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Lover 43
Traffic’s light, and I know I have more than enough time to swing by the courthouse before West shows up at the park. On the way there, I pass Cannon’s office. The lot’s nearly empty, and his story starts to add up. They’re in court today.But, when I pull onto the street in front of the courthouse, I start searching for Cannon’s car. He’s not parked along the street at a meter and not in either of the two lots; the only place left is the parking garage a block over.It takes me a minute to get through two sets of traffic lights, and when I do, I take a ticket from the attendant and start circling around the levels. Every fifth car seems to be a black Mercedes, so I move at a snail’s pace, all while trying to blend in.When I get to the rooftop and haven’t spotted the car, I loop back through and try again, assuming I missed it. But my gut tells me I haven’t. Cannon has a sticker on the back windshield—an autism awareness lightbulb one of my students slapped on at the fundraising walk
Lover 44
He probably has enough money to retire and never work another day in his life, but that doesn’t seem like the kind of man he is. He’s ambitious and antsy, just like me.“I’m actually talking to someone. A couple of broadcasting opportunities are out there, but I haven’t taken them too seriously yet.”“That sounds exciting.”“Yeah.”“Are they local?” I blush when I ask him. Mostly because it would break my heart if he took a job clear across the country, so I wouldn’t get to see him. I already know I’ll struggle once I go back to teaching. I’m so used to our morning routine, it’ll be weird, not meeting on the beach first thing each day.West reads me like a book and smirks. “Don’t worry; we can still fuck on your lunch breaks. I’m not going anywhere.”“You and that mouth. So direct.”He leans into me and nibbles on my neck. “I’ll fuck you right here, Piper. Don’t challenge me when it comes to your pussy.”Nobody was near us when I sat down, but I still glance over my shoulder to make s
Lover 45
“If that’s what you want, they can come over here.”Swinging is on Tilly. The affair is on me. I’m not mixing those worlds by telling my wife how much I want to be inside another woman. Things will end between Tilly and me because our marriage isn’t working. Piper isn’t going to be the cause of it. I won’t put that on her, and I certainly won’t do that to my wife.“I’m down for it,” she says. “Cannon’s been fun.” She walks over to the desk and looks at the screen. She doesn’t say anything as she checks out the emails. She just climbs on my lap and straddles my legs. “I haven’t asked because I just assume you’ve been happy, but you’re not looking to find a new couple to swing with, are you?”I shake my head. “Things are good the way they are.”“I agree. Cannon is just starting to be the kind of lay I need, and I don’t feel like going through another training period with some other guy. This one was exhausting enough.”I smile. “He’s having a hard time making you come?”I have to think,
Lover 46
When I get to the top of the stairs, I brace myself for what kind of mood I might find Cannon in. But he’s sitting peacefully on the couch with a beer in his hand, sipping it, as he watches a movie.“Hey, Pipes,” he says.“Hey,” I say, suddenly unsure of how to act in front of him.I want to scream about the torn condom wrapper I found in his pocket and get answers to all my questions, like where he was all afternoon. But I can’t. I’m no better than he is when it comes to cheating. As much as it kills me, I hold on to his secrets and lock them up in a little box next to my own.He gives me one of his lopsided grins and pats the cushion next to him—a sign he wants me to join him and that he doesn’t want to be alone. “I wasn’t sure when you’d be back, or I would have made something to eat.”“That’s okay. I was just shopping,” I lie. Guilt wraps its ugly fingers around my throat, and I almost choke on it. This isn’t me. I’m not a liar. Only that’s exactly what I’ve turned into. “I got an
Lover 47
“I planned on it,” I say. “It just kept slipping from my mind.”“But it seems like you’ve had lots of time to think about it. Since moving here, all we’ve done is eat, work out, and fuck. So, I don’t understand why you haven’t done this one thing for me.”There it is.The perfect dig.I was months into the hockey season when I was forced to retire. That meant spending most of my days at the rink, games at night, traveling the country nonstop. When all that was taken away from me, I just needed a minute. Did I take my wife somewhere exotic to celebrate? Did I turn into this romantic, loving guy, giving her all my attention?Nah. I didn’t do any of that.I thought about myself instead.She deserves more than that. But there’s nothing I can do to change what I did, and there’s nothing I want to do at this point.“If you’re trying to start a fight, Tilly, I’m not going to sit here and argue with you. But, if there’s something you want to say, I’ll listen.”Her stare intensifies. “I want t
Lover 48
I press a finger onto her clit, and she lets out a drawn-out scream.“That’s it. Tell me how it makes you feel.”Her hips drop again, but she doesn’t take all of me. “I could come so fast.”“Do it.”I clench down with my teeth, her nipple between them, flicking the end with my tongue. And, with my hand, I rub the pad of my fingers across her clit, giving her all the friction she needs.“West,” she hisses.I release her nipple and grab a fistful of her hair, so I can guide her mouth toward mine. “Come right now, Piper.”She glides down to my root, keeping me completely inside her, and rocks her hips back and forth just a few times. It isn’t her sounds that tell me she’s coming even though they are loud and fill my ears. It’s the way she clenches around me, her body quivering until the inside of her pussy finally releases me.Fucking Christ.I’ll never get used to that feeling or how wet she gets after, how she turns even warmer than when I first slipped in.“Your turn,” she says as she
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“Piper, come on. You’re really pale,” West says as he tries to lead me away from the door.I throw my hand over my mouth and swallow down the bile. “I feel sick.”Cannon shifts positions and opens his eyes. When he does, his peripheral vision picks up on our shadows. The second he connects the dots, he roars, “Motherfucker. Untie me, Tilly. Right fucking now.”I turn and run, afraid of what’ll happen if I don’t get out of this house.The first door I get to opens onto the patio, leading to the beach. It’s pitch-black, and the sand is so cold, I shiver. But the sound of the waves draws me closer to the shoreline.West is right there, by my side. I see the worry in his eyes when the moonlight hits his face, but I don’t want to be touched, and I push him away.“Piper!” Cannon shouts from the patio.I pick up speed.I have no idea what to say to him. All I know is that what I saw made me uncomfortable. I’ve never asked what he does with Tilly. I just assumed it was the kind of sex I was h
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“Yes.”“Who is he? How do you know him?” I fire back. But I don’t need his name or any specifics. All I want to know is how he came into Cannon’s life. And how the hell I didn’t notice.“He works at the courthouse. He’s a lawyer.”“That’s convenient. How many men have you been with?”“One at the end of college and one now.”“Oh my God.” All the guilt I’ve been carrying around about my feelings for West suddenly doesn’t seem so wrong. I’ve been putting myself through hell, wishing I weren’t sneaking around behind Cannon’s back, that I could control my impulses and not get wrapped up in West. And then I find out that my husband has been doing the same damn thing to me for years.Karma’s a bitch.A lonely slut who gets what she deserves.Only nobody ever wins.“I’m so mad at you, Cannon. All I want to do is punch you in the face and walk away.”He buries his face in his hands and shakes his head. “I’m sorry, baby. I’m so sorry. This isn’t how I wanted you to find out.”I must be blind an
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