Blue Lines: The Assassins Series: A Loveswept Contemporary Romance (28 page)

“I know, and I’ve been dealing with these feelings for the last couple weeks and with
every day that passes I get more nervous. I thought about staying, trying to make
it work, but I promised I’d never cheat on her and it has been easy because I don’t
go anywhere without her, but preseason is coming and I’ll be traveling. What’s going
to happen when I’m lying there lonely and wanting some female company?”

“You stay true to that person who is at home, Erik. You won’t cheat if you really
love her.”

“That’s the thing: I don’t know if I want to love her. I don’t know if that is what’s
in the cards for me. I never wanted this.”

“But you got it and now you need to be a man and make the right decision.”

Erik nodded. “But how do I know what that is? How do I completely trust someone who
scares the living shit out of me? She makes me feel things I never even knew I could
feel.”

Cooper shook his head. “I don’t know, son, and I’m sorry that I don’t have the answer
you need.” He paused, taking Erik’s shoulder and squeezing it. “Only you know what
your heart wants. I can’t tell you, Alla can’t, and neither can Piper. Only you can
decide. Is she worth the risk? That is the question.”

And Erik didn’t know the answer.

* * *

Piper stood by the back door watching Cooper and Erik on the dock. Placing her hand
on Dimitri, she smiled. Man, she loved that name and she was so thankful that Alla
and Cooper suggested it. Even though she prayed Erik wouldn’t leave, she knew he was
still leaning that way, despite the fact that she knew he was feeling something for
her. He was a hard man to love but she wasn’t giving up.

“They are very close.”

Piper looked over to see Alla standing next to her. “I love that they are. Cooper
is an amazing man.”

Alla smiled. “That he is, and so is Erik, when he isn’t being a punk.”

Piper nodded. “That is very true.”

Alla reached over, taking Piper’s hand in hers. “Take care of him, Piper, he hasn’t
had it easy.”

“I will.”

“He’ll pull away, he’ll probably hurt you, but he is a good man, with a big heart;
he just needs the right person to love him. I believe that’s you, honey.”

Piper’s heart rate sped up as she gasped for breath. How did Alla know that was what
she needed to hear? How did she know that she needed that reassurance?

She squeezed Alla’s hand as she declared, “I love him, with all my heart, and I always
will.”

Alla nodded. “I know you will and I hope that he sticks around long enough to realize
it.”

“Me too,” Piper whispered as she looked down at her belly. “He’s going to be a great
dad.”

“Yes, the best.”

“He is worried,” Piper said. “Afraid he’ll be like Jasha and his wife.”

“I’ve been reassuring him since he came to me, Piper. He was truly hurt by those people.
I miss the woman who was my sister, but Jasha poisoned her. When they got involved
in drugs, everything went to hell and the kids suffered. Jakob got out before it got
too bad but Erik, my poor baby, I could kill that man ten times over for the things
he did. We tried to get custody of them both, but Jasha would have none of that. It
was a terrible time.”

Piper could see the hurt in Alla’s eyes and she knew it was wrong for her to push,
but she couldn’t help it. She wanted to know what had happened, what Erik had gone
through.

“Erik doesn’t talk about it much.”

“Would you when you were brutally beaten by a man you call your father and then watched
as he killed your mother and then himself? I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to sound bitter
but old wounds are slow to heal and I know Erik still feels the pain. He’s never thought
he was good enough for anyone, which is ridiculous. We tried therapy for him but he
was angry about going and if someone is not open to that type of treatment there is
no benefit from it.”

Piper’s chest seized as pain ripped through her. She covered her mouth, a cry escaping
her lips as she stayed in Alla’s painful gaze.

“I just wish there was something I could do,” she whispered.

Alla nodded, moving her hand to catch the tears that escaped from Piper’s eyes.

“I believe you can. Just love him, Piper. It was a horrible time for Erik. When I
got to the police station he was sitting in a chair, his head between his knees while
he just cried. He wouldn’t even look at me, or talk. Jakob was the only one who was
able to get him to talk and soon Cooper could also. He warmed up to me last, but now
he is my big baby, and I will never let him go,” Alla said, ending her story with
a smile. “Piper, I really think you are what he needs.”

