All Our Tomorrows (The Heirs Book 1)
Chapter 29

It took longer to drive from his house, pick up Piper, and drive to the airport than the flight to San Francisco.

The joy on Piper’s face when she realized what he had planned wasn’t something he’d forget anytime soon. The unbridled excitement of discovery was enough to thank his father for the opportunity to share this with her. It had been a long-ass time since he wanted to thank his father for anything.

Too bad the man had to be dead for it to happen.

A car was waiting for them at the airport, which quickly drove them down to Fisherman’s Wharf, where, once again, Piper bounced around like a schoolgirl in excitement. Within minutes, they were sitting at an outside table, eating clam chowder out of a sourdough bread bowl and thanking their luck for a sunny day.

From there, they meandered through the open market, grazing their way with food from the small vendors and browsing through the various shops. They bypassed some of the more odiferous areas of the market since strong smells and pregnancy were not a combination Piper enjoyed. Not that it changed much.

Piper wanted to take home a loaf of sourdough bread and a magnet of the Golden Gate Bridge, and chocolates from the massive Ghirardelli store. Wine-tasting rooms were found on several blocks, which Piper said they’d have to try out once she could drink again.

Street performers entertained them, as well as a self-guided walk through a museum on the history of Fisherman’s Wharf.

They stopped at a storefront that had a tank filled with clams. Inside were pearls, but you couldn’t tell the size or color until you opened them up. Cheesy signs boasted about the person that bought a thirty-five-dollar clam and ended up with a pearl worth a thousand dollars.

“How does this work?” Chase asked the guy behind the counter.

“Pick one, and depending on what you replace, you choose a setting you want me to put it in.”

Chase glanced at Piper. “You want one?”

She shook her head. “No.”

She hesitated.

Then reached for her purse. “Yeah, I do.”

“I got it.” Chase pointed to the tank that held the larger clams, and likely the larger pearls . . . and cost the most. Not that it was a lot. “Which one has your name on it?” he asked Piper.

“You don’t have to keep buying me stuff,” Piper said, pointing to the bag he held.

“A loaf of bread, a magnet, chocolate, and your weight in saltwater taffy won’t break the bank.”

“Not the point.”

“Lady, when your boyfriend wants to buy you things . . . let him,” the vendor told her.

“You heard the man.”

Piper shook her head. “He flew me here on a private jet,” she told him.

“Sure, lady,” he scoffed, clearly not believing her story.

“He did.”

Chase tossed his arm over her shoulder. “One day, babe. We’ll have a jet with a bedroom in it.”

“Let’s start with a pearl. How about that? I’ll even show you the real gold. I mean, if your aim is a jet, you might as well spring for the good stuff now.”

Chase pulled her over to the tank. “Which one is worth thousands?”

“Okay, my future gazillionaire. Have it your way.”

Piper peered into the tank, tilted her head left . . . then right. “What’s under that one?” she asked the man.

With a small net, he pushed the large clam aside and revealed a much smaller one.

“I think this belongs in the other tank,” he told them.

Piper shook her head. “That’s the one I want.”

“Ya sure, lady? It’s gonna be small.”

“I like the underdog. I want that one.”

The vendor looked at Chase as if asking if that was okay. “You heard the lady.”

“It’s your money.”

The man removed the clam and took it over to a table, where he used a tool to pry the thing open.

Around them, a crowd started to form, watching to see the unveiling.

The vendor looked bored as he pulled the flesh of the clam aside and dug for the gem.

For a minute, Chase wasn’t sure there was a pearl to be found, then the vendor went back to the guts and squeezed out the round stone.

“Is that blue?” Piper asked.

The vendor stopped smiling at the crowd that stood behind them, arguably trying to make his next sale, and looked down.

Piper stared on like a kid at the county fair.

Chase could care less what the thing cost, watching Piper was a much greater prize.

In the sink at the counter, the vendor washed away the muck.

The pearl wasn’t small.

And it was most definitely blue.

Nearly metallic blue.

“I didn’t think they came in that color.”

The vendor looked between the two of them, cleared his throat. “Yeah, lady. If you want a white one, I’ll just toss this one and you can pick another clam.”

“I like the blue.”

So did the vendor. Chase saw it in his disappointment.

“You sure?”

“Yup.”

The man sighed and directed them to the back of his store.

There, Piper picked out a necklace from the “real” gold section.

