by Anya Summers
Theo strolled out of Jacob’s room and headed outside. He didn’t want anyone to overhear his conversation. He tried calling both of Piper’s numbers, but each rolled over to voicemail. Damnit, Piper. She probably saw it was him and was avoiding answering. That meant he’d have to do something drastic to get her attention.
Theo checked the time and tried Jared’s number.
“Theo, to what do I owe the pleasure? How’s Jacob?” Jared asked.
Theo said, “He’s good. On the mend and will be back on the rugby field in no time. Is Piper still on the island?” He had to figure out where his quarry was first. Then he could put his plan into motion.
“No. She left the island shortly after you did. What the hell happened with her, man? She wouldn’t tell me the details on the bad club scene other than to defend you. If I hadn’t corroborated her story with the nearby club attendees that night, I would have said she had Stockholm syndrome.”
“Bloody hell. I already told you that—we tried pushing her boundaries on an issue of hers and it failed. It’s water under the bridge. Where can I find her? And no, it’s none of your god damn business why I need to contact my sub.”
“Your sub, huh? Piper resides in Santa Barbara and has her gallery there. I’ll email you her business address, but not her home one. That, she will have to invite you to herself, and I will leave it up to her whether she chooses to do so or not.”
“Thanks for not making it easy, you wanker. How did she seem when she left Pleasure Island?”
“Like someone had kicked her puppy, if you must know.”
Shit. He had been afraid of that.
“Thanks, J, I owe you one,” he said as he hung up. Then he cursed himself for his bungling.
He went back inside the hospital and up to Jacob’s room. He would give it another two days, assist Diane with Jacob’s transfer home, and be sure Jake had no relapses before he made his move with Piper. That way he could ensure his ex-wife could handle Jacob’s care on her own for a few days.
Chapter 15
Damn, blasted Brit.
Two weeks later, and she couldn’t seem to go an hour with him entering her mind. Piper didn’t want him there—or anywhere else, for that matter. She wanted him out of her mind, her dreams, and most importantly, her heart. No good would come from pining for a man who didn’t feel the same way. For Theo, it might have been a simple arrangement and scratching an itch. For Piper, Theo had managed to wiggle his way inside her heart, and it was crushing to realize that she had been so easy to set aside.
Images from the secluded beach on Pleasure Island came into focus on the proof sheet. The brilliance and profusion of color was like an antithesis to the solemn acceptance of her fate, as a woman destined to live her life alone. She’d been right in her estimation. Pleasure Island had been a font of photographs, each one more breathtaking than the next. There was a distinct possibility she might have to have more than one gallery showing. She also was toying with the idea of creating a book of her photos to sell in her gallery and bookstores.
Maybe it was too lofty a dream, but it was an idea she held on to with every print from Pleasure Island that she developed. It made it easier to focus on that instead of the pressure building in her chest. One more roll to develop into contact prints, then she would head into the gallery. Her assistant, Megan, was an absolute wonder, and would take care of anything that came up until she arrived, so Piper wasn’t worried there. There were a few of the prints that she wanted to play with and enlarge, add some toning to them. These were just contact prints, anyhow. The real magic began after she’d developed those. It gave her a base starting point where she could determine which prints to enlarge and which not to.
In the two weeks she’d been home, Piper had spent nearly every waking moment doing what she did best; work. It was the only way she could survive, especially those first few days, between her tears and two more episodes that reared their ugly heads. Real nasty ones, too, which Caroline had explained were likely due to the stress of her heartache. Her therapist’s recommendation was that Piper relax and take it easy for a little while but then plunge back into the BDSM scene to find another Dom. But Piper didn’t want another Dom, not after the last one. Her heart was far too raw. Instead of following Caroline’s suggestions, Piper split her time between the darkroom here at her home in the Santa Barbara hills, and the one in her gallery, Phoenix Rising Photography, located on State Street in the Paseo Nuevo Mall.
