He was perfect.
Not once did she think about his bad-boy reputation. All she could think about was that they were there together for the evening. She wouldn’t burden herself with the what-ifs tonight.
The bar announced last call when Piper and Erik decided to leave. Since both of their rides were nowhere to be found they decided to share a cab.
“I had fun tonight,” Erik said softly.
“Yeah, it was great,” she responded, feeling giddy.
He scooted closer, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. Piper felt like she was a fourteen-year-old schoolgirl with her childhood crush. When the cabdriver asked where they were going, they both gave their separate addresses and leaned back into the seat, enjoying the ride.
He was intoxicating; the way he made her feel was insane and Piper loved every minute. She wanted to scream out in victory—ERIK TITOV IS HUGGING ME! But instead, she glanced up at him and shyly smiled. He slowly bent his head toward her. Holy mother of everything good and gracious, he is going to kiss me, she thought just as their lips met. Piper couldn’t breathe or move. All she could do was bask in the feel of his soft lips moving along hers. When his hand came up, cupping the back of her head as his other hand gently held her chin, she thought she would melt right into him. Piper moved her lips against his, and when she ran her tongue along his bottom lip, she heard his moan of appreciation. He deepened the kiss, taking her out of this world.
Piper believed that in life there were moments that changed everything and this was one of those. She could live her life and not take any chances, but what fun was that. When they finally parted for air, his eyes searched hers, his breath hot against her swollen lips. Piper still couldn’t believe this was happening. For the past two years she thought he never really saw her, but now she wasn’t so sure.
“I thought for the longest time you didn’t notice me,” she found herself saying.
Erik’s eyes softened, his thumb running slowly along her bottom lip. “Maybe I wasn’t looking, Piper, but I am now”—he placed a kiss to the side of her mouth—“and sweetheart, I’m not looking anywhere but at you right now.”
“Ma’am, we’re here,” the cabdriver announced.
Breaking their heated glance, Piper looked out the window to see they were in front of her apartment. The cabbie was looking at her through the rearview mirror and when she glanced over at Erik, he, too, was looking at her expectantly. She had a choice to make, she knew that, and a month from now she might decide it was not the right one. But at that moment, there was only one option.
“Are you coming up?” she asked.
“Only if you want me to,” Erik responded quietly.
“Oh, I want you to.”
Erik paid the cabdriver as Piper quickly opened the door and hopped out; turning back she saw Erik was right behind her. He wrapped his arms around her waist, hugging her close, his rock-hard length stiff against the small of her back. Dropping her head back onto his chest, she looked up at him as he looked down at her.
“Ready for some fun?” he asked.
She nodded. “I’ve been ready for a while.”
* * *
It wasn’t until a month later that Piper found herself sitting in the middle of the bathroom floor with tears pouring down her cheeks. She was still damp from her shower, the water dripping from her long hair that lay against her back.
How did she not know better? He hadn’t talked to her or even noticed she was around until that night. Of course, he said all the right things and even when he called her a week later to talk, he was as nice as he could be. He explained that their night together was a mistake. He wasn’t the kind of man to settle down. He’d never meant to hurt her, he assured her of that, but he couldn’t let this go any further than it already had.
If Piper had been honest with herself, she would have known that Erik was probably just using her. Their night together was fabulous, the sex the best ever, and he was sweet as can be. But then he was gone. Did her love for him cloud that much of her judgment? How could she have been so stupid?
Glancing at the little stick she held in her hands, her eyes blurred again, tears dripping down her cheeks, making it hard to see the two little blue lines that told the truth.
Piper was pregnant.
With Erik Titov’s baby.
Chapter 1
Piper would never forget the moment she first met and fell in love with Erik Titov. It was at a family gathering almost two years ago. She also would never forget the amazing night they’d spent together almost six months ago to the day. But more than anything, she would never, ever forget the phone call she’d received from him telling her that that evening was just a mistake and should never have happened.
Running her fingers through her blondish brown hair, she got up from her chair. Her blue eyes were watery with tears as she thought back to that night. Piper remembered it like it was yesterday. There was no way she could forget even the smallest detail. That night would be burned into her brain for an eternity, and even though it had happened so fast, she knew that she would never be the same afterward.
One phone call.
That’s all it took.
“I’m sorry Piper, I don’t want to hurt you. You have to believe that, but this isn’t going to work. I can’t be the man you want. That night was a one-time thing. This is about my issues and I shouldn’t have let things go as far as they did. There is just something about you, and no matter how hard I tried I couldn’t stay away. I’m sorry if I hurt you, and I hope we can still be civil since we are family. Again, I’m really sorry.”