Page 70 of Baxter's Right-Hand Man

“The meaning of life?”

“Something like that.” He combed his fingers through his hair and closed his eyes briefly. “Look, this is, um… I’ve never—”

I cocked my head curiously. “What is it?”

“I like you, Lo. I like you a lot and I know this”—he motioned between us manically—“isn’t normal. But it feels real. And all that bullshit out there…is fake.”

“Uh…like what specifically?”

He sighed heavily. “If you read the entertainment news tomorrow, you’re going to see pics of Daphne and me together, and they’ll make it sound like we’re a sweet and cozy couple. That’s obviously not true.”

“Ahh, I see. What happened?”

“She showed up out of the blue at the beach cleanup today to get the media talking about us. Usually, I wouldn’t think twice about it. I’d actually think it was pretty savvy of her, but if the shoe was on the other foot and some guy was hanging all over you, I’d be pissed. I know I don’t have the right to feel that way, but…”

I regarded him thoughtfully for a moment. “You do.”

He licked his lips. “Yeah?”

I nodded. “Yeah.”

“Good, ’cause contrary to what everyone says, I’m not with anyone but you.”

“I know. So…you want to go steady or something?”

A slow, sexy smile lit Pierce’s handsome face. “I do.”

“Me too.”

“That’s good. I wish it was simpler, but—”

“It’s okay.” I pushed a candle aside and opened my arms wide. “Come here. You need a hug.”

Pierce chuckled as he buried his face in the crook of my neck, pulling me into a tight embrace. “I need more than a hug, but I’ll take it.”

“What do you need?”

He pressed kisses along my jawline and lowered his hands to cup my ass. “You.”

His tone was light and teasing with a husky rumble I could feel all the way to my toes. I knew him well enough to know he was more interested in changing the subject than seducing me. Which was a good thing because nothing sexy was going to happen here. No way.

But he was impossible to ignore.

I melted against his hard chest, chasing openmouthed kisses with soft moans and twisting tongues. I licked his lips as I raked my nails along his sides, and stood on my toes in an effort to get closer still. He tasted and felt so perfect.

Being in Pierce’s arms felt like being sheltered from a storm. All that power and strength encircling me, shielding me.

I shouldn’t have liked this so much, but I did. Maybe that was because I knew this wasn’t one-sided now, and damn it, I wanted to give him everything I had. I couldn’t seem to do that without climbing him like a tree.

I angled my chin to deepen the connection and rocked my hips suggestively. I was so much shorter than him that my khaki-clad cock only made contact with his thigh, but it still felt so damn good. Pierce molded his hands to my ass and drew me closer, lining his erection up with mine, meeting me thrust for thrust. Oh, damn, that was so good.

He nipped my bottom lip playfully when we came up for air, only to dive in again. I alternately writhed and swayed while I tongue-fucked his mouth and clawed at his shirt.

Pierce scraped his bearded jaw next to my ear and whispered, “I want to be inside you. I want to come inside you.”

Holy fuck.He was killing me.

We couldn’t do this here, though. This was where I worked, for fuck’s sake. We had to go to my place or his or—