Chapter 15

CHAPTERFIFTEEN

Pipe didn’t like how quiet Cora had gotten. More often than not, she exuded a sense of relentlessness. Of stubbornness. But after meeting with the arsehole who’d refused to let them see Lara, she seemed subdued. Almost despondent. And he hated it. He much preferred the woman who wasn’t afraid to disagree with law enforcement and Lara’s parents. Who stood up to him and his friends. Who did what she thought was necessary without hesitation.

He’d left her in their hotel room, which he was relieved she had no problem in sharing, to talk to Owl and Stone. He’d originally wanted to go to the Blue Moon and investigate himself, but he’d easily let his friends talk him out of it. He felt a bone-deep need to stay with Cora. To make sure she was all right. It wasn’t as if he thought she’d do something rash, it was more that he couldn’t bear to watch her suffer and not be there to try to ease her pain.

When he returned, Cora was sitting in the exact same position as when he’d left half an hour ago, seemingly lost in thought. Pipe didn’t hesitate to walk over to the chair and crouch down in front of her.

“Cora?”

She brought her gaze to him. “Are you leaving soon?” she asked in a flat tone.

“No. Owl and Stone are going.”

She frowned slightly at that. “I thought you were.”

“I changed my mind. They’ll go, see what they can find out, then brief us in the morning.”

“Then what?”

“We’ll see what they discovered and go from there.”

Her gaze went distant again. “Right.”

“Look at me,” Pipe ordered.

Cora sighed, but complied.

“We’re going to get in there and find Lara.” He waited for a reaction, but didn’t get one. “I swear.”

“This sucks, Pipe. We’re so close, but just as far away as we’ve ever been in finding answers. I hate this. Hate it,” she said vehemently.

“We’re going to figure this out,” he told her, putting his hands on Cora’s shoulders.

She shrugged off his touch and stood, pacing the small area next to the bed. “We need to do something now! Not sit around waiting for that asshole to hurt her even more. To possibly kill her, if he hasn’t already!”

Pipe was surprised at the sudden change from despondency to anger…but he was also glad to see it. He much preferred this Cora to the shell of the person he’d walked in on.

Standing, he approached her carefully.

“Don’t touch me,” she warned, holding up a hand.

Pipe ignored her words and the hand and pulled her roughly into his embrace. Cora struggled for just seconds before giving up and melting into him. Her arms went around him and she clung to him so tightly, Pipe wasn’t sure she would ever let him go. Which was perfectly all right with him. He walked backward toward the bed and managed to climb on with her still wrapped around him.

He rolled until she was under him and took her face in his palms. “She’s alive,” he said firmly.

“You don’t know that.”

“I do. If she wasn’t, why does Michaels have a bloody bodyguard answering the door for him? He needs her alive for some reason, probably to access her money. Tell me this—would her trust continue to pay out if she didn’t make contact with her family occasionally, or whoever is in charge of it?”

Cora frowned in surprise, as if she hadn’t considered that question before. “Actually, no. I don’t think so. She’s complained on more than one occasion that it’s a pain in the ass to call the man who releases the money into her account every month. Apparently, he’s a talker. She has a tough time getting off the phone.”

“Right,” Pipe said. “And if she wasn’t alive, I have a feeling Ridge would have no problem meeting with you himself. He’d simply tell you she left. He’d make up some story about how they got into a fight and she stormed off and he hasn’t seen her since. That’s what murderers do to try to get away with what they’ve done. She’s alive, Cora, I believe that with all my heart, and I’ll do whatever it takes to get her away from him.”

Cora stared at him for what seemed like minutes, but in reality, was probably only a few seconds.

Then she lunged upward, locking her lips to his.

She kissed him almost desperately. Grunting, Pipe rolled until she was on top. Cora lifted her head and stared down at him, breathing in harsh pants.

“I want you,” she stated baldly.

