Chapter 31 Piper
THIRTY-ONE
Piper
I woke up wedged between two couch cushions. And with a pounding headache.
Crap, what had I done?
Whiskey, babe. Too much whiskey.
I jolted upright as more of last night came back to me. Someone breaking into my garage. My shameless attempt to seduce Grayden into spending the night.
And then the image, hot enough to sizzle as I remembered it, of Grayden kneeling over me with his thick cock in his hand. His thumb flicking over his piercing. The heady scent of his arousal. And when he came…
“Piper? Hey. You’re up.” Grayden leaned against the archway into the living room. His hair and clothes were rumpled. Another brief image came. More a collection of sensations really. Snuggling up with him on the couch.
So he’d stayed.
“I was going to make some breakfast.” He pointed a thumb in the direction of the kitchen. “How you feeling?”
I kicked off the blanket and got up, patting down my tangled hair. When I swayed, Grayden lunged forward to grab my arms.
“Somebody’s hungover.”
“Barely,” I protested. But yeah. I was a little hungover. “Just means I had fun. Nothing some coffee and eggs won’t fix.”
“Good.” He was close now. Touching me, practically holding me up. Warmth flooded my stomach.
“I’m glad you stayed,” I said softly.
“Promised I would.” He pushed strands of hair back from my cheek. “I didn’t really have a choice about it, in the end.”
“Because I’m bossy? Or because I fell asleep on you?”
His grin was knowing, but he didn’t elaborate. “You remember what happened before the sleeping part, right?”
I glanced down between us in an exaggerated way, as if I was trying to get a glimpse of the goods, then lifted my eyebrows. Too bad he was wearing his jeans.
“Sure do. You nearly set fire to my brain with how hot you were. Nice show.”
“I had a lot of inspiration.”
Grayden’s fingers held my chin as he angled his head for a kiss. He tasted minty. He’d probably found the extra toothbrushes under the bathroom sink. Hopefully I didn’t taste too bad, but judging from the eager strokes of his tongue, he wasn’t complaining.
But as he pulled back, I winced at the throb in my temples. Ow.
“Let’s get you some food and medicine,” he said.
“Don’t forget the coffee.”
Grayden took my hand and led me toward the kitchen. “I would never.”
“Marry me,” I slurred. Kidding around.
But the look he gave me. Oh boy. I’d rarely seen those dark eyes more intense.
He insisted I sit on a stool at the island while he found my coffee beans and got a pot brewing. I gave half-hearted instructions on how to use my machine and where to find everything.
The quartz countertop was blessedly cool when I slumped forward and put my forehead against it.
“Here.” A glass of orange juice landed in front of me, along with a couple ibuprofen. “Take these. I’ll scramble some eggs.”
“Thank you.” The OJ perked me up. While Grayden broke eggs into a bowl, I propped my elbow on the island counter. “I don’t think I’ve ever had a guy make me a morning-after breakfast before. Danny certainly didn’t, and these days, I’m always gone by the morning.”
Grayden made a little grumbling sound, and the next eggshell broke into pieces in his fingers. I snickered.
“Am I distracting you?” I asked.
“No.” He fished a piece of shell out of the bowl, then grabbed a paper towel to wipe his hands.
“You don’t like hearing that I’ve been with other guys? I was married, Grayden. I have a kid.”
“I’m aware.” He grabbed a fork to beat the eggs. “I just think you should be treated better.”
“It’s my choice. I never spend a whole night if I go to someone else’s place. And I never bring anyone here, even on the rare occasions Ollie is sleeping elsewhere.”
“Except me? That what you’re saying?”
I shrugged one shoulder, my stomach doing something strange. “You’d already slept here once before. You’re different.”
“Okay,” he said, lips curving with amusement.
“Do you usually make women breakfast after you’ve…you know…”
He stopped stirring the eggs and cocked his hip. “You really want to hear about that?”
“I don’t care.”
“Okay.” He was smirking like he didn’t believe me.
I huffed. “Would you stop just saying okay like that’s a real response? It isn’t. It’s a conversation ender.”
“Maybe I don’t want to talk about us sleeping with other people.”
“What if I’m curious? You know about my big relationship mistake. I don’t know anything about that part of your past.”
“You haven’t heard enough of my mistakes already?” he joked. “Hey, where do you keep your cooking pans?”
“The cabinet in front of you. In the kitchen island.” The coffeemaker beeped, so I got up to pour a couple of mugs.
