He carried her to the table. Sat her down. Tore his hands from her hips and slammed them against the table, placing them on either side of her body even as he kept kissing her. He’d been deprived of her taste for too long. Never again. There would be no more holding back. No more trying to do what was right. She was right. They were right. Together, they were going to be—

A phone was ringing. Somewhere in the damn house, a phone was ringing.

He ignored it.

But Piper’s hands flew up. She shoved against him. “I…think that’s my phone.” Her breath panted out.

“Let it ring.” He kissed her neck. She shivered against him. Arched. He sucked her skin, right over her racing pulse.

“But…oh, jeez, that feels good.”

He didn’t hear the ringing any longer. Good. Whoever it was could just call back at a way better time.

“It’s…after midnight. Why would someone call me at—”

Another peal of sound filled the air. Only this time, the peal came through on his phone. The one that he still had in his back pocket. He’d forgotten about the thing.

“Answer it,” Piper urged.

He looked at her. Red lips. Gorgeous eyes. Flushed cheeks.

He’d done that. He’d turned her on. She felt the same savage need that he did.

Just a kiss. No, not just a kiss. A start.

The phone rang again, and, dammit, he knew that irritating ring tone. Ben. Eric backed away, breathing hard, and he yanked the phone from his pocket. “This had better be really fucking urgent,” Eric began, snarling.

“It’s Piper!” Ben threw right back. “I tried to get her on her phone, but she didn’t answer. She’s there, with you, right? She’s safe?”

She was on his kitchen table looking like the best sin he’d ever seen. “She’s safe. I have her.” I have her.

“Look, I just got a call from the PD. They said they’d tried to reach her, but couldn’t get through, and since I’m the contact person she has listed, they called me.”

Tension swept through Eric. “What happened?”

“Her place, man—dammit!” Ben’s voice was shaking. “It got torched! The uniform who was patrolling the neighborhood called it in. Some bastard set Piper’s house on fire!”

Chapter Five

It could have been worse.

Piper stood on the edge of her yard, her gaze directed at her home. The sun was just starting to rise, and the sky seemed oddly red. Angry.

It could have been worse.

Yellow tape blocked the entrance, dipping across her porch. She’d expected to come back and find ashes. To have the whole place gutted.