Page 36 of Protected

Chapter Fifteen

Chelsey slowly opened her eyes, and there were several things she noticed at once. One: there was a delicious ache throughout her body from how thoroughly her man had loved on her. Two: She was in bed alone and the house was quiet.

Turning onto her back, she stared up at the ceiling as memories of lovemaking with Parker flooded her mind. A little tenderness in a certain region definitely wasn’t a bad thing. Flashes of the last couple of hours with Parker had her grinning like an idiot. Unable to get enough of each other, they’d gone at it a little harder than usual. There wasn’t an inch on her body that his hands and mouth hadn’t been on, and Chelsey had loved every minute. Parker had always been a thorough lover, and that hadn’t changed.

Even though sex had distracted her for a while, their conversation from earlier in the day was still on her mind. Parker had been through more before he was eighteen than she’d been through in all her life. How he’d managed to become the man she knew, the man she had fallen in love with, was a miracle.

Her heart squeezed at knowing what could’ve happened if Mason hadn’t stopped to help him. Had she been Mason, jogging on the beach in the middle of the morning, she wasn’t sure what she would’ve done had she come across a man who was barely alive. Then again, she probably would’ve called 911 without a second thought. Thankfully Mason had been in the right place at the right time. Otherwise, Parker might’ve died.

Nope. Nope. Nope. Don’t go there.

She needed to focus on the fact that he was alive. It didn’t matter that his heartless father had tried to kill him. Wolf hadn’t succeeded, and Chelsey was grateful for that. Now her only concern regarding Wolf was that Parker was planning on revenge. This time, he was confident he wouldn’t fail, and she believed him, especially knowing that she and Atlanta’s Finest would have his back.

But if she were honest, she wished he would forget Wolf and continue living his life. Because if things went sideways, the way they had when Parker was a teen, she didn’t want to think about what could happen. If Wolf was as ruthless as Parker led her to believe, he wouldn’t go down without a fight.

What if he succeeded in killing Parker this time?

“Stop it. I’m not going to think like that,” she murmured, then decided to just stop thinking period.

Still not hearing any movement in the house, Chelsey sat up, pulling the sheet up over her bare breasts in the process. Glancing around the room, she looked for any signs that Parker hadn’t left. The bathroom door was slightly ajar, but the room was dark. Then her gaze moved to the upholstered chair in the corner, and she spotted his shirt, as well as his shoes beneath the chair.

Good. He was still there.

Relief flooded through her despite knowing he wouldn’t have left without letting her know.

Yawning, Chelsey started to lay back down, but instead grabbed her cell phone from the side table to check the time. That’s when she saw Terrance had texted her, and she had missed two calls.

She opened the text and read.

Terrance: I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have lied. Let’s talk so I can tell you the truth.

Chelsey snorted and deleted the message. She also deleted the voicemails that he’d left. What made him think she’d ever talk to him again? Especially when she wouldn’t believe anything he’d say.

Not only did she delete his messages, she also blocked his telephone number—something she should’ve done the other night. Terrance had called several times since then, and in the one message she actually listened to, he had sounded like he was sorry. It didn’t matter, though. What was done was done, and now she was back with Parker. There was no room in her life for Terrance or any other man.

Chelsey turned onto her side and winced at how tender she was between her thighs. Heck, she had used muscles she hadn’t used in months, but she wasn’t complaining. That man of hers was incredible, and they had definitely made up for lost time. Chelsey had lost count of the number of orgasms she’d had, and if he was still in bed, there was no doubt they’d get in another round.

Sighing in contentment, she was cautiously optimistic even though she wondered where they’d go from here. Now that she and Parker were back together, they had a few things to discuss. Like if they were ready to go public with their relationship. She hadn’t wanted to tell anyone before because her dating track record was horrible. She had introduced a couple of her exes to her family, only to later tell them that it didn’t work out. Withher and Parker knowing many of the same people, she hadn’t wanted that to happen with him.

He had also been hesitant because of Kenton. Apparently, there was a guy code about a friend dating your little sister. Parker insisted her brother wasn’t going to take it well. Mainly because he didn’t think Parker was the settling-down type since he never brought a girlfriend around them. He’d had hookups, but never dated seriously. Until her.

Knowing that, along with Kenton being ridiculously protective, her brother probably would have something to say about her and Parker being together.

Chelsey jerked her head up and listened. For the first time since waking up, she heard bumping around downstairs. That’s when she also noticed the smell of food. As if on cue, her stomach growled. The enticing aroma of barbecued meat, garlic, onions and a host of other smells had her sitting upright.

She hurried out of bed, made quick work of relieving herself in the bathroom, and finger combing her hair before slipping into a pair of lounging pajamas. When she made it downstairs and into the kitchen, Chelsey pulled up short.

Her gaze assessed the space that wasn’t very big, and she couldn’t believe the amount of food that lay on every flat surface. There were too many carryout containers to count, and she saw that some were from her favorite restaurants.

Parker glanced up from the barbecue ribs he was eating and smiled. “Hey, baby. You’re awake.”

Chelsey moved further into the room, stopping at the counter that held an apple pie and a cheesecake.

“What in the world have you done?”

“I was hungry,” Parker said as if that explained everything.

“Are you expecting an army battalion? Because there’s easily enough food here to feed one, if not two.”

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