Secrets in a Small Town

by Kimberly Van Meter

  “Yeah, so you know how he feels about you?”

  “I think so.”

  “Well, he seems like the kind of guy who would treat you and Quinn well. Just saying…I don’t know, maybe you ought to give him a chance to try.”

  “Maybe I will.”

  Well, Piper was good with that. It was a start. It was up to Timothy and Gretchen to make it work.

  Piper went to the door and then stopped, turning to say, “I’m glad your baby is okay. Quinn is going to make a great big sister.”

  Gretchen nodded her thanks and her eyes drifted closed.

  Piper closed the door softly and met Quinn and Timothy in the hall, returning with snacks purchased from the vending machine in the cafeteria.

  “Me and Timothy are going to stay with Mama, if that’s okay,” Quinn said to Piper. “Can you tell Owen? I don’t want him to worry.”

  “You got it, kid,” Piper said, giving Timothy a wink and a smile. “Make the most of your opportunities.”

  She didn’t linger for a response, just headed for the exit. She found Owen waiting for her in the parking lot.

  “What was that all about?” he asked.

  She waved away his question. “Girl stuff.” She closed the gap between them. “Kiss me before I come to my senses,” she demanded in a sultry whisper.

  With one smoldering look, Owen managed to sear away the fatigue and set her body to tingling. She didn’t need to be psychic to discern the bent of his thoughts and she found it extremely exciting to be the source of the heat in his eyes. He responded with a kiss that left her toes curling, and at that moment she might’ve sold her own grandmother—if either had still been alive—if Owen asked her to.

  “My place or yours?” he asked, his voice husky.

  “Whichever one is closer,” she answered breathlessly, then remembered her parents propensity for dropping in unannounced and changed her mind. “Yours.”

  “Mine it is.” He kissed her again, hard. “See you there.”

  The twenty-minute drive to Owen’s sobered her a bit. As the heady intoxication of lust and desire faded and gave way to common sense, she wondered if this part still counted as research. She questioned if she was getting in over her head, pushing too hard, with little regard for the aftermath, but then she thought of Owen and how it felt to be pressed against him and she pushed away the negative questions nagging at her.

  She exited her car and followed Owen wordlessly into the house. Timber rose from his perch on the porch and followed them inside as if it were completely normal for visitors at this late hour and she almost laughed at the absurdity of the situation. She turned to say something, anything, to lighten the tension swirling around them, but he wasn’t in the mood to exchange witty banter and pulled her into his bedroom, shutting the door with his foot so that his hands could be on her body.

  She shouldn’t be nervous, they’d already done the deed. So why was she shaking? Was that normal? If only she knew.

  “Ready to try this sober?” he asked, a devilish smile lighting up his face in a way that made him look dangerous and delectable at the same time.

  “I think so,” she said, licking her lips, wishing he would just launch himself at her like he did in the parking lot. Instead, he circled her like a cat, playing with its prey.

  She took a step back and found the bed. She sat quickly, unsure of what to do with herself. Should she let him make all the moves or should she try a few of her own? Well, not that she had moves, per se, but she knew of a few things she’d like to try, such as running her tongue down the muscled wall of his chest, for starters.

  Hovering over her, he claimed her mouth again, drawing out a long, deep kiss that left her clutching at his back, eager to feel more. Except, as the kiss ended, she sensed something between them—and she wasn’t talking about his erection.

  “What’s wrong? You no longer look like you want to eat me alive,” she said, her lips swollen and thoroughly kissed. She wiped at her mouth, suddenly self-conscious. “Did I do something…or not do something…”

  “Oh, that’s not the problem,” he assured her, though the grimace that followed wasn’t doing a bang-up job of convincing her of that fact. He stilled her with another kiss but the heat had definitely tapered off and she didn’t know what had gone wrong. He rolled onto his back, staring at the ceiling, wrestling with something heavier and more powerful than his desire and that had to be bad, in her opinion—for, in her current state, she’d sell the farm without blinking. “I have a confession,” he stated, causing her to raise an eyebrow.

