Alex and Rusty had lost faith in her ability, or maybe they’d never believed she had it in the first place. Oh, they knew she was a good mechanic, and they hadn’t out and out said it to her, they never would, but it was obvious. She intended to show them how wrong they were when she unveiled the Chevy.
She’d prove to them exactly what she could do, that she was every bit as good as them.
More guilt assaulted her, she felt terrible thinking that way, but what else could she do? Her brother and sister, even Alex, they had her best interests at heart, thought they were helping when they got involved in her life, or stepped in her path completely in order to “save” her from herself. But they were stifling her, showing her they didn’t believe she could make decisions for herself. She didn’t know how to tell them how she felt. Their overprotectiveness made her feel inadequate, incapable, and sometimes just plain hurt.
So she’d have to show them.
Sighing, she pushed the door open and left the bathroom. It was just outside the main reception room, and someone coming the other way bumped into her as she rounded the corner. Her purse slipped from her fingers and skated across the floor. “Crap.”
She chased it, bending to pick it up, but as she leaned forward the tension over her shoulders from the gown’s thin straps pulled unbearably tight. She quickly stood, but it was too late. The straps suddenly gave, both of them, and the whole top half of her dress peeled down her body like a banana skin, only stopping when it caught on the flare of her hips.
Oh God! Noooo.
She tried to yank it back up, but the zipper was rolled up in the fabric at her back. There was no way she could get it back over her boobs without undoing the zipper first. Folding her arms over her bare chest, she made a dash for the bathroom, but when she tried the door handle it wouldn’t open. The person who bumped into her must have slipped in after her.
“Shit, shit, shit.” She couldn’t stay out here, where anyone could walk out and find her. She searched for somewhere to hide.
There was only one option.
Keeping her arms tight around herself, she made a dash for the men’s room.
Chapter Three
Cole reached for the door, only to have it crash open in front of him. The thing glanced his shoulder, knocking him back a step, then bounced against the wall. Piper, arms wrapped around herself, blond hair flying, came tearing into the room and collided with his chest.
His arms automatically came up, and he sucked in a breath when his hands met warm, smooth—bare skin?
What the fuck?
He tried to step back, but she buried her face against his chest and pressed closer. “Don’t move! Don’t you dare move, Cole Black.” Her voice was high, panicked.
Gripping her shoulders, he tried to pull back again, so he could see her face, but she clung on for dear life. Anger mixed with concern swelled inside him. “What the hell happened?” He shook her shoulders lightly. “Did someone do this to you?”
She lifted her chin, cheeks blazing, and shook her head. “No.”
“Then why are you…” He motioned at her chest, swallowing hard. “What happened to your dress?”
“Wardrobe malfunction.” She buried her face in his chest again, her warmth, her softness pressed against him. “The straps snapped,” she mumbled.
Cole reluctantly released her so he could slide his jacket off and drape it around her shoulders. She looked up at him, offering a wobbly smile. His chest tightened almost unbearably and, predictably, so did his groin. Now that he knew she was okay, he became painfully aware of the way she felt flush against him. “I’ll leave so you can fix it.”
She bit her lip. “I need your help.”
Is she trying to torture me?
“Can you undo the zipper at the back? I can’t pull the dress over my…” Her already flushed cheeks darkened, the wash of heat traveling lower, turning the tops of her full breasts a lovely shade of pink. “…ah, up without undoing it first.”
Yeah, this was definitely torture.
“Turn around, Pipe.” His voice sounded deeper, more wrecked than usual, and he cringed at the roughness of it.
Mumbling her thanks, she turned, giving him her back.
His heart went haywire in his chest, mouth dry, hands clammy. Cock like a fucking iron bar, straining toward her. Shit. He wiped his palms on his trousers and reached up, noticing how his fingers trembled. Thank fuck she had her back to him and couldn’t see how pathetic he was.
This woman tested his control, made him feel vulnerable. It wasn’t a feeling he liked. Not one fucking bit. Letting your emotions lead you only ended in disaster.
He’d learned that lesson the hard way.
Lifting the jacket from her shoulders, he laid it by the wash basin. Her skin looked smooth and creamy, silky, and his body responded with a fierceness he’d never experienced before, and not just with the need for sex. He wanted to touch her, possess her in every way.
Shit.
He wanted Piper. Period.
It was a long time since he’d touched a woman intimately—before he’d had his accident—and he realized he hadn’t let anyone but medical professionals get close to him. Until today, he hadn’t realized how much he missed human contact. When Piper had wrapped her arms around him on the dance floor, it’d taken all his strength not to bury his face in her hair and nuzzle the soft, sensitive skin between her neck and shoulder.
For a few minutes he’d felt normal, whole. Had reveled in what it would be like if Piper was his.
But she didn’t feel that way for him. How could she? No, Piper was the kind of woman who made the people around her feel good, no matter who they were. She’d always been that way. Even when she was in high school she’d been sweet to everyone. It never occurred to her to ignore kids who might be considered outcasts or unpopular like others did. She’d do anything for her friends and family, even at the expense of what she wanted or needed. Tonight was a prime example. He’d watched her run herself ragged making sure Alex and Deke’s day went off without a hitch while everyone else drank and had a good time.
