Imperfect Love: Operation: Girl Next Door (Kindle Worlds Novella) Read online

  Needing to get completely naked before she dared look at Trevor, she peeled her bikinis down her legs and tossed them, too.

  Trevor floated in the water, his hands clenched on the edge of the dock, his eyes roaming over her, starting at her feet and working his way up.

  She rested her hand on her cocked hip, waiting, daring him to find fault. She studied the way his eyes changed, his every emotion there to see: they widened in surprise right before they flared with lust, and then that all-consuming need settled in.

  “So, do I measure up to your other women?” Why did she say that? Her confidence danced away in the warm night breeze, leaving prom Piper in its wake.

  He tilted his head back, kept his eyes on hers despite the nakedness before him. “What other women?”

  Desperate to hide the pleasure the words gave her, afraid for him to see just how much she wanted him, she leapt past his head and dove cleanly into the water.

  The cool water soothed her fevered skin and washed away the events of the evening, the tension, the doubt. She broke the surface of the water, wiped her eyes, and smoothed her hair. Treading water, she waited, wondering what Trevor’s next move would be.

  He kicked away from the dock and caught her, wrapping his arm around her, and pulled her in. He used his other arm to tread water, their naked bodies brushed against one another eliciting shivers.

  “You’re cold,” he said.

  She shook her head. “No. I’m not.”

  “I promised Ryden I wouldn’t have sex with you,” he said.

  “I promised him I wouldn’t have sex with you, either,” she said right back.

  Trevor pressed his lips against her shoulder. His tongue flicked out along the ridge of her collarbone working his way up to her neck.

  She slid her legs around his waist and locked them behind his back. His hard cock found her and settled right into the center of her, brushing her clit with every kick of his legs. She closed her eyes, letting the heat and desire build and torture her.

  “I guess he’s going to be disappointed in the both of us,” Trevor said, cupping his hand around her ass before seeking her with his fingers.

  “Ryden’s not the boss of me,” she said. God, she wanted those fingers, that mouth, and that thick heat between his legs sliding inside her. She gasped when his finger found her and teased her with a couple light swirls before diving inside.

  He captured her moans with his lips. Fierce one minute, coaxing the next, he took possession of her mouth, taking and taking, as if she might vanish from his arms at any minute. The hard, cold metal of the ladder against her back made her gasp. She hadn’t even realized they were moving.

  “That’s better,” he said, pinning her there. He locked his hands on the ladder and with a sure thrust, he buried himself inside her.

  She cried out, splitting the silence of the night. He answered her by pulling back and thrusting again. A moan, deep and animal, rose up out of her. This had nothing to do with winning a promotion. There was no one to convince of their feelings. This was purely the two of them wrapped up in the vortex of feelings they’d danced around for the past two days. Their familiar past, their rocky present, and their uncertain future all intertwined and rose up to the surface.

  Stripped to their beginnings, the girl next door and the football star sought each other in the inky night.

  ***

  Trevor had to admit a part of him had craved this ever since he took her to prom. She had turned his head that night, but he had an obligation and had every intention of honoring it.

  But he’d regretted not taking the opportunity for one kiss.

  And now he had to wonder if the missed opportunity maybe wasn’t missed after all. Fate might well have had other plans, and had they crossed that line that night, they may never have been here to cross this one.

  He intended to cross every damn line he’d set with her, both past and present.

  Fuck the lines.

  Piper had asked him where that boy she had known had gone.

  He honest to God didn’t know.

  Until now.

  The day he’d left town, that guy stayed in his hometown, with her.

  With each stroke she gripped him tighter, so tight he had to bury his face in her neck to keep from shouting into the night in the sheer glory of being inside her.

  Every moan, every gasp, the way she dug her fingernails into his flesh seared itself on him as surely as if the Ancient Romans had branded him as they did runaway slaves.

  He lifted her up the ladder and pistoned his hips, burying himself over and over, desperate to feel her explode around him.

  “Stop holding out, Piper. Come for me, damn it,” he said, his voice rough and broken from the exertion.

  He reached between them, found her clit, and teased it with his fingers. Her head fell back, her throat worked as her lungs heaved. He loved watching her lose control, but he wanted more. He wanted a complete loss of her senses. He increased his pressure, sucking a tight nipple into his mouth, tasting her sweet skin and clean lake water.

  She tightened on him and he abandoned her hard nipple with one last, hard suck to watch her come apart. Her head snapped forward, her eyes locked on his, although, from the glazed, wild look in them, he couldn’t be sure she saw him. Her back stiffened and within seconds she spasmed and clutched his shoulders, riding out a powerful orgasm.

  She gulped in air and collapsed against his shoulder. They needed to take this inside. She deserved better than a fuck in the middle of the lake like a couple of teenagers.

  He needed a condom. Hell, he should have already had one on.

  He ran his hand along her back as her breathing slowed. He stayed buried in her until she calmed.

  “Let’s take this to our bed,” he said, pulling out of her.

  “Okay,” she whispered.

  He turned her and gave her a boost up the ladder and followed behind. They pulled on their clothes over their wet bodies, a miserable experience, but temporary enough.

