Chapter 19
Nikki
“Come over.”
I rolled over on my back and looked at the time. “Alice, it’s almost ten o’clock. I’m not coming over. I’m already in bed.”
“But you sound sad.”
I rolled my eyes and bounced out of bed. “I’m not sad, I’m just confused.”
I hadn’t talked to or seen Pipe since I told him not to leave. Not one single word. That was six days ago, and I was starting to wonder if he had packed up and left.
“Not sad, Alice.”
“Well, whatever the hell you are, I don’t like it. This man has got you all twisted up yet again.”
I laughed and opened the fridge. “Maybe he’s giving me space?”
Alice scoffed. “The man should be groveling at your feet every second. Have you talked to Karmen about it? Maybe she has seen him in Weston.”
I grabbed the gallon of vanilla ice cream out of the freezer and a can of root beer. “I talked to her Tuesday, I think. She’s busy at work and getting more pregnant by the day. She claims the baby is taking over her body.”
“Well, maybe you should go over there. Say you’re doing a welfare check.”
I grabbed a spoon and pried the lid off the container of ice cream. “Um, what?”
“I’ve been watching too many cop shows lately, sorry. Just go over there and say hey. He’ll take it from there.”
I dropped two huge scoops into my cup. “Yeah, maybe some other time, Alice. I don’t think he would appreciate that this late at night.” A flash of light startled me, and my eyes shot to the front window. “Oh, my God,” I gasped.
I dropped the phone and ice cream scoop and backed further into the kitchen to the sliding door.
Someone was standing outside my house on the sidewalk, and I think they just took a picture of me. My heart raced, and I racked my brain trying to figure out what to do. I backed up to the sliding door, my hand gripping the handle and I slid it open far enough to slip out.
Pipe.
Pipe would help me.
My eyes scanned my back yard, my feet carrying over to Pipe’s backdoor on their own accord.
I banged on the glass, whipping my head back and forth and making sure whoever was out front hadn’t come around back.
“Pipe,” I whispered. God, please, let him be home.
The light flipped on in the hallway, and my heart soared when he walked into the kitchen shirtless and running his fingers through his hair.
“Nikki, what the hell are you doing here?”
Jesus, my heart sank realizing those were the same words the last time I showed up at his house unannounced.
This was different, though. I was scared for a completely different reason that had nothing to do with him.
I put a hand on his muscled stomach and pushed him into the house. I slid the door shut behind me and twisted the lock. I looked up at him and gulped. “Someone is outside, and I think they were taking pictures of me.”
Pipe tensed and twisted around to look out his front window. “Are you sure?”
“I’m sure there was someone watching me. I was in the kitchen talking to Alice, and I saw a flash from the window. I don’t know what else it could have been except for someone taking a picture.”
Pipe grabbed my arm and dragged me down the short hallway past the bathroom and straight into his bedroom. He reached into his dresser, pulled out a handgun, and tucked it in the back of his waistband. “Stay here. Don’t move. If you hear anyone coming down this hallway, call nine-one-one.”
Shit. “I don’t have my phone. I dropped it.”
Pipe pulled his from his pocket and thrust it into my hand. “Here. You hear anything weird, call the police.”
I gripped his phone in my hand. “Where are you going? I think we should just call the police and let them handle this.”
“Not gonna discuss this. Stay here, I’ll holler when I’m coming so you know it’s me.” He disappeared from the room, glancing over his shoulder at me as he closed the door. “You’re fine, sugar.”
The door clicked shut behind him, and a whole new fear overtook my body. What if something happened to Pipe?
What if whatever wahoo who was outside had a gun too and managed to get a shot off before Pipe could? I sat down on the edge of his bed and stared at the door.
I checked the time on the phone and saw it had only been two minutes since I ran over to Pipe’s. Freakin’ hell.
I was on high alert listening for any noise, but the house was quiet.
Was that a good or bad sign?
Pipe’s phone vibrated in my hand, and my name flashed on the screen. At your place. You left the door open.
Shit, I had. Yeah. I was in a bit of a hurry.
Just making sure. I’m headed back.
I moved to the bedroom door but didn’t open it until I heard Pipe holler my name.
“Are you okay?” I called as I swung open the door and ran smack dab into Pipe.
He gripped my arms, steadying me. “I’m fine, sugar. You’re the one I’m worried about.” He handed me my phone. “Call back Alice. She called when I was putting the ice cream back in the freezer.”
I looked down at my phone and handed him back his. “Thank you,” I mumbled. I saw Alice had called six times and texted me more than ten.
“Oh, my God. Are you okay? I’m putting my shoes on, I’ll be right over.”
