Wicked Nights

The brief pause on the other end lasted a year. Possibly three. Piper wasn’t entirely sure, but time slowed down in a very Matrix-like way.

Del exhaled roughly. “Two weeks. I won’t accept any offers for two weeks. If your offer isn’t in my hands, it’s game over.”

“Got it.”

She had her time. Now all she had to do was deliver. She was used to crunch situations and performing under pressure. Just pretend you’re climbing the dive tower, mere points out of the lead. One perfect dive. That was all it would take.

5

PIPER RODE HER Harley down to the Pleasure Pier. A little sugar, a little fun. That was what she needed after her unwelcome call with Del had torpedoed her afternoon, and the Pleasure Pier was perfect.

Built more than a hundred years ago by one of Cal’s enterprising island ancestors, a man who’d decided to combine beer sales with fish sales (pure genius, in Piper’s opinion), the pier stretched out into the bay, living up to its name. The piles were painted the green of Doublemint gum and winked with white lights. The place stayed true to its roots, selling fishing licenses and fresh fish. The occasional angler parked on the edge, trying his luck in the water below before hauling the catch over to the weighing stations and a dusty wall of old photos of oversized, prizewinning marlin and swordfish, and successful fishermen. For the less fish-inclined, the pier sold saltwater taffy, ice cream and churros. An old-fashioned lemon-yellow swing ride lit up the far end by the beer kiosk.

A beer and candy sounded perfect, followed by a half-dozen, gut-churning rides on the swings. She wanted to fly through the air, leaving the day’s problems behind her. Ten minutes later, she traded in five bucks she should have been saving and acquired a fistful of paper tickets and a bonus bag of taffy. She’d passed on the beer, after all—she had the Harley, and some chances she wouldn’t take.

The swings slowed, riders stumbling away, laughing. Kids shrieked while their parents snapped photos, creating a scene that was loudly happy and all chaos. Perfect.

“Hey, Lenny.” She greeted the ticket taker, offering him the bag of taffy. Lenny had worked on the pier for as long as she could remember. Like the ride itself, he looked a little older each year.

“Haven’t seen you in a while.” Lenny poked through the bag, looking for the red-and-white taffy, like he always did. “Got your favorite swing all ready for you.”

“Perfect.” She laughed. Her feet flew to the bright red double swing she always rode. Deliciously garish, with over-the-top gold trim covering every edge, and faux rubies hot-glued to the sides, her swing winked at her just as enticingly now as it had twenty years ago. It also had the most lift of all the swings on the ride, or so she and her brothers had concluded after a summer of experimenting. She’d ridden it ever since.

She settled in, waiting for the ride to fill up. The sky was dark now, with plenty of stars peeking through the clouds. She’d always meant to buy one of those charts and learn their names. She tracked one glowing blob and debated if the slowly moving light was a comet or a shooting star. Her knowledge of astronomy was sadly lacking. She’d seen a shooting star once, a bright flare and a quick descent. The flash of red was her first clue that celestial milestones weren’t in her future tonight. Her “star” was a plane. Nope. She’d better not count on a career as an astronomer.

And...darn it. Despite her careful planning to not think about Cal or the bet she had impulsively proposed to him, Mr. Tall, Dark and Glum himself stood there on the pier, dogging her from the shadows. The Pleasure Pier wasn’t his kind of scene. She had a hard time imagining him fisting a bag of taffy and riding the swings until he was deliciously seasick. Cal was too responsible, too...something else. On the other hand, if she accidentally fell over the pier because she was too dizzy, he’d be the first one in to save her.

He watched from a distance, giving the impression there was an invisible space bubble or do-not-cross police tape surrounding him. The pier’s usual evening crowd flowed around him obediently. He’d changed out of his suit, looking more familiar in his usual faded blue jeans, T-shirt and work boots. His long, lean legs were stretched out slightly in front of him as he leaned against the pier’s railing, the ocean at his back. And, God, his eyes...she liked his watchful, heated gaze far too much for comfort. She had no idea why he was here, but as long as he stared, she was staring back.

So screw it.

Flip him the bird or crook her finger? Oh, the choices... Grinning, she flipped him the bird. He tipped his head in silent acknowledgment and then slipped away into the shadows.

She pushed down the strange pang of disappointment. She might not like Cal, but baiting him was almost as much fun as eating taffy and riding the swings. He had better things to do than stand there and watch her. Of course.

She’d been kissing distance from him that night at Big Petey’s, and the closeness had made an impression. That was all these residual feelings were. Because kissing Cal—or doing anything else with the man—would be a recipe for disaster. His hot body came with an arrogant, take-charge attitude she didn’t need in her life. She’d win their bet and thumb her nose at him. So what if she’d imagined the man doing a Chippendales routine at her own personal direction? Just because he’d have to take orders from her didn’t mean she had to give him any orders. She certainly hadn’t planned on actually getting into bed with him.

Lenny bellowed for last-takers, and she tightened her fingers on the chains connecting her swing to the ride. The anticipation of waiting to start was almost as good as the ride itself. As the music swirled and blared, the swing dipped and swayed as someone else sat down beside her. Nope. No way. She always rode alone.

She turned her head—although how she was going to protest sharing a public ride with single seats for solo riders, she didn’t know—and Cal settled onto the seat beside her. She couldn’t remember the last time Cal had ridden the swings. Or the first time, for that matter.

