If their past wasn’t enough to keep her grounded where he was concerned, the present certainly was. Her home was here, and she loved it. She had no intentions of leaving all that she had worked so hard for, especially for a man who had trouble deciding if he wanted her or not. His life was in Virginia and with his job. But they had now, and she was more than willing to take advantage of his capitulation, indulging in a sexual relationship until they caught whoever was tormenting her.
At the sound of the front door opening, she turned from the counter holding the large bowl of salad. “I know we ate a big late lunch, but I thought this might tide you over until morning.”
The wide smile on Piper’s face made his gut clench, and Brody knew she was expecting him to carry on with her now that they’d had sex. As if it wasn’t bad enough he had his conscience berating him, he had to listen to Ian read him the riot act about toying with her. The problem was, he wasn’t toying with her, he simply wasn’t free at this time to pursue a relationship and wouldn’t be until Charles was found. And if they managed to either put him away or use him as a witness against Pasquino and then put him in witness protection? Well, then he’d see just how big a heart Piper had, how forgiving she could be.
With her juices still coating his cock and the remembered feel of her spasming around him as she climaxed, he knew it was going to be a long evening. “That does look good, darlin’.” Taking a seat at the counter, he looked inside the bowl. “What all’s in there?”
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“You’re not going to try to feed us tofu or anything else that I’m allergic to, are you?” Ian asked suspiciously as he took a seat.
Piper giggled, something she hadn’t done since high school, but she couldn’t seem to help it. She was in such a good mood. Awesome sex will do that to you and having two hot guys sitting at her table, shit eating grins on their faces, well, it just didn’t get any better.
“You are not allergic to anything and trust me, you’ll like everything in there.”
“Did she just say, trust me?” Ian asked Brody with a smirk.
Winking at her, Brody answered dryly, “Yeah, but I don’t. What’s in this salad?”
“Just eat it and shut up. If you really want to know, the ingredients all came from my garden and everything is labeled out there. Check it out yourself.” Piper was relieved the mood had lightened considerably since they returned from Branson and she hoped Brody’s good humor was because the car sex was as good for him as it was for her.
Piper got her first clue that Brody wasn’t thinking along the same lines as she was when he sat in her leather armchair instead of next to her on the sofa when they moved into the great room after dinner. Her second clue was when he simply bade her good night after their movie and walked down the hall to the guest bedroom like he had done each night since they got here, as if the mind numbing sex they had a few hours ago meant nothing. Heading upstairs alone, she tried not to let her disappointment and disillusionment show, refusing to give him the satisfaction of knowing he had hurt her once again.
Self-directed anger quickly replaced her hurt feelings as she showered, especially when she soaped up her still sensitive nipples and pussy. The light strokes of her sudsy hands were enough to have her aching for more, but she refused to give in to the urge to get herself off. Masturbating again to thoughts of what she wanted and what Brody refused to give her wasn’t going to happen. When she had fled Atlantic City with her emotions in shambles, she swore she wouldn’t let another man have a hold on her again, no matter how much she wanted him. She never wanted to experience loss again like she had when Charles had been assassinated and never wanted to feel betrayed and unwanted again like she had when Brody revealed his true self. It was her fault that she kept throwing herself at a man who had made it clear he only wanted friendship and her fault she kept getting hurt when he rejected her.
“Fuck him,” she muttered as she rinsed and stepped out of the shower. “He’s not the only fish in the sea.” Cole would be in town in a few days, in time for the big Fourth of July celebration on Thursday. She could wait two days for him and then she planned on camping out with him until his tour was ready to move on to the next leg of their wilderness trek. If Brody felt she wasn’t safe enough with Cole, then he could damn well watch. As a matter of fact, she decided as she drifted to sleep, having him watch her with another man appealed greatly, especially as she imagined all the things she could do to and with Cole that would drive any man crazy with lust, even one who was hell bent on turning her away at every opportunity.
Because of her erotic dreams of Brody watching her with Cole, Brody pulling her away from Cole in a fit of jealousy, Brody joining her with Cole then followed by her, Brody and Ian in a naked tangle together, Piper awoke wanting the damn man more than ever, her pussy soaked with need and painful arousal she refused to acknowledge or give in to. Cursing all men in general, she dressed in her usual gym shorts and tank top, omitting underwear in her eagerness to escape out to her garden before either of the guys got up. After downing a glass of juice and grabbing a bagel, she slammed outside, hoping toiling in her garden helped calm her roiling emotions and anger.
“She’s muttering again,” Ian said without turning from watching Piper out the kitchen door when he heard Brody enter the kitchen.
