Page 97 of Pretend for Me

I clench my fists at my sides. “When you took time off to take care of Mom, I stepped in as CEO. And whether you want to admit it or not, I’m a damn good one. Except, you seem to think I still need hand-holding. You jump on calls you’re not invited to, overrule my decisions, and talk on my behalf, undermining my leadership in front of my team. And now you’re disrespecting my personal life and the woman I love, too?”

My jaw locks. “Let me ask you something, Dad. If anyone ever dared speak about Mom the way you just spoke about Piper, would you have stood there and listened?”

He’s at least contrite enough to drop his gaze to his hands.

“You don’t know Piper, and I suspect that unless you put aside your own goddamn ego and preconceived judgments, you never will. Which is really just another loss on your part because even one fucking moment with that woman would put a permanent smile on your face.”

I take a shaky breath, going back to the other matter at hand. “If the company is what you want back, then take it. I’m happy to step aside, and I’m qualified enough to find something else. But know this, I won’t just be moving on fromyourcompany, I’ll be moving on for good. Without you or your expectations holding me back.”

With that, I deliver the final blow before walking out of the room. “There’s a woman lying on her deathbed, who has sacrificed everything to ensure there was love in this family. And while neither Deena nor I have seen much of that from you, it’s time you decide what you’re willing to sacrifice, too.”

thirty-three

piper

No Walls, No Rules

I’ve barely stepped past the threshold before his strong arms pull me forward. The door shuts behind me, and I’m pinned against the back of his bedroom door before Dev drops to his knees in front of me.

The expression on his face is haunted, forlorn and desperate, unlike I’ve ever seen, and the muscles of his bare shoulders and back seem coiled and tense. My brows pinch and I reach out to sweep some of the hair off his forehead, but it’s as if he’s somewhere else. Not entirely here.

His eyes are distant, his mouth set in a rigid line, as his hands move up my thighs and under my leather skirt. He wiggles it up my hips before he reaches for the waistband of my thong. He pulls them down, and I step out of them, only for him to bury his nose inside my seam, inhaling me lasciviously.

He pulls away, looking up at me. His burdened eyes plead with me as if he thinks I’ll deny him if he doesn’t beg. “I need you. Please let me taste you.”

I swallow. A part of me wants him to talk to me, to tell me why he looks so burdened, while the other knows it’s not the time. That right now, with whatever he’s going through, this isthe only way I can help him. That he needs this even more than I do. And there is no denying how much I need it, how much I want him.

I nod and it’s all the invitation he needs. In what feels like a single movement, Dev lifts my leg over his shoulder, spreads my lips apart with his fingers, and buries his face inside my center.

Dear God, Almighty.

Heat unfurls inside my stomach and my hand gets lodged on the back of his head as my back arches off the door. My head falls back with athudwhen his tongue presses against my clit. Tasting, rolling, coaxing.

With a thumb working my clit and his scruff providing the perfect friction against my thighs, he takes long, leisurely strokes, as if he doesn’t want to leave a single inch of me untasted. That same thumb continues to rub circles around my sensitive bud before he stretches it out, exposing my clit, and flicks it with his tongue. Again and again.

My jaw locks and my chest heaves as I try to breathe through my nose.

Because this . . .? This will be the way I want to die.

Under the ferocity of his tongue.

The bidding and command of his mouth.

“Oh, my God,” I say through clenched teeth as the heavenly laps of his tongue wage war over my most sensitive part.

He licks me again, covering my bud with his mouth, before alternating sucking it and flicking it with the tip of his tongue, eating me out like he’s getting ready to take part in the Olympics.

Meanwhile my body is preparing for a triathlon.

My short breaths, the sounds of his lips against my lower ones, and his satisfied moans have my fingers tightening in his hair. My eyes squeeze tight as I grind myself shamelessly against his mouth.

“Mmm. Yes, baby, I could do this all damn day,” he mutters. “Keep fucking my tongue.”

My body takes over, my mind going to the wayside as I undulate over his greedy mouth. My nipples harden and my toes curl as goosebumps erupt all over my body.

I’m on the edge, so ready to fall, when Dev places a hand on my belly. He flattens his tongue over my clit before he works two fingers inside me, working me just the way I need.

He pulses them in and out and I’m ready to free-fall, with no care in the world as to how long or how far I’ll be falling. Just ready to let go.

---