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“No. But,” Lawson said through clenched teeth, his gaze still on me. “She did not do it.”
I pulled my lip in between my teeth and tried to give him a small smile, something to calm him, but my lips wouldn’t cooperate.
We continued to stare at each other for another beat, my chest heavy with both despair for myself and admiration for the man who was defending me so steadfast without ever having asked me the very question the attorney just had.
After one more second, Lawson’s breathing returned to normal and he pulled his hand from beneath mine and used it to find the chair that was nearly a foot behind him. Once he settled into the seat again, he looked back at Mr. Wheeler and said evenly, “Your job is to defend her innocence. So, tell me how you’re going to do it.”
I sat back in my own chair and while my stomach was still tight, the pressure in my chest lifted a bit when Lawson wrapped his arm around the back of my chair and squeezed my shoulder.
As the attorney launched into the specifics of it all, I did my best to pay attention to what he was saying. But all I could think about was how even if I was cleared of this, there was no way the residency program I’d been in would take me back. And that I would be lucky to find a school anywhere that would take me.
I swallowed back the lump that was forming in my throat as despair washed over me.
36
Lawson
“Piper?” I waited for a response, but when none came I peered around the corner into the living room.
She sat on the end of the couch, Seven in her lap, and stroked the cat while staring into space. It was the same position she’d been in when I emerged from my office an hour ago. And except for the cat, she’d looked exactly the same when I’d gone into my office this morning…nearly eight hours ago.
I wasn’t just worried about her. I was petrified that something inside of her had finally broken and she’d given up. I knew she was stronger than that, and more than likely she would shake out of this, but there was a nagging voice in the back of my mind that told me she wasn’t going to come back from this.
She’d been through so much in her twenty-six years. The loss of her twin brother, nearly dying, and now losing her dreams. And despite all my efforts, it seemed like I was helpless to fix this problem for her. It was a feeling I didn’t like. I’d always been able to fix Piper’s problems, even when she didn’t know it was me who was doing it. But this time seemed to be the one that even I couldn’t wave a magic wand and make go away.
But if I couldn’t fix the problem, I could at least try to make her happy.
“Pippie?” I said again, this time a little louder.
She jumped at the sound of my voice, causing my cat to jump out of her lap, and turned to look at me. “Hey. You done working?” she asked.
Her voice sounded tired, defeated.
I nodded. “I’ve been done over an hour.”
“Oh.” She forced her eyes to clear as she looked at me. “Want me to cook dinner?”
I barked out a laugh, the first time in days, and shook my head. “I’d rather not spend the night with food poisoning.”
She didn’t even bother to look offended, just nodded and went back to staring at the black television screen.
I crossed the floor to come stand in front of her and dropped to my knees, her eyes widening. She was sitting with her legs tucked beneath her and I grabbed her ankles, pulling them until her feet were on the floor.
“What are you doing?” she squeaked when I grabbed her wrists and pulled her into a standing position. I didn’t answer as I pulled her down the hall, her feet reluctantly moving because I gave her no other choice. “Lawson, seriously, what are you doing?”
I pulled her into the bathroom behind me and closed the door, finally releasing the hold I had on her wrists. “Take a shower. We’re having a party.”
I turned away from her to turn on the faucet and once I was satisfied that the temperature was at her preferred nuclear hot, began pulling the yoga pants she was wearing down. She grabbed at them, yelping. “Party? No, no party. I’m not in the mood to entertain tonight.”
“Good thing I’m the host then.” I knelt on one knee and tugged at her calf. When she refused to lift her foot, I tipped my head back and looked into her too pale face. “We can do this the easy way or the hard way. Either way, your pants are coming off and you’re getting in the shower. Which is it going to be?”
She just stood there, gaping down at me until finally she relented and lifted a leg. “So bossy,” she murmured as I pulled the pants off and then we repeated the process with the other leg. After they’d been discarded in the corner, I stood and grabbed for the hem of her shirt and without any hesitation, she lifted her arms and allowed me to pull the soft cotton over her head.
As she stood before me in nothing but a bra and panties, I had to work hard not to gaze at the way her breasts swelled beneath the pink lace. It didn’t matter I’d had her in my bed more times than I could count, or that I’d seen her spread bare beneath me. Every time I caught sight of the soft skin that was usually hidden beneath clothing, my chest tightened.
She was a natural beauty, one that any man would be beyond lucky to get a glimpse of. And here I was, the man she’d chosen to fall in love with, able to see her this way any time I wished.
And what I wished in this very moment was to have her. Right now, in the bathroom, with the steam filling the small space. But a quick, although satisfying, romp was not what Piper needed.
