Page 6

Piper

I awoke slowly, feeling pleasantly warm. I’d rolled over at some point during the night, and I was draped halfway across Beast, with one leg tangled between his. My head was cradled in the hollow of his shoulder, and he had one arm wrapped around me, his hand brushing up against my breast.

I lay still, my eyes closed as I savored the feeling of being safe, of having someone other than myself looking out for me. But would it be enough? The mob wasn’t known to let things go.

Maybe I was overthinking. If I left the state, moved to the other side of the country, maybe Drake would decide I wasn’t worth the effort.

From what I knew from movies, the mob ran just like any other business, with an eye on the bottom line.

Why pay to axe someone who’d moved that far away?

I’d just have to make sure my agent never booked me into a gig in California.

Not that bookings were coming in thick and fast these days anyway.

Making it as a singer was about more than having talent.

You needed connections, exposure, and a whole lot of luck.

I didn’t have much of any of those, and if I bailed on the one gig I’d been offered I might as well give up. But what choice did I have?

“You awake?”

I realized Beast’s eyes were open. “Yeah. Just being lazy.”

“Get a little more rest. Tinker has a gym down on the main floor. I’m going down and do some lifts before breakfast. I’ll be back in an hour or so.”

“You could just stay here and do some push-ups.” I could feel his stiff shaft poking against my belly. “Feels like you might be into that.”

He wrapped one arm around me and rolled us both. Suddenly on top, he grinned down at me. “I was going to be a gentleman and let you sleep, but I’ve changed my mind.”

Over an hour later, he sauntered downstairs, and I got up to get dressed for the day, still feeling the pleasant aftereffects of our morning activity.

Unfortunately, I’d run away with literally just the clothes on my back, so I had nothing clean to put on.

I made a mental note to ask Beast to stop somewhere so I could pick up at least a change of under things.

Luckily, I did have a hairbrush in my purse, and the hotel bathroom had enough supplies for my morning routine.

Beast hadn’t returned by the time I was done, so I ventured out of the room to find him.

A sign in the lobby pointed the way to an exercise room down a long hallway.

I paused outside the room’s glass door. A shirtless Beast had his back to the door as he worked on some kind of machine with lots of cables and pulleys.

The muscles in his arms and shoulders bulged as a series of weights slid up and down in opposition to his movements.

Just watching him made my breath hitch in my throat.

From here, I could see the intricate tattoos on his back.

I recognized one as the club patch that he had on the back of his leather jacket.

I’d have to ask him what the rest of them meant sometime, but right now I was content to drool over his well-honed muscles and the way he worked those weights without breaking a sweat.

The man was gorgeous. Sexy as hell. He had a rugged beauty that sent flickers of heat dancing down my spine even after all the times he’d made me come last night and this morning.

He was right. My father probably wouldn’t be thrilled to find out we were hooking up.

We were both adults, though, engaging in normal adult activities.

The fact that Beast was a little older than me just made him all the more attractive, a primal gut-deep reaction on my part.

He had experience, and he knew just how to please a woman.

He was all sleek, well-honed muscle, with scars that hinted at an ability to fight and win.

I need that right now, needed to know he was capable of protecting me from Drake and his minions.

Okay. Beast had a couple of daughters and that could be awkward, but it wasn’t like we were planning a serious relationship.

Once we got to Georgia and I was out of danger, we would go our separate ways.

No harm, no foul. Chances were, neither my father nor Beast’s kids would ever know about our relationship.

In the meantime, I intended to enjoy it.

Beast rose to his feet and turned around. His gaze settled on me, and a slow smile etched its way across his face. He grabbed his shirt and shrugged into it while he crossed the room.

I opened the door and met him inside. “I found you.”

He grabbed me by one hand and pulled me in close. Lowering his head, he seared a kiss across my lips. “You couldn’t lose me if you tried.”

I blushed, glancing around to see if there was anyone else in the room. He had a way of making everything sound so damn intimate.

“Ready for breakfast? There’s a little place just around the corner, and if we ask nicely, they’ll pack a picnic lunch for us as well. We can hit the road after that and not worry about stopping for a while.”

