88

Piper

The Cost Doesn't Matter

Taking the bow by both sides, I began unraveling it slowly. "What's the hint?"

"San Juan Island."

I glanced up in surprise.

"The postcard in the care package," he explained, his voice low. "What your parents talked about at dinner."

"I don't get it. Bioluminescent plankton?" I said slowly. "What did you put in this box? Ocean water? Is this a prank?"

" Piper . Open the damn box."

With the biggest sigh in the world, I slowly eased the top of the box off. Underneath was soft tissue paper and a handwritten thank you card with another name I didn't recognize in fancy silver writing.

"I feel like I'm opening up a Jack-in-the-box," I admitted, picking up the last piece of tissue paper. Frozen, I stared down at something I probably should've expected, but one hundred percent did not. The fabric was the first thing to catch my eye. A rich, dark blue, like nothing I'd ever seen before.

"You have to bring it out, Piper," Adam urged. "You haven't seen the best part."

I looped my wooden fingers through the neck of the dress and raised it from the box, shocked beyond words. There were no sleeves. None. And the top was layers of bunched fabric, beautifully adorned, that flared out with the skirt, like the rolling waves of the ocean.

The dress had to be four or five layers. I could feel the structure of it, yet it comfortably lay against my hand. There were little lines I couldn't quite zero in on and I stared at the dress, trying to piece it together, when Adam stretched back and closed the blinds.

The dress glowed. Actually glowed . Shining rings were gathered here and there, outlining where the fabric flowered out, like the bioluminescent light at the edge of the waves.

"It's not a light-up dress," Adam was quick to explain. "June and Cleo helped me find it. The light-up dresses were cheaper, and it was just a lot of batteries and cords to carry around. But June has this fashion designer friend, and she wanted a challenge. It's like glow-in-the-dark but—"

"How much did this cost?" I breathed out.

"When it's pitch black, it's insane to look at. I mean, this is dark but it's not—"

"Adam," I blurted out, putting the dress back as gently as I could. "How much did this cost? "

A chuckle escaped him and he shrugged, leaning back against the couch. "You're never going to find out."

"How much? "

"I'd rather transfer to KYU than tell you."

"Adam."

"Five dollars." Adam grinned. "If you want to pay me back, it was five bucks. Got it off the rack. Hand stitched it myself. You can even give me five dollars and fifty-one cents for the materials—"

I placed the box on the table next to the couch. "I can't accept this."

"Really?"

" Yes ."

His hand reached over and ran up my arm, drawing a shiver up my spine. Gently, he tugged me back to him, and before I knew it, I was sitting on his lap while Adam was gazing up at me, his eyebrows furrowed.

I put my hands on his chest. "Adam, I'm trying to have a serious conversation here."

"Okay." Adam nodded and shifted me forward until I was truly sitting on his lap.

Oh .

My lips parted. I could feel his hard cock in his jeans and I rubbed against on instinct before I willed myself to stop. No. I needed to talk with Adam about this and actually talk to him. Adam had done a lot of things for me recently. I couldn't accept such an extravagant gift. I could only guess how much he paid for that dress and every guess made my stomach turn.

I sounded a little less sure of myself when I spoke. "Adam. We're talking."

"Got it." He ran his hands along my back and slipped under my shirt.

My body twitched in response. " Adam ."

"You don't need to have a shirt on to talk to me."

I geared up to argue with him—and I really wanted to—but his cock pulsed in his jeans. And then his fingers were on the back of my bra for only an instant before the clasp snapped. A lazy grin spread across his face, full of irritating cockiness and self-satisfaction.

His hands were all over me, making it made it harder and harder to remember exactly what we were arguing about.

"Adam…" But he was too busy tugging my bra off.

"Sorry," he murmured. "That was distracting."

"What do I have to do to have a serious conversation with you?"

"I listen better when I have one of your nipples in my mouth."

What do I say to that?

Absolutely nothing. There was nothing I could say. Adam was playing with me like a toy, pawing at my body, running his hands over me before he brought me close and kissed down my collarbone and the swell of my breast, peppering kisses as light as a feather. Running his tongue in a clear line to my nipple.

I panted. All arguments gone. My hand went to the arm of the couch, just for something to hold on to.

