by Honor James
“No, he’s the one that reads the manuals,” he said. “The general sent out the tech guys to install this system. Though Yoshi likely could have put it in after going through that monster of a book. He does have this thing about electricity, though, kind of hates it. Long story short, he tried to electrocute himself putting in a lightbulb. No clue how he managed it, exactly, but that’s the way Michael tells the story.”
“Wow, okay, so yes, that’s a very bad thing.” She shook her head and then laughed. “Although, I think that, if I was given half a chance, I could somehow screw myself into electrocution by lightbulb.” She sometimes was just that clumsy. “So we have our alarm, we have Yoshi watching over us, so what do you want to do now?”
“We are going to put stuff away, mainly the ice cream,” he said with a smile. “Come on, sweetheart, let’s get the food packed away. Also, decide what you want for a snack. You will need the energy.”
“Oh, yes. Energy is good.” She moved with him toward the bags so that they could get things unpacked, and they could hopefully enjoy some downtime together. “I love ice cream.” She knew that he knew that about her, but she was just tossing it out there. “As for a snack, I think that maybe we should do something like chips and sandwiches. Easy to make and clean up.”
“Sounds like a good plan,” he told her. Picking up a few items, he handed them to her to put away. “I’ll go around and ensure all the draperies are closed as well. I did ask the lads to do it before they left, but I want to ensure they got every single room. I’m not going to take a chance that this asshole can get a peek at you again.”
“Oh, God, you had to mention that.” She shuddered at the thought that there was some asshole outside watching her every move. She didn’t like this at all. “I think that we will have to spend a great deal of time with the drapes closed, and I hate that thought. But with you inside with me, I can deal with that.”
Aeron wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her in close to his body. “We both need to remember that he’s out there. I don’t want to beat you up with the thought, but I also don’t want you complacent, Piper. I’m not going to let anything happen to you, trust in that, okay?”
“I know. I don’t want to forget that he’s out there, but I both hate him and am thankful for him right now. I hate him because he’s turned my life upside down. I am thankful because he brought you into my life.”
“Yeah?” he asked. Laughing softly, he pressed a kiss to her throat. “How thankful are you that I’m in your life now, sweetheart? Be explicit in your descriptions if you would please,” he requested softly.
“Well, I was thinking that I should bake this asshole a cake. Granted, the cake would end up with poison in it because I hate him, but it’s the whole thought that counts sort of thing, right?”
He was quiet for a moment, but she could feel his chest shaking against her back. “Damn, woman, you’re out for blood. I love that,” he said finally. He pressed another kiss to her neck before loosening his hold. “Let’s finish this up, sweetheart. I’m hungry, in more ways than one, and I’d really rather not talk about this jack-off any more.”
“Sounds like a very good idea to me. I happen to really like the idea of just simply relaxing, giving in and letting go. We will just enjoy time together. We might even take a nice long hot bubble bath in the process. Thoughts on that idea?”
“I like the idea of a bath with you,” he said. He passed her another couple of items. He left the bread and meat out on the counter. The bags of chips he set off to the side as well. “As long as you don’t use any sort of oils. Most of them are way too strongly scented for me. I don’t mind a bit of bubbles, if they are unscented or really light, and natural scents.”
“I use one that’s very mild. It isn’t scented because I really don’t care for strong smells at all. I think that just a nice bubbly hot bath is good, no scents, just bubbles and you naked.” In her mind that was all that was needed. All that would ever be needed.
“You’d better be in there, too, naked,” he told her. Grinning, he passed her the last of the fridge and freezer items. The rest of their stuff was dry, or canned goods that could wait for later. He unloaded it all, in nice neat little groupings, and then gathered up the bags.
She watched as he folded the bags neatly and couldn’t help but marvel at the man that he was. She didn’t know what she had done that gave her the chance to have him walk into her life, but whatever it was, she wanted to do it again and again. She wanted to have this chance with him for the rest of her life and that was a very scary prospect for her. She had never thought like that really about anyone, even when she had been engaged she didn’t see herself old and gray with him like she did with Aeron Cutter, a man that had literally just stepped into her life a few dozen hours earlier.
“You’re staring at me, sweetheart,” he said before he turned to look her way. “What’s going through that head of yours, Piper?” Walking toward her, he stopped as soon as they were toe to toe, and put his hands on her hips.
“I don’t think that I’m ready to talk to you yet about what’s going through my mind. Ask me in a week or a month?” Because right now it just felt weird to tell him that she was thinking of something more than they had in this moment.
“All right.” He nodded. “I’ll ask in a week, or two, but not a month. I may have a semblance of patience, but nothing even close to that. How about you start on the sandwiches, I’ll check the windows, and then come back to help you. That work for you?”
“Works for me. That would mean it would be faster for us to get up and into the bath together.” She watched him as he left and let out a breath of a sigh. Heavens, that man came in like a thunderclap and insinuated himself into her life and other places without any resistance at all from her. What was worse, she liked it. A lot. She was happy he was there with her, in her life with her, and hoped that he would remain after the job was over. “What do you want on your sandwich?” she called as she pulled bread from the sleeve and grabbed condiments and began to build her sandwich since she knew what she wanted on hers.
