Valentines Heat III

by Christy Gissendaner, Jayne Ripley

  She sat up and put her palm to her forehead. Somehow she’d stripped and ended up naked in bed. Thank goodness she didn’t have a meeting planned for Saturday. She’d have all weekend to recover from her hangover and get her life in order before she tackled another hectic week.

  Saturday. February fourteenth.

  Shit! Valentine’s Day.

  She’d received an e-mail reminder from the pack’s planning committee after she’d gotten off the phone with her sister, requesting her presence in Raleigh for the annual celebration. She’d sent a brief response, detailing the reasons it was impossible for her to attend. The short notice gave her no chance to book a flight. She had meetings scheduled all weekend. She’d even pulled the sick card, but she hadn’t received an answer, and it set her on edge. The pack’s edicts were not usually something she would ignore, but self-preservation forced her into rash behavior.

  Ignoring an order of the pack or the alpha was punishable by public shaming. No member was allowed to be insubordinate. The lack of communication troubled her. Why hadn’t Emily called to warn her about her impending doom? Something wasn’t right, and Becca wouldn’t rest easy until she learned her fate.

  She reached for her phone, but a knock on the door drew her attention. Who would be here so early in the morning? She glanced at the clock and grimaced. OK, so who would be here at noon? She hadn’t slept so late in years. No wonder her spine felt out of alignment.

  Another pounding on the door made the hairs stand up on the back of her neck. The knock was commanding, almost overly so. Lifting her head, she sniffed the air. Tentative, scared before she even had reason to be.

  Holy shit. Parker!

  She attempted to untangle the sheets from her legs but ended up sprawled on the floor, naked as the day she was born with the covers twisted around her. She swatted at the mess of blankets and sheets until she freed her limbs.

  “Becca, you have three seconds to open this door, or I’m breaking it down.”

  When had Parker’s voice gotten so deep? And more to the point, why was he at her door threatening to break it down? “I’m coming,” she called out and searched the room for something to throw on.

  “One,” Parker called out. “Two.”

  She squeaked and snatched a sheet off the bed and wrapped it around her body. Tripping over the length of Egyptian cotton, she stumbled through the condo and opened the door right as “Three” tumbled from Parker’s lips.

  She braced against the door with one hand and gripped the sheet tightly with the other. Parker stood before her. Not the Parker she remembered, but some beefed-up version of him that stunned her into silence. Well-formed lips tilted at the corners, drawing her attention to the strong, bearded jaw, and up to the warm honey eyes that were the only part of him she recognized. Where was the acne and floppy, brown hair? When had the skinny wolf transformed into the muscular hunk standing before her now?

  She swallowed hard and opened her mouth. “Didn’t you get my e-mail?”

  He brushed past her and entered her condo. “Nice place.” He surveyed the room briefly, before turning to meet her gaze. “And yes, I did. The planning committee forwarded it early this morning.”

  She shut the door and used both hands to hitch up the sheet. “As you can see, I wasn’t expecting visitors.”

  His gaze dropped, and a slow smile blossomed. With it came the answering heat between her legs and a tingle in her belly. She battled back the desire. No, absolutely not. She wouldn’t let his unexpectedly hot body turn her from her chosen course.

  Parker tucked his hands into the pockets of his well-worn jeans. The motion flexed his biceps and strained the seams of his short-sleeved black T-shirt. Her tongue felt like cotton, so Becca rubbed it along the roof of her mouth and gathered her nerve. “Why are you here?”

  He stepped forward and placed his boot on the trailing end of the sheet, effectively trapping her in place. “You got my name.”

  “And?” She tugged on the sheet but failed to budge it. “I was busy. Besides, we’ve already dated. It didn’t work out. Pairing us up was a crazy thing for the committee to do.”

  “Was it?” He arched an eyebrow. “You want me. Don’t deny it.”

  Her mouth fell open. “I barely know you now.”

  “I haven’t changed.”

  She moved the sweaty clump of fabric to one hand and held out her palm. “Bullshit. Look at you. You’re…you’re…”

  He grinned and bracketed his arms around her, putting his hands against the wall behind her head to hold her in place. “What am I?”