Wiping her tears away Piper said, “I wish he saw that. I don’t know if we will be
together forever, Alla, but I can promise you that I will never love anyone the way
I love him. When I have this baby, if for some reason we are not together, I promise
I will never keep Dimitri from you and Cooper. Y’all will always be part of my family,
part of my heart.”

She meant every word that left her lips and she needed Alla to believe her and to
know that she intended to keep her promises.

“Oh, Piper, I just love you and I know nothing will ever happen to break you two apart.
Your love will keep you two together. He’ll learn how to love you the way you love
him; just give him time.”

“I plan on it and I promise, Alla, I’ll always be here for him.”

* * *

Piper was lying in bed with her Kindle when Erik entered the room. He didn’t look
at her as he made his way to the bathroom. It was hard to imagine what he must have
gone through. She heard the shower turn on and decided to finish the Oregon Trail
game she had started to play before she went to sleep.

Her heart was beating a little faster than normal from the anticipation of sharing
a bed with Erik. They hadn’t been in a bed together since the night they got pregnant,
and it made her nervous to think of having his glorious body next to hers. She knew
he wasn’t looking forward to this and had even offered to sleep on the floor, which
was crazy since they were hardwood and that couldn’t be comfortable. She convinced
him that it wasn’t a big deal, which was a complete lie.

Trying to concentrate on her game, she listened as he moved around the bathroom, getting
ready for bed. When the door opened and he came out in a pair of gym shorts, it took
everything out of her not to jump him. The tattoos on his body tantalized her, and
when he pulled the blanket back to crawl into bed beside her, instead of scooting
over, she scooted toward him.

He lay back onto the bed and let out a groan as his skin touched hers. “God, this
bed is like butter.”

Piper smiled as she nodded. “It is really comfortable.”

“Yeah, it is.”

She didn’t want the conversation to end, so she said, “It was a good day.”

He nodded. “My parents are crazy.”

“I love them.”

“And they love you. Thank you for naming the baby Dimitri; that really means a lot
to my parents. You didn’t have to do that.”

“Do you not like it? Dimitri Blake Titov. I think it is amazing,” Piper said with
a worried look on her face, just now realizing she didn’t even make sure he liked
it. It was his decision, too.

“Oh, I love the name, Piper, it’s perfect. I’m just saying that you didn’t have to
do that for my parents.”

“When you love someone, you do everything you can to make them happy.”

Erik paused, running his tongue along his lips as he looked deep into her eyes. With
a nod, he turned to his side, giving her his back as he sank deeper into the bed to
go to sleep.
Disappointment filled her as she watched the rise and fall of his back.

“Are we not going to read tonight?” she found herself asking.

He shook his head. “Not tonight.”

Piper didn’t agree; they were going to finish what they started. She opened their
book on her Kindle and started to read out loud. Halfway through the chapter, to her
delight, Erik turned on his back looking over at her as she finished the chapter.
He reluctantly grabbed the Kindle and started to read the next chapter, his low voice
making the hairs on her body stand as his words washed over her. She loved these moments
with him, and sharing a bed with him while they did read made her fall even deeper
in love with him. With a smile on her face, she cuddled into his shoulder and closed
her eyes.

He was coming around. She just knew it.

Erik wasn’t sure how much more he could take.

He didn’t know what he was going to do, but he knew he wasn’t going to be able to
resist her much longer. Last night, being next to her, in her bed, just about killed
him.

He loved feeling her sweet little body against his. Her legs were soft and warm as
they tangled around his, and when she pressed that fine ass against his crotch, it
took every ounce of willpower not to pull his pants down and slide his cock inside
her.

Fuck, he wanted her.

The whole night, his dick was pitching a tent while he watched her sleep. He knew
it had been a bad idea to climb into bed with her. He’d been awake most of the night
ready to pound into her and go at it for hours.

Erik rarely ever had a girl stay with him overnight. He was usually pointing to the
door ready for them to leave after a long night of screwing. But that wasn’t the case
this morning, no, he had scooted closer, his hands itching to hold her as she lightly
snored. It was insane the things she was making him want, and they made him nervous.
Instead of wanting to keep his walls up, he wanted to knock them down and let her
in.

