Chapter 17 Piper
SEVENTEEN
Piper
On our way into the kitchen, Grayden grabbed the bag of pastries from the side table. He stuck the to-go cup of coffee in his fridge for later. No point wasting good espresso.
After placing a couple of croissants in the toaster oven to warm, he pointed to the new coffeemaker and bean grinder on the counter. “I’ve upgraded the equipment around here.”
“Thank goodness. I hadn’t seen you at Silver Linings for so long, I thought maybe you’d given up caffeine altogether.”
He hummed contemplatively as he poured beans into the grinder.
I sat at the table, his blanket still around my shoulders. My nerves were jittery, but at least my heart had finally started to slow down.
I touched my fingers to my neck, remembering Danny’s fingers there. He hadn’t pushed very hard, but in that moment, I hadn’t known what he might do. I’d been terrified.
Then Grayden had shown up exactly when I needed him, and he’d been fierce. Now he’d completely switched gears, taking care of me and making sure I was okay.
I was still struggling to catch up.
“Is there a reason you haven’t been to Silver Linings lately?” I asked.
He moved around the small kitchen to get the coffeemaker started. “You said you’d be busy over the holidays. And I wasn’t sure if you wanted to see me after that night at Hearthstone.”
“I thought you had a nice time.”
“I did.”
“I made you coffee that night,” I teased. “It’s our thing, remember?”
He smirked, leaning his hip against the counter. “But then we were talking about my prison time, and it got a little awkward. Unless that was just me.”
I looked down at the table, tracing the grain of the wood with my finger. He wasn’t wrong.
“What would Teller do about Danny if your brother were here in Silver Ridge?” Grayden asked, changing the subject.
“He would probably start a manhunt to track Danny down and throw him in a jail cell.”
“Still an option. Even without Teller as chief of police.”
“I don’t know if they can do anything except cite Danny for trespassing.”
“He attacked you.” Anger flashed across Grayden’s face. “He had his hand on your throat.”
“But getting charges to stick isn’t so simple. Even if I get a restraining order, it wouldn’t keep him away in reality. And if there’s any chance of Danny making things right with Ollie, I don’t want to prevent that.”
Grayden studied me for a long moment. “You’re a good mom.”
“Even though I have no idea what to do? Things have always been tense with Danny, but this is awful.” I ran a hand through my hair, frustration coursing through me. “I feel so helpless.”
“You’re not helpless.”
I thought of what he’d said to Danny. Your days of hurting Piper are over. Because I’m here now. And I won’t fucking stand for it.
What man had ever stood up for me that way? Except for Teller, but my brother had his own life to live now. He deserved his happy ending with Ayla.
Grayden hadn’t defended me out of obligation. He’d done it simply because he wanted to.
Before long, we had cups of coffee and plates with toasted croissants. The first bite of buttery pastry melted on my tongue, and for a moment I just let myself enjoy the simple comfort.
Like sitting next to Grayden earlier on his futon. He’d made me feel better just by being there, being himself.
I cleared my throat. “This is the second time we’ve sat at this table in, what, a month? Most of my memories of this kitchen aren’t nearly so pleasant. I’m glad you’re the one renting the house.”
“Might be easier if it were a stranger, though. Somebody who didn’t have his own baggage overlapping with yours. Someone without my messy past.”
I shook my head. “I don’t agree. You’re making the house into something new, and the fact that it’s you, it’s somehow…better.”
“If I can find a way to wipe my slate clean, there’s hope for anyone, right?”
“Maybe I’m just trying to say I missed you the last few weeks. I’ve been thinking about you.” I looked up suddenly, shocked I’d said that. But it was true.
Grayden’s brown eyes were locked on me. “I’ve been thinking about you too. A lot.”
My heart rate kicked up again, but not from anxiety this time.
He brought his hand alongside mine, his pinky stroking my pinky, and my heart bunched right up under my throat.
My gaze fell to Grayden’s lips before I blinked and looked away.
“I’m embarrassed you heard those things Danny was saying about me.” My face heated.
Lying slut.
“Don’t be, Piper. He’s nothing but a bully. He doesn’t get to define you.”
“I know that logically. But after years of hearing those kinds of insults… If Grace or Teller or your brothers had ever heard Danny talk that way, they would’ve been furious. But nobody else knows.”
I was so glad they didn’t know.