  “Hot. You’re fucking sizzling, OK? Is that what you needed me to say?”

  He dipped his head and brought his lips tantalizingly close to hers. “You are too. I like your hair.”

  She ignored the sense of pride his words gave her and focused on the situation at hand. “Why did you come here, Parker? Really. You can’t be hard up for a date.”

  “No,” he agreed. “But I am hard up for you.”

  “Obviously.” She hadn’t missed the bulge between his legs. Even in high school, his size had been impressive. One of the reasons she’d been so scared to finally have sex with him. What eighteen-year-old virgin wouldn’t have been intimidated by an eight-inch dick? “Let’s keep things simple. No sex. No date. You fulfilled your end of the bargain just by giving it a shot. The planning committee should be satisfied.”

  “The committee doesn’t know I’m here. They let you off the hook despite your pathetically weak excuses. What sort of millionaire can’t obtain a last-minute ticket home? I saw through your attempt to avoid me. You can’t hide from me forever, Becs.”

  She ignored the pain the familiar nickname brought. “What is your angle here? You can’t be serious about me.”

  “Why can’t I?” The blunt end of his thumb traced her cheekbone. “I wanted to see you. Seven years is too long to wait for a second chance.”

  She touched her tongue to her bottom lip. “Is that what you want? A second chance?”

  He came closer, his lips almost touching hers. “I want you to scream my name again.”

  She narrowed her eyes. “Once. I did that one time, Parker, and you wouldn’t let me live it down.”

  “I loved it.” His gaze captured hers, dark and searching and somewhat wounded. “It was unbelievably sexy. Let me hear it again.”

  She had no doubts he’d wring cries of ecstasy from her. It had been over a year since she’d had sex, and her hormones went on full-scale alert with the presence of a male wolf. If she’d worn panties, they would be soaked. Just the scent of him, woodsy and earthy and tinged with grease, made her remember afternoons spent in each other’s arms on the couch in his father’s office. They’d been young, but they’d been good together. Hot and passionate and unable to keep their hands off each other. “But you married her.”

  “I did.” His gaze grew turbulent, the honey depths swirling into a riveting pattern of gold. “She wasn’t you.”

  Despite everything, jealousy made her lash out. “You said you would wait for me.”

  His eyebrows lowered, and his mouth tightened. “You never gave me a reason to. In fact, you did everything in your power to ensure you never saw me again. I can’t count the number of times you ignored my calls, returned my letters unopened, hid from me if you happened to show up in Raleigh. What was I supposed to do, Becca? Tell me. What? You never gave me a chance to prove myself to you.”

  Moisture tickled her eyelids. “It wasn’t fair to you. Don’t you think I realize that? But I had to do it. I had to come here and become someone different.”

  He slammed his palm into the wall beside her ear. “Goddamn it, Becca! I loved you. I fucking loved you, and I never got over you. I’ve spent the last two thousand, three hundred and seventy-two days thinking of nothing but you. That’s a lot of hours, Becca, of waiting for someone who never came.”

  “I know, and I’m sorry.” He’d kept count of the days since she’d left? She done it
too, hoping the day would come when she didn’t miss him. “I—”

  “I’m tired of your excuses,” he exploded. “I’m not taking no for an answer, so you’d better be damned sure you’re ready for me.”

  Their lips met in a fiery clash. She lost her grip on the sheet and clung to him instead, her nails curling into the firm skin near his neck. He hooked his hands around her thighs and lifted her into his arms. Her legs went around his waist and held on tight. She was naked and kissing Parker, and she didn’t care. All she craved was the release he could give her, the intense afterglow of truly good shifter sex.

  She wrenched her lips from his. “I don’t want this to be a mistake. I can’t lead you on.”

  “Fuck, Becca,” he growled into her ear. “Feel me. I’m about to come just looking at you. This isn’t a mistake. Nothing that feels this good could be wrong.”

