Rough Around The Edges

by Jen Talty

  Not just to see Cal.

  But her.

  He wanted to know if there was anything between them. Staring into her light-chocolate eyes now, he saw more than he’d bargained for.

  “I’ve regretted only one thing in my adult life,” he said, gliding his fingertips beneath the fabric of her shorts, shocked but thrilled at the same time that she hadn’t been wearing underpants.

  “Yeah. What’s that?”

  “Not coming home after boot camp, or my first deployment, or any deployment for that matter to see if there might have been something real with us and how you’d feel about my career.”

  Her thick lashes fluttered in slow motion. “You’ve thought about that?”

  He didn’t bother answering her question. Instead he pressed his mouth against hers, hard. Shoving her against the wall, he pinned his body between her legs. His brain kept screaming at him to stop. This wasn’t the time or the place to light a fire that shouldn’t have even had a flicker of a flame in the first place.

  Her fingers dug into his shoulder blades and scratched down his back, searing his skin with her hot touch. He pressed his hands against the wall, ready to push away, but she pulled him even closer. Her short, choppy breaths surged her breasts into his chest. He tried to slow the kiss down, but she demanded more.

  His muscles stiffened as her hands slipped between them, tugging at the button.

  He groaned, palming the sides of her face, and yanking his mouth from hers. He stared at her for a long moment. Her plump lips slightly parted. Her eyelids drooped over her dark, compelling eyes.

  Eyes that dared him to continue.

  “I don’t know what I’m doing or why. So, say no and I’ll stop. Or say—”

  “Yes,” she whispered, nibbling on his ear, her hot breath rolling across his skin like a steam bath. Her velvet tongue glided down the side of his neck and down his chest. “It doesn’t matter what this is or isn’t. Just no regrets.”

  “None,” he choked out. He swallowed his thumping heart as she gently unzipped his fly. Bracing himself against the wall, he watched as she took the length of him into her soft hands. He squeezed his eyes shut, blinking them open, hoping it would reduce the dizziness that threatened to knock him to his knees. For years, he thought about Piper. A fantasy he allowed himself to get through a tough night. Something to make him feel like maybe, just maybe, they’d have their chance in the future.

  Only he never gave her the time of day. He never wrote. Never called.

  Never once showed her how much he’d cared and missed her.

  Her pink tongue darted out of her mouth and glided over the tip. She smiled when she glanced up.

  He fisted his hand, pressing it harder into the wall. “Christ,” he ground out with a guttural moan. Jaden hadn’t ever been the kind of man who played the field.

  But he didn’t have relationships either.

  He actually called them understandings.

  Yet he didn’t understand anything right now, and he’d lost all control, something he never allowed. He always called the shots. Sex had always been on his terms, or it didn’t happen.

  “Piper.” He ran his fingers through her hair, pooling some of it on top of her head. He had every intention of pulling her off him.

  She, on the other hand, had a different agenda as he watched himself disappear into her fervent mouth.

  “You’re driving me crazy,” he whispered. Both his hands were in her hair. He let the silky strands glide through his fingers, careful not to tug too hard. “Piper.” The way her name rolled off his tongue reminded him of the scotch he’d sipped last night. He lifted her to her feet before dropping to his knees, taking her pants with him and tossing them to the side.

  He wasted no time filling her with his tongue and fingers. Kissing her intimately. Tasting her sweet nectar. The only thing that mattered in this moment was her pleasure. He smiled against her as her fingers dug into his scalp, encouraging him to go deeper.

  With her leg draped over his shoulder, he focused on bringing her to the point of no return.

  “Oh, Jaden,” she moaned as her body shivered. “I want you inside me when I come.”

  Who was he to deny Piper what she desired.

  He grabbed the back of her thighs, lifting her feet off the ground, pressing her back against the wall, slamming into her with one fierce stroke.