Grayden’s pinky stroked mine again. “You’re one of the best people I’ve ever met. You make my day brighter every time I see you. You’ve always been that way.”
“I thought you never noticed me when I was a kid.”
“Sure I did. Just not the way I notice you now.” He laughed softly. “Now you’re… Fuck.” He whistled. “You’re a knockout. Not just the way you look, either. First night I got back to Silver Ridge, on Thanksgiving, I had no idea what was about to hit me.”
“You make me sound like a natural disaster or something.”
“Am I that far off? It’s useless to argue with the weather, and it’s useless to argue with you. You always win.”
I wiped my eyes, finding my smile again.
Grayden was right. I was a pretty awesome lady with a vibrant personality, and nothing Danny said could change that. I knew who I was.
“Thank you,” I said.
“Just being honest.”
I was staring at his lips again, so I saw the exact moment they creased into a frown.
“Piper, I went too far earlier with Danny. I apologize for that. My temper blew up when I saw him hurting you.”
“You were defending me.”
“But then there’s my prison record. My shitty reputation, far as Ashford and most of the town thinks. Also the fact that I curse too much and I’m not always in the best mood.”
“Cursing is hardly a major character flaw. Or being grouchy.”
“What I’m trying to say is, I never want you to be afraid of me. Ever.”
I met his eyes and saw so much sincerity there.
“I think of you as complicated. But if you’re asking if I feel safe with you, I do. I always have.”
“You are safe with me.”
“If I didn’t feel that way, I wouldn’t be sitting with you. I’d be using every dirty self-defense trick in the book to bust my way out of here.”
“Glad to hear it.”
But I still had questions. The longer I waited to ask them, the more those unknowns stood between us. The more the questions grew into something I couldn’t ignore.
And then, like he could read my mind, Grayden murmured, “Ask me. You can just ask me.”
I knew exactly what he meant.
Instead of speaking, I got up and went to the coffeemaker to refill my mug, needing something to do with my hands. Grayden stood too, setting our plates in the sink, and leaned against the counter beside me. Waiting.
My throat was thick, and fear gathered like storm clouds inside me. Grace and Callum were afraid of asking this question, and I was too.
Afraid. But not of him.
I had to do this for both of us. Because for some reason, Grayden couldn’t just come out and tell me. Maybe fear was holding him back too.
He’d served his time for involuntary manslaughter. If he felt remorse, as he seemed to, then did it matter what mistakes he’d made? Didn’t he deserve a second chance either way? Forgiveness? Grace and Callum had already given that to him.
I hadn’t known this version of Grayden very long, but my heart told me he was still the good man I’d grown up knowing.
But the truth did matter. I had to square the man in front of me, this man I enjoyed being around, with the man who was supposedly a killer.
When I next spoke, the words came out small. Almost like I was a kid again, on the terrible day when Grace had told me the news. We’d been standing in this very house.
“They said you killed someone in that bar fight. Beat another soldier until he died. Did you?”
The question hung between us.
“No,” he finally said. “I didn’t kill anyone.”
I exhaled sharply, shocked by the relief I felt. “But you pled guilty.”
“I did. I took the fall for someone else.”
That revelation went through me like a shockwave. “You have to tell them. Your family.”
“I would tell my brothers and my sister anything if they asked me. But they still haven’t. I’ll tell you the whole ugly saga if that’s what you want. But Piper, don’t expect me to come out of it sounding like the hero. I’m not.”
“Then who are you?” I asked desperately.
“You want the honest truth?”
“I do. I want to understand you.”
The sudden heat in his dark eyes seared me to my core.
“I’m just a man who wants to kiss you more than any fucking thing in the world right now.”
I leaned into him without a conscious thought. Our lips brushed, then pressed harder and lingered.
God, it felt good.
His tongue licked the seam of my lips, then slid gently into my mouth. He groaned, setting off an ache of pure want between my legs.
I felt like I’d slipped into a hot bath. It was like every moment of each of our lives, every mistake and wrong turn, had led us here to this shared moment. The two of us finding common ground when nothing else made sense.
Grayden’s calloused hand moved to cup the side of my neck, thumb tracing my jaw. I got swept up in the deep strokes of his tongue, the hungry pulls of his lips.
After a perfect, breathtaking minute, he broke the kiss.
“I care about you, Piper. I probably shouldn’t say that, since we have all kinds of history and I’m your renter now, and I’m still working on sorting my own shit out.