“Meat, lettuce, mayo, lots of mustard, and if you have it, a bit of tomato. Do not use any of the tomatoes I bought for my chili, though, woman. Those were carefully counted and weighed for their specific purpose. I will count them later,” he called out. She wasn’t entirely sure he wasn’t kidding, either, especially since she’d watched him pick and choose them with serious dedication.
“Okay, no tomato then.” She had just put her hand on one of the plump red tomatoes. That man had to have eyes in the back of his head. “I have yours ready and mine. Hurry it up, mister man.” She put the sandwiches on paper plates, cleaned up her mess, and got napkins. “What do you want to drink?” When he called back water she grabbed a couple of bottles and got everything settled onto the table for them.
He wandered back into the kitchen a couple of minutes later. “All secure. They only forgot one covering, which is actually quite impressive when you think of it. It was in one of the guest bedrooms.” Brushing the backs of his fingers to her cheek, he settled into the chair his sandwich sat before. “This looks good, thank you,” he said to her.
“You’re welcome.” She settled in at his side and reached out to grab his hand with hers. Giving him a squeeze, she nodded and pulled back, picking up her sandwich to begin to eat while he did the same.
Chapter Six
When she called out to him that the bath was ready, she didn’t get an answer. Unlike him, so Piper went looking. She found Aeron with a frown on his face bent over the blueprints the general had dropped off with one of his guys to leave for him. His head popped up a moment later, turned, and his gaze met hers. Instantly the frown melted away into a smile. “Hey, bath ready?” he asked curiously.
“Yeah, it’s ready.” She reached out and stroked her fingers over the frown lines between his eyes. “What has you looking so upset? You were looking over the blueprints, right?” She moved so that she could
look down at them as well and then over her shoulder at him. “What has that frown on your face, babe?”
He set them aside, and with his hands on her hips, drew her in closer to him. “Too many years, too many renovations, and too many owners with things to hide. It’s going to take me a while to figure out what’s what, but I’m pretty sure that the original blueprints are the ones that will tell me the most. Hate to tell you this, babe, but it looks like your bar was a speakeasy once upon a time. That and the owner was running booze illegally if I’m reading things right given the time frame.”
“Holy crap, are you serious? Wow.” Back in the days of Prohibition, there were any number of speakeasies, any number of people that would brew their own booze to sell it. That was one lesson that the government only semi-learned. The moment that you outlaw something, everyone and their brother wants it. “So how long do you think until you know a bit more about it?”
“Tomorrow, likely,” he said softly. “I need to study everything a little more, do some calculations, and map it out a bit over the newest plans the city had. I should even be able to figure out where all the hidey doors and such are. I definitely want to get down there and look around. For one thing, it’s a potential safety risk, for another I’m extremely curious about it all, too.”
“Me too. Will I be able to go down there with you? I want to see what all there is that might be hiding in my walls or wherever.” She couldn’t believe she had been in the place as long as she had and had never even heard of hidden passages in the place.
“Of course, you can come down with me,” he said. “It should be interesting to say the least. When we go we’ll take some high-powered flashlights. I don’t want to test any form of electrical that may be down there, at least not without getting it inspected. Which won’t be until after we’ve looked it all over. Who knows what might be down there after all.”
“Sounds like a plan. We will take a handheld radio as well in case anything happens. That way we would be able to call out to your friends. Right?” She frowned and added, “Or do you think that they would want to go searching with us? It’s pretty exciting, really, the thought that there was once a speakeasy in my bar.”
“I’ll call Yoshi, I think, to come with us. He’ll have fun going in there with us. He likes places with history. He’s also greatly fascinated by that whole era, the rum runners, the music, everything about that time. He had a great-grandfather that worked in a speakeasy as a musician. The stories he can tell you, all passed down in the family, are quite fascinating.” Pushing her back a little, he stood up and then turned her toward the bathroom. “Let’s get into that bath before the water cools.”
“Very cool.” She pulled back from him, slipping her hand into his and tugging him toward the bathroom with her. “The bathwater was very hot, so hopefully it hasn’t cooled all that much. It was pretty perfect after all.”
Laughing softly, he let go of her hand to pull his shirt over his head. Tossing it onto the vanity, he began to work on his jeans, pushing them off as soon as he had the buttons undone. Straightening, he folded them, set them aside, and headed for the bathtub. “You coming?” he asked, stepping into the water.
She watched him as he walked naked away from her and fanned herself. Once she pulled her head out of her ass, she stripped and lay her clothes on top of his and strode off after him. She stood at the side of the tub and looked down at him. When he offered her his hand, she placed hers into his and stepped into the tub with him, settling in front of him with a happy sigh of relief.
“This is nice,” he said with a hefty sigh. “This was a brilliant plan, I must say. Good thinking, sweetheart.” He slid his arms around her, drawing her in closer to him. Aeron rested his cheek to hers as he squeezed her gently. “How are you really doing, Piper? With anything, or everything, if you feel like taking it all on.”