Then there was the way she’d been with him.
“Cole?”
Shit. “I’m just…” The fabric had rolled down, so he had to unravel the bit at the small of her back.
Piper reached up and brushed the soft, wavy length of her blond hair to the front of her shoulder. The silky mass whispered across the back of his hands, and he had to clamp his mouth shut so he didn’t groan out loud.
His every nerve felt alive, oversensitive, zeroing in on the tiniest bit of contact with the voluptuous woman in front of him. As he attempted to work the zipper down, his fingers brushed against her velvety skin, and he had to fight not to take more, not to run the backs of his fingers over her supple flesh—or bend forward and taste the tempting spot between her shoulder blades.
The zipper started to work loose, and he let out a shuddery breath as more of her pale skin was exposed to his hungry gaze. He could see the way her waist cinched in, then flared out to full, rounded hips. And at the very top of her ass were two perfect, sexy dimples, just above each cheek. God, he wanted to slide a finger lower, run it along the tempting crease.
“I think that should do it,” she said shakily.
He couldn’t speak as she wriggled, dragging the gown back up to cover her large breasts. Fuck. He was this close to losing it completely. This close to wrapping his arms around her, taking those heavy mounds in his hands, and testing their weight.
He swiped the back of his hand across the side of his mouth, almost expecting to find drool.
“Do you mind zipping me back up?”
Yes, I fucking mind. Taking a few deep breaths, he stepped closer, and making sure to touch nothing but the fabric this time, he dragged up the zipper.
Piper turned to face him, hands clutching th
“Of course.” He picked it up and wrapped it around her shoulders. She slipped her arms in the sleeves, which were way too long. Before he could stop himself, he’d lifted her hands and rolled the fabric back. “If you have any more trouble, just let me know.”
“Oh…I…” Her mouth dropped open, then snapped shut.
He hastily added, “I can give you a ride home, if you want to leave.”
Her gaze darted away, and she looked down at her fingers. “You don’t have to do that.”
Her obvious reluctance to be alone with him, to get in his vehicle, helped clear away the lust that had been thrumming hard and relentless through his veins. The spell of being alone with Piper, of touching her, had done a number on him. Made him forget. Even if just for a few seconds.
Glancing up, he caught his reflection in the mirror. No, he would never be the man he used to be. A real man could get behind the wheel of a car without almost suffering a panic attack. He certainly didn’t wake in the night drenched in sweat, screaming. And he could damn well dance with a beautiful woman without freaking out.
“Most of the guests have been drinking. But if you’d prefer another driver, I’ll ask around.” His voice sounded resentful to his own ears, and he hated it.
Her gaze shot up, soft blue eyes sharpening, then narrowed. “Oh, for Christ’s sake.” She flapped her arms in the air, sleeves unraveling.
Could she be more adorable? Even pissed she was cute. She looked sexy drowning in his jacket, her hair wild around her face like she’d just rolled out of his bed.
“Cole?” she barked, snapping him out of it.
He wanted to wrap his fingers around the back of her neck and drag her in close, kiss that frown off her soft lips. “What?”
“Stop doing that,” she said.
“Doing what?”
“Assuming you can read my mind. I’m not worried about getting in a car with you. I trust you.”
That feeling, like a vise tightening in his chest, started up again. “I can tell you’re nervous being alone with me. You’re uncomfortable now.”
She wrapped her arms around herself. “You’re right. I am nervous.”
If his chest got any tighter he’d go into cardiac arrest. “Yeah, like I said.”
She shook her head. “Not for the reason you think.”
“What other reason is there?” You look like a monster.
He’d seen Piper blush plenty, but right now the woman’s face was on fire. “One you don’t want to hear.”
No, he didn’t want to hear it. Hearing her tell him the way he looked disgusted or frightened her wasn’t something he could deal with right then. “You’re right, so let’s keep it that way.”
Something flashed in her eyes, something he couldn’t name. “Fine. Whatever.”
Jesus.
He needed to get the hell away from her. Knowing that with one gentle tug, her dress would be down around her waist? Shit, it was driving him crazy. “Pipe…”
All trace of emotion vanished from her face, her expression going blank before she forced a smile. A false smile, all teeth. “You know what? I think I’ll take you up on your offer. Give me fifteen minutes to say good-bye, and you can give me a ride.”
I’d rather you ride me.
Dammit, he needed to stop thinking like that. It didn’t matter how much he wanted her, nothing could or would ever happen between them. For many reasons.
One of the main ones, the woman he wanted more than anything in this world felt about him the same way he felt about himself.
Disgusted.
Monster.
...
Seemingly oblivious to her presence or scrutiny, Cole stared straight ahead with single-minded focus, gripping the steering wheel in his large hands like he expected to do some serious defensive driving in the now quiet back roads to Axle Alley. She understood why he’d still feel anxious behind the wheel. What she didn’t understand was why he kept it all bottled up inside, refusing to talk to anyone about the accident. She still didn’t know exactly what happened. In fact, she knew nothing, except that Cole had been hurt when he’d crashed his patrol car. Even Deke wouldn’t tell her any details.