  He took her hand and led her along the path to the door. Careful to make as little noise as possible, he opened the door and led her to their suite under the guidance of the few lamps Davidson had left on.

  He twisted the knob on their door and opened it just far enough for the two of them to slip inside before clicking it shut.

  She took one, two, three steps back away from him.

  “You afraid of me now?” he asked as he advanced on her.

  She smiled and hastened to peel off her damp, clinging clothes. “You can’t scare me.”

  So she thought. And if he told her he loved her?

  Wait.

  Did he?

  His steps faltered.

  She tilted her head at him.

  The ache in his heart at the thought of the big question mark tomorrow brought for them told him his answer.

  Nothing to be done for that now.

  He shook it off and shed his clothes. Naked and wanting, he closed in on her. Wrapping each hand around her hips, he walked her back until the back of her knees hit the side of the bed and she dropped to the mattress.

  Her upturned, heavy breasts swayed with the movement, the glow of her skin dancing in the light.

  All the things he’d never bothered noticing about other women, he explored with Piper. The gentle curve of her firm calves, the roundness of her hips, the soft, gentle swell of her belly, something she had come by after he had moved away. She had put on a good twenty pounds since he had seen her last and all of it in the right places.

  Places that made men think about lounging in bed for days, exploring every inch of exposed flesh, or inspired them to paint nude masterpieces.

  She cupped his cheek and searched his face. “You look sad.”

  “Maybe a little lost.”

  She pulled him down for a lingering kiss. She brushed her lips over him and teased his bottom lip with her tongue. “I found you,” she whispered against his lips.

  His hea
rt clenched.

  He reached for his wallet, snagged a condom, and slid it on in silence. She watched his movements with rapt attention.

  He tasted her lips again, then set out to taste every inch of her before taking what he wanted. She tilted her head back, giving him access to her neck. She purred under the assault of his lips. Her hands slid into his hair when he reached the swell of her breasts.

  When he sucked her tight, rosy nipple into his mouth, she arched her back, her heels digging into the mattress, her fingers locked in his hair. He lavished attention on each, rolling them between his lips and tongue before sliding his way down her stomach, dipping his tongue in her belly button, and moving along for points south.

  Kneeling before her, he pushed her knees open wide and took in the sight before him. Piper, his Piper, naked for him, her skin flushed, her lungs heaving, her legs spread wide, waiting to see what came next.

  He kissed the inside of her thighs making his way to her dampness. Desperate for a taste, he covered her with his mouth. When she slapped the headboard, and thrust her hips upward, pushing into his mouth, he used his tongue to go deeper.

  To drive her mad.

  He swirled, kissed, and sucked until her head thrashed back and forth, her hands gripping the sheets as if they tethered her to the earth. On the brink, at the point when she clutched the back of his head and held him there, she ground her hips upward again, against his mouth; he freed himself and dove inside her.

  He found home.

  Pumping into her, he didn’t want to wait, he didn’t want to prolong the pleasure anymore. He wanted to come with her, so when she pulled his pillow to her mouth, biting down, and crying out, he slammed into her. She took a deep breath, he pulled almost all the way out and slammed into her again.

  He ravaged her with savage force as she cried out, begged, clawed, and spiraled out of her damn mind, taking him right along with her.

  He dropped onto her, holding himself up on his elbows, as he kissed her sweaty temple, her damp cheek, and stroked her arms as she cooled off.

  By the time he rolled off of her, exhaustion had set in and sleep had all but taken her. He pulled her up against him just as he had the night before.

  Two nights in a row he’d held Piper in his arms.

  Two nights to memorize the feel of her before she returned to her life, and he to his, whatever his life may be.

  Chapter 9

  Piper rolled to her side and stretched her arms up to the headboard while pointing and flexing her toes. Every muscle protested the movement, but she didn’t care. She’d suffer for the next week, but every minute had been worth it.

  Under the cover of darkness, they’d explored each other, with few words, instead using their hands, arms, and lips to convey the feelings racing through them. The sense of urgency increased as the night went on, as if the thieving dawn had the power to strip away what they’d found.

  Now, as the sun rose over the lake and the morning crept up on them, she had no idea what to expect, other than another day, another performance. At least last night they’d been free from the show.

  Behind her, Trevor’s hand dove into her messy hair, finding her scalp, and massaged the nape of her neck before his fingers curled into the strands. He tugged, just enough to tell her who’s boss, enough to turn her on, but not to hurt.

  Never hurt.

  She shivered when his lips found her shoulder. “Good morning, Trouble.”

  Her eyelids fluttered shut as she appreciated the remnants of the night before and his sensual greeting. “Mmmmm, good morning.”

  “You hungry?” he asked.

  “Ravenous.”

  “Why don’t you take a shower and I’ll go see what I can steal from the breakfast options to bring back to you.”

  She craned her neck around to meet his gaze. “I’d welcome any pilfered food you can bring my way.”

  “You got it.” He slapped her ass cheek and rolled away. She studied him as he slid on a pair of sweats and stretched an Ohio State t-shirt over his broad chest.

