Chapter 9 #3
Just then came a bark from upstairs. And another. Then a thundering out in the hall.
“Gus!” he called.
“Sounds like he has the zoomies,” Piper said.
Gus skidded past the kitchen door, then scrambled back into the room, his four legs going in every direction; then he ran
right into Piper headfirst. Thank God for Emilio’s lightning-fast reflexes. He caught her against his chest. “Are you okay?”
he asked.
“Speaking of things that are out of control,” she said, breathless. “Gus, I love you, but you’ve got to take it down a notch.”
In unison, they turned their heads. Gus stood in the middle of the kitchen, tail wagging, looking right at them. It was like
he was smiling. Then he turned and trotted out of the room.
In another split-second decision, Emilio decided to hold on to Piper. “We keep finding ourselves in this situation.”
“Maybe Gus has been reading the F1 gossip. It would explain a lot.”
“He thinks we’re a couple.”
Piper looked him in the eye and bit her lower lip. “He doesn’t know it’s fake.”
His heart pounded in his chest. It reverberated through his entire body. “Can I tell you a secret?”
“Of course. I love secrets.”
He hoped to hell he didn’t live to regret saying what came next. “I had a dream about you.”
“No, you did not.”
“Yes, I did.” He tugged her a little closer. “We were in the kitchen. This kitchen. Just like this.”
She swallowed slowly, her eyes full of anticipation. “What happened?”
“I ran my fingers through your hair. Then I kissed you. And you kissed me back.”
Her eyelids fluttered. “That does not sound fake.”
“It didn’t feel fake. But it didn’t feel entirely real, either. Not like now. Not like this moment.”
She nodded. “This does feel real, doesn’t it?” With his hand pressed against her lower back, he felt the moment her spine
softened. Like she wanted to melt into him. Like she wanted to give herself over to him. He wanted that, too.
“Piper, I’m your boss . . .”
“Gus is my real boss.”
He laughed quietly. “But I’m paying you to care for him. I don’t want you to think that I would ever . . .” The words caught
in his throat. “Take advantage of the situation.”
A wide smile crossed her luscious lips. “You have got to be kidding.”
“I’m not.”
She rolled her hands over his shoulders and pulled him closer. Everything in his body went tight and hot. “I’ve been thinking
about kissing you from the moment we met. I think that means you are not taking advantage.”
“But you’ve been hurt. And you’re such a sweet person.”
She was clinging to him now, her fingers curling into his shoulder blades. The warmth from being in each other’s arms, standing
stomach to stomach, swirled around them. “All we’ve talked about is a kiss. And if it’s terrible, we can both walk away and
pretend like it didn’t happen.”
“Do you really think it’s going to be terrible?”
“Considering how much I’ve studied your lips, no. I do not. There’s no way you’re not good at kissing. It’s me who’s the wild
card.”
He laughed. “I’m willing to take my chances.”
He leaned in, skimming his lips along her jaw until his mouth was right by her ear. He drew in her soft scent, filling his
lungs with candy-like air. She went a little limp in his arms. Was this really happening? Or was this another dream? There
was no time to ponder those questions while her mouth was right there, tempting him, making him want to forget anything and
everything but her.
“And so am I,” she said. She pressed her lips against his and gave him the chance to use his lightning-fast reflexes for something
else—this time, catching her sweet and unbelievable mouth. His eyes drifted shut and the room seemed to spin with all the
dizziness and anticipation of a first kiss. It was magical—warm—and again, he found himself wondering if she was really there.
He slanted his head to one side and dug his fingers into the delicate hair at her nape, pulled her closer to him while he
took the kiss deeper. Her tongue met his in a way that was electric, exciting and yet perfectly natural. This was a kiss for
the ages, but in some ways it felt like it had already happened hundreds of times. How did she conjure such feelings in him?
Familiarity and comfort had become such foreign concepts. But right now? This felt right.
“Emilio—” Piper pushed back, breaking the kiss.
Good God, the vision of her mouth was enough to cut him off at the knees.
“I think we need to admit it.”
Was she about to reject him? Crush him to tiny bits? “What?”
“That kiss was not terrible. Not even close.”
He had to work double-time to contain the grin that wanted to cross his face, which didn’t seem entirely fair since he also
had a raging hard-on. There were only so many visceral reactions he could contain at one time. “Agreed. Not even close.”
She took a deep breath—so deep her shoulders rose up near her ears. Then she smiled. It was the same smile that had first
caught his eye. The one that bewitched him every time. She moved in for another kiss. “But I’d like to think we can do even
better.”