Every muscle in Pipe’s body tightened. He wanted her too. So bloody much it scared him. But there was no way he was going to take advantage of the current situation.

As if she could read his mind, she frowned. “Don’t,” she ordered.

“Don’t what?”

“Don’t think that I don’t know what I’m saying. That I’m not in my right mind, or I’m influenced by grief or whatever. Every time I do something that should turn you off, should make you think, ‘wow, this woman is crazy, I need to get away from her,’ you actually do everything in your power to pull me closer. I’ve never known anyone like you, Pipe. And I’ve never felt this way before.”

“What way?” he couldn’t help but ask.

“Like if I don’t get you inside me, I’m going to explode into a million pieces. Like being around you grounds me, makes me feel as if I’m actually worthy of affection. Of…of being loved.”

“There’s no doubt about that,” he said firmly.

Cora shook her head. “You don’t get it,” she whispered. “My entire life, I’ve felt as if I’m on the outside looking in. Watching people find love, connect, feeling as if I’m missing the gene that allows me to do the same. But with you…from the second I saw you on that stage, something inside me just clicked. It was as if I was waiting for you.”

Pipe licked his lips. He’d felt exactly the same way. It was uncanny. He wasn’t a big believer in fate or love at first sight. But with this woman, everything he thought he knew was turned on its head. As if fate was laughing at him and saying, “See?”

“Are you sure?” He couldn’t deny this woman anything. And Lord knew he wanted her just as badly as she apparently wanted him.

In response, Cora reached for the hem of her shirt. She whipped it off over her head before he could blink. She sat astride him in her bra, and Pipe’s mouth went dry. She was so bloody beautiful, it almost hurt to look at her.

His Cora was a curvy woman. He supposed some people would call her fat, but all he saw were feminine curves that his palms literally itched to touch.

He didn’t know how long he lay frozen under her, but it was long enough for her brows to furrow and a look of uncertainty to cloud her expression.

He hated that he’d caused her one second of doubt.

He sat up suddenly, and Cora let out a small screech of surprise before he was kissing her. His tongue plunged into her mouth, and he held her tightly against him with one hand at her neck and the other palming her back. Without thought, he trailed the latter up until he fingered the clasp of her bra. He deftly undid it, then tore his lips from hers and leaned back.

She smiled almost shyly at him, and dropped her arms, letting the straps of the bra fall down her biceps, the cups covering her tits following suit.

“Bloody hell!” he exclaimed as he saw her bare for the first time. She was perfect. Literally perfect. As he stared, her nipples began hardening, and he couldn’t stop himself from dipping his head.

She helped by arching her back and giving him room as he closed his lips around one of her nipples. He sucked. Hard. And was rewarded by the shimmy of her hips and a long groan from her mouth. The nipple hardened further, as if reaching for more of his touch.

And he gave her what she asked for without words. He devoured her. Sucking, biting, licking. And with every caress, she squirmed harder. His Cora wasn’t a passive lover. Her fingernails dug into his skin as she rocked into him, demanding more.

Abruptly, Pipe let go of her, causing her to fall onto her back on the bed. His hands went to the button on her jeans and he roughly jerked the denim down her legs. To his relief, he heard Cora giggle as she lifted her hips to help. He’d forgotten she was still wearing shoes, and it took a moment for him to get those off, as well as her socks, before removing the jeans altogether.

She smiled up at him as she put her thumbs under the elastic of her underwear and shoved them down. Pipe helped by pulling them off her legs and throwing them aside. Then he lunged with a groan and shoved her legs apart.

“Yes, Pipe…please, yes.”

He needed to taste her more than he needed to breathe. He hadn’t expected this when he’d decided to stay at the hotel with her while Owl and Stone went out to investigate the Blue Moon. But now that she was under him, he couldn’t slow himself down.

Cora’s hands went to his head and gripped his too-long hair almost roughly as he licked up the seam of her pussy. She tasted like heaven. He’d never enjoyed this, had only gone down on women a small handful of times. But with Cora, he didn’t think he’d ever get enough of her taste.

