Crossing the Line

by Maggie Cole

  No matter how much Piper has done to get where she’s at on her own merits, there is undoubtedly going to be some gossip. I feel guilty about that, but I won’t let it stop Piper and I being together. But I need to be there and keep Piper focused on who we are together and not on what anyone else might think.

  It’s not fair that Piper will have to take the brunt of this. Nothing really bad will be said about me. If it is, I don’t give a shit, but I know Piper is going to care if others are talking about us. My hopes are that there is limited-to-no gossip in the office, but until we disclose things, I can’t predict what will happen.

  My phone rings. I answer quickly. “Nixon, hold on a minute.”

  Carefully, I slide Piper off of me, grab a pair of boxers, and sneak out to the living area. “Nixon, Kramer was at the same restaurant I was at last night and asked how my meeting was.”

  “What? How did he get wind of that?”

  “I don’t know. He may have just been fishing. But two of his guys followed us. I have bodyguards on Piper and myself now.”

  “Oh shit,” Nixon mutters.

  “Who knows about my meetings besides you?”

  “Other than the staff seeing the guys from Cosoner Corporation come into the office yesterday, no one.”

  “So either Cosoner, Markler, or Tritonione are on Kramer’s payroll, or we have a leak?” I’m pacing and push my hand through my hair.

  “Or Kramer was bluffing?”

  I run my hand through my hair. “I don’t think he was, but yes, it is possible.”

  “What should we do about your meetings today and Monday? Do you want to keep them at the office or move them?”

  I pause, thinking about what the best thing to do would be. “If we move, we need somewhere discreet.”

  “What about 686? It’s not open yet, and you can control leaving and coming.”

  “That’s a good idea, Nixon.”

  “They installed the booths and tables last week. It should be empty today. Monday is another story, but let me think about the best place for that meeting,” Nixon informs me.

  “That sounds like a better plan.”

  “Okay, I’ll call Eric Tremblor over at Markler. He wanted to meet with you privately anyway.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “He said he wanted to talk to you alone first. I thought I told you?”

  “No, you didn’t. Kind of an important detail, don’t you think?”

  Nixon puffs out some air. “Sorry, man. The new baby has me up all crazy hours. I must have been lacking some sleep.”

  I chuckle. “No worries. Everything else okay at home with Carla and Sara?”

  Nixon grunts. “Peachy. Carla and I are on no sleep, but Sara is super happy.”

  “Sounds like parenthood is just bliss, man.”

  “Yeah, well, wait till you are in it.”

  I smile. “Yeah, well, I think I’ll let you be the daddy for a bit. I’ll save that card for later.”

  Nixon snorts, and I hear Sara crying in the background. “That’s my cue. I’ll call Eric and rearrange the meeting.”

  “Thanks, man.” I hang up and turn around. Piper’s standing in her silk robe, in the doorway. She’s biting her lip.

  “Hey, you’re awake.” I step closer to her and notice her lip is shaking. “What’s wrong?”

  She quietly replies, “Nothing.”

  She’s blinking back tears. I’m trying to figure out what is wrong when I realize that she heard my phone call and what I said.

  Shit. She thinks I’m going to leave her now.

  “That was Nixon. He was telling me how he hasn’t gotten any sleep since the baby,” I try to explain.

  “Noah, you said, ‘I’ll save that card for later.’ There is no later with me. You need to understand that.” Piper turns away, and she’s trembling.

  I pull her into my arms. “Shh,” I say into her head.

  She pushes back from me and her voice shakes. “If you want kids, you need to not be with me, Noah. This isn’t going to ever change. And this is a lot for a new relationship. We shouldn’t even have to talk about this right now, but this is my reality, so it would be better just to stop this before we go any further.”

  Crap. We’re here again. Jesus Noah, you need to get this through her head.

  I try to pull her back to me, but she pushes back, so I grab her and pick her up.

  “Noah, put me down.”

  I walk over to the chair and sit down with her in my lap.

