Oh, no, not happening. He lifted his hands and caged her, placing his palms flat on the elevator wall behind her head. “You think I don’t care about you? You think I’m just fucking you for fun?”

Her eyes widened. “It was fun.”

Hell, yes. “It’s more than sex. And he isn’t all that you have.” I’m right here, Piper. Right in front of you.

“I know I have plenty of friends.” Her lips pressed together. “I’m lucky to have good friends in my life, but Ben is more than that. He has stood by me during my worst moments. He’s—” But she broke off, and a furrow appeared between her eyebrows. “You were there.”

Eric just waited. As he’d waited for so long.

The faint line between her eyebrows deepened. “When I buried my mom, you were right beside me.”

“Where else would I have been?”

“But you hated me back then!”

A grim shake of his head. “Baby, you need to know that I have never hated you. I could never hate you.”

Still seeming a bit dazed, Piper said, “When I graduated college, you were there.”

He leaned in close. “Someone had to clap.”

“Ben brought me roses, but you—”

“I brought the fucking roses. Ben just gave them to you because I figured if I handed them to you, you’d throw them in the trash.”

Her eyes widened. “I wouldn’t have done that.”

Good. “Think about the times in your life, Piper. When things are good, I’m there. When things are bad, I am there even faster. Because I will always be there. You’ve been a fixture in my life for as long as I can remember, but unlike Ben, I don’t want to just be your friend.”

“What do you want?”

“Everything.” His lips lowered and pressed to her lips. A soft kiss. A tender one. He wanted her. Wanted to claim her. Wanted to make her laugh. Wanted to protect her. Wanted to grow old with her at his side.

Was that so much to ask?

He just wanted forever, and he was working hard to get it.

First step…get rid of her stalker.

Second stop…Eric was going to try and get Piper to fall for him.

He let the kiss linger a moment longer because kissing Piper was one of the true pleasures in life. Her hands rose to press to his chest. A delicious moan trembled in the back of her throat.

He would have enjoyed fucking her right then and there. Eric put that item on the to-do list. Piper in an elevator. Piper anywhere and everywhere. But first…

Get rid of the stalker.