Easton's Claim (Colebrook Siblings Trilogy Book 3) (11 page)

She’d helped nurse him with the rest of them, run errands, cooked, cleaned, sat quietly with Wyatt when his depression was at its worst, and then kicked him in the ass when he needed a push later on. After that, she’d even stuck by Greg.

“He’s my friend,” she said simply. “Well, more like a brother.”

“That’s when you won my heart for good,” he said, to make it clear he didn’t think of her in any way as a sibling.

She met his gaze, and the gentle smile she gave him told him his words had touched her. “Was it my gentle bedside manner while I was changing his bandages, or yelling at him later when he was being an asshole to everyone?” she teased.

He chuckled. “Both. Not too many people I know can withstand the full force of Wyatt’s temper, but you did. All five-feet-five-inches of you.” He admired her so much for that. For her loyalty and compassion.

Because he was tempted to grab her and kiss each and every freckle on her nose and cheeks, he instead knelt on the other side of the blanket and set out the food they’d bought on their way back from the police station. A roasted chicken, bread, butter, cheese, some of the last peaches of the season and cream puffs filled with sweetened whipped cream and dipped in chocolate.

By the time he’d dug out the plates and cutlery, Piper was already busy building them sandwiches. The urge to take hold of her and kiss that soft mouth, stroke her all over, was so strong he had to curl his hands into fists to keep from reaching for her.

She had no clue how much he wanted to lay her out on the blanket right now and settle on top of her just so he could finally feel her underneath him. Then kiss her until she was breathless and squirming, no more protests or excuses why they couldn’t be together, then undress her and explore every inch of her body with his hands and mouth.

He shifted to relieve the sudden pressure of his erection shoved against his fly, but it didn’t ease the ache in his cock.

“Here,” she murmured, handing him a sandwich on a paper plate, along with some peach slices. All he could think about was feeding her the peaches and cream puffs, watching those plump pink lips close around each bite and then licking them clean himself.

Ignoring his body’s demand to touch her, he accepted the sandwich and stretched out on his side, propping himself on one elbow while he ate.

“Oh, man, this tastes fantastic,” she moaned around a bite of sandwich.

That sound didn’t help the fit of his jeans any. To make matters worse, he knew she wanted him, no matter how hard she fought it, and he didn’t know how much longer he could keep from talking about last night. “Sandwiches always taste better on picnics. Remember we used to take them down to the race track on Saturday nights?”

She hummed in agreement and continued eating. “Your dad would always pick up fried chicken and root beer on the way.”

Those were good times. He had a thousand memories like that, of spending time with Piper and his family. She’d been part of his life—of his heart—for so long, he couldn’t bear the thought of losing her.

After she finished her sandwich she turned her attention to the creek and watched the rippling water move past. He could tell from her expression that things were about to get serious. “So, about last night.”

He stopped chewing, had to swallow hard to get the bite of sandwich down his suddenly tight throat. He didn’t say anything, just waited for her to continue.

“What you said…surprised me. But you never said what you wanted to happen between us.” She shot him a hesitant look, the set of her shoulders tense. “You know I’m leaving soon. So is it a short term thing for you, or…?”

What
? “No,” he answered, his voice so guttural it came out almost a growl. He didn’t resent the question, given her need for caution and his past track record of flings, but hell, short term was the exact opposite of what he wanted.

Some of the wariness faded from her expression. “So you want…what then?” She picked up a peach slice and bit into it, and his gaze caught on her lips as her tongue flicked out to lick up the juice.

He imagined capturing her face between his hands and leaning in to lick it up himself before pushing between those gorgeous lips to finally taste her. The picture in his head damn near made him shudder.

He tore his gaze from her mouth and looked into her eyes. “I want you. Long term and definitely exclusive.” Telling her he wanted to marry her and have a family together would definitely freak her out, so he withheld that.

For some reason, his answer seemed to surprise her, because her eyes widened slightly. “Oh.”

The response gave him no clue what she was thinking and it drove him crazy.
What do you want?
He bit back the question even though it sat there burning on the end of his tongue.

