I’d spent every night in town for the last week at Piper’s house, but I missed my condo. Or, rather, I missed having a king-sized bed that didn’t have two sideways cats vying for my real estate at the end of the bed.

Rosie and Hank were just like their mistress. Piper also liked to sleep diagonally on the bed. Luckily for me, I enjoyed the placement of her tits when she was in that diagonal stretch. She also liked to sprawl across my chest, another position of hers I relished.

I used to be the guy who liked his space in bed. But now I didn’t know how to sleep in plush hotel beds without her.

I was even used to Rosie’s midnight attack on my toes. What the hell was happening to me?

My phone buzzed on the marble countertop of my kitchen. I’d texted Piper a few minutes ago, and I’d barely even noticed that she hadn’t responded yet.

Such a liar I was. And a bad one at that.

I’m sorry. Who’s this? I vaguely remember someone with this number.

I grinned and texted her back.

Two days, kitten. It hasn’t been that long.

Her text bubbles came right as I was texting.

Felt like ages. I missed you last night.

My smile widened. I really liked that she missed me. I was pretty sure that made me a sap, but I didn’t care.

Obviously not, considering the thoughts in my head. All of them focused on this woman.

I pushed the arrangement of roses and asters I’d picked up into the very center of the counter. Leave it to Piper to like a flower I’d never heard of. At least according to Callie.

The little purple flowers reminded me of daisies, but they were funky and different. Kinda like my girl.

At least I was hoping she was my girl. She certainly felt like it. We hadn’t really put a name on what we were or what the hell we were doing, to be honest. It was as if we didn’t want to mention the word.

Love. Was that what this was? Could it be anything else?

I’d tried to bring up the subject the night before I left for Chicago, but then she’d come into the living room wearing one of my shirts and I’d gotten distracted. Especially since she wanted to relive our first night together only this time she got to seal the deal, as she put it.

By morning, she’d distracted me one more time and then it had been time for the car service to pick me up for the airport.

Tonight, I was going to get her to give me a straight answer if it killed me. I wasn’t sure if she didn’t want to put a label to what we were, or if she was just that clueless about how relationships worked. Not that I was some expert.

Since I knew she wasn’t stupid, I was going with nerves.

Are you sure you don’t want me to pick you up?

The phone went to black and a FaceTime request had come up. Her huge dark eyes filled the screen when I answered.

“Hi.” Then the phone camera swiveled to a street view. “See that street? It’s the one right before I get on the interchange to your big fancy residence.” She turned it back around so I could see her face.

I laughed. “And why are you Facing and driving?”

“Facing?” Her rich laugh bounced around my kitchen. “Can you be arrested for that?”

“LA cops will find a way to arrest you for everything.”

“I wouldn’t know about that, because I wasn’t a troublemaker. Were you?”

“You have no idea.”

“Oh, well that sounds like a story I need to hear.” She stuck the very tip of her tongue between her teeth. A cute little thing she did when she was super entertained. “I’ll be there in ten. You better have food.”

I swung my phone toward the to-go containers from Magda’s. “I’m ready for you.”

“Oh, man. If there’s garlic in it, you’re still kissing me.”

“You couldn’t stop me.”

“That sounds like a fun challenge. Okay, I’ll see you.” And then she was gone.

When she walked in the door, I was spinning one of her asters between my fingers. Just the sight of her walking through my door slotted everything into place in my head.

In my heart.

I dropped the flower back in with the rest and walked straight to her, cupping her face in my hands. She made that purring sound I loved so much and met my mouth with her own, kissing me back with the same amount of passion she’d always had and a lot more finesse. She’d learned some of the techniques from me, but the instinct and the expression was all Piper. Nothing about her was ordinary.

At first, I’d almost wished she was like other women because I knew how to deal with them. She left me unbalanced far too often. Now I craved her spontaneity and liked never knowing what she’d say or do next.

There was no being bored with my kitten around. It simply wasn’t possible.

But Piper’s lessons hadn’t only been about her learning to be with men. I sensed she didn’t trust me or my kind much—the rockstar kind. We were the ones who didn’t stick around, and she’d always been so independent that she’d probably assumed I was perfect for her needs.

