Page 57 of Pining for Pierce

“No, thanks.”

He comes back and collects the glasses, but this time he leaves them by the sink before returning and sitting beside me, his elbows resting on his knees.

“I’ve realized it would have made more sense if I’d asked the cab driver to take us back to your place,” he says.

“Why? We’d already decided to come back here.”

He tips his head. “I know. But I have no way of getting you home, do I? I did then. I still had my bike. But now…”

“Oh. I see what you mean. Except, it was a cab that brought us here, so…”

He smiles. “Yeah, I get what you’re saying. It would be easy for me to call a cab to take you home again. I’d thought of that already. But the thing is, I don’t want to.”

“You don’t?”

“No. I don’t wanna let you go, Harley.” My breath catches in my throat, and I guess he must have heard, or noticed, because he twists around and takes my hands in his. “What happened earlier… it scared me. To be honest, I’ve never been so frightened in my life, and I can’t stand the thought of you being somewhere else tonight, other than right beside me. We don’t have to do anything, but I need to hold you and know you’re safe.”

I move a little closer to him. “Of course I’m safe,” I say. “I’m with you.”

“Oh… Harley.” He reaches out and places his finger beneath my chin, tipping my head back as he dips his, and lets our lips meet. I need more than this, and without breaking the kiss, I kneel up and straddle him, just like I did earlier, the thoughts taking me back to that moment beside the creek, although they quickly drag me forward again to those few seconds when the asphalt came up toward me, and I was spinning, out of control.My body shudders and Pierce instantly breaks the kiss and pulls back. “Are you okay?”

“No. No, I’m not.”

“Tell me,” he says.

“I—I just had a flash of memory about the crash. Everything happened so fast at the time, but in my head, just then, it all slowed down. I could see the lights, the road surface, the leaves on the trees… even the blades of grass beside the road. It was all so clear…”

“Hey…” He sits back, pulling me with him and holds my body tight against his. “I’ve got you.”

“I know you have. But I like hearing you say it.”

I close my eyes for a second and instantly see headlamps, feeling myself spinning, as I open my eyes and focus on his face again. “Try not to think about it,” he says, like he knows what’s going on inside my head. “I know it’s not easy, but…”

“Can you help me?”

“Help you what?”

“To not think about it?” I lean in and kiss him. “Can you help me forget?”

He puts one hand behind my head, leaving the other on my ass, and holds me still, tilting his head to one side as he kisses me, harder than ever. His tongue finds mine, flickering inside my mouth, and I moan softly against him as he flexes his hips upward and I feel his arousal, long and hard, pressing against my very core. I cling to his shoulders, kneeling up slightly, and then lower myself back onto him, grinding my hips as I do.

“Fuck, yeah…” he whispers into my mouth, moving his hand from the back of my head and nudging the robe from my shoulder, his fingers dusting over my skin. I shudder against him, and he stops. “Sorry,” he says, looking into my eyes.

“Why?”

“I got a little carried away.”

“So did I, so there’s no need to apologize.” I bite on my bottom lip, still unsure how to tell him what I want, but knowing I have to try. “I like this,” I say, letting my hands slide down to his chest.

“Good. I like it too.”

“Can we do something… more?”

His eyes widen, his lips twisting upward into a smile. “You want to?”

“Yes. It’s what I’ve wanted all along. Even when you were giving me a way out down by the creek, I didn’t wanna take it. I just wanted you.”

He leans away, looking into my eyes. “I wasn’t sure you were ready… after what happened with Kaiden.”

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