Blue Lines: The Assassins Series: A Loveswept Contemporary Romance (7 page)

“You’re freaking out; calm down, there must be a way around all of this.” Phillip
tried to console his friend but realized that Erik had few options … and really only
one that made sense, and that was to fix this mess.

“Ugh, yeah I’m freaking out! I think you would, too—my fucking career is on the line
because of this shit. What my family thinks of me is now in jeopardy and believe it
or not that bothers me, a lot. I want them to be proud of me, not think I’m a shit!
And damn Piper, who gives a guy three months’ notice that he is going to be a dad!
Pissfuckshit
, she fucked me over! I’ve got no options here!”

“Wow, this is insane,” Phillip muttered, shaking his head, realizing his buddy was
totally screwed.

Silence filled the room as Erik nursed his beer. Finally Phillip said, “There is only
really one thing you can do.”

Erik swallowed another gulp of beer and said, “I know, I should probably start packing.”

“No, you should marry her.” And that was not the response Erik was expecting from
Phillip.

“Yeah, right,” he said, laughing. Phillip was kidding, right?

“No, really. Back home when you got a girl pregnant, you married her. No matter what.
You need to give this a chance, so at least you can tell the child you tried. This
will show Elli that you are trying, and then hope for the best. It will also get your
family off your back. It will show everyone that yeah, you guys made a mistake but
you’re trying to give the baby the best life you can.”

Erik looked at Phillip, dumbfounded, as he said, “Being married won’t make people
think we are trying; it will make everyone think we are dumb and stupid. We don’t
love each other.”

“Sure you don’t, but no one else knows that. You guys can play this off. She would
help you as long as you promise to help her after you leave, ya know, financially
and shit like that. This is not an eternity thing, idiot; you’re doing this to keep
your fucking job and to not have your family up your ass about fathering a kid.”

“She wouldn’t help me, even if that idea was sound. She hates me. I was an asshole
to her and said mean shit,” Erik said dismissively.

Piper probably wouldn’t piss on him if he was on fire, not that he could blame her.

“Piper is a good girl. She cares about people. If you explain your situation, promise
to be there for the kid, take him to hockey practice, and pay his doctor bills, ya
know? I bet she would help you,” Phillip reiterated.

“Who says I want to be there for the kid?” Erik asked. “I told you I don’t want a
kid.”

Phillip pinned him with a look. “I know you had a shitty childhood because of your
shitty father but you are not that guy, especially if you don’t want to be. You are
Cooper’s son, too, and Cooper’s son wouldn’t let his child go through life without
knowing him. My best friend wouldn’t do that, either. Jeez, Erik, all kidding aside,
you are better than that. Call Piper, talk to her.”

Erik laid his beer on the counter and buried his face in his hands. He moved his fingers
through his hair, pulling slightly, hoping to wake himself up from this terrible dream.
Phillip made this all sound so easy to fix, but it couldn’t be. Piper wouldn’t want
to help him; she wouldn’t want to marry him and he definitely didn’t want to be married.
This wouldn’t work, but then again what if it did? What if he could stay in Nashville,
continue to play for the Assassins, and be close to his family and his unborn child?

Phillip was right: He couldn’t run out on this kid. He might have been a dick to Piper
but he didn’t want to be that way to his kid. His stepfather would be so disappointed
and Erik would hate to do that to him. Cooper was his saving grace and Erik owed him
everything. He didn’t want to be anything like his real father, Jasha. Would being
of Jasha’s blood overcome what Cooper had worked so hard to instill in Erik?

What about Piper? What was he supposed to do about her—she scared him because she
was the one and only girl he’d been with that he still felt something for. She had
a way of making him open up and he hated that, because the people he cared about most
always left. The only people who had ever stayed with him and supported him were his
family: Jakob, Alla, and Cooper. What if he allowed himself to fall for her, to go
for the white picket fence—God, what was he thinking—it didn’t matter. It would never
happen. This was a marriage of convenience and it would be over in three months’ time.
Besides, he was no prize; he was a mess and he wasn’t sure Piper even wanted him,
even if it was only temporary. He needed to convince Piper that this was a good idea.