  Yeah, she’d hit that. The thought made her giggle, earning a smirk from Trevor.

  “What are you up to over there?”

  “Nothing,” she said.

  “Uh huh, sure. I’ll be back soon,” he said as he ducked out the door.

  She didn’t want to leave this room and step into the uncertainty that lay behind the door. The minute they had to play a role before others, this all disappeared with no guarantee that she could have it again.

  She lounged in bed for ten minutes before she forced herself out. She lingered in the shower for another twenty after that. She stepped out of the steam of the bathroom wrapped in a thick towel to find Trevor sitting on the bed taking a bite out of a croissant.

  When he spotted her, his jaw stopped, seemingly unable to chew while he devoured her with his eyes. His intense inspection had her fidgeting with her towel as the memories of them from last night raced through her fevered mind.

  He finally gulped, but put the rest of the pastry down. “Come here.”

  She stepped up to him and waited.

  He unhooked the corner of the towel where she had tucked it above her breast and pulled it free. The towel fell away leaving her more exposed than she had ever been. Before, she’d had the benefit of the darkness and subtle lighting.

  So now, as he looked his fill, she fought the urge to squirm and cover herself. She didn’t look like she did in high school. A late bloomer, who definitely bloomed, she had shed her lithe figure a couple years into college, leaving her a little too thick. The fitted dresses she wore actually helped her hide the fact by sucking her in in all the right places.

  Well, that and the Spanx.

  The fact that Rachel was tits on a stick and Trevor had been with her only made Piper more aware of what she lacked. “Done now?” she said with more bite than she intended.

  He gripped her hip and glanced up to her. “Why are you mad?”

  “I’m just not used to the personal inspections.”

  “Nice try, Trouble, I’m not buying the bullshit you’re selling.”

  She picked up the towel and tucked it around herself again. “I don’t need to stand here and have you point out all the ways I’m not Rachel. Plenty of men like me just the way I am. Not starving.”

  He clenched his teeth and pushed off the bed. He stood over her, only by a couple inches, but with the anger radiating off him, it might as well have been a foot. “When did I ever once say anything disparaging about your looks or your body?”

  “I—”

  “You know what, you need to close your mouth.”

  “You just asked—”

  “And we both know the goddamned answer,” he snapped.

  She grabbed his forearm. “Shhh, dammit. They’ll hear you.”

  His face turned red and his nostrils flared with the effort to control his temper. The veins in his temple stood out against his skin showing her just how much keeping silent cost him.

  “Look. Don’t go putting any of your self-image baggage on me. Did I give you any indication that I had one complaint about your body last night?”

  “Well—”

  “The answer is no, I didn’t. Did my hard cock last night confuse you?”

  She glared at him as anger and the urge to fight welled up inside of her. “Hey, you don’t need to be rude,” she said.

  “Rude. Rude?” He stood so close his breath fanned over her cheek. “Like when you treated me as though all I care about is some skin and bones piece of ass?”

  She had done that.

  Shit.

  And in doing so, slid right back into the self-doubt she’d worked so hard to escape from. “Look, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to imply that. I’ve had a few find my body…lacking.”

  He hooked his fingers around the top of the towel, backed her up to the dresser, spun her around to stand in front of the mirror, and flicked open the terrycloth. He stood behind her, his eyes locked with
hers. “Don’t lump me in with other men, Piper. With our history, I deserve better than that.”

  With their history, yes. However, it was his history that played in a continuous loop in her head, scarring her like a record needle skipping, leaving a deep scratch in the vinyl. She hated it. “I’m sorry, Trevor.”

  “Let’s talk about what I see, just so we are crystal clear.” He traced his fingertips over her shoulders. “You always have your shoulders back and tall, you’re proud, but a part of that is defiance. You challenge people with this body. You use your tight dresses and stilettos to instigate a response. If they roll over and drool, they build your confidence. If they nitpick, you’re ready for battle.”

  Piper took a shallow breath, his assessment way to close for comfort. Like, spot-on close. Almost as if he had kept just as close an eye on her as she did him. And maybe for longer than just this weekend.

  Hope flared within her as she tried to see everything he did.

  “You’re also caring and attentive to others. You use that same set of your shoulders, but you lean in and listen. I’ve never seen someone listen like you. You do it with all five senses and that’s how people know you care.”

  Tears threatened. She wanted to hide. Somehow the kind words caused a pinch of pain. If he found her lacking, he was the problem. If kind words caused her this kind of heartache, the issues were hers.

  “Your face, with those high cheek bones, the faint freckles, yeah, I still see them. I still see that girl with the sun-kissed hair pinned up with a pencil, pieces escaping. Both images are just as beautiful as the one we’re looking at in the mirror.”

  She swiped the tear that slid down her cheek.

  “You’re neck…God, I have never had a thing for a woman’s neck before, but yours, the gentle elegance, and softness. It’s my second favorite place to put my lips.”

  “And the first?” she asked as she contemplated her breasts. Almost all men loved them. She prepared herself to hear the obvious answer and told herself to not be disappointed.

  “Here,” he said, running his fingertip over her bottom lip.