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Mikah dropped his gift off on the present table in front of a shit ton of balloons. The decorators had gone all out for Kiernan. Nice. Last year they’d been on the road and bought him a beer. Seeing his bro beam was due to Piper, sweet of her. He moved up to the balcony’s wraparound viewing platform to spot her. He knew the way she moved, her curves. There, by the crystal punch bowl.
Two tall models joined two players in front of her, blocking his view. Move on. They didn’t. Frustration bit through him, and he tightened his hands on the banister. Rock music pumped through the speakers, echoing his tension. Room full of models, and all he could think was that these tall chicks were blocking possible sightings of Piper. Huge game coming up against the Geels, was he thinking hockey strategy? No. He was fantasizing about how to get Piper alone in a crowd of a hundred.
Dad’s pushing him to focus had been easy enough before. Not so much now. Piper hadn’t followed his normal patterns, that was why he was fixated. He just needed a goodbye kiss, a final one, a deep one, like closure.
That would do it, a clear ending driven by him. That would straighten him out and allow him to get back to focusing on his career and further improving his stats. He moved to the stairs.
CHAPTER 29
Piper’s princess-cut, midnight-blue dress had a fitted square bodice with decorative crystal straps as sleeves; her mask matched in pattern and style. She wanted to look pretty tonight for a thousand reasons. She moved away from the hockey puck ice sculpture.
Mikah appeared in front of her, in a tux. Built, handsome, those lips, that jaw, that body. Her pulse pounded, making her thoughts a lie. She wanted to look nice for him, only him.
Mikah took her hand. “I’d recognize those eyes anywhere. Can we talk?”
Piper nodded.
He led her up the stairs and into a private guestroom overlooking the pool. Partiers mingled about the stone patio under the twinkle lights.
Mikah shut the curtains, darkening the room to a shadowy twilight.
“What are you doing?” Her heart thumped in an excited rhythm, and Piper backed up so the wall braced her.
Mikah moved closer. He stood still in front of her. “I wanted a moment with just you.”
Was he missing her as much as she missed him? Had he re-thought his stance on relationships? He kept coming back to her. That meant something. Was this even the right time or place to get into a deep conversation? They’d resolved nothing, but she couldn’t lie. “I always want that.”
Mikah kissed her.
Arousal flooded her, tightening her nipples, sending liquid heat to her core, and taking her right back to the last time they’d been entwined. Piper wrapped her arms around his shoulders and gave the kiss back to him, parted lips, nibbling teeth, the right amount of tongue.
Mikah tugged up the hem of her skirt. He slipped his hand underneath and traced the outside of her thigh.
Quivers jetted underneath her skin, pulsing the tingling to her center. Piper opened her lips wider and kissed him deeper, wetter.
He traced his fingers to the inside of her thigh. “So soft.” He kissed her neck and fingered the edge of her panties. “I dream about how you feel. How you taste.”
Piper gasped in a breath and dropped her head back against the wall. What was he doing? She squeezed his shoulders. She knew what he was doing, and she wanted to feel his touch badly. But they were ignoring his clear boundaries, her needs, and going with the darkness, and the muted music, and the unbelievable sensations.
“Let me touch you.” His voice was deep and compelling.
Yes, please. Her body spun with chemistry that tried to shut down her brain. “We want different things.” Her words came out soft and gasping. She had to be clear and direct with him. That was the fair action to take.
Mikah didn’t move his hand. He kept his fingers still between her legs. With his other arm, he held her tightly against him. “I know.” He whispered against her ear, and even that breath fluttered through her. “I like touching you so much. I’m not doing the right thing here.” He leaned against her. “You’re going to have to be the strong one. Tell me to back off.” Mikah gave her more weight. His hardness was right where she wanted him, and his hand was so close to her aching core. “Say things to put me off, rings, weddings, lost games.”
For some reason, though, his demand didn’t fit the emotion of the moment. Instead, his words touched a humorous chord in her, and the thread of longing in his voice matched exactly how she felt. Piper’s smile was gentle, and she met his cobalt gaze framed by his mask. Her humor fled, replaced by sexy longing. “Put your fingers inside me. Just tonight, just for now.”
“Damn.” Mikah let out the thankful curse. Over the silk of her panties, he traced his fingers from her clit, down to her entrance, and pushed the fabric taut. His breathing grew heavy. He slid his fingers, stretching the silk of her panties to the side, and dipped into her wetness.
Her breaths quickened.
He pressed them in farther, filling her, then removing them, leaving behind a hollow ache. He glided his thumb up to her clit and made figure-eight patterns against her. His circular motions made her body quake.
“Ah.” Piper wanted so much more. She wanted naked and his whole body on hers, in hers. She found his mouth and kissed him, pulsing her tongue against him, showing her need, rubbing her nipples against his chest. So many clothes separated them.
Mikah pumped and circled.
