Blue Lines: The Assassins Series: A Loveswept Contemporary Romance (30 page)

Following her onto the bed, he ran his tongue along her ankles before kissing her
knees, then her thighs. She gave him a small smile as she hooked one of her legs around
his waist to give him the access he needed. She wanted him to enter her and make her
scream so loud it would shake the walls, but instead he opened her with his fingers
and dipped his tongue into her once again.

“Erik,” she gasped as her leg came to rest on his shoulder. He pushed her other leg
farther
out, giving him the room he needed. She squirmed underneath his mouth and when he
started to fuck her with his tongue, she was thrashing from the pleasure. Her head
was spinning as he brought her to the top and when he pressed the pad of his thumb
against her clit she came, screaming his name.

“That’s right, baby, come for me,” he muttered against her thighs as he squeezed her
pussy lips together, drawing out her orgasm.

Piper was gasping for breath and she felt like putty under his hands. He moved up
her body, kissing her ribs before taking her breast into his mouth. It was so overwhelming
that she swore she was going to pass out from the pleasure of it all. When she felt
his hand on her face, she opened her eyes to find him looking at her. His eyes were
half lidded as he massaged her breast with his hand. He leaned over for a long, lusty
kiss before he kicked her legs open and positioned himself between her thighs. Reaching
down to her hips, he held them tightly as he looked down at her.

She felt so freaking sexy under his gaze, and when he finally entered her, she squeezed
her eyes shut as she gripped the sheets. He filled her so completely it curled her
toes. She could feel him pulsating inside her as her walls clenched his hard cock.
She wanted him to pound into her but he wasn’t moving. Opening her eyes, she found
that he was biting his lips with his eyes glued to her belly.

“What?”

Erik’s fingers bit into her thighs as he said, “I’m not hurting you, right?”

She shook her head quickly. “Quite the opposite actually.”

A grin pulled at his beautiful mouth before a puzzled look replaced it. Still looking
down at her belly, he asked, “And this won’t hurt him, right?”

Piper couldn’t shake her head faster enough. “No, now do it. I want you so bad, Erik.”

She watched as he nodded before looking up at her, then moved his hands to cradle
her like he did when they were in Vegas. He moved his hands along her abdomen and
then glanced back up at her as his hands returned to her hips.

Raising her hips, he moved out of her and then back in, until he found the rhythm
that he was looking for. It felt unbelievable and soon Piper was meeting every thrust,
gripping her hands tightly around his wrists. Closing her eyes, she enjoyed the pleasure
he was giving her. His grunts filled the room along with her cries of abandonment.
Thrusting faster, Erik moved his
hands above her shoulders, moving inside of her in a frantic need. Dipping his head
down, he took her mouth, filling it with his groans as he came hard inside her. Thrusting
even harder, he broke their kiss, hissing as he rocked against her.

Piper moved her hands up his back to his neck, bringing him down for another kiss.
Erik then slowly moved off her, pulling her into his arms, as their breathing returned
to normal. Their legs were still tangled as she tried to get closer to him.

“Sorry it didn’t last that long. It’s been a while.”

She smiled. “It was perfect.”

Erik moved his nose along hers, fully sated. “You drive me insane.”

Piper cuddled into his neck. “And you do the same to me.”

He cupped her face in his large hand, kissing her lips as the world disappeared around
them. Only he could do that, only he could stop time with his kisses, take her to
a whole different place, make her feel like the most important girl on earth. She
closed her eyes tightly, knowing that this was it. He wouldn’t leave. He would stay
forever and they would be happy for the rest of their lives. He still had some demons
in his closet, but together they could fight them. She had promised Alla she would
always be there for Erik and she intended to. She wasn’t going anywhere, and neither
was he. They were going to be a family, she just knew it. Or at least she hoped it.
In her heart she felt like she had crumbled his walls.

Now all she had to do was hope he loved her, too.

Erik needed to get out of there.

He didn’t know what had happened, but one minute they were fucking each other senseless
and the next he was looking in Piper’s eyes and had almost told her he loved her.
Now she lay peacefully and thoroughly loved in his arms, and he felt the need to run.
He needed to get out of there and quick, before she woke and gave him a sleepy smile
that would bewilder him. His heart was pounding in his chest and he was sure he was
about to have a panic attack.

