by Toni Aleo
She glanced back at him and shot him a drop-dead gorgeous smile. “So?”
Man, she blew his mind.
* * *
Erik didn’t win and he wasn’t sure who was more disappointed about it, him or Piper.
“I think that ballot was rigged! How in the world did you get beat out by someone on the Carolina team! I didn’t even know they had a team,” she complained as they made their way back up to the room. She didn’t want to go out with the rest of the team so he was walking her back to the room before meeting Phillip downstairs. During the awards, Phillip sat beside them. “We are cool, dude, don’t worry,” he had said to Erik. That’s why Erik was best friends with him. They read each other and just got along. No hard feelings over minor disagreements. Friends like Phillip were hard to come by.
“I mean really, the dude is not even that good in my opinion,” she said, tapping her toe as they rode the elevator up to their suite. Erik liked that Piper was so upset. It was nice to have someone who actually cared if he won or lost something. Plus, she was just so damn cute when she was mad. Her cheeks turned a bright red, while her lips puckered out, making it hard not to kiss her.
“Bullshit, I tell you!”
Erik started to chuckle as he shook his head. “I agree, sweetheart, but it is no big deal. It was only my second year in the league. I’ll get it next year.”
Piper stopped tapping her foot and glanced up at him. She had a weird look on her face while all the irritation that he saw earlier evaporated. “Well, let’s hope so,” she said quietly and he didn’t understand where all her fire went.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I’m tired.”
He never liked that answer.
“No, there is something, tell me,” he said as the doors opened. Before she could step out, Erik took hold of her arm. She turned, giving him an annoyed look.
“You called me sweetheart,” she said with a shrug of her shoulders. “I told you about that.”
He rolled his eyes as he let out a long breath. “Listen, you are going to have to get used to that. It’s what I call you.”
“And how many other girls?”
“None,” he said honestly. “You are the only one, so deal with it.”
Since he didn’t like the look she was giving him, that shocked, oh my God, really? look, he turned and headed down the hall. After unlocking the door, he waited for her to enter before walking in and closing the door behind them. “Are you sure you don’t want to go?”
She shook her head as she slid her heels off. “No, I’m supertired.”
“Oh, okay.”
“Yeah.”
“Okay, well, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow. I’ll be late.”
“Okay, have fun,” she muttered as she unzipped her dress. She looked mad, or maybe disappointed. As if she didn’t want him to go. A part of him wanted to stay. They could watch a movie or maybe get naked and have sex. Since that would be a bad idea, he muttered another awkward goodbye and left.
He felt like a complete jerk, and dammit, he shouldn’t be feeling things about her.
* * *
The club was insane.
That was the only way Erik could put it. The booze was flowing, the music was glass-shattering, and girls were everywhere. Boy, were they hot, and oddly enough Erik didn’t care. All he cared about was getting more drunk, which he was accomplishing fairly well. Phillip sat with three females surrounding him straight across from Erik, while Shea nursed a beer beside him. Shea looked as if he was about to pass out, and Erik fully expected him to be leaving at any time soon, with Elli having already gone up to the room. It had been a while since Erik had been in a club, and he was sure that Koey would have a fit when he heard about it tomorrow, but it would be obvious he was just hanging with his team, celebrating Shea’s win.
Erik tapped Shea’s beer. “Great honor tonight, bro, you are the best defenseman out there. The Norris Trophy was all yours.”
Shea smiled as he nodded. “I have a great team, but thank you, you know that means a lot to me.”
“I know, that’s why I said it. I need brownie points when it comes to your wife.”
Shea laughed. “Ah, my Elli. I love her, but I don’t agree with this probation shit she has you on.”
Erik nodded. “Neither do I. Hopefully it will all go away in a month or so.”
“Let’s hope so,” Shea agreed, nodding his head. “So how is married life treating you?”
Erik shrugged his shoulders. “It’s different. It’s good that I have you, Jakob, and Cooper as examples to follow.”
