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Finally, she spoke. "I'm sorry about your wife, Declan. I can't imagine how terrible that was." Just talking about it made her throat tighten. She wanted to cry for him. With him. To rip the pain out of his heart, to give him back the life that was snatched from him.
"Thanks." He was quiet for a minute. "I do need to worry about you, don't I?"
"What's the point of worry? It gets you nowhere. You have to set your goals and keep moving." She wiggled to get more comfortable, trying to inject a lighter tone into the moment, but she couldn’t drag her heart away from his pain, and his past.
"I guess." He still didn't move.
She finally opened her eyes. "What?"
"I came over here to call off our deal. I didn't think I could take it. Too much PTSD having a woman to kiss and think about, even if the engagement isn't real. But then you yelled at me and threwthe can opener, and things felt okay again." He looked at her thoughtfully. "You may be what I need."
Her heart turned over. If she could help him heal, that would be such a gift to her. She felt like she was always sprinting on a treadmill, trying to get over the next hurdle, never really mattering to anyone. To make a difference to him would be…amazing. "I do think that sometimes people are put in your way for a reason," she said. "But I'll warn you. I'm feeling very emotional and touchy-feely right now, but that's most likely temporary. I'll probably yell at you again."
He grinned. "It was the yelling and the destruction that pulled me out of my funk. I've had enough sympathy. I don't want it anymore."
She let out a breath. "All right. We might be okay, then."
"Yeah." Hestilldidn't get up, so she did.
"All right. I'll see you tomorrow," she said pointedly.
He grinned and rose to his feet. "Trying to get rid of me?"
"Yes, I still have work to do." She shooed at him. "Go away?—"
He caught her wrist.
She met his gaze, and before she could decide to yell at him, he gave a gentle tug, pulling her off balance. She tumbled forward, and he caught her against him, his body warm and hard against hers.
"Oh, man…" she muttered.
Not giving her a chance to decide how to proceed, he kissed her.
A kiss that would break her heart wide open if she let it.
She had to stop. Kissing in private put a whole different spin on their relationship.
Then he angled his head to deepen the kiss, and she forgot about everything but the man whose arms were wrapped around her, and his decadent, deviously, oh-so-tempting mouth.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Declan hadn't meant to kiss Piper.
But when she'd looked at him, with that sparkle in her eyes mixed with the pain she was feeling for him, he couldn't resist. She was just so damn vibrant.
She'd come willingly, immediately, with no hesitation.
And now…hell…kissing her was amazing. He loved the taste of her lips, the feel of them beneath his. Her body was warm and soft against his, melting into his chest as if she were born to be a part of him.
She was brilliant, and a complete liar. Skeet shooting? All those articles about her and Clark had been utterly devoid of a single glimpse into her past. Did no one care where this woman came from? They'd all been so consumed with her engagement, her wedding, her bolting from it that not a single question had been asked.
He had questions. For later.
He angled his head, kissing her more deeply, pouring years of isolation into the moment. With each kiss, he felt the shadows dissolving from his soul, replaced by a faint pulse of light, of energy, oflife.
Piper sighed and slid her arms around his neck, and suddenlythe kiss turned from fantastic to searing. Desire unleashed its fiery heat in his gut, winding its way through his body, cell by cell, gaining momentum, gaining power, gaining boldness.
She pressed closer against him, and he could feel her breasts against his chest.
