“Audrey Rose, I believe we survived the first night.”

“Now we just have to do it like four more times,” I joked.

Parker chuckled. “With you, that’ll be easy.” He rubbed his nose against mine. “Best partner I could have asked for.”

“How’d you get so good at this?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

He smirked, curling his hands around my waist and pulling me closer. “I stopped acting.”

“What?” I gaped. “That doesn’t make any sense. You’resupposedto be acting.”

Parker shrugged. “Don’t need to. Turns out I’m pretty good at this boyfriend thing without even trying.”

I took a step back, fisting my hands in my dress. “But I’m… I’m just your fake girlfriend, right?”

“Rosie.” His voice was tight.

I shook my head, looking at the floor. “It’s my fault. I knew what this was going into it, and I shouldn’t have gotten my?—”

He kissed me to shut me up, and my eyes widened.

“Rosie Girl.” Parker’s fingers brushed my chin, forcing me to look up into his. “Will you stop freaking out and listen to me?”

Worrying my bottom lip into my mouth, I nodded.

There was no one else around, and Parker kept his hold of my chin, those gold-flecked eyes staring into mine.

“When we agreed to do this, to fake date, we set a deadline. Yeah? That we’d do it until the end of the musical so Duke would leave you alone.” I nodded, still not saying anything, because my heart was in my throat. “But he hasn’t been here in over a month, baby, and here we are. Still dating.”

“Yeah.” I bit my lip. “But?—”

“Audrey.” Parker silenced me with thetskof his tongue. “We’re together.” He dropped his head, burying his nose in my hair and inhaling. Just like he did every night when we shared his bed. “I hate being apart from you, and we’ve spent almost every single night together lately, and I—” His words were a balm to my anxious heart. I’d needed to hear them, and now that I had, well…

“Parker,” I responded. “Shut up and kiss me.”

He scooped me up into his arms, complying with my request. His hands dug into my hips, and I curled mine over his shoulders, standing on my tiptoes despite my heels that added a good two or three inches, and I moaned as his mouth covered mine hungrily, his tongue tracing my lips, sending shivers of desire racing through me.

I let out a small moan as he crushed me against him, and then?—

Someone turned the lights out.

A giggle burst free from me. “We should probably go.”

“Yeah,” he rasped. “Let’s get out of here.”

Thankfully,the dressing room was empty when we got back to it, and Parker carried us both inside, flipping the lock behind us before his mouth slammed back onto mine.

He pressed me up against the door, his lips delving to find mine, kissing me thoroughly. Passionately.Hard.It was a claiming kiss. The straps of my dress fell off my shoulders, and Parker’s knee was between mine.

“Parker,” I moaned against his mouth, rocking against his leg to get some sort of relief.

When he pulled away, I nibbled on his lower lip.

“Fuck,” he groaned, pulling my lips back to his and brushing his tongue over mine, again and again, until I was a panting, writhing mess. “I just can’t hold myself back with you.”

I ran my lips down his neck. “So don’t. You don’t have to hold yourself back. You can have me.”

Parker’s eyes were dark with need, and I wanted him to lose control. To take what he wanted—because what I wanted washim.