We spend the entire rest of the day locked away in our bedroom on Saturday, just making love and watching the rain come down through the French doors that lead out to the private deck. I build a fire in the fireplace while Sam scrounges up dinner for us, and we spread a couple blankets on the floor and eat a picnic of cheese, fruit and bread as we cuddle in front of the fire. We feed each other as we talk and sip champagne to celebrate our engagement, and I can’t get over how lovely she looks in the firelight – like the goddess she is. I am mesmerized by her.
After we eat, we curl up on the floor and talk like we never have before. Samantha tells me more about her difficult relationship with her mom, and she asks me all types of questions about my parents and my childhood. And amazingly, I don’t get the least bit angry or uncomfortable at her questions, and I marvel at that. What’s changed? Why is it suddenly so easy for me to talk about the old man and my childhood with her? Maybe you feel safe with her, Pierce. I frown at the idea. Is that it? I feel safe with Sam? Protected and sheltered? Free to be vulnerable. It’s an interesting thought.
“Did your father come from an abusive home?” Sam asks, looking down at me, and her voice is almost a whisper. I’m lying flat on my back and she is propped up on her elbow as my hand lightly runs over her silky skin.
“Yes,” I say softly, my eyes fixed on the flames in the fireplace as I think about her question. “His mother … she wised up and ran off when he and his brother were young. Only she left them with their abusive old man. Never looked back.”
“Wow.” She sounds a little shocked at this news and I turn and look into her eyes.
“From the stories I heard growing up, sounded like Danny Pierce learned everything he knew about how to treat a woman from his old man.” Samantha’s bright green eyes catch the firelight and they almost seem to glow in the dimly lit room. And they study me sadly, boring into my own eyes with so much compassion. “Abuse is so often a vicious cycle, Sam. It’s why I kept myself from getting involved for so many years. Because I never want to become that.”
“I know,” she says softly, caressing my face as I lay on my back, looking up at her. “And you’re not, Josh. You are not that man.”
She leans down and kisses me, and my fingers thread themselves in her silky hair, fisting and holding her mouth to mine as I kiss her hungrily. Wrapping my arms around her, I roll over on the blankets, taking her with me, never breaking our kiss. And as the fire continues to crackle in front of us, I make love to her once more.
*****
I wake early on Sunday, rubbing my eyes as I look out at the light rain refusing to let up outside. Then I sigh and turn over, away from the French doors, toward Samantha. Propping myself up on my elbow, I do one of my most favorite things in the world – watching her sleep. She is so incredibly beautiful and I can’t believe she is really mine. She said yes. She actually said yes! You actually asked, Pierce! I smirk to myself at that thought. Yes, I did, didn’t I? Unbelievable but true. And I am so damned happy about it!
Samantha stirs and her magical bright green eyes flutter open. And she starts slightly when she sees me smiling down at her.
“You have to stop watching me sleep,” she mumbles with a sleepy smile.
“I can’t help it; you’re too amazing,” I explain, and she giggles.
“You’re crazy,” she smiles at me.
“Crazy in love with you.”
“Oh, Josh,” she whispers, and I pull her close, lightly running soft kisses over the silky flesh of her neck. Another few minutes and we are lost in each other, deep in the throes of passion as our bodies pulse and gyrate together.
We take a catnap after we make love and, when I wake again, Sam has turned the tables on me. I blink and look up into her gorgeous face. She looks very proud of herself.
“Are you watching me sleep, future wife?”
“Why yes, I am, my future husband,” she says, smiling broadly at me. “And I have to say, I understand now why you do it.”
“Oh, yeah?”
“Mm hm. I like watching you sleep. You look so adorable, like a little boy,” she says softly and I smile shyly at her.
“Well,” I say, ignoring her embarrassing comment and sitting up, propping the pillows up behind me and leaning back, “what would you like to do today, future wife?”
She smiles broadly once more and blushes slightly. “I am really loving the sound of that, future husband,” she says softly.
