28

Piper

The Chainmail Blanket

Oh my god.

Thicker than I'd ever seen before and longer than any man had the right to be. I choked when I saw it. I'd seen Adam naked before, in his bedroom when I'd woken him up, but that'd been for half a second in a dark bedroom before I'd squeezed my eyes shut. This was high definition in a college where the only lights that didn't flicker were apparently in this dorm's bathroom.

The way the water cascaded down his body…he was so beautiful. It was unfair.

I stumbled backward and closed my eyes again, for real this time. "Adam—"

His voice was low. "Get in the shower."

" What? "

"I'm getting out," he said. "I'll take your towel and open the door."

That was an actual plan we could stick to, but it was difficult to think through it after getting a full look at naked Adam. With as much determination as I could scrape together, I touched the slick tile of the shower wall and stepped into the shower with him.

I could feel when he drew near, when his hand touched my towel.

My heart thumped in my chest.

"Piper? Let's go somewhere," he muttered.

I could finally look at him while he was so close. The only way I'd get a glance at the rest of his body was if I purposely looked down. I cracked open an eye. "What?"

"Let's go somewhere," he said again, never looking away from me. "We can go to Dallas or Austin or something. You need to let go and just…enjoy yourself. We'll make it into some bullshit housing thing and I'll fund it." His voice dropped even lower. "No sex. We can just go have some fun."

I searched his face. "You're joking."

"Not joking."

As crazy as it sounds, I was actually tempted. Very much tempted. Thomas traveled around for football games, but he assured me that football girlfriends just ruined the trips for everybody, and I had to stay home. Those had been lonely, long weekends of watching the highlights on his social media pages. When was the last time I went out and did anything like that?

But with Adam?

I couldn't forget everything that happened. The entire weekend had been painful. Actually, the entire time of being his RA had been super painful. And who was to say this wasn't another one of Adam's jokes? I didn't want to be the butt of one. I wanted to be on top of this.

"Let me make this crystal clear," I whispered, a hard edge to my voice. "You're the guy who ruined my presentation. You're the guy who pulled me into a pool, who single-handedly messed up this weekend. The guy who's been terrorizing the residents of my floor. Adam, you're arrogant. Your ego knows no bounds. You're a walking narcissism diagnosis!"

Adam took a step closer.

There was a catch in my breath. "You're the last man in the world I'd ever consider going out with."

Slowly, Adam nodded.

"And you're delusional if you think anything different," I finished, my voice wobbling a little at the end.

He never said anything. His eyes trailed down my face, so slowly I could feel heat rising where his gaze touched. It was like he was stroking my face. It was so intimate.

Holding my breath, I watched him drink me in. When had he moved closer? Adam was only six inches away from me now. Water droplets dripped off his jaw to my towel below.

The towel wrapped around my naked body.

He's going to kiss me.

I needed to say no. I needed to hold my own and say, absolutely not. I needed to stand by my words and shove him out to fix the bathroom door and put a firm stop to everything that Adam Russell wanted to mess up about this conference.

But I couldn't.

Adam was right. Neither of us were thinking clearly.

Fire burned in my veins. It was like nothing I'd ever experienced before. Not even close.

He's going to kiss me.

And I couldn't allow that to happen.

"Not on the lips," I managed, each word a breathless whisper.

Adam gazed into my eyes, the darkness smoldering in his. A living, wild thing that couldn't be contained. A cocky grin lifted his lips. "Which ones?"

Oh my god.

My towel fell before I had any idea what happened to it, and his lips were on my neck. It was like no one had ever kissed me there before. He breathed in my scent, moving his lips against my skin, leaving that same fire in his wake. Shivers wracked my body. His teeth grazed my throat, and I buckled instantly.

" Fuck, " I blurted out, knotting my fingers through his hair.

It was exactly what I wanted. It was everything I didn't know I needed.

I could barely keep myself up as he drew long, slow kisses, bringing noises out of me that I'd never heard before. With his hand on my waist, he whirled me around until my back was pressed against his chest, his hand wrapped around my throat.

I was locked against him.

His achingly hard cock throbbed against me. It would've made me jump if I could've moved.

"That's better," he rasped and tilted my head back, dipping his head down to kiss my neck. A painfully long kiss, relishing the taste of my skin, and I moaned. I couldn't help it. My brain was no longer in control. He kissed me again, insistent. "When's the last time a man made you come?"

I squeezed my eyes shut. "It's been a long time."

"Let's fix that."

Adam reached down and slipped his hand between my legs.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, " I whispered.

"You're so wet," he murmured, a throaty chuckle to his voice. He was so satisfied with himself, satisfied with me, but for once, his arrogance didn't make me angry. I loved it. We both knew he could satisfy me. His middle finger drew along my sex like he was asking for permission, and my legs parted instantly for him.

It's been so long.

I couldn't remember the last time I orgasmed without my vibrator.

Adam worked me over without a care in the world, running his fingers along the side of my neck while he stroked and caressed my pussy, drawing out every reaction in the book. Adam was a lot of things, but those fingers were magic . I squirmed in his arms, barreling towards my release faster than I'd ever known.

"That's right, ice princess," he whispered against my neck.

My shoulders stiffened, and I rocked against him, so close, seeing stars. His cock pulsed against my back, just as excited as I was.

"You're so gorgeous," he breathed out, biting my neck. "You're so wet."

"I'm coming—" I cried out. "I'm coming—I'm coming—"

" Already? " Adam tightened his grip on me. His cock jerked against my back, throbbing. "Jesus fucking Christ. What a good girl." He kissed my neck harder, panting against my skin. "Come for me, baby."

With a sharp groan, I came, stars exploding over my vision, shudders running through me. My hearing went in and out as I tried to focus.

Adam was saying something, something about how I needed to sit on his face if I really wanted to thank him, and he stepped out of the shower to fix the door. Shaking, I kept my hands on the walls of the shower, stunned.

Run.

I stumbled out of the shower, dripping wet, and almost slid on the floor.

"Woah, Piper!"

He'd been right . Again.

It was like a chainmail blanket lifted off my brain, and I saw everything how I should've seen it.

Adam Russell was off-limits. He was the football player I was babysitting, and now that my brain wasn't foggy with the details, the post-orgasm clarity was everything I needed to cling to.

The moment the door opened and Adam tried to help me up, I bolted to the bedroom and threw on everything I could, lightning-fast, leaving the dorm before Adam even stepped out of the bathroom.