She grinned. “So it’s a duty thing, not because you’d really rather be with that waitress at The Pavilion?”
“Waitress? You saw that? I didn’t think you knew I was there.”
“I heard a lot of laughter and happened to look over. Saw what a big flirt you are first hand. It sucked to watch you with her.”
Parker frowned. “You think it sucked for you. I had a perfect view of you and that boy toy all evening. I saw how you laughed at all his jokes and touched his arm and batted your eyelashes.” His arm crossed back over her chest and he rested it against her side, cradling her close to his chest. “That sucked.”
Despite small flare ups of pain from his touch, she wouldn’t wish to be anywhere else than in his arms. For the first time in a long time, Sierra felt like it was okay to let her guard down and just be herself. That wasn’t a luxury often afforded to her.
“I was trying to make you jealous,” she admitted. “It was a rotten thing to do, and I’m sorry.”
The rumble of Parker’s laughter vibrated through Sierra’s chest. “At least if you want me to be jealous, that means there’s hope for the future, right?”
She wished that could be true. The only future she had was going back to New York with her parents and marrying someone like Neal. She’d never be allowed to stay on an island paradise with someone as sweet as Parker and choose to work for a living. And he couldn’t be with her if she was a guest on the island. Unfortunately, her family visited every year.
Sierra was used to giving up things she really wanted. All her life, she’d deferred to what Cece wanted. It was simple, really. Any sort of romance with Parker was doomed before it started. She had no illusions about that.
So why did she want to pursue one so badly?
* * *
Parker forced himself to stop interrogating Sierra and simply held her. It was a step forward in their friendship that she hadn’t wanted him to leave her alone. That meant she had begun to trust him somewhere between the botched attempt at asking her to be friends and him dragging her off to his house to recover.
He knew their quiet bubble of protection inside his home wouldn’t last forever. For starters, Quinn and Larissa were sure to come poking around sooner or later. Since they knew about Sierra now, they wouldn’t approve of what he did in going to her rescue. Even if she was in a fight with her folks, Sierra was still a guest at the resort and the Burns were still important clients. Parker couldn’t be in here, holding her while she slept and wishing he could kiss away her pain and bruises.
From what little he could gather by filling in the pieces around what she did say, Parker guessed this wasn’t the first time Cece had hurt her. If she went back with them, it wouldn’t be her last beating either. Somehow, Parker felt certain of that. Surely his parents wouldn’t berate him for wanting to protect her. If they found out what was going on, they’d want to protect her too.
The McCallisters were nothing if not honest, hard-working people who valued fairness and justice. He had half a hope that his mother would take Sierra in and give her a place to live, at least until they could find a job for Sierra at the resort and she could move into the employee housing. Once she was an employee, he’d be free to do all the things he was dreaming about, and no one could complain. She would be part of the family and part of McCallister’s Paradise.
It was the best solution for everyone, really.
“Parker, you’re too restless. Why aren’t you asleep?”
He startled at her words and then held her closer to his chest. “Don’t worry about it. Everything’s going to be fine. I’m just making plans on how to keep you here. With me.”
She pushed away from him and sat up, groaning as she did so. “Damn it. That still hurts, even with the medicine.”
“Then why are you moving? My arms are awfully empty without you to fill them.” He grabbed her hand and raised it to his lips, kissing it softly. “Come on. I know you want to be with me, so stop pretending.”
She gently extracted her hand from his and then flipped on the bedside lamp. “Flirting with me won’t solve our problems, Parker, so stop being so damn charming.”
Looking up at her, he wiggled his eyebrows. “The ladies never complain when I’m charming.”
“That’s the problem though, isn’t it?” she asked, her hazel eyes clouding over with distress. “You have a lot of women. How do I know you won’t move on to the next one tomorrow and leave me stranded?”
“Sierra, I would never—”
“Stop.” She held up her hand. “Don’t make me a promise you can’t guarantee. Everyone is capable of moving on and even falling out of love after being together for years. We’ve known each other about two minutes, so don’t fool yourself into thinking you owe me anything or that you even really like me.”
She was being one tough nut. Perhaps she hadn’t been sleeping, but doing some thinking of her own. He couldn’t let her get upset and go back into danger at her folks’ hands. She needed to stay here at the resort. But he really wanted her to stay with him.
“I already know I like you,” he replied, hoping she would see that he meant it. “I’ve known since you first tried to run me down on the beach.”
Her mouth twisted to one side and she shrugged, not smiling at his quip. “Sure. You like me—I believe that. You’d like to get into my pants because we’re attracted to each other, but that isn’t what I mean. I mean, what happens in a week? Two weeks? A few months even? You have exes strewn all over this island. I can’t expect you to be my protector for the long haul.”
“Why don’t we just take things one day at a time?” He struggled not to let the hurt show. For the first time since Vanessa, he’d opened himself up to someone, and she kicked him in the teeth for his honesty. At least, that’s what it felt like. “I’m not the playboy villain you’re painting me as. You don’t know anything about the real me or what I want out of life.”
“Again, that’s my point.” She closed her eyes and leaned against the headboard, grimacing when her back touched the padded surface. “We don’t know each other. And the risks of getting to know each other are pretty big. For both of us.”