Shea laughed. “More brownie points?”
He laughed as he nodded. “Hell yeah, I’m on probation, for fuck sakes!”
Both men shared a good long laugh before tapping their beer bottles together again and then downing them with one long swallow. When Shea finished his beer, he announced he was heading up to the room, which was no surprise. Erik wasn’t sure how many times he heard Shea say something about Elli, but he was pretty sure if he heard anything else about her, he was going to scream. He didn’t understand how men could love women so unconditionally without more of a guarantee. What if she left? Then what would he do?
He had watched it happen to his father almost every other month and he’d be damned if he was going to let it happen to him. That was one of the things he didn’t understand with the way he had been feeling lately about Piper. He knew what could happen to a man when he loved a woman too much, so why was he considering it?
Phillip dropped down beside him with a goofy grin on his face, shoving another beer at Erik.
“I’m going to be leaving soon with these three fine ladies,” he said, giving a nod to the three brunettes who sat in front of them.
Erik was shocked. “All three?”
“Yes, I have to make up for the fact that you aren’t in the game anymore.”
Erik laughed. “You’re insane. What will the third one do?”
“I don’t know. Cup my balls? Suck her tits? Shit, I don’t know. We’ll work it out, don’t you worry.”
“Believe me, I am not worried about your sex life.”
“Good, you should be worried about yours,” Phillip pointed out.
“Ah, you know mine is nonexistent. Even though I wish it wasn’t. God, Piper is so hot,” Erik groaned.
“She sure is. You got lucky in the wife pool there, dude.”
“Have you ever had sex with a pregnant woman?”
“Ew, fuck no!” Phillip said with a disgusted look. “But I think it is different when it is with the baby momma. You know, you made that kid, so it’s okay if you poke it in the face.”
Erik couldn’t believe Phillip had just said that. Instead of laughing like he wanted, he told Phillip, “I think I’m obsessed with having sex with pregnant women.”
“What?” Phillip asked, confusion all over his face.
“I never ever thought of having sex with a pregnant woman before, but now it’s all I think about. Then again, when I look at her, I don’t see her pregnant. I see her hot, and smoking, and man, I want to bury myself inside her.”
“If I was married to her,” Phillip said, “I would never leave her pussy alone. God, she is so hot. I don’t know why you are here; you need to be upstairs, trying to get some.”
Okay, that bothered Erik a little, but he would ignore it. Piper wasn’t his real wife.
“She doesn’t want me like that.”
“Well, shit, dude, how long is it until you leave?”
“End of September.”
Phillip thought for a moment. “Okay, so she has the baby, then give her about six months to adjust and then she’ll be up to dating again, right?”
Erik looked over at Phillip and glared as he suspiciously asked, “Why?”
“ ’Cause I’m gonna come a-callin’. I would make a great husband and I could be a stepdad, that won’t be a problem, plus we are best friends, so no big deal,” Phillip said with the biggest grin on his face,
like his plan was the best idea since freezing water to play hockey on it.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Erik asked. His hands were shaking with anger while he swore he saw red.
“What? It’s a good plan.”
“It’s a horrible plan. She is my baby’s mother. She is off-limits to everyone,” Erik spat out.
Phillip laughed. “Oh, no. She is fair game once you leave.”
Erik’s face was on fire. “No, she’s not. Are you trying to piss me off?”
“No, I’m telling you the truth, asshole. But whatever, you think what you want to think while I go fuck these three beautiful ladies,” he said, standing up.
“I hope your dick goes limp,” Erik spat out, standing up, too.
Phillip laughed. “At least I get to try, while you are what? Watching a movie?”
“Asshole! If I wanted to get fucked, I would.”
“Sure,” Phillip said with a grin as he turned to the ladies. “Ladies, your man is ready to go.”
