18. Piper
Piper
“Wake up, beautiful girl.” Christian’s rough whisper pulls me from my sleep.
I begin to stir, my body twisting in the sheets, cocooned in his warmth with his arms wrapped around me like he never let go all night.
“What time is it?” I rasp, my voice thick and husky with sleep.
“You don’t want to know, but trust me, you’ll want to see what I have planned.”
I roll onto my back with a sleepy stretch, arms reaching overhead as his palm settles against my bare stomach.
His fingers caress my skin, leaving goose bumps in their wake, and his lips follow with soft, lingering kisses down the center of my body.
Cracking open one eye, I find the bedroom still cloaked in darkness, and I immediately want to burrow back under the sheets.
“It’s the middle of the night,” I protest weakly.
“Not quite. Now come on.”
The mattress shifts as he stands, and I track his movement through the bedroom, my brain still fuzzy with sleep. Grabbing my phone from the nightstand, I stifle a groan when I see the ungodly hour.
“Up and at ’em, darlin’.” He’s already halfway across the room, that cocky little grin tugging at the edge of his mouth. “It’s cold as hell out there, so layer up.”
I drag myself out of bed with a groan that’s half dead zombie, half murderous woman who’s been robbed of precious sleep.
Fumbling around in the dark, I throw on whatever clothes my hands find first and twist my hair into a messy knot at the base of my neck.
When I shuffle into the living room, Christian reaches for me, his calloused hand engulfing mine, and he leads me out into the crisp predawn air.
The barn door creaks open, and my steps falter when he heads straight for Roger’s stall.
The massive black stallion towers over me, like a mountain of midnight, his coat gleaming like black silk even in the dim light.
“Absolutely not.” I shake my head, taking a step back. “He’s enormous.”
Christian’s chest presses against my back, steadying me. “You’ll be fine, I promise. I’ll be right there with you.”
“You’re riding with me?” I sound as terrified as I feel, but he only chuckles.
“Of course I am. You don’t go anywhere on horseback without me until I know you’re comfortable.”
I watch, completely captivated, as he readies Roger with such ease.
The way his forearms flex as he adjusts the saddle, and how Roger stands perfectly still beneath him, head bowed slightly, like even the damn horse knows who’s in charge—it’s like every Wild West fantasy come to life.
Except this cowboy is very, very real and, for now, mine.
Once Roger is saddled and ready, Christian swings up onto the horse like he was born to ride.
He reaches down for me, and when I grasp his hands, he effortlessly hauls me up in front of him.
I barely have time to find my balance before his arms come around me, creating a cage of muscle and warmth that has my heart stumbling over itself. The morning air might be cold, but tucked against his chest like this, I could melt.
“Relax, darlin’,” he murmurs, his voice a low rasp against my ear. “I’ve got you.”
Each step Roger takes pushes me deeper into Christian’s embrace. His thighs frame mine, all solid and secure, while his arms form a protective barrier around my waist. My pulse flutters, both from nerves and from the way Christian holds me like I’m something precious.
“How far are we going?” The words catch in my throat as Roger’s hooves crunch softly over frostbitten grass, each step carrying me further into this moment I want to bottle up and keep forever.
“There’s this place,” he says, his deep voice rumbling through me where my back presses against his chest. “Been saving it for the right moment.”
“And how many other women have you taken to this special spot of yours?”
“After this?” His lips brush against my ear. “Only one.”
Jesus Christ, I wish he’d stop making me fall in love with him. Because when this ends, scooping my heart up off the floor is going to fucking suck.
Christian’s arms tighten around me as we crest the hill, and holy hell, the view steals my breath.
The farm stretches out below us like something from a dream, all endless trees reaching toward the horizon, and the main house sits nestled in the valley like a lighthouse calling us home.
Up here, the world feels pure and untouched.
It feels like we’re the only two people who’ve ever existed in this perfect piece of heaven he’s chosen to share with me.
He swings down from Roger’s back, and his hands find my waist, lifting me off with ease.
After securing the horse to a wooden post, Christian molds himself against my back.
His arms snake around my waist, and his chin rests in that spot between my neck and shoulder that feels like it was carved just for him.
I lace my fingers through his, watching the sky transform from inky darkness to the kind of watercolor beauty that doesn’t seem real. Dawn bleeds across the horizon in shades of pink and gold, and my heart threatens to crack wide open because I know exactly why he brought me here.
This moment.
This view.
Jesus, this man.
The guy who pins me against walls and makes me scream his name shouldn’t be capable of something this tender, but here he is, showing me a side of himself that makes me want to run and stay forever all at once.
As the light starts to lift and spill gold over the farm below us, I feel Christian’s body finally relax against mine.
“The day we lost my mom was almost exactly this time of day.” My breath catches at the crack in his voice.
His arms tighten around me, and I just know he’s trusting me with a piece of himself that he’s never given to anyone else.
“She went into labor during the worst blizzard we’d seen in years.
Roads were shut down, and there was no way in or out.
We figured it’d be fine. Just welcome Colton into the world right here at home, and everything would be okay.
Until it wasn’t.” My chest aches as I picture Christian as a scared kid watching his world fall apart.
“I was fourteen. My father was beside her in the bedroom, completely broken. He was just crying. And Colton was this tiny, perfect thing, barely fifteen minutes old, and he was wailing too. I remember stepping away from my mom’s bed, picking up Colt, and taking him to the window.
” The sun breaks fully over the horizon now, and Christian’s voice softens.
“I held him up to the glass, and I whispered to him that our mom was watching the sun come up with us and that she’d always be watching over us when the light came.
The sun was rising right as she took her last breath, and it was like she was giving us something to hold onto.
Ever since then, I’ve believed every new day is a gift from her.
Sometimes, when I stand in this exact spot, I swear I can feel her. ”
Tears burn behind my eyes, and I press back against him, wanting desperately to take away even the smallest piece of his hurt.
Slowly, I turn in his arms, my hands finding his face, while his gaze stays locked on the golden sunrise spreading across the horizon.
When his eyes finally drop to meet mine, something deep inside my chest settles into place.
I brush my lips against his jaw, tasting the salt of tears that could belong to either of us, and all I can think is that this man means everything to me.
“Thank you for sharing this with me. It’s beautiful.”
“I wanted to save this for your last morning here, but we’re not going to have clear skies for a few days, and I…” He trails off, his th umb drawing slow circles on my hip. “I couldn’t let you leave without seeing this because it’s special to me. You’re special to me, Piper.”
My heart swells and breaks all at once. In three days, I’ll head back down to Vi’s, and this bubble we’ve created will burst. Neither of us has dared to speak about what happens next, and I can’t bring myself to ask because the truth is, I’m terrified of the answer.
With the morning light turning him golden, and his heart raw and open in my hands, I know this isn’t just some dirty little secret we’re keeping. This isn’t just sex and stolen moments and things we shouldn’t do.
This is love.
It has to be.
Because nothing else could hurt this sweetly.