After heating the pan, Grayden poured the eggs in to cook, humming a quiet melody. I set a mug on the counter beside him and mainlined my first cup. I sighed as the caffeine made its way through my bloodstream.
He opened my fridge and bent to look around. Which gave me a great opportunity to admire his ass in his jeans.
“How about breakfast tacos?” he asked. “You’ve got tortillas and salsa.”
“Yes, please. There’s shredded cheese in the drawer too. And grab the salsa in the back. That’s the spicy one Ollie hates.”
“Excellent. I love spicy.” Grayden set everything on the counter. Now that I was feeling mostly human, I helped him warm up the tortillas and assemble our plates. Then he added a few sprigs of cilantro from a bunch I’d bought last week and had forgotten about.
“Cilantro. Look at you, Mr. Gourmet.”
“I’m no Callum, but I get by.”
We sat at the kitchen table, knees bumping from how close we were sitting. The tacos were exactly what I needed. Carbs, fat, and protein. A little spice and that hint of freshness from the herbs.
Grayden polished off his taco and sipped his mug of coffee. “There isn’t much to tell about my dating history. Never had a serious girlfriend in high school or when I was on active duty.”
Oh. So we were talking about this.
“Once I was in prison, I got extremely well acquainted with both my hands. There are women who are into dating inmates, but I was not interested in anything like that. And after…” He tugged on his lower lip. “Life in general was rocky the first few years after my release. I wasn’t much of a catch.”
I pressed my knee firmly against his thigh. “How did you end up in Seattle?”
“Well, I didn’t have parole or anything like that to deal with. I was a free man, supposedly. Came back to Colorado at first. Showed up in Silver Ridge, and I think you know what happened. Callum told me to get lost.”
I frowned at my coffee. “I heard. Grace told me after she found out.” She hadn’t known until earlier this year.
“Cal changed his mind about wanting me here, of course, and I’ve never blamed him for what he said.
But anyway, I decided on Seattle because the JAG officer who originally defended me lived there.
He kept in touch with me over the years while I was inside.
By the time I was out, he was working as a private attorney. Helped me get on my feet.”
“It’s great you had someone like that.”
“Yeah. Thank God. He was kind of a father figure, I suppose. Didn’t have many of those in my life.”
“Are you still in touch with him?”
“He passed last year.”
I reached for his hand. “I’m sorry. I wish I could’ve met him.”
“You’re sweet to say that.” He smiled easily, lifting my hand to kiss the back of it. “Sweet in lots of ways. I’ve never felt like this about anyone else, Piper. I want you to know that.”
No words came to me, my pulse going too fast.
“I’m going to fix your broken garage door,” he said. “I’ve got some pieces of wood at my place and an extra lock. Don’t say I don’t have to. I know I don’t. I’d like to.”
I decided to be easygoing. “That would be very kind of you. Thanks.”
He smiled and kissed my hand again. “Can I spend some more time with you after that? I’d really like to.”
My face flushed, and I couldn’t help rolling my eyes. He was being so…formal, suddenly. “I thought you weren’t sure about your plans for this weekend.”
“Only said that because I wasn’t sure if I should see you more. I hate the thought of people judging you for your association with me.”
“We’re back to that topic again?”
“I will stop bringing it up. But only on one condition.”
“Which is?”
Grayden scooted his chair out from the table and pulled mine closer to him. His legs opened, bracketing me between his spread thighs. He took both my hands in his.
“Let me take you out today. On a real date.”
I started shaking my head, but more out of habit than meaning no. Because I wanted to say yes. And wasn’t that terrifying?
“What am I supposed to wear?” I asked.
Grayden’s smile was one of the biggest I’d seen on him. “How about jeans and a warm layer. Hiking boots too.”
“We’re going hiking? There’s snow on most of the trails.”
“Not hiking. Something else, if I can get it set up. Heavy boots will be a good idea.” He sat forward and kissed along my jaw. I tilted my head to give him access.
Because I was just putty in this man’s hands, apparently.
“Feel free to skip a shower,” he murmured, all growly and sultry. “I’d love it if you still smell like me when we’re out later.”
The strange, unsettled feelings inside me turned to desire. A far more comfortable place for me.
With sex, I always knew what to do. And I knew my limits.
“Or you could shower with me right now,” I said. “We can have fun getting clean and then dirty again.”
“Later.” His lips met mine, far too slowly. A tease of what else was to come. “Maybe after our date. I’m hoping to get lucky. Think I’ve got a shot?”
“We’ll have to see how good this date is.”