He heard the sharp intake of her breath and he turned back to her, pausing his hand for just a second.
“What?” Her bottom lip quivered a little.
“I know it’s crazy,” he said quietly. “But what am I going back for? Everything I could want is right here, with you.”
Her head shook back and forth. “I don’t understand. You mean you’re staying here . . . indefinitely?”
That was what he meant. It should scare the shit out of him, but it didn’t. “Yes. I want to see where our relationship could go. Relationship, not affair. I want there to be a you and me.”
Then he turned away from her, to the face he’d created on the wall, because he’d just made himself about as vulnerable as he’d ever been, but Brady felt an enormous sense of relief. He needed to be honest, with himself and with Piper. He didn’t know where they could go with this, but he needed her to know that she was so extraordinary that he had fallen for her, that he had done a total free fall.
He knew he was asking her to defy her family’s wishes, but Danny was a reasonable man. He would get over it, once he saw Piper was happy. Brady had every intention of making her happy, if she let him. Her silence was stretching out and starting to worry him.
“Piper?” He forced himself to face her, not her re-creation.
“I want there to be a you and me, too,” she said.
Thank God. Otherwise he was going to be feeling pretty damn stupid and pretty damn heartbroken.
“I’m scared,” she added, with an embarrassed laugh.
“Well, that makes two of us,” he told her honestly. “I’m terrified. I’ve never felt this way and I know . . . I know that what I’m asking is a lot, that you could do better and your family has every right to be concerned because I’ve never been the settling-down kind, but—”
She broke her pose and reached out, her fingers softly covering his mouth. “Shh. There is no better man for me. You’re what I’ve always wanted.”
It almost undid him. The trust he saw in her eyes, the confidence, the gentle understanding of what he needed. His throat felt so tight he was going to need a crowbar to pry it apart to swallow.
But he managed to say, “There is no way to express how beautiful you are to me.” He gestured to the rough sketch. “But I had to try. And it feels good. Everything feels . . . right.”
Brady stared at the wall, at his representation of Piper. He would come back to it, would try to capture the glossy shine in her eyes, the wonder and conviction on her face. She deserved to be preserved in oil. He dropped the pen and pencil on the floor as he placed his hands on her waist and pulled her closer to him.
“It’s lovely, and I’m honored.” She glanced at his sketch. “I still have every sketch you ever did for me in my closet. I was in awe of your talent. Still am. And I wanted you to fall in love with me. Still do.”
He brushed his lips along her jaw, loving the feel of her soft skin. “Oh, I think I’m well on the way to doing just that.”
In fact, he might already have.
* * *
PIPER GLANCED BETWEEN THE IMAGE OF HERSELF Brady had created in such a short time and Brady himself, overwhelmed with joy and awe. This was the man she had been waiting for, the man she had been saving herself for, if not literally, then emotionally.
No one told her she was beautiful except for her family. Not only did Brady say it, he proved it by sketching her in a way that took Piper’s breath away. She did look pretty in his rough sketch. Because she looked like a woman falling in love, and what could be more beautiful than that?
When Brady kissed her, his hands cupping her cheeks, she shivered, eyes fluttering closed.
In relief she realized that while her father might not initially approve, he would come around. She trusted that. She had trusted so few people in her life, really, but she trusted her parents.
And she trusted this moment, she trusted that right now Brady was sincere and that he wanted to stay with her here, in this house on Swallow Street.
“Let me see what you’ve done with the bedroom,” she murmured to him, wanting to feel him inside her again, wanting to run her hands across his nakedness.
He gave a soft laugh. “I put your bed in it. And now I’m going to put you in your bed.”
That sounded like a fantastic idea to her. Before she could respond with encouragement, Brady stepped back and peeled off his T-shirt.
“I can’t be taken seriously wearing this,” he said. “I don’t want you laughing at me while I’m trying to get it on with you.”
“Oh, trust me, I’m not laughing.” Piper swallowed hard, realizing that this was the first time she’d really seen him in the light with his shirt off. Shelby’s room had been moonlit, as had the orchard, and while she had felt his muscles, she hadn’t really been able to see them in all their perfection. That first night, when he’d stripped off his wet shirt, she’d been aware that she couldn’t really gawk at him. Now she had every right to, and she had an incredible view of all that definition, the lines of his abdomen that disappeared into his jeans.
Reaching out, she ran her hands over him, trailing her fingers across his chest, up and around to his biceps, marveling at how solid he was. He nuzzled her ear, his tongue slipping inside, while she continued her exploratory path down to his abs, then on to the snap of his jeans. She popped it open and he sucked in a breath.
“Bedroom, Piper,” he said, hand coming to cover hers.
“Sure,” she said, though she was feeling impatient, wanting to see all of him naked. Now. So she didn’t wait for him. She just walked quickly to the bedroom, peeling off her tank top as she went, knowing he would follow right behind her.
Turning around at the foot of the bed, she kissed him again, deeper, embracing the plunge of his tongue into her mouth, her fingers taking down his zipper. Slipping inside his jeans, she stroked along the length of him, enjoying the low groan of approval he gave into her mouth.
“Take your jeans off,” she urged him, stripping her own down to the floor.
Brady sat on the bed and did as she asked, taking his briefs off along with his jeans, before pulling her, still standing, between his thighs and kissing her. His head descended down onto her br**sts one at a time, his tongue teasing across her nipple through her bra.
“Your br**sts are amazing,” he murmured, easily reaching around and undoing her bra.
“So is your . . .” Piper flushed, realizing she couldn’t bring herself to say what she was thinking out loud.