Page 20 of Troubled Water
“Or a paperweight,” he suggests, his grin widening. “Maybe I’ll give it to you as a souvenir of the night.”
I roll my eyes but can’t help laughing again. I never imagined being with him could be this easy. He has this way of getting past my defenses.
An hour later, we are sitting at his dining table, pizza box open between us, laughing about how the night has gone. He pours me another glass of wine. The candlelight flickers on the table, giving the moment a kind of intimate warmth that surprises me.
“So,” I say, taking a sip of wine and setting the glass down. “What’s next on the list of grand romantic gestures?”
He facepalms his forehead. “Shit.”
I immediately tense. “What?”
“I forgot the fucking flowers.”
Immediately, I reassure him. “I don’t need flowers.”
He leaps to his feet. “They’re in the fridge. Just stay right there.”
I close my eyes in anticipation. Even as I hear him rustling around in his fridge, I think of the discussions interspersed with comfortable silence, the kind of silence where I didn’t feel the need to fill it with words. This whole evening has been perfect. Just being here with him, sharing pizza and wine in a way that felt surprisingly... normal.
In a way maybe this won’t let me down the way my father did.
I frown.Now, where did that thought come from?
“Sorry. It took me a minute to move…B? Is everything okay?” Parker’s voice is anxious.
My eyes pop open. That’s when I see the “flowers” Parker bought for me. Right before I burst into gales of laughter.
In Parker’s arms are twelve long-stemmed chocolate roses.
Sheepishly, he admits, “I tried to order roses though Peapod, but they substituted these. I was so worried about the food I forgot to change the flowers to something real.”
I lean forward and pull his face toward mine. I’m still grinning as our lips touch in a kiss. It’s a good thing the flowers are chocolate because the most romantic part of the evening is when he drops all twelve Dove chocolate roses to sweep me out of the chair as he strides down the hall toward his bedroom.
17
ELEVEN YEARS AGO—AGE 23
In the shadows of his bedroom, Parker deposits me by the side of his bed. There’s no time for nerves because one hand cups the side of my neck, pulling me up so his lips cover mine.
This isn’t a tentative kiss. This isn’t gentle. This is a show of dominant hunger. Even as he takes from my lips, I find myself giving more and more. Each connection of our lips drives the lust and hunger between us skyrocketing higher.
His other hand cups my hip before slowly making his way upward beneath my top, resting just beneath my rib cage. In answer to his unasked question, I move my arms from wherethey’ve been holding on to him like a life raft and lift them. Thenswoosh, my top is pulled up and over my head.
I’m not quite certain where he’s flung it, nor do I care because between one inhale and the next, his hand is cupping my lace-covered breast—calloused fingers twisting and pinching my pebbled nipple. I moan into the base of his neck.
We’ve shared kisses, hell, we’ve made out over the months of dating, but until tonight, I’ve never thrown caution to the wind and just wanted. Just absorbed without restraint. Accepted there would be no turning back from what Parker makes me feel.
He lifts his head and in his silver eyes, recognition of what I’m agreeing to flares.
By the end of tonight, Parker and I will be one.
Our next kiss rockets through me, his tongue stroking in and out of my mouth. He’s daring me to chase after him the same way I’ve kept him on his toes since the day we reconnected. I accept the challenge, nipping his lower lip.
One of his hands slips away from my breast and I release a frustrated moan. That is until his hand slides down my back, into the gap of my jeans, and clasps my bare ass.
Sensations flood my system—heat from where his skin meets mine, chills where the air touches my bareness. I want Parker to speed up even as I need him to slow down. I want to feel this way forever.
Frantically, I arch back and catch sight of the expression on Parker’s face. His high cheekbones are flagged with a deep red, his lips are swollen from where I took the nip. Suddenly, I’m as frantic to get to his broad chest as he was to get to mine. Reaching up, I go for his collar. Holding his eyes, I grip the neck and pull with all my might.