“What? No,” I sputtered. “I’m fine. Well, at least now I am. I’m over at Pipe’s.”
“Wait, what? The last I heard from you was ‘oh, my God,’ and now you’re over at Pipe’s? What did I miss?”
I looked up at Pipe who was studying me. “Uh, well, I saw someone outside my house, and I came over to Pipe’s because I was scared.”
“Someone was outside of your house? Who the hell was it? Are you sure it wasn’t Mrs. Stewart walking her dog?”
Pipe rolled his eyes and took the phone out of my hand and put it on speaker. “It wasn’t an old lady with her dog. Nikki is fine right now. No need to come over in your cow pajamas, although that might help to scare them away.”
“Hey,” she protested. “I am not scary enough to scare the bad guys away, and how did you know I was wearing them? Who’s spying on who, huh?”
Pipe shook his head. “Hanging up now, Alice. Nikki is fine. She’ll call you in the morning.” He ended the call before she could say anything else and handed the phone back to me. “Your girls all got a bit of crazy in them, don’t they?”
I couldn’t really deny that. I shrugged and put the phone back in my pocket. “They get all crazy because they care.”
He grabbed my hand and tugged me down the hallway. He sat down on the couch, pulled me into his lap, and wrapped his arms around me. It felt nice to be in his arms. “I didn’t find anyone outside, but I did find some fresh footprints in the dirt by your window.”
“What?” I gasped. I pushed against his chest and pulled out of his arms. “Who was it?”
He ran his hand through his hair. “I don’t know. By the time I got outside, they were gone.”
I looked out his front window and shivered. Someone had been looking in my window, and I had no idea who it was. I looked down at Pipe. “What am I supposed to do?”
“You’ll stay here tonight. There isn’t much I can do right now. I’m gonna need you to think of anyone who might have done this.”
“Don’t you think we should call the police?”
He brushed back my hair. “We can if you want, sugar, but they aren’t going to be able to do anything. There isn’t anything out there besides a few footprints.”
I sighed and closed my eyes. “Oh, my God.”
“Just breath, sugar. Nothing is going to happen to you.”
I opened my eyes. “And how do you know that?”
“Because I’m not letting you out of my sight until I get this shit figured out and take care of whoever this punk is.”
“Pipe, you can’t be with me every second of the day. You haven’t been around this whole past week. How do expect to go from never being here to being glued to my side?”
“What are you talking about?”
I rolled my eyes and tried to slide off his lap, but he wrapped his arms around me again. “I know you haven’t been around.”
“Sugar,” he drawled. “I don’t leave for Weston until I know you are at work, and then I make sure I’m home before you get off work.”
“What?” How did I not know that? “Do you like sitting in the dark all of the time?” There was never a light on at night at his place. That was why I assumed he was never home.
He chuckled and rubbed his hand up and down my back. “Now who’s peeking into people’s windows?”
I slugged him in the shoulder. “Totally not the same, ass.”
“I got a fucked-up sleep schedule, sugar. So fucked up to the point where I sleep for a couple of hours while you’re awake then I don’t sleep ‘til about six in the morning.”
“Why the hell would you sleep like that?” Sleep was golden. There weren't many things that were better.
He shrugged his shoulders. “Got a lot of shit on my mind.”
I tilted my head. “Sexy biker problems?”
He chuckled and shook his head. “I think that’s the nicest thing you’ve said to me since I moved here.”
I rolled my eyes. “Geez, don’t let it go to your head, it might explode.”
He leaned close, his hand pressing me closer. “Although I have to say, you telling me not to leave were the two sweetest words I had ever heard.”
I bit my lip, and my eyes slid to my lap.
His hand reached up and tipped back my chin. “Those two words said a lot.”
“I…I…” Not a damn clue what to say.
“So does the fact you were looking for me all week mean you were hoping I was going to come over?”
I cleared my throat. “Don’t you think we should talk about the guy who was outside my house?”
Pipe shook his head. “I know you’re safe. I grabbed your soda and ice cream and put it in your fridge and locked up your house, and I know nothing is going to happen to you when I’m with you, so I think we’re talking about the right thing.”
Danger, Will Robinson.
I looked around his living room realizing his side was just like mine, except not nearly updated as mine was. “What is that on the floor?” A huge, brown stain was on the gray carpet.
“I try not to think about it, and always have my shoes on.”
I looked down at my bare feet. “I just walked around on your carpet. The hallway and bedroom aren’t as bad as this.”
“I don’t really think that is as reassuring as you think it is,” I mumbled. “How are you even living here?”
Part of the drywall by the front door was crumbling, and the pink insulation was peeking out. The only nice things in the living room were the couch we were sitting on, and the TV that was hanging on the wall. “They don’t even have trim on the floors.”
