Page 57 of Parker

“No joke, sweetheart. I go out when my brand requires it, but that’s it. Think about it.” His entrancing gaze bore into hers, his deep voice soft and without a trace of anger or frustration. “How could I have spent so many nights playing games and talking with you if I was always out at parties, or restaurants, or clubs like those rags claim? How could we have happened if I’d been home with another woman?”

“We’ve…happened?” Quinn’s heart slammed against her ribs.

“You know what I mean.” A tiny smirk. “I’m not the man portrayed on the news. Yes, my company is important to me, but it’s not everything. And sure, the money comes in handy at times, but it’s true what they say.”

“Which is?”

Solemn eyes stared back into hers. “It’s really fucking lonely at the top.”

“I’m sorry.” She really was. “I had no idea.”

“Most people don’t,” he scoffed. “Let me put it like this. You’ve had people judge you for your upbringing, yes? Back in your old hacker days?”

Quinn nodded but remained quiet.

“Well, I’ve spent my entire life around people who only want to use me for my money and fame. And contrary to what the world thinks, I didn’t design that first game in hopes of becoming a billionaire. There wasn’t some grand plan designed with private jets and mansions on the beach in mind.”

“Yet here you are.”

“Yeah, but only by pure dumb luck.” Parker chuckled. “I was nineteen and in college. Wasn’t into the whole fraternity scene, and I had no interest in joining all the cool clubs they had to offer.”

“Let me guess. Because you’re a homebody?”

“Now you’re getting it.” He graced her with another real smile that made her heart skip. “Anyway, at night…while my roommate was chugging from kegs and tossing his cookies…I would sit in our dorm, enjoying the peace and quiet and playing the latest and best video game available. Eventually I got bored with the ones that were on the market, so I started using my nights to research and code.” Another shrug. “I took the best parts of all the games out there and combined them to make one totally kickass game. I didn’t copy those others, of course. Just used them as inspiration. But I did it for myself, Quinn. Not for this.” He motioned around them.

“So how’dthishappen?

“My roommate’s girlfriend broke up with him.” When she arched a questioning brow, Parker offered a better, more thorough explanation. “Shawn, my roommate at MIT, had just been dumped and was too depressed to go out. I got sick of him moping around, so I tossed him a controller and told him how to play. Turns out, Shawn’s uncle was this bigwig with one of the top gaming producers, and when Shawn told him about my design, his uncle asked to meet with me.”

“And the rest is history.”

“Pretty much.” But his expression turned serious. “I meant what I said, Quinn. I’m no more like the guy you see trending online than you’re like the women who use my name to climb the social ladder. I think that’s why we clicked so easily with that first conversation.” He paused before asking, “Do you remember that very first night you and I played together? I made a questionable kill, and you called me out on it.”

“I remember.”

“That was the moment I knew.”

Another kick of her heart. “Knew what?”

“That you were real.” Parker’s hot breath feathered against her forehead as he spoke. “I’m so fucking sick of fake smiles and pretend friends. I can’t stand being in a room full of elbow-rubbers and parasitic users. And I don’t think… No, Iknow.” He hesitated, swallowing hard before continuing, “I don’t want that to be my life anymore, Quinn.”

“So whatdoyou want?” Quinn’s question was barely a whisper.

She held her breath and waited for Parker’s answer.

The breath-stealing man’s piercing stare interlocked with hers as he closed the final distance between them. With the tips of his shoes nearly touching her perfectly manicured toes, his next words brought down a giant chunk of her already crumbling walls.

“I want someone who wants me for who I am, not what I have. Someone who cares more about me than my bank account. And I want to find someone who sees meand not a bunch of dollar signs.” He brought his hand to her face again, pausing a hair’s breadth away from her skin. “I wantreal, Quinn.” Parker swallowed. “I want…”

“Me, too.” His image blurred behind a wall of unshed tears. “I want that, too.” And because he’d put the ball in her court that first day, Quinn wrapped her hand around his thick wrist, and brought his palm the rest of the way. “Touch me, Parker.” She rose onto her tiptoes and brushed her lips against his. “I’m asking you to touch me.”

And he did.

10

Parker slammedhis mouth to Quinn’s. He didn’t go slow. Didn’t take his time testing the waters. He just…took.

Touch me, Parker. I’m asking you to touch me.

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