“I need you because you make me smile. You keep me on my toes. You make me laugh when I just want to be pissed at the world.”

Her head tipped back and she wet her lips.

His gaze immediately settled on her mouth. That hadn’t been her intention. Honestly. She was just nervous and her lips had gone dry.

“I’m a jealous bastard, Piper. You need to realize that. Especially when it comes to you, my emotions can be primitive.”

Now she laughed. “And you think I don’t get jealous?” What, was that supposed to be an emotion magically limited to men? Uh, no. “When I saw the way the detective was looking at you, when I realized that the two of you had been involved, I pretty much wanted to attack.” But attacking a detective who was interrogating her? Bad plan. Very bad. She’d managed to keep her cool…and only lost her shit in the car. “I can be jealous and possessive, too. You should understand that, right now. I’m not the kind of lover who shares. It’s me and only me.”

“Why would I want anyone else?”

Okay, sometimes, he could say the most perfect, sweetest things. Sometimes.

Both of his hands cupped her jaw. He stared down at her, and she could see the desire in his eyes. Handsome, fierce Eric.

“I don’t want anything to happen to you.” Her words were husky and soft.

“My job is protection. It’s what I do.”

He was supposed to sit behind his fancy desk and come up with tech inventions to save the world. She didn’t want him running into crime scenes, looking for perps. “What if you’d been the man who was wheeled out of that house? What if you’d been put in the body bag?” Piper had to blink because tears tried to fill her eyes again. “I can’t have that. I won’t. I—”

His phone rang. The loud, high-pitched peal filled the room.

“It’s Ben,” he muttered. “Give me just a second.” Eric backed away as he pulled out his phone.

She sucked in a deep breath. She had almost crossed a major line there. Said something that she’d kept secret for a very long time.

He put the phone to his ear. “Hey, look, we’re okay here. I got Piper home safe and sound and—”

His face changed. Went dark and lethal in a flash. It was almost as if she stared at a stranger.

“Who the fuck is this?” Eric demanded.

Piper took a step toward him as fear rushed through her blood.

“Where is my brother?” he snarled. “What the hell do you—” His gaze flew to Piper. “Ben’s not the one fucking her.”

The echo of her heartbeat pounded in Piper’s ears like a drum.