Paying Their Piper with Passion and Love [Loving in Silver 6] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (9 page)

“Come on, darling.” Colt had gotten out and walked around to open the door for her. And she sat there, suddenly terrified. “Mink’s a sweetheart. I think he’s just as afraid to meet you are you are to meet him.”

Taking a deep breath Piper got out of the car and walked beside Colt into the apartment building. Her brother’s apartment was on the second floor. They walked down a length of greasy, stained carpet. There was an odor she couldn’t identify. And there was noise. A lot of it. Obviously the walls were rather thin.

They stopped at apartment 2G and Colt knocked. The sound echoed in her heart and she moved nervously beside the tall man. It took a moment before the door opened and when it did she could swear she was looking at herself, but only a masculine version. Their gazes went over one another, examining, taking everything in as they stood there.

“May we come in?” Colt asked smoothly.

Mink nodded, backing away so they could walk past him. They entered a living room that was a small rectangle with one large window at the end. It was spotlessly clean and she was relieved the smells outside were not inside her brother’s apartment. There was a warm, homey feel to the place. The furniture was worn, and not expensive, but it was clean and well cared for.

“Mink, this is Piper. I’m afraid she’s still a little shocked. I only just told her about you as we came over.”

Gray eyes moved from Piper, to Colt, then back to her. “Hi, Piper. Please sit down.”

But Piper couldn’t sit down. Completely on impulse, and out of character, she threw herself against her brother and hugged him as hard as she could. “Hello, Mink! I’m very glad to meet you. I’m very sorry our father is a jerk.” She released him slightly so she could pet his chest. He was several inches taller than she was. He was also sweetly handsome. Not pretty, but not very masculine in appearance. Maybe that was because he was wearing eyeliner and lip gloss. His artificially-lightened hair was gelled and pushed up into something resembling a rooster’s comb. It suited him perfectly. She smiled. “I love your hair. Do you think we can be friends? I’d really like that. I promise I’m nothing like my father. You can ask Colt.”

Mink blinked a couple of times but he didn’t speak. Suddenly feeling terribly self-conscious she stepped back.

A grimace twisted her mouth. “Sorry. I’m nervous, I guess. I usually don’t talk so much.” Stepping completely out of Mink’s space she went and perched herself on the only chair in the room. Colt was beside the window, looking out at what was a surprisingly excellent view of the mountains. “Have you lived here long?”

A small, sad smile curved Mink’s mouth. “All my life. Would you like something to drink? I have orange soda and water.”

“Water’s fine.”

“You, sir? Would you like something to drink?”

Colt turned from the window. He smiled at Mink. “No thank you. Actually, I think it would be best if you and Piper have some time to speak alone.”

“No!”

“No!”

They both all but shouted the single word simultaneously. Colt’s eyebrows rose as he looked from one to the other. Piper felt herself blush. Glancing at Mink she saw that he was also more than a little embarrassed. She knew if she was nervous about this meeting then he must be as well. And while she was happy to discover she had a family member she might be able to have a normal relationship with, she had no clue if Mink wanted anything to do with her beyond this meeting. The possibility saddened her. So much so, she felt like she had already lost him. She watched as Mink quickly left the room to go into the small kitchen. She looked at Colt, who gave her a reassuring smile. It didn’t do what he obviously expected it to. Now that she had settled down she could sense her half-brother’s wariness, his fear, and resentment. She couldn’t blame him one bit.

“I don’t think this is a good idea,” Piper told Colt in a low voice, tears stinging her eyes. “We don’t have to stay long, do we? It’s obvious he doesn’t want me here.”

“We’ll just stay a little longer. It would be rude to leave too quickly. Mink is a nice guy. I think you both should give one another a chance.”

“Okay.”

But Piper wasn’t going to hold her breath. When Mink came back into the room carrying a glass of water with ice in it, she gave him a grateful smile and took it from him. She sipped nervously, and then wrapped her hands around the chilled glass.

