“Parker?” Becca turned to look at him. Her green-tinted eyes roamed his face. “What’s wrong?”
He debated the wisdom of remaining here. He’d thought it was what he wanted, but he’d never get over her. Would it kill him anew when she kicked him out later? He was strong, much tougher than he’d been as a kid, but was he powerful enough to face a future without her?
She twisted and touched his cheek. She slid her fingers down and toyed with the short ends of his beard. “You seem worried. Don’t be.”
How like her to care about his feelings now, when she’d once made him feel like shit. Time to regain control, or he’d hate himself for being a pussy. He gripped her wrists and twisted them behind her back. He took her lips in a punishing kiss, his hard and insistent over hers, his tongue delving inside the warm depths of her mouth. He tasted blood and realized it was his own. He’d cut his lip on his teeth, which had elongated, turning more canine than human.
The tenuous hold he kept on his control became a rapidly unraveling string. The last thread snapped, and he allowed the beast within to take over. Oxygen rattled in and out of his lungs, but not enough to prevent a shortness of breath.
Becca didn’t retreat. She matched him, not in strength but in determination. She held steady, her lips clinging to his and tiny moans escaping her throat. Always so courageous in the face of the unknown. She thought she knew him, but she had no idea how long he’d plotted this, planned to have her in his arms and punish her. He wasn’t malicious enough to wish her harm, but he would use every weapon at his disposal. Right now sex was his strongest weapon.
He trapped her between the mattress and his thighs. He smelled her arousal, tasted it on his lips with every swipe of his tongue against hers. Sharp and bittersweet, a reminder of the past and how much he wished things were the same as they’d once been. But then they wouldn’t have grown, wouldn’t have experienced more than life had offered them. With her, he wouldn’t have realized how great an alpha he could be, how talented a mechanic. Cars were his passion, but Becca was his life. He’d give it all up for her. It scared him how much he wanted to.
Becca pulled back as far as he would allow and stared up at him. The six-inch height difference between them seemed negligible. The rush of her breath moved across his bearded cheek. He sensed the race of her pulse. They were connected in a way only mates could be.
“Parker, I—”
He cut her off with another kiss. He didn’t want to hear the excuses. Didn’t want to listen to the denials sure to come. Just this once, he would pretend they were a couple again, and nothing mattered but the two of them.
He used one hand to keep her wrists behind her back and used the other to touch her nipple. It puckered beneath his touch, a pale rose color against the golden flesh of her torso. Becca’s breasts were small and rounded, little more than a handful, but perfect. He cupped one in his palm, kneading her breast and relishing the hitch of her breath.
Too gentle, he reminded himself. He wanted to take her hard and fast, bring them both to a screaming release, and then walk away. Why couldn’t he keep his reason for being here in the forefront of his mind?
He picked her up and placed her on the bed. Before she spoke, he crawled over her, trapping her beneath his weight. He put his hand behind her knee and pulled it up, opening her thighs and moving between them. “Condom?” he questioned.
Her eyes widened, the brown showing through the green in the bright glow of her bedside lamp. “I don’t have one.”
“Be right back.” He hurried back to his discarded jeans and snagged one out of his pocket. He’d suspected it, and he was glad to see she wasn’t the type to keep protection in her condo. Surely that meant she didn’t sleep around, just like Emily had suggested.
He didn’t care. He was here to get what he wanted and then head back to Raleigh.
He ripped open the packaging and slid the latex over his cock before returning to her. She waited on the bed for him. The slightly splayed legs and seductive expression on her face jolted him to attention. God, she was so fucking sexy.
He returned to his earlier position, on top of her, his cock nestled among the tiny curls shielding her pussy. The latex didn’t dull the sensation one bit. He slid into her and was shocked to realize she was as tight as he remembered. “Becca,” he said with a groan and slid deeper.
She drew her knees up and encircled his waist, rolling her hips up and down and matching each of his strokes. The give and take of the motion shook his self-control, thoughts of how well suited they still were threatening to overtake him.