She kept herself neatly trimmed and it was easy to find her clit. Using a finger to pull back the hood, exposing the small bud, Pipe lowered his head and sucked as hard as he had with her nipple.

In response, Cora shrieked and almost pulled the hair out of his head. “Pipe!”

He didn’t respond. He was too busy. He closed his eyes and lost himself in the feel and taste of Cora. Her thighs closed around his head and it became hard to breathe, but Pipe didn’t care.

Her pussy was soaking wet now, and he eased a finger inside her as he sucked and teased her clit. She jerked once more, then suddenly opened her legs as wide as she could. “More, Pipe. Harder!”

Smiling against her, Pipe lifted his head and watched as his finger disappeared inside her body. When he pulled the digit out, it was glistening with her juices. Looking up and meeting her gaze—he was thrilled she was watching him pleasure her—he sucked his finger into his mouth. Her eyes went wide before she dropped her head back down onto the mattress.

“That should be kind of gross, but it’s honestly the hottest thing I’ve ever witnessed,” she said to the ceiling.

Pipe lowered his head once more to lick at Cora’s clit. Over and over in a steady rhythm. As he concentrated on her clit, he used one finger, then two, to gently thrust.

She began to move her hips, fucking his fingers and making it difficult to keep his mouth on her sensitive bud. Pipe’s cock was so hard in his jeans, it physically hurt. But he wasn’t about to stop to undo the zipper to give himself relief. No way was he taking his hands or mouth from between Cora’s legs until she’d come.

Her entire body began to shake as she neared orgasm. Pipe licked faster, then locked his lips around her clit and sucked. For a moment, Cora froze, and he wondered if he was hurting her. But then she shoved her hips up, pushing his fingers even farther inside her body, and began to convulse. His fingers moved even easier as she slickened with her orgasm.

The way she shook in his arms made him feel as masculine as he’d ever felt in his life. He’d given her this pleasure. When he felt her begin to flinch away from his tongue, Pipe lifted his head, but only enough to watch the steady stream of come leaking from between her legs. He couldn’t keep the smile of satisfaction off his face.

“Pipe…I need more.”

His Cora needed more? He’d give it to her.

He scooted back, noting that she seemed boneless, not moving when he got to his knees to whip off the shirt he was wearing. Pipe wasn’t ashamed of his tattoos, but there had been times when he’d taken off his clothes in front of a woman when he’d seen a look of distaste as they viewed his ink. His chest and arms were a mishmash of tattoos. There wasn’t a coherent theme, he simply got inked because of the peace the needle gave him.

To his relief, the look in Cora’s eyes wasn’t one of abhorrence. Instead, she licked her lips and sat up, reaching for the zipper of his jeans.

Pipe could’ve brushed her hands aside. Could’ve taken off his jeans himself. But he was enjoying her hands on him too much to stop her. The woman in front of him was a literal goddess. Her tits bounced as she moved, her thighs were still spread, and he could see more of her come leaking between. He’d done that. And would do much more by the time they both passed out from exhaustion.

* * *

Being with a man had never felt so right. She wasn’t the kind of woman who slept with a guy so soon after meeting him, but Cora didn’t feel one iota of regret for what was happening. Pipe had made her come harder than she ever had in her life. He seemed to know exactly how to touch her and didn’t care that she couldn’t lie passively under him while he was doing it, making his job harder. Which was a good thing, because considering how he’d made her feel, she couldn’t have remained still.

Seeing him now, on his knees above her, his tattooed body on full display, Cora felt a fresh spurt of wetness leak out of her body. She wanted him. But she also wanted to make sure he felt as good as she did.

For once in her life, she wasn’t self-conscious about her body as she sat in front of him. She didn’t feel the need to suck in her stomach, to try to make some of the folds around her middle disappear. She didn’t care that her boobs were uneven and a little too saggy for her liking. How could she when Pipe looked at her and licked his lips as if he couldn’t wait to make her his own personal lollipop again?

