Pierced: Pierced Trilogy Boxed Set (70 page)

“Stop beating yourself up, Josh,” Lucas says evenly, and I wonder how is it that he’s not pissed at me right now. “Echols is not going to walk. This will work.” He seems confident but, I’m not so certain. What if his lawyers don’t get to the
Seattle Social
people in time and they post those pictures on their website?

We sit and talk and wring our hands for a while longer and wait for some kind of word from Lucas’ attorneys, and finally, Sam begins to yawn. She’s sitting curled up next to me, her shoes discarded on the floor and her legs are tucked beneath her. She lays her head on my shoulder and I reach across her, placing my hand on her outer thigh, and lightly rub my thumb back and forth, caressing her leg. Softly, I kiss the top of her head.

“You starting to fade on me?” I ask her quietly, and she smiles and looks up at me. “We should go, get you to bed. Get your shoes on,” I say patting her thigh, and I kiss her head once more. She nods and sits up, and begins to put on her shoes just as Lucas’ phone rings.

“Yes.” His tone is clipped and his expression is all business as he listens intently and I can see his mind working. And suddenly he cracks an unexpected smile. “You’re kidding … All right. Good work.” He hangs up and looks at us with a grin. “Crisis averted.”

“What’s so funny?” Sam asks, as she ties her shoe.

“Well, it seems
Seattle Social’s
parent company is Dublin Media Corporation. As in Jasper Dublin.” I look at Sam with a frown, wondering if that name means anything to her, but she looks just as puzzled as I do and she shrugs at Lucas.

“Scott Dublin’s father. Megan’s soon-to-be father-in-law,” he explains, and Sam and I both register surprise at this knowledge. “As soon as he heard we were pissed he got right on the phone to the
Social’s
producer. Told him to cease and desist or he’d be out of a job by morning. He told our attorney to assure me that the
Social
will not publish a single story on the two of you dating until the dust settles on this case.”

His phone rings again and he smiles as he looks at the caller ID. “Hey, Scott,” he says answering the phone and putting it on speaker.

“Lucas, hey! I just got off the phone with my dad. I’m really sorry, man. Please, tell Samantha not to worry; that story has been completely squashed!” His words come out in a rush, and I’m sure he’s more than a little worried about upsetting his future, very powerful, in-laws. And suddenly I can’t help but wonder if I’m up for this. Always worrying about not upsetting the Colby family. Do I want that for my future?
Planning on marrying her, Pierce?
I swallow nervously as that thought enters my head. Who the fuck said anything about marriage? And an image of my grandma Mona’s ring flashes in my mind, taking me by surprise. Shit.

“Tell your dad thanks for me, Scott,” Samantha speaks up beside me.

“Sam! Oh my gosh, I am so sorry if you were scared or upset by the photographers,” he says to her. “Please accept my apologies. And please apologize to the Detective for me as well.”

I’m still distracted by my wayward thoughts when Sam and Lucas both look over at me, obviously waiting for me to reply to Scott personally. “Uh, it … it’s okay,” I say haltingly. “I’m just glad the
Social
won’t be running that story.”

“Hey, Josh! Good to speak to you again,” Scott responds. “I’m real sorry for the circumstances though. And for your trouble.”

“Thanks for taking care of it,” I mutter.

“It’s no problem, buddy.”

Buddy?

“Listen, you all have a good night, okay. I’ll see you all on Friday,” Scott says, referring, I think, to the rehearsal dinner the night before the wedding.

He hangs up then, and as we stand to leave, Sam gives her brother a big bear hug. “Thank you for cleaning up my mess, Lucas.”

He looks down at her with a serious expression, narrowing his eyes. “You need to thank Josh, Sam. He did the right thing by coming here. If he hadn’t … it never would have occurred to you to come to me, would it?” He stares at her and she looks away sheepishly as a slight blush steals over lovely face. He shakes his head slightly and sighs in exasperation. “You don’t make it easy for people to help you sometimes, Pita. I get that you’re uncomfortable with our family’s influence sometimes, but you need to get over it!”

Sam gives him a look that says she’s gearing up for a fight, but he raises both hands in surrender. “I don’t want to argue,” he says. “I’m just saying. I am
always
here for you, Sam.”

