Chapter 4

  Piper

  I was pacing around my bedroom, still in the sequin dress, with my makeup on and my hair ruffled beyond recognition. I knew I was stinking of alcohol and I wrapped my arms around my body as shivers ran up and down my spine. I couldn’t believe this was happening tonight. I couldn’t believe that he was actually here!

  I could hear Brody and Max talking outside, and his voice hit me in waves. I didn't imagine it. He was actually here!

  Other than the fact that he had buffed up a little, probably because of his military training, Declan still looked the same. I was always tall, taller than most of the girls in my class but he towered over me. I remembered that Declan and Max had once measured themselves and Declan’s height had turned out to be six foot six inches. He could have qualified as a giant!

  He had the same chiseled face, angular jaws and a nose as sharp as a knife. Declan’s eyes were dangerously blue and glimmering, and tonight they appeared to be stormy. He’d been drinking too, and I remembered that flushed face of his very well.

  His hair was as dark as always although now he had a close buzzcut, again because of the Navy. And his arms and shoulders were bulky, his waist tapered and underneath his jeans, his thighs looked muscular and strong. I had watched him in horror as he held his can of beer tightly. I thought about how large his hands were and looked at his thick long fingers. He was still the sexiest guy I had ever set my eyes on, and he smelled the same too!

  He had a natural musky scent, which I had detected the moment I stepped into the house. It took me back years, way back to when I was a teenager and dreaming about him every night. In the past six years, since he left town all of a sudden, I was glad to realize that I was fantasizing about him less and less. He was turning into a distant memory rather than a reality. But now he was back here again. Why was he back?

  I shuddered at the thought that he was in our house, right outside. I couldn’t believe that I could open the door and look at him if I wanted to.

  I was sure he didn’t remember. He didn’t remember that night. Six days before he disappeared. That night he got really drunk.

  I wasn’t nearly drunk enough, and I was glad I wasn’t because it meant that I remembered everything. That was when my teenage fantasies had come true.

  I couldn’t even remember now where Max was that night so many years ago. Maybe he was trying to cozy up to Nicole O’Dowd, the girl he used to like back then. Either way, Declan and I had ended up alone in the master bedroom of the Malley family, where all of us had gathered for a night-long house party.

  I was giggling as I helped Declan up the stairs. I could still feel his steely grip on my shoulders as he stumbled and crashed into the middle of Mr. and Mrs. Malley’s bed. I jumped onto the bed after him and tried to talk and keep him awake. I was nineteen and too thrilled to worry about how sleeping with him would affect me in the future.

  I was a virgin. A nerdy virgin girl, who happened to be his best friend’s sister. Who he never looked at twice and now I had him all to myself.

  I was the one who had initiated it, and Declan, just followed the cues. He took my virginity, passionately and wildly on that bed and I bit down on my lip hard when he came inside me. I was surprised by the way I felt when he looked into my eyes and kissed me as we made love. I wasn’t a virgin anymore, and it was Declan Wheeler who had taken it from me. All my fantasies had come true.

  After that, he had rolled off and passed out into a deep sleep, and I’d sat up in bed, watching him as he slept peacefully. When I woke up the next morning, Declan was still sleeping and afraid of Max finding us like that, I crept out of the house.

  I’d been walking on clouds the next couple of days, re-living every moment in the dark with him. He was my first, the first guy who had ever touched me and I couldn’t have asked for more. I wanted to talk to him, to figure out if he remembered anything. I had always had a crush on him but that night the way he looked at me, I felt like he felt the same way. I had hope back then that things had a chance of working out.

  And then, six days later, Max came home in the evening and announced that Declan had left town and nobody had heard from him. His parents were worried, and so was Max, till two days later he received a phone call from Declan to say that he had enlisted in the Navy.

  I hadn’t seen him since. Declan had never returned, and my last memory of him was watching him sleeping while I crept out of the room, with my heart beating fast, and hoping that we might have a chance to talk when he sobered up.

  Too much time had passed now, and so much had changed. Even though I thought about that night from time to time and I wondered if I could ever be as attracted to anyone as I had been to Declan, I had no hope left for us anymore.

  I heard Max’s laugh outside my door, followed by Declan’s deep, serious voice as they spoke and I pressed my eyes closed. Six years was a long time to pick up where we had left off. Besides, I had no idea what his life was like now. More importantly, he didn’t even know that he had taken my virginity and I wasn’t about to tell him now.

  If this was Declan’s idea of a surprise by coming back, he had succeeded. I just wished he never came back.

  Chapter 5

  Declan

  Max was at work the next day, and I decided to visit Piper’s thrift store. She had slipped out of the house at some point, so I hadn’t had a chance to see her since our encounter the previous night.

  Max had told me that all proceeds from the store went to The Cancer Society and besides wanting to make a donation, I also wanted to see her.

  I entered the store, and the bell on top of the door chimed softly. The store wasn’t anything fancy, and there was stuff everywhere, and I also noticed that there were no customers inside.

