I swallowed the last bite of my scone. “Of?”
“What I’m thinking of when I eat my orgasmic scone. It will definitely be a tie between licking you and eating it. Then again, I could eat you too.” He left me staring at him slack-jawed and more confused than ever.
Later, when I took my shower, I could still feel his tongue on my neck. My breasts felt heavy. My thighs decided they wanted to wrap around his lean body again and again. I was in way over my head.
And I would be leaving in two weeks.
Chapter Nine
Braden
Damn, I was losing my mind.
I woke up thinking, hey, we should see where this incredible thing between us goes, only to be totally shut down when I realized that this was temporary. Duh, what did I think? That she’d fall madly in love with me? Possibly stay after the twenty-one days were over? I mean, shit, we were already past the five-day mark!
She was attracted to me, I knew it. I also knew she was nervous about crossing lines. But what if I invited her to do just that? I eyed her again. I wasn’t giving up, not now, not ever. When I wanted something, I went for it one hundred percent. And I wanted her.
I hated that she’d gotten distant. So, in pure jackass form, I did the same. Until I teased her again and realized I’d rather have twenty-one days of teasing, laughter, and kissing than nothing at all.
Hadn’t the incident reminded me of that?
I shuddered.
I could still feel the texture of her skin on my tongue, and damn, she’d tasted sweet. I zeroed in on the coffee table and told myself to cool the hell down. I took a deep breath and walked outside with my coffee. I needed to literally cool my body so I didn’t propose sex instead of life coaching.
“All right.” Piper nearly sent me over the edge of the balcony with her sudden appearance. She had on a black sundress with a leather jacket, paired with short black boots that were tied loosely around her swollen foot.
Adorable, but not proper beachwear at all.
I eyed her up and down. “Are we going to a seance?”
She ignored me and pulled out a terrifyingly large—you guessed it, black—purse, then threw it over her shoulder. “We’re going to go have some fun, converse in large crowds, and then I have a really cool surprise for you.”
My eyes narrowed as I pointed at her. “Yeah, that smile right there is a bit terrifying. It’s almost like you’re plotting to take over the world but do it in an evil way because you’re dressed like you’re headed to a funeral.”
She rolled her eyes. “Put a shirt on. Let’s go!”
I pouted. “But I like my abs.”
“Yes, so does everyone else. If you want to get mobbed, by all means.”
“Solid point.” I grinned. “Hey, does everyone include you, Coach?”
She bit her lip.
“Don’t be embarrassed. I’ll let you touch a bit more. Nobody has to know…”
“Not tempted.” Her cheeks flashed red. “But thanks.”
“Yeah you are. Come on, one hand on the ab, one hand squeezing the pec, a million times better than your scone.”
“Pretty sure even I don’t have the self-control to squeeze a pec and an ab at one time and not change our plans.” She grinned. “Shirt. Now.”
“So you’re saying I tempt you.” I winked. “Good.” I breezed past her back into the living room, then went to my room and pulled down a black graphic T-shirt and added a black beanie to match.
When I got back to the kitchen, she looked like she wanted to say something but didn’t.
“What?” I grinned. “Do I have too much black on?”
She sighed in exasperation. “You’re impossible.”
“Hey! I just wanted to match.” I swung my arm around her shoulders. “Let’s do this, Coach.”
“Has anyone ever told you that you’re annoyingly chipper in the mornings?”
“No,” I answered honestly. “Because I don’t do random sex, so there’s no one to wake up to and annoy.”
She stopped walking. “What?”
I frowned. “Are you seriously shocked I don’t do random hookups?”
Her lips parted and then closed, and she shot me a considering look. “Maybe?”
“Not all rock stars are manwhores with drug addictions, Piper. When I have sex with a girl it’s because I’m committed, not because I’m using my fame to get laid.”
“That’s…” She shook her head. “Very mature of you.”
“I want love,” I explained and then smirked. “I think I have my next vision board post.”
“Make sure to put it far, far away from the glitter dick.” She patted me on the shoulder.
“Noted.” I laughed. “All right, you wanna take the Jeep or the R8?”
“Jeep.” She didn’t even hesitate. I was half in love already. It was a test, always a test with women. Do you want the status or the fun? Not that a sports car isn’t fun, but it’s the beach, not LA.
“Jeep it is.” I grabbed the keys from my garage and opened her door for her, then handed her a scarf. “Before you jump to conclusions, I keep this in here for my mom, not for my harem. It will keep your hair from sticking to your lip gloss. My mama raised me right.”
Before I could pull away, Piper grabbed me by the arm and then leaned up to kiss me on the cheek. Our eyes locked. “Thank you.”
Damn, I wanted that mouth on mine. “Coach, I’ll buy you hoards of scarves if that’s the result.”
“It’s not the scarf, it’s the unnecessary explanation. I appreciate it. I’m not very, um, trusting. And we aren’t even in a relationship, so thank you.”
“Not yet, you mean,” I said with a challenging grin.
She smiled. “Many have tried, all have failed.”
“Clients?”
“Boys,” she corrected.
“Good thing I’m all man,” was my response as I helped her into her seat and then walked over to my side.
She had no idea the motivation behind it, but she made me feel something I hadn’t felt in quite a few months.
Lucky to be alive.
* * * *
I drove us around Seaside, which was always calming. My mom had taken us there every year for Labor Day weekend, and I remembered walking by the beach house thinking, one day I’m going to be famous enough to buy that house and fix it up.
I was able to buy it when I was nineteen.
It helped that Seaside was somehow this hidden vacation spot for celebs and musicians. It did rain, but the thing about Seaside precipitation was that it never took away from the beauty of the white sand beaches or the ocean waves as they crashed onto the shore.
“You’re quiet,” Piper pointed out as I pulled into downtown and parked on the street.
I shrugged. “I mean this as a total compliment, so don’t get that look girls get when they want to chop off your balls and feed them to you—but you’re easy to be quiet around. It’s not forced or awkward, I can just be alone with my thoughts.”
Her face broke out into a gorgeous smile that I wanted to kiss until my mouth hurt, the same way my heart did just to touch her. “Thank you.”