Blue Lines: The Assassins Series: A Loveswept Contemporary Romance (45 page)

“It won’t be easy,” he went on, smiling up at her. “I’m hard to love but when I mess
up, I promise I’ll do everything to make it better because I want you. Only you. For
the rest of my life. I love you, Piper Titov, and you are mine. Marry me … again,
and know that I will love only you for the rest of my existence.”

Piper closed her eyes. She had waited for this day since the very first moment she
set eyes on this man. As she opened them she knew there was only one thing she could
say.

“Yes, Mr. Titov, because you are the only man I want to give my heart to.”

Grinning, Erik stood up, pressing his lips to hers. Her hand came up, holding his
face as she deepened the kiss. She knew she would never get enough of his kisses and
would love this man forever. Drawing her face back from his, she grinned just as Dimitri
stirred in her arms.

Erik looked down at Dimitri and said, “Hear that, bud? Momma said yes!”

Dimitri was looking up at them with wide, innocent eyes. Piper laughed along with
Erik and then watched as Erik took the ring from Dimitri’s fist and reached for her
hand.

Taking her other ring off, he said, “I know you don’t like flashy stuff but I want
the whole world to know how much I love you.”

Piper cried happy tears as he slid her new ring on her finger and slid the other one
in beside it. Erik leaned over, kissing her mouth again and pressed his forehead against
hers.

Piper whispered, “I’m sorry I gave up and didn’t give you the love you needed when
it mattered most.”

“We learn from our mistakes and the main thing was that we weren’t broken, Piper,
we were just bent. We still have so much learning to do, but together we can do it.
I love you and nothing will ever change that,” he said, rubbing his nose along hers.

She smiled and closed her eyes, enjoying the sweet sensation. “I may change my mind
on everything else in this world, but you and Dimitri are the two people I am sure
of.”

“So me and you to the end?”

She nodded. “And Dimitri.”

“I love you, Mrs. Titov.”

Piper grinned as she said, “And I love you, too, Mr. Titov.”

He moved his mouth to hers, kissing her softly as his fingers tangled in her hair.
She felt as if her heart was going to explode from all the love she was feeling. She
knew that it wasn’t going to be an easy road for them, but looking deep into Erik’s
dark eyes, she knew that even though he was a hard guy to love, she would never love
a man the way she loved him.

When Dimitri started to cry, she realized she had the love of two of the greatest
people in the world.

Her man and her son.

What more could she ask for?

“So then I cut left, then to the right before rearing back. Dimitri, I hit that puck
so hard that even I didn’t see it hit the back of the goal! All I saw was the red
light go off and the next thing I knew, everyone on my team was tackling me!”

Dimitri looked up wide-eyed at Erik from where he lay on Erik’s legs.

“It was amazing, and not only was it my first goal as the new alternate captain, but
it was also my first as your daddy. That is too cool, little man.”

As if Dimitri knew how awesome that was, he cooed, causing Erik’s heart to skip a
beat. Reaching for the stick that he scored the goal with, he moved Dimitri’s little
hands onto the shaft and smiled when Dimitri tried to hold it.

“That’s my boy, good job.” Taking his phone out, Erik took a picture. He couldn’t
believe how much his life had changed. He had missed most of the preseason games,
since he wanted to be home with Dimitri and to help out when Piper needed him. Thankfully,
Elli was okay with that; she even tore up his probation documents and promoted him
to alternate captain.

The hockey season was in full swing. It had been a long week away from Dimitri and
Piper, and he missed them constantly. He didn’t know how being away from home would
affect his game, but the Assassins had won all three road games. They even won their
first home game, which rocked, since Piper and Dimitri were there at the arena with
Alla and Cooper. When the plane landed earlier that morning, he didn’t think he could
get home quick enough and when he opened the front door both of them were waiting
for him. It was the most unbelievable feeling in the world. He could never imagine
that he could love two people as much as he loved his wife and son.

