Double Coverage (18 page)

That night, she wore his sweatshirt because it was chilly out and they had a blanket over their laps. He had his arm around her shoulders and her head rested in the crook of his arm while they fed each other mostly burnt marshmallows. The words “I love you” were on the tip of her tongue. She wanted to say it so badly to him, but didn’t want to scare him away. She was seconds from saying it to him the other night, but stopped when he looked her in the eyes. They didn’t have to say it because they communicated their feelings to each other through their gaze.

Piper smiled to herself thinking about the other night and how crazy Jax would be right now if he saw her in the outfit she was wearing…with another guy. One of his favorite things about Piper’s body was her breasts and the fact that they were on display today would have driven him crazy. If she was with Jax, they probably wouldn’t have made it out the door without satisfying the burning need they both felt for each other. She needed him; she wanted him. She was going to have him come get her because, even though the seats were nice at the game, she would rather be wrapped up in her boyfriend’s arms than sitting next to Mason as he gently spoke to her and played wicked games on her skin.

Piper was just about to text Jax to tell him to come pick her up when a shadow fell over her. Piper looked up and found Mason grinning like a fool, looking down at her while holding two beers and a pretzel with cheese. Piper’s stomach dropped and she smiled back. He was so adorable, it washed away any thoughts of her previous plans. Maybe she would spend just a little bit more time with her friends; she didn’t want to insult them. At least that’s what she told herself to lessen the guilt that was clawing away at her heart.

“Here you go. One large beer and half a pretzel.” Mason handed her a drink and the pretzel while he sat down next to her, placing his drink in his cup holder.

“Half a pretzel?”

He broke the pretzel in half and tapped her on the nose with it. “You really think I’m going to let you eat this pretzel all by yourself? Fat chance, beautiful.”

He then proceeded to dip his pretzel in the cheese that was now resting in her lap. Before he plopped the cheese-coated pretzel chunk in his mouth, he gave her a big grin and chuckled at the look on her face. She felt like all the women around them gave a collective sigh as he smiled at her; the man was charming…she’d give him that.

Piper sat still, not knowing what to do. She was so torn, she wanted to see Jax and be with him, but Mason just got her a beer and was sharing a pretzel with her, which was…adorable. She hated herself for being so indecisive.

Mason saw her indecision and leaned in closer so their faces were inches apart. He grabbed a piece of her pretzel, dipped it in cheese and held it next to her mouth. She involuntarily opened up and he placed the chunk in her mouth, leaving some cheese on her lips. She slowly licked it off and watched as his eyes blazed with desire as her tongue ran across her lips. What was happening was dangerous; she was playing with fire, but she couldn’t stop herself. A little moan erupted from the back of her throat as the hot cheese and salty pretzel played around with her taste buds.

Piper watched Mason gulp as his Adam’s apple bobbed up and down in his well-defined throat. Electricity bounced between the two of them while they just stared at each other. Piper felt herself gravitate toward him as if she was a piece of metal and he was a magnet; there was no pulling back.

A ball came screaming toward them off the bat and hit the net that was hanging right in front of them. Piper jumped back and thanked the batter for hitting a foul ball because it was like a cold bucket of water that was poured over both of them. Mason adjusted himself in his seat and took a big gulp of his beer. Piper did the same. She needed to relax. Mason had her all wound up.

They resumed their distance and finished their pretzel in silence. Piper didn’t even talk to Hannah and Ryker, who were having their own animated conversation. Piper was impressed with Hannah; she normally kept to herself, but Ryker brought out Hannah’s outgoing personality that she usually kept hidden…unless she had some drinks in her system. It was nice to see her friend so talkative.

Piper started to feel a little awkward, since Hannah and Ryker were talking up a storm while there was dead silence between her and Mason. Wanting to break the silence, she asked him a stupid question.

“Who’s your favorite player?”

“Umm, well, I can’t really have a favorite.”

“What do you mean?” Piper asked, confused.

