Take It Off Page 10

  “Haven’t had a drop in years.” Not that I hadn’t been tempted this past year. There were a lot more meetings and late-night calls to my sponsor than there’d been in the previous four years combined.

  “I’m glad to hear that.” He smiled. “Really glad to hear that. I know it isn’t easy. It takes a strong man to make that kind of decision and stick to his guns even when it’s hard.” He sighed. “I wish your daddy had that kind of strength.”

  “So do I.” Maybe if he had, my brother and I could have had a real relationship with him before he died. Or maybe he wouldn’t have died at all. His body wouldn’t have failed, and he would have been around to witness our success and the kind of men we’d become.

  “We can’t do anything about the past, Pierce.”

  “No sir, we can’t.”

  “But we can do something about the here and now.” He stood and this time he was the one to offer his hand. “And the future.” He clasped his other hand over our joined ones. “And I sincerely hope you get everything you deserve, son.”

  Chapter Ten

  Keira

  I was bouncing up and down on my toes, waiting anxiously for Pierce to open the hotel room door. I’d tried calling and texting, but no luck, which didn’t bother me because this was the kind of thing a girl had to do face-to-face.

  He opened the door only slightly, his gruff voice muttering “Come in.”

  “Hey, I…”

  He was clasping a towel around his waist, the water running in rivulets down his broad chest. I wanted to lick them off, but first I had a few things to say to him.

  “What’re you doin’ here?” he asked, not making a move to touch me.

  “Don’t you check your phone?”

  He glanced at the bedside table where the phone was lying face down. “Guess I forgot to charge it.”

  “What’s wrong?” I asked, taking a step closer.

  “Nothing.” He backtracked, like he didn’t want me to touch him. “What the hell is goin’ on with you, Pierce? Do you want me to leave?”

  “No! Fuck no!” His breath was shaky when he said, “Uh, something happened today. I should probably tell you about it before you hear it from someone else or see it...”

  My heart started beating faster, and that panicked look in his eyes told me he had bad news. This reminded me of another hotel room…

  “I shouldn’t have been stupid enough to…” He shook his head and walked to the window. “I went over to my mama’s place after I left the church. No one was home, so I was just hangin’ out on the porch swing, strummin’ my guitar, workin’ on a new song. Didn’t feel like bein’ cooped up in the house.”

  “Uh huh.” I tried to calm down, but it wasn’t easy. I had so much history with this man and with a few words he’d broken my heart before.

  “Some girls passed by. One of them looked vaguely familiar.”

  My gut twisted. I didn’t want to hear about my man and other girls in the same sentence. My man. I’d already started thinking of him as mine again. Funny how that happened seemingly overnight. Or maybe I’d always thought of him as mine.

  “They came up and started talkin’…”

  I quirked an eyebrow and folded my arms. There may have been a foot tap or two thrown in for good measure too. I just wanted him to get on with it already so I didn’t lose my lunch imagining the worst.

  “They, uh, asked for autographs and selfies.” He shrugged. “The usual shit. I didn’t think much of it. But when the blonde asked for a selfie she kissed me.” He grimaced. “Like kissed me-kissed me and her friend snapped the pic. It’s posted all over social media, with me tagged in it. Stupid online rags are speculating that she’s my new girlfriend and… fuck…” He sank down into the chair and dropped his head in his hands. “I didn’t even know that girl, Keira. As soon as I realized what she was up to, I told her to back the fuck off, but it was too late. She got what she wanted—her five minutes of fame—I guess. And now I’m left to answer all the questions about who the fuck she is…”

  He looked up at me after a moment of silence. “Please say something. This is killin’ me.”

  I sat on the edge of the bed, letting my purse fall to the floor. “Did you kiss her back?”

  “No!”

  “Then we don’t have a problem, do we?” Was I happy that bitch had kissed my man? Hell no! But I knew she wasn’t the first and wouldn’t be the last to make a play for him. It was something I’d have to get used to if I wanted to be with him. And I did.