Erik watched as Phillip left. His body burned with anger and he felt a little dizzy. He was drunk, and that’s probably why he wanted to rip his best friend’s head off and stuff it up his ass. How dare he say those things about Piper! She wouldn’t want him or anyone else! She would raise their kid, be a good mom; she’s not going to want another man! What the hell was a man going to give her that Erik wouldn’t give her if she needed it?! He’d show her! The only man she needed to have sex with was him!
And that was final!
Chapter 12
Piper missed Erik.
She knew that was stupid but she did. It had been such a great day and she wished he had come back to the suite with her. She wanted him to lie on the left side of the bed and watch TV while she read, or maybe they could have watched a movie. Anything, really, she just wanted him to come back. Again, this was stupid on her part.
She needed to let go of this fantasy she had of them together. Yeah, they had gotten along better the last two days and yeah, he had a way to make her forget why she was mad, but nothing permanent was ever going to happen between them. He would leave as he said he would, and he wouldn’t even look back. The only thing he might look back for was their child. The sooner she realized this, the sooner her life would be able to go back to normal.
It was well into the wee hours of the morning and Piper should have been asleep already but there was no way she could sleep. Her mind kept coming back to him and not even her amazing book could keep that from happening. She wondered what he was doing, who he was with, if he was thinking of going home with some nonpregnant blonde or if he was thinking of her. Piper wanted to go find him, but she was afraid to since she knew that would only make things worse.
With a loud huff, she looked back down at her Kindle and tried to read the same page she had been on for the past hour. She had finally got past it when the door shook and Erik busted through, looking very drunk and as if he were on a mission. His eyes were barely open as he threw his jacket onto the floor, kicking the door closed. As he walked toward her while unbuttoning his shirt he stumbled into the coffee table.
When he reached the bed, his shirt was hanging wide open, displaying his six-pack abs and yummy tattoos. He looked right at her as he reached down to pull the bedding away from her and her Kindle went flying.
“Hey!” she protested but she went quiet when he took hold of her thighs and dragged her to the edge of the bed. Once there, he stopped and looked down at her stomach. “Erik?”
He looked up at her face and then back down at her stomach, which was peeking out from underneath her shirt. He reached down and she jumped when he pulled her shirt up, almost to her breasts to place his hand on her exposed flesh. He sat there for a moment, his eyes locked on her stomach as Piper’s chest rose and fell quickly and her heart beat out of control. She didn’t know what he was doing and she was a little freaked-out. Thinking that maybe he was waiting for the baby to kick, she said, “It’s probably sleeping.”
“You’re wearing my shirt.”
She nodded. “I know.”
“I left it for a reason.”
“You did?” she asked.
“Yeah, I wanted to leave a part of me behind,” he said and then he looked up at her again, whispering, “This is my baby?”
Piper was a little taken back by the questions and also confused by the previous statement. She nodded and said, “Yes.”
“Okay, don’t have sex with anyone else, okay?”
Where the hell did that come from?
“I don’t plan on it.”
He nodded and then crawled over her, his hot body touching hers as he cuddled into the spot beside her.
“Okay, good, okay. I’m sorry I grabbed your thighs,” he muttered into her bare side.
“It’s okay.”
He nodded again and then whispered, “I bet you hate me, huh?”
Her heart softened as her body relaxed. She shook her head even though he couldn’t see her and then moved a piece of hair out of his eyes. “No, not entirely.”
“I’m an asshole.”
Piper giggled as she rolled her eyes. “Sometimes, but I know how to handle you.”
“You’re a good person, really kind,” he whispered as his arm snaked over her thighs, pulling her closer to him. She allowed him to because she wanted to be held by him. Knowing he probably wouldn’t remember any of what was happening tomorrow, she whispered, “I wish you could see yourself through my eyes. See the kindness I see in you, see how much you fight it. I wish you could see how much I love you. All of you.”
She would never have the lady balls to say that to his face because of the inevitable rejection, but she could say it to him in his drunken state. It was actually easier than she thought it would be, especially when the answer she received was a loud snore. She couldn’t help but laugh out loud. He was by far the biggest pain in her ass, but she loved him. All of him.