  Her doubts slid away on a warm sea of lust-induced oblivion. She wanted him inside her, his cock buried deep and stroking the sensitive parts no one but him had reached. She rubbed her lower body against him. His zipper scratched her thighs, but she didn’t care. The sensation doubled the pleasure. He possessed the ability to soothe the ache she’d carried around for years.

  She ran her hands along his shoulders, seeking the unfamiliar shape of him, taut biceps, firm pectorals, and a ridged abdomen. He’d obviously been a late bloomer, and she was sad she hadn’t been around to witness the transformation. With the buzzed haircut, short beard, and thick muscles, he resembled a badass biker. Nothing like the skinny boy she’d met in a debate club match and fallen for.

  Parker moved his hands to his waist and unfastened his jeans. He delved within his boxers and exposed his cock. God, yes. She rolled her hips forward so that her dampness slid easily along every inch of the hard length of his shaft. A porn actress couldn’t have accomplished the moan that sprang from Becca’s lips in that instant. She felt his velvety steel hardness, thick as her wrist and as long as her forearm. How had she ever thought someone else could satisfy her after she’d had Parker?

  Parker dropped her legs to the floor, and she cried out in disappointment. “No!”

  He gave her a slow smile, one that weakened her knees and made her slump against the wall. “It’s not over.” He pulled the shirt over his head and tossed it aside. Tightly packed muscle delineated every inch of his chest. Rows of perfect abs with a healthy, golden glow and rock hard biceps were just the start of the most perfect body she’d ever seen.

  She’d hoped he would remove his jeans and boxers, but he kept them on and crouched before her. “Spread your legs.”

  She did as he commanded, the sweet warmth within her unfolding with anticipation. He stared at the trim patch of hair between her legs before dipping his head and swiping his tongue along her slit. She cried out and gripped his shoulders. “Oh my God, Parker.”

  This was new. Most definitely not something they’d done in high school, but he’d obviously practiced. Each swipe of his tongue, every nibble of his lips, brought her closer to losing control. Her nerves were shredded by the time he lifted his head and glanced at her with reddened lips. “Good?”

  “Amazing.” She let out another long sigh when he resumed, this time scraping his teeth along the edge of her sensitized clit. She wanted to come, but not like this. “Stop.”

  He listened to her, but kept his face buried between her thighs. “You’re killing me.”

  The words tickled her skin. She crouched down and cupped his face, leaning in for a sweet kiss. She tasted her arousal, tangy and salty, and licked his bottom lip. “This is amazing, but I want to come with you inside me.”

  The years slid away, and she remembered what it was like to be with Parker. He was different yet the same. He lifted his hands and caressed her cheek. The knuckles were calloused, but his touch was gentle, fleeting. “I fooled myself into imagining it was over, the thing between me and you. Surely my memory was mistaken; you couldn’t have been as perfect as I remembered. I was wrong. You’re better.”

  She covered his hand with hers and wondered what he’d done to make his hands so rough. How many times had he tinkered with his cars until his fingers bled? She’d seen firsthand the love he’d had for his job even as a teenager. “It can’t be more than today, Parker. Don’t say things you’ll regret.”

  “I’ve never regretted a word I’ve said to you in the past, and I don’t plan to start now.” His eyes snapped fire, and he gripped her hips with a strength she didn’t resist. “I’ve had years to get over you, but you haunted me no matter what I tried. Marrying Gayle was a mistake. I wanted her to be you, but she wasn’t and I broke her heart the way you’d once broken mine. It’s ridiculous of me to come here, spout nonsense to you, but I swear it’s the truth. I doubt I’ll ever get over losing you, but I’ve got to try. Got to have you once more, and maybe I can walk away.”

  She didn’t want him to walk away. Never had. She’d been unable to face his decision to stay in North Carolina, so she’d been the strong one. She’d put an end to it. But their fate was in her hands now. Go on half living, pretending with the men she went on dates with, or do something about it. She could have sex with Parker and hope it was enough to carry her through the remainder of her existence.

  She slid her palms over his shoulders. “Like a Band-Aid? We yank it off and hope the pain’s gone tomorrow?”