Piper placed the film negatives and print paper in the contact printer to create her proof sheets. From there, she’d be able to determine the sizes, textures, and exposure value. She knew the steps to take as if they were burned into her cerebral cortex. She preferred this old school method for the purity of the prints, the fidelity to the original image, and the exquisite detail.
As the proof sheet developed, a lightning bolt of agony lanced through her chest. Theo’s handsome face appeared, candid, up close, his eyes heavy-lidded with passion and a sensual half-smirk shrouding his lips as he stared up at her while they were in bed. He was such a beautiful man. Instead of heading into the gallery, a sense of urgency descended upon her and she realized she had to develop the rest. With her heart urging her onward, Piper created eight by ten portraits from the negatives. One after another, they were all of Theo, with his carnal, I’m-gonna-make-you-scream-as-you-climax-and-beg-for-more expression. Piper’s body throbbed in remembrance and a sudden onslaught of unrequited sexual frustration.
Damn him.
Even a simple photograph of the Brit could make her hotter than a heat wave along the San Andreas fault line.
She developed print after print of the two of them kissing, of Theo’s face just as he entered her, and one of her, her head tossed back in ecstasy, the lines of her body taut as his cock plunged deep—one he had snapped. By the time she had finished creating the entire roll she’d taken that morning, Piper was shaking as though a magnitude eight quake was rumbling the ground beneath her. Theo. She didn’t want to love him, but she did—more than she had thought herself capable of loving another. Walls she’d begun erecting crumbled as the seismic wave continued its swath of devastation through her system. The photographs slashed at her composure and, in a blink, her heart shattered into a billion pieces once again.
This wasn’t something she was just going to get over. He wasn’t someone she was going to get over, just wake up one day and realize she no longer loved him. That wasn’t how it worked—not for Piper, at least. She took her time, inhaling some deep yoga breaths before rising from the spot on the floor where she’d curled into a ball.
Still clutching one of his images in her hand, she glanced at her watch and flinched. Shit, she was horrendously tardy. Piper collected each image of Theo and placed them all into a manila file folder. After making sure the place was tidy, with her chemicals and supplies stowed in the proper places, Piper exited the darkroom clutching Theo’s file. She laid it on the center island in her kitchen. As much as a part of her knew she should toss the pictures, negatives and all, she couldn’t bring herself to throw them away. Maybe after some time they would bring her comfort and joy instead of devastating sorrow.
Not to mention, they were the only thing she had to remember him by, and as much as she wanted to forget because of the despair filling her heart, if she tossed them away, it would be as if their time together had never existed. And she didn’t know what would be worse: the pain, or having no memory of it.
Instead of making a decision, she left the file on the counter and headed to the gallery. From her house up in the hills, it took her about twenty minutes to get there, depending upon traffic. She adored downtown Santa Barbara with its Spanish influences, red tile roofs, and palm trees, with the harbor and beach nearby. Her gallery was located in one of the heavy touristy malls on State Street and garnered a ton of foot traffic. As it was a Tuesday, during the school year, traffic was lighter. Summer was her busy season, on top of the Christmas holidays and any ex
hibitions.
As soon as Piper made it into the gallery, she sent her assistant to lunch and went through her mail at the front desk.
“Thanks so much. I was so hungry, I was ready to start eating my arm off. And I got you something,” Megan, her twenty-five-year-old assistant said, beaming as she returned from her lunch break. Piper liked the spunky, petite redhead who was always dressed in the latest fashion trends. She kind of felt a bit like Megan’s big sister at times instead of her boss, but the girl knew her stuff, was punctual, organized, and a deep in the bones good person. Piper didn’t know what she had ever done without her.
“You did? That’s so sweet of you, Megan, you didn’t have to do that.”
“I know, but I thought you could use a little pick me up. You’ve been so down lately,” Megan said, handing her a small pastry bag.
“Is this what I think it is?” Piper asked, gladly accepting the small bag as the scent of chocolate reached her nose.
Megan gave her a sly grin. “Yep. You can thank me later.”
“Oh sweet heavens, chocolate eclairs and café au lait from Le Macaron. Have I told you how you’re the best assistant in the world?”