  “Noah!” Piper’s glare is back and once again directed at me.

  I reach for her head and hold it next to mine. “Just stop talking and let me have my say, will you?”

  She takes a deep breath and bites on her lip again.

  Scanning her hazel eyes, I tell her, “Stop trying to give me an out every five minutes. Seriously. This is never going to be a reason for us not to be together.”

  “But—”

  I cut her off. “No. Just get it out of your head. If we decide we want kids, we will adopt or foster or find a surrogate or something. Whatever you want to try, I’ll do, but stop making this a reason we can’t be together.”

  “They won’t have my blood and maybe not yours,” she blurts out.

  I jerk my head back in shock. “So? Would you really care about that?”

  “No, but would you not care about that?”

  “No, I wouldn’t.”

  “Really?”

  “Why does this surprise you?”

  She puts her head down and quietly admits, “Because the other guys I dated did.”

  I pull her chin up to mine. “Well, they are assholes.”

  She blinks back more tears but laughs softly.

  I stare at her, confused. “What’s so funny?”

  “Guess I have a thing for assholes?”

  I raise my eyebrow at her. “So that’s why you wanted me to be an asshole?”

  Piper is laughing, and I pull her more into me and stroke her cheek. She stops and stares at me.

  “I’ve already lost everyone I loved. I’m not going to lose you over this. If the time comes and we want to have kids, then we’ll explore our options and pick one. If it’s in the cards for us, it’s in the cards. If it’s not, then we will deal with it together. But I want you to stop worrying. I’m never going to change my mind on this.” I adamantly tell her this because it’s true. It will never be a reason, and I want her to trust and believe me.

  She takes a deep breath. “I’m sorry I’m putting you in this position to even discuss this so early in our relationship.”

  I brush her hair behind her ear. “Don’t be sorry. Stop worrying. I want to be with you, Piper. When I said I love you, I meant it.”

  She closes her eyes briefly then opens them. “Noah, I love you, too, I just—”

  “You just are used to assholes,” I finish for her.

  She softly laughs again then brushes her hand on my cheek.

  I see all the pain, sadness, and worry in her face, so I lean in and kiss her, trying to show her that I’m not like any of those other guys, and I’ll be the man that she needs and deserves. Between kisses, I whisper to her, “I just want you, Piper. You’re perfect, just as you are.”

  She runs her hand through my hair then moves her body on top of mine, straddling my hips, softly rocking her hot pussy into the growing hardness of my cock.

  I untie her robe and move between the silk and her skin, and around to her back, palming her smooth, round ass.

  Piper glides her hands down my chest to my hard-on and moves it out of the slit of my boxers. She strokes my erection and suddenly takes both her hands and rips the opening of my boxers.

  I laugh. “You trying to get me back for tearing all your panties?”

  She grins, lifts her body, and slides down on me. I’m drenched in her blanket of heat and grab her bottom lip in my teeth.

  “Oh...” She breaths against me and shimmies her hips upon my shaft.

&nb
sp; Groaning, I push my hands into her ass more as my body becomes swallowed up by hers.

  Tingling.

  Hardening.

  Throbbing.

  “Don’t stop, baby. So good,” I moan against her lips, as her walls grip me with tiny pulses. I move my hand around to rub on her clit.

  “Noah,” she whimpers so sweetly, I know I’m going to be dreaming about it over the next few days when we’re apart.

  Apart.

  I try to push it out of my head. Being with Piper is like stages of a drug. Intoxicating. Addicting. Full of withdrawals.

  No one has ever consumed me so much. It’s like her body was created just to fit with mine. Every move, every touch, every sound creates a new euphoria within me, and that’s only the physical part of Piper.

  Day after day, I’ve gotten glimpses into her thoughts, knowing that it’s only a small tidbit and desperately craving to know more.

  So yeah, I try to push the thought of being apart from her, if only for a few days, out of my head because my desire for her runs deep, and it’s only gotten more potent since coming to New York.