“So am I,” I smile, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear and caressing her face. “And I suggest that we just stay in bed all day until time to go to dinner. What do you say?”
“Oh, I love the sound of that! Yes, you have a deal,” she says, snuggling in close as I wrap my arms around her and kiss her temple.
“Can I ask you something?” she says softly, looking up at me with big curious eyes. I frown slightly and nod at her. “What did you and my mother talk about on Friday night when you were escorting her around the gallery?”
I smile at her because I’ve been secretly wondering how long it would take before her curiosity got the best of her about this topic. In fact, I’m surprised she hasn’t asked about it before now. “Well, she apologized again for her behavior toward me, which I accepted. But mostly, we just talked about you.”
“Me?”
“Mm hm. She said that you were right … about what you said to her at the wedding. About her not knowing who you are. She said it was different when your dad was alive; that he was sort of the glue that bound you. But once he passed away, she … kind of feels like she’s lost you.”
“She told you all that?” Sam asks quietly, and I nod.
“She did. I think, in her own twisted way, she means well, Sam. She just … doesn’t always know how to relate to you. She asked me to show her who you are. Through your artwork. So, that’s what I tried to do.”
She is silent for a long time and I wonder what she’s thinking. She looks so sad all of a sudden.
“What’s wrong, baby?”
She shrugs at me and sighs. “I was just thinking about my mom. Wondering what her reaction’s going to be to our engagement.” She sounds tired all of a sudden, like she’s gearing up for a fight.
“I know that I don’t know your mother well, Sam. And it’s way too soon for me to say that I trust her. But, I believe she was being sincere at your show the other night. She said she realizes that it’s your life and not hers, and that she’s trying to accept that.”
Sam nods. “I know. I guess I’m just not sure I believe her. Really makes me miss my dad sometimes. I wish he were here,” she says softly. She always looks so sad when she talks about him. I wish I had met him.
“I’m sorry, baby,” I whisper, caressing her face and leaning in to lightly kiss her lips. She gives me a small smile. That’s better. “You know, if he were here … I’d probably be a nervous wreck right now, asking for your hand in marriage.”
Sam looks startled by that comment and I smile at her. “You would!”
“Yes, baby, I would. I told you, I’m an old fashioned guy about some things.” And as I say those words, it dawns on me that I still need to ask for Samantha’s hand. I just need to ask a different person. The person her father left in charge of looking after her. The realization makes me slightly nervous.
“You want some pancakes?” Sam suddenly asks.
“Hmm?”
“I’m really hungry. I’m going to go make us some pancakes and bacon. Sound good?”
“Yeah, it sounds real good,” I smile at her. “I’m hungry too. I mean, I have been locked in this room and used as a sex slave for the last twenty-four hours,” I joke, borrowing one of her routines, and she giggles at me.
“That’s right,” she says, leaning in to kiss me swiftly. “And don’t even think about escaping! We had a plan, remember? Stay in bed all day until time to leave for dinner. I’ll bring our breakfast back on a tray.”
“I wouldn’t dream of trying to escape, Suns
hine,” I promise, laughing slightly at her, and she kisses me again. I watch as she gets out of bed and grabs her robe, pulling it on as she ventures into the bathroom. And as she does, my mind drifts back to my earlier thoughts. I know what I have to do. After a few moments, Sam comes out of the bathroom and smiles at me.
“Be right back!”
“I’ll be here,” I smile at her. And I take a deep breath as I watch her walk out of the bedroom. Repositioning the pillows, I lean back against them again and think about what I’m about to do … what I want to say. Then I take another deep breath and reach to Samantha’s side of the bed for her phone. I scroll through her contacts and find the number, then I pick up my own phone and dial. I figure I should have his number in my list of contacts anyway. I return Sam’s phone to her nightstand as I wait for him to answer.
“Colby.” His voice is slightly gruff and clipped. As if he’s in the middle of something. Well, there’s no home game this week so, I know he’s not at the stadium. Hope I’m not disturbing him.
“Lucas, hey … it’s Josh Pierce. Is this a bad time?”
