Total pages in book: 27
Estimated words: 25248 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 126(@200wpm)___ 101(@250wpm)___ 84(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 25248 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 126(@200wpm)___ 101(@250wpm)___ 84(@300wpm)
8
Piper
Stan’s been silent ever since cheerleading practice ended. The handsome man strides by me, his shoulders tense and handsome face withdrawn as we make our way back to the cabin.
“Everything okay?” I ask in a quiet voice. “I just wanted you to know—”
But Stan cuts me off. He holds the door open, and then jerks his head to tell me to go inside. Silently, I obey, putting my cheerleading bag down on the bed before rummaging around in my things to get my stuff for the shower. OMG, he regrets what we did last night, doesn’t he? Tears prick my eyes as I search for my shampoo, and I bite my lip to hold them back. If I can just get to the bathroom in time, I’ll cry silently underneath the spray so that Stan never finds out.
But as I whirl towards the bathroom, my shampoo in hand, a low growl stops me.
“Piper,” Stan says.
I stop, still breathing hard.
“What is it, Stan?”
He sighs, patting the mattress next to him.
“Can we talk for a moment? We have the cabin to ourselves, and I wanted to get some things clear.”
I bite my lip again, still staring at the floor because I really don’t want my guardian to see the tears shining in my eyes. But rigidly, I nod and then sit down next to him, careful not to brush against that muscular form. Oh god, how did things get so messed up? I had a wonderful time last night and have been secretly hoping for more, but obviously Stan doesn’t feel like that at all.
Next to me, I sense his broad shoulders sag as he lets out another breath.
“Piper, we have to talk about what happened,” he begins in a low voice. “I’m your guardian and I never should have let things get away from me like that—”
That’s when I whirl on him, my brown eyes sparking.
“No, you’re not my guardian!” I say in a quick hiss. “My mom never legally set you up as my guardian, so you’re not anything. And I had a wonderful time last night, Stan. I don’t regret it at all, and I love what we did. Please say you feel the same!”
He looks down, running his fingers through that thick black hair, and I wish I could do the same. I’d love to stroke my hands through his locks, making the raven strands stand on end, but this man isn’t mine. He has some weird outdated sense of chivalry, which is only making things awful for us.
But Stan is determined to say his part. Shooting me a sideways look, the huge man sighs again.
“Serena didn’t legally appoint me as your guardian,” he acknowledges in a low voice. “But Piper, honey, that is what I am in real life. You’ve been living at my house for a few years baby, and we look out for one another.”
I seize on that phrase immediately.
“Exactly Stan,” I say. “We look out for one another. You put a roof over my head, and I make our home nice in return. I put those curtains up in the kitchen windows, I make sure our meals are hot and nutritious, and now this. It’s the natural next step for what’s already happening between us,” I continue in a pleading voice. “Please Stan. I want you so much and it has me twisted up that you might not want me!”
The agony in my voice makes him turn to me quickly, but still, the handsome man refrains from touching me.
“No baby, I want you so much as well,” he says in a low rumble. “More than you can imagine. But I don’t want you to think that you owe me, and that you have to repay me by providing sexual favors. It’s not like that, baby. You can stay under my roof for as long as you want without having to do anything.”
I take his big hand in my small one then, looking up into those bright blue eyes.
“But Stan, I want to,” I breathe in a plea. “I want this more than anything, and I’ve wanted you for so long,” I continue, my words tangling in my mouth a bit. “I know that it feels wrong to you, but it feels so right to me, and it has nothing to do with anybody owing anything to anybody else. It’s just what’s naturally happening between us.”
The older man still looks conflicted though, and I decide to take things into my own hands then. Quickly, I strip off my sports bra, and then struggle out of my hot pants too, wearing nothing but a tiny pair of panties now. As Stan watches breathless, I turn so that I’m facing him and then lift my knees to show him that wet spot on the gusset of my lingerie.