Her blue eyes went blind, and she moaned hoarsely, her hips twitching beneath him, spasms racking her pussy and plunging him over the edge. He rocked into her hot channel one more time, spearing deep, looking her in the eyes as he growled her name, letting loose the excruciating pressure between his legs, panting against the side of her head.
“I love you,” she gasped, the words seeming to catch her off guard, alarm her, and Brendan wondered if it was possible for his heart to explode out of his chest. How was he going to survive her? Every time he thought his feelings for her had finally reached their apex, she proved him wrong, and his chest grew another size. How could he continue at this rate for the next fifty, sixty years?
“Piper, I love you, too. I love you.” Still pressing her down into the bed, he left slow kisses on her temple, her shoulder, her neck, before finally rolling off her to one side, drawing her tight to the place she called the recharging station. And he’d laughed at that name, but when she found her place in his arms, her features relaxed and she sighed, as if being held by him truly made everything okay. Jesus Christ, that privilege humbled him.
“I’ve never said it to anyone before,” she murmured, resting her head on his bicep. “It didn’t feel like I always thought it would.”
He ran his hand down her hair. “How did you think it would feel?”
She thought about it. “Getting it over with. Like ripping off a Band-Aid.”
“And how did it feel instead?”
“The reverse. Like putting a bandage on. Wrapping it tight.” She studied his chin a moment, then ticked her eyes up to his. “I think because I trust you. I completely trust you. That’s a huge part of love, isn’t it?”
“Yeah. I reckon it has to be.” He swallowed around the lump in his throat. “But I’m not an expert, baby. I’ve never loved like this.”
It took a moment for her to speak. “I’ll never keep anything from you again.” Her exhale was rocky. “Oh wow. Big post-coital declarations happening here. But I mean it. No more keeping things to myself. Not even for the length of an elevator ride. I won’t make you fight to get into my head. I don’t want that. I don’t want to be constant work for you, Brendan. Not when you make it so easy to love you.”
He crushed her against him, no other choice, unless he wanted to splinter apart from the sheer fucking emotion she produced inside of him. “Constant work, Piper? No. You misunderstand me.” He tipped her chin up and kissed her mouth. “When the reward is as perfect as you, as perfect as this, the work is a fucking honor.”
Brendan rolled Piper onto her back as their kisses escalated, his cock growing stiff again in a matter of seconds, swelling painfully when she begged him to take off his shirt. He complied, somehow finding a way to kick off his jeans and boxers before stripping her clean of any clothing, too. Satisfied sounds burst from their mouths when their naked bodies finally twined together, skin on skin, not a single barrier in sight.
Piper’s lips curved with humor beneath his. “So are we just not going to talk about the tongue thing?”
Their laughter turned to sighs and eventually to moans, the bedsprings groaning beneath them. And it seemed like nothing could touch the perfection of them. Not after such hard-fought confessions. Not when they couldn’t seem to breathe without each other.
But if Brendan had learned one thing as a captain, it was this: Just when it seemed like the storm was beginning to break and daylight spread across the calm waters? That’s when the biggest wave hit.
And forgetting that lesson could very well cost him everything.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
The rest of their time in Seattle was a dream.
Hannah and Fox met them in the hotel lobby at the designated time, loaded down with secondhand records. And while Piper still wanted Brendan to speak to Fox about Hannah being off-limits, her fears were temporarily put to rest by the genuine friendship that seemed to have sprouted between the two. One afternoon together and they were finishing each other’s sentences. They had inside jokes and everything. Not that it surprised Piper. Her sister was a goddess with a pure, romantic spirit, and it was about time people flocked to her.
As long as certain appendages remained in their pants.
At dinner, Brendan and Fox told them about life on the boat. Piper’s favorite story was about a crab claw getting fastened to Deke’s nipple, requiring Brendan to give him stitches. She made them tell it twice while she laughed herself into a wine-aided stupor. Halfway through the meal, Fox brought up last week’s storm, and Piper watched Brendan stiffen, his gaze flying to hers, gauging if she could handle it. She was surprised to find that while her nerves bubbled up ominously, she was able to calm them with a few deep breaths. Apparently Brendan was so happy about Piper encouraging Fox to finish the story, he pulled her over onto his lap, and that’s where she happily remained for the rest of the evening.