Looking up, he found Phillip watching him. Taking in a deep breath, he said, “Okay,
I’ll do it.”

“You’re going to call her? I think you should do it in person,” Phillip told Erik,
who was picking up his phone off the couch.

“No, I gotta call Koey first, have him call the lawyers to draw up the papers and
get everything ready. This will have to happen fast. Especially so neither of us has
time to change our minds.”

Phillip looked over at him questioningly. “She hasn’t said yes, though.”

Erik nodded. “No, but she will.”

He’d make sure of it.

Erik had called
four
times.

Piper sat at her drawing desk with her pencils now neatly organized. Not because she
was a neat freak but because Erik calling had put her on edge. She had rearranged
her desk, checked and rechecked her email, and done just about anything else to keep
from answering his phone calls. What the hell did he want? It had been two days since
she had seen him. Had he changed his mind? Did he want to be in their child’s life?
Surely not. He was probably calling to yell at her some more.

But when he called her cell for the sixth time, Piper decided she couldn’t ignore
him any longer. She didn’t like it when he did that to her, and she believed that
you treat people the way you want to be treated. Even if that person is an idiot.
She’d rather break his kneecaps with a hockey stick than talk with him again.

Asshole.

“Hello?” she answered on the third ring.

“Hey, is this Piper Allen?”

“Ugh, yeah,” as if he didn’t know what number he was calling. What an
asshole
.

“The pregnant one, right?”

“Seriously? You’ve been with more than one Piper Allen?” she asked, and for some reason
this wouldn’t have shocked her if it was true—he was a man-whore.

“No, but apparently I saved three different numbers under your name. Sorry,” he said
quickly, he then went quiet; all she could hear now was his nervous breathing.

“Hello?” she asked.

“Yeah, I’m here.”

“Okay? What do you want?”

“Oh yeah, sure, sorry. Um, so how are you?”

Piper rolled her eyes.
Be nice
, she reminded herself.

“Fine, and you?” she asked sarcastically.

“Still a little freaked-out, but it’s not like I can change any of it.”

Oh, she wanted to kill him.

Biting her lip, she asked, “Yup, so what did you need?”

Piper hated being rude, she was normally such a sweet person, but Erik Titov had a
death wish where she was concerned. He brought out the anger in her.

“Why are you being a bitch? I haven’t done anything wrong here,” he snapped.

Piper could not believe he said that.

“Um, yes you have! You questioned if the baby was yours. Why would I lie about something
like that, especially with our families as close as they are?”

“Really, you’re mad and acting like a bitch to me because I was making sure the baby
was mine? If you would have told me about this when you first found out then I wouldn’t
have questioned it!”

Touché … okay, maybe she was being a little irrational here.

“Fine, we are both in the wrong.”

“No, you are in the wrong.”

She glared at the phone, picking up a pencil and stabbing the closest notebook, wishing
it was Erik’s head.

“No, I was trying to figure things out and it wasn’t like you gave me a chance to
tell you. You wouldn’t even answer my calls!”

“You are so wrong that it isn’t even funny. Don’t act like I live in another state
and that our families don’t know one another. You had every opportunity to tell me
what was going on, but you didn’t have the lady balls to do it.”

Piper took in a quick, angry breath.

“How dare you use my words against me!”

They were bickering and arguing like children. It was embarrassing, but it didn’t
stop her from sticking her tongue out at the phone. Just as she was about to come
up with what she hoped was a great retort, he said softly, “I have good memories about
that night.”

Piper froze in place. He did not say that, and she did not just get hot all over because
of it. Shit, what was wrong with her, and why did she allow him to have that effect
on her? It only took seconds for her to remember the moment when she’d said that to
him.

Erik had made quick work of removing her dress, moving it down her body, kissing every
inch he revealed. As he dipped his tongue into her belly button, she took in a deep
breath,
gripping his hair with her fingers. Pushing her dress over her hips, he took her panties
with it. He didn’t kiss or play with her first; he went right for her core, sucking
her wet mound into his mouth, taking her to another world. Her knees buckled, causing
her to brace her hands on his shoulders, her fingernails digging into his skin. She
let out a long, low groan as he hit the right spot, moving his talented tongue around
her taut clit in figure eights
.

