She let out a long, frustrated breath and nodded.

Best to get away from that bed quickly before they did something really dumb.

* * *

Erik stepped out of the limo first and buttoned his coat as he smiled brightly for the cameras. He hated this part of his job, but in a way it was doable this year. It was mostly because of the person he was now helping out of the limo.

Piper.

She looked stunning in a short little dress that made her tan legs scream his name. The dress hugged her in all the right places and when she asked if she was fat, he almost let out a gut-busting laugh. She was nowhere near fat: She was beautiful. Taking his hand, she smiled up at him as the lights flashed around them. He brought her hand to his lips and kissed it softly, before tucking her arm under his. Erik’s heart was beating in triple time and it wasn’t because of all the people staring at them. It was because he was staring at her, and he swore he saw something other than innocence in those light blue eyes of hers.

The ride over to the awards was quiet. Ever since she came out of the bathroom back at the suite, he had a hard-on that wasn’t going away anytime soon. She was gorgeous and he really had no clue how he was supposed to keep his hands off someone so tempting. They were less than two weeks into this, and already he wanted to rip her clothes off? Hell, if he was being honest, he had wanted to rip those clothes off her since the beginning, but that was beside the point.

How was he supposed to make it for three more months?!

With a deep breath, Erik placed his large hand over her small one as he began to lead her down the red carpet. They stopped for pictures, posing for the many cameras while people yelled various comments and questions at them. They mainly wanted to know who she was, and of course, he answered that she was his wife. He made certain to never leave Piper’s side, even when the reporter asked for pictures of just him. He would kindly decline and they’d walk away despite the protest of the reporters.

When Koey appeared at Piper’s side, she smiled and greeted him: “Hey, Koey.”

He gave her a big smile that made Erik a tad uneasy, then said, “Hey, Piper, you look gorgeous tonight.”

Not cool.

Piper, being the sweet person she was, smiled prettily and said, “Thank you.”

Erik cleared his throat, deciding that he didn’t like the way Koey was looking at Piper, or the way she was looking at him, for that matter.

“You have an interview with Alana Richards; she is the fourth interviewer in the press line, the one with red hair,” Koey said, pointing to her. Erik saw the hot redhead Koey was referencing, who was now interviewing Shea and Elli. “You’re after them, so you need to start making your way toward her. You don’t have to stop to see anyone else, but Alana is a must. She’s with the NHL.”

Erik nodded. “No problem.”

“Thanks. Have a nice night, and let’s hope for a win.”

Koey sent them one last grin before heading off the carpet toward the auditorium. Erik took in a deep breath, and then looked down at his gorgeous wife.

“How are you holding up?”

Piper shrugged her shoulders as she smiled. Her lips were shiny and it brought his attention to her sexy mouth. It was one of his favorite things about her, and right now, it was screaming to be kissed. Looking away before he gave in to his desire, he heard her say, “Okay, but my feet hurt.”

He smiled. He hardly ever saw her in heels. She wasn’t like all the other women he used to hang around. She was different.

“Do you want to sit down?”

“No, it’s okay. I can wait.”

“All right, well I think we’re up,” he said as he escorted her toward Alana.

“Elli looks gorgeous,” Piper said, causing him to glance at his boss. Piper was right. Elli did look gorgeous in a long blue gown that had a see-through back.

“She always does.”

“That’s a really sweet thing to say,” she said, not looking at him.

“Ah, it’s the truth,” Erik said, giving her a silly grin as they stopped in front of Ms. Alana Richards.

“Erik, how are you?” Alana asked, shaking hands with him.

He nodded. “Just fine, and you?”

“Good, thank you,” she said as her eyes fell on Piper.

“Alana, this is my wife, Piper,” he said with his arm snaking around Piper’s waist.

Alana’s face brightened as she shook Piper’s hand. “I was wondering if you were, and I have to say, Mrs. Titov, you are simply stunning!”

Piper smiled. “Thank you, you are, too. I love your dress.”

“Thanks! So I see a baby bump! How far along are you?”

Erik watched as Piper smiled sweetly, placing her hands on her stomach, and said, “We are due in September.”

“Aw! How sweet! Do we know what we are having?”

And on they went. For the next ten minutes Erik’s interview was about Piper and the baby. In a way he didn’t mind; he hated answering the same questions, and it was fun to watch Piper smile and gush over baby talk. He played his part as the doting husband, the excited father, smiling and caressing her, but it was hard because the caresses were of the innocent kind. He wanted to do the naughtiest things to Piper, and rubbing her belly sweetly was not one of them. He also felt dirty, like he was leading her on because when she looked at him, he saw her heart.

It made him nervous. Was she falling for him more than she already had? He didn’t want to hurt her. Hell, it was even starting to bother him when she became angry or upset. Shit, he was starting to care about her, too. Things were changing and he had to get his feelings in check before he did something stupid like sleep with her and then fall for her.