Something in his expression must have tipped her off to his thoughts because she stilled in the act of biting into a piece of peach. Her hand fell to her lap, the half-finished slice still held between her fingers.

Easton held her gaze for a long moment, and as the silence stretched between them, something hot and electric crackled in the air. Her pupils expanded, and the way she watched him, tentative but with so much longing, made his whole body go hard. He couldn’t look away, couldn’t hide his response or his need for her a moment longer.

Sitting up, he slid the plate from her lap and the fruit from her fingers.

The gentle bubbling of the creek against the smooth stones at the bottom filled the charged silence as he maintained eye contact and slid his hands into her hair. A dare of sorts. Piper sucked in a soft breath and stayed absolutely still, gazing up at him.

Even though everything in him was dying to plunder that lush, sexy mouth, he knew it was too much too fast. Instead he swept his thumbs over her cheeks and leaned in to press a kiss to the center of her forehead.

She gasped but didn’t pull away, so he followed the line of her nose from bridge to tip, paused there a moment before changing direction and kissing his way across her cheek, to her temple, and down the side of her jaw.

She set a hand on his left shoulder, her touch light, tentative, and her eyelashes fluttered as she closed her eyes. He almost groaned in relief at the tiny surrender and worked his way to the point of her chin, using his hands to tip her head back so he could trail more kisses up the other side of her jaw.

Her other hand came up to settle on his right shoulder, fingers flexing, squeezing, her breath uneven against his face.

Encouraged, Easton continued the slow exploration, caressing the tender spot below her ear for a moment, then he kissed the slope of her cheekbone and moved up to press a tender kiss to her eyelid.

Her fingers dug harder into his shoulders, her body swaying forward. He gathered her closer, hands stroking her hair, bunching it in his fingers as he kissed her other eyelid. An electric current seemed to sizzle between them, the very air alive with possibility.

Holding her head between his hands, he skimmed his lips down her cheek to the corner of her mouth and hovered there, waiting. Willing her to turn into him, to meet him partway.

Her head turned a fraction, her lips less than an inch from his while the blood pumped hot through Easton’s body. He brushed a kiss over the edge of her mouth. Lighter than a sigh, a mere whisper of contact, his heart pounding out of control and every muscle drawn tight with desire.

Piper made a soft, helpless sound and closed the tiny gap between them, settling her mouth against his. A shockwave of sensation sliced through him, made him groan as he parted his lips to glide his tongue across the seam of her mouth.

Open for me, sweetness. Let me in. I’ll be so good to you
. He was dying to taste her, damn near shaking with it.

And she did open for him. Mother of Christ, she did, so slowly it made his hands tremble, that show of trust and need shaking him.

He delved inside for just a moment, allowing himself the briefest taste before withdrawing and sucking at her full lower lip. Her hands released his shoulders to creep up to his nape and squeeze as her tongue darted out to touch his.

Fire exploded in his gut. He barely managed to bite back a groan as he cradled the back of her head with one hand and slid the other down her back to pull her closer. The little purr she gave as she leaned into him and opened wider set his heart pounding.

He nudged his tongue against hers, caressed it. Piper let out a soft moan and gripped his nape harder, coming up on her knees to press the lushness of her breasts to his chest.

She tasted like peaches and smelled like heaven and he couldn’t get enough of her. Again and again he tasted her, seducing her with gentle strokes of his tongue, a soft caress to the roof of her mouth while his heart thudded and his cock throbbed for more contact.

The energy between them shifted then and she grew bolder, more demanding, her fingers holding the sides of his face now as she licked and sucked at his mouth like she was starving for him. She whimpered and rubbed her breasts against his chest and his vow to take things slow vanished in a puff of smoke.

Without losing contact with her mouth he shifted and rolled them so that she was lying on her back. He came up on his elbows atop her, and when she wound her arms around his back to pull him closer, slowly lowered his weight into the cradle of her body. He groaned into her mouth at the feel of her body cushioning his for the first time, his head spinning and the need for relief a searing fire in his cock.