Piper’s eyes were closed tight as she felt his hands move from her thighs up her body
to her exposed breast. He took her sensitive nipple between his thumb and index finger,
squeezing it hard. She gasped, holding on to him as she rocked her body toward his
mouth. It was mind-blowing, Piper could hardly breathe, but then he stopped, turned
her around, and bent her over
.

“Oh my God,” she panted as he started to lick her from behind. His nose was tickling
her slick opening as his tongue continued its assault on her extended nub. Piper held
on to the back of the couch, her legs shaking under Erik’s attentive hands. She was
almost there, her body was tensing up, her heart rate was through the roof, and she
swore her legs were numb. Finally, her release came, and she screamed out, her body
shaking with the intensity of her orgasm. She collapsed into the back of the couch,
her face buried in the cushions as her heart rate started to slow. She had never had
such an intense orgasm in her life. Her body was still tingling, the spot between
her legs was aching in the most fulfilling way, and when she felt Erik’s body pressing
into her, his thick length resting between her legs, Piper was on the verge of tears
.

“I’m so glad I grew the lady balls to do this.”

“The lady balls?” Erik chuckled against her neck. “Sweetheart, there are no balls
between your glorious legs.”

Piper let out a breathless giggle. “Oh hush, you know what I mean.”

“Sure, and I’m glad, too, even though this was going to happen even if you grew them
or not.”

Piper turned her head, glancing up at him. “Oh really?”

“Yes,” he said, nipping at her lip. “I couldn’t wait another second before getting
inside of you.”

Piper knew from that moment on that no one would ever make her feel the way Erik did.
Her only regret: that she didn’t know she would never see him again after he left
the next morning. Her eyes pooled with tears at the thought. If only she had known.
Maybe then she wouldn’t have been so heartbroken. Maybe she could have prepared herself
better and would
have known more of how to handle this situation. Things were so messed up and she
hated that she had waited so long to tell Erik, her family, everyone, about the baby.
Why couldn’t she get her shit together? Why couldn’t she ever do anything right?

“Piper?”

Piper wiped away a tear. “Yeah, fine, whatever. What did you need?”

“I need to see you,” he said quickly. “Can you meet me somewhere?”

“What? Why?”

“ ’Cause I think we need to talk, face-to-face. We have a lot of details to work out.”

He was right. With a sigh, she said, “Okay, when?”

“Now. Where are you?”

“Now? I’m at home, working.”

“Working? At home?” Why that surprised him he didn’t know.

“Yes.”

Erik paused. “Okay, where do you live?”

“Why?”

Surely he wasn’t coming over now?

“I’m coming over. I told you we need to talk. My mom and dad are coming into town
Friday.”

Piper looked down at the crappy clothes she was wearing, and knew her hair looked
equally as bad. It would take him at least forty-five minutes to get there; that should
give her enough time to get ready. “Fine,” she said, and gave him Elli’s address.

“I’m leaving now.”

“Yay,” she mumbled unenthusiastically before she hung up the phone. She sat for a
moment and had no clue what they were going to tell Alla and Cooper when they got
into town. Hell, she didn’t even know what she was going to tell her own parents.

Blah, this was such a mess.

Realizing that time was ticking, she hopped up and ran back to her room. After a quick
shower she threw on her comfortable Pink knit shorts and matching top. Walking back
to the living room she admired Elli’s decorating skill. Elli had done her living room
in a bright yellow and Piper loved it. It matched her gray furniture perfectly. That’s
why she had set up one of her work desks in here, because this room made her feel
good.

There were a lot of things she’d like to do with the house, and once she was sure
she wanted to buy it she would make those changes. For now, though, she was just a
renter, although … she did need to get the baby’s room set up. She was waiting on
her next appointment when she’d find out if the baby was a boy or a girl, and she
hoped that once she knew its gender she would come up with some ideas for how to decorate
the nursery. Gah, that was another thing she needed to do, make the doctor’s appointment.
She had held off scheduling it, thinking that after she told Erik of the pregnancy
he would want to go with her and find out if the baby was a boy or girl. But she now
knew that was of no interest to him.