CHAPTER TWO

Present time

PIPER TURNED OFF THE shower and dried herself with her favorite kabillion-thread Egyptian cotton oversized bath towel. She may not be wealthy, but it was little luxuries like this that made her feel less unhappy about the fact.

One day.

She brushed her teeth, swept her facial moisturizer across her clear creamy skin and pulled her long dark hair into a pony.

Walking into the bedroom, she noticed she’d left her large window open. The sheer curtains were billowing about like she was in a romantic suspense novel, which was kind of cool. However, there was a little patio outside, so she was conscious of security. That and the latch was coming loose.

She pulled it closed and shivered.

Thing was, she had been feeling uneasy for the past two weeks. Like she’d forgotten something or had to remember something.

As someone who relied on her sharp mind in her role as an investigative journalist, it was frustrating as hell.

Okay, fine, she was just a journalist. But one day she’d be an investigative journalist working for one of the big media names.

Piper Roberts: Investigative Journalist.

It sounded amazing, and maybe she’d end up working for the New York Times or Reuters.

She knew she was capable of it and her MBA in Media and Communications, where she’d achieved honors, went some way in proving that.

Still, the qualification hadn’t been enough to impress her father.

Nothing she’d ever done had been enough for that man.

Piper pulled on a pair of red boxers and matching singlet top with spaghetti straps, grabbed her laptop and hopped into bed. It was a bad habit she was trying to break, but tonight she had an excuse.

She was looking for her sister.

Sage had gone on holiday with her boyfriend, Ari Moretti. They were due back today, and she hadn’t heard from her the entire time. Not a single post on social or a text.

The truth was, the two of them were no longer close. When they were younger, they had been extremely close and perhaps it was because there was only a year between them, but it didn’t matter anymore. Piper had fucked everything up.

She chewed the side of her mouth — something she did every time she thought about that one stupid mistake.

Colin.

Small cock, Colin.

Not the point, Piper.

She let out a long sigh. If she could turn back time, she would without question.

Colin was Sage’s college boyfriend, and the two had been in love. Well, Sage had loved him—that part was true. What her sister didn’t know was Colin had been sleeping with at least two other girls that Piper knew of.

And she ended up being another one.

Stupid, stupid, stupid.

Not only had she destroyed her relationship with Sage, and broken her sister’s heart, but it had added another nail in the coffin of her relationship with her father.

All she wanted was his love and acceptance. Like he gave Sage. But instead, she got judgment and rejection.

Her sister was smart as hell. A scientist. She was working for one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world and was going to change the world, or so her father always said. Quite how he thought she would do that, Piper wasn’t sure, but for as long as she could remember their father was constantly telling her and everyone how incredible Sage was.

And what a disappointment Piper was.

When Sage finished high school with honors their father insisted on throwing a big party where he surprised her with a car. The following year when Piper did the same, it was like crickets. Well, they went out for dinner, but that night have been one she would rather forget.

“Piper, you would do well to follow in your sister’s footsteps when you get to Brown,” Simon Roberts had said. “I want to hear you’re focusing on your studies, not ending up one of those kids who spends their college years drunk and at parties.”

By then she had been used to his imbalanced judgment of her and simply pressed her lips together.

“And get those grades up and you might actually end up doing something decent with your life.”

That she couldn’t let go.

“I passed with damn honors!” she had spat, slamming her drink down.

“See what I mean, Maryanne? Attitude and lacking in brains.”

The insult had sliced through her.

When they arrived home and simply headed to bed, she stood in the hallway ready to scream. There was no car in the driveway, no dangling of keys in front of her face.

“Excuse me!” she’d said, crossing her arms. It was as if a light had turned off inside her heart.

Her father had turned and looked at her. She threw out her arms. “Where’s my damn car?”

“What car?”

“Sage got a car for finishing high school. Where’s mine?”

He let out a cold laugh, and walked away, calling out over his shoulder—not even bothering to give her the time of day. “Your sister worked hard. When I see that same work ethic from you, I’ll get you a car, but I’m not holding my breath.”

Piper had stood gaping at his back and eventually tears had poured down her face. Sure, she had been more social than Sage, but it wasn’t like her studies had suffered. For goodness’ sakes, she’d ended up with honors, regardless. Socializing and building friendships were an important part of a person’s development. Not that she’d had the wherewithal to say that to him at the time.

In fact, it was at high school she’d met her friend Kara, who was still her best friend today. They worked together at The Seattle Times , and Kara had single-handedly kept Piper from going into depression when she and Sage had fallen out.

When her father had found out what the rift between the two of them was about, he had looked at her like she was dead to him. And he still, to this day, treated her as such. He spoke the bare minimum to her.

But she deserved it in many ways. She had slept with her sister’s boyfriend. It was the lowest of lows.

She hardly knew why she’d done it herself.

Sage had been studying late one night in the college apartment they shared, so she and Colin had decided to get something to eat. There was nothing unusual about that—the three of them hung out regularly and Colin and Piper often found themselves alone waiting for Sage after class, or meeting first at the library.

That night, they ended up having a beer while waiting for their takeout and decided to eat at the restaurant to give Sage some space to study.

Everything was fine up until the third beer.

Three senior guys from the football team showed up and slid into their booth, joining them. Piper knew Chad, the captain, had a thing for her—aka wanted to fuck her—and while he was extremely hot, she was sick of all the one-night stands.

She wanted a boyfriend.

Like Sage had.

Especially after the dig her father had made during their last visit back home, asking when she was going to get herself a real boyfriend.

Asshole.

If he knew Colin slept around, he might not be so cocky, but Piper wasn’t going to hurt her sister just to shut her father up.

When she’d found out, Colin had assured her it was just a phase he was going through, and he loved her sister. And begged her not to say anything. After the second time, she gave him a warning: do it again and I’m telling Sage.

