I will find him, and it won't be a pleasant reunion .
CHAPTER TWENTY
TROUBLE
Caden
EASY LAWLESS. "SHUT up, Justin," I ground between my teeth and stalk through the dancing bodies to get to her. To get to Piper. I'd kill that fucker if I wasn't in the White House with a hundred Secret Service agents swarming the grounds. Lockman has had his hands on my girl. The only thing I can do is shoot him a glare as he stalks away from her and in my direction. His eyes connect with mine. He flinches and his gaze falls to my chest. Recognition seems to flare his lids as he reads my name plate, but I shove beyond his stunted expression and to the only woman in my world.
"Pip-." Her name dies in my throat when she turns, pale and shaking.
"Caden."
I grip her waist and haul her out of the ballroom, nodding my goodbye to the President and First Lady as we make our exit.
"Are you okay? What did he do, sunshine? Did he hurt you?"
"No, he . . ."
I pull her into the alcove of the grand staircase and cup her face. "Tell me."
She places her hands over mine, pressing them into her skin. "Lockman said he solidified his company by expanding into the Middle East so he wouldn't need to merge with my father. He did it, Caden, I know he sold those weapons to the insurgents, but we can't prove it. I can't prove it. I'm sorry."
"Don't be sorry." My mouth lands on her forehead, where I murmur, "It's enough. I don't need evidence to know my father is a good man. I just need you and JT. That's all, sweetheart."
I wrap an arm around her neck, sweeping the other beneath her knees to carry her up the steps because I can, and because I feel better when she's close. We're quick to collect a sleeping JT from Gram and Mrs. Carter, who admit they held him all evening rather than lay him in the porta-crib we brought with us. He doesn't wake when transitioned to his car seat, or during the five-minute ride to the hotel, or when he's laid down for the night.
I turn to find his mom at the door. Her body is still covered by the pink floor-length gown, but I see her.
I see her.
And she's good and beautiful, strong yet vulnerable, a mother, a daughter, a friend, and my girl. Fuck, she belongs to me now, and I will do everything in my power to see her happy and cared for. Because I love her.
I grip my hair and hold the sentiment tight to my chest as it expands in a painful arc.
I love Piper.
She whimpers as I stalk forward. With every step I take, she backs up until we're in our room and I shut the door behind us. Reaching up, she pulls pins from her hair and shakes it out into a platinum halo. Sexy. As. Fuck.
Need simmers like lava in my veins. I burn for her. And there is a very good chance I'll erupt in my pants as soon as I touch her skin.
God, but I'm going to go crazy if I don't feel her pussy clenching around my dick.
"Let me . . ." I don't know what to say. Let me undress you, let me taste you, let me inside, let me. ". . . Just let me have everything."
"Yes."
I close my eyes against that one word and a second later, I rip my jacket off, my tie, and the goddamn starched shirt that fights me as I shred it from my shoulders. But Piper, she reaches behind her and with a quick flip of her wrist and a delicate shimmy, the dress slides free. I groan through the revelation. Round tits pushed up in boned lace are so high her dark nipples peek over the top. A garter belt holds her stockings in place, and then in between the clips, sheer panties perfectly accentuate her bare cleft. My cock strains impossibly hard. I feel like I've been rock-solid for months, but never like this, never this painfully rigid that I lose my mind.
"I promise you, sunshine, that I will take my time tonight. I'll lick every inch of your gorgeous body and find all of your treasures. I promise you I will, but not this time. Please," I beg, stepping in front of her upturned face. So fucking beautiful. "Please, let me-"
She cups my dick and squeezes. I see double. Fuuuck. I hiss and crash my mouth down on hers, backing her into the mattress until her knees buckle and she's beneath me. With one hand on her waist, I maneuver her into the middle of the bed. I tear away the thin barrier of her panties while she works my belt and zipper and then oh, Christ, my cock is in her hand and she strokes it. She fucking strokes from root to tip, squeezing as tight as an erotic fantasy when she hits the crown. I leak in her palm and she purrs, fucking purrs while rubbing my come over my aching dick and spreading her legs wide beneath me.
The heat, the wet, scorching heat as my dick settles against her pussy blinds me and steals my breath. I pin her arms above her head, my fingers laced with hers as I look down into my world. All of my hopes and dreams brought to life in one woman.