Pipe shrugged. “They got me with the good location.”
I rolled my eyes and turned my gaze to the kitchen. “Pipe, half of those cabinets don’t even have doors on them.”
“Yeah. They seem to be ripped off of the hinges,” he said nonchalantly.
“And you pay rent for this place?”
“Yeah, and they even had me pay a deposit.”
My jaw dropped. “For what? This place is a dump.”
“Don’t hold back, sugar,” Pipe chuckled. “It’s a place to lay my head down at night.”
I wrinkled my nose. “Well, don’t stub your toe or anything, and make sure you get a tetanus shot.”
“What does stubbing my toe have to do with anything?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s just something I wouldn’t do here.”
He brushed my hair from my neck. “Thanks for looking out for me, sugar,” he whispered.
My cheeks heated, and I leaned into his body. “Um, well, you did help me tonight.”
“So you feel obligated to care about me?” He leaned closer, and his breath floated across my skin.
“No,” I gasped.
“Then what do you feel?”
My head swam with his scent of tobacco, leather, and musk. Most people who smoked carried a heavy scent of smoke with them, but with Pipe, it was different. “Um, what do I feel?” I asked dumbly.
“For me, Nikki.”
I gulped and turned my head. My eyes connected with his, and I bit my lip.
“Fuck it,” he growled. His hands moved from my waist and delved into my hair. His lips crashed down on mine, and a moan was ripped from my lips. I twisted in his lap, my hands resting on his shoulders.
I pressed down on his shoulders, lifted my body up, my lips never leaving his, and parted my legs to straddle him.
“Jesus Christ, sugar,” he growled against my lips. I squeezed my legs around him, and his hands traveled down my back, and he palmed my ass. “Fucking missed this, sugar.”
I mewled against his lips and opened my mouth. His tongue plunged into my mouth, and I threaded my fingers through his hair. His fingers dug into my ass and pressed me flush against his body.
He stood up, lifting me in his arms, and walked toward the bedroom. “Where are we going?” I whispered.
“Somewhere more comfortable,” he muttered. He pushed open the door to the bedroom and laid me down in the middle of the bed.
He looked down at me, his eyes dark with desire. “Pipe, please.” I didn’t know what I was pleading for, but I wanted it. I wanted Pipe. All of him.
“You sure, sugar?”
I nodded my head and half sat up, resting back on my elbows. “I want you.”
His hands went to button on his jeans, and he popped it open. “You may think you want me, sugar, but I know you’re like me. You need me.”
I wasn’t going to admit that. Needing was a whole level above wanting. “Did anyone ever tell you, you talk too much?”
“Did anyone ever tell you, you avoid shit way too much?”
“If by shit you mean anything to do with you and me, then yes, yes I do.” My brain was less likely to explode when I didn’t try to figure out what I wanted from Pipe. “But I am going to point out you just admitted to needing me.” Which was huge. My heart tried to beat out of my chest as he slid the zipper down on his jeans.
“Not gonna hide it, sugar. I may have fucked up with you the first time, but now that I’ve got a second chance and you’re in my bed, all my cards are out on the table.”
“And what exactly do those cards say?” I whispered.
He slid his pants down his legs and stepped out of them. “I’m here,” he said as he put one knee on the bed. “I’m yours.” His other knee pressed into the bed, and his hands touched my legs. “I’m not leaving ‘til you give us a chance.”
I jack-knifed off the bed, coming up on my knees, and wrapped my arms around his neck. “Say it again,” I whispered against his lips.
I felt his lips slide into a smile. “I’m yours.”
“I have to admit. I didn’t think you were going to actually come to your senses. Cora said it might take years.”
“Cora’s been around the club life too long and thinks she knows everything. I knew the day you disappeared, I had fucked up.” He trailed his fingertips up my arms. “I’m the one who should be saying I thought this would take much longer. I figured I had a lot of groveling left to do.”
I pressed my lips against his ear. “Oh, you’re not done groveling yet. It’s only just begun.”
He growled low, wrapped his arms around me, and swept me off my knees. He pressed my body close to his and dropped me down onto the bed with his body covering mine. “You haven’t seen nothing yet, sugar.” His hands moved to the waistband of my leggings and tugged them down while his lips assaulted my neck, kissing, licking, and nipping his way down my body.
“Sugar, as much as these pants looking fucking amazing on you, they are a fucking pain in the ass to get off you.”
I giggled as he got them to my calves and had to sit back on his knees to take them off one leg at a time. “Don’t knock my leggings. I have a rather unhealthy obsession with buying them. You might want to rethink about dating me because I might swipe your credit card and go on a shopping spree.”