Parker threw the blanket off his body and swung his legs to the ground. If they were going to have an argument, he didn’t want to be in bed with her, hoping she’d snuggle up to him and rub her tits against his bare side. It was too distracting to look at her, because that was the only thought he could keep in his mind.
He stood and paced back and forth across the room, preparing his defense without glancing at her. “I thought you wanted to stay on the island,” he finally said. “What was all that about getting a job before?”
“I... I do want to work.” She spoke slowly, as though sifting through each word before speaking it. “That’s all the more reason we shouldn’t get involved with each other romantically.”
Parker slapped his hand against his thigh, finally looking up to see her staring at him. “But we can get involved if you live here. It’s not against my parents’ rules for us to date coworkers. They realize the dating pool is limited for those of us on the island. Plus, I can protect you from your mom if you stay with me.”
She flinched slightly at his words. “I don’t need you to protect me.”
“That’s not what your body language says when I bring her up.”
Sierra sighed and looked away. “I can handle her. I’ve been doing it my whole life.”
Immediately feeling bad for throwing that in her face, Parker wondered what he could say to make it better. Unfortunately, tears welled in her eyes and she refused to look at him.
“She’s awful, Parker, but it’s been this way since I was a child. I quickly learned that if I showed too much affection and love to a nanny in front of Cece, that nanny would be replaced without comment or warning,” she said, her voice flat and devoid of emotion. “Cece didn’t want to mother me, but she couldn’t handle any competition. By the time I was seven, I’d learned to trea
t the nanny as lower than the stable boys, lower than the cats in the stable who kept the mice away, if anyone was around. I did such a great job of convincing Cece I hated that nanny, I got to keep her until I was grown, and then my parents shifted her over to a maid, and I was still able to have her around.”
Parker’s heart felt like it would shatter at the victorious grin on Sierra’s face. Her one triumph over her abusive mother. No wonder she bucked the system and tried to break rules. She had to live by such a rigid set of them most of the time. Self-imposed rules that she could never break because if she did, her mother would take away the people she loved.
“Your mother hasn’t been just beating you physically all these years, she’s been mentally abusive. Why have you stayed the dutiful daughter for so long?”
She sighed. “Greed, I suppose. I wanted my trust fund. I love my condo. At least, I did until I met you and the idea of staying on this island and actually earning my own keep popped into my head. I really want to do that. I don’t want to go back to New York. The condo is in Dad’s name—just like everything else. All I do at his office is fetch coffee and take messages down. No one there needs me.”
“I need you,” Parker whispered. “There’s something about you that I can’t quite explain. Something that is telling me I need to get to know you. I need to be with you.”
“I don’t want to be just another ex of yours, Parker. I want a chance to prove my own worth and do something I’m proud of. I’ve been to college for business management, I could help out in the administrative portion of the island. Or I can learn to clean rooms if a housekeeper is all I’m suited for. It’s not like I couldn’t call Juanita to get cleaning tips from the woman who is my true mother. She raised me, and she will help me as much as she can, but I have to accomplish something for myself. That means I can’t date you, even if I stay here.”
Parker nodded, even though agreeing with her was the last thing he wanted to do. The first step was to keep her on the island. “Okay, fine. I’ll go back to the living room and sleep on the couch. In the morning, I’ll speak with my parents about interviewing you and see if they can find a place for you on the island. I bet Larissa would move her things out of her employee apartment and let you have it so you don’t have to stay with me anymore. She hardly goes there now, and she’ll be married to Quinn this winter anyway.”
Sierra’s mouth dropped open slightly and her eyes grew wide as she stared at him. “You’re still willing to help me?”
“Sure. If you leave the island, I’ll never have a chance to convince you that I really am a great guy who you should be dating.”
Not giving her a chance to respond, Parker hurried out of the bedroom and gently shut the door.
Chapter 9
Sierra didn’t sleep much through the night. While the pain medicine took the edge off the dull throbbing in her back and arm, it couldn’t stop her worried mind.
Most importantly, she needed to call Juanita. Although she’d never told the nanny, part of the reason Sierra held on for so long, trying to earn her trust fund, was so Juanita could retire in style. The woman was in her fifties with no retirement in sight. It wasn’t as if the Burns set up any sort of great benefit package for the woman who raised their daughter, after all.
Now Sierra couldn’t take care of her. Maybe Juanita could come to the island. They surely needed someone of her many talents here... and then Sierra wouldn’t be all alone.
With her mind made up, she painfully crawled out of the bed and crossed to the attached bathroom. After making use of the facilities and brushing her hair and teeth with the things Parker had retrieved for her from the front desk, she felt ready to face him.
Well, if she ignored the fact that she was clothed only in his t-shirt. Hopefully, even though she’d refused his affection, he’d help get some of her clothing before her parents went to the bungalow and took it all. Assuming they hadn’t already done so.
She crept into the living room area, blinking as her eyes adjusted to the darkness. “Parker?”
“No need to talk so soft. I’m awake.”
