She lets that hang in the air, then holds out her hand. I take it instinctually. She tugs me toward her bed. “Sit with me?”
I obey. The comforter is soft, but her presence is softer. Her hand is so small in mine. I’ve held her hands a million times for an equally large number of reasons. Butthisis different. There’s no danger, no direction to give. It’s just us.
I risk a glance at her, and she’s already looking at me, eyes wide and shining.
“You will never lose me, Nolan,” she whispers, eyes intense and serious. “Ever.”
“I did.” The crowd separated us. Elliot had to guard her. She slipped right from my fingers into the unknown, and that is something I can’t condone.
Piper turns toward me and touches a hand to my bearded cheek. The gentleness of her touch breaks something within me. My own breathing starts to quicken. “You did not lose me, Nolan. You saved me. Again.” She smiles warmly. “You were my alpha first, even if we didn’tknowknow. The scent-match only confirmed it.”
Fuck.Those words shatter what’s left of my resolve. I close the distance between us, my hand sliding to cradle the nape of her neck as our lips collide. Her gasp dissolves against my mouth, and the taste of cherry lip balm floods my senses. My heartbeat thunders in my ears as I pull her closer, feeling her fingers grip my shirt like she’s afraid I’ll disappear. The line between security guard and client disintegrates under the weight of this bond.
I could lose myself here. I almost do. Then I remember my role.
I pull back first, breathless. “I shouldn’t have?—”
“Don’t,” she says, and pulls me back to her.
This time, the kiss is slower, an enjoyment of the lost time versus making up for it. When we break apart, my heart is pounding loud enough to shake the bedframe.
This could become so much more, but it can’t. Not yet. Tonight is a result of the adrenaline of the day and nothing more.
Even I don’t believe that.
I force myself to let go and gently untangle our hands. “I should go. You need sleep.”
She nods, but doesn’t look happy about it. “Yeah. Early day tomorrow. You could stay?”
“I should go do another perimeter sweep.” I get up, walk to the door, and pause. “If you need me?—”
“I know where you’ll be.”
Never far from reach.
I smile. “Good night, Piper.”
“Night, Nolan.”
I close the door behind me, lean against the wall, and exhale. My mouth is still tingling, and my chest is a mess of hope and dread.
Piper Sumner smashed through every single wall I’ve ever put up, and now…
Now I’m in love.
CHAPTER 11
Piper
If I goany longer without eating, I might chew through the beautiful, imported silk wallpaper of this manor.
“Remind me why the chef’s off on Wednesdays?” I whisper with all the subtlety of a pop star wearing bunny slippers. Which… okay, I am.
Nolan shuts the book he’s reading. “Kellen enjoys cooking. Are you hungry?”
“Starving.” I set aside the notebook I’d been scribbling lyrics into. “Want to go investigate options in the kitchen?” Which is a stupid question because Nolan will literally follow me anywhere, even before this new bond formed.
Nolan sets his book aside and rises from his chair. “Lead the way.”