  “Oh, God.” She clasped her ankles around his waist, grinding her hips. She cupped his face and rammed her tongue into his mouth, matching his hunger.

  The picture hanging a few feet away rattled with each one of his thrusts. He wanted to ask if he was hurting her back, but she had his mouth in a wicked fury of lust. Her groans filled the room while her hips rolled up and down.

  She ripped her lips from his and slammed the back of her head against the wall. “Yes. Oh, God. Yes.” Her thighs tightened around his waist. Her insides clenched around him as her body shuddered.

  The room blurred as he buried his face in her neck, taking the soft, supple skin into his mouth. To keep from biting her, he sucked, probably a little too hard, but he’d lost his ability to restrain himself the second he let her into his pants.

  His release came in the form of a volcano erupting its hot lava. His thighs weakened, and it took all his energy to continue to hold her upright. His lungs burned with each deep breath he took. Carefully, he carried her to the bed, something he should have done sooner.

  Then again, she’d started it.

  He lay down next to her, pulling the comforter over their bodies. He held her in his arms, waiting for regret to fill his heart.

  Or hers.

  Her fingers danced up his arm, across his shoulder, and down his chest, circling the few chest hairs he had. Her breathing had returned to normal, as did his. This would be a good time to say something romantic. Something sweet. But every time he opened his mouth, he realized he’d just screwed Piper Morgan up against the wall like a ravenous animal.

  And she liked it.

  God, he hoped she more than liked it.

  But he should have made love to her on the bed for the first time.

  First time? That implied there would be a second time.

  “Are you okay?” Fuck. What a dumb question.

  “What makes you think I wouldn’t be?” She lifted her head, plopping her chin on his chest. “Are you wishing you hadn’t done this already?”

  “Nope. I was just concerned about your back.”

  “Aww, aren’t you sweet.”

  He reached out and traced the mark he’d made on her neck. “You might want to wear a turtleneck.”

  “Please tell me you didn’t give me a hickey?”

  He chuckled. “It was either that or bite you to keep me from howling like an animal.”

  “Next time make all the noise you want. I don’t own a single turtleneck. Now I’ll have to wear a fucking scarf. I did bring one, but it’s God-awful ugly.”

  “Well, please wear it. I’m not supposed to sleep with the clients.” He batted her nose. “Hank frowns upon it.”

  “Does it happen often?”

  “Not with me. But I know a few who have.”

  “What happened to them? Did they get fired?” she asked with a scowl.

  “No. They got married.”

  She slapped his chest. “That’s funny.”

  “No joke. Seems to be a theme around this place.” He lifted his head from the mattress, giving her a quick kiss. “We have to be at Hank’s in less than an hour, and it will take thirty minutes to get there, depending on how bad the roads are.”

  “Jaden?” she asked with a slight tremble in her tone.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “I won’t ever regret what just happened, but we do have one little problem.”

  “What’s—oh, fuck. I didn’t use any protection.”

  “And I’m not on the pill.”

  Chapter 4

  It had been months since Piper had her IUD removed, and she ju
st never got around to going on the pill. She didn’t need it because she had no one she was remotely interested in. She didn’t do the bar scene, and dating apps freaked her out. Besides, if she were ever to be with a man, she’d make him take care of birth control.

  Only she’d just been with Jaden, and she hadn’t even thought about it until he laid her on the bed a good five minutes too late.

  She glanced out the window, admiring the snow-covered mountaintops. The sun’s rays bounced off the white powdery stuff, nearly blinding her, even through her sunglasses.

  Jaden hadn’t said a word in the last fifteen minutes and maybe only ten words since they both realized their mistake. Mentally, she counted the days from her last period, and unfortunately, the timing of going without protection was about as bad as it could get.

  “I’m sorry,” she said, needing to break the silence. “I should have said something.”

  “And I should have used something. It’s not like I don’t have a box next to the bed, or one in my wallet. That said, I’m totally unsure of their shelf life, and they are at least six months old.” He glanced in her direction. “It’s been a while.”