His form shifted on the denser area of darkness where the couch lay and then the floor squeaked. The curtains on the patio door made a whooshing sound as Parker opened them and let the morning light flood into the space.
He looked magnificent in the light. His light-brown hair spiked up in the back, messy from his slumber. The firm muscles of his back and arms made her gulp with desire as he stretched to the ceiling.
When he turned around to face her, Sierra fought off a blush. Not only were his chest and abs just as magnificent as his back, but Parker sported a morning hard on under his loose-fitting boxer shorts that showed Sierra in detail what she’d refused last night.
Unashamed, he looked down and grinned, seeming to know Sierra had noticed it as well. “Guess I’d better go to the bathroom before I find out what’s on your mind, Red.”
He turned and sauntered off, taking his time and giving Sierra an eyeful as he walked away.
Going to the couch and sitting down, Sierra struggled to control her ragged breathing. It wasn’t like she hadn’t seen a man before. Well, sure, it’d been three months since her last relationship ended and her body was more than ready to explore the enormous rod in Parker’s pants, but she knew that couldn’t happen.
A few hours of pleasure with Parker, while satisfying to her lustful desires and surely enjoyable, could ruin everything. She’d never been brave enough to tell her mother to take a flying leap before. She didn’t want to have to go back to Cece and grovel for her forgiveness if she screwed things up with the McCallister family.
She couldn’t become Parker McCallister’s latest dalliance. Not if she expected his parents to hire her and give her a life here on the island. If what he said was true about them not caring about coworkers dating, once she was settled in there would be plenty of men Sierra could satisfy her lust with.
And even if not, there was always those silver vibrating bullets sold at adult stores. She had one at her condo in New York, and it helped ease the sexual tension quite well.
Parker walked out of the bedroom and headed for her. He still looked good enough to eat, even without the tent in his boxer shorts. Sierra resisted the urge to fan her face as she looked away from him.
“I thought you’d put some clothes on before coming back out,” she said.
With a chuckle, Parker sat on the couch next to her. “Now, that wouldn’t be fair, would it? You only have on a top, so I can only wear a bottom.”
He seemed so cheerful and happy. Was it an act, or did he not care that she rejected him? Sierra wasn’t sure. There weren’t many men she spent time with that she actually cared about their true feelings, as most of her previous relationships were based on the man using her to advance their business position with her father.
Parker was different. She wished she could give in and be with him, no matter how short a time it lasted. If the gamble wasn’t so high, she probably would.
“I need my phone.” It was probably better to get down to business rather than continuing to speculate what kissing Parker would be like. Lust had no business in her life right now.
Parker shifted forward on the couch, catching her eye as he frowned. “Why?”
“I need to call my mom and then figure out how to get my clothes from the bungalow.”
“Your mom!” Parker shook his head sharply. “Look, I’m sorry for sort of throwing her in your face last night, but you are not calling that woman!”
Sierra recoiled at his anger, shaking her head desperately to let him know he’d misunderstood. No one except Cece had ever struck her, but Parker looked mad enough to do it.
“Not Cece,” she squeaked out. “Juanita. My true mother and the woman who actually loves me.”
Parker blew out a long stream of air, clenching and unclenching his fists. “I forgot about her. Sorry to get so upset, but the thought of Cece hurting you again...”
He
turned his head from her view, but not before Sierra saw moisture form in his eyes. Was Parker crying for her? That made no sense. He was a big, macho man. Why would he cry for someone he barely knew? At least that meant he hadn’t been gearing up to hit her. Not that she’d ever had the feeling he would before this.
His anger was all directed at Cece. He wouldn’t hurt Sierra. He obviously wanted to protect her, as he said before.
Suddenly, Parker turned back to face her. His callused hand stroked across her cheek and to her neck, wrapping around the base of it. “I have to do this at least once,” he whispered in a husky voice, “before we return to reality.”
Parker drew her face close. When his soft lips touched hers, sparks of excitement danced through her body, all culminating below her waist. His lips were supple and undemanding, tender and delicious.
Without a conscious decision, Sierra wrapped her arms around his neck, wanting more of him. She licked along the seam of his lips and Parker parted them, the minty taste of toothpaste pervading her mouth.
His free hand slid down her body, just as Sierra had imagined it since meeting him. It came to rest on her upper thigh, and she lost her ability to breathe for a moment as the rough fingers rubbed her delicate skin. She wondered if he was going to go for more than a kiss and live up to his playboy reputation, and she clenched down with need. As much as she tried to deny it, she wanted him. She wanted to be needed, at least for a few minutes.
She shifted to open her legs and grabbed Parker’s hand, guiding it to her inner thigh. It didn’t matter what she risked. The price just might be worth it.
Instead of his hand going over her bikini bottom like she wished, Parker squeezed her fingers gently in his and pressed soft kisses against her lips, then backed away.
She opened her eyes. Even though disappointment flooded through her, she couldn’t be angry when she saw the happy smile Parker wore.
“Just as wonderful as I knew it would be, Red.” He leaned in and kissed her once more and then sighed. “That will have to hold me over until you decide I’m worth your time.”
Diving Into Love (McCallister's Paradise Book 2) Page 7
