York going after these companies.”

  “One, I don’t give a rat’s ass what other people think. Two, it sucks that you had that happen to you, but I’m not going to change my mind about you because of it. Three, I told you it was for your protection.”

  I don’t respon
d to him. I can’t because if I open my mouth, I might cave, and I know that he will change his mind in the future about me. I’m not going to ruin my career when I know it will happen. And if he loved me, he would tell me why he’s going after these companies.

  “I don’t believe you,” I tell him.

  Devastation and hurt roll across Noah’s face, and my heart shatters. More than anything, I want Noah, but I know it will never last, and I will get destroyed in the process.

  Bending down, I pick up the rest of my stuff as Noah watches me. I pack my bag and snatch the key to my room.

  “Are you really going to do this?” Noah angrily asks.

  “Do what?”

  “Quit on us.”

  “That’s what you haven’t understood. I’ve been telling you this the entire time. There is no us.” As the words come out of my mouth, I know they are a lie, but my fear of being hurt worse in the future wins.

  “Piper, don’t do this,” Noah quietly pleads as I open the door.

  Closing my eyes briefly, I open them, spin, and glare at him, knowing that I’m going to cut him deeper, but I do it anyway. “Keep it professional from now on, Boss.”

  18

  Noah

  It’s Friday morning. My head is spinning, I haven’t slept, and I’m finishing a ten-mile run with Xander.

  Sweat is pouring out of me, and my heart is beating faster than it should be. I grab the bottle of water Xander is holding.

  “Noah, what’s going on?”

  “Piper and I are through.”

  He stops walking. “What are you talking about? She paid 25K for your ass last night.”

  “Yeah, well, she must love the charity because I told her I loved her, and she stormed out of my room.”

  “Shit, man. That sucks.”

  “Yep.”

  “What happened?”

  I throw my hands in the air. “I’m not sure. I thought it was going well. I told her about Nathan, and she told me something pretty shitty about her life, and then she was packing up her stuff.”

  “Damn. That’s... Jeez, Noah.”

  “All she thinks is that being with me is going to screw up her career. I can’t change the fact I’m the boss. I can’t change the fact I love her. I’m in a no-win situation, and it sucks.”