Blue Lines: The Assassins Series: A Loveswept Contemporary Romance (19 page)

She wanted them to be happy. Dammit, she wanted them to be a family!

After a hasty shower, she threw on her dance clothes, then layered her sweats over
them. She quickly fixed her hair, then grabbed her packed suitcase and wheeled it
down the hall. When she reached the living room, Erik was standing at the kitchen
counter with a Coke in his hand, watching her. She tried not to look at him, but it
was so flipping hard when he wasn’t wearing anything but sport shorts! They were big
on him and hung loosely on his defined, hard hips. And she swore she could see the
outline of his dick!

It was maddening!

“We don’t leave for a while. I have got to go and work out before we head to the airport,”
he said, running his hand down his stomach to the spot above the waistband of his
shorts.

She watched as he ran his fingers through the dark hair that gathered there and knew
she had to get out of the house, fast.

“I know. I’ve got to go to Reese’s studio and help her out with some stuff, so I guess
I’ll meet you at the airport.”

“Okay, but I can drive you to the studio and pick you up when you’re done so we can
go to the airport together. I’m about to leave now anyway,” Erik suggested, throwing
a shirt over his glorious body.

“It’s okay. I can drive.”

“Why?” he asked with his hands out in front of him. “And why aren’t you looking at
me?”

She let out an annoyed breath, then looked up into his eyes. She knew it was a bad
idea before she had even done it because his eyes were soft, and sweet-looking, hitting
her straight in the chest.

With as much gumption as she could gather, she answered, “Because I can drive myself,
and I’m still mad at you.”

He let out an annoyed breath and then came toward her, reaching for her bag.

“Just ride with me.”

He turned from her, grabbing his gym bag and his suitcase as he called for Stanley.
The sweet pup hopped up and down behind him, ready to go. Piper decided that it would
save gas money to just ride with him, so she followed behind the two of them to Erik’s
car.

Once in the car, Stanley sprawled out in the backseat, his snores filling the car
as they drove toward Nashville. Piper glanced back at him and smiled. He was so sweet.

“Where are you taking Stanley?” she asked without thinking.

Erik glanced over at her and smiled.

“Tate is going to puppy-sit for me since he isn’t going.”

“Tate wasn’t nominated this year?”

Erik shook his head. “No, when he missed the games while Audrey was in the hospital,
his stats suffered.”

“Wow, that sucks.”

“Yeah, because he deserves the award. He’s the best goalie in the league.”

“I agree,” she said as she fidgeted.

“You watch hockey?”

She nodded her head. “Yeah, I love hockey. I’m a big Assassins fan, kinda have to
be in the family I’m in.”

Erik smiled. “So, you’ve watched me play?”

Oh, she was about to lie her ass off.

“I guess. What number are you?”

He glanced over at her, his eyes narrowing as he said, “Fifteen.”

“I might have seen you out there,” she said offhandedly.

The truth was, he was the only reason she watched hockey anymore. It used to be about
the game, but now it was about how many goals he would get in a game. He was the leading
scorer on the team and was pretty much the best forward in the league, in her opinion.
He was up against some tough competition at the awards tomorrow, but she had no doubt
he would win.

Erik was, hands down, the best.

“That’s nice to know,” he said and that was the last of their conversation for the
rest of the car ride.

When he pulled into Reese’s parking lot, he got out and she watched as he came around
the car, opening the door for her. It was a little shocking but it was good to know
that he meant
what he said last night. But as he reached for her hand, something else bothered her,
and when he shut the door behind her, she asked, “How’d you know where Reese’s studio
was?”

Her fears of him sleeping with Reese came back in full force because how would he
know unless he had been there before? She never asked Reese if they had been together,
and really, she was afraid of the answer. More than likely Reese would have told her
if she had slept with Erik, especially now, she thought. Reese lived above the dance
studio, in a cute little apartment, and Piper had a horrible feeling that he had been
up there, in Reese’s bed. Hell, he’d been in everyone else’s bed, so why not hers?
Oh Lord, she was a mess.

“I was here once with Jacob to take Ally to dance,” he said as he made his way back
around the car. “Why?”

“Just wondering,” she said, feeling stupid.

