Chapter Five
Piper
"This isn't slow," I protest, glaring at Cortez when he pulls me down onto his lap on the couch after lunch. It's only been a couple hours, and I already know he's terrible at slow. He can't seem to keep his hands off me. They're on me at every available opportunity. His lips usually follow. Which is a problem because I can't seem to resist either.
"I just want to hold you," he says, giving me an innocent look that I'm not buying for a second. There's nothing innocent about this man. He's all wolf, no sheep. And god, he's beautiful. I think he grew even more handsome in the last two months.
I snort in response, but don't argue further. Truth is…I love having his arms around me. Maybe I'll regret it later, but for this moment at least, I want to curl up against his chest and just be. Is that so bad? I don't think so. My head and my heart are still at war over him, but my heart is winning.
The man I met two months ago wouldn't have just checked out and left me there. Maybe things did happen exactly like he said. I don't know. But I want to believe him. The biggest part of me does believe him. The rest of me though…well, the rest of me still remembers the crushing weight of humiliation I felt doing the walk of shame out of there that morning.
The rest of me is still terrified he'll disappear again, leaving me and our baby behind this time. He broke my heart once. I'm not sure I'll survive if he breaks it a second time. What if I tell him about the baby and he decides this isn't what he wants at all? There are a million worries battling for attention, and I'm not even sure where to begin trying to unravel and sort them.
"Why are you in Chattanooga?" I ask, listening to the steady thrum of his heartbeat.
"Work thing," he mutters.
"Oh."
"You're a Blake," I say.
"I am." He sighs. "Dorian Blake is my uncle. He raised me and my brother and sister after our parents died when we were kids. I wasn't trying to hide it from you. It's just not something I bring up often. People tend to treat me differently once they find out I'm a Blake. I can't fucking stand it."
"I'm sorry," I murmur. I can't really relate, but we get enough celebrity guests at the hotel for me to have a general understanding of just how different life is for the ultra-rich and famous. People throw themselves at them, trying to curry favor. Kasen Alexander, Bentley Reynolds, and Clayton Devine, popular country musicians, played a big benefit at the hotel not long ago and women came pouring out of the woodworks just to be close to them. It was…eye-opening to see how far some of them were willing to go. We had to hire extra security because they kept trying to sneak up to their rooms, never mind the fact that their wives were here.
"I always thought my cousin, Callan, was going to take over the company when Uncle Dorian retired," he says, blowing out a breath. "But that's not the case."
"He doesn't want it?"
"Apparently not," he mutters, blowing out a breath. "I've always been the CFO, but that changes tomorrow."
I crane my head back to look at him. "What do you mean?"
"Come tomorrow, I'll be the majority stakeholder in the company."
"You'll own the company."
"Dorian and Callan will still own a stake, but yeah," he agrees. "Most of the company will belong to me."
"Wow," I say after a minute. "That's…impressive." It's more than impressive. It's honestly a little intimidating. He's going to own one of the biggest companies in the United States. "You really weren't kidding when you said you were one of the best businessmen in the state, were you?"
"Does it bother you?" he asks.
"No," I lie.
He narrows his eyes on me, not believing me.
"Maybe a little," I amend. "Your world and mine are two vastly different things, Cortez. I've always wanted to start my own company, but I never wanted to own a Fortune 500 or rub elbows with celebrities and sheiks and whoever else you spend your time with. That's not me."
"That's not me either," he says, running a soothing hand down my back. "I don't give a fuck about celebrities or sheiks or anyone but you and my family. I enjoy what I do, but I never expected to inherit the company. If Callan wanted Blake Industries, I'd hand it over to him in a heartbeat. But he doesn't want it. Dorian kept my siblings together after our parents died. I owe it to him to keep his company together."
"That's really sweet," I whisper, my expression softening. A little of my fear ebbs out, replaced by something softer, quieter. The more time I spend around him, the harder it is to keep my guard up. That worries me and doesn't worry me enough at the same time. I'm a struggling college student. He's the new owner of a massive company with the Blake name behind him. If he changes his mind about me, would he try to take our baby from me?
The possibility makes my stomach roil with uncertainty. I want to throw caution to the wind and dive headfirst into whatever this is between us. I want to believe that he found me again because we were meant to find one another. But believing in the fairytale didn't get me very far the first time. And I didn't have nearly as much to lose then. What happens if I'm wrong this time?
God help me, I don't want to be wrong. I tossed and turned all night, thinking about everything, trying to untangle my thoughts. All I came up with was the fact that I'm not ready to lose him again. He asked me for a chance, and I want to give it to him, not because I'm carrying his baby, but because I'll always regret it if I don't. I want this man as my own. If that makes me selfish, then I guess I'm selfish because it's true. I want him. Not his company or his name or anything but him.
I fell that very first night, and not even two months apart changed anything for me. The connection between us is just as real and powerful now as it was then. No matter how hard I try to fight it and deny it, I can't. I'm in love with this man. Hopelessly, helplessly, completely.
But his whole life is changing. What if there isn't room in it for me and a baby?
"You're thinking awful hard," he says, tucking my head against his shoulder again. "Trying to figure out a way to get rid of me once and for all?"
"No," I whisper, swallowing hard. "Just wondering what happens if you decide this isn't what you want."
He growls quietly. "This is exactly what I want, Piper. You are exactly who I want."