Careful not to crush her, he shifted his hips and settled his erection against her center.

Piper shuddered and rolled her hips, twining her legs with his to hold him close. He slowed the kiss and made love to her mouth, reveled in the tiny whimpers she made as he nibbled and sucked at her lips and slowly rocked the bulge in his jeans against her core. Christ, he’d imagined this so many times, and now that it was actually happening he almost felt drunk.

“Easton.” Her raw whisper threatened to slice through the last threads of his control.

“I know,” he whispered back, tipping her head back to trail kisses across her jaw to her throat. He licked at the pulse beating so frantically beneath her tender skin, raked his teeth across it gently and felt the tiny shudder that ripped through her.

She shook her head and he kissed her again to stop whatever she was going to say. He didn’t want her to think, didn’t want her to question this or feel guilty about it. He only wanted her to feel, to give her all the pleasure he’d been dreaming about for so long.

It’s too soon.

The stark whisper at the back of his mind cleared his head like a bucket of cold water to the face. She’d responded to him more perfectly than he could ever have wanted, but if he kept going things were going to get out of hand in a hurry.

There was no way he’d let her use her desire as an excuse to run from him. If he kept going, they’d both wind up naked and he’d be buried balls deep inside of her before he even realized what he’d done.

Charlie’s earlier words came back to him, about Piper being hurt and wary. He didn’t want to fuck up his only chance with her. She hadn’t made any commitment to him and he refused to let this be just physical between them.

This wasn’t a game. She wasn’t some random woman he was looking to have a good time with. It was Piper, and he wanted all of her. So he had to slow things down, no matter how much it killed him.

He kissed her softly for another few heartbeats, then made himself raise his head. Her chest rose and fell with each rapid breath and he could feel the tension humming through her body.

With gentle sweeps of his hands over her face and hair, he soothed her as he nibbled his way across her mouth. Showing her without words how much he cherished her, proving he was willing to take things slow.

When he finally lifted his head a minute later, she stared up at him in confusion, her cheeks flushed with arousal. “Why did you stop?”

“Because I don’t want to lose you by rushing this. And because I want all of you, not just your body.”

She drew her fingertips down the side of his face, her eyes soft with understanding. And a regret that made his heart clench. “I don’t know if I can give you what you want,” she whispered, confirming that he’d made the right call in stopping.

Be patient with her.
She wasn’t ready yet to take the step he needed her to, so he had to back off.

“Yes you can, you’re just scared to right now, and I understand that.” Biting back a groan, he softened his words with a kiss, then rolled off her and got to his knees, grimacing as his erection pushed against his zipper. When his phone rang, it was almost a relief. He got up and grabbed it from his saddlebag. It was his teammate, Jamie.

His buddy had shitty timing. Or maybe great timing, depending on whatever Piper had been about to say to him. “Hey,” he answered, part of him grateful for the reprieve. “You on your way down?”

“Nah, I’m already here, got in a few minutes ago. Your dad says you went out riding with someone.”

Easton bit back a sigh. “Yeah.” He guessed it wouldn’t be cool of him to ask Jamie to hang out with his dad for a few hours while he and Piper talked this out, but he’d said all he had to say, and had to give her time to think now anyway, so leaving was for the best. “I’ll head back now. Should be there in half an hour or so. You can meet me at the barn if you want. I’ve gotta untack the horses and brush them out.”

“Okay, man, sounds good.”

Slipping the phone into the front pocket of his flannel shirt, Easton steeled himself and turned around to face Piper.

“Was that Brody?”

“No, a teammate I invited down to spend a couple days.” And now he wondered what the fuck he’d been thinking when he had. Hanging with Jamie was the last damn thing on his mind now that he’d finally had a taste of Piper, but maybe it was good to give them a little break from each other.

“Oh.” She looked uncertain as she crossed her arms over her breasts and cleared her throat. “We should get going then.”

“Yeah.” He took her hand in his, bent to press a kiss to her knuckles before pulling her to her feet.