Page 37 of House of Deceit

“Were you just sitting there listening to me sleep?” I ask, a little put off.

He laughs and it’s a nice sound. “No, there were a few snores that weren’t so delicate.”

“Oh God,” I say, embarrassment making me wish there was a cliff nearby I could jump from. I push myself up and lean against the bed’s headboard. “I will stay awake for the rest of my time in this mansion. What’s up, Parker?” I grab the pillow and put it on my lap, slapping it a few times, giving my hands something to do.

“I was bored and figured I’d come see what you were doing. Can I sit?” I bend my legs and wave at him to take a seat. He lies on his side, resting his head against his hand. “So, tell me about yourself.” I laugh, and he smiles at me. His smile is beautiful and makes my heart clench. My traitorous brain brings a picture of Alec to the forefront and I feel annoyingly guilty for being attracted to this man. I berate myself with a reminder there is no need to feel guilty over the taciturn wrangler.

“What do you want to know?”

“What’s the worst thing you ever lied to your parents about?”

I groan, covering my face with my hands for a split second and think about the likely dozen cameras that are currently recording this moment.

“You realize this conversation will probably be aired, and then I’m going to end up grounded after the fact, right?”

“How old are you?” he questions with a raised eyebrow and a slightly mocking smile.

“Twenty-eight, almost twenty-nine.”

“The statute of limitations has passed with a minimum of a decade between this moment and the crime.”

“You’ve never met my mother.”

“That’s a good point.”

Having Parker’s full attention is like being pressed against a wall with a hand at your throat, holding you there, but not choking. I love everything about it and I have to remind myself I don’t want to start anything with a competitor.

“Back when I was fifteen, my best friend Courtney convinced me we should sneak out of our houses, go to a party being held at a popular senior’s house, and try alcohol for the first time.”

I fall over, hiding my face with the pillow. He laughs as he fights with me to pull the pillow from my face.

“Wow, what a rebel you are! Did you successfully try some alcohol?”

“We had exactly one sip of beer before someone realized the uncool underclassmen were in their midst and kicked us out. We walked home and climbed back in through my window. My dad was waiting and asked where we were. We told him we went to the park around the corner from our house. I don’t think he believed us, but he didn’t tell my mom, so we got away with it.”

A strand of blond hair falls in front of Parker’s face with the kiss of the wind. My hand itches to tuck it back, but instead I sit up and hold my hands out palms up. He looks at me quizzically before I wiggle my fingers, wanting to play a simple game as we talk. Catching on, he shifts, sitting up and placing his hands on top of mine, palm to palm.

“Tell me something about you, now.” I flinch my hands, making him pull his back.

“What do you want to know?” he parrots my question back to me.

“How did you lose your virginity?” I move like a striking snake trying to slap the top of his hands but he’s just a second faster and pulls his away before I can connect.

“Oh, that’s a fun story. There was a cheerleader, she was the most popular girl in school. She was cheering for our rugby game. Now, normally, I was a bench rider, but this game was a blowout, so I was finally allowed to play.”

I flip my hands over and successfully smack him while his reflexes are a little slower due to the story. We switch positions so mine are on top of his now.

“My first catch,” he continues, “I was tackled but they couldn’t bring me down until we were well into the sideline. We took out the cheerleaders’ pyramid and she landed on top of me. We went out on a few dates and then one thing led to another, and we christened the back seat of her mother’s car.”

“How romantic,” I laugh. “No candles and rose petals?”

“Not that time, but I’ve stepped up my game now that I can invite women back to my apartment.”

“I can only imagine how many take you up on that,” I say, a small kernel of jealousy sliding in my tone. Parker takes this moment to make his move and slap the backs of my hands, my skin stinging.

“Ouch!”

Locking his eyes with mine, he takes both hands and presses a perfect kiss against each. I run my tongue against my bottom lip, wishing he would kiss me like that. For some reason, guilt over Alec worms its way into my gut once more, causing me to gently take back my hands.

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