Turns out she was the third, and Sage had busted them anyway.

The night it happened Chad was getting all handsy with her under the table. Colin had stepped in and after a whole bunch of testosterone ranting, she had dragged him out of the venue, and they’d started walking home.

“You okay?” Colin had asked.

“Yeah. Chad is an idiot.”

“He is. If he had any brains, he’d take you on a date. Not feel you up.”

Piper snorted. “Thanks.”

“I’m not joking. You’re hot and smart. What guy wouldn’t want you?” Piper had glanced up at him, blushing from the compliment. More, she had reveled in it.

Men wanted to fuck her. They never saw her worth.

Colin had slowed and stopped her pace by placing a hand on her forearm. “Piper?”

She had frozen. “What?”

“You know every guy in this college wants to fuck you, right?”

Of course she’d known that. She had slept with at least thirty percent of them already.

She shrugged. “Sure, whatever. I want more than that, you know.”

“You deserve more.”

Everything inside her knew this was wrong and yet it was all she had ever wanted from a man. To be seen, adored, respected. He’d stepped closer, her eyes tilting to his. It had been hypnotic. When he’d taken her hand instead of kissing her, and changed direction, taking her back to his apartment, she had allowed him to lead her there.

Men back then were ripping her panties off and fucking her up against a tree. This man was taking her home.

She was worth something.

At least that was how she saw it.

For once in her life she wanted what Sage had. Perhaps not her father’s acceptance and love, but one night where she felt like she was special.

Boy, had she been stupid. And wrong.

Turns out Colin was no different. He’d had buyer’s regret about thirty seconds afterwards and made no effort to hide it.

“Oh Jesus, what have we done?”

“Gee, thanks.”

“Oh, come on, Piper. You know this wasn’t going to be anything more than a fuck. Don’t make me feel guilty.”

She had cleaned up and left.

The next day, Sage had overheard her on the phone when Colin had called, concerned she would tell her sister.

Idiot.

It was his phone call that had gotten them caught.

When she’d turned and seen the look on Sage’s face, it had broken them both. Sage had moved out, and they had both finished college, barely speaking to one another.

After their parents found out, they had told the sisters to make up and then said little more. In front of Sage, at least.

Piper’s experience had been quite different.

“I’m incredibly disappointed in you, Piper. Unsurprised, if I’m honest, but disappointed nevertheless,” her father had said, after she had been called into his office. “Make up with your sister and I don’t want to hear any more about this.” He had sat down at his desk as if dismissing her but looked up at the last minute. “And start dressing a little more respectably. You look like a damn slut.”

Piper had run up to her bedroom and cried for hours.

He never spoke to Sage like that. Okay, fine, her sister had dressed like a scientist even before she qualified, but Piper was hardly kitted out in fishnets and come-fuck-me boots.

She dressed just like every other girl in college.

Her parents were strict Christians, so his statement, while harsh, wasn’t new. It was only ever directed her way.

Piper had woken up the next day, broken on the inside, but with a new determination. She was going to prove to her father she was just as smart as Sage.

She’d show her father and the damn world.

How?

She wasn’t quite sure, but she knew she wanted to be an investigative reporter and so she knuckled down and focused on her studies.

Okay, fine, and continued to sleep with terrible men.

One thing at a time.

And she was on her way. She was a journalist at The Seattle Times and was just looking for a story to break that would get her noticed.

Piper fired up her laptop and put in her password.

She also wanted to heal the rift between her and Sage. But to do that, she had to find her sister. She was worried about her. Sage might not have forgiven her—even though she said she had—but Piper loved her sister.

Something about Sage’s new boyfriend had rubbed her the wrong way and her journalistic instincts were nagging at her.

Disappearing for two weeks and no social media? No, that was weird even for Sage.

Where were they—the moon?

Even more strange, every time Piper tried to focus on what she knew about Ari, a pain shot through her eyes. She knew she’d met him, but the memories were rough and vague. The only thing she could recall was an address that Sage had visited that kept popping into her mind.

Was that Ari’s house?

She’d overheard her sister giving the Uber driver the address and it had stood out as strange to her because the neighborhood was extremely expensive. Heck, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos lived there.

So yeah, not the type of people her sister would be hanging out with.

Unless she really had changed the damn world with some scientific miracle.

Piper snorted.

“Something’s not right.” She muttered to herself, closing the laptop, and turning off her light. “And I’m going to find out what it is.”

Flashes of disjointed memories tore through her mind while she lay staring at the shadows in her room. A face. An incredibly handsome face.

It was the same every night.

The man’s blue eyes glared at her in anger and... desire. Her nipples pebbled.

No.

Not again.

Her body reacted every time she saw him in her mind. His broad shoulders, sharp jaw, solid thighs. She was sure she had never met him and was starting to wonder if she just had an overactive imagination. Yet, nearly every night for the past two weeks, as soon as she relaxed in the evenings the visions of him came flooding in.

And her body flared to life.

Warmth flooded her core and she twisted in the sheets, groaning. It was as if these visions took control of her body, and it was starting to become a concern. She moaned into the pillow and squeezed her eyes shut as her pussy wanted more.

It wanted touch.

She saw those eyes, full of fire, irritation, and something else. He hated her. But he wanted her body.

She let a hand slide down and slip under her boxers.

No, stop.

“Mmph,” she moaned as her fingers felt the hot wet mess the visions of him had created. Piper was a highly sexual woman, but this was nuts.

It wasn’t real.

For the first few days it had been kind of fun and naughty. Now, after trying to fight the impulse, she felt like she was losing control of her body.

“Fuck.” She flung back the sheets and pulled out her vibrator.

There was no use. She needed release.

Brrrrr.