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Ibrahim handed us each a bottle of water, then thought better of it, handing me my bottle, and carefully tilting Piper’s back against her lips. She shook and trembled in my arms, but she couldn’t stop smiling.
“Thank you, princess,” I whispered into her hair.
“Merry Christmas,” she answered, beaming up at me.
“Proud of yourself, are you?” Ibrahim teased, taking a seat beside us once Piper could hold her bottle herself.
“She should be,” I said, continuing to kiss and pet her, delighted with the gift she’d given me.
James draped a blanket over the two of us and gathered Piper’s long garnet-colored hair into a sloppy braid. “It was all her idea,” he whispered, stroking her hair.
I raised an eyebrow. I expected to hear that he’d talked her into it.
“She needed some help with the logistics, obviously, but otherwise, this is all her. You made an impression.”
Piper rolled her eyes, saving me from expressing a sentiment inappropriately maudlin for the short time I’d known this incredible woman. “I couldn’t let Christmas morning pass without checking off the last item on my bucket list.”
I kissed her on the forehead. I couldn’t stop kissing her on the forehead, on her nose, anywhere I could brush my lips against her skin.
Her departure was going to fuck me up.
“There might be some presents under the tree,” I whispered in her ear.
She groaned and pushed up off of my lap. I wrapped my arms around her waist, pulling her back into me, unwilling to sacrifice the comfort of her body pressed against mine.
A knock on the suite door announced room service. Ibrahim found a Santa hat somewhere and cheerfully directed the hotel staff to shake out a tablecloth and set out breakfast on the table where I’d fucked Piper so deeply only minutes before.
While the staff arranged the absurd variety of baked goods he’d ordered, Ibrahim served coffee to each of us, humming along with the carols still playing quietly in the background. “Merry Christmas,” he said to Piper and me, winking broadly.
She raised her mug as if to toast him. “Merry Christmas.”
Chapter Fifteen
Piper
SNEAKING OUT WOULDN’T be kind. These men deserved better than that, even if embarrassing tears threatened to spill over at the thought of leaving them for my parents’ house in LA. Hot water pounded over me as I cried in the shower, struggling to keep my snuffles silent so I wouldn’t wake Benedict.
On Christmas, we didn’t speak of future plans or what this morning would look like. We spent the day hanging out, watching movies, and even playing a heated game of strip poker for James. This blissful interlude couldn’t last forever, and we all knew it.
Benedict leaned against the door of the bathroom, foggy and blurry through the glass walls of the shower.
“Good morning,” he said, his lips tilting up into that small smile that warmed my heart and stirred my soul.
“Good morning,” I answered, keeping my voice cheerful and even. Benedict knew, though.
“May I join you?”
I opened the door to the shower so he could step in. Instead of moving underneath the water, he embraced me from behind and held me tight, tucking my head under his chin, with one arm around my stomach and the other around my chest. I leaned against him, gathering his warmth and his strength for my memories.
We washed each other slowly, sweetly, in silence. The kisses we laid on each other’s skin were soft, rather than passionate, and I wondered if Benedict felt the same sense of impending loss as I did.
After our shower, dressing in the ridiculous costumes I’d packed to impress my ex filled me with dread, but I had limited options for the flight home. Benedict enfolded me in a fluffy robe, then drew me out to the common area, where a small pile of designer shopping bags waited for me on the couch.
With wide eyes, I peeked in each bag. Leggings, sweaters, jeans—they’d procured comfortable clothes for me to wear home, to my parents. I burst into tears at their thoughtfulness.
Ibrahim stuck his head out of the room he shared with James, and pulled me away from Benedict so I could sob on his shoulder.
Dammit dammit dammit.
