Page 13 of Just This Once

Shaking my head sadly, I hurried into gear and gripped the handle of the cart, but as soon as I gave it a good push, I realized, crap, this was going to be more work than I’d anticipated.

I refused to call Parker back for help, though. Iwoulddo this on my own.

By the timewe’d reached the exit, my legs were shaking and my arms were screaming in misery while sweat poured liberally down my back.

From there, it felt as if he’d parked a mile out. Black spots dotted my vision, and I had to be half a breath away from passing out cold when he finally slowed to a stop, announcing, “This is me.”

Taking in the electric luxury sedan he paused in front of as he produced a key fob from his pocket, I pulled up short andimmediately started to shake my head. Then he pressed a button and the trunk began to open.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I claimed, knowing there was no way all my luggage would go in there.

“Yeah. Good luck with that.”

He glanced over to smirk, only for the leer to die on his lips.

“Shit, Langston,” he exploded, actually stepping toward me with worry lacing his features as he yanked control of the cart from my slippery, sweaty hands, even though we’d already reached our destination. “Ohio weather clearly didn’t acclimate you to the Texas heat.”

I knew my face had to be a bright red after my exertions, and sweat was…everywhere. But damn, he definitely didn’t mince words, did he?

“Screw you,” I panted, still trying to catch my breath before I jerked the first bag off the cart, determined to show him how capable I was.

But Parker ripped the bag from my grip, saying, “I’ve got this. Just get into the AC and cool off.”

I didn’t have the energy to lift another thing, but I tugged the bag right back out of his clutches and glared, operating on pure willpower alone. “I can do it myself,” I ground out. “Why don’tyougo cool off, princess?”

And hoping to use the power of momentum, I swung the bag around, willing it to land neatly in the trunk. Where it belonged. Except I accidentally rammed it into the back of the car instead.

“Jesus,” Parker cried. “Take out my taillight, why don’t you?”

“It’s fine,” I snapped, refusing to look at him so he wouldn’t see the chagrined cringe on my face. Because shit, that hadnotbeen what was supposed to happen.

Finally getting the first piece of luggage into the trunk, I reached for the second, only to grunt under the weight of it. I tried to use both hands, but I still rammed the wheels against thelining of the trunk before losing my grip on the whole thing and watching it tumble clumsily inside.

“Fucking hell. Will you just stop already?” Parker exploded, hovering directly behind me. “You’re going to break something.”

“Oh my God!” I growled. “If your pricey little Lucid Air can’t handlethis, then it’s a piece of—” I spun around to face off with him, only to forget whatever I’d been about to say.

Because Lord have mercy; he was just so stunningly handsome.

Plus, he was, like,rightthere, all up in my space.

Still crowding behind me so he could check his precious car for damage, he was only inches away. And his mouth was the first thing I saw.

For the next good bit, that mouth wasallI saw.

It was a thing of beauty, though. How could Inotlook at it?

His lips might be too pretty for such a stark, masculine face, but he had this light growth of hair circling them in the same dirty, grungy, sandy brown color as was on his head that helped harden them into a living masterpiece that made my stomach tighten with immediate desire.

My breasts went heavy, and I swallowed thickly, trying to tamp down the arousal flooding my system because I knew he could tell I was attracted.

I’d broken my sentence off too abruptly, sucked in a breath too sharply, and stared with way too much captivation to hide it.

He jerked back in surprise and he blinked at me, clearly startled by the sudden awareness arcing between us. Lips parting, he scanned my face as if absolutely boggled by the realization that I was no longer that ten-year-old girl he’d bitched out in grief group a decade before. I was a grown-ass woman now, with a grown-ass body, a body he could have sex with.

When he didn’t immediately respond, just returned the stare, I held my breath, wondering if he’d act on it.

I mean, it was Parker. Even if hedidmake a move, I couldn’t reciprocate. He was way too much of a jerk, and from what Alec said, he was pretty shitty to the women he did get involved with—the scores and scores of women he got involved with and then just dropped flat whenever he grew bored and was done with them.

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