The One Left Behind (The One Series) (36 page)

I make my way toward Pierce with sweaty palms while moving my hips to the music. I think back on how confident and sexy Pierce made me feel while we were dancing at the club and channel that energy. I slowly lift my shirt above my head and let it drop to the floor. Doing a little turn while rolling my hips and unhooking my bra, I throw it at Pierce’s head and he laughs as he takes it off his face. Slowly, I turn back around to face him and slowly shimmy my way out of my pants, kicking them behind me. I leave my panties on to tease him a little while longer. Sauntering over to him with newfound confidence, I turn my back to him, and drop down to rub my ass up against the bulge in his pants. Never having done anything like this before, I’m surprised it’s turning me on. Already wet and ready for Pierce, I stop grinding on him and turn to straddle his lap. Leaning in, I take in his mouth with mine. As I pull away from him, I bite his bottom lip. He grabs my ass, picking me up and carries me off to the bedroom. As soon as he walks us through the door, he kicks it closed behind him and throws me down on the bed. By the way things have started, I’m expecting to have some wild, raw sex, but he surprises me. He slowly slides off my panties and stands at the edge of the bed taking me in, raking his eyes up and down my naked body. I feel like I should be self-conscious, but with Pierce I’m not; he always makes me feel secure in my own skin.

“You are the most stunning thing I’ve ever seen,” he says to me in a low, raspy voice.

“Are you just going to stand there all night?” I need him close to me so I can at least touch him. My body is on fire right now and the only person that can ease the ache between my legs is Pierce.

“All good things come to those who wait.” He’s grinning at me enjoying teasing me. He finally gets on the bed and moves toward me settling between my legs. He runs his index finger ever so softly down my body starting from my neck, going between my breasts, continuing down my stomach and stopping right below my navel. He’s killing me.

He places small kisses down that same path and my whole body is burning for him to do more. I love the way he takes his time worshiping my body.

“Please, Pierce. You’re killing me.” My breaths become labored and my heart is beating so fast I think it might spring from my chest.

“I’ve got you. I’ll take care of it, I promise.”

He kisses me on the mouth and I part my lips to give him a hint that I want his tongue. He slides his tongue in my mouth and I can feel every ounce of his love poured into this kiss. I whimper because I’m so desperate for him to get things moving. I’m beyond turned on and ready to feel him inside me. He lets out a deep, throaty moan from the back of his throat and I know it’s killing him to go this slow too.

After too much torture and teasing, I can’t take anymore and say, “Ahh, God, Pierce. I really want you inside me.” I wrap my legs around his waist and attempt to pull him down toward me.

I realize he still has his pants on so I start to remedy that situation hoping if he’s naked it’ll help crumble his willpower to take things so slow. His pants finally come off and I grab him. He lets out the sexiest moan and sucks on my lip. “Pierce, don’t make me beg. I need you.”

He doesn’t even reply. He shifts slightly and eases into me slowly. My eyes roll back in my head as I accept each glorious inch of him.

“You feel fucking amazing,” he says in a breathy tone.

We cling to each other as we make love unhurriedly, feeling like we have all the time in the world. When I find my release I’m panting so hard from the slow build up I think I might die. The orgasm rips through me causing my whole body to shudder. Pierce never changes the tempo of his thrusts, letting me ride out the wave. When every last ripple of my orgasm has passed, Pierce stiffens and pauses on top of me as I feel him let go inside me and I cling to his back holding him close.

Once he’s finished we stay like that for several moments. He gently kisses my collarbone as our heart rates slowly return back to normal. I’m not sure how long we stay like that, but Pierce finally lifts off of me. He kisses me on the tip of my nose and smiles down at me. The warmth in his eyes literally melts my heart. He gingerly cups my face and I lean into his touch. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” I turn my head and place a kiss on the palm of his hand.

Pierce rolls over and lies on his side and pulls me close to him so that my back is to his chest. His arm is draped over me and our legs are tangled together. This right here is the best feeling in the world. He makes me feel so safe like this.

I’m about to doze off when I hear him whisper in my ear, “I could do this every day for the rest of my life.”

He says it so quietly I almost don’t hear it. He kisses me gently behind my ear and snuggles closer into me. I don’t respond because I’m almost too stunned to. I don’t know why it shocks me, but we’ve never really talked about marriage or the future. Suddenly the thought isn’t so scary.

I could see myself spending every day like this too.

IT’S ALMOST LUNCH time and I’m supposed to meet up with Addison at the little deli down the street from my office. I’m excited to see her with no one else around. It’ll be nice to catch up a little and get a feel for her reaction to me when alcohol isn’t involved and a bunch of people aren’t around as a buffer. I hope she still feels at ease with me.

I walk through the doors of the deli and don’t see her yet. I’m a little early since I’m closer to it, so I take a seat by the window and wait. This deli is tiny, but they make the best tuna sandwiches around. There are only five tables for guests to sit at which usually isn’t a problem since most people take their orders to go anyway.

I go ahead and order two waters for us while I wait for her. I’m getting a little anxious the longer I sit here. After about five minutes or so she walks in. She looks incredible as always, but it’s the warm smile on her face that catches my eye. That one look tells me that everything in her life is exactly as it should be. She is so happy and I’d never want to deprive her of that because of my own selfish needs.

“Hey, I hope you weren’t waiting here long,” she says as she takes the seat opposite of me.

“Nope, I’ve only been here for about five minutes. I ordered you a water to get you started. I didn’t know what you wanted to eat, but I’ll go up and order if you want.”

“Yeah, that would be great.” She looks up at the big black board hanging on the back wall behind the cash register. “I’ll have the turkey club with no lettuce or tomato.”

I grin at her, “I almost forgot what a picky eater you are. Do you want chips and something else to drink?”

