Wiping her tears away Piper said, “I wish he saw that. I don’t know if we will be together forever, Alla, but I can promise you that I will never love anyone the way I love him. When I have this baby, if for some reason we are not together, I promise I will never keep Dimitri from you and Cooper. Y’all will always be part of my family, part of my heart.”
She meant every word that left her lips and she needed Alla to believe her and to know that she intended to keep her promises.
“Oh, Piper, I just love you and I know nothing will ever happen to break you two apart. Your love will keep you two together. He’ll learn how to love you the way you love him; just give him time.”
“I plan on it and I promise, Alla, I’ll always be here for him.”
* * *
Piper was lying in bed with her Kindle when Erik entered the room. He didn’t look at her as he made his way to the bathroom. It was hard to imagine what he must have gone through. She heard the shower turn on and decided to finish the Oregon Trail game she had started to play before she went to sleep.
Her heart was beating a little faster than normal from the anticipation of sharing a bed with Erik. They hadn’t been in a bed together since the night they got pregnant, and it made her nervous to think of having his glorious body next to hers. She knew he wasn’t looking forward to this and had even offered to sleep on the floor, which was crazy since they were hardwood and that couldn’t be comfortable. She convinced him that it wasn’t a big deal, which was a complete lie.
Trying to concentrate on her game, she listened as he moved around the bathroom, getting ready for bed. When the door opened and he came out in a pair of gym shorts, it took everything out of her not to jump him. The tattoos on his body tantalized her, and when he pulled the blanket back to crawl into bed beside her, instead of scooting over, she scooted toward him.
He lay back onto the bed and let out a groan as his skin touched hers. “God, this bed is like butter.”
Piper smiled as she nodded. “It is really comfortable.”
“Yeah, it is.”
She didn’t want the conversation to end, so she said, “It was a good day.”
He nodded. “My parents are crazy.”
“I love them.”
“And they love you. Thank you for naming the baby Dimitri; that really means a lot to my parents. You didn’t have to do that.”
“Do you not like it? Dimitri Blake Titov. I think it is amazing,” Piper said with a worried look on her face, just now realizing she didn’t even make sure he liked it. It was his decision, too.
“Oh, I love the name, Piper, it’s perfect. I’m just saying that you didn’t have to do that for my parents.”
“When you love someone, you do everything you can to make them happy.”
Erik paused, running his tongue along his lips as he looked deep into her eyes. With a nod, he turned to his side, giving her his back as he sank deeper into the bed to go to sleep. Disappointment filled her as she watched the rise and fall of his back.
“Are we not going to read tonight?” she found herself asking.
He shook his head. “Not tonight.”
Piper didn’t agree; they were going to finish what they started. She opened their book on her Kindle and started to read out loud. Halfway through the chapter, to her delight, Erik turned on his back looking over at her as she finished the chapter. He reluctantly grabbed the Kindle and started to read the next chapter, his low voice making the hairs on her body stand as his words washed over her. She loved these moments with him, and sharing a bed with him while they did read made her fall even deeper in love with him. With a smile on her face, she cuddled into his shoulder and closed her eyes.
He was coming around. She just knew it.
Chapter 16
Erik wasn’t sure how much more he could take.
He didn’t know what he was going to do, but he knew he wasn’t going to be able to resist her much longer. Last night, being next to her, in her bed, just about killed him.
He loved feeling her sweet little body against his. Her legs were soft and warm as they tangled around his, and when she pressed that fine ass against his crotch, it took every ounce of willpower not to pull his pants down and slide his cock inside her.
Fuck, he wanted her.
The whole night, his dick was pitching a tent while he watched her sleep. He knew it had been a bad idea to climb into bed with her. He’d been awake most of the night ready to pound into her and go at it for hours.
Erik rarely ever had a girl stay with him overnight. He was usually pointing to the door ready for them to leave after a long night of screwing. But that wasn’t the case this morning, no, he had scooted closer, his hands itching to hold her as she lightly snored. It was insane the things she was making him want, and they made him nervous. Instead of wanting to keep his walls up, he wanted to knock them down and let her in.