Page 87 of Holding Penalty

“The rain came out of nowhere,” Piper says, her voice and body shivering.

“Shhh,” I soothe, picking her up. “Don’t talk.”

I put her in the passenger seat, glad that I kept the window on that side up so that it’s mostly dry. I hurry to my side, roll the window up, and drive back to the house.

“Are you okay?” I ask, adrenaline still pumping, though the relief of finding Piper is starting to take some of the edge off.

She’s curled up in her seat, limbs tucked close to her body, still shivering. But she nods. “Yeah, I think so. I just need to get warm.”

I pull the truck up to the back of the house, swinging out of the driver’s seat and not even thinking to close the door behind me as I hurry to round the engine to Piper’s seat. I open it and gather her in my arms to carry into the house.

I help Piper out of her wet clothes. As I’m unbuttoning her shirt, an action that in this moment feels totally utilitarian and unerotic, she cracks a smile. “Not even buying me dinner, first?”

I lower my brow at her, even as the edge of my lips twitches. “Let’s get you medically stable before you start cracking jokes.”

She huffs a laugh, still shaky from her shivering chest. “I’m fine. Just cold.”

“Maybe we should take you to a hospital.”

“Over-dramatic as always,” she dismisses in a weak voice. “I’m fine, like I said. I just need to warm up. And lie down.”

“That damn stubborn wife of mine,” I joke, feeling the worst of my worry washing away. “Reckless, too.”

“But that’s why you fell for me, right? Opposites attract.” Her voice makes it clear she’s still joking with me, but when the words hit my ear, their truth rings through me.

Once she’s wrapped in a warm blanket and I’ve got her laid down on the couch, I kneel next to her, shaking my head.

“Fuck, Piper,” I heave a relieved sigh. “You had me so damn worried.”

I can’t help myself. I curl my hand around the back of her neck and lean down to press a soft kiss to her forehead. Pure relief spills through me as my lips touch her, and I can feel the warmth returning to her skin.

Pulling back, our eyes lock. Something in her gaze reaches through mine, landing somewhere deep in my chest.

“Kiss me again, Nash,” she says, a soft plea.

I do, planting my lips to her forehead again, letting them luxuriate against the softness of her skin for entirely too long

But when I pull back and our eyes catch again, she says, “Not there.”

My gaze falls to her lips, and my pulse stutters.

“There,” she whispers, her eyes feathering closed and her lips parting. The glimpse of her pink tongue behind the crease of her lips has my self-control in tatters in less than a second.

I can’t kiss her. I shouldn’t kiss her. I have to kiss her.

I know what will happen if I kiss her. I won’t be able to stop. I’ll have to have her in every way she’ll let me, and she already made it clear how far she’s willing to let me.

I’ll be a goner, past the point of no return. If that happens, I’ll …

Who the hell am I kidding? I’m already a goner. I’m downright in love with my wife, and no amount of self-restraint is going to keep me from being shattered when she leaves. I might as well make the most of it for the both of us while she’s still here.

So, I meet her lips, and I kiss her.

41

NASH

Electricity bursts through me, the roll of her lips against mine lighting up every nerve in my body.