Page 10 of Pride
Think.
He used words as a weapon. Then so could she. She just needed to know more.Think back to what happened at the office.While she’d been under the influence of whatever that scent was, he hadn’t been. He’d been in full control of his senses, yet, for a moment, he’d kissed her back. She opened her eyes and met his gaze.
“What did you do to me?” she asked. “Back at the office… what was that smell?”
His expression deadpanned, so she deliberately let her gaze travel down from his face, lingered on his torso, and even went lower to where his knees spread. He wasn’t aroused now. But back then, call her crazy, but he was into it. Into her. And now she found herself tied to his bed.
Coincidence?
Alice had seen Parker Lazarus dismiss billionaires like they were the dirt he walked upon. He could have tortured her or locked her up in a dungeon. He probably had a whole floor of them, just like any king worth his salt.
And she wasn’t afraid. Neither was he.
They measured each other like a bull and a matador across the arena. Enemies, but inevitably and irrevocably dependent on each other. There was something going on here. She wasn’t too proud to admit it. If she used this opportunity to dig a little deeper, perhaps she’d go somewhere no other had gone before… behind Parker’s carefully crafted fake persona. Perhaps she’d discover the real man behind the legend.
“You seem to know a lot about our family,” Parker eventually said. “Why don’t you tell me what that scent was.”
“All right,” she replied. “I’ll bite. I think that was your power manifesting. I mean, it’s no coincidence I’m in your bed, is it? I’ve always suspected the partner in each of your sibling’s life had something to do with them developing a gift. Your gift is something to do with mind-controlling pheromones, am I right?”
From the way he blinked, she knew she’d hit the spot. At least somewhere close to it.
“Show me,” she said.
His eyes narrowed, yet she held his steadily. If she could get him closer again...
“Show me again. I dare you. I want to see it.”
She also wanted to know, why now? Why not two years ago when they’d first met? There was a lot she still needed to learn, especially about how she fit into all of this. Was it simply a matter of her lack of pride in that moment they touched, or was there more to it? Alice cast her mind back to see if she’d touched Parker at any other times, and couldn’t come up with a definitive example. She’d actually done her best to avoid touching him. Not only did she want clear boundaries, but the thought of being physically close with him had been too much. She wasn’t sure if she’d be able to stop touching him if they’d started.
Was she really considering this? That Alice had some kind of link to him?
“You’re making a lot of assumptions, Alice.” His fingers tightened around the arm of his chair, knuckles whitening.
“I’m in your bed, Parker. You and I both know that’s not a normal place for your enemy, yet here I am.”
“You had two years to kill us,” he accused. “Why did you wait?”
She grinned.
His gaze to slide to the doorway as though he’d heard something. He tensed, cursed softly under his breath, and then stood as he smoothed his shirt and hair. When he returned his attention to Alice, she was surprised to see exhaustion had seeped into his expression. It was another peek behind the curtain, one he’d never revealed before. He probably hadn’t slept or eaten all night. He had a habit of foregoing meals.
The man had always been too proud to let her order him lunch when she noticed he’d forgotten. It was almost as though it was a sign of weakness to him, so she’d often pretended she’d cooked too much the previous night and brought extra into the office. She’d told him he was doing her a favor if he finished it off so she wouldn’t have to waste the remains. Alice was too smart to believe their history was why he wasn’t torturing her. He had ulterior motives. It must be this partnership link.
Again she thought, why now? Why reveal so much yet hold more close to his chest? Was he going to kill her, or was he starting to trust her? A derisive snort escaped her.Unlikely.
In silence, and careful not to get too close, he checked on her wrist bindings, his touch light and sure, and then he made a small tweak to the knots. The bindings loosened slightly, easing off the pressure she’d caused with her struggles. Alice sensed she was about to be dismissed, and some part of her rebelled. She wasn’t ready for him to leave. There were more questions that needed answers.
“What are you going to do to me?” she demanded, realizing that he wasn’t letting her go.
He looked down at her. “You’re my mate, Alice. I’ll do whatever the fuck I want.”
6
Parker openedhis door to the length of the deadbolt chain. Flint and Sloan stood in the hallway. She still wore the same sloppy clothes as last night. Parker’s adoptive father wore his usual plaid shirt and jeans. The man was in his early fifties but kept himself fit, his beard trimmed, his ball cap on backward, and his mind sharp. He had to keep up with an ex-Hildegard Sisterhood Sinner, after all.
A rush of compassion for the man hit Parker squarely in the chest.
Being around Alice had made his senses shift into hyper-drive. Last night it was the pheromones. This morning he’d awoken to the sounds of sex so loud and clear he’d thought it was in the next room. The moment he realized it was in the same building as him, two floors below, he tuned out so fast he became dizzy. The last thing he needed was to hear the sexual escapades of one of his siblings.