  “You’ve got some timing. Can’t it wait? I mean, I’m no expert, but it seems to me that this is not the time for midnight confessions.”

  His mouth firmed. “It can’t wait. I’ve already waited too long.”

  “Is this where you tell me that you have a wife tucked away somewhere with 2.5 children?” she half-joked, but a part of her was serious.

  “No wife. No kids.” Still, his expression looked grim, so whatever he was hiding must be pretty bad.

  Piper sat up, wary. Man, this was not how she envisioned this happening. Disappointment tinged her voice as she asked, “Well, so what’s this confession? I have a feeling I’m not going to like it.”

  “Probably not.” He sighed.

  Even wearing the weight of the world on his shoulders Owen was one hot specimen, she noted as her thoughts refused to focus. “Well, let’s get it over with,” she said, sighing, as well. “It doesn’t look like the evening is going to end the way I’d hoped.” Damn it.

  “You know the other night?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Nothing happened. Not really.”

  Huh? Was he saying…? “I’m still a virgin?” she asked, grasping his meaning. Which meant he’d lied. Or wait, had he? She didn’t recall him admitting to anything, she’d made the assumption and he hadn’t corrected her. “Why’d you let me think…”

  “I don’t know,” he admitted sheepishly, looking away as if he couldn’t bear to look her in the eyes. Served him right, she thought with a frown. Dirty dog. “I was going to but I was distracted by the tree-sitters and your association with them and, before I knew it, it’d gone too far to pull back.”

  She ought to let him twist in the wind. He deserved a good flogging by his conscience, if not a literal flogging. “That was very ungentleman-like,” she stated.

  “I never claimed to be a gentleman, but you’re right. That’s why I couldn’t continue until I came clean.”

  “How noble of you,” she said wryly. “And then what did you imagine would happen?”

  A twitch of a smile followed as he dared to say, “You’d appreciate my honesty and we’d continue with the slate wiped clean?”

  “Not likely.”

  His face fell. “Yeah, it was probably a long shot. Well, look at it this way, your seal is still…intact.”

  Not entirely. Already a hunger curled in her tummy, at the sight of his half-clothed body. That was definitely hard to forget. “You deserve to be punished,” she said sternly to his surprise. “But it’s too late. I’ll think of something appropriate later.” She crooked a finger at him and patted the mattress beside her. “For now, let’s sleep on it.”

  “Excuse me?” he said, his eyes widening in what looked like a little panic and shock. “You want to…sleep together?”

  She grinned. “Yeah. I do.” His expression said it all. He didn’t hold sleepovers. Piper smothered the laughter in her chest with a yawn and shimmied out of her clothes. She rolled to her side, giving him an excellent view of her naked backside. “Don’t forget the light,” she called over her shoulder.

  “Shouldn’t you put some clothes on?” he said, his voice strangled. She grinned into her pillow, enjoying every minute of his discomfort.

  “No. I always sleep in the nude, remember?” Welcome to your punishment, Owen Garrett. “Good night. Sleep well.”

  A muttered, “Not likely,” as well as a stream of curse word
s, followed her into dreamland as she fell asleep with a smile.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  OWEN OPENED ONE BLEARY EYE, feeling about as rested as a man facing his execution in the morning. No one had ever slept in his bed with him. He didn’t like to give women false ideas about their place in his life. As if to question the situation, Timber walked into the room and whined.

  “Yeah, you and me both, buddy,” he whispered, careful not to disturb Piper. Timber licked his chops and settled with a grunt that said buddy, I don’t care what you’re doing, I have to pee, and Owen rose silently to let Timber out to do his business. When he returned, Piper had awoken and was watching him with sleep-hooded eyes. Damn, she was sexier than hell. He couldn’t remember the last time he felt so out-of-control with a woman. He should’ve sent her packing the minute he realized the attraction but he hadn’t been able to. He’d never been so utterly enthralled with someone he hardly knew, but he was helpless to do anything but stare in wonder at the body he ached to touch.

