Pierce strode into Vaughn’s man cave. He pushed the door shut with a decisive click as soon as Sasha cleared the threshold. He watched her walk farther into the room, then turn around to look at him expectantly. He took a moment to compose himself and his thoughts. What he felt like doing was shaking some sense into Sasha with the hopes that she’d clue in on just how dangerous her situation was. The fact that she didn’t and seemed keen on burying her head in the sand, and sprinkling fairy dust on everything in hopes it would disappear bothered him…a lot.
He closed the distance between them, motioning for her to have a seat on the couch. Sasha didn’t protest, but followed him and sat down. After turning to face her, Pierce prayed for patience and forged ahead. “Explain.”
Sasha let out an exasperated breath. “You heard everything. There was a man—Sergio—at the signing today. He said he’d seen me at several functions, but hadn’t work up the courage to approach me until today. He said he liked my book, then asked me out for drinks.”
Pierce’s eyes never left hers. “What did you say?”
She looked confused. “What do you think I said? I said no.”
He felt himself relax, but only minutely. “Then what happened?”
“He tried to persuade me otherwise.” Sasha’s expression grew angry. “He grabbed my arm, then I pulled away. The next thing I knew, he was on the ground, and Sienna was looming over him with a canister in her hand. The manager called the police, then rushed over to help.”
“Did you press charges?”
“For what? A man not taking no for an answer when asking a woman out on a date?”
“Yes,” he replied. His jaw ticked. “Sasha, he accosted you. And he’s supposed to take no for an answer, not try and force you. I can’t believe I’m having to point that out.”
“Pierce, I’m fine. There’s no harm done. It’s not like I’m going to ever see him again,” she said dismissively.
He leaned closer. “That’s not exactly true—is it?”
She stared at him. “I’m not sure what you mean.”
“You know exactly what I mean. A guy you’ve never met before tells you that he’s seen you…several times, yet you can’t place him. He says he’s a fan, and you’re going to sit here and say you don’t see a connection? Come on, Sasha. Are you going to tell me that it hasn’t crossed your mind once that he could be the one causing all the problems in London?”
Piece saw it in her eyes before her bottom lip trembled. Seeing the almost non-existent nod only confirmed what he was thinking. She had thought about it, but was scared to give voice to her suspicions. The question was why. Had he followed her from London to her parents’ home? Was he surveilling her? Did he have some type of sick crush on her?
The disturbing thoughts were shocking to entertain, but refuting the possibilities seemed risky to him. Obviously, Sasha found it much easier…and safer to do so.
“It has crossed my mind,” she finally said in an almost inaudible whisper. “But I’m still not ready to tell my family about all this.”
“Why? You just told Sienna.”
“She’s not my parents. That’s a whole ’nother story.”
Pierce took her hand and placed it firmly in his. “Sasha, I’m not saying you have to give them every sordid detail, but you have to bring them up to speed on what you’ve been dealing with at home, and now here.”
Sasha pulled away and buried her head in her hands. “This isn’t happening.”
“It’s time you faced the fact that it is,” he said gently.
She glanced up. “You don’t think I know that?”
“Then stop acting like this is all going to suddenly just stop. We have to figure out who’s at the crux of all this and make them stop. Wishing it away isn’t going to make it so, Sasha, and I’m not about to let you wrap yourself up in this warm blanket of denial anymore.”
“That’s not what I’m asking you to do, Pierce,” she snapped.
“Oh no? What would you call it? You’re giving everyone who threatens you a free pass. You should press charges and—”
“Why can’t you just be here to support me as a friend?” she cried. Without another word, Sasha bolted off the couch and made a beeline for the door. He’d stopped her before she’d reached it.
Pierce wrapped his arms around her. “I am your friend.”
She snorted. “Yeah? Well you’ve got a funny way of showing it.”
Turning her in his arms, Pierce held her tighter and rubbed her back. “Sash, you may not see it, but I’m trying to look out for you and get you to realize that based on this latest run-in, there’s a real possibility that tonight was no chance encounter. This Sergio guy could be the one who orchestrated all these mishaps. Who knows, he could even be working for the Georgopoulos family—if not your ex, maybe his wife. She did make a not-so-veiled threat.”
Shock flittered across her face. “You think she’s having me followed?”
“I think the whole lot of them are used to getting what they want. Period. Who knows how far they’ll go to get it? I think the time for assuming they’ll leave you alone and move on is over, Sasha. And let’s not forget to throw Jewel into the hat of suspects. You have to at least entertain the idea that any one of them could be behind this.”
Sasha, all these half-truths and omissions from your family could be putting you at risk. It’s time we all sit down and brainstorm how best to handle this situation.”
Suddenly, Sasha was exhausted. “I hate feeling helpless…like my life is spiraling out of control. I’ve been there before…years ago, and after I discovered Milo’s true nature. I promised myself I’d never go back to that dark place, yet here I go again.”
“Sasha, this is different. In the other instances, you had a hand in what was happening to you. That’s not the case here.” Pierce pointed out.