Only thing she hadn’t counted on was how perfect she’d be for mine too.

For me.

I knew it way down deep in the marrow of my bones, and I couldn’t wait any longer to address the Cupid in the corner.

Bloody hell, that damn Blackwell was rubbing off on me with his fanciful speech.

Though I moved back, I rubbed my thumb over her soft skin. “Seeing you walk in is always a jolt to the system.”

Her hooded eyes flickered up to mine. “Good or bad?”

“Good. Very good.”

She smiled. “It’s a jolt for me too, since I don’t like going without sex days on end now. It feels like eating all the ice cream then going on a hunger strike. I’m not the best with self-denial.” Her gaze drifted to the ceiling. “Don’t suppose we can move this to more intimate quarters?”

“I have dinner for us, remember?” And her flowers, and candlelight, and a conversation that couldn’t wait. I wanted nothing more than to talk to her about important matters over a quiet meal at the end of a long day.

Several very long days, in fact.

But she was licking her lips and darting her gaze past me as if she didn’t have time for any of that. Not that I’d normally object. Red-blooded male here, and watching her tongue swipe over her mouth made my cock twitch.

She wasn’t the only one who’d already gotten used to not going without. Yes, I’d had gaps between lovers before. I wasn’t a different woman every night sort, no matter what the tabloids claimed. Not even at my worst.

But Piper made everything different. Being away from her wasn’t only about not getting my dick wet. It was about her—her laughter, her off-the-cuff remarks, hell, even the way she took care of her crazy cats. She was the total package, one I’d be happy unwrapping the layers of for the rest of my—

For a very long time.

“Oh, right. Maybe we can heat it up later?” she asked hopefully. “I found something on Pinterest I want to try.”

Despite my need to keep this on a serious level, I cocked my brow. “A DIY sex bench made from shiplap?”

I didn’t even know if it was feasible to make a sex bench out of shiplap, just that all the trendy HGTV shows seemed to think a house wasn’t a home without it.

She made a noise in her throat. “Is that a thing? Tell me that’s a thing. I can’t even imagine what it’d be like to do…that on a special bench made for it.”

I grunted. “Is everything about sex with you?”

“Well, duh. Do you know how long I went without? Especially good sex. That was like spotting a UFO in my bedroom.”

Not laughing was nearly impossible. But I didn’t, because once she made me laugh, I was sunk. I’d be lost in her again and this conversation would be tucked aside.

Maybe I was pushing things. Rushing more than was necessary. But I wasn’t around all the time, and I guess I needed some permanency in my life. I wanted someone to leave a light on for me. Not my housekeeper or a friend.

I wanted her to be the one waiting up for me.

“Anyway,” she continued, “what I saw was a dirty GIF. It was a guy doing a woman from behind. He was grabbing her hair, and she had both hands flat against the wall.” She stepped forward and ran her fingers over my chest. “Why don’t I show you?”

“Dinner is from Magda’s,” I said meaningfully, as if the reminder of our first date might put things back on the track I wanted them to be on.

“That is tempting.” She toyed with my buttons, slipping her pinky in between the panels of fabric to caress my undershirt. Her touch was warm enough that it was almost as if I wore nothing at all.

Fuck, I wanted to be inside her. To imprint myself on her the way she’d imprinted herself on me.

“We will definitely enjoy reheating that after then,” she said, her eyes all witchy smoke and seduction as she leaned up on her tiptoes to brush her lips over my scruffy jaw. I hadn’t shaved yet, knowing she liked that buzz against her inner thighs. “Sex sustenance first, food sustenance later.”

This was how far she’d come due to my lessons. Mine. So I couldn’t rue how much she’d learned, because I’d been leading the class.

And I didn’t. All I wanted was to know there was more. To hear her say that we weren’t just about lessons and booty calls and exploring uncharted territories.

Freaking sex bench. Now I’d have that image in my head, with her spread out upon it.

“What am I to you?” I asked.

She didn’t seem to hear me at first. She closed her eyes as she skimmed kisses down my throat and over the top of my chest revealed by my shirt. Even as she eased back, her full lips were parted and wet. My cock jerked and fuck if I didn’t want to sweep all of this aside and just concentrate on making her feel good. I was addicted to hearing her moan my name as she came.