“Hey, Josh!” His voice brightens immediately. “No, it’s not a bad time, just looking over some P & L reports. What’s up, buddy? How’s that pain-in-the-ass sister of mine? She come down off cloud nine yet after all of her rave reviews on Friday?”
I chuckle at his comment. “No. She’s still pretty excited. I think she still can’t quite believe it really happened, you know?”
“Well, she deserves it, and I am so proud of her.”
“Yeah, me too,” I agree with him and then I take a deep breath. Say what you called to say, Pierce. “Listen, Lucas … that’s sort of the reason I’m calling. I wanted to talk to you about Sam for a minute.”
“Is everything all right?” he asks. “New house working out?”
“Yeah, everything’s good,” I assure him. “Samantha’s perfect, and we’re great. The house will take a little getting used to on my part but, it’s a beautiful place and she loves it so … it’s all good.” I can feel myself growing nervous and I swallow anxiously.
“Okay,” he says slowly, and I can tell he’s wondering what the hell I’m trying to get at. I take another deep breath and try again.
“Lucas, I uh … I just wanted to tell you … or ask you, rather,” I mumble, trying frantically to corral my racing thoughts. “What I’m trying to say … very badly … is that, I love her. I want you to know that I love her, more than anything in this world.” I swallow anxiously once again. My heart is pounding. “And I know that she could do so much better than me, and that I don’t deserve her. And we both know that I can’t promise you that I’ll take care of her financially. I mean, certainly not in the way she’s used to but … well, we all know that she doesn’t need me for that anyway.” You’re rambling, Pierce. Just get to the point! I close my eyes tightly and sigh. Just say it! “But what I can promise you is that I will protect her safety with my life. I can promise you that I will spend my life making sure that she’s happy. And I promise you, no one will ever love her more than I do.”
He says nothing, so I keep talking.
“You told me a while back that those are the things your dad was most concerned about before he died. That Sam was safe and happy and loved. Well, I promise you, Lucas … I can do those things. I will make Sam’s safety and happiness my life’s mission. And she will always have an abundance of love.”
“You sound like you’re asking me for Sam’s hand in marriage, Josh,” Lucas says coolly, and I wonder what he’s thinking. I swallow hard.
“That’s because I am.” There’s a long pause from him that I think might just about kill me. And finally, I hear him take a deep breath.
“Josh…,” He says nothing more for a long time and I start to get worried. I thought Lucas and I were on good terms. I thought he approved of Sam and I being together. Was I wrong about all that?
He clears his throat and starts again. “Look, Josh … I know that you love my sister. A blind man could see that. And after all that’s happened, I have no doubt that you would move heaven and earth to try and protect her. I know that you’ll take care of her.”
“But?” The word is uttered in frustration, my voice low and wary. He obviously has some reservations.
“There is no but, Josh,” he says quietly. “My only concern is that it’s happening so quickly. You and Sam really haven’t known each other very long. And I know that I can’t expect everyone to take the years-long route that Karen and I have but … you’ve got to admit, a couple of months is … fast.”
I suppose he has a valid point; Sam and I only met less than two months ago. But that fact is easy to forget, because for me, it seems as though we’ve already loved each other for an eternity. We just didn’t know it until now.
“Maybe so,” I say quietly, acknowledging his concerns. “But I know this is right, Lucas. I have never been more certain of anything in my life, not even my decision to become a cop. Waiting is not going to change the fact that we love each other and we want to be together.”
“But you are together. You just moved into that beautiful new home … together.”
“Lucas … we want to be married. And we will, with or without your blessing. But she loves you. Your opinion matters to her. It would make things so much easier on her if she knew you were in our corner.”
“I am in your corner, Josh,” he says without hesitation. “Please don’t doubt that.” His words bring a sliver of relief to my mind. But I can tell he’d still prefer us to wait. I hear him take another deep breath, and he sighs. “At least she found someone with a brain, that I actually like and enjoy spending time with,” he mumbles to himself, and I smile.