  “You’re not mad?” he asked, sounding incredulous.

  “I’m not happy, but I’m not mad at you. This isn’t your fault.”

  He heaved a sigh. “Thank fuck. I was so worried you were gonna say you were done with me, that you couldn’t deal with this shit and—”

  “Can I see the picture?” I wanted to know if I recognized the little troublemaker.

  He scowled. His shoulders were still slumped, his head hanging. “It doesn’t look good, baby. It looks like I was kissing her, but I wasn’t. I swear to you. Please, you gotta believe me.”

  I believed him, but I still wanted to see that picture. “Is your phone really dead?”

  “Almost.” He rubbed his hand over his head, making his hair stand on end. “But I didn’t want to charge it. I didn’t want to see or hear any more of that shit.”

  “May I?” I asked, reaching for his phone. I turned it on. “Is your password still the same?”

  “Yeah,” he said, still sounding miserable.

  I tapped on his Facebook icon, and sure enough, there were over a hundred notifications. Not to mention missed calls, texts, and fifty-three unread emails. I tapped the screen and waited for the image to fill it as I tried to prepare myself for the sight.

  He had one arm around her and the other around the neck of his guitar. She was touching his face, and I’m sure to the casual observer it would have looked very intimate. But I knew better. I knew how this man kissed when he was the one who initiated it and that wasn’t the kind of kiss I was looking at.

  He always kissed me with both arms wrapped around me, maybe grabbing my ass or pinning me against the wall. He was either hovering over me, bending me back, or devouring my mouth. This kiss looked nothing like the way he kissed me. I wasn’t worried.

  I tossed the phone on the bed. “Thanks for tellin’ me.”

  “That’s it?” he asked, his jaw dropping. “You’re not gonna tear into me?”

  “That depends,” I said, crossing my legs as I leaned back, supporting my weight on my hands. “Did you get turned on?”

  He growled before jumping up and moving over me. “Hell no! I thought she wreaked of desperation. Definitely not attractive.”

  “Good.” I tugged his towel off, tossing it aside when he kissed my neck.

  He stopped, burying his face in my hair as he inhaled deeply. “Fuck baby, I thought I lost you again. I thought you already knew and you were comin’ here to tell me you never wanted to see me again.”

  I kicked my silver flip-flops off, letting them hit the floor before I wrapped my legs around him. “I came here to tell you I heard about what you did for the Flaherty’s. Daddy told me.” I gripped his face, forcing him to look me in the eye. “Have I told you lately how amazing I think you are?”

  “Maybe somebody outta teach your daddy the meanin’ of anonymous,” he grumbled. “I didn’t want you, or anyone else to know. It’s no big deal. I could afford to help, so why the hell wouldn’t I?” He rolled over on his back, staring at the ceiling. “People make such a big deal of money. I get it. I did too when I didn’t have any but…”

  “Now that you do it doesn’t mean as much?” I asked, leaning over him, letting my hand roam his chest, over his tight abs. Just because I could. This gorgeous man was all mine again, and I never intended to let him or anyone else forget it.

  “Right.”

  “I love that you’ve changed so much,” I whispered, kissing him. “I mean I loved who you
were before, but—”

  “Let’s be real. I was an immature fuck who thought the world owed him something. I’d been making other artists rich and famous with my songs for years, and I thought it was time I got mine.”

  “You do deserve everything you have,” I said, letting my hand do the talking for me. I wanted him to know how much I appreciated him, how much I wanted to make him happy. In any way I could. I was stroking him, watching with satisfaction as his eyes drifted closed and he fisted my hair in his hand.

  “Fuck that feels so good, baby. You don’t know how much I needed this. I was so scared I was gonna lose you again, Keira. I swear, I couldn’t even breathe when I thought about it.”

  I was kissing his chest, my hand working him over as I prepared for my mouth to take over. But before I could reach my destination, he flipped me over, spreading my legs. “I think it’s time I show my appreciation.” He tore my pink panties off and tossed them on the ground before kissing my inner thighs. “You don’t know what it means to me that you trust me, that you didn’t even bat an eye when you saw that pic.”

