Page 42 of House of Desire

“That’s not what I said. I’m sorry, you just took me off guard. It’s nice to be missed,” I tell him. And it’s true. It is nice to be missed. Maybe I just hadn’t realized how much he’s enjoyed our time together.

“Tell me something. Anything. I want to keep talking to you.” He pulls me down onto the couch, making sure our knees touch as he rests his arm across the back, looking at me. Cameras move around us, but I ignore them, trying to focus on Parker.

“Zoey is trying to teach me how to play pool because she wants us to go to bars and hustle people.”

He chuckles, tucking his hair behind his ear.

“Why does that not surprise me? Just be careful. Some people get real upset when they get hustled.”

“You can be our bodyguard.”

“I would be honored,” he says, putting his giant hand over his heart.

His thick, wavy hair falls forward and temporarily obscures half of his face. Without my input, my hand reaches up and tucks it back for him, but instead of immediately letting go, I linger.

I’ve thought about having my hands in his hair many times. I never had a thing for guys with long hair before, but with Parker? It works. I couldn’t imagine him with short hair. It’s softer than it looks. Silky, almost. His green eyes search my face as I continue to stroke the strands in my hand.

“I love your hair.”

“You can touch it whenever you want.”

“You might come to regret telling me that,” I sigh.

“I don’t think I will.”

Reluctantly, I pull my hand back. “Are you nervous about tonight? I don’t think I could send people home week after week. I don’t like hurting people’s feelings.”

“No, I know exactly what I want to do. Who I want to keep around. It’s not as hard as you’d think. The hard part is keeping people around when you don’t see a future with them because the show needs to have contestants.”

“If you could have it your way, how many of us would you have left at this point?”

“Two.”

There’s no question in his voice.

“Wow, that’s very definitive.” Even though I’m pretty sure I’m one of the two, a small, annoying piece of me is jealous the answer isn’t one. And that I’m not the one.

“I believe there are people in this world you click with and you just know there’s something there, no matter how much time you spend with them.”

“And you’ve felt that with two of us?” I ask, my heart beating as I let myself finally consider he could be as attracted to me as I am to him.

“No, I’ve felt that with one of you. The other one, there’s a curiosity there, but it’s not as strong.”

“I still don’t think I want to be in your position.”

Tenderness softens his face. His fingertips drag up my thigh, leaving flames in their wake. “I would do it all over again, I think.”

My eyes fall to his lips. His plump, soft looking lips. I can’t wait any longer. I start to lean toward him, but the sound of the glass door sliding open stops me.

“Fucking hell,” I say, dropping my head. Heels click against the stone behind me.

His fingers settle under my chin, raising my face to look at him.

“I’ll see you back in there, yeah?” he asks.

“I’ll be there.”

He kisses my cheek before I stand, ceding my seat to Leslie standing behind me.

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