Mason turned his head toward her, but kept his arm next to hers that was, once again, stroking the back of her hand. She didn’t move away from his touch, but she didn’t reciprocate the action.

“I think Parker would have my head if I admitted to liking any baseball player other than him. He is kind of a diva like that.” Mason rolled his eyes, making Piper laugh.

“You act like you two are married.”

“Not married yet, just engaged.”

Piper laughed again, this time harder. Mason was so easygoing and fun, how could she not want to hang out with the man? They continued to talk about Mason, Jake and Parker’s college days. They had some interesting stories only college boys would have. It was endearing to hear how Mason took Jake in their freshman year when Jake’s parents died in a horrible car accident. Mason spoke of Jake as a true brother, not just a friend. Piper was able to see the man Lexi talked about, the man that Mason was before Brooke broke him. Piper found herself leaning in more toward Mason and that was when she realized that the entire time they’d been talking, she was turned toward him, blocking off Hannah and Ryker, and she was running her fingers gently over Mason’s open palm.

Once she noticed what she was doing, her brain told her to pull away, but she didn’t. Instead, she grabbed his hand with hers, making him grin even wider. She told herself friends held hands all the time. It was no big deal.

“You are so lucky to have parents who would do such an amazing thing like take Jake into their family while barely knowing him. I don’t think my parents would have done that. My dad is kind of a cold-hearted bastard and my mom is so drugged up on Prozac that I don’t think she even knows her name these days.”

Mason touched her face with his free hand. “I’m sorry. If you want, my parents will take you in too.”

Piper’s heart skipped a beat. “Would they really?”

“In a heartbeat.”

Piper leaned back in her chair and squeezed Mason’s hand, bringing it down on her lap. She knew she shouldn’t be holding his hand, but she wanted the comfort, the comfort of a good friend, the comfort only a strong man like Mason could give her. Mason would take her into his life and make her a part of his family; the thought made her feel elated. Piper grabbed her drink and took a sip, when her phone chimed with a text message. She glanced at her phone and saw a text from Jax.

Jax: Are you at a Boulders game with Mason Dashel right now?

Piper froze on the spot and instantly let go of Mason’s hand. Pure panic crept through her body, as she thought about what Jax might have seen. Busted.

***

Jax had a long day and it was all because he couldn’t get Piper out of his head. The one day he had off, Piper was spending with friends, which was fine; he just wished that she might have wanted to invite him along. He’d met Hannah, her friend from work, but that was it; he knew she’d just moved to Denver, so maybe she was trying to establish her own friend base. Jax could understand that; he just wished she didn’t do it on his day off.

Instead of hanging out with Piper, he decided to do some yard work. His lawn was looking like the crazy house from The Burbs and he thought the physical exertion of taking care of his overly grown weeds would keep his mind off of Piper, but boy was he wrong. Every minute he was out in the sun, pushing the lawn mower, weed whacking or plucking weeds, he thought of his gorgeous girlfriend, who he would rather be handling with care.

The last couple of weeks had been glorious, beyond anything Jax could ever think of. After he lost Kiera in the car accident a year ago, he didn’t think he would be able to survive, let alone meet someone else that made his mind turn to mush. Piper made him feel alive, like he wasn’t alone anymore. She was so vivacious and full of life, not to mention hot as sin and a rabbit in the bedroom. Any spare minute they had when they were alone, she was pulling his pants down. He wasn’t complaining…it was just interesting that he was able to meet a woman who seemed to have it all. It was almost too good to be true.

When Jax told his family about Piper, they thought he was moving too fast after his wife’s death, but he didn’t seem to think so. He needed to move on with his life; that’s what Kiera would have wanted, that was what she said in the letter she left him that he had no clue she’d written him.

She told him to live his life and find a hot little thing to keep him company. He laughed, thinking about what Kiera might say about Piper. Kiera would like Piper, for sure, but she wouldn’t agree with Piper’s height. Taller women always freaked Kiera out, since she was a petite little thing. Jax actually liked Piper’s height; it made making out with her so much easier.