No. His life was in Raleigh. Hers was here.
“Parker!” she gasped into his ear. The sound was music to his soul.
His palms shaped her body, memorizing the new dips and curves. Her hips were wider, her thighs leaner, but her breasts were exactly the same. Rounded like peaches and just as sweet. He slid one hand beneath her and gripped her ass. He rode her hard, his cock pounding in and out in a hasty rhythm. She gave as good as she got, never slowing the momentum of their rocking hips.
It wasn’t enough. The missionary position, the vanilla sex wouldn’t stick with her long after he was gone. He needed to make their time together memorable, needed to brand their time together into her consciousness.
“Turn over,” he commanded as he withdrew his cock from her body. He checked to make sure the condom was still in place while she rolled onto her belly.
Her ass, plump and heart-shaped, greeted his gaze. He touched the V-shaped crevice at the top and trailed his fingers down to the tight button between her cheeks. Bending his forefinger, he rubbed a knuckle against her anus, and her moans were enough of a signal for him to continue.
Never had he tried anal play with Becca. What eighteen-year-old would’ve? Probably not very many. But with experience, he’d learned what women liked, and he was sure he could please her. He rubbed in slow, leisurely circles while he drifted his other hand to her pussy. He slid a finger inside her, stroking in and out of her wet channel, and continued to toy with the bud between the cheeks of her ass.
Becca bucked against his hands, clutching the sheets and writhing like the wild animal she could become. His eyes took on a luminescent glow, and he blinked to clear the canine reaction, but it didn’t put a halt to his lust. Becca arched her spine and let out an animalistic growl. Mere human desire gave way to the overwhelming passion of her beast.
With the tip of his forefinger, he prodded her anus. The ruched tissue separated to allow entrance, and he teased the edges. Becca tensed, but when she didn’t demur, he continued. In and out, slow and easy, he let her adjust to his finger.
With his other hand, he sought her clit and found it. He plucked the hooded flap of skin and positioned himself behind her. “Get on your knees.”
She scrambled to obey, and when she was before him, her pussy dripping and her ass high in the air, he entered her. He slid his cock into her anus as slowly as possible. His size could hurt any woman, even a shifter.
“Parker!” Becca gasped out. The muscles in her shoulders and back stood out in stark relief. Her arms locked, her body visibly trembling as he moved within her.
He paused. “Am I hurting you?”
She dropped her forehead to the mattress but kept her ass at the same level. “A little, but I don’t want you to stop.”
Fierce possession took hold of him. “Have you done this before, allowed someone to fuck you in the ass?”
Her fingers curled against the sheet. Her knuckles turned white. “Never.”
Good. He kept the word silent, content enough with her admission. Being new to anal sex, it was best he didn’t give his entire cock to her. Instead he played with only a couple inches, moving in and out in an easy rhythm.
Becca didn’t let him go slow for long. Her hips rocked against his, taking him deeper and deeper with each rock. “Fuck, Parker. It feels so good.”
“For me too, baby.” Christ, where did the endearment come from?
He hadn’t thought of her in that way since she’d left. Her ass stretched taut around his cock. He watched his dick slide in and out of her. She gripped him like the tightest of vises. Holy shit, he was going to come if he didn’t slow down.
His balls tightened, and the impending orgasm rocketed through his veins. Before he held back, he buried his full length inside her. Becca’s scream tore through the room, blending with his loud howl. He gripped her hips and held her still as he emptied himself into the condom. Becca twitched before him, her gasps and pants reassuring him that she’d found release too.
Once the climax ended, he carefully moved out of her. He discarded the condom in the wastebasket he’d seen near her bed and helped Becca onto her side. “Did I hurt you?”
Her gaze met his. Wide-eyed and unblinking, she shook her head from side to side. “No.”
“You say that as if you’re not sure.” He’d hate himself if he’d hurt her. Emotionally he could deal with, but not physically.
“Why did you come here?”
He sighed. “I told you.”