  I push her robe off her shoulders and dip down to tease her areolas with my tongue, before drawing her rose tip nipple into my mouth.

  “I’ll never get enough of you,” I mutter against her breasts.

  She moans and lets out a shaky breath.

  The smell of her skin seeps through my body, and I inhale deeper, moving my mouth to the crook of her neck, nibbling and trying to keep my dick from exploding too soon in her as she pushes deeper onto me.

  “Oh God!” she cries out as her pussy pulses harder against my shaft, and I rub my thumb faster.

  “Oh fuck, you feel good,” I breathe at her.

  Her arms tighten around my shoulders, her fingers dig into my back, and I know she’s on the verge of soaring.

  “I...oh...oh…” She blinks rapidly and her mouth forms into the beautiful O that haunts my thoughts day in and day out.

  With my free hand, I push her hip down on me hard and speed up my thumb, knowing I’m on the cusp of cumming. “That’s it baby,” I murmur.

  She trembles and pushes her nails into my muscles. I lose all control and pump my cock into her hard.

  “Noah!” Her eyes roll which is another one of my favorite sounds and visions.

  We shatter, bringing each other higher, gripping tighter, and reaching the space that only Piper and I can find together.

  Our mouths meet, needy, and greedily feasting on the other.

  And in a world where I have so much uncertainty, the one thing I have no doubts about is Piper. She is my heaven, at times my hell, and has possession over my heart and soul.

  Whatever Kramer Sampson has up his sleeve, I need to figure out and fast. I can’t let him harm her or my mission.

  25

  Piper

  Noah escorts me into the airport. I’ve got two bodyguards with me, and we’re near the entrance of the security line.

  His arms are around my waist, and my hands are clasped around his neck. He puts his forehead to mine. “What do you think about staying at my place until I get back? It’s more secure than your place.”

  “I have two bodyguards. Don’t you think that’s enough?”

  “It won’t hurt.”

  “I already texted the girls, and they are going to sleep over at my place tonight.”

  He shrugs. “Have them come stay at my place, then.”

  I raise my eyebrow at him. “You must really want me there.”

  Noah puts both hands on my cheeks. “I’ll feel a bit better.”

  “Okay, I’ll stay at your place if it makes you feel better.”

  “Good. Thank you.”

  “Noah…” I take a deep breath. So many emotions are flying through my heart right now. I blink fast, trying not to cry.

  “I’ll be fine,” he tries to reassure me.

  I nod and gaze down, blinking quicker.

  He pulls my chin up and sternly repeats, “I’ll be fine.”

  I pull his head down and crush my lips against his, quickly parting them with my tongue, losing myself one last time in the heavenly world of Noah.

  When we pull out of our kisses, he wraps me in his arms and kisses me on the head. “I’ll see you Monday, Piper. Call me when you get to my place.”

  “All right. Promise me you’ll stay safe.”

  “I promise. You better go or you’ll miss your flight.”

  With hesitation and an ache in my heart, I walk away from him, feeling like I’m leaving my entire existence behind me.

  When I get through security, I turn around and he’s still there, watching me.

  “Ma’am, we need to get to our gate, or we will miss our flight,” Simon, my bodyguard informs me.

  I blow Noah one final kiss. He purses his lips at me, and points for me to get moving.

  Turning, I go with my guards to the plane. To anyone else, they seem like normal people. We could be family or going on a business trip for all anyone knows.

  Quickly, we board the plane, and I get situated in my seat. Thoughts about my flight to New York fill my mind. The memory of Noah and I making out the entire way floods my mind.

  So much has happened in only a few days. I left Chicago, hating Noah. Well, at least trying to hate him. I could never have guessed that I would have agreed to truly be with him.

  Looking back, I had fought my feelings regarding Noah, worried about work, not wanting to tell him my biggest secret. I told myself so many times that he was an asshole, but the truth was, I had seen the real Noah enough I should have realized that wasn’t him.