  “I can relate to that.” She let out a long breath. “I thought I wanted to marry Steve, only I kept telling him to slow things down. When he broke up with me, I was relieved.”

  “But then you hooked up with Derek.” He tapped at the steering wheel, before gripping it with both hands. “Why Derek, of all people?”

  “Trust me, I ask myself that question a lot.” She gathered her hair in her right hand and twirled it aimlessly between her fingers. “For months before Steve and I broke up, he and my dad constantly told me Steve wasn’t the man for me, but sometimes Derek would flirt with me. Touch me when no one was looking. He was always telling me how beautiful I was and one night, while trying to figure out where I’d gone wrong in my relationship, I ended up in Derek’s bed.”

  “I think I just vomited a little.” Jaden punched the gas, taking a turn down a narrow road a little too quickly. “I could see you with a half-dozen men in the band or at the office. But Derek? I still don’t get it.”

  “Honestly, neither do I. But it didn’t last very long, and it’s totally over.”

  “I bet he expected you’d fall into his arms after your father’s murder.”

  “Doesn’t matter what he expected,” she said, glaring at Jaden.

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to be that rude. I’m just unable to wrap my brain around you and… and… well, then you and me. Everything is too surreal. I haven’t been this confused since my parents dropped me at a bus station when I was eight.”

  “Random thought, but every once in a while, they try to cash in on your success.”

  “I know. Cal always kept me abreast of what those pair of idiots were up to. I find it hysterical that when they showed up at your doorstep, Cal told them if they had even half a brain, they could have used my natural talent to make them rich, but instead, Cal got to profit.”

  “My dad never took but his fair share.”

  “I know that, but it was a major rub to two people who abandoned me because they couldn’t be bothered to take care of me. So, for all I care, they can think Cal robbed me blind, leaving me bankrupt, never giving them a fucking dime.”

  “Bitter much?”

  “About as much as I am that you slept with Derek.”

  In the last five days, she’d lost her father, been shot at, had her security guard killed, and screwed the one man she’d never thought she’d see again. She didn’t know if she should crack up hysterically or be offend by Jaden’s jealousy.

  Jaden shifted to his left. “Grab my cell.”

  She reached inside his right back pocket, pulling out his cell. It vibrated in her hands. “It’s a call from Hank.”

  “Answer it and put it on speaker.”

  She tapped the button. “Hello?”

  “Where’s Jaden?” Hank’s voice echoed through the speaker of the cell.

  “I’m right here.”

  “We’ve got company,” Hank said.

  “What does that mean?” she whispered, clutching the necklace her father had given her when she’d been only eight. She hadn’t worn it much in her adult life, but she felt like it paid a great homage to her dad since tucked inside was a picture of them taken on the day she’d been born.

  “It means that we’ve got an unexpected and certainly not welcome visitor.”

  “Where?”

  “Movement north of your cabin about ten minutes ago,” Hank said. “How far out are you?”

  “Three minutes.” Jaden reached across the truck and squeezed her thigh. “Shall I divert?”

  “No. He just showed up about five minutes ago, and we’ve got eyes on him. Right now, I suspect they are doing recon, but we will err on the side of caution, as always. I’ll have Clayton bring him to the main cabin for a little heart to heart in a bit.”

  “All right. Pulling down your driveway now,” Jaden said.

  “Am I safe?” she asked with a shaky voice.

  “If anyone has to take a bullet today, it will be me, not you.”

  “That doesn’t make me feel any better.”

  Hank had arranged for a private jet to take her from Nashville to Montana by the way of West Palm Beach, Florida. That way, the media had a trail to follow, right to a private rehab thousands of miles away from the main office of the Brotherhood Protectors.

  So, why was someone watching Jaden’s cabin?

  “Does anyone besides Derek know where you really went?”

  She shivered. “I don’t think so.”

