Page 36 of Just One Bite
“So why didn’t you hate him when you first saw him? If you felt his … dominance.”
Gavin smiles. “The first time I saw Parker was his first day at Doxlothia. We were running our pack booth. That’s something a lot of packs do to feel for new recruits. Suddenly everyone goes deadly still. I felt him close. I thought it was Aster or Barrett. My pack growled, and seconds later, Parker strolled up with this huge corn dog in his hand and said, ‘Hi, I’m Parker.’”
Gavin’s laughter is infectious. I can tell he’s told the story many times. “He had no idea my entire pack was ready to attack him if he got any closer. It was confusing at first because the energy coming off him was so … pure. So raw. Powerful. But then he explained how he didn’t have a pack, how his mom was born an alpha but his dad raised him. He was clearly lost and had no compass for Were etiquette, and he didn’t know how to feel it.”
“You have a soft spot for him.”
Gavin doesn’t look at Parker like the others do. Their interactions remind me more of me and my sisters than anything. A combination of annoyance, love, and complete acceptance.
“Parker is a good guy. He’ll accept his alpha blood. He just needs to stopgetting in his own way.”
“You said his mom is an alpha.” My attention catches on that bit. Had his mother left when he was young, so that’s why he was raised by his father?
“Was. She died when he was a child.”
“Oh.” I don’t know why I’m shocked. We have a lot of things in common. And the dead mom club isn’t reserved for me and my misery. But I didn’t think we hadthatin common.
“Shit. I’ve had too much to drink. I should not have said that. Parker doesn’t really talk about his mother, so please let him tell you when he’s ready.”
I force a smile. “I won’t say anything. Thank you for everything. Protecting my sisters won’t be an easy task.”
“You guys talking about me?” Parker strolls in. He’s undone his shirt, so the top of his chest is exposed, and his tie is hanging off his neck haphazardly.
“Just that you should listen to your Alpha more.” Gavin grins at me.
“If I did, I’d be unstoppable. Top student and model citizen even my father could love.” Parker hangs an arm over my shoulder. “Too depressing?”
“I’ll leave you two to your night.” Gavin grins at me and leaves Parker with a pat on the back.
“Olivia.” Parker’s voice is in my ear as he leads me farther into the hall. “Can I ask you something?”
“I think you’re going to ask either way, so get it over with.”
He waits until after another student passes by to lean forward, placing a hand over my head to pin me to the wall.
“Can I touch you now?” he says in a low, sultry voice.
My chest is instantly heavy. Parker’s flirting should not work on me, but his eyes sear me into submission, and I stay comfortably still with my shoulder blades to the wallpaper.
“Touch me … how?”
His lips brush my neck, and I nearly gasp.
“Like this.”
“I …” I can’t think with the heat from his body centimeters from my cheek. “Why?”
I squirm to make sure no one is watching us. He smells like the liquor we were consuming, and he had more than me.
“Is it yes if there’s a reason?”
His skin touching me burns. It’s so soft it almost hurts. It’s barely there, yet he’s moving like heknowswhere he wants his lips to go. He’s everywhere, like he’s seeping through the fabric of my clothes, and it’s almost like what I need—
He backs away, then I’m empty and hollow. There’s a loss there I don’t understand and don’t like.
“Yes,” I choke out. “Yes, if there’s a reason. A good one.”
“Oh, there’s a good reason.”