  “Hello?” I called out, walking in and noticing that Piper wasn’t behind the cash register.

  “Just a minute!” I heard her voice and followed it, till I found her bent over a bag of old clothes that she was seemingly sorting through. All I could see was her ass and her tight blue jeans, and I felt a movement in my pants.

  “Hi!” she straightened up and turned to me with a cheery voice and her smile dropped when our gazes locked. She looked different now, way different from how she looked the previous night. In jeans and a simple plaid shirt, Piper had no makeup on, and her silky smooth blond hair was neatly parted on the side with her bangs falling lightly over her forehead. Her light brown eyes dazzled in the morning light as she glared at me.

  “Hey, I wanted to stop by and have a look at the store,” I said, as casually as I could because seeing Piper again had a strange effect on me. I suppose I had just not expected her to be an actual grown up person and yet here she was, complete with long legs and firm breasts I wanted to touch. I had to clench my jaws as a reminder that she was also Max’s sister.

  “What do you want?” Piper’s voice was full of spunk, and she walked past me, carrying a load of clothes in her arms and found her way back to the cash register.

  “I haven’t really looked around, but I’m sure I’ll find something,” I said and ran a hand over my buzzcut hair. Piper had started to hang clothes on hangers behind the desk, and I could sense that she was actively avoiding my eyes.

  “Fine, help yourself,” she said testily, and I walked towards her.

  “If you’re embarrassed about last night, Piper, you really shouldn’t be,” I told her and she shot me a fiery look. I noticed the way her thick luscious lips curled in a snarl and her nostrils were flaring.

  “I’m not embarrassed,” she snapped and looked away from me again.

  “Okay, then why do I get the feeling that you’re not exactly glad to see me?” I asked, and watched the way she moved. I couldn’t help but notice how tight the jeans fit on her legs, how it stretched over her thighs. Her shoulders were slender and slim like her waist, and every step that Piper took was full of grace, the exact opposite to her voice which was raspy and angered.

  I was desperate for her to look at me again.

  “Why should I be glad to see you? You’re Max’s friend. Not mine,” she said, and I nodded my head, but she wasn’t looking at me.

  “Sure, but we all practically grew up together, and you’ve been a part of my life. I thought we were at least something like friends,” I said with a shrug, and our eyes met again. There was a fire burning somewhere inside her, and I wondered what had caused it. She was never exactly soft-spoken, but neither was she this temperamental. Or was it just me? Did she hate me now?

  “What are you really doing here, Declan?” she asked, crossing her arms over her breasts, as she stood with her hips jutted out to one side. I couldn’t help but gaze briefly at her propped up cleavage. No man could have looked away from that. If she had caught me looking, she didn’t respond. She just wanted answers that I couldn’t give her.

  “I’m visiting Max,” I said, as casually as possible and Piper gritted her teeth and whipped away from me to the rack of clothes again.

  “Then maybe you should go and spend some time with him,” she snapped, and I took in a deep breath. She wasn’t my sister; I didn’t need to indulge her mood swings.

  “Gladly,” I said, sensing the growing anger in my bones as she fumed in front of me. Secretly, I was glad that she was making me mad, it would mean that I would be less tempted to spend time with her. Which in turn would mean that I’d be fantasizing about Max’s sister less.

  “Fine,” she snapped, and I turned and walked to the door. I stopped, in the last minute hope that she would say something, but she didn’t. I opened the door and walked out of the store. It felt like someone had dropped a bucket of icy cold water over me. The moment I wasn’t in the same room as her anymore, it felt like a load had been lifted. I was convinced that it had to do with the guilt attached to staring at her like that because she was Max’s sister.

  I’d more than just stared at her back in the store. I had flashing thoughts of staring into her eyes and then kissing her wildly. Then my thoughts became images of turning her over the counter and taking her from behind.

  I needed to get out of there. I had to put as much distance between Piper and me as possible in those circumstances. She wanted to have nothing to do with me, and I was under no obligation to be friendly towards her. She was Max’s problem, and he could deal with her the way he pleased.

  As far as I was concerned, I was back in my hometown and seeing my best friend after six years. That was all I needed to concern myself with at that moment, and yet, the farther I walked away from Piper, the more my hands itched to touch her and my soul ached.

  Chapter 6

  Piper

  I’d closed the store nearly forty-five minutes ago, but I still couldn’t bring myself to go back home. I knew Declan was going to be there, and I knew I didn’t have the strength in me to face him again.

  Why did he have to come to the store that morning? Why did he have to look so fucking gorgeous? It was almost like he’d become even sexier with age. He had definitely become more muscular! As I walked around and arounad the park, I should have been thinking about Declan’s abs less and my plan of action more.

  There was no way I could avoid him forever. I didn’t even know how long he was going to be in town for. I knew my brother well enough to know that he wouldn’t let Declan live anywhere but with us. Besides, his family didn’t live in Passage West anymore, so where was he going to stay? There was no other real option other than the spare room of our house.