  I closed my eyes and let him have his way with me. If this was the way he intended to show his appreciation, I’d have to prove to him I didn’t have a jealous bone in my body. I did, of course. If I’d been there, I would have ripped that skank’s hair out by the roots, but this wasn’t the time for a full confession. This was the time to enjoy my reward for being the understanding… girlfriend. Is that how he saw me—as his girlfriend? I hoped so.

  His tongue was doing wicked things to me, making it impossible to focus on anything except the pressure building between my legs. He was zeroed in, making me beg, plead, and cry with his name ringing in my ears.

  The eruption was fast and furious, making my heart race and my whole body tremble as he pinned me, kissing me softly while I rode it out. Wave after wave of mind-numbing pleasure made it feel as though nothing else existed beyond these four walls and this man.

  Pierce crawled up my body, kissing me as though he didn’t want to leave a bit of skin untouched.

  He was finally framing my head with his forearms, his body hovering over mine. He was staring at me so intently I forgot how to breathe. “You fixed me,” he whispered.

  My heart squeezed as I waited for him to continue. He was a man who made his living weaving words and he somehow always said the right ones to make me fall just a little deeper in love, even when I thought that feat was impossible.

  “I can feel so lost and broken, like everything in my life is fucked up, and you walk in here and with a few words or a touch convince me that everything is gonna be okay, ‘cause I still have you.”

  You’ll always have me. I wanted to say it, but we’d promised each other forever and had broken that promise. I was gun-shy now.

  “There’s nothing I can’t handle as long as I know I have you, Keira. But I need to know… do I… have you?”

  “You do.” My hands were coasting over his back, appreciating the carved muscles, the dips and valleys I knew by memory. I’d spent so many hours learning this man’s body it felt like an extension of mine. He felt like an extension of me.

  “I know I said I wouldn’t pressure you.”

  “You’re not.” I kissed him. “I wouldn’t say anything I don’t mean.”

  He smiled, brushing my hair off my face.

  “We’ll fix this,” I promised him. I knew how to fight back, and it would mean making a bold public statement about who Pierce really belonged to, but I was ready for that. “I promise.”

  “It’s not up to you to fix it, baby. I got myself into this mess and—”

  “Are we or are we not a couple?”

  “I want us to be.” He kissed my neck, making the breath leave my body on a whisper. “No, I need for us to be.”

  “So do I.” When he kissed me, it was laced with desperation as he released all the pent-up fear and frustration I was sure he’d been feeling since this happened. He was allowing me to share the burden with him, to help him fix it, and that meant more to me than he knew.

  I inhaled deeply when I felt the tip of his shaft breaching my entrance. I needed to feel him inside me, to remind myself that this—we—were real. Our eyes collided and I got the sense that he needed the same thing I did, confirmation of our connection.

  As he inched inside of me, linking his hands with mine and pressing them into the mattress, his weight pinning me, his shaft filling me, his breath stealing mine as he kissed me again, I was struck by how completely this man filled in all the empty spaces in my world. Everything had been dark and gray before, but he brought color to my life. He lit it up, reminding me how good it felt to smile and laugh and feel free to dream again.

  “I love you,” I whispered.

  He made love to me slowly, rolling his hips, making every second count. “Not as much as I love you, baby. You made me happy again, Keira.” He rested his face in the crook of my neck, whispering, “Thank you for that.”

  He made me feel so cherished, so appreciated, like he saw value in me I’d yet to see in myself.

  I felt the warmth spread through me as the flutter of restlessness made me feel edgy, like I wanted more but couldn’t quite grasp it. He leaned back, hitting just the right angle to satisfy my urge for more. He knew. He always knew what I needed.

  “Ah… Pierce.”

  He growled, as though hearing his name on my tongue when I was on the verge of coming was the sexiest sound he’d ever heard. He’d often told me it was and I could tell by the way he swelled inside of me as his thrusts became more frantic that I wasn’t the only one dashing to the finish line.