“She does that more when she’s upset or pissed. I’m guessing she’s both this morning.” Brody looked at Piper kneeling in her garden, a sight he could never have imagined before now. Her shiny, black hair was pulled up into a ponytail and swung around her neck and shoulders as she jerked weeds from around the vegetable plants. On her knees, her soft shorts clung to the rounded globes of her ass and he felt his cock shifting, hardening as he remembered vividly the feel of that ass under his hand.
He hadn’t slept well last night, the image of Piper’s face as she went upstairs alone haunting him. He had been tempted to say to hell with his good intentions, his desire to erase the hurt reflected in those expressive green eyes and let her know how much he did want her almost enough to override his common sense. Despite the relatively short time they had known each other, he could read her like a book, but right now, he wished he couldn’t because there wasn’t anything he was willing to do, at this point, to convince her of how much he wanted her.
“If you weren’t so hell bent on doing what you think is right because, maybe Sandoval is alive and maybe we’ll have enough to charge him with, she wouldn’t be out their muttering up a storm.” Sometimes, Ian thought, his friend’s stubborn streak over doing what he thought was right was a pain in the ass.
“Stupid, fucking idiot”
Brody grinned as Piper’s grumbling could be heard through the open door. Funny, he mused, he didn’t mind being labeled a stupid, fucking idiot in this case because he was beginning to think she was right. “I think it’s cute,” he said, referring to her penchant for muttering under her breath.
“You would.”
Flipping his keys, Brody ignored Ian’s sarcasm and headed to the front door. “I’m going into town to check on her jeep and talk to Gary.”
“And to avoid the morning after awkwardness?” Ian tossed him a knowing look over his shoulder then grinned when Brody flipped him off and left without answering. The rumbling of the Chevelle’s engine starting up caught Piper’s attention and Ian watched as the curiosity on her face switched to anger when she saw Brody drive off. This time her mumbling was indiscernible, but the meaning was clear. She was pissed. Ian stepped outside intending to try to soothe her ruffled feathers, but his phone rang and seeing it was Carlos, their man under cover with Pasquino, he had to take it.
Piper’s gaze went from the tail lights of Brody’s car as he disappeared down her long drive towards the main road to Ian who was walking away from her, his phone to his ear. Watching Brody drive away, simply leave without talking to her, raised her ire to an all new level. It must be nice, she thought sarcastically, to be able to come and go without reporting to anyone or getting permission. She knew the restrictions they had put on her were for her safety, but she was also aware they thought the recent incidents aimed at her were to draw Charles out of hiding, thought if he was still alive, he’d show up to make sure she was safe.
Knowing the loss of her freedom to simply come and go as she pleased was temporary and for her safety meant very little in the face of his indifference last night and this morning, and especially when she remembered they were both only here in the first place because they were hoping Charles would come to her rescue. If he was still alive, which she didn’t believe, why would he show up now when he hadn’t cared enough about her in the past five years to let her even know he was alive?
Piper rose from her crouched position, brushed the dirt from her hands and knees and decided that a swim would help defuse her temper as well as cool her off. Ian had walked down the graveled drive and she started to call out to him to let him know where she was going. Then she remembered the way Brody hadn’t given her that simple courtesy, even after fucking her brains out yesterday, and, ignoring the little voice telling her her reasoning was flawed, she headed for the lake path with angry, purposeful strides.
Ian ended his call, turned and spotted Piper just as she entered the woods towards the lake. “Piper, wait up!” he called. When the little minx simply flipped him off and kept going, Ian found his frustrations of the past few days coming to a head and did not appreciate being silently told to go fuck himself twice in the space of five minutes. Damn Brody, he cursed as he ran after her. If Brody hadn’t been so obsessed with her ever since he had returned from that solo visit to Geneva years ago, and hadn’t insisted they be the ones contacted if she was ever in trouble, and if he didn’t have a fucking chivalrous streak a mile wide when it came to doing right by her where their involvement with Sandoval was concerned, then he wouldn’t be chasing her through the woods, in the humid late morning heat, with pent up lust that hadn’t had an outlet ever since they had touched every inch of that woman’s body with their mouths and hands four nights ago.
He caught up with her on the dock, grabbed her hand and had her bent over his arm before he even realized his intentions. He probably shouldn’t be doing this when he was mad, he thought, but knowing he wasn’t angry enough to cause her any true harm and he would stop if she told him to, he grappled with her struggling, small body, ignored her curses and jerked down her shorts, not surprised to find her naked under them.
“God damn you, Ian, let me go,” Piper swore as she tried to break away from the hard arm he had her bent over, but his grip reached around her waist and had her pinned to his side and the next thing she knew, she was bare assed for anyone out on the lake to see.