“Isn’t it?” she said, easing out of his arms. “This could merely be payback for the wrongs I’ve done. Whatever it is, I will not give into fear,” Sasha vowed fervently. “I’ll come clean with Dad and Cassie, but…not tonight.”
Pierce remained silent. He didn’t press. Instead, he simply folded her again in a tight, protective embrace. Sasha heaved a sigh of relief and melted against him. He raised his hand and settled it at the nape of her neck, his fingers stroking her tight muscles in slow, rhythmic circles.
Sasha wound her arms around his neck, and she buried her face in the welcoming spot between his head and shoulders. A shuddering breath escaped her lips. There was no need for words. The communication had been transmitted between them like mental telepathy—each giving and receiving information that was essential to their well-being and sanity.
His strong hold saying, I’ve got you… You’re safe with me. I’ll catch your fall.
Her return hug answering, Thank you. I needed this…I can’t do it alone.
For now, it was enough.
A slow, pulsing sensation near his groin roused Pierce from sleep. Opening his eyes, he blinked several times. The sun streamed through the basement window, casting a pale beam of sunlight across the room. He felt the vibration again. Still groggy from sleep, Pierce moved to place his hand in his pants pocket, but found his progress impeded by an immovable object—Sasha.
She was draped across his front. One arm was pressed between them against his chest. The other was wrapped behind his head and the soft pillow. Surprised, he took a moment to recall the events of the night before. The last thing he remembered was being on the couch with her watching a movie. He felt the vibration again. Recognition slowly dawned.
Trying not to disturb her, and with as much care as he could manage, Pierce rotated them both slightly so he could ease his right hand into his pocket and get this cell phone. She stirred, but didn’t wake up. He unlocked the screen, then scrolled through the missed calls and text messages. There were ten texts and four phone calls from Stacey. As he flipped through the first few, he didn’t bother with the rest. The exclamation points and expletives grew with each message left. She didn’t appreciate him not coming home last night and standing her up. He’d told her to leave and that he wasn’t up for company. Apparently, she hadn’t taken him seriously.
Guess we’re even, he mused. He didn’t appreciate women showing up at his house, unannounced, and climbing into his bed like it was their God-given right. Those days were over.
His annoyance dissipated, but only a small amount. It was his own fault. Back in the day, he’d always left his home open for his buddies to come and party, or crash at his place. She wouldn’t have even been in his bed if he’d remembered to relocate his hide-a-key.
He fired off a quick message for her. He apologized for her being inconvenienced, asked her to leave his key on the kitchen table, and to let herself out.
No sooner had he sent that message, the phone began vibrating again. He pressed the off button and placed it back in his pocket. He had more important things to deal with. Like Sasha.
She was draped over him from head-to-toe. Like a blanket, only better than any cover he’d ever had. He remembered holding her while she cried and doing his best to comfort her. After she’d calmed down, they’d settled on the couch to talk, then watched a few movies. They’d stopped to go upstairs to raid the refrigerator in the early morning hours, being careful not to make too much noise and wake Sienna and Vaughn. He couldn’t recall when they’d fallen asleep, or why they hadn’t just called it a night and went upstairs to sleep in the guest rooms.
Part of him had to admit that he was reluctant to leave Sasha to her own devices. His gut feeling told him she didn’t want to be alone. She needed to feel connected and to know that someone was in her corner.
With an incoherent murmur, Sasha moved against him. Her knee inched higher and came to rest right between his thighs. The movement caused a wave of sensations to flood his system—all of them good, but none of them safe. The familiar heat swirling through his body made him clench his teeth. His hand rested at the small of her back, and it took everything in him not to allow it to drift farther south. While he was reminding himself how dangerous the situation was, Sasha snuggled the side of her face farther into his neck, her lips grazing the sensitive area of skin.
Now, “dangerous” was an understatement. Pierce closed his eyes and focused all his attention on keeping his body in check, but the delicious weight of her feminine curves molding perfectly against him was undermining his efforts.
He could feel the slow, steady beat of Sasha’s heart against his chest and her warm breath tickling the hairs exposed by the few open buttons on his shirt.
Wake her up, his inner voice shouted. Now. “Sasha,” he said hoarsely.
He moved his arm up her back with the intention of nudging her awake. Instead, his hand lingered a few seconds at the bra strap he felt through her blouse before continuing up to smooth her hair out of her face. He rubbed a thumb over her cheek.
“Sasha?”
“Mmm?” she murmured.
“Time to wake up.”
“Pierce?” She opened her eyes and blinked a few times, her face still soft with sleep. She raised her head. They were inches apart, her hair shrouding them in a curtain of privacy.
“Hey,” he said.
“Hi.”
It took her a moment to realize where she was, and when she did, her face turned scarlet red. “I…oh, I’m so sorry.” She struggled to sit up. “I can’t believe I fell asleep on you,” she said, mortified.
It took her a few pulls before she realized his arms were still wrapped around her middle, holding her in place. Pierce found himself reluctant to let her go, but she was already embarrassed, and he didn’t want the moment to turn more awkward than it was. Grudgingly, he released her. “It’s okay,” he assured. “No harm done.”
Sasha rolled off him and sat up. “What time is it?”
Pierce sat up. “About seven A.M.”