"Keep talking," Adam murmured and kissed down my breast. Gently, he licked a circle around my nipple and blew over it. The cool air made me buckle above him.

"What?" I asked, dazed.

"You're trying to fight me on the dress," Adam reminded me before taking my nipple in his mouth, sucking gently.

A moan escaped me and a fire burned through my body. Oh my god, I wanted him. I wanted him to bend me over the couch or take me on the floor. His bedroom never seemed so far away.

"Piper?" Adam brought me back, tugging at my nipple gently with his teeth.

I whimpered.

With a pop, he released it and played with the other one, gently kissing down my other breast. "You're going to wear the dress."

"No," I blurted out.

"No?"

There was a challenge in his words. He wanted me to be absolutely sure that I wanted to make this difficult before he brought out whatever was the next step. But the joke was on him. I wouldn't cave. The dress was too much. There was no way I was wearing it.

"Do you know how much I love your leggings?" Adam murmured as he unbuttoned his jeans. "They're so thin."

When Adam pressed his full hard-on against me, only restricted by his boxers, I almost collapsed on top of him. Even through the fabric of my leggings, I could feel him. My hips were working before my brain was, and I rocked against him, desperate for friction.

"That's right, ice princess," Adam murmured. "You look so perfect like this. Wet, with your tits out, sitting on my cock. Right where you belong."

I couldn't do anything but grind against him.

"You're going to wear the dress," Adam said quietly. "You're going to wear it because it makes me happy to buy you things."

My eyes flickered down to his cock.

"Yes. That kind of happy." He chuckled, wrapping his hands around my waist with a firm grip, keeping me still. He rubbed his cock against me with a grunt, showing me how excited this made him. "Don't you want to make me happy?"

I didn't say anything and Adam cupped my face, tilting me down to look at him again. Waiting for my answer.

"Yes," I whispered.

"You're going to wear the dress," he repeated.

Reluctantly, I nodded.

"Say it, Piper."

The blush was hot on my skin. "I'm going to wear the dress."

"You're not going to give a shit— care how much it costs."

I bit my lip. "I won't care how much it costs."

"Good." Adam grinned. "Because it was nineteen thousand dollars."

" What?! "

Adam grabbed hold of my waist and hoisted himself up into a standing position, walking me off to the bedroom. In no time at all, he brought me to the bed, set me down, and turned my whole body around, shoving my face into the blankets, manhandling me.

His hand found my throat, and he wrapped around me, bringing me back to him, where I could feel his hard cock.

"Hey, ice princess," he murmured, pressing a kiss to my cheek. "I thought you said you weren't going to care how much the dress cost?"

I sucked in a breath, trying to focus on anything but his hard cock pressed up against me, throbbing. "You—you didn't tell me it—it was that much—"

"You have to think about the material costs." His words were cool against my neck and I shuddered. "And the shipping expenses and the small time frame I gave them." He ran his hand down my throat. "Of course it costs extra. And I'm telling you I don't give a damn. So why would that matter? "

" Adam— "

"I love it when you say my name," he rasped and yanked my leggings down. The crinkle of a condom rapper was the only thing I could focus on.

He ran the head of his cock along my sex, and I buckled underneath him. He reached around to kiss my neck, slowly easing himself in. The feeling from this angle was unbelievable. The pressure building was something I'd never experienced before. I scraped the blankets, trying to find purchase, panting hard.

"You're driving me over the edge, Piper," he whispered in my ear, sucking gently on the lobe. "I like the dress. I want you to wear it."

"Too—expensive—"

"I want to fuck you in that dress." Adam thrust into me and I cried out. My eyes rolled back and he left me breathless and desperate. "Piper, tell me what you're going to do."

"I'm—I'm going to wear the dress," I moaned, an orgasm building inside me.

"Piper, I can't hear you," he grunted, thrusting faster into me.

" I'm going to wear the dress! "

Adam groaned against me, gathering me into his arms when I came, sparks exploding in my vision. My throat hurt from how much I gulped in breaths, scratching at the blankets.

"I'm coming, baby." He tightened his grip on me. "Goddamn— I'm coming ."

Gently, Adam thrust a few more times in me before he eased out, laying down next to me.

"You have the…physiotherapy appointment…" I mumbled.

"Fuck it, Piper." Adam sucked in a breath. "You're my physical therapy appointment."