Wicked as Sin (Wicked & Devoted 1)

God, he’d love to have her hands all over him…

“Your wounds are looking a lot better,” she remarked. “The scabs are really healing over.”

He grunted. He couldn’t see his back, but he’d believe her.

“Do you have any vitamin E oil?”

Why would he? “No.”

“I’ll bring some tomorrow. It helps with scarring.”

Honestly, he didn’t care about that much, except the damage done to his ink, but… “Will you put it on for me?”

“Of course.”

“I’d like that.”

She lifted her hands off him and washed them in the nearby sink. “I laid some clothes out for you on your bed in case you were too tired. Can you manage from here?”

He nodded.

“I’ll meet you downstairs.”

“Thanks.”

Thirty seconds later, he’d tossed on the sweats and T-shirt she’d folded nicely on his well-made bed he’d give anything to share with her tonight. Just being in the same room with her made him feel calmer, more centered. Whole.

Jesus, he sounded like a lovesick schmuck—and he didn’t fucking care.

After finding a pair of tube socks, he slid into those and padded down the stairs. He stopped halfway down when he spotted Brea on his sofa, head propped up on her open palm, eyes closed.

She was asleep.

On soft footfalls, he made his way to her and sat. She awoke with a start as he pulled her onto his lap and curled her head onto his shoulder.

“W-what are you doing?”

“Showing you that you matter to me, too. Rest.”

The starch left her body, and she melted against him, eyes closing again. “Just for a minute.”

“Sure.” He dropped a kiss onto her forehead.

She sighed, then her breathing evened out.

Suddenly, he was the happiest he’d been in what seemed like an eternity.

Without really trying, Brea had become his everything.

As she curled her legs against his side and cuddled closer, he started scheming ways to keep her with him forever.

Chapter Ten

Thursday, October 23

Less than thirty minutes after her last client left the salon, Brea rushed toward Pierce’s front door, feeling almost giddy.

Today, his jaw had been unwired. Tonight, they would finally be able to talk.

For weeks, she’d purposely kept their conversations short since speaking had been both hard and frustrating for him. But as she’d left his house yesterday, his smoldering stare had promised he would have a lot to say tonight. So did she.

Brea couldn’t wait.

She’d fallen in love with Pierce Walker. After their night together, she’d already been halfway there. But now? There was no denying her stalwart warrior held her whole heart in the palms of his big hands.

Looking back, she suspected she’d been head over heels from the start. Now she had the courage to admit it.

What happened next? She didn’t know, but surely God had a plan. The gospel of John said, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another…” So whatever He had in store, she would follow her heart.

It wouldn’t be easy. Cutter still disliked Pierce. Her father knew nothing about him except as Cutter’s injured teammate who had needed her Christian charity. She and Pierce were from different worlds, and they were still getting to know each other. But she refused to lose faith. After all, Joseph and Job hadn’t when presented with incredible trials. By comparison, this was nothing.

She and Pierce could make something work, right?

Brea hoped so…and prayed he felt something for her, too. Because her heart kept yearning for the fairy tale.

What if he didn’t love her in return? Yes, he’d given her a hundred signs that he cared. He’d even admitted he’d never felt about a woman the way he felt about her. Had he meant that as romantically as it sounded?

He’s not the marrying kind.

Cutter’s assertion blazed through her memory. If her best friend was right, what did that make her to Pierce, simply a friend with benefits? Had she, in her naiveté, confused his desire for love?

Tonight, she’d find out.

As she stepped onto Pierce’s porch, she fluffed her hair and double-checked her lipstick in her little compact’s mirror. She’d chosen a berry shade that was a bit vampier than her usual nude pink. She’d taken extra care with the rest of her makeup, too.

After she tucked the compact away, she knocked softly and waited. When he didn’t answer, she used her key to unlock the door. It was the first time since he’d come home from the hospital she’d hesitated to let herself into his personal space. Now that he was healed, he wouldn’t need her every night. Would he even want to see her half so often?

As she tiptoed in, music filled his great room. Not his usual hard rock with screaming vocals, but a sexy R and B tune. Soft candles lit the space. And a profusion of white, pink, and red rose petals had been scattered in a trail across the dark hardwood floors.

Goodness, what was he up to?