Wild Kisses (3:AM Kisses #7) Read online

  “Shit,” she hisses, settling herself directly over that growing bulge in my pants. Piper closes her eyes, rolls her head back, and grinds her hips over me, dry fucking me into oblivion. I’m right there. So close. I need something to divert my attention, so I decide to return the favor instead. Carefully, I unbutton her jeans. Piper looks down, her sleepy eyes watching the show, doing nothing at all to stop it. Our eyes lock as I lower her zipper, slipping my hand over her smooth black panties until my fingers land right over that tender part of her.

  “You’re wet.” It takes all of my self-control not to crack a smile. “Do I make you wet, Piper?” My finger does a soft revolution over her folds through the fabric, and her back straightens as she takes a full breath. “I take it that’s a yes.” I work my magic over her, slow at first, enjoying the shit out of watching her writhe, watching her hair fall side to side as her breathing grows erratic. “I want to watch you come, Piper. Has anyone ever made you come before?”

  A dull sound chokes from her as she gives a slight shake of the head.

  “I didn’t think so.” I pause, hoping what I really want to say next won’t escape, but there’s no stopping it. “I want to keep it that way—just you for me. I want to have every part of you to myself.” My fingers pick up the pace as her head tips back, her lungs panting as if she’s running a marathon. “I want to claim this body as my own. I want to own you, Piper.” She’s soaking wet, right through her panties. “Next time I do this, it’s going to be with my tongue. Piper sucks in a sharp breath as she wraps her arms tight against my neck. She buries her face in my hair, her hot breath raining over me like a fire. She’s so close that her body is already trembling.

  “Fuck me,” she hisses into my ear.

  “No.” Not the answer I want to give. Not the answer I would have given to just about anyone else, but Piper. There are things I want her to know about me, that I want to know about her before we go there. I know the rules, and I want this thing, this relationship with Piper to last more than a few weeks. I want something that I’ve never wanted before with any other girl. I want a future with her, if she’ll let me.

  I apply a little more pressure over her wet slick as her body writhes rhythmically against me.

  “Please.” She moans slow and loud, and my dick screams for me to answer with it. “Owen.” The way she groans my name makes my balls ache with an intensity they’ve never felt before.

  Shit. I unleash all unholy hell on her, and she lets out a wild cry, gripping me so hard our bodies are compressed at the chest. Piper quakes over me with my hand drenched from the effort, and I hold it steady there until she pushes me off in one aggressive move.

  “Oh my God.” She gives a soft laugh into my ear. The sound of her panting deafens me for a moment. “I can’t believe that.” She slips her legs together, sitting on my lap, looking up at me with those crystal navy eyes. “Thank you, I think.” A smile comes and goes through her short staccato breaths. “That was sort of a first for me.”

  “I’m glad you liked it.” I press a heated kiss over her temple. “I’m glad I was your first,” I whisper into her ear. “I want to be your first for everything.” I rub my cheek against her soft skin as she continues to shiver against me.

  Piper pulls my chin down until she’s piercing me with those blue flames she calls eyes and gives a slight nod.

  “You will be.”

  An hour drifts by as we trade kisses, taking turns dipping our tongues into one another’s mouths, watching TV while hanging out. We both keep our shirts off, me bare chested while she plays with my nipple ring, outlines my tats with her tongue while I tell her the story behind each one. But I don’t dare take off her bra. Once I lose myself in her tits, I won’t be able to control the urge to speed up the seduction timeline. I need her in my bed. I need to be buried deep inside her to ever feel whole again, but that’s not where we’re at tonight.

  Tonight it’s about just being together. It’s easy like this with Piper, natural. I’ve never felt so comfortable with a girl before, never felt so relaxed about not having rolled on a condom by now. With Piper, I know it’s coming, and, when it does, I’m guaranteed it’s going to be earth-shattering.

  Eight-thirty rolls around, and work creeps up in the back of my mind. Just when I’m trying to figure out a way out of it, her phone goes off, and she’s off to another required Alpha Hell meeting.

  For once, I’m not too sorry.

