I know it’s the only thing I’ve come for.
The one thing I’ve waited for my whole life.
I can’t admit it to myself right this minute, but a part of me knows that this, that she is even more important than the Marines ever were or could be to me.
More important than anything I own or have achieved.
And by god, if she doesn’t taste and feel as good as she looks.
At first, I strain to lean down to kiss her full on the mouth, but in seconds I’ve lifted her up and her legs automatically wrap around my waist.
Already a perfect fit.
I kiss her gently at first, but it’s soon clear to both of us that our bodies are two steps ahead of our minds.
Her mouth eagerly devours mine, and before long she needs to come up for air.
I’ve already turned us around, resting her on the kitchen table that I know will take our weight.
Already keeping my promise of not wanting to stop kissing her, but wanting more than just kisses too.
Her hands rest flat on my chest, echoing back the hard and fast rhythm of my heart against my ribs.
“I… Lets… Just gimme a minute,” she wheezes, huffing a breath and flushing a deeper shade of pink as her arousal threatens to overtake my own.
My hands keep moving over her, cupping her breasts and already feeling her nipples pebbled underneath her T-shirt.
Piper only seems to lose herself in my touch even more. But for some reason, she’s fighting her needs.
I can feel that much.
“What is it?” I ask, lifting her gaze with my thumb and forefinger to meet my eyes.
“It-It’s just I’ve…” she stammers, obviously needing to tell me something that’s on her mind so I wait patiently.
But try telling that to the already raging tower in my pants, feeling like it’s tearing through the denim of my pants in an effort to get inside her.
We’ve got all afternoon really, so I remind myself not to rush. Not to push Piper into anything she’s not ready for.
She’s struggling between what we both want right now and something else on her mind.
Staring up at the ceiling as if the answer’s painted up there, she looks like a girl trying to find the right words.
I open my mouth, ready to speak while my hands and body do their own talking when my cell buzzes loudly.
I’d left it on the table and growl in annoyance as I watch it vibrate across the tabletop.
Rhys’s name flashing on the caller ID.
You couldn’t have picked a worse moment, buddy.
But I’d never deliberately not answer a call from him, or any Marine, any hour of the day or night.
Even when I’m about to stake my claim on the one thing I know is forever.
Piper seems a little relieved when I pick up, shifting herself off the table and taking some more of those deep, thoughtful breaths.
“Rhys,” I answer, breathless, sounding like I’ve just run a mile in four minutes.
“Hey, buddy. Bad time?” he asks, instantly aware of my mood but hopefully not my situation.
“Uh, no,” I admit, noticing that whatever moment Piper and I just had, it’s fast slipping away for now.
She seems to want to go slower than I thought after all.
Or something else is eating at her instead of me. Like I should be. Between those thick, sweet thighs of hers.
“What’s up?” I ask, getting my breath back, consciously lowering my heart rate, and breathing in deep breaths.
“It’s this whole wedding thing, to be honest,” Rhys says, sounding unlike himself.
Sounding like someone who is about to throw in the towel and quit.
Piper lets me reach for her, stroking her arm. But she seems bent on giving me privacy and moves quietly into another part of the house.
I let Rhys go on. If he needs to talk it’s better he says it to me without interruption. The only way I know he can truly get something off his chest.
“…The padre’s fucked up the wedding details,” he continues. Easing into venting his true emotions now that he’s got a friendly ear.
“Totally FUBAR, Reeve. Old coot wouldn’t know his lips from his asshole on a good day, so Clara is tearing me a new one, wanting to change everything at the last minute,” he growls.
The sound of his office phone creaking as he grips it harder.
Nothing unusual about Rhys working on a weekend.
I do to most of the time.
He goes quiet.
That’s about as much whining as I’ve heard from Rhys or any Marine ever for that matter though.
He doesn’t have to give me all the details either. I have a clear enough idea of what’s going on.
“It’s not your problem though, Reeve,” he sighs. “I guess I just needed to say something to someone,” he admits.
No shame in that.
“I’ve got a lunch thing with Clara. I’m actually just about to leave the office. But the final rehearsal and the ceremony have been bumped up,” he adds, sounding annoyed all over again.