But I haven’t stopped thinking about you since you demanded I sleep on your couch weeks ago.
Bring home a stray, and that’s what you get. ”
“You’re not a stray. An adorable rescue, at the very least.”
“That’s one of the nicer things someone has said about me.”
“I can be much nicer.”
His hands rested on my hips, tugging me closer. Our mouths found each other again. His lips were soft, and I liked the rougher brush of his beard against my skin. His tongue glided against mine.
We stopped for air. His smile was hypnotizing. “I’d like to take you out sometime. Just you and me.”
“I’d like that too.” I almost pointed out that it was just the two of us right now. We could do anything we wanted. But the mess Danny had left wasn’t such a turn on.
Then again, I was feeling pretty into this right now…
My hip brushed the thick erection in his jeans. Oh, I wanted that. Wanted to feel his cock in my mouth, my tongue driving him wild. My hands and mouth tracing all that ink on his skin. That beard against my inner thighs.
I could imagine our bodies naked and moving together. My legs wrapped around him while he thrust inside me. My panties went damp from thinking about it. Those well-worn fantasies. Years of imagining what Grayden would be like in bed.
He pressed a kiss to my cheek, then nuzzled his beard against me in a way that made me shiver.
“You should know, Callum made it pretty clear he wouldn’t be okay with this. Grace might not either. And you can guess what Ashford and half the rest of Silver Ridge would say. Not to mention your big brother.”
I cringed, imagining Teller’s reaction. “But why on earth would we tell them? I don’t make a habit of telling my older brother about my sex life. And I certainly don’t need to tell Grace if I sleep with hers. Nobody needs to know what kind of fun we have.”
Grayden pulled back and looked at me, a crease appearing between his brows. “Piper, I’m trying to ask you on a real date. Not some secret hookup.”
“A date?”
“Would that be so bad?”
“But I don’t date. That’s not something I’m looking for.”
“You just want to use me for my body?” When I didn’t answer, the humor in his eyes disappeared. “Oh. Shit. Not sure if I’m flattered or offended.”
“I, um, I guess we had different things in mind.”
“Oh, believe me, I love the sound of what you have in mind. I was just hoping for more.”
I forced myself to untangle from him. Take a step back.
“It’s not about you,” I said. “It’s me. After my divorce, I promised myself I wouldn’t ever get in that kind of situation again. No dating, no marriage. No falling in love. I’m done with all of that.”
Please don’t judge me for it, I added silently.
“But you and Ollie both deserve to have someone who’s devoted to you. You deserve a guy you can always count on.”
“And you think you’re someone we could always count on?” I squeezed my eyes shut. “Oh God, I’m sorry. That sounded terrible. I didn’t mean it.”
The muscle in his jaw ticked. “Nah, I understand.”
“I don’t know what I would’ve done if you hadn’t shown up today. I’m grateful.”
“You don’t have to be. You owe me nothing. But I also know a few hot hookups with you wouldn’t be enough for me.”
Wow. I’d pretty much offered him casual sex, and he’d turned me down. But I’d turned him down too. So we were both disappointed.
It wasn’t fun.
“Friends?” I asked lamely.
“Friendship happens to be an untapped talent of mine,” he said gruffly. “Along with interrupting holiday dinners, feeding the small-town gossip machine, and impromptu snowball fights.”
“You also make a pretty good cup of coffee.”
“That’s a serious compliment coming from the likes of you.”
“It is.”
“Since we’re being so honest…” He touched my chin. “Just know, I’ll be thinking of your kiss for a very long time.”
Because I was a mess of contradictory feelings, I leaned in and brushed my lips against his again.
Grayden held my face, his kiss softer this time. Like it would be the last time, and he wanted to savor it. Then he kissed my nose, pulling back after an achingly slow moment.
I tried to insist on cleaning up the mess Danny had made, but Grayden refused. “You have far better things to do with your time,” he said.
He grabbed my coat and purse from where I’d left them. Returning to the kitchen, he held up the coat, and I slid my arms into it.
“Let me know if you have any more issues with Danny. So I can be there. As a friend.”
Ugh, why did that word sound so inadequate all of a sudden?
“I will. Thanks.”
Grayden tucked a lock of my hair behind my ear. My breath caught, my gaze lingering on his. Suddenly, I didn’t want to leave. My hands wanted to grab hold of him and never let go.
But that thought alone was scary enough to have me running for the door.