The Bad Boy’s Secret Santa (Christmas in Alpine Valley #9)

Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

ELI

“It’s not much,” Piper says, pulling one last tote of decorations out of her crawl space. She’s on her knees wearing nothing but my t-shirt, her hair all messed up from a full night of lovemaking. After that quick, hot fuck in the storage room at City Hall, I refused to be quick about anything else for the rest of the night. If it weren’t for coffee, I doubt either one of us would be upright right now.

But we need to get that tree decorated.

Still on her knees, Piper bends forward to get one final look in the crawl space, and my shirt rides up. Revealing her bare ass. What a fucking view.

My dick hardens to attention, as if the fucker didn’t just drain itself inside her half an hour ago.

“Okay, that’s it—” She turns, looking over her shoulder in time to see me dropping my sweatpants to the floor. Her gaze locks on my shaft, and she licks her lips. “Probably should take care of that before we go on our decoration hunt.”

“Probably.”

I drop to the floor, coming up behind her. I push apart her thighs with my knees, teasing her entrance with my swollen head. I slide both hands from her hips, up her loose shirt, and grab her tits. She reaches between her legs and buries my cock within her folds. Stroking her pussy with me, as though my dick is her play thing.

“That’s it, Pipes. Play with my cock until you come.”

It feels so good, swimming in her wetness that I nearly come as she gyrates her hips against my dick, using her hand to hold me in place. She rubs herself senselessly, using my swollen head to tease the fuck out of her clit until she explodes.

Her body shakes with her climax, and I take over, reaching between her legs to guide my cock home where it belongs. I pound into her, refusing to let her first orgasm end. I tease her sensitive flesh without mercy as I pound her into channel.

She explodes a second time, and then—and only then—do I allow myself to drain my cock inside her.

“Merry fucking Christmas Eve, Pipes.”

“Maybe every Christmas Eve could be like this,” she says as I pull out of her and roll onto my back on the floor. I gather her into my arms.

“Is that what you want?”

“Of course it is.” I can hear the hint of fear in her admission, as though she expects me to disagree. I was going to wait until tomorrow morning to ask her to run away with me, but this moment feels right. But first, I owe her an explanation.

“I need to tell you something.”

“Everything okay?” she asks, lifting her head from my chest and meeting my gaze.

“It’s about the night I left—without you.”

“My grandma told me that she stopped you.”

“It was the hardest thing I ever did, leaving you behind without saying goodbye. But I knew you’d try to go with me. And because I selfishly wanted you to come, I wouldn’t have stopped you. I had to leave.”

“Why didn’t you come back?” I hear the hurt in her voice, and it makes my heart clench.

“I thought about it. A lot. In fact, I almost did.”

“But?”

“But I was afraid you’d hate me. That you were better off without me in your life. What your grandma said to me really shook me to the core. She didn’t want me to ruin your life. And Pipes, the life I was living those first few years before I decided to get my shit together weren’t great. I almost went to jail.”

“Jail?”

“Turns out casinos don’t like guys who are good with numbers.” It was an exciting time in my life, until it wasn’t. “I never felt like I was good enough for you. Like I could give you everything you deserved. But now…”

“Now?”

“Now I can.” I sit up, bringing her with me, and cup her cheek so I can look deep into those blue eyes. Eyes I plan to get lost in every day for the rest of my life. “Now I can give you everything you’ve ever wanted and more.”

“What are you saying?”

“Run away with me, Pipes.”

The sparkle in her eyes extinguishes in an instant, and in its place is pure anger. “Are you kidding me?”

“What, I thought?—”

Piper yanks the t-shirt off the floor and hops to her feet. She throws it on and points to the front door. “Get out.”

“What?”

“Did I stutter?”

“I don’t understand?—”

She folds both arms over her chest, eyes shiny with unshed tears and righteous anger. “Get out .”

I pull on my sweatpants and search the living room for my coat. I don’t dare ask for my t-shirt back. When a Stanton woman’s temper flares, the stupidest thing a man can do is fan the flames. Still, I have to try. “You don’t mean that.”

“Oh, I do. In fact, why don’t you just go ahead and skip town. By yourself. You’re good at that.”

“I thought we had something here?—”

“You thought wrong.” She shoves my shoes against my chest and pushes me out the front door, slamming it behind me.

Well, fuck.