I rolled so I was on my side. She tucked up against me. My arm lifted the blankets higher around us.
Piper traced her fingers over the tattoos on my upper chest. Then followed the designs across to my shoulder and down my arm. “You shouldn’t be this sexy. It’s wise you keep these covered most of the time. Women would be throwing themselves at you constantly. Gay men too.”
“You haven’t seen me in the summer. I’m usually less clothed.”
“Is that a warning? You’ll be waving this sexy around all over the place when June hits?”
I liked that she was talking about the future, even indirectly. “Doesn’t matter. I won’t be looking at anyone except you.”
Piper’s teeth dug into her lip, and her gaze moved away. Maybe I’d said too much, suggesting we would still have something going on months from now.
But it wasn’t easy to hide how I felt. I didn’t ever want to lie to Piper.
“I used to be a string-bikini girl,” she said. “When Grace and I used to drive out to the lake a million years ago in the summer.”
I ran my hands down her body beneath the blankets, mapping her curves. “I’d love to see that. We should do that sometime when it’s warm. Go to a lake. Does Ollie like to swim?”
I knew I was pushing my luck. Piper chose the avoidance route, sitting up and dangling her legs off the bed, arms stretching up. “I’d better get the coffee started or I’ll be a zombie all morning.”
“You don’t seem that zombie-like.”
“The orgasm last night and lots of sleep helped. But I’m running on fumes now.”
“Stay here. I can give you another orgasm. I’m fully stocked.”
“Coffee first.” She popped up, sending me a coy glance over her shoulder and wiggling her round butt cheeks.
After grabbing a fleece bathrobe, Piper went out to the kitchen. I threw on my jeans and followed.
Unlike yesterday, when she’d been hungover, Piper was all smiles this morning. She made the coffee, and I threw together breakfast again. An omelet this time with shredded cheddar and some roasted red peppers from a jar in her fridge. A little more fresh cilantro.
We ate at the counter. It felt casual and easy. The kind of morning I could get used to. Ollie wasn’t here, but of course he was on Piper’s mind. She checked her phone and found some texts waiting.
“They’re already up and getting food before the big game.” She showed me the latest selfie of Callum and Ollie decked out in Broncos gear. They were all wrapped up to face the cold. I smiled at Ollie’s goofy expression.
Hell, I missed the kid. I really did. His attitude and his big personality. While I loved having Piper to myself for a while, I could imagine the three of us on a Sunday morning like this too. Relaxing and laughing. Going for a walk and playing keep-away in the park.
Was I an idiot to hope for that? To dream of Piper giving me that kind of chance?
Probably. But hope was free. Disappointment hurt, but so did all the shit that life dealt out whether you hoped for better or not.
I had hope where Ashford was concerned, too. My ideal future didn’t just have Piper and Ollie in it. It had both of our families together. Acceptance.
That happy ending seemed a long way off. Maybe it was nothing but a pipe dream. The kind that could break your heart just from how real it seemed before true reality crashed down.
But I wanted so fucking badly for it to be real.
After breakfast and more coffee, we wound upin the shower in Piper’s bathroom. The shower was like the rest of her house. Not huge, but inviting and cozy.
I stood behind her and kissed the wet droplets that ran down her neck.
My cock was throbbing and swollen against her lower back. Balls heavy and full. Like I hadn’t come last night at all. She made me so hard. Especially because of how much Piper clearly enjoyed sex. Her mouth made me crazy, not just her talented lips on my cock but the things she said.
She arched her back and wiggled against me. “Want you.”
“Here? Or your bed?”
“Right here. I can’t wait. I need your tongue again. Please.”