  My lips had gone dry, and my breath kept catching in my throat, as the realization dawned on me that I would have to ultimately see him again and speak to him again. I had spent so much time trying to get over him, that I hadn’t prepared for a situation like this to occur. I had stupidly believed that I’d be safe here in Passage West. I hoped that I would be hidden away from Declan and my desire for him.

  What was I supposed to do now? Walk around the house and around him pretending like everything was just like it was six years ago? Before that night happened? What would Max say if he saw me behaving oddly around his long-lost best friend?

  There was no way that Max could find out. The information needed to be kept hidden from him at all costs. The last thing I wanted, no matter how much I wanted Declan gone, was for the two of them to get nto a punching match.

  I decided to face my fears head on. It wasn’t like I could have stayed out all night or for days. At some point, I would have to engage in conversation with him.

  Hesitantly, I walked back to the house and jiggled the rusty key in the rusty lock. The door flew open, and I nearly stumbled in. Max really needed to do something about that damn door!

  “Max?” I called out for my brother. The lights were all switched off in the house, and I couldn’t hear voices. My body immediately flooded with relief, and my shoulders drooped. They weren’t at home. This would give me a chance to sneak into my bedroom and remain locked up there all night.

  I walked to my bedroom and shut the door behind me, letting out a huge sigh of relief. One hurdle dodged. Now, if only I could keep this up for a few more days and I might not actually have to see Declan at all!

  I stood in front of the mirror as I started stripping. I rolled the tight jeans down my legs and unbuttoned my shirt. How could a guy like Declan want me? I thought as I looked at my naked body in the mirror. He had probably collected a long list of supermodelesque city girls in his sexual history. I had no doubts about that. Even when we were kids, there wasn’t a single girl I knew who wasn’t crushing on Declan. I was just one of them, a face in the crowd.

  Wrapping a towel tightly around my torso, I walked out of my bedroom and down the hall before I opened the bathroom door and stepped in.

  I saw him just when I heard the click of the lock as the door fell into place. Declan was in the cubicle, seemingly just getting ready to have a shower. He was completely naked, standing with his arms to his side in front of me, and my jaw all but dropped to the ground.

  Those abs I’d been fantasizing about all day…perfectly chiseled. His shoulders heaved, wide and muscular, just like his chest. His thighs were ripped and strong, and he was staring at me with a darkened narrow gaze. His enormous cock hung between his legs. It was a dangerous weapon as far as I was concerned, and I couldn’t bring myself to look away.

  “Piper, what are you doing here?” I heard him say and I felt like my limbs had frozen to the spot. I couldn’t move.

  “I…I was just coming in for a shower,” I began to say, fumbling with my words. “I didn’t hear you in here,” I added, and I watched in shock as Declan stepped out of the cubicle. He was in no rush to cover himself, but then again, what was there for him to be embarrassed about? He could brandish himself naked in the middle of a parade, and he wouldn’t get anything but cheers from a crowd. He was a piece of fine art.

  “I should…I didn’t know…” I was stuttering with my words again, as Declan slowly wrapped a towel at his waist. He was stepping closer to me now, and I could feel the wetness between my legs. It was driving me senseless. There was no escaping this anymore. He had flipped the switch on in me. The only way I could survive was if I got out of there.

  “It’s okay. It was a mistake,” he said, and the sudden kindness in his voice destabilized me. I’d expected him to be mad at me for walking in on him like this, but Declan was smiling. He had a fucking smile on his face!

  Chapter 7

  Declan

  Piper had no way of knowing what she was doing to my body. I flinched as I tightened the towel at my waist to hide the throbbing between my legs. A few seconds more and she would have seen the growing erection.

  She was standing at the door, her body tensed and her muscles stiffened and she looked like the most beautiful creature I had ever set my eyes on. She had a towel wrapped around her torso, just barely reaching the top of her thighs. Her legs were long and smooth, just the curves of her shoulders.

  Her cleavage popped over the folds of the towel, teasing me as I tried to deter my gaze from them. She had a look of fright on her face, mingled with embarrassment and all I wanted to do was take her into my arms and kiss her.

  “It’s fine, Piper. These things happen,” I said, trying to smile through the arousal coursing through my body. The look of rage that I had seen in her blue eyes that morning had faded. She wasn’t angry anymore thankfully, and I stepped towards her. It was like she had frozen to the spot.

  “I should have knocked,” she said, as I towered over her. Piper had to crane her neck to look up at me, and I studied the plumpness of her lips. How juicy they looked and I imaged how delicious she would taste. Like fresh summer fruit.

  “Just relax,” I said and placed my hands on her shoulders. My feelings were driving me crazy. I had to touch her, and when I did, I felt an electric shock run down my spine. What was it about her that made her so irresistible? What did she have that no other woman did? Why did I want her nipples in my mouth so bad?

 

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