Campbell snorted. “I bet.”
“Did you even have a call?”
“Yeah, bro. But I didn’t have to be gone as long as I was.”
“Little matchmaker.”
Campbell laughed and rubbed the back of his head. “Yeah. I like to see everyone happy. And she seems to make you happy. Try not to fuck it up until I get back, will you?”
“No promises. I’m kind of a fuckup.”
“No arguments there.”
“When are you coming back?” I asked him.
“Tour ends in about two months. I’m supposed to go to LA, but maybe I’ll swing by Lubbock first.”
“Do that,” I insisted.
“Tell Nora I said bye.”
We hugged, and he returned to the limo to be escorted to a more discreet entrance. I’d miss him when he was gone. But I was glad that he’d made plans to come home. It was better having him in our lives.
I strode inside to find Piper waiting for me. The others had disappeared up the elevator, but she was still here.
“You ready to go to bed?”
Her eyes had slightly more life to them than she’d had in the limo. As if she were waking up from a long dream.
“Sure,” she said and hit the button.
We took the elevator up to our floor.
“What did Campbell say?”
“Just that he’ll be home in two months after the tour is over.”
“That’ll be good. You like having him in Lubbock.”
“I do,” I agreed.
She nodded and absently chewed on her lip. “I like having Peyton home, too. She’ll be married in two months.”
“Just in time for Campbell to crash the reception.”
Her smile was light and airy. “She’d probably like that.”
We left the elevator and strode down the hallway. My room was first. She hesitated at the door, as if anticipating me inviting her in. Which I wanted to do. Fuck, did I want that. But what was important was her getting some sleep and recovering. She wouldn’t do that if she ended up in my bed. There was no way that I’d let her sleep. And I couldn’t imagine she’d be begging for bed either.
So, I kept walking, and we landed at the room she shared with Blaire.
“Well, good night,” she whispered.
My hand cupped her jaw. I turned her face up to mine. “Not yet.”
She arched an eyebrow, a spark of that rampant stubbornness picking back up. But I smothered it when I slid my hand into her dark hair and captured her lips. She bowed into me like a boat on the water. I held her tight and firm, just the way she liked…needed to be handled. It wasn’t the same kiss we’d had when she kissed me on the tour bus. This was slow, almost languid. It was a proper good-night kiss.
I pressed one more kiss to her swollen lips. Her eyes were still shut tight as I finally released her.
“Good night,” I told her.
Her eyes fluttered open. “Okay,” she murmured lazily.
“I’ll see you in the morning.”
She nodded. “Good night.”
She scanned her card and slid into her room. I waited until the door closed behind her before heading back to my own room. It felt incredibly empty.
Why had I let her get away? Why had I decided that it made more sense for her to sleep alone?
Yes, it was the reasonable and responsible thing to do. But, fuck, it didn’t mean I wanted it. I didn’t want it at all.
I stripped out of my clothes and lay naked on top of the covers. I wanted her. Tonight. Tomorrow. The next night.
Fuck. I was in trouble.
I woke the next morning, feeling better than I had in years. With the amount of alcohol I’d imbibed with my little brother, I should have had the headache of all headaches. But instead, I felt incredible.
I showered the sex off of me and changed into jeans and a classic black T-shirt. We had to take the private jet back to Lubbock today. Campbell had already left. And I’d slept with Piper.
A grin hit my face.
Fuck. It had been amazing. And I’d done the right thing, tucking her away in her own bed. But I’d get to see her this morning. I hoped that her ass wasn’t fighting her too much. Just enough to remember me every time she shifted in her seat.
I hauled my bag with me and went downstairs for breakfast. Piper was seated at a table with Blaire, Jennifer, and Annie. The guys and my sister were nowhere in sight.
Her head jerked up as if she knew the instant I walked into the room. I smiled at her. Not any of my stupid smirks that drove her bonkers, but the sincere one. The one that said I’d had a great fucking time last night and it was good to see her.
But as quickly as she looked at me, she dipped her head and stared down into her oatmeal.
I narrowed my eyes. What the fuck? She couldn’t even meet my gaze?
A touch of pink was on her cheeks and she wasn’t talking to the rest of the party. Was she embarrassed? Or ashamed? Had she remembered the amazing night of sex as something…bad? That didn’t seem possible. Not after the way she’d acted when I took her back to the hotel. She’d been happy with me. Not the normal anger and fire, but actually happy.
Nora clapped me on the back, and I jumped. She chuckled. “How’d last night go?”
I glanced at Piper and back. “Uh, it was good. Campbell left at five. He told me to tell you bye.”
“Yeah, I got a text. Glad you had fun.”
She dropped her rolling bag off next to the girls and went to get breakfast. I added my duffel on top of her bag.
“Morning,” I said to the table.
“Good morning!” Jennifer said, all chipper. “I am the only morning person at this table. You’ll have to forgive everyone else who hates sunlight.”
I laughed. “Sounds right. Y’all sleep all right?”
“The beds were amazing,” Blaire said from under her baseball cap. “Piper has a massive hangover. We had to get her to take her sunglasses off indoors.”
“Annie will bite you before talking to you without coffee,” Jennifer added.
“Fascinating. I’m shockingly not hungover. After how much we drank last night, Piper, I’m surprised I’m not in the same mood as you.”
Piper lifted her expression to mine, and none of the good girl I’d called her last night was visible in her expression. She was stubborn, angry Piper once more. A wall divided us.
“We’re in very different moods,” she said.
“Yeah?”
“Yes,” she quipped.
And if she wanted to be like this, well, I could be the asshole she always thought I was.
“Sore?”
Her eyes rounded and then flattened. Her hand clenched into a fist.
“What?” Jennifer asked. “Did something happen?”
“Piper fell on her ass last night.”
Piper shot me a death glare. If she could have had lasers shooting out of her eyes, she would have.
“Is that why you’ve been weird all morning?”
“I have a huge bruise,” Piper said. She looked like she wanted to hit me. “Forgot about it until I showered.”
Julian and Jordan appeared just as Nora brought her plate of food over.
“Eat up. It’s almost time to go,” Jordan said.