And I needed more. As wonderful as that was, I fucking needed more.

“Piper. What am I to you?”

The usage of her actual name got her attention. Her big eyes opened and zeroed in on mine. Her chin trembled and then she nodded, her face glazing over with an emotion I didn’t understand. “Don’t worry, Hudson. I get it. I swear, I understand what this is and how it has to go. I’m not going to be a problem for you.”

I frowned. Problem? What the hell was she going on about now?

She flashed a smile, though it didn’t seem entirely genuine. “So you can relax and we can have fun like we always do. We don’t have to have ‘the talk’ about managing expectations,” she said, complete with air quotes.

“Oh, is that so?”

“I’ve been doing a lot of thinking,” she continued. “Your being gone actually gave me the space to do it without being crowded. It’s so hard to think when you’re close by. I forget what makes sense.”

This was getting better and better. I should’ve just gone for the Pinterest-reenacted fuck—though who put pictures of fucking on Pinterest, I thought it was for recipes—and the warmed-up takeout and accepted what I had without demanding more.

Because it didn’t look as if I was going to get it.

“Is that how it is then?” My voice was little more than a growl.

I couldn’t help it. Fuck, I didn’t want to. I was almost certain her thoughts contained a big pile of recycled platitudes I absolutely did not want to hear.

“Yes. Actually, talking to Callie was what made me understand all of this so much better. I didn’t want to put you in the same situation she’s in with Owen. They’re in love and happy together, of course, but he feels divided because he has two loves. His music, then her and the baby. It’s a strain on him. I don’t want you to worry about dealing with the same concerns. It won’t be like that with us, okay? You’re free. No strings to tie you up. Whatever you need, just let me know and—”

“You’re telling me I’m free.” Somehow I’d known it would come to this moment and yet now that we were here, I couldn’t face it.

Couldn’t understand how we’d come so far in such a short time only to reach the end of the road.

Her expression was earnest as she nodded. As if she was doing me a favor. “You’re important to me, Hudson, and I don’t want to be another thing for you to have to deal with. So we’ll keep it flexible. Easy and natural. Nothing to hold you down.”

I tried to temper my response. Her background wasn’t the best with relationships, and hell, neither was mine. It had seemed as if we were learning on that score together.

Talk about a fantasy.

“What if I want to be held down? If I want to do some holding of my own? If maybe some mutual-fucking-holding is all I want or nothing at all?” I shook my head as she gawked up at me. “If you’re satisfied with less, then you’re not the woman I thought you were.”

And that stung more than I could comprehend.

Her eyebrows pinched together. “I don’t think you’re understanding me. You’re getting your cake—me—and your freedom too. You won’t have to worry about me when you’re gone on the road. Easy peasy. No stress, no demands. Isn’t that every man’s dream?”

I couldn’t even deal with this conversation right now. I’d thought I was ready for it. Wrong. Then again, I’d hoped it would proceed very differently than it had.

Piper claimed she wanted to give me freedom, when it wasn’t about me at all. That was the furthest thing from what I wanted.

But she’d just assumed. Maybe because I was a former racecar driver and a rockstar. The good time guy incapable of sticking around. That was how the stories went in the press, right?

So just tell the irresponsible one he can come and go as he pleases. Why bother expecting anything more from him?

Well, she might not expect more from me, but I’d expected more from her. I’d counted on her to know there was more to me than that by now. To give me the chance to show her all my different sides, and not just assume a TV soundbite about my roving dick was the sum total of who I was.

I stared at her, memorizing her features as if this would be the last time I would see them. I hoped that wouldn’t be true. Maybe I’d realize tomorrow that we’d never really had this conversation at all. I’d just been up, tossing and turning restlessly in my hotel bed without her as I’d done on other nights recently.

Yeah, I didn’t want strings, all right. I wanted to be surrounded by a damn net, one big enough to encompass both of us.

“It’s not my dream, Piper.” She reeled back at her name, as she always did. But I couldn’t call her kitten now. “Not even close.”