Blue Lines(38)
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Leave it to him to think of sex when his world was falling apart. If only he had known how much she was going to change his life. He had never told anyone about Alla and Cooper being his adoptive parents. No one could tell; they were as doting as real parents were. But he told Piper. He told her that he had been abused before Alla came to rescue him. When he looked into her eyes and told her that she was different, he meant it. He needed to get away because she had touched him in places he thought he kept locked up. He didn’t know what it was about Piper, but he knew she was different.
And now he had to be married to her for the next three months. Or he would hurt her all over again?
Chapter 8
Piper sat with her legs tucked under her bottom and her sketch pad on her knees as the cool air from the lake brushed her face. It was a cool morning, which was unusual this time of year. She loved sitting on the dock while she drew; this place just enhanced her creativity. Wearing a large sweatshirt and a pair of short red shorts, Piper slowly drew Mrs. Olive Octopus’s fifth-favorite thing, which was her friend, Mrs. Sandy Squid. The friendly squid was coming over for a spot of tea and then later the two would go shopping.
Sitting in her favorite rocking chair, with a glass of orange juice and a muffin, Piper could almost forget the last two days, except for the fact that her husband liked to sleep naked. After gawking at his naked thighs as he was sprawled out on the couch in the living room, she hurried outside to get away. How was she supposed to draw in the same room when her version of Michelangelo’s David lay on her couch? She could have gone into her office but even in there she felt like the walls were caving in. He was cramping her style and she didn’t like it one bit, but out here on the dock, nothing mattered. It was only her and her sketchbook.
Pure bliss.
There was one thing Piper was worried about and that was looking into her best friend’s eyes and bluntly lying about her marriage. She had never lied to Audrey before, and she hated to start now. It would help tremendously if she could tell Audrey the truth; having someone to talk to about all this would be great, because right now she’d never felt so alone in her life. Tempting as that was, she would not do that to Erik; she made a promise, so she had to man up to it. She would never beg him to love her but she would at least be there for him like she said she would.
Looking back down at her sketch pad, she began to draw. Piper was dragging ass this morning; she’d barely slept at all. The first half of this book was due back to Emmaline by the end of the month, so she really needed to focus and quit thinking of her naked husband—especially about how she wanted to accidentally trip and land with his dick between her legs.
Wow, what was wrong with her? Did being pregnant make you horny? Ugh.
As she worked through the morning, the sun became hotter. Piper stood up, taking her sweatshirt off, and fixed her yellow bikini top over her enlarging breasts. Just as she was about to sit back down, she heard Stanley’s big paws running down the dock. Turning to greet him, she also was treated to her topless husband’s physique. Man, he was hot.
Stanley came right up to her and started sniffing and licking her legs as she tried very hard not to look at Erik’s mouthwatering body. She failed miserably, though, and soon found herself gawking at his dangerously low-hanging shorts, showing off every bit of the star tattoos that had driven her crazy those many months ago. He stretched his arms above his head, causing each of his chest muscles to move with his motions. With his hands laced behind his head his six-pack highlighted how defined he really was.
“Morning,” Erik muttered as he looked at her swollen abdomen. This was the first time since he’d been there that she really felt self-conscious.
Reaching for her sweatshirt, she held it in front of her body as she said, “Morning.”
He looked away, out toward the lake, as he said, “What time is Audrey’s thing?”
“Five.”
“Okay, so I’ll be back by then. We’ll ride together, okay?”
“Sure.”
“All right. Well, I got practice, so I’ll see you later.”
Without having had a chance to say anything, she watched as he made his way back up to the house with Stanley close behind him. She wanted to chase after him, ask where else he was going today since practice wasn’t all day long. It was only eight in the morning. What could he be doing until five that afternoon? Was he going to go meet someone, another woman? Stop, she told herself. She couldn’t think like that; if she did, she’d drive herself mad. He said he wouldn’t cheat on her so she had to trust him. Piper watched until he disappeared into the house. A tear rushed down her cheek as she thought, I just have to trust him.