When it was all said and done, a couple hundred bucks and Piper had a chain around her neck with a shiny new pearl.

Once they walked out, Piper pulled the pearl away from her chest and looked at it. “What do you think this is really worth?”

“A lot more than that guy said . . .”

“Or he wouldn’t have tried so hard to talk us out of keeping it.”

“Exactly.”

She shrugged. “I don’t care if it’s worth ten bucks or a thousand. I will wear it and always remember this day with you.”

Chase texted the driver and told him they were ready for their next destination.

They stopped in Chinatown, made it a half a block, and the unfiltered aroma of the area drove them back to the car and pushed them on to Nob Hill. They crossed the Golden Gate Bridge . . . twice. And promised to visit Alcatraz the next time.

From there, the driver pulled up in front of a tower hotel with Chase’s name on it so that they could freshen up and change for their seven-thirty dinner reservations.

The moment they drove up to the valet, Chase realized how much his life had changed.

The doorman opened the back door of the car, and Chase climbed out.

“Good evening, Mr. Stone. Miss Maddox. Your room is ready for you.”

How did they know who he was?

Chase glanced over at the driver and remembered he was staff of the hotel.

They walked through the lobby, and while none of the guests gave them a second glance, the staff was arguably on high alert.

The bellman shouldering their bags led them to the elevator, up to their room, and opened the door to a presidential suite.

“I hope this is acceptable, sir. The penthouse was booked this evening.”

“We’re only here for a couple of hours.” Why was the man apologizing?

“Still . . .”

Piper stepped forward; her assistant voice showed up. “This Mr. Stone isn’t like the other Mr. Stone. Please let the manager know that we appreciate everyone’s attention to detail.”

“I’ll pass that on. Thank you.”

The man left.

Chase stood staring at the door.

“What was that?”

“It’s your new life, Mr. Gazillionaire. Your assistant will be sure to send the manager a gift and a thank-you letter on Monday.”

Chase turned to her. “How is it you’re more comfortable with this than I am?”

She walked away. “That’s easy. I’ve been in your father’s world for five years. You’ve been in it for two and a half months.” Piper moved to the window, gasped. “Holy shit, look at this view.”

“How do you do that?”

“Do what?”

Chase joined her at the window.

The view was rather spectacular. The bay, the bridge . . . the wonder that was the city of San Francisco . . . “Be in complete amazement of jets, paparazzi, and views . . . and yet at ease with pilots and massive suites at hotels that you’re only in for a few hours at most?”

Piper looked out at nothing, paused . . . “I’ve managed an incredibly rich man’s life for five years. I’m arguably teaching that man’s son just how rich his life has become and yet experiencing it for myself, for the first time.”

He reached for her. Gathered her close. “You’re perfect.”

“Ha!” She laughed. “Pregnant . . . therefore not perfect.”

Now it was his turn to teach her something. “That’s insecurity talking.”

“Perhaps . . .”

He placed a hand on her face. “We should get ready for dinner.”

With nothing more than a quick shower and a dusting of makeup, Piper emerged from the bathroom for whatever Chase planned next.

She entered the living room of the hotel suite and saw Chase standing at the window overlooking the city lights.

Piper eased up on him and slowly wrapped her arms around his waist.

How was it she was in this place, casually touching this man, and him leaning into her?

“Amazing, isn’t it?” he asked.

Piper wasn’t sure they were thinking the same thing. “Yeah.”

Chase faced her and slowly smiled. “You’re glowing.”

She batted her eyelashes a few times. “Must be the new mascara.”

“I don’t think that’s it.”

Piper lifted her lips to his, expecting a brief moment, but when their kiss lingered, the world around them fell apart.

Chase ran his hand up her neck and captured the back of her head and kissed her deeper.

Piper pulled at his arms and moaned into his touch.

She gasped, or maybe it was him, and Chase eased her up against the wall, his body flush with hers. Fire deep in her belly sparked hot as he pressed one knee between her thighs.

Her hips buckled in shameless abandon from the feel of him.

Lips hot against hers, he murmured, “Dinner.”

Piper pulled at his shirt, felt her fingers graze his skin. “Not hungry.”

He grasped her hips and pulled her up his thigh, forcing every nerve between her legs to come alive.

Her head fell back, and Chase took advantage of her neck. “I’m hungry.” His voice was rough.

One minute she was all but riding his thigh, and the next, Chase’s hands were on her butt, lifting her off her feet. “Hold on.”