  I slick off in the shower, the memory of her wetness still fresh in my mind. I come for weeks just thinking about that beautiful girl I’m about to make mine, and it’s at that moment I decide to stop with the secrets.

  Tomorrow, I tell Piper everything.

  Get Lost Forever

  Piper

  Fall has hit hard over Hollow Brook, leaving this bustling Friday night alive and frantic with the rattle of leaves as the maples and oaks shed their fiery red coats. My thighs are still quivering from the heated exchange with Owen. I can still feel him touching me, getting me to where I needed to be, and I hate the fact Alpha Chi cut in on our good time. But, it’s the last official gathering before rush concludes, so it’s almost excusable. Almost.

  Cassidy and I do a quick change into our Alpha uniforms as we’ve grown to call the pretentious look. Tonight’s collective ensemble requirement is a short navy or black dress, black being the second choice as not to compete with all of the other little black dresses that will be in circulation this evening (per Jules). Luckily and oddly, both Cassidy and I happen to own a plain blue dress, hers being a bit more electric in nature, much like Cassidy herself. We head down to the Black Bear to meet up with Scarlett and Daisy first. Daisy has on a dark gray denim dress, which looks stunning on her, but I can already feel the hellfire both Jules and Lucille will rain down on her. I’ve witnessed a few brutal exchanges this past week.

  “Those bitches are going to hang that poor thing.” Cassidy takes a sip of her virgin daiquiri as she waves them over. I spot Marley and try to sink in my seat before she spots me, but it’s too late. She’s already waving and heading this way.

  “I’ll be right back.” I jump up to intercept her before she gets too far from the bar. Annie pops up out of nowhere, and I give both my brother’s girlfriends a quick hug. I really do consider Blake my brother just as much as Wyatt or Cade. “You two look great,” I say, taking them in. It’s true, both Annie and Marley are sporting their own renditions of the little black dress (much to the Jules’ point) and their hair is curled in gorgeous waves, their makeup freshly applied and thicker than either of them normally wears it.

  “It’s date night.” Annie touches her lips with a titter of excitement. “Roxy is watching baby Ben while the boys take Marley and me out for dinner and a movie.”

  “You’re looking good.” Marley eyes me up and down suspiciously, and my face heats ten shades of red. I can still feel Owen’s hand gliding between my legs, pulling me closer to the brink as I let go over him. A flaming current races through my veins at the memory. I can come all over again just thinking about it. “Where are you off to?”

  “Alpha Chi. It’s another required meeting.”

  “Oh?” Marley looks past my shoulder at Cassidy and the girls knitting their ponytails together as they cackle freely. Scarlett and Daisy are proving to be really fun to hang out with. I love that Scarlett is this badass who wields a bow and arrow for the hell of it, and Daisy is all into antiquing. We’re making plans to go as a group soon. I feel better knowing that we’ll all be in Alpha Chi together. “How about the weekend? Any big plans?”

  “Actually, yes.” Crap. Am I really going to drive up to Virginia with Winston? A sick swell of anticipation barrels through me. I want Alpha Chi, and yet I want Owen. “Some stupid rush stuff. The nightmare ends Monday,” I whisper through a nervous laugh. “Um, can I ask you two something?”

  They nod in tandem. “Anything.” Marley’s features smooth out as she anticipates what I’m about to ask.

  �
�A friend of mine was wondering about something—and I wasn’t quite sure how to answer.” I blush a million times deeper, because I think we all know I just unabashedly spilled a lie at their feet. I’m officially the queen of lies, and I hate that new part of me. “How did you know that what you felt for Wyatt and Blake was real? I mean, how does anyone know that what they’re feeling is real?”

  Marley raises her brows. “Your friend—does she think what she has with this guy is real?”

  I offer up a slow nod. It’s true. Every time I’m with Owen it feels damn real. It feels like we’re supposed to be together, like we belong, and yet a part of me detests how my brain insists on turning this into some fairy tale. I’m half-afraid I’m setting myself up for a major fall. No matter how real it feels with Owen, it also feels as if I’m tap dancing on the edge of a cliff.