“I know that,” she says quietly, and they stare at each other for a few seconds. And I feel like I’m somehow intruding on an old family argument.

“Okay,” he says quietly and turns to me, extending his hand. “Josh.”

I shake his hand firmly. “Thank you for your help tonight.”

“Thank you for asking for my help,” he says sincerely. “And that marker was for you, Josh, not Sam. I still owe
you
. You need something, you call me.”

Once again, his words take me by surprise. Why the hell is he not trying to get his sister as far away from me as he can? I still don’t understand his turnaround where I’m concerned. Even though he told me this morning that he had me investigated and that he’s impressed with my service record at the police department. His genial attitude with me has still got me more than a little nervous.

We say our goodbyes then and Sam and I head out. We’re quiet on the ride home and I wonder if she’s still upset. It’s been another long, weird day with lots of emotions running on high alert. And oddly enough, for me, what stands out most about it is the fact that Samantha told me she loves me.
Maybe that’s not so odd, Pierce.
When I glance over at her, she’s staring silently out the passenger window, and I sigh. Reaching over, I take her hand and pull gently, and she takes the hint, sliding closer to me. I wrap my arm around her and hold her close the rest of the way home.

“Josh,” she whispers as I pull into the garage and let the automatic door close behind us as I turn off the engine.

“Yeah?”

She hesitates and then says, “I’m sorry about the restaurant. About the money, I mean. I didn’t…”

“Sam, that’s not in issue,” I tell her quietly, looking her in the eye. And I roll my eyes slightly when she gives me a look that says she knows better. “I mean … let’s not make it an issue.” I turn toward her in the seat of the Charger and reach out, caressing her face. “Baby, I can afford to pay an eighty dollar restaurant bill, okay? I just can’t do that every night,” I tell her honestly. “If that’s what you want … you are dating the wrong man.”

She nods at me. “I know that, and that’s not what I want,” she says, holding my steady gaze. “I don’t expect you to wine and dine me all the time.”

“Okay,” I say softly, still gently touching her cheek and looking into her eyes. “But when we do go out like that, Sam … I can’t have you trying to pay the bill for me. Do you understand?”

“I was only trying…”

“I don’t care.” My words are soft, but firm and I can tell by the expression on Samantha’s face that the look in my eyes must be pretty fierce. She nods her head silently, her eyes never wavering from mine.

“Okay,” she whispers meekly, and I think she’s slightly nervous. I lean in and kiss her lips softly and chastely, and look into her eyes again.

“Come. Let’s go to bed.” We climb out of the Charger and I open up the trunk to get Sam’s bags. Once we’ve gathered her things, I lock up the garage and we head inside the house.

Going straight to the bedroom, we set her things down on the floor in front of the closet and her four pieces of luggage dominate the available open floorspace in my bedroom. Hoping to fix the situation, I unhook the garment bag and open the closet door and hang it inside with my clothes. Then I take the tote bag with Sam’s computer and iPad and sketchbook in it and place it on her side of the bed by the table where she can get to it easily. The other two bags then sit neatly in front of the closet and mostly out of the way.

It’s as good as it’s going to get for now because I’m tired and ready for bed. Samantha heads for the bathroom and I start to get undressed, taking my gun out of the belt holster at my back and placing it on the table on my side of the bed. Then I make sure to set the alarm clock since I do have to go to work in the morning.

I’m sitting on the side of the bed pulling off my boots when I feel Sam climb onto the bed behind me. She scoots close and wraps her arms around my waist, resting her cheek against my back.

“Thank you, Josh,” she whispers.

“What for, baby?” I sigh.

“For letting me stay with you.”

I turn around, breaking free from her embrace, and looking into her eyes. “You don’t have to thank me for that, Sam. I’m happy you’re here, baby.”

“You are?” she smiles at me, and I nod slowly.

“I am.” I kiss her deeply then, and all the tension of the last few hours floats away as if on a breeze, and it is just me and my Sunshine. We get lost in our kiss as we finish undressing one another, moving slowly, feeling our way. And her skin feels so good beneath my hands. Silky soft, sweet-smelling flesh. She tastes like heaven, my mouth on every inch of her. Her eyes locked on mine as I enter her, skin against skin, my cock buried deep, filling her completely. Her body moving rhythmically beneath mine. With mine. Her soft moans fueling my desire. Cries of passion resonating in my groin as her body bows and convulses uncontrollably. My name on her lips as she calls out. Ecstasy when I come deep inside her.
Oh. My. God!

