by Liz Kelly
Piper burst out laughing. She was handcuffed and turned on and had fallen off the charts of the ridiculous scale. Yeah, she was going to Henderson—even if she had to quit her job to do it.
***
Vance had already fallen for Piper.
Her sweet, gentle kindness. Her soothing touch. The way she kissed.
Goddamn, the way she kissed.
Her sexy bedroom curls sweeping across baby blue eyes that lit up whenever he looked her way. And the way his chest puffed out and he owned the world whenever he stood towering over her petite, little body with all those smokin’ hot curves in just the right places.
He couldn’t wait to lay her down, spread her out, and feast upon every inch of her flesh. He had to keep his hands tucked into the pockets of his pants more often than not, because all he wanted to do was touch her. And one touch of that soft, supple skin was enough to turn him to stone in the johnson department.
Yeah, he’d already fallen for Piper, so what he was learning about her today was simply icing on the cake.
The lunch with her coworkers, managing partner Jane Jeffries included, was as entertaining as any lunch with a group of females was likely to be. They were all sharp—Katie was especially quick-witted—and their easy banter had nothing to do with the practice of law. It was about recipes and restaurants, social trends, explicit TV series, friendships, pets, children, parents, and one rowdy night shared by the four of them. Piper beamed with pride as she misrepresented Vance’s status as Henderson Country Club’s latest golf champion, and then shared the story of the newly formed Super Hero in Training boy band in Henderson, suggesting to the rest of the women that the drive over would be worth their while whenever the band played again.
Vance found Piper to be a good listener, a talented story teller, and was able to laugh at herself more than he would have guessed. Especially when she confessed about the bribe she was offering King Kong and the rest of the Raleigh police force in order to get her overzealous defensive ass off their radar.
And now he stood in Piper’s Piped-Out apartment, surprised at her exquisite taste. Yes, the fabrics were bright and Piper-like, but he felt comfortable among them. Her little boutique dining room was charming—a doll house come to life. Her artwork and knickknacks added whimsy, and the entire place reflected Perfect Piper, exactly as he’d imagined she’d grown up to be.
But her bedroom!
Now here was something interesting. It wasn’t bright and Piper-like. It wasn’t overtly feminine or masculine. It invited, coaxing you in with its soothing color pallet of green and ivory and with the lush tactile fabrics that covered the mahogany sleigh bed. The room was…sensuous. And after Vance looked his fill, he raised an eyebrow toward Miss Beaumont.
“A side of you I’ve yet to…uncover.”
“You like it?” she asked quietly.
He nodded, being careful not to put words to the warring factions taking over his mind. No one with his sexual history had any right to wonder about, or feel jealous of, any lovers who may have come before him. Still, his emotions waged war between the dynamic desire to take Piper in this room, on this bed, forcing all other lovers from her mind, and his desire to simply burn the place down and let all her memories turn to ash. He searched her face, standing in her shoes the moment she found all that junk inside his bathroom cabinet. Thank God he had done what he had. He hoped it would be enough.
“I’ll start loading the cinnamon rolls into the truck while you pack. Take your time,” he said, kissing the top of her head and taking one last glance around before he left her bedroom.
There were ten sheet cake boxes full of Piper’s enormous cinnamon rolls. On each box she had printed out instructions for heating one to three rolls in the microwave at a time. She also had hand-written the note “Thank you for your hard work and loyal service” on each box along with “Homemade by Piper Beaumont” in very legible script.
It was a blatant attempt to establish a better working relationship, and Vance felt pretty confident that it was going to work. Still, he felt a lot more anxious than Piper seemed to be as they wheeled all the boxes into the precinct on a borrowed dolly.
Kong was there, paving the way for her redemption by ushering Piper into the snack room and oohing and aahing over her benevolence. The cinnamon rolls were a smash hit, but they were not the star of the show. Piper herself made the rounds, talking individually with each of the officers, asking about their families, their beats, if there was anything Collins & Reese could do to make their jobs a little easier. She took a lot of ribbing from the cops, a couple snide remarks, and one ribald joke with good-natured grace.
She was perfect. Surprise, surprise.
It was six o’clock in the evening when they pulled into his father’s garage. Vance pushed Piper toward the cocktail trio sitting on the pool deck while he took her suitcase and yellow tote inside. Piper was drinking something pink and slushy when Vance joined his family after changing into shorts and grabbing a beer. They sat for a while going over the highlights of the day before Vance pulled Piper to her feet and said he had something he wanted to show her.
They walked down the hill hand in hand, passed the garage, and headed over to a shed charmingly constructed to look like an old barn. Inside sat a gleaming green and black ATV four-wheeler. Piper squealed.
“Is this your dad’s?” she asked stroking the handle bars and running her hand over the long, black leather seat. “It looks brand new.”
“It’s mine,” Vance told her, “and it looks new because I take care of it.”
“You gonna let me drive it?” she asked in her silky southern drawl, batting her pretty blue eyes at him.
“Good Lord, woman, you are going to be the death of me. No,” he said, harshly and quickly before he gave in. “You may not drive it. This is a serious machine and it’s way too heavy for the tiny likes of you. But,” his voice soothed, “climb on up and I’ll take you for a spin.”