  Annie leans in, her honeyed curls tipping over her shoulder. “Does this boy feel the same about your friend?”

  “I think so. They haven’t exactly shared their feelings yet.” The ghost of his fingers rides over my panties again, and says everything I need to know.

  Marley sighs as if I’ve just pulled a puppy out of my purse. “They should really think about doing just that.”

  “The sooner the better.” Annie shakes her head. “But only when the time is right. Have things gotten serious yet?”

  Both best friends lean in, wide-eyed. Marley looks slightly pissed like a good big sister. Annie is too sweet to ever be angry.

  “Nope, not yet. But I think maybe it’s time.”

  Cassidy and the girls come up, and I give both Marley and Annie a quick hug goodbye.

  “Thanks, guys. I really appreciate it.”

  Marley tugs me back just as I’m about to follow the girls out. “Do yourself a favor and move slow. Make sure you know one another inside and out, and that you trust each other before this goes any further. No secrets!”

  “I will.” I swallow hard at that fact she so easily saw right though me. “Do me a favor”—I wince—“don’t tell my brothers.”

  Both Annie and Marley break out in a soft laugh. “Oh, honey”—Marley pulls me in again—“there are some things a brother is just better off not knowing.”

  “Amen to that,” I whisper.

  Amen to that.

  * * *

  Alpha Chi is brimming with girls in matching navy dresses, nary a single ponytail wielding, dragon-lipped princess dared to sport a raven-colored frock—well, with the exception of Daisy, of course.

  “What the hell is this shit?” Lucille runs her finger over Daisy’s gray denim waist—acid washed, no less. There are so many fashion crimes against humanity happening here I’m afraid for Daisy’s life. I’m positive they’re just trying to break us, letting us know that even though we’re going to be a part of the Alpha Chi family, they are still large and in charge. I’m pretty sure this entire last-minute bitch trip is exactly that, a last-ditch effort to turn up the cruelty before the final candle lighting ceremony next week. At least that’s what I’m hoping.

  “I’m so sorry!” Daisy yelps like an injured puppy. “I went to Rags to Riches, but they were sold out of navy dresses. Then I went to ten different stores in the mall, and it was the same story all over town. This was as close as I could get. I even bought a bottle of navy dye to get it as close as possible.” Daisy says her entire diatribe with her head pointed straight ahead, never daring to make eye contact with Lucille as if she were some psychotic drill sergeant. She is, but that’s beside the point.

  “Whatever.” Lucille smirks. “I’m docking ten points. It’s as if you never made it to the meeting tonight. What do you think of that?”

  Daisy glances toward Scarlett and me. “I think that’s pretty lame.”

  Good for her. I’m all for putting up with the necessary BS to get through rush, but I hate being talked down to. I’d stand up for myself, too, if I were Daisy.

  “Lame?” Lucille straightens as if someone just pushed that pool stick up her ass a little deeper. “Jules? Do you think anything I’ve said tonight is lame?”

  Daisy gives an audible swallow, and a few of the girls nearby break out in titters.

  “Yes, Lu—I always think you’re ‘lame.’”

  The circle of titters widens, and Jules breaks out in a relaxed grin. “Alpha Squad?” That’s the pet name for her downline chain of command. I imagine that’s the post I’ll hold one day soon. As soon as they let me into this quasi-misogynist organization, I plan to claw my way to the top and change plenty of rules along the way. Both Jules and Lucille are seniors, so I don’t really have too big of a problem with their bitchy behavior. They’ll be gone by the time I’m a sophomore, so each time they rag out about something, I brush it off with a grain of graduation salt.

  Jules clears her throat as she continues, “Jot down the names of those who think this is funny and dock them all ten points.” She smears a blood slit smile at Daisy. “Misery does love company, isn’t that right?”

  Daisy doesn’t dare move. I’m sure she feels like shit knowing that her dastardly wardrobe decision has cost a handful of girls a chance at the golden ring—or string of pearls as it were.

  “Well?” Lucille barks in her face. “Doesn’t it feel good knowing you’re not the only one being punished for your fashion faux pas?”