He didn’t understand. How was sex with her so intense? He had banged plenty of females,
and enjoyed every single one of them, but this woman, this beautiful, sweet, playful
vixen had him in knots. He needed to run. He needed to pack, get Stanley, and run.
But then she moved closer to him, tucking her hands in his armpits as her nose cuddled
into his neck, her naked body hot against his and he knew he was in trouble. Erik
let out a long breath as his hands tightened around her and his dick sprang to attention.
She was so hot, so tight, and he couldn’t think around her. She completely clouded
his mind.

Detangle yourself from her, Titov; run
.

But he couldn’t. He took in another breath as he closed his eyes tight.

“Your heart is racing,” he heard her whisper.

Erik nodded. “Yeah.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“You can tell me,” she whispered, placing a kiss to the pulsating artery in his neck
and then one on his chin, causing his eyes to drift shut.

“I want to run.”

“Run?” she asked, as he opened his eyes to see that she was looking at him.

“Yeah.”

He watched as what he was saying became clear. Her eyes became sad as she nodded.
“It wasn’t good?”

“It was great; that’s the problem,” he muttered as he looked away. “Piper, I am so
fucked-up, and I can’t help but feel like running away.”

“Why?”

He shook his head as he closed his eyes. Why couldn’t he tell her? Just say that he
loved her and it scared him so bad that he needed to run? That it scared him that
she could break him in two if she ever left him? What if he wasn’t enough?

“Because I’m scared. I’m freaked-out, Piper.”

“Of me?” she asked, her eyes wide as she leaned back to look at him better. He nodded
and she gave him a puzzled look. “Erik, I would never hurt you.”

He nodded again. “I could hurt you.”

She blinked twice before looking down at their naked bodies.

“That’s the risk I’m willing to take,” she said as she looked back up at him. “You
just have to take that risk on me.”

“I don’t know if I can.”

“Then we have a lot of work ahead of us. Either we can try or go the way we’ve been.”

Erik didn’t know what to say. Why did she want to deal with him? With a shrug he said,
“I don’t know, Piper.”

“Okay,” she said with her own shrug, cuddling closer to him. “Well, I’m not letting
go and the least you can do is cuddle back since you gave me three orgasms. Now kiss
me.”

A smile came across his face as he looked down at her. “Kiss you?”

“Yes, because you need one and I like doing it.”

She puckered her lips and he leaned forward but she teasingly pulled away until he
finally met her lips, bringing her as close as he could while he kissed her passionately.
As they parted, she smiled against his lips before tucking her nose into his chest
and closing her eyes. She was a riot, and he couldn’t help but want to try, but it
was hard. It was like he was being pulled in two directions, not knowing which way
to go. He wanted to do this thing with Piper, but he was also afraid he would hurt
her, and vice versa. It was a vicious cycle, and Erik had no clue what to do.

* * *

“You’ll call if you need anything?” Cooper asked Erik the next morning as they loaded
their
bags into the car.

Erik nodded. “I will.”

“Good,” he said with a nod as he turned to face him. “I hope it works out and that
when we come here in September, you’ll still be with her.”

“If I do leave, it will be after the baby is born,” Erik said, kicking at a weed in
the driveway. He didn’t want to think of all that right now. He wanted it all to go
away.

“So it’s an
if
now?”

Looking up, Erik found Cooper grinning at him. With a shrug, he said, “I really don’t
know.”

“Well, I hope you stay. She is a delight. We love her,” he said, cupping his shoulder.

Erik nodded as he pulled his father into a tight hug. He knew it was only going to
be a couple of months before they saw each other again, but he was going to miss Cooper.
Things seemed to make sense when he was there to talk to things through.

Cooper then asked, “Who is your best friend, Erik?”

Erik laughed as he shook his head. “You are, Dad.”

“And who is mine?”

Erik nodded as Cooper reached for the door handle, waiting for him answer. With a
grin, Erik said, “Me.”

“Damn right. Now I’ll see you soon; don’t do anything stupid.”