“I could be saving that seat,” she pointed out through a mouthful of candy.

He raised a brow. She hated when he did that. The gesture always, always preceded his busting her. Sure enough...

“For whom?”

He reached out a thumb and rubbed at the sticky corner of her mouth. Oops. She was wearing her guilty pleasure on her face. At least he hadn’t licked his finger first. Ignoring the rasp of his callused skin against hers, she pulled away from his touch. He was also far too literal. “I didn’t say I was.”

“Just that you could be,” he agreed. “Which you’re not. So fair game.”

“Since when do you ride the swings?”

“Maybe I’m trying something different.” His eyes met hers in silent challenge, and she wondered if her comment about his predictability had stung the other night.

Lenny was making final rounds, collecting tickets and checking the safety harnesses. If tonight were her lucky night, Cal wouldn’t have one. Of course, since he was never impulsive, he undoubtedly did.

Lenny paused.

Cal handed over his ticket.

So not her night.

A minute later the ride started, the familiar music drowning out the chatter of the pier’s crowds. The lights flashed a riff of rainbow shades, and Discovery Island melted into a colorful blur as they rose up off the ground. She loved this. The sensation was almost as good as platform diving had been. She could—again, almost—pretend she was flying.

Cal ruined it by opening his mouth.

“Good job today,” he said. Instead of looking out at the island, he was staring at her again. Cal was always annoyingly fair.

“You, too,” she admitted grudgingly. Because it was true, darn it. He had done a good job and it worried her. She really, really needed the contract, and Cal might be the person who stopped her from getting it.

The ride whirled up, gravity and centrifugal force working their magic as the swings swung out in a wide arc. She’d sat on the inside because she really hadn’t expected company, and he outweighed her. He braced himself as the ride turned, but his thigh pressed against hers. The world spun out of focus, and she couldn’t hold back the laughter anymore. Cal’s weight changed the swing’s pitch but not in a bad way. On the next turn, which came faster and higher, he slid into her—the man had no choice—and she leaned forward.

“There’s Deep Dive.” She leaned forward and pointed to his shop.

* * *

PIPER LIVED ON the edge.

Literally.

Cal wrapped a hand around the back of her neck and gently tugged until she wasn’t quite so close to the edge of the seat. The ride had a safety harness, a set of thin chains, which struck Cal as more ornamental than functional. The ride’s designers had clearly bet on gravity keeping riders in their places. Equally obvious, they’d never planned on Piper. She’d once debated the feasibility of jumping from the ride, when it swung out over the ocean at its highest point, and hitting the water.

He’d never know for certain whether she’d have gone through with the plan or not, but he’d watched her like a hawk for the rest of the summer until she’d gone back to the mainland with her family. She’d accused him of being an old grandfather. He’d countered that she’d had a death wish.

Her legs extended in front of her as their swing whirled into the next turn, and she threw her arms over her head, shrieking happily. Her right knee didn’t quite straighten all the way, the ridge of scar tissue there a visible reminder that some things in life hadn’t worked out for Piper. On the other hand, while the accident had put an end to her diving career, she didn’t seem to be in mourning.

Instead, she’d moved on.

Or moved back. Cal wasn’t sure which. All he knew was that he was off balance in more ways than one, which was pretty much what always happened when he was around Piper.

They needed to let go of this ridiculous bet. It was a stupid idea and unprofessional. He had no idea why he’d agreed to it in the first place, except that when he was around Piper, things seemed to happen. That was part of the problem.

At least he had a captive audience. She couldn’t run away from him now. “About our bet—”

“You can’t renege,” she said. “Look, you can see my boat.”

“Piper—”

“That’s my name.” She slid a sideways glance at him he couldn’t read. Too bad Piper didn’t come with an instruction manual. Or an off switch.

“We can’t do the bet,” he said firmly. He knew what happened when he gave Piper so much as an inch.

“You agreed,” she countered, every bit as stubborn as he remembered. The years hadn’t softened her up any. Or taught her to be reasonable.

He braced as the ride spun higher and the swings arced out into the air. Squashing Piper hadn’t been part of his plan. “Cut me some slack.”

“Nope,” she said. “No way. You were my childhood nemesis. You never went easy on me once.”

Her body curved into the turn, and she threw her arms up again with another whoop, taking at least a year off his life as her butt lifted off the seat. He anchored her with an arm around her waist, feeling the warmth of her beneath the thin cotton top. She looked sweet and sexy, both of which were misleading. He had no idea what game Piper was playing with him, but she’d never shown the slightest awareness of him as a man. Or sweetness. Stubborn, fierce, competitive—Piper was all of those. Sweet, however, was not part of her vocabulary.

He didn’t even like sweet.

He tucked her bag of candy into his pocket before it flew away. See? Nothing but trouble.

“We’ll renegotiate,” he stated firmly.

“Cheater,” she said, a small smile curling her lips, and the delight in her voice matched the grin on her face. “You’re a cheater, Cal Brennan.”

He had no idea what she was talking about. Up, down, sideways. He never knew where he stood with Piper, other than on her shit list. He seemed to have a permanent place there. But that was Piper. She was confusing, annoying and definitely...sexy? It had to be a residual from seeing her bare breasts the other day.

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