  “No. It doesn’t.” Daisy looks to Cassidy with a pleading expression.

  “Wrong answer,” Lucille howls, her scrunched-up nose pushes further into her face the more vindictive she gets. If she keeps this up, she’s going to turn into a pug before our very eyes. “Try again, and this time say it loud enough to make sure the girls in the back hear you!”

  Daisy remains silent a beat too long. You can hear a pearl drop with the thick silence that’s taken over this colossal haunted house.

  “I said now!” Lucille riots so loud, poor Daisy bucks in response.

  “It feels good!” she shouts, looking dismally straight ahead.

  “What feels good?” Lucille runs her hand over the middle of Daisy’s dress, her finger riding dangerously close to her crotch.

  Daisy swallows back her rage. “It feels good knowing that I fucked this up for everyone.”

  Jules gags on a silent laugh. Her mouth opens like a ruby-lined cave. “Are you saying you’re a fuck up?”

  “Yes!” Daisy shouts, her voice echoing throughout the house in a cold, icy manner.

  “Well then, say it!” Jules spurs her along as if she were her personal cheerleader, more like fear-leader. “Tell everyone what a fuck up you are!”

  “I am a fuck up!” Daisy shouts, tears glittering in her eyes.

  “With your name.” Lucille says it low, commanding, but I watch her hand to make sure she’s not going to lay another one of her perverted fingers over Daisy’s body again. I’m about to go rabid, and none of these Alpha bitches want any piece of that.

  “I, Daisy Pembrooke, am a fuck up!”

  The room grows quiet as a tomb. I don’t think any one of us was prepared to hear a fellow potential “sister” be forced to shout those words.

  I am going to cut a bitch. A boiling anger percolates through me, and just as I’m about to risk both my sorority and scholastic standing, Lucille gives me the slightest wink.

  “You’re in.” Jules says it so low, all heads and ears bend toward her in the event she repeats it. She’s so close to Daisy they’re practically nose-to-nose. “You heard me. You don’t need to wait until next Monday. You’re in.”

  “Excuse me?” Daisy’s face turns an entire rainbow of color as her lungs start taking in air again.

  Jules steps deeper into the room. “Everyone! I’d like for you to meet the very first new member of the Alpha Chi family! Let’s all give Daisy a round of applause for her excellence in sportsmanship. Congratulations, Daisy Pembrooke! Welcome to the Alpha Chi sisterhood!” Jules pulls a set of pearls from thin air as the room breaks out in a deafening applause. Daisy bursts into tears while Jules fastens
the delicate beads around her neck. You’d think Miss America was accepting her crown, with all the tears, the cheers, the outright rioting of emotion, bizarre as the entire exchange just was.

  Lucille shuttles me to the side with a goofy grin on her face. “A little Sigma Theta Tau birdie whispered to me something about a long weekend getaway?” Her tiny coffee-colored eyes blink twice. “Do tell! Are things about to get serious?”

  I open my mouth, but for once I’m met with a shortage of words.

  Jules trots over on her cloven-hooved feet. “Don’t start this conversation without me!” she sings as if the malfeasance with Daisy never happened. “Do you need to borrow a teddy? I have a ton of lingerie upstairs. We Alpha girls have a chest full of naughty treasures that we keep for such occasions.”

  Gross. “No, I’m good actually.” Crap. If they smeared Daisy with shit over something as trivial as the fabric of her dress, what the hell are they about to do to me when I tell them I’m outright defying that stupid list they gave me? Hell if I care. “I’m not going on that trip with Winston.”

  The frozen grins slide right off their faces.

  “Why the hell not?” Jules asks with a sneer now embedded where the fake smile stood a moment ago.

  “Because we’re not at that level. He’s nice and everything, but—”

  Lucille threads her arm through mine. “But nothing. You’re not ready.” She gives a wink to Jules, so quick and sly, she’s dimwitted enough to think I didn’t see it. “Have you seen pictures of the Stanford horse ranch?”

  “My brother has a horse ranch.” One I plan to explore with Owen.