The pleasure he’d taken while going down on her hadn’t been faked. And when he’d sucked his finger covered with her juices into his mouth, she’d almost spontaneously orgasmed right then and there. But as much as she enjoyed him eating her out, she wanted him inside her. Wanted him to fuck her. Hard and fast.

She smiled at him and unzipped his pants, making sure to caress his cock as she did. His hips pushed toward her, and her smile grew. She shoved his pants and boxers down and without giving him a chance to stand to remove them, leaned forward. She tilted his rock-hard dick toward her and took the head into her mouth and sucked hard, just as he’d done to her nipple.

To her delight, he swore—she loved when he said “bloody hell” in that sexy British accent—then grabbed hold of her head as she did her best to pleasure him in the awkward position. He swayed on his knees as she sucked his cock.

Cora loved sex. That didn’t mean she had it indiscriminately. In fact, she was very picky about who she chose as a sexual partner, and she loved the power she held when she had a man’s dick in her mouth.

Pipe was no different…and yet he was. This wasn’t something she was doing simply for his pleasure. No, it went deeper than that. She wasn’t sure why, or how, but she knew that sex with Pipe was life-changing.

Instead of letting it scare her, she welcomed the feeling.

Cora slurped and sucked and used her hands to caress Pipe’s balls as she pleasured him. At one point, he held her head still and began to fuck her mouth—and Cora loved every second of it. She dug her nails into his thighs and held on as he got lost in the pleasure she was giving him. Just when she thought he was going to spurt down her throat, Pipe seemed to get himself under control.

He pulled his cock out of her mouth and stared at her for a long few seconds. His cock dripped with her saliva and his precome. A drop hit her leg, and she shivered.

Pipe moved, growling deep in his throat and practically throwing himself off the bed. He promptly fell on his ass as he struggled to get his jeans off over his shoes, with no luck.

Cora giggled. Had she ever had fun while having sex? No. The answer was definitely no. She moved up the bed and pushed the covers down so she was lying on the sheet. Feeling sexier than she ever had in her life, she put her arms over her head, spread her legs, and waited for Pipe to untangle himself from his clothes and rejoin her.

The look of lust on his face when he popped up from the floor and saw her made Cora suck in a breath.

Before she could blink, Pipe was over her. Covering her from head to toe, and she loved it. Her hands grabbed hold of his biceps as she felt his still-dripping cock smear come on her belly.

She looked down and sighed in pleasure at the sight of his dick so close to where she wanted it. Needed it.

“Please, take me,” Cora pleaded.

He hesitated.

“What? What’s wrong?” she asked, suddenly afraid he was having second thoughts.

“I want to be in there more than I want to breathe, but I don’t have anything to protect you with. I didn’t expect this, not in a million years, so I don’t have any condoms.”

Cora fell in love right then and there. Any other man would’ve taken what she was so clearly offering without a second thought. She hadn’t brought up birth control, and some men wouldn’t even have thought of it. Pipe wasn’t one of those men. And she loved him all the more for it.

“It’s not the right time,” she told him.

“You aren’t on anything?” he asked.

Cora’s belly clenched. Was this a deal-breaker? She shook her head, not willing to lie to him.

“You could get pregnant,” he said, an odd glint in his eye.

“It’s possible, but again, I don’t think it’s the right time.”

“I should do the right thing. Wait until I can protect you. But I can’t, Cora. If you get pregnant, I’m going to want to be part of the baby’s life. I won’t be an absentee father.”

Her eyes widened.

“Yes or no, love. And be sure about your answer. Because if it’s yes, I’m going to have you all night. One time won’t be enough. I need you like I need air to breathe. I don’t understand it, don’t even care to. I know down to my bones that you’re it for me. But if you aren’t sure about being a mother, if you aren’t sure about me being your kid’s father, you need to say no. Right now.”

