“I don’t know why you are upset,” he muttered as they entered Carter’s.

“I’m pretty sure I made my reason clear.”

Erik shook his head as she held up a little blue outfit that she grinned at, then dropped it in her basket. “I’d think by now, you would know that when you’re with me, you pay for nothing. That’s how I roll.”

“Well, it’s not how I roll. I can pay for my own things.”

“I don’t doubt that, sweetheart, but you won’t when you’re with me.”

Piper rolled her eyes as she picked out a few more little blue things and threw them in the cart. He loved when she got feisty like this. Dropping his bags in the middle of the aisle, he said, “Come here.”

Piper glanced back at him and then scoffed, “No.”

Erik’s dick pressed hard against the zipper of his jeans as he watched her pick up another outfit. Groaning inwardly, he said, “Mrs. Titov, I asked for you to come here.”

Shaking her head rebelliously, she said, “No, you said, ‘Come here’ like you are demanding me to, and I’m busy.”

Erik chuckled as he took a step toward her and said, “Sweetheart, please come here, I want to kiss that naughty little mouth of yours.”

She glanced up at him, her blues eyes bursting with lust as she pinned him with a look. “It’s not naughty.”

“Oh yes it is; now come here,” he said again, pulling her to him.

She melted in his arms as his lips met hers. His want for her was frightening but at the same time he craved it. He had said that he couldn’t commit but sometimes he felt like he had already. Moments like this, being wrapped up in her arms, her sweet little mouth on his—there was nowhere else he wanted to be. So what was the big deal? What was holding him back?

Pulling away, Piper smiled before moving out of his arms. “You will not ravish me in the middle of a baby store, Mr. Titov.”

“Why not?” he asked playfully, smacking her sweet ass.

She jumped in surprise before turning to look at him and in a mock whisper said, “Because people can see us.”

Erik laughed as he looked around. “They probably encourage it. If I didn’t ravish you, you wouldn’t be pregnant, and without babies they wouldn’t be in business.”

Piper rolled her eyes as she laughed. “You’re impossible.”

Walking away, she shot him a grin over her shoulder before turning to look at something else. Man, she was so beautiful. His heart kicked into overdrive when he was around her, and he couldn’t believe how much he wanted to be around her. It was as if he never wanted to leave her. Would it always be like that? Or would it change once he went back to his old life? Training camp was starting soon and then he’d be traveling. Would he stay true, be the man who she believed he was?

“Erik! Look! They have a whole hockey line! Eek!” she gushed, holding out a little hockey outfit and little booties shaped like skates. He might not know what his future held, but he did know that right now, he wanted to try, and not just for her, but for Dimitri, too.

To his surprise, he was falling for both of them.

* * *

They had spent the whole day shopping and joking around with each other. Even though it made her mad that he wouldn’t let her pay for anything, she kind of found it romantic. It was sweet that he wanted to take care of her and the baby. It made her feel good, and gave her hope that he wasn’t leaving. Especially since he helped choose things for the nursery.

After all of that shopping they had worked up an appetite and decided to grab a bite before heading back home. She was glad they did; her feet were killing her.

Wiping her fingers on her napkin, she asked, “Do you want the rest of my salad?”

He shook his head, taking a swig of his beer. “Nah, I’m good.”

She nodded as she sipped her water. Wanting to keep the conversation going, she asked, “How old were you when you started to play hockey?”

“I was three.”

“Three! Sheesh!”

He smiled as he ate a fry.

“I was in skates as soon as I was able to walk. Jasha played when he was young, so he got us started at a young age, too.”

He took a swig of his beer and then looked over at her. She could tell that he wanted to say more but he was holding back. She gave what she hoped was a reassuring smile and he smiled back before looking down at his plate.

A moment passed before he finally said, “He was actually a good dad until she left for the first time. I now know that she had gotten into cocaine and other drugs, and he just couldn’t deal with her leaving us. I think he loved her more than anything in the world. Sometimes I felt like he loved her more than us,” he said with a laugh.

“He never touched me until Jakob left. I think he knew that, together, Jakob and I would fight, you know, and I guess he saw me as weak without Jakob. I guess I was.”

“Erik, you were a kid,” Piper said, shaking her head. “You weren’t weak.”

Erik nodded. “I don’t know, sometimes I think I was. I mean I was a strong kid, I could have fought back, but I didn’t fight; I took it and I don’t know why. Why didn’t I call and tell Jakob what was happening, tell my teachers or call the cops? He told me the day he left that if anything happened, to call, he’d come and get me. I waited until I was sitting in a bloody room with two dead bodies in front of me before I called him.”