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“Tell me what happened when you left me.”

Except that…

Shaking my head, I duck beneath his arms and cross to the other side of the kitchen as I suck air into my lungs and my head becomes clearer. “No.”

“Yes,” he growls as he spins around, leans back against the counter, and crosses his arms over his chest. “Don’t you think you owe me that much, at least?”

“Why rehash it?” I ask, twisting my gaze away from his as I mirror his pose, crossing my arms. “You already know why I left.”

He shoves off the counter. “That’s not what your friend, Eden, says.”

“Eden doesn’t know what she’s talking about,” I snap, reciting the urge to curl my lip in disgust. Gah, I can’t believe she did this to me. He takes another step toward me and I step back, my butt hitting the edge of the kitchen table as I gasp.

“You’re lying.”

I shake my head. “No, I’m not.”

“Yes,” he growls, closing the distance between us and grabbing my face to force my gaze to his. “You are. Why did you leave me?”

“You know why,” I whisper, unable to make the lie sound anymore convincing as his eyes fight to pry the truth from my lips. His gaze hardens.

“Before I came over here, I wasn’t sure if Eden was telling the truth or not but now I know she was. You’ve been keeping secrets from me, Pip.”

I rip my face from his grip. “Stop calling me that.”

“Tell me why you left me.”

“No,” I repeat, leveling a glare at him as I feel some of my strength slipping away. It doesn’t matter how much he begs, demands, or asks, I can’t tell him the truth. The way he sees me now, as a cold callous bitch, who ripped his heart apart, is better than the way he would look at me if I told him what really went down. This is for the best.

“Goddamn it, you’re so fucking stubborn,” he seethes, taking a step back as he takes a deep breath. I arch a brow.

“Look who’s talking.”

He shakes his head, staring down at my kitchen floor for a second before he looks up and meets my gaze, his eyes blazing. “If you want me to help you have a baby, you have to tell me. That’s the only way I’ll agree to it.”

My head spins as I try to work through his train of thought.

Is this all about my request to have a baby?

Or is there more to it?

Is he just here playing games with me?

If he is, I’m fucking done going along with it. Shaking my head, I turn away from him.

“Forget about it. Like I said, it was a bad idea and I never should have asked you. I’m sorry.”

He grabs my arm, spinning me back to him and pulling me into his arms. I suck in a breath as I look up and meet his eyes. “What if I don’t want to forget about it? What if I don’t want to try and forget about you anymore?”

“What are you saying?” I whisper, searching his gaze but he doesn’t give anything away. My heart hammers in my chest as my body wants to melt into his as he presses himself against me, his arms locked tight around my waist.

He opens his mouth like he’s going to say something before clamping it shut again and his eyes search my face but before I get the chance to say anything else, he slips his hand into my hair and slams his lips down on mine. We move on instinct, coming together like we were never apart and my body sings as I wrap my arms around his neck and arch into him. His kiss is rough, demanding, and full of the pain of the last ten years but it’s exactly what I need, what I’ve craved since the moment I walked away from him. Gone is the boy who treated me with kid gloves but I can’t say that I mind all that much. He sinks his teeth into my bottom lip and I cry out. My nipples tighten as I rub my chest against him, needing more and he growls against my lips.

Gripping my hair, he pulls my head back and drags his lips down the side of my neck, ripping another moan from my mouth as he kisses, licks, and bites at my skin. My belly clenches and tears form in my eyes as he works his way back up to my kiss, claiming me, consuming me. Fisting his shirt in my hands, I cling to him as a delicious shudder racks my body and I whimper for relief.

God, I missed him.

“Piper,” he groans, grabbing my hips and pulling me closer as he thrusts forward, pressing his hard length into my hip. I moan again, desperate for all of him. “Fuck. I want you…”