Pierced Hearts (Southern Charmers 1)

“Pierce, you want to come inside for a drink?” Edward offers.

“Actually, I’m going to make Darby dinner. Can I take a rain check?”

“Sure,” Annie answers, beaming bright.

“Runner, come on.” I pat my thigh, and he trots ahead of us as I lead Darby back to the shed.

She remains quiet. Even after I’ve unloaded the groceries out of my truck and made my way around her kitchen, she’s staring off into space.

“Darby, something on your mind?”

“I’m not sure what just happened. You drove up to my house, yelled at my dog, touched me tenderly, and then proceeded to kiss me in front of my parents.”

“Play by play tells me you know exactly what happened.”

“But why?”

“Why what? Which part?”

“All of it?”

“I came to make you dinner. Runner could have hurt you so, on instinct, I yelled, and I kissed you because this morning was a fuck of a long time ago. I missed you.”

“You missed me?”

“That surprise you?”

“Well, yes, actually, it does.”

“Have a seat, baby. Let me get you a drink.” I go to her bar.

“This is weird.”

“Don’t make it weird. I want to make you dinner, talk about our days, then take you to bed where I plan to make sure nothing is weird.”

She gives a few shakes of her head, raising her eyes to mine and taking a few seconds as the idea settles over her. “Okay, Pierce, tell me about your day.”

I uncork the red wine and pour her a glass, taking it to her before going back to chopping vegetables. “It started out fantastic. I went to the office and had a mountain of paperwork to look over. My assistant didn’t quit, which is an added bonus. Made a few phone calls, then hit the field.”

“Is your assistant usually a flight risk?”

“Andi’s a little sensitive.”

“Which means you fly off the handle a lot?”

I chuckle, flashing her a grin, and dump my mushrooms and onions in a skillet. “Depends on who you ask.”

She giggles, sipping her wine and coming around the island. “Can I help?”

“Yeah, you can get your ass back on a barstool and tell me about your day.”

She grabs forks, knives, and napkins, sets her small table, and shuffles back to a stool, sliding on and twirling her glass between her fingers. Her teeth work over her bottom lip, which tells me she has something to ask. “You have something else on your mind?”

“Well, you didn’t mention your kids. Did you talk to them?” It’s not lost on me how she forces the question.

I tense, knowing this is going to be a delicate issue for a long time. “I did. Spoke to them twice. They’re already planning the last week of school, asking to skip the final day.

“Understandable.” She gulps her wine this time, avoiding my eyes.

Even though she brought it up, we’re quickly heading into dangerous territory. “Tell me about your day.”

A small grin forms on her lips. “It was interesting. I made it to the luncheon in time. Your cookies were a hit. Jill kept shooting looks my way, and my face was probably red the whole time.”

“Mom doesn’t know the meaning of subtle.”

“I’m pretty certain, at one point, she actually sniffed me.”

I bark out a laugh and drop the garlic butter in the pan, followed by the steaks. “Did you have fun?”

“It was nice, but I’m kinda sick of being the center of attention. This was Mrs. Asley’s day, but I still found myself in the spotlight.”

“People are proud of you, Darby. It’ll die down soon.” I glance over my shoulder to her.

“Yeah, you’re right. But people are a little too curious.”

I concentrate on searing the steak, tending to the vegetables, and getting everything plated before I move to the subject that has been eating at me since I hung up with Stephanie. “Let’s eat.” I grab a beer on my way to her table and almost hit my knees when she lets out a low, throaty groan on her first bite.

My cock springs to life, and I can’t tear my eyes from her face. She’s chewing slowly, and when she swallows, her gaze is burning into mine.

“Where did you learn to cook like this?”

“If you want to finish, you need to quit looking at me like that.”

A sly grin forms on her lips as she puts another bite in her mouth and moans seductively. She’s testing me and, any other time, I’d yank her up and fuck her on the sofa to take the edge off. Food be damned. But I have a mission tonight. I drop into the chair and circle my fingers around her wrist. “Behave.”

“Fine, I’ll hold back all moans of appreciation until later.”

“Good idea.” I kiss the inside of her wrist and let it go, cutting into my steak. “I like what you’ve done with the shed. It’s quite a showplace.”