  “How’d you sleep?” she asked, early-morning scratchiness giving her voice an even sexier quality. She stretched, completely mindless of the sheet as it slid away from her upper body, revealing breasts that nearly made his eyes cross.

  “Not well,” he answered in a low tone, sliding back into the bed and tucking her against him. “But then I think that was your intent.”

  He felt her smile against his chest. “You deserved it. I don’t like liars.”

  “I’m not a liar under most circumstances,” he said, tracing his fingertips up and down the bones of her spine. “But I find myself doing and saying things I’d never do when I’m with you.”

  She lifted her head and peered at him. “Like what?”

  “Like everything,” he said, leaving it at that. She evoked feelings in him that made him uncomfortable and he certainly didn’t know what to do with.

  She met his mouth and allowed him to roll her on her back. His erection, which he was fairly certain never fully went away, sprang back to life, straining to plunge into that sweet heat but he held himself back. Staring down into her upturned face, he wondered quietly what kind of insanity he was succumbing to that he found this moment, even as horny as he was, deeply satisfying. Touching her, feeling her, sharing the quiet morning together, it tugged at a part of him he’d shut down a long time ago for fear of it getting in the way of his business. He’d given up a lot to make his business a success, but it was only at this instant that the realization stung.

  “It’s easy to see why people like to do this,” she murmured, her fingers threading through his hair and resting at the nape of his neck. “Being here with you… it’s difficult to remember what could possibly be more important.”

  He could offer a flip response to keep the mood light but he didn’t. Instead, because he understood what she was saying, he offered the only bit of wisdom available to him in his current state, “You just have to remember that the moment always fades and eventually you have to deal with the aftermath.”

  She wrinkled her nose subtly. “True. But until then, let’s pretend the moment isn’t around the corner and enjoy the morning together.”

  He bit back a groan. “I’m not sure we should,” he admitted. As much as it physically pained him, he knew he shouldn’t take her virginity. It was too much responsibility, too much of a gift he didn’t deserve. “You’ve waited for a reason. I respect that.”

  Her smile warmed him inside with a heat that had nothing to do with his desire. “I know. That’s why I want it to be you. I wanted it that night but I handled it badly with the alcohol. And I’m grateful you had more sense than me but right now, I’m sober and I know what I’m asking. I want it to be you.”

  Her admission humbled him. His hands trembled as he cupped her bare breasts and brought them to his mouth. She arched against him, her breathy sighs shaking his foundation unlike anything ever before. He created a trail of kisses from her breasts to the sensitive skin of her sides, and down to her mound. He’d never been with a virgin before but he wanted her to experience as much pleasure as possible. And the best way to accomplish that was with his tongue.

  EVERYWHERE HE TOUCHED, he ignited a fire. When his head dipped lower to taste her most intimate place, her first instinct was to withdraw and push him away but his growl as he nuzzled the soft, moist flesh sent goose bumps rioting across her body. She gasped aloud as he lifted her more firmly to his mouth, fitting her sex perfectly against the rasp of his chin and cleverly darting tongue. This, she realized in a haze, she didn’t remember, but, oh, goodness, she was ready to give Owen whatever he wanted as long as he never stopped what he was doing to her.

  She was no stranger to an orgasm—she’d been a virgin not a nun and had discovered the art of pleasuring herself on her own—but when she found her climax with Owen, it left her shaking and nearly crying with its magnitude. She thrashed on a gasping cry as wave after wave of clenching, straining muscle contracted until she felt wrung out like a damp dishcloth after a long night in the kitchen.

  He climbed her body, pausing to nip small kisses on the sensitive skin of her belly and breasts, eliciting little gasps on her part.

  “Are you sure?” he asked once more, his concern for her feelings so endearing she knew without a doubt he was the one she wanted to do this with. She imagined all the other times she could’ve lost her virginity throughout her various college escapades and thanked her stars she’d been focused and choosy.