Erik thought this weekend was going to be hard, having to play husband in front of
his parents, but it was easier than he thought. It was easy to act like Piper was
the center of his world and to touch her with no reason but to touch her. He enjoyed
it, and in a way, he craved it. He craved her. She was such a goofball, and he loved
her laugh. She was amazing and everything about her made his dick harden.

The line between love and their fake, sham marriage was getting confusing. Cooper
said to follow his heart, but Erik couldn’t help but think that maybe he should listen
to the voice inside his head telling him to run.

Erik had no clue what to do, but at that moment he wasn’t ready to let her leave his
side. He didn’t understand the effect she had on him and he was starting to think
he never would. He was beginning not to care, either. He needed her, and after sleeping
next to her hot little body, there was no denying that.

He had been sitting with Piper in her neighbor’s hammock at their annual Fourth of
July celebration. Erik watched her now as she laughed and talked with her neighbors.
She looked beautiful today in her short dress, giving him a teasing view of her exceedingly
luscious thighs.

Hoping no one noticed his hard-on, he hopped out of the hammock and hurried across
the yard to join Piper in her conversation. When he reached his mom, wife, and his
new neighbor, Mrs. Anna, he found himself wrapping his arm around Piper’s shoulders,
bringing her in close to him as his mom said, “Anna and I were talking about a baby
shower!”

Piper smiled up at Erik before looking over at Alla. “Oh?”

“Yes! We should do one when we move here, beginning of September. What do you think?”
Alla asked.

“I’ll make all the food and Alla wants to do the decorations,” Anna said with a loving
smile. Erik hadn’t really gotten to know his neighbors, the Browns, but he was finding
them to be really good people.

“I’ll call Rowan and see what she wants to do. Maybe we can have it at her house,”
Alla responded, causing Erik to roll his eyes. His mom was a nut about this kind of
stuff. “Sure,” Piper said with a nod. “It sounds great.”

“I just can’t wait to get my hands on your little Dimitri. Alla showed me all the
ultrasound pictures; he looks like a doll,” Anna said, then added, “I bet he will
be handsome just like his daddy.”

Erik’s cheeks burned as Piper smiled up at him. “Let’s hope so.”

Alla giggled in delight and turned to Erik. “Erik, honey, can you go find your father
for me?”

Erik wanted to say no, but being a good son, he said, “Sure.”

He turned to leave but then stopped, turning to take Piper’s hand in his. He didn’t
know what he was doing, but he wasn’t ready to be apart from her yet. “Come with me?”

Piper’s lips curved into a grin as she nodded. “Of course.”

He took her hand, placing it on his chest as he started to walk through the yard to
find his dad. He felt her smiling at him, and when he glanced down, his assumptions
were right.

“What?”

“Laying it on thick again, aren’t you? It’s like you’re a sweet southern gentlemen,
taking your southern belle for a walk through the countryside. This would be considered
our first date,
you know.”

Erik laughed, masking that he was upset with the fact that she thought he was acting.
Hadn’t she realized that he wasn’t acting a lot of the time they were around each
other? He wasn’t sure if he wanted her to realize it, and when he really thought about
it, maybe it was good to play along, let her believe it was all a ruse. But did that
mean it was a ruse on her part, too?

No, it couldn’t be.

Looking down into her sparkling blue eyes, he said, “Would I get laid on this so-called
first date?”

Piper giggled as she shook her head. “I doubt it. It would take more than a walk to
get me naked.”

“How about my fattest cow?”

Her snicker sent chills up his spine. “Now we’re talking.”

“Or maybe a big piece of Oreo pie,” he said with a grin.

With a hand on her heart and a bright smile on her face, she cooed, “A man after my
heart.”

Erik laughed before pulling her closer to whisper in her ear, “Or maybe a man after
what’s underneath that skirt.”

Piper laughed, her eyes bright with excitement. “Eh, this might be true, but at least
I’ll have Oreo pie and then a cow to get milk from.”