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26
CANNON
Over the years, I’d perfected sneaking out of places. My house when I was in my teens, and then restaurants, movie theaters, and malls as I got older to avoid the vulturous paps. Sneaking out of my own apartment building was a total pain in the ass. It made me feel like I was sixteen again and sneaking out to go to a party with Jagger on a Saturday night.
Making sure my hat was tucked down low over Piper’s face, I glanced left and right before taking her hand and sprinting to my car. I was opening the passenger door for her when I spotted the cameraman a dozen cars back. Dipping my chin lower, I shut the door and jogged around to the driver’s side.
Moments later, I pulled into traffic and turned in the direction of the destination for our date. Beside me, Piper lifted the Dodgers hat off with a giggle and shook out her hair. The sweet sound and the sight of just how beautiful she was sitting beside me pulled my focus from the road for too long, and I nearly ran a red light.
Muttering a curse, I hit the brakes. “Can I kiss you, Pipes?”
Her eyes lit up, and she leaned across the console. I took that as consent and pressed my lips to hers, taking my time to taste. But all too soon, she pulled back. “The light is green, babe,” she murmured.
Easing on the gas, I reached for her hand and entwined our fingers. “No more talking tonight, sugar,” I warned her. “I don’t want you hurting your throat more than it already is.”
She sighed but nodded. Before we’d left, she’d taken a dose of the anti-inflammatory pills the emergency room doctor had prescribed for her. If resting her throat didn’t help, and her voice didn’t return to normal, I was going to hunt Laurence down and crush his vocal cords. Giving him firsthand experience with what Piper had to go through would be worth the jail time.
At the next red light, Piper took a selfie of us. I grinned for the camera while she kissed my cheek. Fuck, it felt good to be with her like this. The light changed, and she sat back in her seat, typing away on her phone. Moments later, I got an alert on my social media that I’d been tagged in something. I waited until we were at yet another red light before looking at it.
She’d posted the selfie to her feed as well as on Feed the Music’s website and social media pages.
Date number three with this sexy rocker. Baby Cage won all 12 auctioned dates with me, as well as the key to my heart. #FeedTheMusic #Date3 #Boyfriend #MyHeart
Swallowing the knot in my throat, I glanced over at her, but she was still typing away. Before I could snatch her attention, however, someone blew their horn, reminding me the light was green. As I drove, I wondered if she’d meant that last hashtag or if it was just for show.
Fuck, I hoped she meant it.
The Observatory had been one of my favorite places as a kid, but no one except my mom knew that. Not even my sister or Jagger was aware that I’d been obsessed with planets and stars. Back then, I’d thought if I wanted to be a badass rocker like my dad, then I couldn’t love astronomy.
But if I wanted Piper to trust me completely, I had to show her every part of myself.
When I pulled into the parking lot, the place was technically shutting down for the night, but I took Piper’s hand after helping her out of the car. “What’s this?” she asked as we started up the steps.
“Shh. No talking, remember?” I kissed the top of her head then guided her to the front door.
Prya was already waiting to let us inside. “Good to see you again, Cannon,” the fiftyish woman greeted. “It’s been a while since you were last here.”
“Yeah, I’ve been busy with work.”
“Saw you on the entertainment news earlier,” she commented. “Not that I believe anything they say on that channel.” Her gaze dropped to Piper and the bruises on her neck. “I’m Prya, and I run the Observatory.”
Piper offered her hand. “Piper,” she whispered.
“Oh, I know who you are, dear. This one—” she pointed at me with a wink “—he’s told me all about you over the last few years.”
Piper’s eyes widened and she glanced at me questioningly, but I simply shrugged.
“Come on. I’ve got everything all set up. You’ll be able to use the telescope for an hour, and then the Observatory is all set up for dinner.” Prya led us to where the telescope was housed. The skylight was already open, showing the night sky. “Cannon, you know what to do,” she said with a smile. “When you’re done, just head over to the Observatory. You’ll have about an hour in there before I have to kick you out.”
I took her hand. “Thank you, Prya. This means a lot.”
“It’s I who should thank you, Cannon. Your donations go a long way.”
I shrugged off her praise and waited until the door closed behind her before showing Piper the telescope. But instead of stepping up to look through the lens, she had her gaze glued to me.
“What?” I muttered, adjusting the scope.
She crossed her arms, frowning up at me without speaking. At least she was listening and resting her voice.
“This is my favorite place in all of California,” I confessed as I turned to face her. “When I was a kid, I would beg Mom to bring me here every weekend when I wasn’t at a sleepover with Jagger. She’s the only one who knows about my astronomy obsession. Until now.”
Piper’s face softened and she took a step closer, but when she opened her mouth to speak, I bent and brushed a kiss over her lips to keep her quiet. “I love looking at the stars. I can tell you things about every single planet that they don’t teach in school. For an entire year, I swore I was going to be an astronaut and discover new galaxies.”
I waited for her to crack up, but her laughter never came. She cupped one side of my face, her thumb stroking over the stubble on my chin. “I think astronauts are sexy.”
“Fuck,” I groaned, pressing my forehead to hers. “Pipes, I’m so in love with you it hurts.”
“Can—”
“No.” I stopped her before she could get my name out. Mostly because I didn’t want her to strain her voice, but a little because I was scared she wouldn’t repeat the words I ached to hear. “Don’t talk,” I told her as I turned her toward the telescope. “Look at this. Isn’t it beautiful?”
For the next hour, I showed her Jupiter and the moon. She seemed genuinely interested in every word out of my mouth and even asked a few questions from time to time, earning her a tap on the ass for risking her voice. I happily answered them all, though.
When her stomach started growling, I closed the skylight, and we walked to the Observatory, hand in hand. Prya had gone all out, setting up a picnic dinner in the middle of the room, a projection of the stars floating above our heads. As hungry as we both were, though, Piper was more interested in the sight above us.
After snacking a little on the pita and hummus, we lay back on the checkered sheet with her head pillowed on my arm. I pointed out the constellations with my free hand. “That’s Cygnus, otherwise known as the swan,” I told her. “The brightest stars form the Northern Cross, which are best seen in the summer months.”
“Pretty,” she whispered, snuggling into me.
“Pipes,” I warned. “No talking.”
Her bottom lip pouted out, and I couldn’t resist kissing it. I skimmed my mouth over hers before I pulled back just enough to ask, “Is this okay?”
She made a humming noise in the back of her throat and then pushed me back before climbing on top of me. Lifting up, she glanced toward the door and then all around, searching for something.
“Prya won’t come back for at least another half an hour, and no, there are no cameras in here.”
Flames flashed high in her dark eyes, and she fell across me, kissing me ravenously. She tasted like the spicy hummus, but even that couldn’t disguise how sweet she naturally was. My tongue delved deep, showing her what I wanted to do to her pussy.
Throwing her leg over both of mine, she straddled my lap and pushed up so that her core was pressed down along my rock-hard cock. With her grinding into my hard-on, her hair falling down her back while the stars glittered down on us, I knew I’d never seen anything more beautiful in my life.