If her brother had tried and failed to get through to him, what chance did she have? Her need to help everyone, to fix their problems, would have to go unsatisfied where Cole was concerned, and it was driving her bat-shit crazy. Unrequited feelings aside, Cole wasn’t just anyone. He was extremely important to her, special. He’d made her feel that way many times in her life. Had been there to make her smile when she was feeling low. She wanted to do that for him now.
But he was keeping her, everyone, at arm’s length.
The realization that she’d nearly spilled her guts after he’d helped her with her dress, that in her frustration she’d nearly said how she felt about him, lumping all that extra baggage on his shoulders, was cringe-worthy. And selfish. But she was just so sick of his pretending he had no idea how she felt about him.
How could he not know? She’d practically salivated all over him on the dance floor. She winced. Then there was “the call.” After a night of shots and a good dose of alcohol-induced courage, she’d phoned him, blurting her feelings onto his answering machine like the lovesick fool she was.
He’d done nothing about it. Acted like it never happened.
So why she felt the need to force the issue was beyond her. It wouldn’t change anything. It would only make things more awkward between them.
Cole pulled into the short driveway in front of her cottage, shut off the engine, and shoved open his door.
Dammit, she just wanted him to leave so she could wallow in her self-pity in peace. “I’m fine. You don’t need to walk me in.”
He was already out of the car. Resting his hand on the roof, he leaned back in. “I’m walking you to the door.”
“I said I’m fine.” He shook his head, grumbling under his breath. She stiffened. “What did you just say?”
He pushed away from the car and strode around to her door, pulling it open. “I said you’re stubborn. Now get your stubborn, sweet ass out of the car and up the damned steps.”
“My sweet ass?” Piper blinked up at him. Over the years, he’d called her a pain in the ass many times. When she was seventeen and she and Rusty had been singing and dancing in the backseat of his car, he’d told her to sit her ass down, but never in all the time she’d known him had he referred to her ass as sweet.
He stared down at her. “Pipe, your hearing seems fine, yet you’re still sitting in the car.”
She shivered, unable to stop herself. Would she ever get used to that voice? That voice did not belong to Cole. It belonged to someone else. It had always been deep, but the damage he’d taken to his vocal cords in the accident had altered it completely. He had that whole gargling gravel thing going on, and when he directed it her way, she felt it right between her thighs.
She covered her shivers by rubbing her arms, when cold was the last thing she felt right then. “Well, aren’t we extra bossy this evening.”
He held the door open and grunted. Lovely.
“Did you take an extra dose of grumpy with your Wheaties this morning?” She couldn’t stop herself from poking the bear, trying to get him to react.
Not that it did her any good. He completely ignored her, just stood there waiting. And I’m the stubborn one. Grabbing her purse, she climbed out, holding up her dress while rummaging through her bag to find her house keys. Thank God she still had Cole’s jacket on, and not just for the obvious reason. Her nipples still hadn’t recovered from the effects of having that voice directed at her, all growly and demanding, and were hard and aching.
She could feel his eyes on her as she took the steps. Hear his uneven gait as he followed behind her.
So focused on the man at her back, she misjudged the second step and stumbled forward. “Shit.”
Quick as a flash, he grabbed her around the waist, dragging her up against his hard chest and stomach, rescuing her before she could fall.
“Jesus Christ, Piper. Watch where the fuck you’re going.” Then he growled under his breath, something about paying more attention to her surroundings and needing some goddamn sensible shoes.
Her fingers had automatically latched onto his forearm, and she could feel the hard, corded muscle bunch through his shirt. “There’s nothing wrong with my shoes.”
Righting herself, she carried on, noting the way his hand dropped away only to settle against the small of her back. All her nerve endings seemed to cluster below the point of contact, while that gentle press through his jacket, a firm, steady, reassuring weight, guided her up the rest of the stairs.
She’d always been a physical, huggy kind of person, but Cole’s hand affected her more than the simple touch should, made her off balance, breathless, and yeah, hot as hell.
He snorted. “They’re fucking near indecent is what they are.”
“Indecent?” she sputtered. “Are you saying they look like stripper shoes?”
Her pulse picked up speed when they reached the door and he didn’t remove his hand. No, he slid it up from her lower back to her shoulder. Her world narrowed, and all she could focus on was the continued contact.
She jumped when he reached around, taking the keys from her fingers, bringing that solid wall of warmth in close, hard against her back. “You want to go inside, right?” His voice rumbled through his chest, vibrating against her. She desperately wanted to lean back into him. “And no, I don’t think they look like stripper shoes.”
He unlocked the door, and Piper rushed inside, needing some distance between them. She flicked on a light and punched in the code on the security alarm. “Well, I wouldn’t tell Alex you don’t like them…” Her words died on her lips when she spotted an envelope on the floor.
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