She recalled the time Erik would have driven Ally to class. It was after Harper had
one of her miscarriages and Piper couldn’t get out of work in time to take Ally to
her lesson.

“Okay, so I’ll pick you back up, when?”

“I’ll be done at three, but I wanted to take a shower and get ready to go on the plane,
so three thirty?”

“All right, well, I’ll be done earlier than that, so I’ll just come back here and
wait.”

She eyed him and said, “Wait where?”

“I don’t know, wherever you’ll be.”

“I’ll be dancing.”

“Dancing?”

“Yeah, I’m helping with some choreography for a duet that Reese is doing,” she explained.

Erik had a shocked look on his face as he pointed at her and asked again, “You’re
dancing?”

“Yeah, I used to dance when I was kid. I went to the same school Reese went to, but
dropped out for some reason I can’t remember. Probably to sing, but no telling.”

Erik blinked a few times, and then turned to get into the car.

“I’ll see you later.”

“What?” She laughed. “Why’d you make that face!”

Erik smiled.

“Because you just seem to be able to do a lot of different things, and it’s kind of
amazing. Later.”

She watched as he got into the car. She waved goodbye to Stanley as Erik glanced back
and nodded bye to her. It was moments like these when he totally confused her, and
she didn’t know if he was lying or not.

With a shake of her head, she made her way up the stairs to Reese Allen’s Dance Studio.
Music blasted from the back, and a smile came across Piper’s face as she followed
the music to where she knew her sister would be. “Girl on Fire” by Alicia Keys shook
the walls as Reese moved to the music in a way that only she could.

Reese was a choreographic genius. It was breathtaking to watch her dance and sometimes
it brought tears to Piper’s eyes because Reese was so beautiful. They resembled each
other, but not as much as twins should. She was darker in skin tone, with dark hair
and green eyes, while Piper had a ruddier complexion, with blondish brown hair and
blue eyes. Piper was small while Reese was tall and had a dancer’s athletic build.
They had the same drive in them, only Reese was dead set on being the best dancer
imaginable, while Piper’s focus was on a variety of things. Reese could be a little
bitchy at times but they were sisters and loved each other and always worked out their
differences.

When the music stopped, Reese looked over at her and smiled as she breathed deep.

“I only need you to go over the beginning and I think I got it,” Piper said, taking
her shirt off and then her sweatpants. Underneath she wore a sports bra and a pair
of booty shorts. When Reese started laughing, Piper looked up, confused.

“What?”

“How in the world did I miss this pregnancy? I thought you were just getting pudgy
all this time,” she said with a smile.

Piper laughed.

“It just popped, I swear. My clothes used to fit but now, this kiddo is like ‘Hey!
I’m here!’ ”

Reese smiled as she came over and held Piper’s little bump in her hands. When the
baby kicked, Reese’s smile grew as she looked into her twin’s eyes.

“I would have been there for you, you know.”

“I know. I just wasn’t ready to tell anyone.”

“I’m not anyone. I’m your twin,” Reese said.

Piper nodded, hating to see the hurt in Reese’s eyes.

“I know, but I thought that Erik needed time to think before I told people.”

Reese shook her head. “Out of all the men.”

“He’s a good man, Reese.”

“He’s a cocky son of a bitch who thinks women should fall at his feet. Plus he is
too damn smooth for his own good. He could talk his way out of a murder rap. Be careful.”

“He won’t hurt me,” she said, and she knew that it was true. Well, he’d never physically
hurt her … emotionally was another story.

“Let’s hope not,” Reese said with a shake of her head as she walked over to the stereo.

“But I’ll be here if he does.”

“Thanks,” Piper said as she sat on the floor and started to stretch.

Nothing was said as Piper warmed her muscles, but the whole time, her mind was moving
at the speed of light. She needed to know if Reese had slept with Erik, and she knew
that if she didn’t use this moment to ask, she would forever regret it. Why, out of
all of the women Erik had slept with, this one mattered the most, she didn’t know,
but it did, and she had to know.

“Hey, Ree.”

Reese looked over her shoulder. “Yeah?”

“Did you sleep with Erik?” Piper asked, feeling a tremor in her voice.

Reese started laughing. “Isn’t it a little late to be asking that?”