“Honestly? I’m feeling a little fragile right now. Such a silly word, I know, but honestly if you weren’t here for me I feel as if I would shatter and break into a million pieces that no one could put back together again. I feel as if anything were to happen right now that would throw this balance that I’ve found with you into trouble I would spin out of control and lose myself.”
“It’s not a silly word if it describes how you feel, Piper. Nothing you say to me is ever silly, no matter what it sounds like in your head beforehand. I’d rather you talk to me. I don’t like to see you worrying or brooding. Besides, I want to be here for you in any capacity that you’ll accept me.”
“I like the way that sounds,” Piper confessed and relaxed against him once more. “I want to be here for you as well. No matter what. I would like it if you would be able to turn to me should you ever need anything.” She wanted a lot more than that. She wanted to be his everything.
“Then we have a deal,” he told her. “I’m here for you, you’re here for me, it works out rather well, actually. Anything else you want to get off your gorgeous, perky little chest? Anything at all, perhaps what that look was in the kitchen earlier?” he asked.
“Sneaky man,” Piper said with a grin and shook her head. “Nope. Nothing yet. I told you, give me a bit of time to let those thoughts percolate so that I can figure out if I should tell you or if you should put me into the closest psychiatric hospital.”
“Well, you can’t blame me for trying. I had the perfect opening, figured I’d slip it in there and see if you’d bite or not.” Pressing a kiss to her neck, he brushed her hair aside and nuzzled at her skin. “I seriously doubt I would ever think anything you had to say would be a prelude to locking you up in a padded room. You are a rather smart little cookie, so stop thinking that you need to be in a self-hugging jacket.”
She shrugged and snuggled back against him. “I certainly hope that you are right. I want to be out and about and not making a fashion statement and taking pills all the time. I want to be me. Quirky and independent.”
“I rather like how you are,” he said. “All the quirks, and the independence, too. I also like the fact you lean on me from time to time. You seem to know just how to balance it all out, so go with that, Piper. If it becomes too much, say so. We’ll figure it out together.”
“Good. I’m glad that you are in this like I am. You do balance me out rather well and that is incredibly amazing to me. I can’t even begin to tell you how happy I am that you are mine.” She didn’t quantify that with time. She just relaxed there with him in the heated water and hoped for more later.
“Always,” he said softly. Brushing a kiss to her cheek he rested his cheek back against hers and held her close. He fell silent with her. It was a comfortable silence, one that didn’t need to be filled with talk or idle ramblings.
She felt herself drifting, the heat of the water, the heat of the man, and the comfort of him holding her had her drifting. “How about we get out of here and climb into bed for a time? You know, you said something about needing energy and all that?” She teased with a grin.
“That was when I wasn’t all loose and relaxed,” he said. “We’ll be lucky if I can even muster up the energy to crawl out of this tub. This was a seriously great idea,” he told her again. Using his foot, he pulled the plug to drain the water. “All right, we definitely should get up and out of here. Before the last of my reserves abandon me and I beg you for a pillow instead.”
“Yes, up and out of here and climbing into our bed. The lights are all out in the house, we just have to kill the one in our bedroom, and then we can sleep for a bit. Get up later and then use up the energy we have stored.” She got up and out of the tub with his help, handing him a towel and taking one for herself as well. “Come on, mister. Bed is calling our names.”
With a groan, he pulled himself up out of the tub. It didn’t take them long to dry off, brush their teeth, and then tumble into the bed. Instantly he tucked the blankets around her. Pulling her in close to his body, he wrapped her up in his arms. “Sleep well, sweetheart,” he whispered against her lips before kissing h
er.
Chapter Seven
Taking the flashlight Aeron handed her, Piper turned it on and then off to ensure it worked. If he was right about the hidden passages and underground rooms, she definitely wanted to have it working.
He was knocking on a wall lightly where he’d already made a series of markings. Stepping back, he checked his little notepad, the one where all his calculations were, and then pulled out the tape measure. A few more measurements before he stepped back, picked up a sledge hammer, and threw her a look. “Ready to see if my theory pans out?” The man looked like a kid in a candy store, he was that eager to bust down the wall before them.
“As ready as I’m going to get.” She looked at the sledgehammer and then him. “Are you sure that we have to use that? I mean, if there are secret passages, shouldn’t there be secret entrances as well? I really don’t want to knock a hole in the wall if we don’t have to.” Only because it was in her office on a wall that she had painted professionally. She really liked that wall, a lot.
Sighing, he set the hammer aside and rolled his eyes. “You are really no fun whatsoever,” he muttered. Moving to the wall he reached up over her door jamb. A moment later a click sounded, and the section of wall he’d just marked out popped open to reveal a very dark, very narrow passageway. “I so wanted to swing that thing,” he said with a pouty look her way.
“You bloody ass,” she muttered with a shake of her head. “I adore you, Aeron Cutter, but seriously? Oh, you are so bad.” She walked up to him and grabbed his shirt. She tugged him down and gave him a fast kiss. “Good thing you are so damn sexy and make me so happy,” she whispered against his lips.
