Page 35 of Easton’s Claim

“Whatever you need to tell yourself to help you sleep better,” Brandon mocked. “But I’m not worried. It’s not my neck on the line, it’s yours. And Piper’s,” he added, letting the threat hit home. “Either you deliver, or she dies. It’s as simple as that.”

Greg fell silent, his hate-filled stare burning through Brandon.

I hate you more, you piece of shit.He turned away, walked off into the darkness. “Burn it,” he ordered his men, and headed for the car while they doused the storage unit with gasoline. It was time to make a move.

****

When the bedroom door down the hall opened in the middle of the night, Easton opened his eyes and stared up at the darkened ceiling of the cabin’s living room where he was bunking on the couch. He’d put Jamie in the house and moved Piper in here with him so he could watch out for her personally, but also because he wanted privacy with her.

He hadn’t touched her intimately or tried to kiss her again since the picnic, and she’d been carefully keeping her distance from him too.

It was driving him nuts, but at least he wasn’t the only one suffering because apparently Piper couldn’t sleep either.

He sat up and pulled on his jeans before stepping out into the hallway. “Hey. You okay?”

She stopped and turned to face him, her curvy silhouette outlined by the weak moonlight filtering in through the windows in the kitchen. She had on stretchy black pants that hugged every curve of her lower body, and a baggy sweater that came to the top of her hips.

He wanted to mold his hands to the curve of her ass, squeeze it and then slide them up beneath that loose sweater to feel the smooth skin of her back beneath his palms.

“Yeah. Just can’t sleep. Did I wake you?”

“No.” He couldn’t sleep when he was tormented by the memory of how she’d felt and tasted today. He wanted her so badly it tied him in knots to stay in his own bed when he’d rather be in hers. Even just so he could hold her in the darkness.

“I was going to sit out on the porch swing for a bit.” She tucked her hair behind her ear. “Want to join me?”

At this point he’d take any excuse to spend time alone with her and erase the distance between them. “Sure.”

She stopped in the kitchen to pour herself a glass of water then walked through the living room and out into the screen porch where the swing sat off to one end. He’d swept the front of the property and secured the cabin earlier before turning in, so he felt okay with letting her sit out here.

Easton lowered himself next to her onto the wide, deep seat and grabbed a throw blanket from a basket on the floor. The nights were already crisp and cool and a chilly breeze blew through the screens.

He shook it out and draped the folds over them both. She gave him a soft smile of thanks and tucked her feet under her, cuddling up beneath the blanket. He’d rather she cuddled up beneath him instead.

Crickets and frogs sang in the background, mixing with the gentle breeze that carried the scent of damp grass. “I feel so guilty, sitting here all safe and warm while he’s either being held hostage or worse. Even though he brought it on himself, I hate knowing he’s going through that.”

Piper had a huge heart. It was what Easton loved most about her, and why he hated Greg’s guts for stomping all over it. “I understand.”

Needing to at least touch her, he draped his arm across her shoulders and let his fingers play with the ends of her soft hair. He couldn’t believe how nervous he was, sitting next to her like this in the moonlight.

For months he’d devised a plan to make her his, but now he felt like he was treading on eggshells. One wrong move and he’d ruin everything. His heart thudded in his chest, about to burst with his feelings for her.

Piper stared down at the folds of the blanket rather than look at him. “What you said before, about us.” Her gaze lifted to his. “When you said long term, what did you mean, exactly?”

He raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure you want to know the answer to that?”

“Yes.”

“I want it all.”

She stared at him in silence, a frown puckering her brow.

She wanted him to spell it out? He hated putting himself out there like this and making himself totally vulnerable when he didn’t know what her response would be, but he couldn’t hold back anymore. So he just said it. “I love you. I’ve loved you forever.”

She went dead still and stared at him with shocked hazel eyes. “You love me?”

“I’minlove with you.” There was a big difference.

She looked away, didn’t respond for a long moment and a lick of panic flared inside him. “I…I didn’t know.”

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