She squealed again, hopping up on the seat in her soft cotton sundress. He watched the white and yellow fabric bunch up around her thighs as she seated herself, taking hold of the handlebars like he hadn’t just told her no. It made him grin. Piper lived out loud, and she had no idea she was only five feet tall.
He threw a leg over the seat and sat himself behind his new favorite toy—Piper. He batted her hands off the controls, guided her palms to the sides of his thighs, and told her to hang on to him. He revved the engine, which caused Piper to start suddenly, so he pulled her back snug against him, reveling in the feel of her between his legs. “Hold on,” he said into her ear, and off they went, out of the barn, around the back of the property, and down a long, gradual slope.
The grass was a mix of brown and green, the recent lack of rain having taken its toll. There was a long but narrow stand of trees off to their left, which Vance worked their way around. He shot back along their edge, putting the manor house on the hill out of sight. He drove on farther, pointing out a stream running along the property and the way the sun was drifting into the top of the trees so Piper could get her directional bearings. He brought them to a stop in a shady spot and turned off the engine.
“It’s lovely here,” Piper said before he had a chance to explain. “This would make a great spot for a campout. Feels like you are in the middle of nowhere but with all the comforts of home just a short distance away.”
“You like to camp?” Vance questioned, frowning at the back of her head.
“Oh, God no. I was thinking about you and all your crotch-grabbing friends.”
“Crotch-grabbing friends?” He laughed. “Who grabs their crotch? Around you,” he added.
“Jesse James played his crotch on stage all night long last Sunday. And I distinctly remember a lot of crotch scratching by you and Brooks and the rest back in your baseball days.”
Vance laughed as he pulled up the curls covering the back of her neck and ran his lips over her soft, pale skin. It must have tickled because Piper hitched
at first but then settled back against him letting his lips have their way.
“Piper,” he whispered, “not only do you taste good, you have good taste,” he said in between kisses. “I’m thinking of building a house…right here,” he said, taking a handful of curls and turning her face so he could kiss her jaw. “What do you think?” His other hand slid around her middle, sliding over her belly, back and forth. And just as he was getting lost in the feel of her, he could tell she was suddenly alert. Focused.
“It’s a beautiful spot,” she said. “And kinda cool that it’s part of the Evans Estate. No zoning restrictions other than what your father mandates.” His lips and tongue were making a slow study of the curve of her shoulder when she said, “You could put up something small and inexpensive, and I bet your father would just give you the land. Ooh, and when I come to visit, I bet I’d get kitchen privileges at the big house.”
“Big house?” Vance’s head snapped up.
“Sure,” she said like it was the best idea ever. She began to squirm around, turning to face him in the seat as she went on. Her eyes were bright with excitement as she settled herself in front of him, her legs folded meditation style. “Something a little bigger than the pool house. Ooh and right down here behind the trees. It would be like a cozy, little honeymoon cabin,” she said, snuggling in and kissing the bottom of his dumbfounded chin.
Vance looked down into all that joy and didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Piper,” he said, taking her by her upper arms and giving her a slight shake. “How is it you have no idea who I am?”
“What do you mean?”
“I can afford to build more than a little honeymoon cabin,” he assured her.
“Vance,” she mouthed, distress flowing over her face. “I didn’t mean…I was just saying this is a really nice opportunity. I know that the cops in Raleigh don’t make a ton of money, and I can’t imagine Henderson pays their employees any better. Building something here is…is cost effective.”
“I’m not just a cop, Piper. I thought I told you that.”
“You have. You told me about your little start-up business with your father.”
Vance barked out a laugh.
“What?” she said, becoming irritated. “Vance, I’m just trying to keep you out of debt. My parents suffered with it, and it’s not a pleasant place to be. And as much as you claim to looove your truck, you do enjoy driving your father’s cars and having toys like this one,” she said, indicating the machine they sat on. “And sure, you’ll probably inherit a little money someday, but hey—your dad has another kid coming and with the cost of college out of control—”
He kissed her then. Just pulled her to him and shut her up with the biggest, happiest kiss of his life. She was worried about his money. Of all the things Piper should be worried about in a relationship with him, money was not one of them.
“Sweetheart,” he said against her lips. “Baby doll,” he said, pulling away and brushing her hair back from her face, falling in love with those pink cheeks all over again. “I love that you are worried about my money, but there is no reason for it, I promise you. I’ve had more money than I know what to do with since I was sixteen and bought my truck. Making money is my hobby, and I do it quickly and easily, always have. Sometimes to the detriment of my own stupid self, like the night you were standing in front of me and asked me to dance. All I was thinking about was dollar signs, so I missed an opportunity with you. I’m doing my best not to ever make a mistake like that again, but I love money. So I’m going to be making a lot of it.”
“Wha—?” Piper was stupefied. “But you live in the pool house. You drive a piece-of-crap truck.”
Vance laughed. “I said I’m good at making it. I didn’t say I was any good at spending it.”
“Well, I can help you with that,” she offered, as if that was now the problem she needed to solve.