She raised herself onto her right hip and propped her head on her hand. “I never imagined I would have sex with you again. Hard to fathom.”
He’d suspected the regret would come, but he’d figured he would have until tomorrow. “I’ll get my things and go.”
She placed the palm of her other hand on the center of his chest and pressed down. “Stay. We need to talk.”
“Look, Becca. It was stupid of me to come here. I get that. I’ll get out of your hair, and we can forget this ever happened.”
She draped her body over his. “I can’t stop you from leaving if that’s what you really want, but I wish you’d stay. At least for the day.”
He frowned. “You want to spend Valentine’s Day with me?”
Her cheeks turned pink, but she continued to hold his gaze. “It would be silly for you to come all this way without seeing the city. You’ve never been here, have you?”
He hadn’t, although he’d wished it a thousand times, searched Boston on the Internet, and memorized the landmarks, wondering if Becca had visited any of them. “My flight isn’t until later this afternoon. I guess I can stay for a little while.”
She smiled, and it sucked the soul right out of him. It would be so easy to fall under her spell again. Somehow, the thought didn’t worry him as much as it should.
CHAPTER FOUR
The day was cold but sunny. Becca stood near a pond in Boston Common and watched Parker soak in the sights. They’d walked for several hours, stopping for lunch at a food truck and eating as they strolled. He looked so casual yet stuck out like a sore thumb. In a city of professionals and metrosexuals, his rugged good looks and hewn body almost seemed out of place.
He wore no coat, only the black T-shirt and jeans he’d arrived in. Their shifter blood kept them warm, but Parker’s inability to blend in drilled home the differences between her old life and new. In their small corner of Raleigh, shifters ran about in winter as if the cold didn’t bother them. Here, in Boston, where the shifter population was much smaller, she struggled to maintain a purely human appearance, which included dressing for the seasons.
But she didn’t begrudge the sight of his tanned biceps peeping past the hem of his shirt and the uber-masculine sight before her. The stressed denim clung to his backside and taut thighs. His back was to her, so she looked her fill. It was hard to reconcile the man before her with the boy who’d once professed his love to her in a high, squeaky voice. Being the alpha agreed with him, had shaped him into a very desirable man.
Sunlight glinted off the water and the metal frames of the sunglasses he wore. He looked like an action movie star, all brooding good looks and bulging muscles. Even the beard he sported increased his deadly appeal, and she’d been the one in bed with him earlier. To look at him now, she wondered how it had happened. How had he looked at her and wanted her?
She lifted her thumb to her mouth and nibbled on the nail. Doubts assailed her. Was it idiotic to wish for more? She was settled here. A long-distance relationship was out of the question. She wouldn’t force him to be faithful to someone he only saw a few times a year.
He turned, and she lowered her hand. She couldn’t see his eyes behind the dark lenses, but the tense features and set shoulders told her he’d been considering the same dilemma. Although they were mere feet apart, an ocean seemed to separate them. She opened her mouth, but no words came. What could she say that hadn’t been said before? Neither should be forced to uproot their life, but she hated feeling like this, like she was making a mistake.
He broke first, shaking his head as if to clear it and striding over to join her. He tucked his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heels. “Should we go? It’s getting late. I have to hurry if I’m going to make it to the airport in time.”
It was on the tip of her tongue to ask him to stay longer, to never leave her. Instead she smiled and nodded. “Sure.”
The walk should’ve taken fifteen minutes, but instead time seemed to fly by. She started to speak several times but remained silent. It wasn’t fair to ask him for more. She’d been the one to leave. She’d been the one who hadn’t given their relationship a chance. Resolving to stay strong, she led him to her apartment. “Do you want me to give you a lift to the airport?”
He removed his sunglasses when they entered the shadowed foyer of her building. Something akin to anger and pain burned in his eyes, but it was gone immediately. She must’ve imagined it. “I can call a cab.”
“Are you sure? It’s no trouble.” Even if it was only a ride to the airport, she wanted to have more time with him.