  She smiled up at him, deliciously languid yet hungry for more. “I’m sure. Now, come here…”

  HE SLIPPED A CONDOM ON, his hands betraying him as he slid the sheath over his erection. Bracing himself on his forearms, he encouraged her to bend her knees and he nudged her opening, sweat breaking out on his forehead. Slowly, gritting his teeth and terrified he was going to hurt her, he pushed his way inside, noting the subtle tensing of her body as he broke past the hymen. She clung to him, her knees bracketing his hips, as he carefully waited for her to adjust to him.

  “That doesn’t feel as good as the other part,” she said tightly, her breath short as if she were holding it.

  “It’ll get better,” he assured her, barely able to get the words out, his eyes almost crossing from the strain of holding himself in check so he didn’t hurt her further.

  “It better, or this will be the last time I do this,” she grumbled, shocking a laugh from him.

  He caught her mouth, kissing her deep to distract her. When he felt her relax, he resumed the motion, grinding against her until he felt the telltale building in his testicles that signaled the end was around the corner. He pumped harder, losing the ability to be gentle, and for a second he nearly blacked out as the most intense, heart-shattering orgasm ripped through him, knocking out the lights in his brain and sending every coherent thought scattering for high ground.

  Holy hell…

  As he lay atop her, gathering what little he had left of his brain, he heard her muffled voice say in a breathy but slightly puzzled tone, “Is that it?” And his ego died a painful and ignoble death. Good thing, he rebounded quickly.

  “Challenge noted and accepted,” he murmured, rolling her on top as she shrieked with surprised delight at the sudden action. “Woman, by the time you leave this bed, you won’t even remember your name.”

  She laughed as they rolled again…right off the bed.

  Thank God for plush carpet.

  PIPER WALKED INTO HER OFFICE, a dreamy smile on her face that she couldn’t hide no matter how hard she tried.

  That is until Charlie appeared, his smarmy mug effectively crashing her buzz with great skill.

  “Got any good leads on who offed William Dearborn?” he asked casually.

  “I’m not a detective, Charlie, just a reporter,” she said, moving past him to her desk, hitting the power button on her computer and waiting for it to boot. “Don’t you have a Student of the Month assembly to catch?”

  He ignored her jab and pressed on. “How do
es it feel to be a person of interest?”

  “Excuse me?” she queried sharply. “I’m not a person of interest any more than anyone else who had the misfortune to leave the man with a business card.”

  “Yes, but perhaps Old Willie didn’t give you the answers you were looking for—maybe he told you that your boyfriend is the son of a monster and you didn’t like it very much.”

  “And maybe the tooth fairy is real. Got any other wild tales of fiction to share? Honestly, Charlie, for a writer you have absolutely no amount of imagination.”

  “You know what, Piper? You’re a bitch, and when you go down in flames I’ll be there with the marshmallows.”

  “Blah, blah, blah. And if you weren’t the publisher’s nephew, you’d be out of a job because you couldn’t write yourself out of a paper bag. Go away and let the real reporters do their work.”

  Charlie turned an ugly shade and she wondered if someone so young could actually have a heart attack from their blood pressure hitting the nuclear stage. Talk about a show. She’d definitely be there with popcorn. But he seemed to get a hold of himself just enough to offer her a smile that wasn’t nice in any way, saying as he left, “Watch what you dig up, Piper…you won’t like what you find.”

  That was…weird, she thought. Charlie Yertz, equal parts putz and creep. Piper shook her head and drop-kicked the annoying man from her thoughts. She had bigger issues.

  She was falling for Owen Garrett.

  This presented a multitude of problems, the least of them being her desire to remain single until she found her place among the greats in journalism—and that was no small thing.

  She couldn’t imagine bringing Owen home to her parents. If the food didn’t kill him, the conversation likely would. Piper tried to picture Owen suffering through tofu and bean sprouts for the sake of her parents, and while she had no doubt he would give it a go, she wouldn’t wish that on anyone. And then there was her mother’s crazy behavior coupled with her father’s cryptic evasiveness. Funny how just a few short weeks ago she’d been blissfully unaware that her parents harbored a deep, dark secret.