  “Please,” I murmured, squeezing him.

  He swore softly before stilling, as though he was trying to collect himself.

  I loved that he always seemed on the verge of losing control with me. It made me feel more secure in us, like the balance of power was always shifting. “Don’t hold back.” I needed him to let go, to show and tell me what he was feeling.

  “You make me crazy,” he said between clenched teeth. “I feel you clenching me like that, and I just want to come so hard and so deep inside you…” His eyes found mine, trapping me with their intensity. “One day it’s gonna be because I want to put a baby inside you. You know that, right?”

  Fuck. That’s all it took, those few little words to send me barreling over the edge. The tremors rocked me as I gasped, panting through the pleasure. When I came back to reality, he was staring at me as a slow sexy smile spread across his face.

  “That turns you on, doesn’t it? The thought of me getting you pregnant?”

  “Yes.” It was such an intimate admission, but I didn’t feel shy or embarrassed about it. I felt excited to finally be thinking like this again, to be sharing this dream with the only man I’d ever imagined having a baby with.

  “It’s gonna happen.” He rocked back and forth, his breath stuttering. I could tell he was getting lost in the fantasy, same as I was. “I can’t wait. I can’t wait to see you pregnant with my baby.” He kissed me like he was taking ownership. And I sure as hell didn’t mind.

  “Fuck, Ke…”

  I got lost watching him. He was so sexy, so powerful. Seeing his abs tighten and his muscles flex as his body jolted with the power of his release was the sexiest thing I’d ever witnessed… every single time.

  Instead of pulling out, he pulled me close, blanketing me with his warm body as he whispered in my ear how much he loved me.

  I savored the moment, breathing deeply, wishing I could trap this feeling so I’d have access to it whenever I needed to feel close to him.

  He finally rolled off, taking me with him.

  I sat up, reaching for his phone, which I’d abandoned on the bed. Fortunately, it hadn’t landed on the floor with a broken screen. “You know,” I said, holding the phone up in front of him. “There’s one way to combat all those rumors about your new girlfriend.”

  He grunted, looking disgusted. “Tell me.”<
br />
  I rolled on my back, pulling the blanket up under my arms with the phone above us. We were lying side by side. My hair was spread out on the pillow and we both had that ‘thoroughly fucked’ look on our faces. Like we were both still a little dazed and ridiculously satisfied.

  I captured it once, then twice, just to be sure. I bit my lip to hide my smile as I showed him. “What do you think?”

  He rolled over, pinning me with his leg while he kissed my neck. “I think that pic’s gonna get me through a lot of nights without you.”

  Hopefully, we wouldn’t have to spend too many nights apart. “You could post it,” I suggested, smiling at his shocked expression. “Let the world know we’re a couple again.”

  “You sure you’re ready to do that?” He sounded wary, but hopeful, making me smile.

  “I am if you are.”

  “You know I am, but…” He looked at the photo I’d taken. “Damn, baby. I don’t think I want anyone else seein’ you like this. Besides, your daddy would haul out his shotgun and come find me if I ever posted a pic like this of his baby girl online. I feel like I’m finally makin’ inroads with him. I don’t wanna blow that.”

  I loved that he was thinking about how my father would feel. And even though I was giving him a solution to his problem he wasn’t willing to take it if it would hurt me in any way. “Fine,” I said, kissing him. “We’ll wait until we’re fully clothed and take another one. You can post that.”

  “You sure about this?” he asked, tipping my face up to meet his.

  “So sure.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Pierce

  We were setting up for the benefit concert when my brother approached, tuning his guitar. “Shit man, I can’t remember the last time I saw you like this.”

  I couldn’t wipe the grin off my face ever since Keira and I went public about being a couple again. It had been almost two weeks and while pictures of us, along with stories about our break-up and reconciliation were popping up everywhere, I didn’t care. As long as I had her back in my life, nothing else mattered.