Chapter Twenty
Piper’s heart pounded out a tempo that matched the pulse beating in her throat.
Ethan had admitted to his motives for offering her the money. And though she knew he had skeletons she probably wouldn’t like, something about the sincerity in his eyes drew her in.
“I can’t take back the things I’ve done, any more than I can change who and what I am.”
“What are you trying to say?”
“Being with me probably isn’t smart on your part, but I can’t seem to stay away.” He closed the distance, both of his large hands wrapping around her upper arms.
Piper couldn’t think beyond the sensation of his skin touching hers, his breath caressing her face.
“Damn you, Piper,” he rumbled, slanting his lips across hers.
Piper’s body came alive in Ethan’s arms, the words he’d confessed barely registering in her muddled mind.
He pulled her close, his mouth moving over hers again and again.
Piper moaned, leaning into him, telling him without words what she wanted most.
The tremor that passed through his powerful body confirmed that he felt the same.
He suddenly bent and scooped her up into his arms, his lips breaking the suction they had on her mouth. “Tell me to stop, Piper. Tell me now before it’s too late.”
Wetness flooded Piper’s cotton shorts. She didn’t want him to stop.
She stared into his hooded gaze, her breathing uneven and choppy. “My room is upstairs.”
Ethan spun from the kitchen with Piper in his arms. He took the stairs two at a time, holding her as if she were weightless.
Piper laid her face against his neck, breathing in his masculine scent. She couldn’t seem to get enough of his smell.
He stopped at the top of the stairs, kicking her door open with his bare foot. He didn’t slow until he stood next to Piper’s bed.
Allowing her to slide down his body, Ethan set Piper on her feet, his glittering eyes holding her captive.
Neither of them spoke as he gripped the hem of his T-shirt and tugged it over his head. He tossed it to the floor and then reached for Piper’s tank top.
He hesitated, watching her as a predator would its prey.
Piper lifted her arms.
A growl of satisfaction rumbled inside his chest. He slowly dragged the tank top up over her ribs, her aching breasts, and finally her head.
“Jesus.” Ethan dropped her shirt somewhere on the floor near his, and brought his hands up to cover her breasts.
His thumbs coasted over her nipples, wringing a gasp from Piper. The sensation it triggered traveled with lightning speed straight to her center.
Piper’s eyes slid shut.
Cool air touched her breasts as his palms left her skin, only to be replaced by the warm, wet feel of his mouth closing over a nipple.
She moaned deep in her throat, her hands reaching for his shoulders to hold herself upright. She damn sure didn’t trust her knees in that moment.
Ethan sucked on the hardened tip the way he did everything else…with power and skill.
Piper’s clit began to throb with every pull of his mouth on her sensitive nipple.
She stepped in closer, seeking, craving. Hell, she wasn’t sure exactly what she sought. She only knew that Ethan alone held the power to relieve the ache pulsing deep inside.
Her nipple abruptly popped free of his mouth, and her eyes fluttered open in time to watch him free the button on his jeans free, jerk down the zipper, and drag them down his legs.
The sight of his thick erection straining behind the material of his boxer briefs stole Piper’s breath. She reached for him.
“No,” he growled, gripping her wrist. “Don’t touch me. I won’t last if you touch me.”
Piper’s inner walls clenched.
He peeled the boxer briefs off and stood before her in all his masculine perfection. Piper had never known a male body could be so utterly flawless.
Ethan stepped forward, wrapped his hands around Piper’s waist, and lifted her onto the bed. “Lie back.”
With butterflies in her stomach, her heart pounding in anticipation, Piper laid back on the bed and watched him from beneath her lashes.
His fingers went to the waistband of her cotton shorts to drag them slowly down her legs. A low rumbling sound vibrated from his chest.
Piper lifted her gaze to his and stilled. Were his eyes glowing? She opened her mouth to question him on it, but then he dropped to his knees and pushed her thighs apart. Piper lost all thought.
The feel of his hot, wet tongue coasting up the inside of her thigh had Piper near panting in anticipation.
“You smell so fucking good.” The tip of his tongue circled her throbbing clit.
Piper cried out with the sensation of him teasing her most sensitive place. She could feel herself swelling, growing wetter, preparing to be penetrated by him.
“Ethan, please…”
He suddenly jerked back, gripped her hips, and flipped her over. “Don’t move.”