“I can’t even remember dozing off.” She yawned, then stretched. He tried to keep his eyes on her face and not on how her shirt rode up to expose her midriff.
“Me either. Movie must not have been that good.”
“Which one?” She laughed. “We watched quite a few.”
He rubbed a thumb under her puffy eyes. When Sasha leaned into his touch, it made him smile.
“I must look a fright.”
His gaze roamed over her. “I’d hardly say that.”
“Thank you for letting me use you as a body pillow.”
He grinned and lowered his arms back to his sides. “My pleasure. I don’t know about you, but I’m starved. How about some breakfast?”
“Sounds good,” Sasha agreed. She slipped her shoes back on, then began tidying up the area and retrieving their dishes.
Pitching into help, they made quick work of righting Vaughn’s man cave before heading upstairs. When they walked into the kitchen, Vaughn and Sienna were moving about preparing breakfast.
“Good morning,” Sienna said cheerfully. “Whoa, did you guys stay up all night?”
“It feels that way,” Sasha said, putting the dishes in the dishwasher. “Can I help with something?”
Pierce poured two cups of coffee and handed her one.
“No, we’ve got it,” Vaughn replied. “You two have a seat. Breakfast will be ready soon.”
Minutes later, the four of them were seated at the table eating. Sienna turned to her sister. “Did you two call a truce?”
Sasha glanced over at Pierce. “You could say that.”
Sienna nodded. “So, what’s the plan for today?”
“I haven’t a clue,” Sasha replied, observing Pierce popping a piece of bacon into his mouth.
As if reading her thoughts, he said, “I was thinking we could hang out today.”
She tried to hold her pleasure at bay. “Sure,” she said nonchalantly.
After breakfast, she and Pierce offered to clean up while Vaughn and Sienna finished getting ready for work. When they were done, Sasha excused herself. Going upstairs, she retrieved her overnight bag, which Sienna had put in the guest room, and went to get showered and dressed.
By the time she returned, everyone but Pierce had left. He was sitting at the kitchen table, so she joined him.
“I thought we could go to my place so I can change, then we can plan our day.”
Sasha nodded. “Are you sure I’m not keeping you from something? If you’ve got other plans, it’s fine.”
He furrowed his eyebrows. “Why would I have invited you to spend the day with me if I had other plans?”
“Plans can change,” she pointed out.
“True, but I don’t make it a habit of making plans with someone, then backing out.”
When she didn’t reply, recognition dawned. “I take it that’s something you’re used to.”
Sasha lowered her gaze. “Something like that.”
Pierce refrained from commenting that it looked exactly like that. Instead, he locked up, then escorted Sasha to his car.
When they arrived at his home, Sasha noticed Pierce had made a few changes. The last time she’d been there had been at a family dinner more than a year ago. It still looked like a bachelor pad and had always been high-end, but now it was much more inviting. Gone were the bold walls, heavy black leather furniture and tons of sports memorabilia. They’d been replaced with soft gray walls; white, comfortable looking furniture; glass tables and subtle splashes of yellow and blue. As she walked around the first floor, she marveled at the remodel. It was streamlined and clutter free.
“I made a few upgrades.”
She turned around and saw him watching her from the bottom of the staircase. Their eyes locked.
“I noticed. You decided that less was more?”
“We’ve all gotta grow up some time,” he replied.
Sasha decided not to ask about his motivation. Instead she said, “Well, I like it. It’s really beautiful, Pierce.”
He sauntered over to her side. “Thanks. I think so, too.” He sat on the couch, patting the seat next to him. “What would you like to do today? Shopping? A trip downtown to a museum? Walk in the park?”
“You know you don’t have to babysit me, Pierce.”
“I think it’s time to get something out in the open,” he replied. “I can assure you, Sasha, that my interest in you is nowhere near the level of babysitting.”
His candor caused her heart to soar. She felt giddy with excitement. Sitting down, she kicked off her shoes, then tucked her feet under her. “Okay then.”
“So what do you want to do? I think it would be great to be able to go out on a date without having to look over your shoulder.”
“Date?”
“Well what did you think it was?”
Sasha nervously pressed her hands together. “I’m sorry. This is…kinda new, you know?”
“Yeah, I get it.” He moved closer to her, then put an arm around her shoulders. “I suggest we make the most of this newfound camaraderie. Now, what would you like to do? Whatever your heart desires.”
She thought about it. “To be honest,” she said after some time, “I feel kind of wiped out. I wouldn’t mind staying here—” she looked at him—“if that’s alright with you.”
“Sasha—”
What could she say? That she was used to having her plans changed when Milo suddenly had to postpone or cancel their outings citing work or other business obligations, or that he bored easily and liked having his schedule maxed out with activities?
As if he read her thoughts, Pierce said, “I spent several days with you in London, Sasha. You should know by now that I don’t need to be entertained twenty-four seven.”
She playfully rolled her eyes. “I wouldn’t exactly call your visit run-of-the-mill.”
“True,” he conceded, “but I’d hardly call it boring.” He stood and pulled her to her feet. “Come on. I have an idea what we can do to pass the time.”