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"Yes, but you're so grumpy that it's almost like you're an old man."
"I'm not grumpy either. At the moment."
Piper laughed, her eyes sparkling as she looked at him. "No, not at the moment, although I thought we were in for it when April first sat down. You really couldn’t have kissed the back of her hand? Just a wee, little show of grace?"
"No. I couldn't have done that. It might have killed me." He swung her around, swaying to the music. "But it was fine. She was left yearning for my touch."
Piper laughed. "She's engaged. She better not be yearning for your touch."
"All women yearn for my touch. It's a burden I've learned to deal with." He pulled her close, tucking their joined hands against his chest, cradling her hand. "You'll probably need a bodyguard. Women all over the world are going to be coming for you, now that word is out that you got me."
She laughed. "I can handle it. Once you've been shot a couple times, not much can scare you."
He stiffened, and his laughter faded. "You've beenshot?"
"Only twice, so it's fine."
His heart started pounding suddenly, and fear gripped him.She'd been shot. Shot. Shot. Twice.
Piper's arms tightened around him. "Declan? What's wrong? What's happening to you?"
He pressed his face to her neck, trying to ground himself in her presence. Piper was all right. She was alive. He felt her body against his. The heat. The warmth. Her curves.
"Declan?"
"Just give me a sec." He held her tightly, needing to feel heragainst him, forcing himself to move with the music. To his surprise, the panic attack, the terror, the memories receded before they took him. Somehow, being in Piper's arms had grounded him enough to keep ahead of his past.
Piper wrapped her arms around him and held him close. The strength of her embrace seemed to provide a shield against the memories, and his breath steadied. His heart rate slowed. His skin cooled, the beads of sweat settled on his skin.
For a long moment, they simply danced. She didn't ask again, didn't press him for details he couldn’t articulate, and eventually his energy settled back into the moment, into Piper, into the present.
"That was a deep breath," Piper said. "You okay?"
"Yeah." He pulled back to look at her. "Sorry about that."
She smiled. "It's totally fine. Did I do something wrong?"
"No, hell no. It’s not you." Movement behind him caught his eye, and he saw that all the women from April's table were still watching him. Shit. He'd forgotten his job. "I gotta kiss you."
Piper's eyes widened. "You don't have to do anything."
"I want to." The words slipped out before he realized he was thinking them. Piper's brow furrowed, and he swore. He didn't want to have to answer a question about what he'd meant by that, so he pulled her in, angled his head, and kissed her question away before she could get it out.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Piper's lips were warm and receptive, and kissing her felt like the most natural thing in the world. Declan's connection with her was strong after she'd pulled him back from the edge with her touch, and he wanted more with her. He did want to kiss her. Deep. Intense. No holding back.
So he did, and she kissed him right back, with the same level of intensity that he offered.
They came together, their bodies tangled with each other, hands moving, trying to get closer, trying to touch more. The moment became about them, only them, about the way she felt in his arms. About how alive she made him feel. About how much he wanted all of her. To lose himself in her. To protect her. To make her laugh. Smile. To embrace the way she made him want to smile again.
Declan pressed his hands to Piper's lower back, and then slid them lower, over the curve of her ass. Part of the show, he lied to himself, knowing damn well that he just wanted to touch her. How was this happening? Piper had lived in his guest house for almost two years, and he'd never thought of her as anything but his tenant.
And now he was consumed by her kiss, by her energy, by his need to drag her into his arms, toss her onto a bed, and make love to her until neither of them could move, until she filled him so completely that all the pain sewn into his soul lost its grip and faded away into the unknown.
"Piper?"
A man's voice broke through Declan's haze. Piper stiffened instantly in his arms, and Declan pulled back, instinctively moving Piper slightly behind him so his body was between the intruder and Piper.