“You have a very beautiful voice,” Mink told her, looking just as nervous as her as he sat down on a small footstool a few feet away. “It’s like bells.”

Piper blushed. She’d heard a lot about her voice over the years. Mostly that it was too childlike. No one had ever told her it sounded like bells. It was an actual compliment, honestly given, by her brother. It meant the world to her. “Thank you,” she said, giving him a genuine smile. She placed the glass on a coaster on the small table beside her chair. “I’ve never heard that before.”

She glanced around the living room and saw a CD case with her favorite group on it. “Oh, wow, you like them, too?” She jumped up to go over to pick the CD up. She showed it to him. “They’re my favorite.”

“Mine, too. You can borrow that, if you like.”

“Really?” Piper’s heart was about ready to burst. It was obvious Mink didn’t have much, but what he did have he was generously offering to share with her. “That would be great. I didn’t come to Silver with much. I left all my CDs behind. I would love to listen to it tonight. I could bring it back tomorrow.” Colt had an extensive music collection, both on CDs and on vinyl. But this was much better.

Mink waved a hand. “Don’t worry. Keep it for a couple of days.”

Piper pressed the CD to her chest. She smiled at her brother and was rewarded by a small, shy smile. It gave her hope. “Thank you. I promise to take very good care of it.”

“You can take a couple others, too, if you want.”

After that it was a little easier to talk to Mink. Piper and Colt stayed about another half hour. She didn’t want to go, but she didn’t want to wear out her welcome. Besides, they both had a lot to think about, a lot to digest. As they were leaving she couldn’t help but hug her brother again. She didn’t know why, but she already loved him. It was as if she had found the other half of herself.

Blinking away tears, she hurried away before she started blubbering like a baby. Colt followed her out a couple minutes later. She was curious about the delay, but didn’t question him about it when he joined her in the car. She stared at the CDs in her hands, stroking them, her eyes misting yet again.

All Piper could think about was how many years she and her brother could have shared. It would have been wonderful to have someone to share everything with, from likes and dislikes, to problems. Would it have been easier growing up, raised by servants rather than parents, had she had a sibling there with her? Though Colt had given her a very sketchy history of her brother’s life in Silver, she doubted she even had a clue as to what he had gone through while growing up. Their father hadn’t been warm and fuzzy, but he had never shouted to her as a six-year-old, anything equivalent to his not being her father. The worst he had ever done back then was to tell her she couldn’t carry her kitten around the house. After all, they didn’t want cat hair everywhere.

Nope, couldn’t have that. Cat hair on a damask chair would definitely have meant the end of the world.

Rolling her eyes over the memory, Piper wondered where Colt was going when he didn’t drive back to his house. He had several of them, but the sleek mid-century was his current favorite. The family home was a huge Queen Anne style mansion. It and the grounds took up an impressive section of Silver. Colt only stayed there on rare occasions, finding it too big for one person. He joked he would save it for when he was very old and he and his cat would live there so the town’s kids would have stories to scare themselves with.

When they pulled up to a tiny Craftsman-style house, Piper gave a shriek of pleasure and jumped out of the car. “Is this it? This is the place you mentioned?”

Colt got out at a more leisurely pace, smiling in that gentle way he had. It always amazed her that he could also be one badass scary Dom. “Yes, this is it. It’s one of my personal properties. It belonged to my maternal great-grandparents. I’ll never sell it, but I do allow close friends to use it. It’s a sweet little gem, isn’t it?”

“It’s perfect! It’s like a dollhouse.”

Colt let her into the house and Piper clapped her hands as she looked around. The house was fully furnished. It was warm and homey and just what she needed until she found her way. It would provide a safe haven and she was looking forward to living there.

“There are two bedrooms and a bath upstairs. There’s also a bedroom and bath on this floor.” He led the way down a hallway, passing the kitchen and a half bath, to a nice-sized bedroom with a connected bath. “I thought this would be good. You won’t have to carry your four-legged babies up and down the stairs.”

