Page 10

AMbrOSE

I wake up warm, confused, and hard as fuck.

A woman’s hand slides up my stomach, and a soft sigh paints my chest. Lush curves press against my side, and I squeeze a handful of ass with a groan.

“Piper,” I rasp, memories filtering in from the day before. The plane ride, the chapel, marrying Piper, having her trembling and begging beneath me. Holy fuck.

We went to sleep on different sides of the bed. Piper all but creating a pillow wall between us. Which seemed laughable, considering everything that’s happened in the last day. But she was nervous when we’d gone to bed, so I behaved.

I slide my hand up her back, pulling her closer to my side.

Fuck, she feels good tucked in next to me.

The tips of her fingers find their way inside my robe, and she rubs her face against my chest. Her leg slides up mine until her knee is at my waist. Her hips shift and she makes a soft, needy sound.

I stroke a hand down her hair. “Piper.”

Her eyes are closed, and her body shifts to get closer to me. Her head falls back when I run my fingers through her hair.

“Piper?” Is she still asleep? Her hand is traveling lower, her nails scraping lightly over my stomach. Fuck.

“Piper,” I pant out, giving her a little shake. She stops moving, but her eyes are still closed. “Are you awake?”

Nothing. Crone, she sleeps like the dead.

I run my finger down the length of her nose, then over her eyebrows. Her forehead wrinkles, and I smile at how cute she is. I tug on her ear, and she swats my hand away.

“Piper,” I practically shout, and her eyes fly open. Her hand is deep in my robe and mine is resting on her hip. She blinks away the sleep and snatches her hand away as soon as she realizes how close she was to grabbing my dick.

“Oh no. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to–”

“You’re perfectly welcome to grab any part of me at any time.”

Piper covers her face with her hand. “Ambrose, I can’t sleep with you again.” She scoots backward, groaning when she lifts her leg off my hips.

“Why not?” I chuckle. I can’t believe I’m having this conversation with Piper Beaumont. No, that’s not her name any longer. She’s Piper Roth. Damn, I should not like that so much. I’m a feminist. I’m progressive. Where the hell is this caveman shit coming from?

Piper gnaws on her thumbnail. She forces her hand down, clasping her fingers together in her lap.

The shutters are still closed in the room, and I have no idea what time it is.

It’s dark in the bedroom, but the bathroom light is on, providing enough illumination that Piper’s face is visible.

She can keep her tone even to hide her emotions, but I can read the nuances of her face.

It’s one of those things I’m surprisingly good at, despite some people thinking I’m shallow.

“You aren’t a one-woman kind of guy.” She exhales loudly, pausing before she continues. “And I can’t handle being one of many. I know nothing about relationships, but I know this about myself.”

“That’s insulting.” I lay my hand over my heart, as though I’m wounded.

Truthfully, I am a little hurt. I know I have a reputation, but I don’t like that Piper sees me as if I’m just a horny opportunist. I slide over to the side of the bed and turn on the lamp.

Piper flinches as the light comes on. There’s a crease on her face, where it was scrunched up against my chest. Her hair is a distracting fall of red.

We’re both still wearing the robes from yesterday, but hers has opened, and she’s displaying an obscene amount of beautiful cleavage.

“This isn’t meant to be a slight on you, or a commentary on your life choices, Ambrose. It’s about what I know I can and can’t handle. I’m trying to be truthful.”

I get up, rounding the bed until she’s right in front of me.

I slide a hand around her neck, gripping her nape and pulling our faces together.

Our mouths are only a few dangerous inches apart, and Piper’s pulse hammers in her throat.

I never forget about my curse. That I can’t kiss another person without consequences, but Piper makes me want to throw away all my rules. I would never do that to her, though.

“We’re good together, Piper.” That’s an understatement. I’ve never experienced anything like last night. Piper might be shy in her daily life, but she was wild beneath me, unrestrained and unabashedly sexy.

“I don’t have a lot to compare it to, but…” She swallows, panting slightly.

An unwarranted jealousy rages through me. “Who? Who have you been with?”

She gapes at me like I’ve lost my mind. Maybe I have.

“It doesn't matter. Trust me, it wasn’t anything worth remembering.”

“Who? Tell me,” I demand, trying to keep my tone light and joking, but failing miserably.

“Harley Dustin,” Piper spits out.

A few things become clear in that moment. I’m jealous, and I’m a fucking asshole. I back away, until my legs hit a chair and I fall into it.

“Fuck. Piper. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to command you.” My heart is in my stomach. What have I just done?

Piper’s cheeks are pink. She’s embarrassed and angry. She clutches the lapels of her robe and tugs them together. “I know there’s a learning curve with this, but if you command me to do something, I will be forced to obey.”

I shake my head and drag my hand through my hair. “I didn’t think.”

“You’re going to need to start,” Piper whispers. Her shoulders sag and she closes her eyes. “That’s not fair of me. I’m sorry. I know this is all new to you. And it’s nothing you asked for.”

“I’ll do better. I won’t forget again,” I promise, hoping with every fiber that I can keep it.

Piper opens her eyes, staring me down with those perfect blues. “You will, but I know it won’t be on purpose.”