“Does that mean I have your blessing?” I ask quietly.
He snorts and I can hear him smile. “Welcome to the family, Josh,” he sighs after a slight pause.
I feel myself grinning ear to ear at his words. Yes! “Thank you, Lucas! I promise you … I will not let her down; I will be…,” My voice falters as I choke on the lump in my throat quite unexpectedly.
“I believe you, Josh,” Lucas says quietly after a beat. He clears his throat again, and I know he’s trying to discretely ignore my emotional stumble. “Listen, I have to run. Karen and I are meeting a business associate of mine for lunch. But you tell Pita I said to call me later, okay? I want to congratulate her myself.”
“Yeah, I will,” I say gruffly, trying to regain my macho. We hang up then, and I let out a huge sigh of relief that this task is over and that it ended in my favor.
“Breakfast,” Samantha says brightly, as she carries in a serving tray. She hands the tray to me as she climbs back into the bed and settles in. She chatters away while we eat, still talking about the gallery opening and her ideas for future philanthropic gestures, and I smile as I watch her, so happy and animated. Finally, when she stops to take a sip of her orange juice, I see an opportunity to get a word in.
“Guess what?”
“What?” she asks with a smile.
“While you were cooking, I called your brother. I asked him for your hand,” I say quietly, looking her in the eye.
“You did!” She sounds surprised and disbelieving, and I nod at her. “What did he say?”
“He gave me his blessing,” I tell her, and I know that I’m wearing a ridiculous smile on my face. Sam smiles back at me for a long minute, and then she takes my face in both hands and kisses me soundly, giggling like a sweet schoolgirl. She is so … perfect.
We finish our breakfast then and snuggle in under the covers, keeping our pact to stay in bed all day until dinnertime. We talk and watch TV and nap, all while wrapped safely and warmly in each other’s arms, and I have never felt so content in all my life.
At about 2:30 in the afternoon, we get up and get into the shower, getting ready for Sunday dinner with my family. And as I’m dressing in my new walk-in closet, pulling on a pair of dark blue jeans and a green Seattle Seahawks hooded sweats
hirt, I can’t help but marvel once again at my surroundings. Not just this incredible new home that I find myself living in, but also the amazingly beautiful woman in the closet adjoining mine. How did I wind up with her? What have I done to deserve her? How did I get this lucky?
I’m sitting in a chair, tying the laces on my boots when Samantha walks into my closet, looking gorgeous in a pair of jean leggings and a green sweater and a pair of sky-high denim-looking ankle boots.
“You ready?”
She nods her head at me and I stand, taking her hand. We head out then, taking her Maserati instead of the Charger since it’s still raining lightly. And I hold her hand as I drive, playing gently with my grandma’s ring as it sits on her finger. When I glance over at her, she’s wearing a small smile on her beautiful lips and I wonder what she’s thinking about. Bringing her hand to my lips, I softly kiss her knuckles and her smile gets bigger.
When we pull up in my mom’s driveway, I feel Samantha tense up slightly and I squeeze her hand.
“Don’t worry, baby. She’s going to be thrilled,” I assure her, guessing that her sudden nerves have to do with wondering about my mom’s reaction. Sam smiles at me and takes a deep breath, telling me I guessed correctly.
Getting out of the car, I open Sam’s door for her and we walk, hand in hand, into the house. Instead of entering through the front door like we usually do, I take Sam around to the side door and we enter the house through the kitchen where Mom and Aunt Celeste are hanging out talking with Pam and Phillip’s girlfriend, Sherry.
“Well, there you two are. I was about to send out a search party,” she says throwing up her hands to punctuate her point as she comes forward to hug us both. I frown at her as I glance at my watch. I guess we are a little bit late – the unavoidable result of showering together.
“Sorry, Mom,” I mumble as I kiss her on the cheek. And I notice that Sam is slightly flushed as she hugs my mom. No doubt she’s remembering the reason we’re late too! “Uh, Mom…”
Pierced: Pierced Trilogy Boxed Set Page 83