Jax took a shower after mowing his lawn and decided to sit down with an ice cold beer, day old pizza, and tune into the Boulders game. He always believed in supporting all the local teams, even if baseball wasn’t his favorite sport. The last thing he expected to see on the television was his girlfriend, looking awfully friendly with the Stallions starting wide receiver, Mason Dashel.

“What the hell?” Jax shouted, as he sat up to get a closer look at the TV.

There she was, sitting in the front row with Mason, laughing and having a great time. He knew it was her because her hair stuck out like a sore thumb. There was no mistaking her for someone else. Also, the cameraman zoomed in on Mason, showing how the Stallions starter was supporting his fellow athletes. They went on about what college he went to and rambled off his stats. Jax didn’t give two shits about Mason’s stats, all he wanted to know was why his girl was out with a guy that was not him.

He sent her a text message.

Jax: Are you at a Boulders game with Mason Dashel right now?

If Piper lied to him, he didn’t know what he would do. He couldn’t take it if she was cheating on him. He’d made it quite clear that they were exclusive. He didn’t want anyone else in his life; he only wanted her. He wanted her more than anything, he even…loved her. He knew he did, he just hadn’t said it yet because Kiera was the only woman he had said those three sacred words to. He received a text message back from her.

Piper: I am. I’m sorry, we’re just friends. Do you want me to leave?

Leave? Hell yeah, he wanted her to leave. He wanted her to end all ties with the man, pack up and move away with Jax, far, far away from Mason “Dash” Dashel. He wasn’t just called Dash because of his speed, the papers claimed he took women in and then dashed the next morning. He was quite the player. Jax hoped the man didn’t have his eye on Piper.

Jax made himself snort. Of course Mason was after Piper, what guy would not be after Piper? That’s what Jax gets for dating a beautiful woman. He would always have to deal with the horny men who thought they could woo her. That would be his life moving forward with Piper, always beating men off with a stick who thought they could have a piece of his woman. He got another text.

Piper: I just left the game. I’m on my way over to your place.

Great. Now he looked like a jerk. He didn’t want her to leave the game because of him, well that’s not true; he did want her to leave the game, but he didn’t want her thinking he couldn’t handle her being out with other people.

He blew out a frustrated breath and ran a hand through his hair. He used to have longer hair that he could tug on, but he recently buzzed everything off, leaving his hands feeling empty; so instead, they twitched with anxiety.

He looked down at himself and thought about changing, but decided not to. He was wearing a pair of Nike shorts and that was it. His boxer briefs peeked out the top, but he didn’t care and there was no way he was going to put a shirt on in this summer heat. He had the air conditioner on, but with the way his body was raging, he felt like it was one hundred degrees in his place.

What would he say to her when she got to his place? That he didn’t want her hanging out with other men? No, that would pretty much give him the door on their relationship. He had to word it in a way that made him not look like some jealous idiot, but his mind wasn’t working at the moment. He just kept seething in anger.

He looked back at the game and saw that Piper was no longer in the seats, but Mason was. That was a relief; at least she wasn’t going to bring Mason to Jax’s place and it was good that Mason had not decided to follow her. Jax paced back and forth in his house until he heard a little knock at his front door.

When he opened the door, he was nearly knocked over with Piper’s beauty. God, she looked so damn good, beyond good. Her breasts were practically spilling out of her shirt, which turned him on, but also made him insanely jealous because he didn’t want any other man looking at her. He just needed to remember that, no matter how this conversation went, he couldn’t be overbearing or go all Alpha male on her because she would shut down, since that was what her father used to do to her.

Jax took a deep breath and let her in. She brushed up against his bare chest and he inhaled the sweet coconut scent that radiated from her hair. He was a goner; no matter what she said, he was going to forgive her. Not that he needed to forgive her for anything, but he was pretty much putty in her hands.