Looking down at him, she smiled as he drooled all over the bed.
Well, that was interesting.
* * *
The next morning Piper was lying in the same spot as when Erik had fallen asleep. She liked the way his hot body warmed hers. She had only gotten up twice in the night to use the bathroom and retrieve her Kindle, but he never moved. He also didn’t stop snoring, which she knew for a fact was not the way he usually slept, so she chalked that up to him being really drunk.
With her Kindle resting against her belly, she was well into her book when he finally stirred. She watched as he stretched out his body like a cat before looking up at her. His brow shot up when he saw her, then looked down to see all he was wearing were his dress slacks.
“Well, good morning, sunshine,” she said. “Have a nice sleep?”
He nodded and she could see that he was extremely confused.
“Yeah. Why am I in the bed with you?”
She smiled and said, “Because after manhandling my thighs and poking my tummy, you crawled over me and passed out. You’re a big dude; there was no moving you.”
Erik paused, his eyes wide as he looked around the room. “I manhandled you?”
“Yup, but don’t worry. You didn’t hurt me.”
He let out the breath he must have been holding as he nodded. “Oh thank God,” he murmured as he ran his hand down his face. “I had a lot to drink and then Phillip pissed me off.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah, he’s an asshole,” he said with a shake of his head. “Anyway, sorry about that. Was I mean?”
“No, not at all.”
“Okay, good,” he said. Still rubbing his face, he peeked at her through his fingers. “I’ve been looking for that shirt.”
Piper smiled. “According to you, you left it at my house for a reason.”
He looked away quickly before saying, “I poked your stomach?”
She laughed as she rolled her eyes. She didn’t understand why he felt the need to hide things from her, but whatever.
“Yup, and
asked if the baby was yours again.” He shook his head, and she couldn’t help but grin. “It’s no big deal, Erik, don’t stress over it.”
“I’m really sorry. It will never happen again.”
“Like I said, I know how to handle you if you get out of control.”
He laughed. “How so? Are you a ninja, too?”
“No, but I did take self-defense classes in New York, so I know how to protect myself.”
“Of course you do. I swear you’re a jack-of-all-trades,” he said as he moved off the bed. He made his way to the bathroom and Piper laughed as she looked down at her Kindle. She liked that he thought she could do a lot of things. Usually guys thought she was flighty, not knowing what she wanted. Even her family thought that much of the time.
When he came out of the bathroom, he stood in only a pair of sport shorts. The same ones that didn’t fit him and hung extremely low on his hips. He was scratching his lower belly as he looked over at her.
“Why would I poke your stomach? That’s so weird.”
Piper shrugged her shoulders. “I think maybe you were trying to feel the baby move because you sat there for a good minute, staring at my belly.”
“Hmm, I guess I would do that.”
She would have never thought that he would want to feel her belly or the baby move. He hadn’t shown any interest until now. Did she want him to touch it? Last night, she really didn’t have a choice, he kind of just took control, but now she could offer him that chance.
Maybe if he touched her belly he’d feel more a part of things, more connected. It wasn’t always about what she wanted, which was him and her together; it was about the baby. She wanted her baby to have a daddy. She wanted her baby to have Erik.
So with a smile she asked, “You would?”
He shrugged his shoulders, his face warming with color while he looked everywhere but at her. He was embarrassed and that was the very first time she had ever seen him like that. “Sure, I’m curious, like any man would be.”
She looked down at her growing baby. “Would you like to feel it? Now, I mean?”
“Sure, I guess.”
But he didn’t move.
Erik rubbed his foot along his ankle, while Piper sat, waiting for him to come over to her. When she realized that he wasn’t going to make the move, she got up and made her way to him. When she was in front of him, he was still looking down and not at her. She rolled her eyes and lifted her shirt, her little bump only inches from him. He then looked up at her.
