Lights Out (35 page)

He stood there for a second just taking her in, surprised at the stutter of his heart at seeing her again. He’d missed her more than he could say. His hands moved to his waist, and he grabbed the bottom of his t-shirt and pulled it over his head. Then he unbuttoned and unzipped his jeans and slid them from his body. His boxers were next. He crept softly to the bed and slipped into it, sliding over until his front aligned with her back, his arm going to her waist. He moved her hair away from her neck and kissed her there.

“Missed me, huh?” she whispered without turning around. She would know the feel of his body against hers anywhere.

“Sorry it’s taken me so long to get here,” he said.

“What took so long?”

“Wanted to make sure that this was where I wanted to be, that I could be here.”

“And are you sure?”

“Yes,” he said and sighed into her ear. “I went to see my mother, and then to the foster family that meant so much to me.”

“Did that help?”

“Yes. I told you that we were raised by two parents who were alcoholics.”

He was quiet as Renee lay on the pillow of his arm.

“They didn’t start out that way. They were social drinkers, or that’s what I thought. That’s when I’d see them drinking. What did I know? My mother was good before then, took care of us until then, stayed at home with us, until my dad lost his job, and his area of expertise wasn’t needed anymore. He had no transferable skills, and there were no more jobs, just lots of drinking. I had to learn to be the parent for both of them, for Meagan, and for me. At age ten, a kid shouldn’t have to be an adult.”

Renee took his hand and stroked it softly.

“I remember this one time, when I was eleven. Meagan had some program at school. My mom tried to drive us there. She drank more than I thought before we left and we got lost. We drove for hours before she stopped in some park. She went to sleep behind the wheel and remained that way, wouldn’t wake up. Meagan went to sleep, but I couldn’t. I stayed up most of the night, watching and scared. After she slept it off, she woke up, knew immediately where we were, and drove us home. I’ve never felt more helpless than I did that night.”

Piper listened as he talked, all of his anger and resentment pouring out. Sometimes he was emotional but he’d continued to talk, telling her his life story. She’d allowed herself hope when she heard him enter, and now was so grateful to have him back, her love, sharing his hurts, a tough one for any man, but he trusted her with it, and she would not let him down.

“It’s okay. Shane’s going to be in the city. You can be in his life, and watch to make sure he’s safe. Plus Aaron seems like a stable and good guy,” she said.

“I know, but I’ve taken care of him it seems like forever. He’s become my kid, too. Mine to protect against the world, like I wished someone had done for me,” he said, his breath caught and he stopped talking for a minute.

“But she’s changed, Meghan has. I can see that now, just as I have. I’m learning, not quite there yet, but learning to let go, to trust in others. Being with you and your crew and Shane were some of the happiest times for me—made the idea of home and family seem possible. I want that again, and I want it with you—a family, a partner,” he said, moving her hair from her face as she turned to face him.

“I love you,” he said, staring at her, the steel grey of his eyes intense, pleading a little, moisture present on his eyelashes.

“As well you should,” she said, pushing him over onto his back, coming to sit on top of him. She watched him for a second, smiling, and bent down to kiss him, softly. “I love you, too, but you know that. I’m glad you came back because I’ve got something for you,” she said, mischief in her eyes, before bending over the side of the bed and pulling out a large pink book.

“What’s that?” he asked, lifting his head from the pillow to get a better look.

“You’ll see.” She bent over the bed once again, pulling out some pink rope this time. She’d picked them up at this place across town, along with some other goodies she planned on saving for later.

She set the book down on his chest. The correct page was already marked, and it fell open to the place she wanted.

“Put your hands in front, together,” she said, demonstrating, hers arms bent at the elbow and touching from elbow to wrist. He followed her instructions and she began wrapping the rope according to the picture she saw before her, her head moving back and forth between the pages and his arms, her bottom lip caught between her teeth as she attempted to tie him according to the instructions. He held his arms in front of his chest, elbows together, wrists together just as she asked, watched her concentrating on her task.

He smiled. Coming back to her was so the right decision. His life, married to her, stretched out before him.

“I love you,” he said again.

“I know,” she said.

She reached for his hands, now tied to perfection, lifted them over his head, pulled them up to the top rung of her bed, and looped the cord around the top rod.

“Should we tie your feet, too, you think?” she asked him, serious in her question. He laughed again, it moving his chest up and down in turn moving her up and down. But he was laughing now, grey eyes filled with humor, staring back at her though lashes sprinkled with a few lingering tears. She laughed, too, happy that he was back with her.

She looked over at him, hands tied to the bed, wondering why she hadn’t done this sooner. She took off her t-shirt and underwear and stood nude before him.

“Want the boots?” she asked. He gave her a wolfish grin, and she went into her closet. She came back out with pink, trimmed in rhinestone, leather boots on.

He barked out a laugh as she walked over to the bed. She joined in with his laughter until tears were present in both their eyes.

When their laughter had died down, she bent over and pulled out two additional ties, and proceeded to tie first one foot and then the other to the base of the bed, her hair covering her face as she intently bound his feet. When she was done, she looked up to find him still smiling, eyes dry and clear. He was wearing his I’m-game-for-this face.

She walked over to the bed and straddled him. She leaned over to kiss him softly, taking her time, moving up to kiss his nose and his eyes. “I love you,” she said, serious now.

“I know,” he said, staring back at her, serious as she’d ever seen him. “Thank you for hanging in there with me, for giving me space. I love you, Piper Renee Knight.”

“Let’s see if you still do after I’ve finished with you.” She moved her mouth back to his for a kiss that was so potent, it elicited a groan from him. He started laughing again. She laughed as he pretended to try to break free. She knew he was faking, knew he wanted this. She moved her hips, rubbing over him before sliding downward taking him in to her body. She started to move, putting everything she owned into showing him that she loved him.

His eyes rolled back in his head a time or two, but he held on. Thirty minutes later, sated, used, he sighed as she collapsed on top of his body, her hair all over the place, both of them sucking in air.

“I’m going to pay you back for that,” he said between breaths. “Just give me a couple of minutes.” They laid still for a while, till their breathing slowed.

She released first one foot and then the other, and then leaned over, her arms outstretched, as she reached to untie his hands. She moved off the bed, removed her boots, and returned to her position back on top.

“You know what they say about payback, don’t you?” she said, smiling down at him.

“No, what do they say?”

“I was hoping you could show me what a bitch she could be,” she said before kissing him again. He growled, and taking her hands in his, flipped her over onto her back.

Laughter mixed in with sighs, a multitude of moans, and a few screams, but when it was over, they were right where they needed to be: in each other’s arms.