“Sounds good.” I let him keep my hand captive while we headed back to our room. “But I was hoping we could stop somewhere and get me a few things. I didn’t have time to pack before I left, and I don’t fancy wearing the same clothes from one side of the country to the other.”

He looked thoughtful. “We pass through a couple smaller towns. We could probably stop at one of those big discount stores.”

“I have money.” The thought of Beast paying for my underthings had me blushing all over again.

“Cash money?”

“Some. But I can get more from an ATM.”

He shook his head. “We pay cash so there’s no chance of your ex tracing us. Don’t worry. I have enough on me to pay for shit.”

“You carry that much cash on you? Aren’t you worried about getting robbed?

” As soon as I said it, I realized what a dumb question it was.

Anyone looking for a victim to rob wouldn’t give Beast a second glance.

He looked like exactly what he was -- a big, tough, battle-hardened biker who probably had a weapon or two hidden somewhere on him.

He laughed. “Nah. Some days I’d welcome the distraction. Work off a little steam and claim self-defense.”

He opened the door to our hotel room and did a quick visual sweep before allowing me to enter. “Put the leathers on and get the rest of your stuff together.” He eyed up my purse. “You want to carry that or put it in the saddlebags?”

I hesitated, then pulled out my phone and wallet before handing him the purse.

I managed to get the chaps on quicker this time, buckling up the waist belt before attempting to wrap the legs around and zip them up.

After pulling on the jacket, I slipped my wallet and phone into the interior pockets.

“Thanks. It will be more comfortable without the purse.”

He nodded. “Ready to go?”

“Yup.” I squirmed a bit, rearranging my pants and the chaps to a more comfortable position.

He slung the saddlebags over his shoulder and took my hand as we headed downstairs. It had felt strange at first, but I was starting to get used to this handholding thing.

Tinker was at the front desk, checking off items on an order sheet. He glanced up at us. “You two have a good night’s sleep?” The twinkle in his eye made me wonder if we’d made enough noise to be heard outside the privacy of our room.

“Great as always. Thanks for the hospitality.” Beast let go of my hand for a minute and pulled out a wad of cash that had me gasping. Peeling off a few bills, he dropped them on the counter. “Thanks, buddy.”

Tinker looked at the cash and nodded. “You were never here.”

Beast pocketed the rest of the cash and retrieved my hand. “See you next trip.”

The trip to the restaurant was hardly worth starting the bike for, but I understood that Beast valued the machine enough not to leave it behind. That, and after we ate we would be headed back out on the road.

I looked at the laminated menu card, surprised to realize how hungry I felt.

“Can I start you two out with some coffee?” The waitress looked to be in her early twenties, and I felt a twinge of something dark when she ignored me and smiled at Beast.

“Coffee for me. Black. How about you, sweetheart?” Ignoring the waitress, Beast looked over at me.

I frowned at the endearment. “Coffee with cream, please.”

“Coming right up.” The waitress bustled away, and Beast reached over to take possession of my hand.

“Should have mentioned this before,” Beast said. “I won’t use your name in public. A small thing, but it’s always the little things that trip people up. Anyone could come in looking for a girl named Piper, and the waitress or someone might just remember you.”

I tilted my head. “I’d say you were paranoid but given the circumstances I appreciate it. Can I use your name or is that a no-no as well?”

He shrugged. “No one’s looking for me, so it doesn’t matter.”

The waitress returned with the coffee and took our orders.

Beast ordered a full breakfast with bacon, eggs, sausage, hash browns, pancakes, and toast. After giving him an incredulous look, I settled on bacon and eggs with sourdough toast. The waitress included both of us in her smile this time and headed back toward the kitchen.

I waited until she was out of earshot. “Can I ask you something personal?”

“You can ask. I might not answer.”

“So you’re not married, and you have twin girls that live with you. How does that happen? Most kids live with their mothers, or at least custody is shared.”

“You want to know if I intimidated her into giving up her kids?” He narrowed his eyes.

I shook my head. “No, just curious.”

“Their mother remarried, and they don’t like the guy very much so they opted to live with me. It suited their mom to let them, although she still sees them and they go visit her. Neither of us wanted to put the kids through a nasty custody battle so we let them decide.”