I take a moment to consider and then nod. After a minute of silence, I cock my head. “Harley Dustin, really? That punk?”

“I’m not talking about this. Especially with you. I don’t even want to know how many situationships you’ve had, or how many women you’ve slept with and then ghosted.”

“Is that what he did to you?” That irrational anger is back.

Piper’s mouth twists stubbornly. “I’m not talking about it.”

There’s a croissant from yesterday on the table. It’s a little stale, but I take a bite, brushing the crumbs off my chest as they scatter everywhere. “Back to us.”

“What about us?” Piper asks suspiciously.

“We’re good together. We’re married now.” I waggle my eyebrows at her. “Why deny ourselves repeat experiences like last night?”

“I already told you why.” She tightens the belt on her robe with a snap and ties it in a bow.

“I can be a one-woman guy,” I say without thinking. Can I? I’ve never actually tried.

Piper’s eyes search my face, and then travel down my chest, where my robe has gaped open. She licks her lips, and the crests of her cheeks grow pinker. Her hands fiddle with the belt of her robe, rolling one side in a tight spiral before letting it unravel.

“I’m not a fool. You’re no monk. I won’t hold you to our marriage vows.” Her eyes are focused on her belt, rolling it again.

I’m slightly shocked and a little offended. I drop the stale croissant and pick up an apple. “I can keep it in my pants, Piper.”

“I'm not asking you to.” She’s talking to the floor now.

“Very practical of you, but I can.” I take a bite of the apple.

She lifts her gaze to look me in the eye. “I know you say that. And maybe you believe it. But you will get bored with me. Until we can figure out a way to break this hex. I don’t want to overcomplicate things.”

I frown and nearly bite my tongue to keep from saying my next thought, but it has to be said. “Technically, couldn’t we get a divorce, and you would be free from the hex?”

It feels wrong to even ask that. I don’t want to get a divorce. I don’t know why, because Piper and I really shouldn’t be married in the first place. This was supposed to be a help-out-a-friend situation only. So why do those words taste like ash in my mouth?

“I don’t know.” Piper shakes her head. Sadness creeping back into her eyes. “What if we get divorced, and the hex reverts back to my uncle?” She tips her head back, blinking up at the ceiling. “I know this is really inconvenient.”

I drop my apple on the table and move back to Piper. I cup her cheek to make sure she’s looking at me and she hears what I’m about to say. “Piper, it’s not. I wouldn’t have offered to help if I didn’t mean it.”

“I’ll figure out a way to break the hex.

It should be easier because you’ll allow me to talk about it now.

” Her shoulders sag. “I’ll ask Morty or Fitz.

” She shivers when she says Fitz’s name.

The witch is possibly the oldest in town and is honestly slightly terrifying.

Not that I think she would hurt Piper, but she has a sharp tongue.

You definitely don’t want to piss Fitz off, but she doesn’t fuck with people who don’t warrant it, and Piper doesn’t deserve to be punished.

Morty, on the other hand, is the owner of Woodroot’s Apothecary. He knows way more about our town than he’d ever admit, but could he help with Piper’s hex?

“What if I didn’t sleep with other women?” I don’t quite know where the words come from, but now they’re out in the universe, I can’t take them back. I stroke my thumb over her cheek.

Piper gives me a skeptical look. “For how long?”

I sit back in my chair and poke around at the leftover food. Nothing else is worth eating. “What if I don’t sleep with another woman for two weeks?”

Piper laughs and gets out of bed, displaying a whole lot of mouthwatering leg. “Maybe eight months.”

My jaw drops and my eyes reluctantly go back to her face. “Are you saying I couldn’t sleep with you or anyone else for eight months?”

Piper wanders over to her bag and gets out a toothbrush and toothpaste. “I’m not saying you have to do anything, Ambrose. The fact that it seems like too much to ask tells me it’s not really worth it for you.”

A little growl rumbles in my throat. “One month.”

“This isn’t a negotiation,” Piper says. “I’m not limiting you. I’m just saying that I can’t sleep with someone who’s going to be sleeping with other people.”

Suddenly, there’s nothing more important than me getting Piper to agree to a deal. “Two months.” I pick my apple back up and take another bite, juice trickling down my chin. Piper licks her lips as she watches. I give her a toothy grin.

Piper narrows her eyes, and then shakes her head. “Fine, if you can go three months without sleeping with another woman, then we can have sex again,” she whispers the last part as though someone might overhear this conversation, and then sprints off to the bathroom.

“Done,” I call out after her. The word sounds gleeful, even though I’m not at all happy with the outcome of this conversation.

For multiple reasons. First of which, I don’t want to wait three months to get my hands on Piper again.

Second, I don’t like that this is how Piper views me.

It’s not that she’s judging me. In fact, I think I’m the one judging myself.

I don’t want to think about that though either.

Tossing my apple on a plate, I follow Piper into the bathroom.

Her eyes meet mine in the mirror as she brushes her teeth.

I lean against the doorway, watching. Once she rinses her mouth out, I grab her hand.

She looks at me with wide eyes as I lift her fingers and press a kiss on her palm.

“Since I can’t seal our bargain with a kiss, this will have to do. ”