  His thighs bracketed hers, and his cock remained erect, jutting out from a nest of dark, curly hair. The moment was wrought with tension, and the silence was untenable. He kept his hands on her hips, his fingers curled into her skin as if to hold her in place—almost as if he worried she would run if given half the chance. “That’s the plan.”

  “So what, you came all the way to Boston to fuck me, hoping it would help you get over me?” She gripped the hair near her temples and covered her eyes with her fists. “That came out wrong. I didn’t mean to sound conceited.”

  He tugged her hands away from her hair and face. “I understand what you meant. The girl I loved is in there still. I see her. But I realize you’re different. Not just physically. You never used to stand up to me. Coming here was good for you. It hurt like hell, but you had to do what was right for you. I can’t blame you for that. I just needed one last time, to know and expect your rejection, instead of it being thrown in my face without having a chance to react.”

  She couldn’t bear for him to look at her. Parker was too intuitive by half. Like he’d said, the boy she’d loved was still there beneath the sexy packaging. “I can’t believe we’re having this conversation naked.”

  His lips curled into a grin. “I can’t believe we never tried it before.” He stood and reached for her hand. “Come.”

  She put her palm against his, relished the warmth of his rough skin, and he pulled her up. Their bodies collided, flesh against flesh, and the kiss began anew. It was a slow, seeking kiss, one guaranteed to set her nerves aflame. Finally, after all this time.

  Parker cupped her ass and pressed into her. The rounded head of his cock rested against her belly, damp with precum. She arched her spine, desperate to feel more. It would be a long day, one she’d waited for forever.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Parker held Becca, contented enough just to touch her, but knowing she was his, at least for the day, made his cock ache with anticipation. The beast within him uncoiled, releasing a silent howl that echoed through Parker’s skull. Soon, he promised his wolf. She’s ours again.

  At least for the next few hours.

  He shoved away thoughts of what would come and focused on the shifter in his arms. Becca’s chin-length hair skimmed his chest as she dipped her head and pressed a kiss above his heart. His pulse beat in triple time. He wanted this, wanted her, with a vengeance that bordered on pain.

  So why go slow?

  No answer to his silent question. Only that he’d wait forever if that’s what she required. Becca seemed to want to take it slow, and he’d take her any way he could.

&n
bsp; He kicked aside the abandoned pile of clothing and pulled her toward the open doorway of her bedroom. He’d seen the massive four-poster when he’d first entered the condo. The rumpled blankets held the scent of her, sweet like honeysuckle. They’d never had sex in a bed, and if they were never together again, he planned to do it right. Trite, but he wanted to savor every experience with her. They’d been kids before, rushing to finish before they were caught. Now they were grown, with no one to interrupt them. Maybe that was why he didn’t rush.

  Hours and hours of tasting her, caressing her skin, making her moan his name. God, yes. He wanted that and so much more.

  Becca broke away from him and reached the bed first, attempting to straighten the tangled bedclothes. He chuckled at the sight of her rounded ass high in the air as she bent over and struggled to replace the fitted sheet. But the look she gave him over her shoulder, seductive as hell, forced him forward. He rubbed against her, his cock settling in the cleft of her ass.

  “Mmm,” Becca moaned and pushed back. His cock found the wetness between her thighs and almost slid home. He pivoted his hips at the last moment and continued to rub his erection on her.

  “Parker,” she said with a groan. “More.”

  He wasn’t a fool. Although she was probably on birth control, he needed a condom. The risk of pregnancy was too great to ignore. For a moment, he almost forewent one. He wanted a child with her, a baby with her smile and his eyes. Pain struck him in the center of his chest.

  Goddamn it. He wasn’t over her. Being with her now wasn’t helping. Nothing was going to plan, but desire was an out-of-control train, barreling down the tracks without hope of stopping.

  He gripped her hips and calmed her bucking movements. She wanted him. Obviously. Should he give it to her? Or turn and leave, tearing apart her world like she’d once done to him?

  The fact the thought crossed his mind was a sign of how far he’d sunk. He actually considered hurting her, to make her sense an iota of what he had when she’d left at eighteen.