She should, but she knew if she did, there was a good chance they’d get distracted and she’d be even later than she already was. Piper cradled her lingerie against her chest and shook her head.
She stepped into the modern, luxurious bathroom and quickly cleaned up. She pulled on her lingerie, ran her fingers through her curls and touched her puffy lips. Yeah, the fact she’d had sex—fantastic, mind-blowing sex—was written all over her face. On the plus side, she had taken nearly a week to fall into Jaeger’s bed and arms instead of thirty-six hours. In a century or so, she might be able to resist him altogether.
Piper splashed some water on her face in an attempt to take her color down, and when the water didn’t help, she stuck out her tongue at her reflection. When she stepped back into the bedroom, Jaeger was shoving his feet into a pair of scuffed sneakers. Her skirt and shirt lay on the rumpled bedding, and Piper murmured a quick thank-you to him for retrieving the garments for her.
Jaeger seemed lost in thought, and his silence made Piper uncomfortable. But really, what was there to say? “Thanks, that was great. I’ve got to get home to your son?”
Earlier she’d thought that keeping Ty a secret was the right thing to do, but now...she’d somehow crossed a line she hadn’t intended to cross. She felt downright guilty. Maybe Jaeger had a right to know he was a father...
But she had the right—no, the duty—to protect Ty from anyone or anything that would harm him, physically and emotionally. Even his own father.
Having a father who didn’t want him would hurt Ty, just as it had hurt her as a girl, and she wasn’t going to let that happen.
But if she continued sleeping with Jaeger and she kept the truth from him, the guilt would devour her. And now that they’d become intimate again, how would he react if he ever found out about Ty? Would he be hurt, livid, disinterested?
God, she didn’t know. Piper recalled Fuseli’s eighteenth-century painting and sympathized with Odysseus facing the sea monsters Scylla and Charybdis. Like the Greek god, both options sucked, but which choice would hurt the least?
Piper quickly dressed and finally felt a little more like herself, a lot more in control. As they walked into his living area, her eyes were again drawn to the horse sculpture. She walked over to it, her hands running over the smooth metal shaping the horse’s rump. “Oh my God, he’s fantastic.”
“Yeah, I like him. My siblings bought him for me for my birthday,” Jaeger said, picking up his phone and keys from the wide, shallow pottery bowl on the granite island separating the kitchen from the living area.
“Lucky you,” Piper murmured, envious.
“Latimore’s new exhibition is opening tomorrow night,” Jaeger said, walking to the door and picking up her coat.
Piper got her laptop bag and sent the metal horse a final look. “I know. I plan to go in a couple of weeks.”
“I’ve been invited to the opening. Do you want to go?” Jaeger opened the coat for her, and Piper slid her arms into the sleeves. Jaeger lifted her hair over her collar as she turned to face him, his eyes amused.
“Yes, I’d like to go! Are you kidding me? That would be awesome...” Piper mentally flipped through her schedule and scrunched up her face, disappointed. “I can’t. Ceri has plans and Rainn has to study. I have no one to look after Ty.”
And really, by accepting Jaeger’s offer, was she not adding another layer of complication to the crazy? She and Jaeger weren’t dating!
But it was Latimore, her inner art tart replied. Latimore!
Jaeger pulled her laptop bag off her shoulder and opened his front door, standing back to let her pass. When he stepped into the private elevator after her, she sighed heavily. “Damn, I would love to go with you. Latimore is always innovative and controversial.”
“Oh, I’m not going.”
Piper raised her eyebrows. If he wasn’t going, then why did he invite her? Before she could ask for an explanation, he spoke again. “Linc strong-armed me into babysitting my four-year-old nephew, Shaw, for the evening. My brothers are going to see the Knicks game without me, the bastards.”
“You have tickets to that, too?”