“Dimitri?” he said softly, then smiled when his baby looked up at him while chewing
on his fist. “Do you know who my best friend is? That’s right, you are, and you know
who your best friend is? Me, and don’t forget that. I’ll always be here even when
I’m not. Daddy loves you,
so
much.”

“I’m pretty sure that we both love you just as much.”

Erik looked up to find his beautiful wife standing in the doorway in a pair of shorts
and his old high school shirt. Her hair cascaded down her shoulders and her eyes were
locked on him as she leaned against the wall. He gave her a lusty grin as his eyes
scanned over her beautiful body.

“I don’t know about that. I love you guys a lot.”

She smiled as she came over to kiss him, and when they parted she said, “I think I’ve
told you about letting him hold your nasty hockey sticks. It’s gross.”

Erik smiled as she got a baby wipe and cleaned Dimitri’s hands.

“I’m starting him early.”

“Jeez,” she said with a laugh as she sat on the side of the chair. “Daddy’s gonna
have you on skates and with a hockey stick in your hands before your walking, little
man. What do you think of that?”

When Dimitri burped, they both laughed.

“See, he likes it,” Erik said, flashing her a grin.

She leaned over, pressing her lips against Erik’s temple. Closing his eyes in reaction
to her touch, he moved his free hand up her bare legs.

“I just got off the phone with Tate,” she said, bringing his attention back up to
her face.

He swallowed hard, pushing away his need for her as he asked, “Really, what happened?
Is Dimitri’s girlfriend here yet?”

“Yup, Audrey had Penelope by C-section a couple of hours ago. She came out screaming
at a healthy ten pounds, six ounces, and twenty-two inches long.”

“God.” Erik laughed before looking down at Dimitri. “Your girlfriend came out almost
as big as you are now.”

Piper smacked his arm. “Oh hush, she’ll be more to love; nothing wrong with that.”

Erik shook his head.

“Nope, not at all. I sure do love your handles,” he said teasingly.

She smiled, then pressed her lips to his and whispered, “I love you.”

Erik bit her bottom lip and answered, “I love you more.”

Just as he went back for another kiss, he was interrupted by Dimitri’s cries. Looking
down at his little man, he asked Piper, “Is he hungry?”

“Yeah, probably,” she said, reaching for him, but Erik shook his head.

“Weren’t you almost done with your book?”

She smiled as she nodded. “Yeah.”

“Okay, well, you go read, or start a bath or something. You’re on break while Daddy
is home,” he said with a grin, then looked back down at Dimitri. “After I get our
little man fed and cleaned up, he’s going down for a nap, and then Mommy and Daddy
are going to go play a game that we really like.”

“I like the way you think, Mr. Titov,” Piper said as he stood.

He smiled, leaned down to give her a kiss, and looked deep into the lusty eyes of
the woman that he loved. “Oh you just wait: While I’ve been gone, I have been thinking
of all kinds of things I want to do to you.”

“Ooh, I can’t wait,” she said with a sexy little grin.

He reached for her, bringing her close to his chest as he pressed his lips to hers.
She melted against him and as he kissed her with his son cuddled in the nook of his
arm, he knew that there was no other place he wanted to be, that he would never experience
a better love than this. Breaking away from her, he smiled as she ran her fingers
down the front of his arms.

“I’m so glad you changed these.” He looked down at where she traced the words on his
arms. He had a big X put through
Nothing
. Above it was now the word
We’ll
, so that when he put his arms together, it said, “We’ll last forever.”

Smiling down at her, he said, “It’s the truth.”

She nodded, pulling him by his shirt to bring their mouths together for another hot
kiss. With every day that passed, he only fell more in love with Piper, and nothing
could ever touch the love he had for Dimitri. They were his whole life.

Parting from his wife’s beautiful mouth, he said, “Thank you.”

Her brows came together as she looked up at him with a smile. “For what?”

Erik looked down at Dimitri, and smiled before looking back at Piper. “For giving
me the world.”

My life will never be the same after the loss I suffered this year.

