Balt

 

“You owe me nothing,” I said, shaking my head. Why was Piper doing this to me? Did she sense I was on the verge of giving in to every dark desire I’d ever had about her? Her soft voice, her fingers laying across my wrist and the scent of her perfume.

Piper turned and folded her arms on the balcony railing, turning her face away from mine. “Keep telling yourself that. Whatever helps you sleep at night.”

There was a bitterness and a vulnerability to her voice that made me want to do and say the craziest of things, so I backed away slowly.

But the heat inside of me, screaming for release, and the feeling of being torn apart with every minute millimeter of space had me pausing on the doorstep of the room. All the ice and walls I’d ever formed were gone. My willpower deteriorated with each breath.

I tried to memorize this moment to distract myself. Piper, in that dress, standing on a balcony in Greece. The lights in the city beyond her throwing warmth and explosions of light across her form. Somewhere, someone started to play the violin, a melody of longing and loss.

Don’t let me forget this till I draw my last breath. And beyond, into whatever heaven or hell.

Piper turned and looked at me, her eyes wide and I realized I’d spoken out loud. My grip on the fesootai gave way at the same moment hers did.

We stared at each other as I could feel the rapid acceleration of her heartbeat and the fluttering in her stomach. Or was it mine?

Her hand was pressing against her heart. The ball of flame in my chest. I became a little dizzy. Could she sense that?

Was that her? Me? Her eyes dropped and her cheeks went pink.

The violin was becoming more intense and I thought I could hear singing.

Space was unbearable. Closing it, I knew with every step I was giving in. The storm had swallowed me and all I felt was a sense of not being able to wait another second.

Gently I touched her chin. “Piper.” I lifted her face to mine, but her eyes remained dropped. “Piper.” Still, she wouldn’t look at me and bit her lip. “Look at me.”

Afraid of losing you.

I understood, then. There was more to it.

“You didn’t tell me quite everything, but I’ll tell you this.” Recklessness was surging through me and my voice became rough. “The secret I buried for almost twenty years.”

She finally looked up and the tension built. “Balt, I don’t…” She swallowed.

My left hand found her right one and our fingers interlaced. The fesootai tingled. Sliding my other hand down, I cupped the back of her neck, my thumb brushing along her jaw.

Wherever we were and whatever was happening – it seemed to be outside of time.

“Am I dreaming?” Piper asked in a soft voice that took my breath away. “I thought I was imagining things when I saw that look in your eyes.”

“In the desert?” I asked and she nodded, now unable to look away. “No. You didn’t. That’s why things seemed to break, Piper. You glimpsed my true feelings for you.” I looked down. “Do you understand now? I didn’t mean to hurt you – I just–”

“Look at me,” she whispered.

Meeting that blue, I saw the same intensity I’d felt reflected back at me. The same fears. And the same hidden desires. A throb went through me as I gazed at her and she nodded, looking both afraid and a bit superior. My Piper.

Leaning down, I felt my face become stern and serious as those long-checked feelings surged in triumph. Her breath raced across my lips. And I kissed her.

We finally kissed.

Piper gasped, arching into me and I was gone. An inferno was raging and it needed to be sated. Kissing her was every forbidden dream come true and I savored every second.

When I managed to stop, I wrenched myself away and took two steps back to catch my breath. She was staring at me, a hand at her lips and her eyes wide.

“Now you know, Piper,” I said in a rough voice, wanting nothing more than to kiss her again. “Say something,” I said after a moment as she continued to stare. “Please.” I paused and winced, wondering if things had gone too far. “Do you want me to go?”

Piper dropped her hand and looked at me, a smile curving up into her cheeks. My blood whooshed through my body in a single motion as she slowly stepped towards me, hips swaying.

“Kiss me again,” she murmured, all uncertainty gone from her eyes. “You have twenty years to make up for.”

I swallowed as her hand crept up my chest. “Pipla, I don’t think–”

“Stop holding back,” Piper said, the blue of her eyes flashing and dazzling me. “I can handle it. I want it. I want you.”

A growl escaped me at the confident tilt of her head and the smile on her face. “You really want to find out?” I asked and she tossed her head. “I’m not going to hold back. Not now.”

“Good,” she said, sounding a little breathless. “Don’t.”

Her arms went around my neck and her hands were in my hair. I was gazing at her in equal parts astonishment and awe. Was this happening? After so many years and hidden dreams…

Capturing her mouth again, I let my hands slip under her hair and press against the warm, bare skin of her upper back. I was intoxicated, my heart thrumming so hard it almost hurt. I tried to be gentle but my fingers roamed hungrily up her spine.

It was. She was here. I was here.

We’re here together.

Piper responded in kind, standing on her tiptoes and gripping my hair now. Suddenly she slipped and I caught her, now holding her up.

As we broke apart, gasping, I marveled silently. Piper smiled and my heart leaped. Then, her hands pressed onto either side of my face as she studied me.

“You can kiss,” Piper said with a little hitch in her voice and her smile became playful. “Anything else I don’t know about you?”

Tilting her chin up, I let my thumb play along the bottom edge of her lips and her eyes widened. Then as I traced it up and over her lips, feeling the quickness of her breath, I pushed her hair out of the way with my other hand. Bending my head, I kissed the sensitive skin under her ear.

Piper gasped, her hands falling to my shoulders and digging into the ridge of the deltoids. I continued to kiss along her neck and jaw until I found the rapid pulse of her heart.