He tossed the leggings over his shoulder and covered me with his body again. “I'm pretty sure that’s a habit I can support if it makes your ass look that fucking good.”
“You were checking out my ass?”
“Nikki, there isn’t a time when I’m around you I’m not checking out your ass.”
I laughed and wrapped my arms around his shoulders. “You’re such a man.”
“Pretty sure that’s what you like about me, sugar.”
“I think I might need to be acquainted with the man side of you. It’s been a while.” Damn Pipe had broken me for any other man. As in, if they weren’t Pipe, I didn’t want them.
He grabbed the hem of my shirt, tugged it up my body, and I leaned into him so he could pull it over my head. His hands formed to the cups of my bra, and he gently squeezed. “Does that mean you forgot our night together?”
I shook my head and trailed my fingertips up his arms. “Pretty sure that night will forever be burned into my memory.”
He pressed a kiss to my lips. “That night alone has gotten me through the past month without you.”
My body froze, and I hit him on the chest. “Let me up.”
“Wait, what?”
“I said let me up. I don’t want to be in your bed, and you lie to me.” I struggled against him, and he grabbed my arms, moving them over my head.
“What the hell just happened?” he demanded.
“What happened was you said the thought of you and me got you through the past month when I know you had women in your bed that replaced me.”
“Who the fuck told you that?” he barked. His eyes darkened again, but this time I know, it wasn’t passion he was feeling. He was pissed off.
“No one told me that because I saw it with my own eyes.” I didn’t have any grand illusions Pipe had pined away for me. I had seen with my own eyes what he was doing when I wasn’t around.
“You think that I fucked around this whole month, Nikki? How the fuck did you figure that?” His grip tightened on my wrists, and he pulled my arms taut above my head.
I strained against his hold, but I knew he wasn’t going to let me go. “Because it took you a whole month to find me. If you really wanted me, you would have been knocking down my door before I even left. I came to your room, saw you with that chick, and then you let me leave.”
“I didn’t fucking let you do anything. You left because instead of telling me what the hell you were feeling, you ran with your tail between your legs. I didn’t fucking know what was going on with us. You were there, and then you were gone.”
“I didn’t know what else to do.”
He leaned down, his lips hovering over mine. “And I didn’t know what to do either. But I’ve figured it out, and I’m not going to let you push me away for some bullshit reason. You weren’t the first chick to show up at my door, but you were the first to make me feel like a jackass.”
I ground my teeth. “Sorry I wasn’t able to stroke your ego.”
“So fucking sassy,” he growled. “I’m gonna clue you in on something, and you’re not going to like it, but you need to get past whatever bullshit feelings you have and listen.”
“You’re not really giving me much choice.” I tried one last time to yank my arms down, but he wasn’t budging.
“I have been with a shit ton of women, Nikki.”
“Duh,” I scoffed. I would have to be an idiot not to know that.
“And each one always came back, wanting more.”
I bucked my hips and shook my head. “Nope, don’t wanna know this.”
“Shush, woman. That’s the part you’re going to have to get over. They all came back for more, but none of them got it. I wasn’t interested in more than one night, and that was it. It didn’t matter who they were”
“Then I guess I better go,” I muttered.
“I didn’t want them again because they didn’t offer me anything I couldn’t get from ten other women. Then you happened. Your smart mouth and sexy body found their way into my bed, and for the first fucking time, I wanted more.”
“Well, you had a shitty way of showing me you wanted more.” A woman in his bed wasn’t the best way to show me that.
“As soon you walked away from me that night, I kicked that chick out of my bed. All I could think about this past month was you and me that night. All I wanted was that night over, and as much I would have liked to move on from you and take any chick to bed with me, the only one that would do was you. Fucking A, Nikki. I tried, one night I got so fucking desperate, hating the fact that you had left, I tried to be with someone else. It didn’t fucking work because the only way I could get hard was to close my eyes and think of you. I tossed her out on her ass so quick because it felt like I was cheating on you even though there wasn’t anything going on with us.”
“So I’m supposed to be glad you tried to fuck me out of your system.”
Pipe ran his fingers through his hair and rolled off me. “Nikki, you frustrate the hell out of me. You aren’t listening to the parts that are important. I didn’t have sex with anyone else because all I fucking want is you.”
I clamped my mouth shut and turned my head to the side.
“So now you’re not going to talk to me? Not letting you run again, Nikki. I’ll keep telling you until you get it through your thick skull.” He brushed my hair off my face and pressed a kiss to my neck.
Don’t budge, Nikki. Do not bend to this man’s touch.
*