Everything about Pipe’s words made Cora’s entire body tingle. It was hard to believe this man was real. There was a chance that once the heat of the moment calmed down, once their lust was sated, he’d regret what he’d said. But Cora didn’t think so.

“I can’t imagine a better father for my child,” she whispered.

In response, Pipe reached down, took his cock in his tattoo-covered fingers—which was hot as hell—and ran the head up and down her slit. Cora opened her legs wider.

The next thing she knew, he was balls deep inside her. He stretched her as no man ever had, and the small bite of pain made her arousal ramp up even more.

“Okay?” he asked between clenched teeth.

“More!” she begged.

Pipe grinned and shifted, until he was impossibly deeper inside her. His hair fell over his forehead as he braced himself and stared at where they were joined.

“Like that?” he asked.

“Yes,” Cora breathed.

She expected him to start thrusting, but instead he held himself still over and inside her.

“Pipe?” She grinned.

“Yeah?”

“What are you doing? Move.”

“Can’t.”

“What? Why not?” she asked, suddenly concerned. She had a crazy vision of them having to call for help, and the paramedics coming into the room and finding him locked inside of her for some reason.

“Because this is the most amazingly perfect thing I’ve ever felt in my life, and I don’t want it to end. You’re so bloody hot. And wet. And you’re squeezing me so hard, I feel as if I move a muscle, I’m gonna blow.”

Cora relaxed. Thank goodness nothing was wrong. “You feel good too,” she said, the words completely inadequate for what she was feeling, but she didn’t have the brain space to come up with better praise at the moment.

Pipe stared at her as he pulled his hips back slowly, then sank back inside her.

They both moaned.

He did that a couple of times, and while it felt good, Cora needed more.

“Harder, Pipe.”

He ignored her, choosing instead to torture her with his slow, measured thrusts.

In retaliation, Cora dug her fingernails into his butt. He simply grinned down at her in response.

“Love your claws, love. Go ahead, make your mark on me.”

Narrowing her eyes, trying to think of what she could do to hurry him up, Cora’s gaze landed on his pec. As he held himself over her with his arms, his chest muscles undulated with his steady thrusts. An impulse grabbed her, and she acted.

Lifting herself to her elbows, she latched onto his chest with her mouth, right above his nipple, and sucked as hard as she could.

That seemed to work. Pipe grunted. Then Cora felt his hand at the back of her head, supporting her as she did her best to give him the biggest hickey he’d ever had in his life.

To her delight, his controlled thrusts became more erratic. By the time she thought she’d sufficiently marked him, at his request, and dropped her head back to the pillow, his thrusts had sped up exponentially.

He looked down and smiled at seeing the red bruise on his chest.

“Better than any tattoo. Maybe I’ll go and get it immortalized in ink.”

Cora grinned at him. “Fine. Whatever. After you fuck me,” she ordered.

The smile faded from his face as Pipe finally, finally, began to take her harder.

She drove her hips up to meet each of his thrusts, and the sound of their skin slapping together was loud in the otherwise quiet room. Before she knew it, Pipe was pounding her hard and fast, and it felt amazing. Each time he bottomed out, there was a small pinch of pain, but it all added to the experience.

“Gonna come,” he warned, still holding himself up over her. “Gonna fill you with my come and watch it leak out between those puffy pussy lips, then do it all over again.”

“Do it,” Cora breathed, egging him on. She wasn’t close to a second orgasm, but she couldn’t wait to see him lose it. She’d never seen anything sexier than Pipe hovering over her, her legs spread around his thighs as he took her.

He grunted, then shoved himself so far inside her body, Cora squeaked. He snarled loudly as he came.

But instead of collapsing on her, as she expected, Pipe sat up. He shoved her legs farther apart, stayed buried inside her pussy, and began to thumb her clit.

“Pipe!” she exclaimed as the orgasm that seemed so out of reach crested quickly.

