Almost Just Friends Read online

  Gavin watched him go, a muscle working in his jaw, but he did not go after him. There was a lot of healing that needed to happen there, she knew, but she also knew that the kind of chemistry and history those two had was worth fighting for. “Nice self-sabotage,” she said.

  Gavin shook his head at her. “Said the kettle to the pot. And I’m fine, I know what I’m doing.”

  “Do you?”

  “Yes.” And with that, he pivoted and strode into the crowded living room. The opposite way that CJ had gone.

  So he wasn’t going to fight for love. He’d never been much of a fighter. It’d always been easier for him to walk away. She got that. But she also got that some things were worth digging in for and holding on. At least in the movies anyway. She started after him, but could see him talking and laughing with a group of Emmitt’s fishing buddies. If he was going to put out the illusion of truly being okay, then she was going to have to let him.

  Cam slipped an arm around her. “I was thinking we could slip out for a bit.”

  She met his heated gaze and thought maybe it wasn’t just in the movies after all. “To do what?”

  “Anything you want.”

  “Still standing right here,” Winnie said. “Although I have no idea why. You kids be careful now, you hear?” And then she too vanished into the living room crowd.

  “Anything I want?” Piper repeated to Cam. “That’s a lot of power to just hand over.”

  He laughed. “Babe, the power’s always been yours.”

  Since she’d spent most of her life feeling as if it was the exact opposite, this sounded appealing. Very appealing.

  “Like that smile,” he murmured, wrapping an arm around her, nudging her back against the pantry door.

  “Well, I did just realize that my siblings are finally fully functioning adults.” She slid her hands along his jaw, loving the feel of his several-day-old beard beneath her fingers. “And that I’m not needed right now.”

  “I wouldn’t say that. Maybe I need you.”

  She smiled. “How can I help you?”

  “I was thinking a few drinks, maybe some food. And”—he put his mouth to her ear—“me licking either one of those things off your body.”

  She actually quivered. “So what’s stopping you?”

  He picked her up and she locked her legs around his waist. Grabbing a bottle of whiskey off the counter, he handed it to her before walking them out the back door.

  She held on tight, laughing. “The party—”

  “No one will even notice we’re gone.” He was moving with her at a good pace. A man on a mission. “Besides,” he added, “you just agreed to my favorite meal.”

  “Which is what exactly?”

  “You.” They were moving down the dock toward his boat now.

  With another laugh, she forgot to be afraid of the water as he boarded with her. He took them below deck, setting her on the narrow galley counter.

  “Hey,” she said. “Do I look like the sort of girl who lets a guy lick whiskey off of her—” She gasped when he gently tipped the bottle a little, letting a few drops of the amber liquid hit her collarbone and throat. Then he lifted her up and licked it off, trailing his tongue up her neck to her ear, before taking the lobe between his teeth, making her moan.

  He smiled against her. “I’m going to take that as a hard yes.”

  PIPER WOKE AT what appeared to be dawn, which meant she’d gotten maybe three hours of sleep after she and Cam had ravished each other. And speaking of Cam, she found him with his head propped up by his hand, watching her sleep. “Oh, crap,” she said. “Was I snoring?”

  He smiled. “No.”

  “Drooling?”

  “Only a little.”

  He was kidding. Probably. Just in case, she swiped a hand over her mouth. “Why are you watching me sleep?”

  “When I’m stressed, you center me. I told you once before, you’re better than swimming the lake.”

  She took that for the compliment it was. “You don’t usually seem to give in to stress like the rest of us mere mortals.”

  “It’s not a productive emotion.”

  She felt her heart start to pound funny and sat up. “Why am I suddenly the one feeling stressed?”

  “These past few weeks have been incredibly important to me,” he said, sitting up too. “You’ve become incredibly important to me.”

  Yep, that was definitely stress making her heart thump in her ears. Stress, and something else. Something that curled through her in a terrifyingly good way. “Maybe it’s the orgasms.”

  He smiled. “The orgasms are amazing, but it’s more than that for me.”

  “More?”

  He ran a finger along her jaw, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. “My unit’s being sent out, Piper.”

  Her heart seized. “Where? For how long?”

  He kept his gaze on hers. “Until the job is done. Word is maybe a week, maybe more.”

  He hadn’t said where, and she understood that he couldn’t. “When do you leave?”

  “Eighteen hundred.”

  “Tonight?” she squeaked.

  “Yes.”

  She nodded, trying to emulate his quiet calm. This was what he did, put life and limb on the line to protect and serve. And if he could do so with such courage and bravery, then she could do her best to give him the same. “And after? Your leave from the DEA might be over by then. Will you go directly back to the East Coast?”

  “If I have to. But it won’t be to stay.” He paused. “After losing Rowan, I realized something. I’ve moved every year or two for the Coast Guard, but I don’t want that anymore. I want to settle down. I want”—he gestured between them—“this to be more.”

  There went her heart again. “It was never meant to be more. You know that.”

  “I do. What I don’t know is if you still feel that way now.”

  She closed her eyes and drew a deep breath. “I feel things I didn’t want to feel.”

  He pulled her into him, entangled their legs. “Piper. Look at me.”

  She opened her eyes and met his. “There’s a lot of things I don’t know about those feelings,” she whispered.

  “Can you tell me what you do know?”

  “I know I want you.”

  “You’ve had me. Only a few hours ago, in fact,” he murmured on a small smile. “I’m sleeping in the wet spot. And you know what I mean.”

  Did she? The kick of her heart against her ribs certainly suggested she did, that she knew exactly what he wanted to hear. He wanted more. And he wanted to know if she did too. “And if your transfer doesn’t come through?”

  “Geography isn’t a hurdle. Not in my book. I can always leave the DEA and find something here. But I’m pretty sure they’ll transfer me.”

  “You’ve heard from them then?” she asked.

  “Not yet, but they said they intended to keep me, however they could. As for the Coast Guard, I was active duty for twelve years, and have two in the Reserve. I’ll be able to retire in two years.” He gave a small, dry smile. “Although I can’t tell if you’re more worried about my transfer not coming through, or that it will.”

  Yeah, her either. She’d planned on him being nothing more than the fun-time guy to have a little thing with. That’s what her bullet journal had him down as. And that shit was in ink, which meant it was gospel. She’d never have done it if she’d known he planned on sticking around. “You’d really retire?”

  He shrugged. “I’ve had my share of excitement. More than.” He paused. “So what are you afraid of?”

  Only everything, not the least of which was that he could read her like a damn book. She was no longer surprised to realize that he was much deeper and more complicated than she’d ever imagined. So yeah, she was scared. Scared to go deeper, and even more scared to lose him, as at the moment, he was the only sane thing in her world. “I’m not sure afraid is the right word.”

  “What is then?”

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