"Why did you call her?" he asks with a voice as rough as the pads of his fingers.
"Lockman is going to be in D.C. at the same time we'll be there. And William Churchill. We should find out who he is. He brokered a deal with Lockman for enough money to stabilize his company. It could be a tie to the Middle East."
He shakes his head, stepping forward at the same time as I back into the windowed wall and look up into his mountain of maleness. Caden Lawless has a way of caging me in, and I like the safety he brings. "Why did you call your mother?"
"I . . . she . . ."
His grip closes in as does his mouth, so close I can feel his breath. "Why Piper? Why did you call the one woman who eats you up inside?"
Caden smiles a wide, blinding grin that competes with the cascading sun, causing my stomach to flip and a moan to escape my parted lips. He leans in, crowding me against the glass, dipping his head until he's an inch away. "Stop thinking and just say it," he says, pressing into me, his thickening cock rubbing against my stomach, scattering thoughts and my pulse.
"I . . . goddamn it, because you and me and JT, we're all I think about. Together. Us. If I have to fight with someone, it has to be you, and then I want to make up. I want your hands on me, your words in my ear and images of you in my head. If I have to call anyone an ass, I want it to be you. Because you're an ass sometimes, but I want that hard, round, flexing, perfect ass to be mine. You flew into my life like a cannon, exploding with demands and sweet things. And I just stopped caring about what I should or shouldn't do and feel. I like you. Goddamn it Caden, I like you so much."
A tortured growl rumbles from his chest as he slams his mouth over mine, open from the start, pressing his tongue inside. I hold on. Tossing my phone down, I fist his hair and pull up, pull in, until we're fastened together. I'm wrapped in his arms. This kiss is full of promises and it goes on until my head spins, until the air is thick with tension and my body aches for his, aches in the most delicious, pulsing way.
Dax grinds his vocal cords behind us.
"Go away," Caden mumbles.
"Ah, no can do, my friend. It's time to get me married, and if I don't bring you with me, showered and dressed in something other than a T-shirt, Cara will have my nuts in a vice grip. I like my nuts thank-you-very-much. Let's go lover boy. You can like all over Piper after the wedding."
Caden sighs, a potent elixir against my lips. Pulling back just enough for his gaze to find mine, he strokes his fingers along my jaw. "I like you too, sunshine. I think about you and JT and me together so much I feel crazy. I am crazy. Fucking crazy for you." He kisses me, deep and long and still not enough. When he breaks away with a bursting breath, his eyes deepen into a sea blue. Forehead to forehead, he whispers, "Say the word."
With that statement, he releases me and turns. I have the pleasure of watching Caden Lawless's fine backside and I know without a doubt I gave my heart to the right man. He'll always do the right thing. And he'll drive me crazy while doing it.
PART THREE
"To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all."-Oscar Wilde.
Dear Justin.
Life evolves one heartbeat, one minute, one day at a time. I've found myself lost in the valleys and riding triumphant to the highest peaks.
I used to wonder who would travel with me. Now I just enjoy the company and relish moments that turn into memories. Every stop in the road has a purpose, every person a reason. In a way, your brief detour made me the richest person in the world. I give love. I have love. I am loved.
Thank you for opening me up to the best gifts.
x Piper
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Washington D.C.
Piper
FIVE DAYS LATER, I'm certifiable. Five days without a moment alone with Caden. Five days of Caden sleeping outdoors with Bear and Garrison, because that's what SEALs do, or in his room while I was in mine with Maisie, whom I love, but not in a get-naked kind of way. Five days of The Little Bird and early morning baking, which I love, but not when Caden ran on the beach for miles, shirtless and sweaty, with two other buffed out SEALs. Everyone else in town got to see the show but I was in the kitchen, drowning in flour and sugar as Maisie sweet talked customers into an extra dozen of this or that. She was good for business and a godsend since Cara was vacationing in Maui. The bitch left me and Margo to fend for ourselves while she drank Mai Tais and had married sex.
I want to have sex. God, I want to have sex with Caden, but the morning Maisie, Bear, and Garrison return to their respective homes, and Cara and Dax return to theirs, sees Caden, JT and me off to Washington D.C. So no sex for me. Not yet anyway.