He stopped and stared at her. “What are you doing?”
Nerves settled in the pit of her stomach. She crossed her arms over her chest in a self-protective gesture. “What do you mean?”
Parker tucked the glasses in his back pocket and took her hand. He tugged her forward and bent down to put his nose next to hers. “You’re looking at me like you used to.”
“Am I?” She bit her lip and prayed for the strength to hold firm. “I don’t mean to.”
He narrowed his eyes. “That’s the problem. You never mean to do anything. You never meant to hurt me. You never meant to ruin what we had. It happens anyway.”
The unexpected venom made her hackles rise. “What are you saying? Are you implying that I’m playing with you?”
“I’m not implying anything.” His lips twisted into a cruel smile. “I’m saying you don’t know what you’re doing. You’re not prepared to be with me, yet you don’t want me to leave.”
“I…I didn’t say that,” she argued.
“You didn’t have to.” His smile slid away. “I should go. Coming here was a mistake.”
Her body, which still pleasurably ached from their earlier lovemaking, proved otherwise, but pain blinded her to reality. “It was your decision, Parker. Not mine. No one asked you to come here.”
He’d turned, but at her words he pivoted back to face her. “You’re right. I took it upon myself to come here. This time, it was me making the mistake. I’d call us even now.”
She curled her fingers into her palms and kept silent as he left. Pleas leaped to her lips, but she bit them back. He needed to go. It was the only sensible thing to do. The only problem was she didn’t want to be sensible. She wanted…Parker.
A group of women crowded the door, but she shoved past and searched the sidewalk for any sign of him. She didn’t see him. Surely he hadn’t hailed a cab that fast? She looked right and left, desperate to catch sight of him. She didn’t want him to leave angry, couldn’t let him get on the plane without trying to make him understand.
Her cell phone was in her pocket, and she dug it out. After dialing her sister’s number, she impatiently waited for Emily to pick up. It seemed ages before she finally did. “Hiya, sis.”
Becca sucked in a deep breath. “I need you to call Parker for me. Tell him not to leave Boston.”
“Why?”
Becca growled a warning. “Emily, I don’t have time for this. Parker is on his way to the airport, and I need to see him before he leaves. You’ve stayed in contact with him. Call him, and tell him to wait for me.”
Emily sighed. “OK, but can I just say you two have a seriously messed-up relationship? Why can’t you admit—”
“Emily! Focus. I need you to call him before it’s too late.” Becca was on the verge of panicking. Tears clogged her throat, and she turned away from the stream of passersby and leaned her shoulder against the brick facade of her building. “I love him, and I don’t want him to leave. I was young and stupid before. I’m not anymore. I know what I want, and it’s him. He’s all I ever wanted.”
“Just to be sure,” Emily asked. “It is Parker Lewis we’re talking about. The boy whose heart you ripped into a hundred pieces and stomped on?”
Becca rubbed her forehead. “Yes. I was a bitch to him. I realize that. But I want to make it right. He’s the one. The only one. I can’t let him leave.”
Emily chuckled. “I figured this would happen when he told me he was flying to Boston.”
“You knew, and you didn’t warn me?” Becca moved the phone from her ear and stared at it for a moment before putting it back. “You’re a rotten sister.”
“You love me anyway,” Emily chirped. “I got Charlie’s name after all, so if anyone asks I’ve got the flu. It appeared practically overnight.” Emily faked a couple of coughs.
Becca tutted. “I’m sorry, Em.”
“Oh well. At least I can help you find romance this year.” Emily rattled off a string of numbers. “It hasn’t changed. I imagine he kept the same number in the hopes you would call him one day.”
“Thank you. Thank you. Thank you! I owe you for this.” Becca hung up and hurriedly dialed Parker’s number. She waited through the rings, crossing her fingers and hoping he had his phone turned on. He’d had it with him, but it hadn’t rung the entire day. When it went to voice mail, her hopes deflated.
Valentines Heat III Page 3
