Chapter 30

Austin

Dessert would help Piper relax. Bringing her back to my place made her uneasy. I didn’t regret doing it. I wasn’t ready for my time with Piper to end. What I’d said about being fine with however the evening turned out was true. Spending more time with Piper was what mattered most. I also didn’t want to do anything that left her doubting her choice to spend time with me. Two weeks would give her a lot of time to put distance between us if I screwed up.

“I have a freezer full of ice cream,” I told her when we reached the kitchen.

She laughed at my claim. “A whole freezer full?”

Releasing her hand, I opened the freezer to show her the six cartons of ice cream I’d recently purchased. “Maybe not full, but I have a lot of ice cream.”

“Why does a man who lives alone need this much ice cream?” she asked with raised eyebrows.

“I really like ice cream,” I explained. “Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten our ice cream arguments.”

“I had forgotten those,” she replied as she moved around to the other side of the kitchen island. “There had better not be bubblegum ice cream in there.”

“I’m a grown man,” I pointed out.

“You were seventeen the last time you argued that bubblegum ice cream is good,” she reminded me.

“I was also an idiot as a teen, so I don’t think anything that happened back then should be used against me,” I stated. “What flavor are you in the mood for?”

“Remind me what flavors you have again,” she prompted. “I only glanced at them.”

“I’ve got the basics, vanilla and chocolate. There’s also strawberry cheesecake, pistachio, banana, and cookie dough.” I was glad I’d finished off the bubblegum ice cream earlier that week since I was trying to impress her.

“Pistachio,” she replied. “I guess this ice cream thing works out well with your rebound guy duties.”

“It did when I was still the rebound guy.” I was annoyed that she was bringing that up. I wanted to focus on being Piper’s guy, not the rebound guy. “I also have an impressive chocolate stash.”

“Chocolate stash?” she asked.

“I love chocolate,” I confessed. “Harley often comes to me when she’s in a bad mood, because I have the best chocolate.”

“Well, Mr. Knight.” She gave me a flirty smile. “You certainly have a lot to offer a woman.”

I set her bowl in front of her and leaned forward to give her a quick kiss. “I can’t wait to show you all I have to offer.”

Piper grinned at my teasing. “Are you offering to do a striptease for me?”

“Do you want me to do a striptease?” I asked, wondering how far she’d go with this.

“I don’t have any dollar bills,” she said in a sultry drawl. “How will I possibly show my appreciation for your striptease?”

My eyes drifted shut, and I groaned. “Are you trying to tease me, or does this just come naturally to you?”

When I opened my eyes, her tongue was running along her spoon. “A little of both,” she admitted. “I should go home after I finish my ice cream.”

“But you won’t,” I told her. “You want to stay.”

“Very much so,” she agreed. “What are we going to do?”

“Like I said before, whatever you want to do.” My voice was rough with arousal.

“It would definitely be best if we didn’t do everything I want to do tonight,” she told me.

“And definitely not everything I want to do,” I added. Some of what I wanted to do would scare off my sweet Piper.

“No sex,” she blurted out.

“Define sex,” I prompted.

Piper had just taken another bite of ice cream, and she studied me for a moment before responding to my question. “I’m not sure I understand what you’re asking. You obviously know what sex is.”

“You know what I’m asking.” I moved around the center island until I was standing beside her. I turned her stool so she was facing me. “Kissing is obviously okay,” I murmured before leaning in to brush my lips against hers.

She nodded and licked her lips. “Yes, kissing is good. I like kissing.”

“And touching?” I asked. “Can I run my hands all over your body? Can I use my fingers to make you come hard for me?”

A little whimper preceded her response. “That would be okay.”

“What about my mouth?” I leaned in to suck gently at the pulse on her neck before continuing. “Can I taste you? Savor you as I make you scream and beg for more?”

“Kiss me, please,” she whispered.