“Balt,” she breathed.

Lifting my head, I smiled at her as her eyelids fluttered open. “So many things,” I said.

“Huh?” she asked in a breathless, high voice.

“Things you should know,” I clarified, eyes and fingers drifting down her cheek to her shoulder and then to her waist. “Long-kept secrets I can’t hold onto anymore.”

Piper’s hands tightened and she seemed at a loss for words. Straightening, she pushed on me and I helped her regain her balance. Pushing her wild curls out of her face, she gazed at me and said nothing. Words were inadequate anyway.

Before I was always able to know what Piper was thinking, but now there was a universe in her blue gaze. Emotions, memories, even down to the vibrancy of every cell quivering with life and expectation. A dance between where the song had changed and we’d taken the new steps together.

Blowing out a small breath, Piper reached for my shirt, her fingers trembling slightly and I caught both hands, pressing a reassuring kiss to each. Giving me a sassy look, she gently shook me free and reached for the buttons.

I watched the interplay of shadows from lights below and the moonlit sky above play across Piper's face. The line of her cheekbone and curve of that soft smile. Her strong shoulders, straight posture, and tilted chin. The small, flowery intimacy of this patio and the dark star-spun depths.

Everything had flooded with color a thousand times over, but nothing was more vibrant than Piper. There were words on my lips now, the most important ones in all the world, and I knew she saw them in my eyes because her hands stilled as she finished.

Suddenly there was a burst of music and laughter from the street and we both jumped. Grabbing my hand, Piper laughed as well and pulled me inside, closing the glass door behind us.

I watched as she kicked off her shoes, hit the lights and the room was lit with an ethereal glow. Glancing up, I realized there were deep-set skylights and the moon set the thick glass awash with its glow. When I looked back down, Piper was turning back to me. She held out her hand and I took it, interlacing our fingers as I stepped closer.

Quick as a flash, I felt her hand in my back pocket and she’d pulled out my phone. “I know you must have one.”

“Hm?” I asked, taking it from her and unlocking it. “Have one what?”

“A playlist perfect for this night,” she said.

“Geez, Piper, no. I never–” I spluttered.

“Balt,” she said, raising an eyebrow.

“I mean, I have a romantic playlist but I’ve never used it. And I didn’t make it with the intention – not that I didn’t want – I mean, um–” Flustered, I stopped and winced. Smooth, man.

“I know,” Piper said. “But I know you. A mix of goofy top 40 songs, I’m betting. Maybe some old classics, oh classical, too.” Her eyes were dancing. “Am I wrong?”

Muttering in Greek, I tapped on a music app and pulled it up. She threw her head back and laughed, making my thumb hesitate over the play button.

“I’m laughing with you, not at you,” Piper said, catching my indignant look.

“Mm, yeah, right,” I muttered and she slid her hands across my chest and up to my shoulders, pushing off my shirt. Hastily pressing play, I shrugged it off and she bit her lower lip.

Turning around, Piper glanced back and asked in an arch voice, “Unzip me?”

With a growl, my hands shot out and I pulled her against me, nuzzling the side of her neck. Piper laughed again – a beautiful, sexy laugh I’d never heard before.

“Tease,” I said.

She looked at back me and leaned in, stealing a kiss. “Mm, I’m not sorry.”

Splaying my hand at her waist across her stomach, I noted with satisfaction how her body melded into mine. My other hand was teasing along her side, following every contour. Piper reached up, pulling my face to hers and our lips met. A small squeak escaped her at its intensity.

When we broke apart, I said, “I’m not sorry either.”

Too hungry to stop, I twisted her around and laid her gently down on the bed. For a moment she looked surprised, but then we were kissing and every thought was gone. Her hands exploring my bare skin were driving the heat between us higher and higher.

When we broke apart, I gazed down at her and she smiled, then pushed on my shoulders. I frowned a little as Piper stood up and gave me a dazzling smile.

But once she turned, I murmured and sat up on the edge of the bed, “Oh.”

“Yeah.” Tossing her hair, she let it fall forward over her shoulder and I found the zipper of her dress. “Someone is a little impatient, hm?”

“Someone was trying to torture me the other night, hm?”

“Maybe,” Piper said, shivering as I slowly unzipped her. “You were so far away.” She let the dress slither to the floor and turned around, her face far too complicated. "Don't do that." She was wearing something lacy and black that hugged her chest and teased low along her rib cage, along with a matching pair of tiny shorts. I stared up at her, barely comprehending what she was saying and nodded mutely. Amusement made her lips quirk. “You need a minute?”

A small laugh burst from me and I went to speak but I honestly had no words. She turned in a circle, stretching her arms overhead and then settling them on her hips.

“What-what – do you wear that all the time?” I asked in a rasp.

“Oh, a bustier and boy shorts?” Piper shrugged. “Boy shorts, yes. Bustier, sometimes.”

“Right,” I murmured, still taking her in. I’d seen Piper in bikinis, which was always vaguely a torment, but this was on a different level. Thoughts refused to form and my pants were suddenly painfully tight. The sly look was still on Piper’s face but her cheeks were growing pink and she bit her lip. “Please, come here.”

Biting her lip harder, Piper placed her hands on my shoulders as she straddled me and wrapped her long legs around my waist. A groan escaped me as her flat stomach pressed against mine. She was looking down at me, her hair falling around us like a curtain and I reached up, needing her lips again.

I’d had that one taste and I knew I’d never be sated.