Page 31 of Happenstance
Parker stepped to the side and waved me in. I sauntered past, trying to ignore the way his cocky smirk made my stomach flip. After everything he did, Parker Whitley still had the power to make my knees weak. One look at his sandy-blond locks and shimmering grey eyes and my body was ready to submit. Even worse was the fact that I knew what was under his shirt and jeans. I’d seen his chiselled form. Felt the power in his broad shoulders, smelled the intoxicating blend of our sweat mingling in the air. Sometimes, when I closed my eyes, I could still hear his voice purring in my ear.
“We should talk about this privately.” Parker led me around a corner.
“What do you mean privately?”
Did he have a crowd waiting to weigh in their judgment or something? I could see Parker having his own personal jury. Who wouldn’t back the towns the golden boy?
“This way.” He waved his hand at a small flight of stairs. “Unless you want my parents and lawyer involved in this conversation?”
I snorted. Yeah, not likely. I didn’t want to be involved in this conversation, but what choice did I have?
He placed his hand on my back and urged me forward. “Does your sudden willingness to discuss an arrangement have anything to do with my brother?”
Arrangement? Nice choice of words.
“No,” I lied, as we entered a room that I could only describe as a living room/library.
There was comfortable looking beige furniture, and bookshelves lining the walls. What was it with rich people and books? Logan had rooms like this too, and I’d bet my left arm, he hadn’t read a single book on those overpriced shelves.
“Parker…” I spun around, prepared to give Parker a piece of my mind, but was cut off by the solid chest inches from my nose.
“You’re not a very good liar, Angel.”
I happened to think I was pretty good at the art of deception. Not that I lied a lot, but there’d be a lot more wooden spoons buried in my backyard if I hadn’t at least mastered it somewhat. I wasn’t under the strict house that Harper was. Nan didn’t have many rules. The ones she did set out though, she was firm on. One of which was no spending the night with boys in the house. I pretty much obliterated that one. The baby in my belly was proof of that.
“Can we just get this over with?”
“Are you that anxious to hear my stipulations?”
Goddamn him and his deep voice. The way it thrummed through my body made me forget, for just a second, how badly I didn’t want to be here. Giving myself some space, I nodded and took a step back. Space was a good thing. I couldn’t breathe when his stupid clean smell was overwhelming my senses.
“I only have one.” The corner of Parker’s mouth lifted as strode forward, closing the gap I’d made.
I used to get jealous of the girls he’d give that seductive smirk to. Now, it just reminded me of that discarded flower. I swallowed, forcing my nerves down and continued my retreat. By the time I managed to cough out the words, “What’s that?” my back bounced off a bar I hadn’t noticed until that moment.
I could hear Riley’s voice in the back of my head,‘Get your head out of your ass, Lana. Grab a fork and stab him in the nuts.’I don’t know what her obsession with forks was, but right now, I was tempted to get her a nice, shiny, well sharpened set. Better for her to stab Parker with, and probably Micha. No, definitely Micha. I wondered if he’d be mad at me for arming his girlfriend, or pissed at her for actually carrying through with her threat?
My daydream was cut off when Parker moved in and gracefully placed his hands on the bar behind me. Forgetting the bar was behind me, I tried to back up more. When that didn’t work, I darted my gaze around for somewhere else to go, but I was trapped between his solid forearms. I really needed to start listening to my inner Riley.
Parker bent forward and sucked in a deep breath. “You smell fucking great.”
I gulped back my gasp and said, “Just tell me what you want, Parker.”
“You, Lana.” His grey eyes locked on mine, blue flecks twinkling with dark desire. “I want you.”
The air grew heavy. My mouth couldn’t spit out the words I wanted to say, and my chest shook, struggling to suck in a full breath. When my lips finally parted, all that came out was a shuddered hiss. Where the hell was my inner Riley now?
We stood there for what felt like forever, in the luxury of Parker’s house. I’d never felt more out of place with him staring down at me, while I attempted to ignore the intense sparks wisping through the air. The steady rise and fall of his chest rang out. Deep, echoing breaths, that enhanced the blood pulsing in my ears. My fingers twitched, palm aching to reach out and feel the power behind his firm muscles once more. Thankfully, my voice came back before that happened.
“I agreed to your easy way,” I pointed out, though right now, it seemed more like a quicker way to damn myself than a temporary solution. “Isn’t that enough?”
“No.”
I was barely hanging on, and didn’t have anything left to give. “What more do you want from me, Parker?”
“I want it all, Angel.” He caressed me with his eyes, slowly dipping his gaze down. Over the swell of my breasts, along the curves of my hip, and back up. “In my bed, sleeping in my arms, bouncing off my cock.”
Without laying so much as a finger on me, Parker made my entire body shiver. One look, and every fiber of my being wanted to purr and stretch against him, like a cat in heat. When his arm lifted and he splayed his palm across my belly, I jumped. I don’t know if it was instinct, fear, or something else, but whatever it was held power over me. Parker Whitley was a fantasy I never should’ve indulged in. The kryptonite to my Superman, and sooner or later, he’d weaken me.
