His Ex's Well-Kept Secret(22)

"Sure." Piper nodded and watched as Jaeger left the room, the gift he'd given her in his arms.

As Jaeger stepped into the hallway, Piper saw him duck down to drop a  soft kiss on Ty's head. The gesture of affection made the urge to tell  him he was Ty's father rise within her once more.

It was one kiss, Mills. You can't spill your guts because of one spontaneous gesture in the middle of the night.

Ty looked angelic. Anyone with a heart would want to kiss his gorgeous  face. It didn't mean Jaeger would be a good dad, that he would be there  for Ty every step of the way.

Midnight kisses given to sleeping babies were easy; kisses after grueling days were a lot more difficult to dole out.

It didn't matter. Jaeger wasn't going to be around long enough to prove  anything to anybody. In a couple of weeks, this would all be over. The  stones would be sold, she'd own her house and Jaeger would be on the  road again, searching for amazing jewels. The order of the universe  would be restored.

If that was what she wanted, what she craved, then why did she feel sick at the thought of a life without Jaeger in it?





Nine

Jaeger placed a kiss in the center of Piper's back and glanced at the  weak sunlight behind the curtains. Piper didn't stir, so Jaeger pulled  back and rested his head in his hand, his other hand sweeping over the  smooth, creamy skin of Piper's back and butt.

He should leave soon, and he knew he should let her sleep, but part of  him wanted to wake Piper up and make love to her again. After putting Ty  to bed last night, he'd kept her busy until the early hours of this  morning. So, yeah, he should let her sleep.

Jaeger released a frustrated sigh and looked around her bedroom. It was  full of color-bold, bright jewel tones ranging from the dark teal wall  behind him to the scarlet chair in the corner, the multicolored cushions  he'd tossed from the bed to the floor before he'd lowered her naked  body to the multihued comforter. Her love of art was revealed by a  collection of sketches grouped on the far wall and the sexy abstract  painting above their heads. It was wild and bright and bold, perfect  adjectives to describe his lover.                       
       
           



       

His temporary lover, Jaeger amended. This wasn't going anywhere,  couldn't go anywhere. He was in the country only until he'd finalized  the deal to buy the Kashmir Blues. To complete the deal, he needed to  find something proving where the stones came from and explaining Piper's  connection to the sapphires. After he'd dotted those i's and crossed  those t's, he was out of here; there were Colombian emeralds to find,  deep blue tanzanite to discover in Kenya, alexandrite in Siberia. He had  places to visit, stones to buy.

Piper and her very cute kid were not reason enough to stop traveling, to  make changes to his life. He really liked Piper and he adored her  body-couldn't seem to get enough of her, actually-but there was  something else besides his commitment phobia making him gun-shy.

Piper was like a very fine Zultanite. The rare gemstone had the ability  to change from a kiwi green in the sun to a raspberry-purple-pink in  candlelight. Like Piper, the stone didn't stop there. It could also be a  dull green and morph into a sage green before changing to a  whiskey-shaded pink. Zultanite, like Piper, had a million shades and a  dozen secrets.

He needed to know Piper's secrets, needed to know what she was hiding.  Oh, she'd told him a little-just enough, she thought, to satisfy his  curiosity. Her eyes reflected her soul and he saw all her colors, and,  like Zultanite, each color was a revelation.

Thanks to his missing memory-and his experience with Jess and Andrea-he  couldn't deal in half truths and evasions. Yeah, he knew some of what  had happened directly before the accident, but he couldn't see the full  picture, and that scorched his soul.

Thoughts of what he'd missed tortured him. How did he and Piper meet?  What did they speak about? It was like looking at a photograph that was  out of focus.

He needed details and...

He needed the truth, the whole truth.

Last night, after rocking each other's world, he'd tried to ask Piper  again about Milan, but she'd changed the subject by rolling onto him and  kissing her way down his chest, his stomach...

