"You're exhausted."

"Only a little." I slip my thumbs into the waistband of his jeans, touching his hot skin. "I don't want to sleep alone tonight."

He tips my chin up. "You won't have to. I'll hold you all night." There is a look of resolve on his face. "We don't have to rush."

"I don't think we've been rushing."

"One more day won't hurt, kitten." He runs his thumb across my bottom lip and I sway toward him a little. "Think about it."

"Tomorrow would be much better," I finally say.

Satisfaction gleams in his eyes. "After you go shopping with Rowan."

I blink up at him. "Rowan wants to go shopping?" I can't afford to go shopping.

"Check your voicemail," he says, then leads me to my room. "She texted me after being unable to get ahold of you. I suggested she leave a voicemail. She wants you to go with her to try on wedding dresses."

"Oh. I didn't put my phone back on after dinner with Mother and Father. They forbid phones at the dinner table."

"You can check in the morning." Jase begins to undress me, as if I were a child, but I don't mind. "What pajamas do you want to wear?"

"The ones you like the best."

"We'll save those for tomorrow night, too." He grabs a tank top from the top drawer of my dresser and gently pulls it over my head. The backs of his hands graze my bare breasts and I sway toward him. "Tomorrow night, tomorrow night," he mutters, then tugs me toward the bed.

My mouth opens wide on a yawn as we tumble into bed. "I'm sleepier than I thought," I admit.

"You stayed out late tonight." He caresses my cheek. "It's past your bedtime."

"I drove around for a while and ate at Noodles."

"You didn't eat with your parents?"

"I hate strawberries." It's the truth, but I don't want to talk about the rest.

"You've always hated them," he says. "Why would they-? Never mind."

Snuggling up to his warm body, I close my eyes. "You can't be ready to go to bed. You don't have to stay here with me."

"Not leaving, kitten. Go to sleep."

Knowing that I can count on him to keep his word, I finally allow myself to drift off to sleep.

Jase

The front door opens and closes. "Jase? Anyone home?"

"Up here, baby." Taking one last look around the room, I grin and rub my hands together in anticipation.

"I didn't see your motorcycle."

"It's in the garage. Been working on my Mustang today."

I hear her jog up the stairs, and I take that as a sign that she's eager to see me. I'm sure I disappointed her last night by not having sex with her, but she was so damn vulnerable that it felt like I would have taken advantage of her.

"Did you have a good time with Ro?" I ask, meeting her in the hallway.

"Yes. I really needed a girls' day out." She twirls a strand of hair around her fingers, her gaze turning hot. "Now I need a night in with you."

I give her a wicked smile. "I have a surprise for you."

She tilts her head to one side so that her dark hair flows over one shoulder. "You do?"

"Close your eyes, kitten."

With a happy smile, she squeezes her eyes shut and I lead her down the hallway to my bedroom. "Open."

Her eyes get huge. "Holy crud."

I gesture at the center of the room. "New bed, new mattress...new everything. I bartered with this guy who owns an eco-friendly cleaning company to come clean everything while you were gone today. He wants a huge back piece in return. Anyway, I had to get this done for you so you could breathe in your own home."

She blinks rapidly a few times, her gaze bouncing from me to the room and back to me again. "Is that why Rowan kept me out shopping-she hates shopping, even if it was for a wedding dress. Omigosh! I should have known something was up. I can't believe you did all this for me."

I nod. "I'd do anything for you-don't you know that?" That's just how I operate. Once I've fallen for a girl, all bets are off. With Piper, I've fallen harder than I ever have before, or maybe it just feels this way because I never allowed myself the possibility of us before.

Either way, I will destroy anyone who tries to take her away from me. This is my sweetness and light. My happiness and peace. Mine.

"Yes, I do." Piper gives me a shy smile as I sit on the bed and she unzips her dress. I watch her with hooded eyes while she slowly lets the material fall to the floor, leaving her in nothing but heels and powder blue, lace panties with a small, bright orange bow in the front and matching bra. Her fingers go to the hook in the front, trembling slightly.

"You want me to do that for you, kitten?"

"No, I want to do it for you." She unhooks her bra and her breasts bounce free of the material. Her pink nipples harden to tight points as she shimmies out of her panties.

"Come here, baby."

As she straddles my lap, her dark blue heels land on the floor with a thud. Her lips tremble, but not because she's about to cry. She's nervous. "I-I feel dumb for asking, but, uh...I feel like I should."

"You can ask me anything," I promise.

A shaky breath leaves her. "Are we dating...exclusively? I'm not very experienced with this sort of thing and it feels silly to refer to you as my boyfriend."

I know it cost her to ask. Piper is the most softhearted person I know, and the fact that she wants to give me hers, that she wants to give me every part of her, is both humbling and an aphrodisiac.

Tenderly, I brush back a lock of hair and sit on the edge of the bed with her in my lap. "We are exclusive." I kiss the tip of her nose. "You are mine." I kiss her cheek. "I'm yours. We're lovers." I kiss her mouth and she gasps a little. "This hot body belongs to me and only me." I cup her breasts, rubbing my thumbs against them and eliciting a gasp of pleasure from her. "These are mine." Sliding a hand down the side of her sexy body, I curve my hand around her ass. "Mine."