Her friend had been exceptionally tolerant of her pets. Colt didn’t own a pet and never had. It was hugely amusing to see the expressions on peoples’ faces when they learned she was staying with Colt
and
she had pets. It did amuse her, but she appreciated how he was making allowances in order for her to stay. Now she would have a place to call her own. It was the very first time in her life. While she would have preferred to buy a house, she knew she couldn’t do it just yet. She wanted to start a business first, and then she would see about a house.

Once Piper had a place to call her own, she felt she was beginning another phase in her new life. Colt drove her back to his house, only to encounter yet another surprise. There was a smart little SUV in the driveway. It was lime green and sparkling in the late winter sunshine.

“Do you think you can do your moving in this?”

Considering she had little more than one bag, a few clothes she had purchased since her arrival, and three pets, Piper figured it would be just right and then some.

“For me? I can’t afford a car just yet.”

“It’s my ‘welcome to Silver’ present to you. Now you can come and go as you please. Though spring is almost here, there are days you won’t want to walk all the way downtown. And if you’re planning on starting a business, you’ll need your own transportation.”

The SUV was just the right size for her. Piper peered in windows and looked all around it before she opened up the driver’s door and got in. Her heart was racing a mile a minute as excitement pumped through her veins.

“Colt, it’s perfect!” She hopped back out and threw herself against him, lifting up so she could kiss him on the mouth.

She expected him to return the kiss with a chaste one a brother would give to a sister, as he always did. What she wasn’t expecting was the full-on, tongue down the throat kiss which set fire to her body and curled her toes in her boots. Oh yeah, it was a kiss that curled toes. When he released her after a few long seconds Piper all but stumbled back and would have fallen on her butt had he not caught her close to his hard body and held her tightly.

“What was that for?” Piper asked breathlessly, blinking up at him. Colt was looking very smug, as if he was keeping a secret.

But it wasn’t a secret exactly. The kiss had been a performance for someone else’s benefit. Actually, it was two someones. While Colt had been examining her tonsils a big, ugly black truck had pulled into the driveway behind his car. She recognized the truck even before she saw the two men in it.

“Stand your ground, Piper. Don’t let either of them push you around.”

“I wouldn’t…”

Colt interrupted her in what she suspected was his Dom’s voice. “You will. You’ve spent your entire life taking orders from others, whether it was your parents or the servants. Now you will listen to me so you can break this habit. Stand your ground and don’t let either of them bully you.”

“Why would they want to?” she whispered, looking up at him.

Merck and Jace were out of the truck now and walking purposely toward them. Piper didn’t like the way her heart fluttered with excitement at the sight of the two men. Nor the way her pussy quivered and began dampening her panties. No, she didn’t like it at all. It meant she was attracted to them, that she wanted them. How more wrong could two men possibly be for her? They weren’t her type at all. They were perfect for a few fantasies, but nothing more.

Piper wanted to think more about her reaction to the men, but they were within a couple of feet now. They stopped in front of them, their gazes first on Colt, then on her.

“Hello, Piper,” Merck said in a cautious voice, his golden eyes sweeping over her. “How have you been?”

“I’ve been okay. And you?”

“I’m good.”

It was Jace’s turn. The man looked terribly cocky. “Hello, Piper. You’re pretty good at sneaking out in the middle of the night.” His gaze went to Colt. “I’m guessing Mr. Redford here is the one to help you get away?”

“I got away all by myself. Colt is just giving me a place to stay. Now, go away. Both of you.” She fixed her gaze on Merck. “And I don’t appreciate you naming a bull Sunshine ‘n’ Roses.”

Dark brows rose in surprise even as the color rushed into his cheeks. “Found out about that, did you?”

“Yes. Have fun mocking me, did you?”

“Well, I did at the time. Not so much right now.”