He was staring at where they were joined, concentrating on giving her pleasure, and it was almost overwhelming. She’d never had a guy so intent on making sure she came. She would’ve been happy with the orgasm he’d given her earlier.

“That’s it. Come on my cock. I can feel your muscles fluttering around me and it’s indescribable. Let go, love, let me feel it.”

Between one breath and the next, Cora broke. She felt as if she was flying and the only thing holding her to Earth was her grip on Pipe’s arms. Her thighs shook as she tried to pump her hips on Pipe’s cock, but he was holding her so tightly, she couldn’t move. All she could do was feel. She had no idea how long her orgasm lasted, but when she finally came back to herself and looked at Pipe, his gaze was still locked between her legs. She could feel wetness leaking down the crack of her ass.

“Look at us,” he whispered when he realized she was back with him.

Lifting her head, Cora looked down and inhaled sharply.

Pipe’s half-hard cock was still buried deep inside her body, her pussy lips stretched around him. Their pubic hair was meshed together, and his tattooed thighs pushed her legs apart. It was carnal and erotic, and made her squirm in his hold.

He looked up at her face and smiled. He rolled suddenly, his cock slipping out of her as they moved. Cora sat perched on top of him, his cock between their bodies, wet with their combined juices, peeking out from between her swollen and slightly sore pussy.

“I can feel our come on my cock,” he said.

Cora never would’ve guessed this man was a dirty talker. But she liked it. A lot.

“That’s what happens when you don’t use a condom,” she said with a shrug.

He frowned. “You’ve done that before?”

“Well, no. But I read.”

The smile returned. He craned his head down to look at his chest, where she’d given him the hickey.

“Sorry?” Cora said with a small smirk.

“No, you aren’t. But turnabout’s fair play,” he said—a second before he lifted himself up and latched onto the skin next to her nipple.

Cora squealed and tried to shift away from him, but his grip on her was absolute. She wasn’t going anywhere. She giggled and laughed as he sucked on her skin. When he pulled back, a satisfied look spread across his face as he stared at what he’d done.

“Good Lord, Pipe. That’s gonna leave a huge mark,” she complained.

“Yup,” he agreed.

“I guess I forgot to tell you that my skin is sensitive,” she said with a laugh. “I sunburn easily. When I get bitten by bugs, I get the worst welts. I think that hickey is gonna be there until I’m old and gray.”

“Good. If it wears away, I’ll leave another,” Pipe told her.

“You’re impossible.”

“No, I like my mark on you. Just as I like your mark on me.”

The moment got intense in a heartbeat.

“What are we doing?” Cora whispered.

“No clue. But it feels more right than anything I’ve ever done,” Pipe said solemnly.

Cora couldn’t argue that point because she felt the same.

She felt his cock twitch against her and looked down, surprised to see he was getting hard again.

“Already?” she asked incredulously as she shifted over him, caressing him with her still soaking-wet pussy.

“Apparently,” Pipe said dryly. “Put me in and ride me.”

Cora mock frowned at him. “Bossy. Maybe I don’t want to.”

“You do,” Pipe said with a cheeky grin.

She did. She totally did. Without another word, Cora went up on her knees and reached for Pipe’s dick. She notched it between her legs and sank down.

They both gasped.

“Seriously, if I could live here I would,” Pipe told her.

Cora giggled.

Pipe let out a sexy little moan. “Bloody hell, woman. I felt that on my dick.”

Which made Cora laugh harder.

But laughter quickly gave way to more moans when Pipe’s thumb began to rub her clit, and his other hand came up to palm one of her breasts.

“Ride me, love. Hard and fast. Let me fill you up again.”

And just like that, Cora’s belly clenched. How could dirty words be so damn sexy? But she didn’t complain, she simply did as he asked, and as she wanted. Rode him until she orgasmed, and until he lost it again, shooting his load deep inside her just as he promised.