lie would make him feel better. “Okay.”
Then he stood and hooked a finger under her chin. She blinked up as she followed his penetrating gaze. He stared down at her with something dark and dirty in his eyes. She shivered.
“It’s been a fucking month since I’ve touched you, and I’m dying to show you how much I appreciate you in that sexy-as-hell dress—”
“Sexy?” It covered her from her shoulders to her shins.
“Oh, yeah.” His thumb brushed her lower lip. “I’m looking straight down and I can see your lush tits. And it shows how much your baby bump has grown. But I need to see it naked. Touch it. Just like I need your pussy, too. And I need to fuck you so I can remind you that you’re mine forever. I need you now. Where can we go?”
Brea’s heart started thudding. Everything inside her tightened and tingled with desire. But she had one concern. “Everyone is already gossiping about us. If I leave with you, they’ll know exactly what we’ll be doing, and I’d rather not give them more fodder.”
Pierce shook his head, but he wore a fond smile. “Always the good preacher’s daughter.”
Warmth climbed up her cheeks. “Not always. You know that.”
“Yeah, you’re a bad, bad girl when I fuck you.” He was breathing heavily now, and his entire body had gone hard. “I’ll give you a thirty-second head start to find us some privacy around here. If you don’t, I’ll haul you onto the next available surface, shove your skirt up, and prove how much I’ve missed you. And I will give zero fucks about who watches.”
The warmth in her cheeks turned scalding, and she tsked at him. “You wouldn’t.”
He raised a challenging brow that dared her to try him. “I’m going to start counting now.”
Oh, goodness. He really would.
Brea jumped up and dashed through the crowd, past a frowning Josiah, then out of the tent.
Running across the dusty yard and up the driveway, she tore into the empty house and slammed the door behind her, panting all the while. She wasn’t sure where to go next. She’d only stepped inside long enough to get dressed and have her hair fixed. But she was excited. She was eager. And she was so wet. Pierce had always thrilled her. No use denying it.
Through the big window in the living room, she watched him march from the tent, his face full of resolution, and hop into his Jeep before he fired it up and skidded out in the dirt. Then he hit the paved road with a squeal.
Her heart dropped. He was leaving? Why? Where was he going?
Brea stood rooted in place. Had she misunderstood? Had someone tossed him off the property after she’d left? After everything he’d done so they could be together, she knew he wouldn’t simply walk away.
But one minute turned into two, then into five. After that, she had to face the truth. For some reason, he’d gone.
She bowed her head and tried not to succumb to confusion and more tears. Both were useless.
“How attached are you to that dress?” His voice suddenly rumbled in her ear and his hot breath spilled down her neck.
She gasped and whirled to face him. “How did you get in without me hearing you?”
“You really don’t know what I’m capable of. But you will.” He eyed her up and down. “Make a case to save the dress now or it’s toast.”
Would he really rip her out of it? That had her panting. “I don’t care about it at all.”
She had another change of clothes upstairs.
His smile was filthy. “Perfect. Anyone else in the house?”
She hadn’t thought to check. “I-I don’t know.”
Pierce cursed under his breath. “Oh, well. I don’t care anyway.”
He lifted her and carried her up the stairs, kicking in the door to the first bedroom at the top and flipping on the light switch, illuminating the soft recessed lighting overhead. The walls were gray except for one, which was decorated with a big photographic mural of a pink rose. He set her down on a black-and-white geometric rug, less than a foot from a rumpled bed. Since she’d changed in here earlier, her bag sat in the corner.
She’d barely found her footing when she heard fabric rip and felt a draft of cold air rush along her back. Suddenly, he spun her around, jerked on the sleeves, then tore her bra away. Less than ten seconds, and she was bare from the waist up.
If she helped, she