Page 12 of Playing With Piper

“No more, baby. Not tonight,” I mumble, being extra careful when I dry off her sensitive cunt. Piper lets out a small sigh, spreading her legs just enough for me to tend to her. If she wasn’t so sensitive, I would bury my face between her legs for the rest of the night.

When I’m done, I toss the towel into the hamper in the corner of the room, hoping it made it in the dim lighting. Piper climbs up the bed, flopping onto her stomach with her arms tucked under her cheek. I laugh lightly before sliding up beside her.

She looks beautiful all the time, but Piper looks especially gorgeous when she’s been fucked by me. I’m the one who takes care of her, and I’ll continue to do it until the day I die. Piper’s hazel eyes flutter closed, and I brush her damp hair out of her face. She leans into my touch, causing my heart to sink. There’s never been a time in my life where I wanted to leave Piper less.

“Goodnight, Blade,” Piper hums quietly. Her voice is merely a whisper, like she’s trying not to disturb the darkness that surrounds us. I smile at her even though she can’t see it.

“Goodnight, Piper,” I whisper quietly as I watch her chest rise and fall slowly. As Piper curls further into me, I realize just how difficult things are about to get for us. If I haven’t completely sabotaged Piper’s soul already, then I’m about to. I’ll damn her to hell for my own selfishness because at least we’ll be burning together.

It’s an hour later when I finally slip out from beside Piper. I sit up, place my feet on the floor, and bury my head into my hands. In my peripheral, I catch a glint of metal on her nightstand, and I’m reminded of the picture I’d pulled off her wall earlier. Smiling, I pull it off the nightstand. Glancing back at Piper, I stand up,slip my sweats back on, and leave the dark bedroom with the picture frame clutched tightly in my hand. I pull the door behind me, leaving it cracked slightly.Just in case she needs me.

When I enter the kitchen, I flick the light on and sit down at the island. I can almost hear Piper’s laugh while looking at the picture again. Her smile is wide and infectious, and I want to bathe in her sunlight the way I’d bathe in her storm. Something, or rather,someonein the background catches my attention. I’ve memorized damn near every detail of this picture, considering how often I’ve looked at it, but this is something I’d never noticed before.

There’s a man in the background watching Piper. It had been so easy to ignore it before since she’s in the middle of the park surrounded by people. None of the faces in the background could ever matter when Piper shines so bright.

I lean in closer, squinting at the blurry man in the corner of the picture, and the color drains from my face as I finally realize why he looks so familiar. I’m almost positive I saw him the night I was shot. I stare at the picture for too long. My spine straightens when something rustles outside the door. A quick shadow flashes by the window, and I scowl.

Anger pulses under my skin as I stalk towards the door, leaving the picture abandoned on the countertop. I swing the door open, my jaw set in a scowl.

“Don’t even fucking think about it,” I growl as I step onto the porch, not bothering to turn the light on.

“Oh, come on, Blade. You aren’t theonly one who gets to fuck with people,” he calls out from the shadows. The second I place the familiarity in his voice, I’m raging. My head snaps to the side, and before I can think it through, my hands are reaching out into the darkness to grip at his throat.

“Don’t you fucking dare, Owen,” I seethe, tightening my hands around the man’s neck. He grins in the moonlight, and it sends waves of rage through my fucking blood. I’ll kill him if he touches her.

“Nice tosee you, too, baby bro.”

Chapter Eleven

Piper

I’m not sure exactly what time it is when I finally wake up. My entire body aches when I roll over, splaying my hand out on Blade’s chest. Well, Itryto touch Blade’s bare chest. My palm meets the cold fabric of my sheets, and I can’t pretend I’m not bothered by it. I sit up, wincing at the dull ache between my thighs. My ass still hurts from Blade’s teeth, but I’d beg him to do it again just for the visual of it. Him on his knees, just for me.

I shake the thought away, swiping a hand down my face.

“Blade?” I call out. Silence answers. No movement. My heart aches at the thought of him leaving without saying a word. Would I really have tolose him twice with no goodbye? I sigh shakily as I stand up, slipping on Blade’s hoodie before I make my way to the kitchen. My footsteps echo through my home, and I realize how big of a mistake I’ve made. I shouldn’t have allowed Blade to stay when there was always a possibility that it would end up the exact same.

Even though Blade has been alive and waiting for me all this time, nothing changes if he left. A dejected sigh ghosts through my lips when I finally make it to the kitchen. The missing picture is sitting on the countertop, and it gives me some sense of hope. When I glance towards the door, his shoes are gone. A false sense of hope, it seems.

“You’re joking, right?” I mumble to myself. I shake my head as angry tears well up in my eyes. Stupid fucking Piper. My jaw aches as I clench my teeth. My fingernails dig into the palm of my hands. There’s surely blood prickling in my hands, but I can’t be bothered to care. My entire life has been disruptedagain, and it’s completely my fault.

I had every opportunity to stop this, but I am so fucking weak for Blade. In all the years I’ve known him, he has always been my source of strength. I never thought that he’d also be my Achilles heel. He’s a fucking vice.Myfucking vice. The worst decision I could make, and yet, I do it over and over again. Like one day, I’ll be lucky enough that the outcome doesn’t end with me looking like a fool.

I pick up the picture–my favorite fucking picture– and grip it tightly between my fingers. As I stare at the smiling girl frozen in time, rage and a sense of longing settle deep inside my bones. It was the first time since I lost Blade that I’d felt somewhat normal. Looking at it now, I’m overcome with doom. With rage and betrayal. All over again. Six years of attempting to heal from him had gone down the drain in the span of twelve fucking hours.

The sound of paper shredding rattles inside my brain, and as I look down at the counter, I cry. I cry for the loss of Blade. I cry for the loss of my comfort. But mostly, I cry for the loss of myself. I have managed to let myself be ruined by a man on more occasions than I’d like to admit, and too often, it had been Blade who was at the center of it all.

I’m not sure how long I stood there with my head buried in my hands, but it was long enough for the sun to start lighting up the sky in a warm glow. My head aches when I finally lift it. Immediately, I’m mocked by the debris all over again. I roll my eyes, flicking my hand over the counter until the pieces fly around. I pinch the bridge of my nose and sigh.

I catch a glimpse of blue ink on the white backing of the photo paper. I furrow my brows, flipping the other pieces simultaneously. Scattered letters then words. Then, finally, a full sentence forms as I slip the pieces back beside each other.

Wait for me one more time, Piper.

Okay… What the fuck? I stare at the words for what could’ve been hours. The sun has fully risen by now. It’s entirely too bright for the shitty mood I’m in. I groan and dig through the cabinet beside the oven. I pull out a roll of tape and get to work fixing the photo.

The entire time, my mind is racing with thoughts about where the hell Blade is. The kitchen is filled with the sound of ripping tape. The sad call of mourning doves filters through the house.Fitting. Even the birds are mocking me.

A shrill ring causes me to jump, and I place a hand over my racing heart in an effort to calm myself down. Rushing back to my room, I snatch my phone from the nightstand and accept the call without looking to see who it is.

---