Erik chuckled as Cooper climbed into the car where Alla was waiting for him. Erik
watched as their car disappeared and with a sigh, he looked up at the house. Piper
was sitting on the top step with Stanley sitting beside her. She looked so sweet,
so pretty, with a little grin on her face as she watched him walk toward her. Sitting
down next to Stanley, he wrapped an arm around the pup and hugged him tightly.

“It’s gonna be quiet with them gone,” Piper said, stretching her legs out in front
of her.

“Yeah, but then when they move to Nashville and are in your face twenty-four/seven
you’ll be asking for them to leave,” Erik said with a grin.

Piper giggled. “You’re probably right.”

He nodded as he leaned on his knees, placing his head against them as he looked over
at her. She looked happy, and he wondered if he did, too. He probably looked like
a lovesick fool. Piper smiled as their eyes met, then her cheeks turned red and she
looked away. He
wanted to bring her into his arms, hold her close as he kissed her, but he wasn’t
sure if he should. He was still as confused as he was the night before and nothing
had been clarified. It was all on him to make the decision but he didn’t know what
was right and what was wrong. He mainly didn’t want to lead her on any more than he
already had. Sleeping with her might have been the best idea at the time, but it complicated
everything, too.

“I don’t like those tattoos on your arms,” she said, bringing his attention to her.
“I never have.”

Erik glanced down at his arms and picked at the hairs that covered the words “Nothing
lasts forever.” No one ever liked his tattoos on his arms. But, there were no truer
words for him; nothing had ever lasted for him.

“Some things do last, you know, and some people do stick around,” she added.

“Not for me. The only people that have done that are my parents and Jakob. This is
mainly for all the women I’ve been with. I didn’t want them to get the wrong idea.”

“So, it’s for me, too?” she asked.

When he looked over at her, she was glaring at him.

“I don’t know.”

Shaking her head, she moved her fingers together on her lap and locked them as she
looked out into the road.

“That’s your favorite answer? That
you don’t know
.”

“I’m not going to lie to you. I really don’t know. You confuse me and I don’t know
how to handle it.”

“You could let me in,” she answered as she looked over at him.

Erik shook his head. “I don’t know if I can.”

“Why? Because of your parents?”

“I don’t want to talk about them.”

“Because they were mean to each other and mean to you? I mean, excuse me if I’m pushing,
but you are pushing me away when you don’t have to,” she said as her leg began to
bounce. “I want to be here for you, I want to be the person that you need, but you
are shutting me out. If you’d let me in, I could help. I know I could.”

“You can’t help me, Piper. I can’t be helped,” he said sadly as his shoulders fell.
“You’d run the other way if you knew the demons I have from my past.”

“No, I wouldn’t, Erik. I would stand beside you.”

“You don’t know that,” he said with a defiant shake of his head.

“And neither do you. Give me a chance, let me in. Don’t you want to give us a try?
Isn’t that what you said last night?”

“I said I don’t know what I want,” he countered, causing her to release a frustrated
breath.

“I’d think that after last night, you’d want me,” she said softly. “I mean was I that
delusional to think that maybe things are changing between us?”

Erik was slow to answer. “I don’t know, Piper. I want to think things are changing,
but I just don’t know.”

She grabbed his hand, startling him as she demanded his attention. Looking up at him,
she asked, “Do you care for me?”

Erik didn’t want to lie, but he didn’t want to give her hope for something he couldn’t
guarantee. Not able to help it, he answered, “I do.”

“I care for you, too,” she said with a small smile pulling at her lips. He could tell
she had liked his answer. As they continued to look at each other, she said, “I want
to be here for you; allow me to be. Let me in.”

“I can’t,” he said, taking his hand from hers. Her hands fell into her lap as her
shoulders slumped forward. She was offering him everything he wanted. Why couldn’t
he trust her?

Standing slowly, he watched as she made her way toward the front door. Before she
pulled the door open, she glanced back at him, her eyes filled with tears as she said,
“Your parents don’t define you, Erik. You do. You have got to be the man that you
want to be. If you want to be the abusive asshole your father was, then that is who
you will be. If you want to be fearful like your mother was, then more power to you.
But I know you are different. I trust you, and I care for you so deeply that it hurts.”