  “And the press will know I was named in the will. If this is about CC Music, then our best suspect is Derek.”

  “He wouldn’t do that. I know it.”

  “How can you be so sure?” Jaden asked.

  “Because he was in love with me.”

  “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me! Do you love him?” Jaden glared. His eyes widened with the same sense of hurt she’d seen when his parents showed up out of the blue, saying they’d turned their lives around.

  Only, they came looking for a handout and a way to cash in.

  “No. And for the record, I never loved him.”

  “But you had an affair with him,” Jaden said under his breath.

  “Are you jealous?” The question came out as a screech, bouncing off the windows like an echo that wouldn’t go away. Jaden wasn’t jealous. He looked more like he might vomit out of disgust.

  “Dumbstruck is a more appropriate representation of my feelings.”

  Jaden slammed the gear shift into park. Too many insane thoughts collided in his brain. He desperately tried to compartmentalize them, focusing only on the facts that were necessary to keep Piper alive and not that she and Derek were any kind of item. That they might have shared romantic vacations, long strolls in the park, or breakfast in bed. He had no right to be jealous. He had walked away.

  And stayed away.

  He jumped out of the vehicle, running in front of the hood. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Shamus step out onto the porch. Talk about the picture of happiness. The man had been through the ringer, being forced into retirement due to the fact he nearly got blown to bits in an op that went bad thanks to a traitor.

  Shamus had come back to Montana, where his folks still lived, to recover from his injuries. One of his first assignments? His high school sweetheart. Now, they’ve been married for two years, and have a set of very rambunctious twins. If you looked up the definition of a blissful marriage, there’d be a picture of Shamus and Amber.

  Jaden would settle for finding a level of contentment with a woman. Or at the very least, a desire to spend more than a couple of weeks with someone special.

  Of course, he needed to be careful what he asked for, because being around Piper, he could see a future clearer than anything his mind could have imagined in the middle of the night in an undisclosed location where dreams of Piper kept him company
in the darkness of war.

  If only she’d be willing to move to Montana.

  Yeah. Right. As if one night with him would rock her world. She’d been a kid with a school-girl crush, and those kinds of feelings came and went faster than a song could hit the bottom of the charts.

  “Get a move on. We’ve got some news,” Shamus called.

  Jaden took Piper by the hand. “Watch your step. It’s a bit icy.” If only he hadn’t taken a taste of the forbidden fruit. He knew ten years ago she’d be the one woman he’d fall hard and fast for and in a matter of one night, she’d bleed into his skin as if their bodies were meant to be as one.

  Christ. Now his thoughts were cornier than the love songs he used to belt out.

  “Thanks.” She took the hand he offered before circling her fingers around his biceps. Even through the thick down jacket, he could feel her searing skin. “Why are you smiling?” she asked.

  “You don’t want to know.”

  “Hell, yeah, I want to know and you, Jaden Sawyer, are going to tell me.”

  “I was thinking about how ridiculously sappy ‘Broken Love’ was when I first read it, yet it ended up being one of my favorites.”

  “You didn’t even want to record it.”

  “Nope. But as always, when it comes to music, you were right.”

  “That’s the first time you’ve ever admitted that,” she said with a smile brighter than the sun pelting the white snow.

  “Seems there have been a few firsts since you showed up on my mountain.” He guided her toward the large cabin.

  At least eight inches of snow had fallen in the course of twenty-four hours. The temperatures were still below freezing, so no chance of the powdery stuff melting in the heat of the sun, but it felt good against his face.

  “Piper, this is Shamus.” Jaden kicked his boots against the stoop. “We served together in the same unit for a couple of years. He saved my life once or twice.”

  “Someone had to cover your back.” Shamus slapped his shoulder. “This one was a crazy mother trucker. Half the time, we wondered if he had a death wish.”

  Piper arched a brow. “He used to be painfully quiet and scared of his own shadow.”