Page 26 of Taken

Fuck.

All I wanted was to reach over and?—

“Whoa.” Parker’s words threw off my train of thought, his attention on the view in front of us. “This is…”

He didn’t finish his sentence as he moved closer to the side of the hill, looking down below. Even though I wasn’t next to him, I knew exactly what he was looking at, this trail leading to a scenic overlook of the town. There was just something about the way the sunlight fell across the tops of the buildings, the impossible heights of the trees, all of it coming together like a picturesque painting that reflected the very best the town had to offer.

It was one of my favorite spots to hike to, especially when I needed to clear my head, the view reminding me that I was just a smaller part of something so much bigger, reminding me that whatever trouble I was facing was nothing compared to the enormity of the world around me.

“You knew.” Parker smirked as he turned back toward me.

“I knew what?”

“You knew that this was up here!” He chuckled through his accusation. “You said we weren’t hiking to anywhere but you knew this was waiting for us up here.”

“True, I knew this was up here.” I playfully shrugged. “But I meant what I said about the journey being more important than the destination?—”

“Let’s take a selfie!” Parker grabbed for my hand, pulling me closer to where he was standing. He then handed me his phone, already in camera mode.

“Tallest person takes the picture,” he explained, leaning into my side, a bright smile lighting up his face. “Go for it.”

I looked at us on the phone, our reflections posed for the picture…

And those same, awful stomach knots returned in full force.

God.

We looked perfect together.

It was the kind of feeling I’d had before when seeing perfect couples walk by on the street, hand in hand, like they’d been plucked out of a movie, everything about them seeming so effortless. I’d never expected to feel that way about a picture, much less a casual selfie on the side of a hill?—

“Are you going to take the picture or not?” Parker chuckled as he nudged me on the shoulder. “Or is this one of those situations where you’re a lost cause when it comes to technology?”

“I’ve got it, I’ve got it.” I playfully rolled my eyes before I smiled at the camera, taking a few pictures before I handed Parker back his phone.

“Thank you,” Parker said, his words coming out singsong. “Do you want me to send them to you?—”

I cut off Parker’s response with a rough kiss, my hands on his waist, unable to hold myself back from him for even another second. Parker reciprocated, as always, matching my energy with rough kisses of his own, a desperation behind his every move. I pulled him back toward a nearby tree, pressing him against it, keeping him in place as I slid my tongue between his lips.

“Fuck. I want you,” I whispered near his ear, breaking off the kiss just long enough to get out the words. “You look so fucking good right now. You always look so fucking good.”

“You always look so fucking good, too,” he whispered back, his hands sliding underneath my shirt, headed up toward my chest. “Nicholas, I?—”

“Sir.”

“What?”

“That’s what I want you to call me, when we’re like this,” I replied, my fingers wrapping around Parker’s wrists, gently sliding them over his head and pressing them against the tree. “I want you to call me sir.”

“And what happens if I don’t?” Parker asked, a challenge behind his eyes.

“Good question. How about you try it and find out?” I sent the challenge right back to him.

“Maybe later… sir.” Parker backed away from the challenge, his voice low.

“Good boy,” I murmured as I kissed him again, his frame still pinned in place by mine. “Maybe you deserve a little reward for doing what you’re told?”

“What kind of reward did you have in mind—Fuck!” Parker groaned as I slid my hand into the front of his jeans, cupping him through the crotch of his boxers. I gently ran my palm across the outline of his cock, loving the way his shaft responded to my touch, twitching and growing harder by the second.

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