Piper wrapped her legs around his waist and grazed her teeth against his jaw.

“Damn, Piper.”

Chase walked them to the bedroom and fell with her onto the bed, coming just short of crushing her under him.

Not that she minded. The weight of him alone made her come to life. She clawed at his shirt. He fumbled with the buttons of hers.

Finally, she felt the span of his bare broad shoulders and ran her hands down his back to rest on his ass. Delicious and perfect, his lips captured hers again as his hands found her breasts and squeezed.

This was passion, the kind that would burn in her memory forever.

His lips broke away and trailed down her neck, her chest.

Piper arched so he could access the clasp of her bra and free her so he could touch and taste his fill.

And he did. So much so that sparks started behind her eyes. She felt her nipples pucker under his teeth.

Piper toed off her shoes and wrapped her free leg around his hip, needing to feel the heat of him where she desired it most.

The weight of his frame lifted from hers, and she wanted to cry. “Come back.”

Chase looked up at her, his hooded eyes revealing the desire in his blood.

Their eyes locked, he ran a hand up her thigh until his thumb grazed her sex through her pants.

Her breath caught, her hips bucked.

“You want more?”

Mouth half-open, she didn’t dare speak.

A single nod and Chase broke eye contact and lowered his mouth between her legs, his hot breath blew lava through the woven material of her pants.

One of her hands found the back of his head, the other pushed at her clothing to get everything off.

“Lift your hips,” he demanded.

She did, and Chase removed everything.

Piper pulled her shirt from her arms, tossed her bra to the floor, and smiled up at Chase, who licked his lips and watched her squirm.

Free of her clothing and free of the weight of him, Piper bent one knee and lifted her hands above her head.

“Fuck,” Chase said on a breath. His eyes drinking her in. The way he stared made her feel sexy and wanted. While she could tell the changes in her body, they weren’t terribly obvious to a man who had never seen her naked before. There was comfort in him seeing her like this, knowing it was all changing rapidly.

“You’re wearing too many clothes.”

Chase reached for his belt, the movement made his cock twitch inside his pants.

She started to squirm. The need for him heavy in the air.

His pants hit the floor, and Piper stared with a smile. “Yes, please.”

Chase retrieved his wallet from his pants and pulled a condom from it.

She almost laughed.

Instead, she sat up and plucked it from his fingertips. “Too late,” she said, and tossed it away.

Chase laughed before capturing her lips and crawling on top of her until she was flush with the bed once again.

Damn, he felt divine. Better than she imagined anyone could.

His cock pressed against the warmest part of her body as if knocking on the door for permission.

She hiked a leg up on his hip, tilted her pelvis. “Please.” She nearly begged.

Chase grasped her wrists and lifted her arms over her head and, with one hand, held them there while he leaned on the other elbow to keep from crushing her.

She was open and spread out for him like an offering.

Their eyes met as he slowly eased into her for the first time.

“You’re so beautiful, Piper.”

It was hard to breathe. The feel of him filling her up and making himself comfortable inside her body was like a homecoming.

“I want to hear you cry my name.” He pulled back slightly and pushed back in.

“Keep that up and I will,” she told him.

His hips started a slow dance, his lips lowered to hers, their kiss heated with the friction of their bodies.

A seed of passion started to build as they rose and fell in time with each other.

Chase released her hands and guided her hips with his.

He shifted his angle, or maybe she shifted hers . . . but yeah, this was perfect. “Yes. Right there.”

The man followed directions, his hips moved, his pace didn’t waver. Her body started to tighten from the inside out.

“You’re like a vise grip.”

She tightened those muscles again and saw pure pleasure ripple over Chase’s face. The same pleasure pulsating through her body. With each push and pull, her body wound up and up, the perfect tension, the perfect pulse. Piper grabbed his ass and pulled him closer, deeper, until she couldn’t breathe, and the sound of her orgasm filled the room. “Chase, yes. Oh, yes.”

“Perfect . . . so damn perfect.”

Her ears rang, and Chase changed his cadence, his hips moving faster.

Piper met his pulse. “Come in me, Chase. I want to feel all of you.”

It was as if all she needed to do was ask.

“Fuck, Piper . . .” The ripple of his release splashed into her in hot waves.

Chase collapsed at her side, kept her body glued to his.

They held each other in silence as their breathing slowed.