She smiles and rolls her eyes at my picky eater comment. “No chips, I’ll just have a dill pickle, and the water is fine with me.”

“Okay, just hang tight and I’ll be back in a second.”

“Oh, wait,” she says as she starts digging through her purse, “let me give you some cash.”

I hold up my hands to her and shake my head. “It’s okay, I’ve got it taken care of.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, just relax.” I turn and walk toward the counter to place our orders. I pay the cashier and she tells me she’ll bring it to us in about ten minutes.

I return to the table and start conversation with her. “So, how have you been? I haven’t talked to you much since Colby’s party.”

“I’ve been really good. We had a lot of fun at the party. It looked like you were enjoying yourself.” She doesn’t say this in a sarcastic or accusatory tone; she seems genuinely pleased at the possibility of me having fun.

“Yeah, I did. I haven’t really been out in a while so it was a nice change of pace from the office. How are things with you and Pierce? You guys look like you’re in a good place in your relationship.” I look her directly in the eye when I say this. I want her to know that I’m sincere in my inquiry and I’m not trying to be sarcastic. I want her to know that I like seeing her happy, even if Pierce is the one doing it.

Her whole face lights up and a small smile spreads across it until it stretches from ear to ear. She’s cheesing so hard right now, but it’s cute and makes me smile in return. “Yeah, we’re good. He’s a great guy and is really good to me.” She hesitates and then says, “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to rub your nose in it. I guess I shouldn’t go into details, it’s just—“

I cut her off, “No, no. It’s okay, really. I want to hear about it. Do I still wish we were together? Yeah. But I’m dealing with the fact that we’re not and I’m really happy for you. Honestly. Pierce is a nice guy. I’d really like to hate him, but I just can’t. It’s almost annoying how nice he is.” I give her a playful grin to let her know I’m just teasing her. I see her visibly relax as I reassure her that she can talk about Pierce in front of me.

“Okay, good. I’m glad we can talk to each other about these things then. Everything is really good between us. He makes me happy and brings out the best in me. He pushes me to do things I would never do in a million years. Ever.”

The waitress brings us our food and sets it down.

“Like skydiving?” I say.

“Exactly, like skydiving. I still can’t believe I went through with it. I’ll probably never do it again, but at least I can say I did it.”

I let out a small chuckle, “I can’t believe anyone would jump out of an airplane, especially willingly.”

“That’s what I kept saying. Why would I jump out of a perfectly good airplane? Before that I’d have to think twice about jumping out of one that was crashing.”

“It sounds like you had fun though. You’re whole face lit up just talking about it.”

“I guess you’re right. That’s what I mean about Pierce though. He does that for me. He pushes me in ways I think I’ll hate but end up loving. I’m thankful for that.” She looks down at her water and I wonder if she’s growing uncomfortable with me probing into their relationship.

“I’m sorry, I don’t mean to pry. I was just curious.”

“No, that’s okay. I’ve wanted to get to this point for a while and I also wanted to tell you that I moved in with Pierce.”

I’m a little stunned by this new revelation and I can feel my eyebrows rise up toward my hairline. We hadn’t even moved in together yet. Granted we had plans to and she had most of her stuff boxed up, but it still took an engagement to get her to leave her condo. “Wow, I didn’t realize you guys were so serious. How long have you lived together?”

“I moved into Pierce’s place a little over a month ago. His sister, Lexi, is staying in my condo. I’m not sure if I want to sell it. It’s not costing me anything to keep it and I just can’t seem to part with it. I love that place.”

“I remember. That’s great though. At least you have someone you can trust to look after it for you while you make up your mind.” By the smile on her face I think she can sense that I’m not bitter over this. A little shocked, yes. But the negative feelings I would have expected from news like this is surprisingly absent. It’s almost a relief.

“Okay, enough about me. What have you been up to lately? Any new high profile cases you’re working on or anything?”

“No, nothing too big, but I did make a new friend which has been kind of nice.”

“That’s great. Tell me about him.”

“Actually, it’s a her, and her name is Charlotte. She just started working for the law firm not too long ago after one of the associates got fired. We were both working late one night and ran into each other. The rest is history as they say.”

“Cool, are you guys dating then?” she says before she takes a bite of her sandwich.

I quickly reply, shaking my head, “Oh, no. It’s not like that. She’s just a friend. It’s nice to talk to someone outside of our circle who has no idea what happened and isn’t bringing it up one way or another. I love Jeremy like a brother, but sometimes I can see the sympathy on his face, like he feels sorry for me. I don’t think he realizes that I’m moving past it finally so when he makes little comments or I can see that he’s hesitant to bring you up in conversation, it sets me back a little. Actually, it kind of annoys me. I just want to have someone that I can talk to and not have to have old stuff dug up, you know?”

“I know exactly what you mean. I think that’s why I was initially drawn to Pierce. I felt so much pressure to remember and make things go back to the way they were. It was maddening. I could just be me around Pierce and not feel like I had to be someone I used to be, you know?”

“When you first explained that to me I didn’t understand. Of course I was still heartbroken and hoping things would turn out differently. Now, I completely get it and can totally relate.”

“That’s great. You should bring her to another group gathering so we can all meet her. I’m sure she’s lovely,” she says with a genuine smile.

“I’ll do that. I think you guys will like her.”

We talk for another fifteen minutes before it’s time for me to get back to work. On my way to the office I can’t get the stupid grin off of my face. Lunch went really well. I wasn’t jealous or bitter about Addison and Pierce and that was a nice feeling. Even finding out they moved in together didn’t send me spiraling into the ‘I want to punch Pierce in his face’ mode like it would have in the past. I’m glad I’m finally able to let the resentment and anger go. It has lifted a huge weight off of my shoulders.