I roll over onto my back, taking her with me, and we lay panting and spent in each other’s arms, her head resting on my chest and our intimate connection still intact. Gently, I pull out of her and tighten my hold around her waist, hugging her closely to me as I kiss her forehead.

“I love you, Josh,” she whispers in the dark, and my heart trips over itself. This is how our day began. With those three scary little words and me wondering how to respond. I told her this morning how I feel about those words; why is she saying them again?
Because she told you those words have meaning for her, and that she was going to keep on saying them.

I kiss her forehead once more. “My Sweet Sam,” I whisper, not really knowing what else to say. She snuggles in close to me and quickly drifts off to sleep.

*****

I wake fifteen minutes before the alarm is due to go off and I prop myself up on my elbow and watch Samantha as she sleeps soundly beside me. I love this. The stillness of the morning and the light coming through the windows. And the only sound is Sam breathing softly, maybe the occasional moan or whispered word as she dreams. She is so beautiful.

As I watch her, my mind drifts back over the events of yesterday morning and my conversation with her brother, trying to explain to him what Sam means to me. And then my shock when she told me about the birth control, and the intensity of our lovemaking afterward. And my complete and total astonishment when she said that she loves me. She
loves me!
That thought just floors me. I can’t wrap my head around it. How? Why?

I’ve been wondering for days now if she was feeling anything close to what I’m feeling for her. Wondering if she could really be falling for me. Guess I got my answer. Only now, I’m not at all sure what the hell to do with it. I know that I can’t keep kidding myself; I can’t keep running from it. I am crazy about this girl. I feel things for her that I have never felt before in my life. Things that I’ve never allowed myself to feel before. She has me experiencing emotions that I never thought I was capable of. Things like passion and hope and joy. Happiness. The kind of happiness that I’ve never really believed existed. But with Samantha it does. Or at least … it seems to.

Fuck. What has this woman done to me!
It’s a question I can’t seem to stop asking myself lately. What has she done to me? I feel like a totally different person with Samantha. Someone I barely recognize. But strangely enough … I like who I am with her. I’m not angry all the time when I’m with her. And when I do get angry, it’s fleeting. How does she do that? How does she make the anger seem so unimportant? It just melts away and runs off of me in a way that it never did before. I don’t understand it. It’s like she has some kind of magic … some power over me. But I know that I need that. I need her. I …

You what, Pierce?
I roll my eyes at the question rattling around in my head. I know what I feel. I want to say those words to her. I know it’s what she wants to hear, and I want to be able to say it too. I just can’t. Those words are supposed to be special, they’re supposed to have meaning but … so often, they just don’t, and it’s something that people just say. Whether they really feel it or not. But I feel the emotion! And I want her to know that. How can I tell her that without words?

As I’m trying to figure that one out, the alarm starts to beep at me and I quickly roll over and shut it off. When I turn back toward Sam, she stretches and looks up at me with beautiful, sleepy eyes, and I smile.

“Were you watching me sleep again?” she asks softly. My smile gets bigger and I nod silently at her. She smiles in response and shakes her head slightly, rolling her eyes at me. Then she snuggles in close to me, running her palm over my chest. “Don’t go to work,” she purrs. “Stay here with me.”

“Mmm, don’t tempt me, baby,” I say, leaning down to kiss her lips. “I have to go to work.” She gives me an exaggerated pout and I smile and kiss her lips once more. “What about you? You going to the museum today?”

She sighs and shakes her head at me. “My boss told me to take a couple of days so, I’m going to take her up on it.”

“I think that’s a good idea,” I tell her. “You should take it easy today. I need to get a shower,” I sigh, kissing her forehead.

“Can I join you?” Her voice is playful and seductive, and I really wish I had the time.

“You are such a bad influence,” I chuckle at her.

“Is that a yes?” she asks brightly, wrapping her arms around me.

“No,” I say sternly. “Because we both know that I’d never make it to work if you did.” I lightly bite her neck and she giggles sweetly and squirms. I kiss her swiftly and hop out of the bed and head for the bathroom to get ready.