“I’m certain you can,” he said. “Starting with this house.” He looked around the land surrounding them. “I want a big house, Piper. And I’m not building it here to rival my father. I’m building it here to honor him. To expand on his dream and his accomplishments. He’s given me every physical thing I could ever want. He is generous beyond generous. I like him. I like Genevra. And I want to be close to my baby brother.”
“Brody,” she offered.
“Yes.” He laughed. “My baby brother, Brody.”
Piper’s sweet smile lit up his insides. “Oh, but there is one thing I’m definitely going to outdo my father on,” he said, gifting her with a big cheesy grin. “The kitchen I build? It’s going to make his kitchen look small. It’s going to fucking dwarf his,” he growled, wrapping his arms around her.
Piper shrieked with laughter.
“I’m going to build a kitchen that Perfect Piper can get lost in for days,” he said, nuzzling her neck. “One that she won’t ever want to find her way out of,” he went on as she untangled her legs and threw them up over his thighs. He put his hands underneath her ass and lifted her so that she straddled his lap. “And I want a hand-painted,”…kiss…“lava stone”…kiss…“countertop,”…kiss, kiss, kiss…“topping an island big enough that I can lay Naughty Piper down and have my way with her.” He stroked his straining erection against her cotton-covered crotch, her dress bunched up around her waist.
“Mmm,” she hummed. “And what about The Lawyer Beaumont?”
“What Lawyer Beaumont?” He moaned against her mouth, tilting her pelvis at just the right angle so he could rub his full, khaki-covered, length against her. If he had thought to bring a blanket, he would have laid it out and made love to Piper for the first time in the exact spot where their house was going to be. It would have been a good omen.
But he’d fantasized too much about having her in his bed. He was willing to wait. Wait just a little longer to make this sweet, sweet, precious, tiny bit of a girl his.
“So…wait. Wait,” Piper said, pulling out of their kiss-induced stupor. “So, explain to me—about your job—your work. You keep saying you aren’t much of a cop, and I gather from a couple things you’ve said that you coach some sort of a team, but truly, I don’t have an idea of what you and Pinks are doing for your dad. So how ’bout enlightening me, before I get too wrapped up in all your sexy talk about lava stone countertops and being lost in your kitchen for days.”
She started running her fingers through his hair, tickling his scalp, so he closed his eyes and agreed to tell her everything if she just kept doing that.
So she did, kissing his nose and his eyes along the way, as he explained first about his “destined for the State Championship” baseball team and then about his investment in Lewis’ company and other businesses in town. He talked about what his father did and explained that he was not working for his dad, but working alongside his dad in their new joint venture of Evans & Evans Investments.
And then he told her about what really mattered to him. About getting Brooks elected mayor, and their ambitious dream of putting Henderson on the map through the power of a strong and viable economy. So that Henderson would draw in young professionals and families and become one of the premium places to live in all of North Carolina.
And then the East Coast.
And then the entire country.
Vance felt Piper’s hands move through his hair and down the back of his head, coming around to cup his chin with both of her tiny hands. He opened his eyes.
“You love Henderson,” she said with awe and warmth.
“No,” he said quietly. “Brooks loves Henderson.”
Her brow furrowed.
“Brooks is motivated by his love for this town and the people who live here. It breaks his heart that most of our generation has moved on, moved away. That’s what he wants to change. He wants to bring Henderson back to life.
“My motivation is not at all noble,” he said, wrapping his arms loosely around her back. “My motivation is revenge. At least, it was originally,” he said, considering. “Thin
gs seem to have shifted a bit,” he realized.
“Revenge?” she asked.
“Revenge.” He nodded. “What better way to flip my mother the bird than by making sure the town she walked away from becomes one of the Top Ten Best Places to Live in America?”
Piper blinked. “Your sole purpose in life is to be able to send a big ‘fuck you’ to your mother?”
“I wouldn’t say it is my sole purpose—and I can’t believe that nasty word just came out of Perfect Piper’s mouth.”
She huffed.
“Don’t huff. It probably started as a big ‘fuck you’ to you too, you know.”
“To me?”
“Yes, you. You left. Just like my mother did.”
“I was ten!”
“That didn’t make it hurt any less. I’m not saying this is at all rational, but I’m telling the truth here.”
Silence.
“I came back,” Piper said. “I came back in eighth grade. I came back in twelfth grade. I would have come back the night I met you at The Charlie Horse if you had just stuck around a little longer.”
He kissed her hard and fast, not wanting to think about that—about how the last five shitty years of his life were his own damn fault. She pressed her hands against his shoulders, so he eased off a bit, gentling his kiss. It wasn’t her fault, after all, and here he was, acting like a bully.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered, stroking her hair and licking her lips. “I know you came back. I know my crap life has been all my fault.”
“Stop it, Vance. Your life hasn’t been all crap. Not by a long shot.”
“I know. But it would have been so much better so much sooner if I had just…known it was you.”
“Known what was me?”
“That kiss, back at the Charlie Horse. Piper, the entire reason I ran off was because kissing you reminded me of you. It brought back every happy memory I had of you and of my mother. And for a while, I leaned into it. And it felt good—so damn good.