  He squashed any worry I had about why we couldn’t be together. All my fears and doubts, no matter how small or large, were broken apart, piece by piece over the last few days.

  Noah fought for me...for us. The realization comes flying into my head, and I’m overcome once again with emotion. He loves me. I’ve never had a man love me. All of me. Flaws and all. But Noah Parker, he wants me no matter how complicated or gray I might be.

  Gray. I told him he was gray, but in reality, I’m not innocent of that, either. He doesn’t care, though, and my two-plus-two-equals-four world has suddenly shifted.

  I turn on my phone and text him. “I love you.”

  I quickly get a text back. “I loved you first.”

  Smiling, I reply, “Ha, ha!”

  The flight attendant comes over the loudspeaker instructing us to get ready for the flight.

  “I have to turn my phone off now.”

  “Okay. Let me know when you land.”

  “Stay safe, Noah.” I add a kiss emoji.

  “You, too, Piper.” He sends a kiss emoji back.

  I turn off my phone and lean back into the seat, pulling the blanket over me. Noah and I had little sleep, and I spend the rest of the flight dreaming of him and our future I no longer have any doubts about.

  Once the plane lands and we’re in the car, I call Noah.

  “Hey, babe,” he answers.

  “Hey. I’m heading to my place to pack.” I want to ask him how his meeting went, but before I left, we agreed not to talk about them over the phone, just to be safe.

  “Good. I forgot to tell you I probably don’t have much food in the place.”

  I laugh. “I think I’ll be okay.”

  He clears his throat. “I miss you already.”

  My heart flutters. “I miss you, too.” I hear noises in the background.

  “Hold on.” I hear Noah’s muffled voice.

  “You have to go?” I ask.

  “Nixon just got here.”

  “Okay. Go do your thing.”

  “All right. I’ll call you later.”

  “Sounds good. Love you.”

  “Love you, too, Piper.”

  I hang up, and there’s a dull ache in my heart. I know until Noah is back, safe and sound, it isn’t going to go away.

  The car pulls up to my apartment, and I quickly go in with my b
odyguards and pull stuff out, unpack my suitcase, and put clean clothes in, including a work outfit for Monday.

  It doesn’t take long before I’m inside the building of Bennett Parker.

  The elevator doors open, and Bennett steps out.

  “Piper. I’m glad you’re back safe and sound.” He glances at me and then the bodyguards.

  “Thanks.” My face heats up.

  Shit. I didn’t expect to run into Bennett. Noah said he would take care of telling him about our relationship, but neither of us anticipated this. I’m unprepared but turn to the bodyguards. “Can you excuse us for a minute?”

  They nod and move about one hundred feet away.

  “Can I talk to you for a minute, Bennett?” I nervously ask.

  Bennett furrows his brows. “Sure. Everything okay?”

  I take a deep breath. “Yes. Umm...”

  Shit, shit, shit! How do I even start this conversation?

  Hey, Bennett, guess who I’ve been screwing right under your nose...

  Bennett is patiently waiting for me.

  My gut flips. “You’re probably wondering why I’m here—”

  “Piper, Noah called me today and told me you’re staying at his place.”

  “Oh.” I bite my lip, wondering what else Noah told him.

  Bennett pats my shoulder in a fatherly manner. “He told me you’re dating. Don’t stress over it, Piper. It’s perfectly fine.”

  My head jerks back. “It is?”

  He chuckles. “Yes. I’m happy for you both. Seriously, don’t spend any more time worrying about it.”

  “Umm...okay. Thanks.” I give Bennett a small smile.

  “I do owe you an apology though.”

  “Apology?” I tilt my head at him, confused.

  “Yes. I should have listened to Noah and not sent you to New York. I’m sorry if I’ve put you in any danger.”

  I shake my head. “You haven’t. It’s fine. I’m fine.”

  Bennett shifts on his feet and peers over at the guards then back at me. “Let’s make sure it stays that way, okay?”