Chase stroked her hair as she rested one arm on his hip. This tangled embrace and ease in his arms felt right on so many levels. “I feel so much better,” she said into his chest. All that pent-up passion released into their lovemaking.

“We need to do that over and over.” He kissed her shoulder and moved to her side just enough to keep from crushing her.

“And over again,” she finished for him.

His breath warmed her ear as he spoke. “I feel like I just unwrapped the best gift in my life.”

She shifted back enough to see his eyes. “Those words were so perfect, they almost sound like a line.”

Chase pushed her hair back, his thumb traced her jaw. “You deserve nothing but truths. I won’t lie to you, Piper.”

She wanted to believe him. Men say things after sex they don’t mean. Piper really wanted to believe Chase was different. And how would he feel when she looked different, and he knew the baby inside her wasn’t his? She needed to get out of her head. Her gaze shifted away.

Chase lifted her chin and captured her eyes once more. “What are you thinking?”

“I want this. I want to hold on to this. But . . .” She closed her eyes, thought of the child growing in her womb.

“Talk to me, Piper.”

She had nothing to lose by telling him her thoughts. And keeping them inside felt like a lie. Now that he knew everything, she was determined to say whatever she was thinking. “What if dating me becomes too much? My clothes are already getting tight. I can’t keep this a secret much longer.”

“Piper—”

“I’ve never . . . I mean, men don’t stick around. Even when I wasn’t pregnant.”

“Piper—”

“All these emotions are swirling. That’s not going to be easy.” She wanted to cry. The most mind-blowing sex in her life hadn’t even been washed from her body, and she wanted to cry.

“Piper—”

“Promise me you won’t string me along. If your feelings change, you’ll make a clean break. I can . . . I’ll handle it.” Yup, here came the tears. Because she already knew she wouldn’t handle it well. Chase Stone was already seeping into her blood and rushing around her heart.

“Piper.” He pressed a finger against her lips. “I’m not going anywhere. And I respect you too much to play games.”

“Okay.” She sniffled.

“Okay?”

She nodded and smiled when he smiled.

He kissed her, and then hugged her into his chest.

The need to stay there, exactly there, forever floated around in her head while Chase whispered all the right things and put her mind at ease.

Piper took a shower first while Chase canceled their dinner reservations and called room service.

Chase was exiting his shower when he heard Piper talking to the person that brought their food.

Her vulnerability gutted him. There was true terror in her eyes when she asked him not to string her along. How could she possibly think he would? Clearly, no one had cherished her the way she needed to be cherished.

He was going to change that.

If he were honest with himself, the sex alone would be worth him giving her anything and everything he could. It was like they were made for each other. Their bodies fit like a goddamn puzzle piece cliché. Watching her unravel in his arms, wearing nothing but a street-vendor pearl around her neck, gave him a sense of possession he knew was entirely too early to feel. It was primal and primitive, and he didn’t care.

“It’s getting cold,” Piper yelled from the other room.

Chase pulled on his pants and draped a towel around a shoulder to capture the moisture from his hair.

He waltzed in and smiled when she looked up at him midbite.

“Couldn’t wait,” she said around her food. Her eyes grazed over his bare chest.

“The baby must be hungry.”

“Mmm. So good.” She took a chunk out of a potato.

Chase occupied the chair beside her and removed the cover from his food. “Not bad.”

“Pretty sure this isn’t the normal room-service food. The chef brought it up himself.”

“Really?”

He cut into his steak.

“They know who you are even if you don’t.” She hummed again. “This peppercorn sauce is the shit.”

“I love how you love food.” His first bite proved she had a point. “This is good.”

“See. I’ll make sure the chef is mentioned when I send the manager the gift on Monday.”

“I’m the one that was trying to take care of you, and here you are taking care of me,” Chase mused.

“Oh . . . you took care of me. At the risk of pumping your ego too much . . . that was the best sex in my life. And as long as you’re giving me access, I’m taking full advantage, so fuel up.”

He slapped a palm to his chest. “Finally . . . a woman wants to use me for sex and isn’t afraid to eat real food. You need to marry me.” Where had those words come from?

“Ha.” She chased her steak with a sip of water. “That would turn some heads.”

Chase took another bite while she laughed off his suggestion.

“The peppercorn is amazing, right?”

“It is,” he said.

“Is there a time that Carson is expecting us back on the plane?”

And just like that . . . his marry me comment was glossed over.