“More than once. But it’s nice to see a smile on your face again for a change.”
“I have had my panties in a twist here lately, haven’t I? Sorry about that. I promise to get myself out of my funk, starting with these beauties. Now that you’re back, I have some work in the back to see to.”
“Go,” Megan shooed her away with her hands, “I’ve got this, we aren’t busy. And if I need you, I’ll come get you.”
“Thanks, Megan.” Piper exited the sales floor and headed to her office. Her heartbreak was beginning to develop into another handicap. Did she want another reason to keep people away? Maybe the problem wasn’t them, but her own outlook. She’d been starting to feel restless, with a need to experience a new place she could travel to. Work clearly hadn’t been the answer, nor had it kept the heartbreak at bay if her assistant was feeling so sorry for her that she had bought her chocolate. Maybe what she really needed was some time off. Her therapist was constantly harassing her to take a vacation. Perhaps she had a point.
Instead of tackling the stack of bills that had piled up over the last few weeks, Piper pulled out her huge accordion style file folder that contained brochures for places she still hadn’t visited. They were all alphabetized, of course, and when she flipped the top open, Alaska stood out first.
Hmmm, it wasn’t too late in the year to do a small ship cruise into the interior. It would be cold, no doubt, but the scenery would be extraordinary.
Piper spent the next hour or so munching on the eclairs, searching through brochures, and scouring the internet for decent flights. Excitement threaded through her veins. She’d get some new photos in, perhaps she could even have a showing just on the Alaska trip. Even though this would be a vacation, she’d still have her camera with her. She never left home without it.
This was what she needed, an infusion of new adventures and new horizons to shake her from her maudlin, mopey existence. Heartbreak, who needed it? Not this girl, that was for damn sure. She was smiling at her computer screen when Megan knocked on her office door and poked her head in.
“What’s up?” Piper asked.
“There’s a customer interested in purchasing Horizon Glory, but they would like to speak with the artist first,” Megan explained.
It happened more often than not, especially when Piper was here. Horizon Glory, that was one of the new prints from Pleasure Island. They’d added the piece this week. Well, good, the sooner she sold the island prints, the better. And Jared would certainly be pleased, especially if this was a foreshadowing of how well a full gallery showing of the island pictures would do. She said, “Tell them I will be right out.”
“Perfect. Will do, boss,” Megan replied, heading back to the sales floor.
Piper pulled out her compact mirror from her top desk drawer. She made sure she didn’t have any chocolate smudges on her face anywhere and then added a touch of lip gloss. It was her standard operating procedure. After a mortifying experience with one of silicon valley’s tech giants and an unfortunate piece of spinach between her teeth, she always double-checked her appearance before meeting a potential buyer.
Piper entered the showroom floor just as Megan said, “You’re all set, Mr. Brown. Here’s your bill of sale, and the shipping information. I will email you once your artwork is en route with all the tracking and customs information.”
“Thank you, Megan. You’ve been a delight,” said a deep, cultured male voice.
Piper stopped dead in her tracks. It was the voice she heard nightly in her dreams. The hint of a British accent, the deep baritone, how it made her think of brandy and cigars. His back was to her, his broad shoulders accentuated by a crisp, white dress shirt. She would know his silhouette anywhere.
Why was he here? What did he want? She stood frozen to the spot, like her feet had been cemented to the wooden floor. But inside, her panic button had sounded the alarm. Did she have time to escape? She didn’t want to see him. She didn’t want him to know how much he’d hurt her. And she had the very real fear that she would cave, that she wasn’t strong enough to turn away from him. Piper couldn’t be some casual screw to whom he came knocking on her door anytime he got a hankering.
Piper was about to dash back into the storeroom.
“And here’s the artist, Piper Delaney,” Megan said, beaming over the sale, and gesturing toward her. Piper prayed for a sinkhole to open up as Theo swiveled around and the full impact of his energy hit her.