When she'd run her tongue down his erection, talking seemed like a  highly overrated activity. This morning he could see her actions more  clearly; she'd wanted to distract him and, yeah, sex was a fantastic way  to sidetrack the conversation. But she'd shut him down, shut him out.  She wasn't letting him see the full picture...

Why didn't she trust him? He wanted her to trust him.

But what would he do with that trust? It wasn't like he could take their  relationship any further. He wasn't prepared to risk his heart on  someone who would walk away and take his love with her. That wasn't part  of his plan.

Okay, yeah, being around Ty was curing him of his baby phobia, and he  rather enjoyed the little guy, but he knew there was a hell of a  difference between babysitting for a night and being an ongoing and  consistent part of a kid's life. Piper was a package deal. If Jaeger  wanted her, then he had to take on her kid, too. And...no, he wasn't up  to being a part-time dad.

When his folks died, Connor had jumped into raising Jaeger and his sibs  with enthusiasm. He'd never doubted Connor's love or commitment to them.  Jaeger wasn't prepared to take on a kid unless he could do the same.  First because whatever he did, he did properly, and second because doing  a half-assed job of parenting would be an insult to Connor's memory.

If he fell in love with Piper then he had to fall in love with Ty-so  easy to do!-and that would mean losing not one but two people he cared  for if-when-the deal went south.

Because with love, the deal always went south.

Piper sighed and rolled over, her big eyes widening when she saw him.  Her look of confusion was easily interpreted. She wasn't used to waking  up with a man in her bed, and he liked the idea that she didn't treat  sex casually. Yeah, double standards, yada yada. He was a man and he  liked knowing no one else slept on her sheets.

"Hey, you're still here," Piper said, her voice deeper and sexier.

Jaeger used his index finger to push a curl from the corner of her  mouth. "Were you expecting me to leave without saying goodbye?"                       
       
           



       

"I-um-" Piper glanced at the door as she pushed herself up. Then she  glanced down, realized she was naked and yanked the comforter over her  breasts.

Jaeger responded by tugging the material down again. "You're too pretty to be shy."

Piper just pulled the covers up again and Jaeger let her, wishing she  could see herself through his eyes. Messy hair, wide eyes, perfect skin.  So hot it hurt.

"I need to check on Ty," Piper said, sounding flustered.

"He's fast asleep, Piper. Relax."

"But what if he sees you in my bed? What will he think?"

Jaeger grinned. "He'll high-five me and tell me I scored?" When Piper  didn't smile at his joke, he sighed. "Honey, he's still a baby. He's not  going to remember a damn thing."

Piper's blush started on her chest and inched up her throat. "Sorry. I'm not good at this morning-after stuff."

Jaeger squeezed her knee as he sat up. "Just relax, okay? It's all  good." He stood up, walked over to the window and pulled the drape,  keeping to the side so he didn't show the good residents of Brooklyn  everything he had to offer. And because he was in Piper's bed and she  was hot, what he had was impressive.

He loved fresh air, so he cracked the window an inch and sighed at the  gush of rain-tinged wind drifting into the room. Piper pulled the  comforter up around her shoulders and tossed him an are-you-crazy look.

"I've spent too many hours in dank, moldy, stuffy caves and tunnels, so fresh air is like perfume to me."

"City air isn't the freshest air on the planet," Piper pointed out.

Jaeger smiled and took another deep breath before closing the window. He  walked back to her, told her to scoot over and slid into bed, shoulder  to shoulder and thigh to thigh with her. He felt her tremble, one of  those little shudders that rushed through women when they were turned  on, and he swallowed his smile. He knew how she felt. All she had to do  was breathe and he wanted to slip inside.

"So, what's on your to-do list today?" Jaeger asked, his hand on her  slim thigh. He felt her sharp intake of breath and smiled. Yeah, by the  grace of God and sleeping babies, he'd have her again shortly.

"Um, not a lot. I thought I'd take Ty running if it doesn't rain."

"He's just started to crawl, so aren't you expecting a bit much?"

"I run. He's in his stroller... Oh, you're joking," Piper said, shaking  her head. "Sorry, it's a bit early and I need coffee to wake me up."