Page 112 of Forbidden Game

Parker tugs me into his arms and tangles our legs together. My head snuggles into his chest, and I close my eyes, inhaling his scent as I drift off to sleep.

Sandalwood, crisp ocean, champagne…and home.

Parker smells like home.

But it’s not just that. Everything about Parker feels like home, from the beat of his heart to his fingers on my skin. Parker has been part of my life for so long that I didn’t realize how deeply ingrained he is until this weekend.

I had an amazing time with the girls at the spa resort, pampering ourselves to the max. I never knew how calming a mud bath could be until I had one.

Parker had been right; I was running myself into the ground, and I didn’t need to.

He knew how to take care of me better than I could myself.

And, God, I missed him while I was gone. It was this little niggling feeling in my chest as I went about my day. Everything would be going great, and then I’d have these moments where I’d be thinking, “Oh, Parker would love this,” or “He would laugh at this.”

Small things.

But those small things are the most important, and I know that whatever is going on between us is a lot bigger than I’d thought.

It scares me. Especially after everything that happened today.

He is becoming more and more important to me and I just hope I don’t end up burned.

TWENTY-TWO

PARKER

The punch coming for me barely misses my chin.

I square my eyes at my opponent.

Bending my knees, I drop my lead arm into a ninety-degree angle before driving my fist up. I land the uppercut perfectly, and he goes staggering backward, his knee crashing onto the canvas to steady himself from falling completely.

I grin against my mouthguard, breathing heavily.

“All right, men. Let’s call it.” Jax taps on the ropes to get our attention.

“I can keep going.” I shrug.

“I know you can, but David here needs a breather. Why don’t you go help Sydney finish up her practice instead?”

I perk up at the thought and twist to see where she is.

Sydney lands a strong side kick to the punching bag in the far-right corner of the gym. I hop out of the ring and tug off my gloves as I head over to her. She looks sinful in her tight workout gear. The light purple leggings hug her ass in a way that has me drooling.

I come up behind her and drop a puff of cold air against her bare neck.

She squeals and wheels around, striking me in the side with a kick. My forearm comes up to block her, but she’s strong enough that I still let out a light grunt at the contact. Her doe eyes narrow when she looks up at me.

Sydney punches me lightly in the chest with her glove.

“Don’t sneak up on someone in the gym.”

“You were just too tempting.” I grin, gripping her left hip and tugging her a little closer to me.

She rolls her eyes but smiles back at me. Unable to help myself, I drop a kiss on her button nose. She’s too fucking adorable. It’s a chore to not be touching her all the time.

“All right, let’s finish up so we can head home.” I tap her hip and push her back toward the bag.

---