Piper nodded as she looked down at her growing belly and said, “Yeah, but I need to
know.”

“Have you asked him?”

“No.”

Reese slowly shook her head.

“No. I don’t even know if he wanted to. I never gave him that opportunity.”

Piper laughed as relief filled her. She had planned to ask Erik, too, and then she
would know the truth. If he said they did, then she really didn’t know how she would
handle it but she would cross that bridge later. At that moment, though, she believed
that they hadn’t; she trusted her sister. “Okay, forget I even asked,” Piper then
said. “Bring your happy self on over here and let’s get this done. I have a plane
to catch.”

“With your husband? That’s so weird to say. I thought we’d never get married, just
be really cool aunts.”

Piper shook her head and said, “Maybe that’s how you’re gonna be, but God has a different
plan for me.”

Reese genuinely smiled as she said, “Yup, and the plan involves a husband.”

Piper smiled as she cradled her belly and whispered, “And a baby.”

* * *

Erik couldn’t get her off his mind, no matter what he did.

His music blasted in his ear as he ran on the treadmill. He also had tuned in
SportsCenter
on the TV, and he was even listening to Tate talk about the different colors they
were using in his daughter’s room, but nothing worked. He couldn’t kick the idea out
of his head that she was a dancer. How was she so good at so many things? It made
no sense. She was an artist, a photographer, a dancer, a saleswoman, and if he remembered
correctly, she was going to be a teacher, too.

Piper was amazing.

With a shake of his head, he pushed himself hard, knowing that he wouldn’t be able
to work out much while he was in Las Vegas. There were a lot of events that he would
have to attend and he also planned on partying with the guys. So he needed this workout,
but what he didn’t need was the image of Piper dancing around in barely anything.
It wasn’t only that image that was in his mind, though; he also began worrying that
she could fall, and hurt herself or the baby. That thought made him lose his footing
and he almost fell off the treadmill.

“You okay?” Tate asked.

“Yeah, I was thinking of Piper.”

Tate gave him a knowing smile and nodded.

“I think of Audrey all the time, too.”

“Yeah,” Erik said with a wave of his hand. “She’s out dancing with her sister and
I’m afraid she’ll fall or something.”

“Wow, she is still dancing?”

“Yeah, apparently,” Erik muttered. “I don’t know if I like that.”

“I know I wouldn’t. I’ve seen her dance with Reese before. They don’t take it easy,”
Tate said, and since he was worried, it made Erik even more concerned.

“Great, now my mind is at ease,” Erik complained as he increased the machine’s speed.
“I have to trust that she knows what she is doing.”

“That’s true. She’s not stupid. It’s just the man in us that wants to protect what
is ours,” Tate said, kicking up his speed, too.

Was that what the problem was? Was he worried because he cared and she was his, or
was it because he just didn’t want her to get hurt? Was it the same thing? If he was
honest with himself, he’d admit that he did care for her. Erik, being the stubborn
ass that he was, even with himself, couldn’t admit that, though. So when he hopped
off the treadmill and grabbed his bag, he wouldn’t let himself analyze the reason
why.

The only thing he knew was that he had to get to Piper and make sure she was okay.

* * *

After making sure that Tate had everything he needed to take care of Stanley while
they were away, Erik drove like a bat out of hell to Reese Allen’s Dance Studio. After
locking the car, he ran up the stairs and entered the gaudy yellow studio. It was
bright as hell but it looked good with the black designs and shit that she had hanging
everywhere. Music shook the walls as he made his way through the studio, following
its beat. He didn’t recognize the song, but that wasn’t new. He usually listened to
rap and bluegrass, not this pop stuff they were dancing to. He was a music weirdo,
as Jakob would call him.

Erik finally found Piper among the many rooms in the studio. There in the middle of
the floor stood Piper in supertight black shorts and a small black sports bra. Reese
wore almost the identical thing but her outfit was yellow and blue and her body wasn’t
nearly as delectable as Piper’s. Piper had piled her mass of hair on the top of her
head. Sweat dripped from her brow and her body glistened with the evidence that she
had been working hard. But even with all that sexiness in one little package, the
one part he had a hard time breaking eye contact with was her belly.