His enigmatic cinnamon gaze was a one-two punch to her solar plexus, and it was as though all the air was sucked from the room. If it were possible, he was even more handsome and dashing in his slacks and dress shirt, looking every inch the businessman. Her eyes soaked up every nuance. His hair was a mite longer. His beard neatly trimmed, with some new specs of gray dotting the dark hair.
Her heart thumped madly in her breast. What should she do now that he had seen her? She couldn’t run back into the storeroom without causing a scene. Indecision plagued her, rendering her immobile. She couldn’t even pretend to smile at him. Tears threatened to fall, and she diverted the majority of her energy into keeping those under wraps.
When she didn’t move, when she couldn’t, it was Theo who broke through the stillness and approached. His long-legged stride ate up the distance between them, and every part of her system was attuned to his every nuance. He crowded her space, leaving a mere foot between them.
“Miss Delaney, it’s a pleasure. Theo Brown at your service.” His voice softened at the use of the term ‘pleasure’ and her heart trembled. Then he held up his hand for her to shake. She stared at him, at his hand, like he was an alien come down to planet Earth, holding out a strange tentacle.
“Piper, love, shake my hand lest you cause a scene before your employee,” Theo murmured, with the barest hint of a command. At his blatant use of the endearment, rage and heartbreak surfaced in suffocating tidal waves. The fact that he could show up here after all this time and pretend like nothing was amiss!
Screw that—and him, for that matter.
Instead of accepting his hand, she backed away from him. It was more like she stormed back through the doorway to her office, with Megan looking at her like she’d grown an extra head, but Piper couldn’t worry about that right now. She was going to lock herself in her office if need be, until he was gone. She’d leave the gallery if she had to.
Except Theo was hot on her tail, barely a step behind her. His fingers wrapped around her arm, stalling her forward progression as he yanked her into his arms. Before she could escape out the back door, he had her back pressed up against it. Then he was kissing her, commanding a response from her, devastating her with his lips and his touch as he pressed his length against her.
Her body rejoiced at his touch. The man kissed her with his entire being, plundering her mout
h, steeling her reason and logic until her entire world boiled down to Theo. She couldn’t have stopped herself from kissing him back if she’d tried. As desire bombarded her system, it unleashed a rage so potent and fierce, she bit down on his bottom lip.
“Yeow, fuck, Piper!” Theo barked, his gaze accusing and all stern Dom. She didn’t care. He could brood all he wanted to, she got to say when he touched her.
“You don’t get to walk in here all willy-nilly after not a word from you in two weeks and touch me. Got it?” She shoved against his chest for emphasis.
“Careful, love, we need to talk,” Theo said, his gaze obviously attempting to pierce the invisible shields she’d erected.
Maybe they did need to have it out, whatever the outcome might be. Perhaps that was the key for Piper to finally get over him and move on. They’d already put on a show for Megan, who no doubt would ply her with a million questions the first chance she had.
“Not here,” Piper said as she delved into her courage and tried to assuage the raging fury and heartbreak swimming in her chest. She would do it. Hear whatever he felt was necessary to fly a few thousand miles to say, and remain unaffected, then she would send him on his way. “You can follow me to my house.”
“I’ll be right behind you,” he said, the promise in his eyes.
She just bet he would. There was no point in trying to lose his BMW on the winding roads up to her home. It was better this way, that they air everything out. Then she could move on with her life.
Then she could begin the process of falling out of love with him.
Chapter 16
She looked even better than he remembered.
Theo followed Piper’s silver Mercedes up a winding cliffside road to her home, a buttercream colored, ranch style house. He parked his rental car in the driveway behind her vehicle, then followed her in. Her home was a reflection of her. It had a wooden vaulted ceiling with exposed golden pinewood beams a shade darker than the hardwood floors throughout the place. Along one entire side of the house were floor to ceiling windows, overlooking her pool and the hills and valleys overlooking the city of Santa Barbara. It was a beautiful place and it suited Piper. The open, airy space overlooking the mountains. The secluded nature of it. It was very much like the woman herself—an extension of her.