Piper takes my hand from her ass and puts it between her legs, to where she's hot and-fuck me good-wet. "Yours?"

"Absolutely." I cover her mouth with mine, shoving my tongue inside in a show of possessiveness. There will be no future doubt for her about us.

Slowly, to give her time to change her mind, I pull my shirt up and over my head, then unbutton my jeans and shove them down. I keep my boxer briefs on, though.

Her eyes zero in on my chest. I run my hand down the center of it and become more than a little aroused at how her gaze follows.

She licks her lips. "I want to touch you."

Taking that as a sign that she hasn't changed her mind, I say, "You can do whatever you want. This body belongs to you. Put your hands on me, your sexy as fuck mouth...nothing's off-limits." Taking the rapidly spreading blush that pinkens her skin into consideration, she wholeheartedly approves of my answer. Dipping my head, I press my mouth to her neck and lick her there. A groan rumbles from my chest before I can stop it. "You are so fucking sweet."

The first tentative brush of her fingers on my skin makes my body jerk, but I force myself to stay completely still while she explores. It's been two weeks since we touched each other like this, but it feels more like two years.

"You're so hard. So many muscles and tattoos." She leans up slightly and kisses the center of my chest. "So many places to explore."

"Explore away."

She takes me at my word and pushes me down onto the bed, then sits up on me. Her breasts lightly bounce and I can't help but cup them again...can't stop myself from licking each pink nipple. She gasps, her head falling back while her dark hair caresses the tops of my thighs.

I want to go slowly with her, but the feel of her hands on my body combined with the rocking of her hips is driving me to the point of no return.

Unable to take it anymore, I flip her onto her back and get rid of my boxer briefs. My cock is hard, precum leaks from the head, and she leans up to taste me there. With a groan, I push her back down.

"First things first," I reach for the drawer beside the bed and get out her inhaler. "Open for me."

Her lips part and I slowly push the inhaler inside and squeeze the trigger. Her eyes close as the meds do their work and I count. My fingers wander down her stomach to her mound, slipping inside her pussy as I say ten. She's slick, so slick that I can add another finger without much difficulty.

She takes the inhaler from me and tosses it across the room, then grabs the condom that was on the nightstand and hands it to me. I rip it open and slide it down over the length of me. Yeah, we're clean and she's on the pill, but I want to do everything by the book this time. Next time...we'll do it raw.

"Now what?" she asks, her voice lovely and breathless.

In answer, I lean down and take her mouth, shoving my fingers inside her pussy and scissoring them over and over. I want her wet, I want her willing, and I want her to enjoy every minute of it, but the fact that she's a virgin scares me a little.

Her hips move restlessly beneath me and her nipples become harder than ever as an orgasm rushes over her. Gently, I slip my fingers out of her and widen her thighs, positioning myself between them.

"Jase," she whispers, clutching at my shoulders. Her knees go up, her hips now a cradle for me.

Gritting my teeth, I push the head of my cock inside of her. The fit is tight, tighter than I've ever had before, and I let out a groan at the feel. Of their own accord, my hips shoot forward, sending me deep, and Piper cries out.

"You okay?"

She nods. "You're in me now."

"No turning back." I don't mean physically. If she asked me to stop, I would and yeah, it would suck, but she means more to me than sex. And I fucking love sex.

"You can move." She runs her hands up and down my back, then settles them on my ass. "Please move, Jase."

I rock into her and then pull back a little. She digs her nails into my skin. Cupping her hips, I fit her firmly against me, so that every movement directly hits her clitoris. I move faster and faster, her cries spurring me on.

The deeper I go, the louder she moans.

Her body stiffens under me, her inner walls milking my dick as she creams all over it. I can't hold back; the feeling of her is too much.

With one last shove, I throw my head back and let my orgasm roll over me. It pours into her, and I can't stop moving. The cords of my neck are strained and her nails rake down my back.

"You're mine." I nip at her bottom lip. "Mine."

She gazes up at me with so much trust in her eyes that my heart cracks open. "I'm yours."

In that instant, I'm lost.

Chapter 13.

Piper

When I wake up the next morning, I'm alone in Jase's bed. Sunlight streams through the beveled glass windows and I automatically check the time. It's eight a.m., later than I've ever slept in.

I guess making love with Jase exhausted me.

A smile pushes my mouth up at the corner as I stretch a little. My body, especially between my legs, is sore, but it's a good sore.

The bookshelf in Jase's room swings outward and he steps out, dressed for the day in dark jeans and a fitted T-shirt that shows off how broad his shoulders are. His dark blond hair is wet. I don't think I'll ever get used to him being mine.

A man who has the face of an angel and kisses like the devil is my man, and not just any man. Jase. The guy I've loved since I was fourteen.

"Hi."

"Morning, beautiful," he says in a deep voice as he crosses the room to kiss me sweetly on the lips. "Didn't want to wake you, so I shut the door between the rooms."

I blush a little. It's hard to meet his eyes this morning. Strange, considering I had absolutely no trouble last night. "I can't believe I slept so late. I have to be at work at nine."

He touches my chin, gently tipping up my face. "Shy this morning?"