Thankfully, I not only have the best husband, children, and brother; I also have friends
and also my amazing family to help me grieve. As much as I want to go through the
reason I love my family and friends, I think the only thing I need to say is that
I wouldn’t be here, I wouldn’t be writing, I wouldn’t be reading, if it wasn’t for
my mom.

She gave me the gift of reading when I was a child. We used to go to used bookstores
and she’d let me get as many books as I wanted, the first being
Pride and Prejudice
. She told me it was the best love story ever told and that my heart would always
be happy if I had that book within reach. I’ll never forget how many times I came
out of my room and found her reading amazing romance books. I used to tease her and
ask why all her books had half-naked guys on them, but she would just laugh and tell
me that one day I’d love them, too.

Boy, do I.

When I started writing, I didn’t tell her at first. I really didn’t tell anyone. I
wrote
Taking Shots
and then I looked at my husband and told him. Next I told my mom, and by the way
she looked at me, I don’t think she had ever expected me to write. Heck, I hadn’t,
either. The first thing she said was how proud of me she was, and the next was that
she wanted to read it. She loved it.

I am crying as I write this right now, not only because I miss her so much, but because
she never got to read this book. I never got done with the edits in time and it kills
me that I never got her opinion on it. I know she would have been proud. She told
everyone, “My daughter is an author, the best I know,” and it used to embarrass the
hell out of me, but God, I miss hearing her say it now.

Like I said before, this book is for her. Everything I do, my parenting, my writing,
the way I love and how loyal I am to my friends and family, is because of her. She
was my best friend and I’ll miss her until my dying day.

I love you, Mom.

Photo: © Regina Wamba

T
ONI
A
LEO
is the author of the Nashville Assassins series:
Taking Shots
,
Trying to Score
,
Empty Net
, and
Blue Lines
. When not rooting for her beloved Nashville Predators, she’s probably going to her
husband’s and son’s hockey games and her daughter’s dance competitions, taking pictures,
scrapbooking, or reading the latest romance novel. She lives in the Nashville area
with her husband, two children, and a bulldog.

Welcome to Loveswept!

I have a little secret: when I’m shopping for gifts, I can never resist buying myself
a little treat as well—usually in the form of a sexy and romantic read. If you’re
like me, then you’re in luck because we have some exceptional books on sale this month.
Like Juliet Rosetti’s
Crazy for You
, the next book in her fun and sexy series featuring Mazie Maguire, everyone’s favorite
escaped (but exonerated!) felon, and her hilarious capers. For historical romance
fans, there’s Samantha Kane’s
Devil in My Arms
, the last installment in her Saint’s Devils series which is heaping with steamy intrigue
and mystery. Then there’s Lauren Layne’s
Love the One You’re with
, the next book in the clever and sassy Sex, Love & Stiletto series—which reminds
me so much of Sex & the City, with the story of two high-powered magazine writers
who find love amid a war of words. And don’t miss Toni Aleo’s
Blue Lines
; if you’re not already a Toni Aleo fan, you will be after this book. Sports romance
are so hot right now– and Toni’s sexy hockey book will have you craving for more sports
in your life.

So treat yourself; you won’t regret it!

And, you can’t miss these classics:

Two sizzling books from Ruth Owen:
Taming the Pirate
, where a woman in danger must hide the truth about her past from the sexy PI who’s
bent on protecting—and loving—her, and,
Last American Hero
, where a seductive cowboy loner learns a lesson in love;
Great American Bachelor
, Adrienne Staff and Sally Goldenbaum’s story of a small-town girl who shows a high-powered
bachelor that some things in life are more important than the perfect deal; Iris Johansen’s
mesmerizing
Winter Bride
, about a woman who risks her life to win the love she’s always dreamed of;
Imaginary Lover
, a haunting love story and
Hannah’s Lover
, a scorching hot fantasy—both from Sandra Chastain; and as a special treat, we’re
also releasing Connie Brockway’s—McClairen’s Isle trilogy featuring the restless,
daring and proud Merrick siblings as they find a love as wild and glorious as the
Highland isle they claimed as their own:
The Passionate One
,
the Reckless One
and
The Ravishing One
.