by Tessa Layne
She rolled her eyes again. “But not in the way I wanted. It doomed me to being one of the guys.”
“You were never just one of the guys, Cass.” He cupped the back of her neck with a hand and tilted her chin with the other, brushing his mouth across hers. He could grow drunk on her kisses. Slowly, he flicked at her lower lip with his tongue and braced for the jolt of awareness that always came when he first tasted her. His tongue slid against hers, languorous and lazy as the day in front of them.
He shifted his stance to make room for his stiffening cock as she moaned quietly against him. So this is what it felt like to kiss someone you were crazy about. Pretty damned good. “Mmm. You taste like sunshine.” He mumbled as he kissed the sensitive spot underneath her ear.
“You taste like blue sky and soft air,” she responded, grabbing a fistful of his shirt and pulling him in for another kiss.
The horn of a passing truck pulled them apart. But he kissed her once more for good measure as soon as it passed. “As I was saying, do you remember the first time you rode on back?”
“Yeah. I loved feeling your muscles.”
He puffed up at her confession. “Well, I like how that feels too. And that’s my point. No more anticipating. Can you trust me?”
For the tiniest second, her fear was back. It flickered like a spark and then was gone. He’d have missed it if he wasn’t watching her closely. But she nodded and gave him a dazzling smile. He was putty in her hands when she smiled like that. “I promise, I won’t let anything happen to us.” He took her helmet from where it rested against her thighs and gently placed it on her head, buttoning her chin strap, and giving another kiss to her perfectly freckled nose. “When I get back on, I want you to snuggle up and then shut your eyes. I know it’s been awhile, but you’ll remember. And let. Me. Lead.” He punctuated each word with a light kiss.
Parker slid onto the seat, and this time Cassidy settled behind him, pressing tighter. He didn’t have to close his eyes to visualize her breasts crushed against his backside, or the muscles in her thighs stretched tautly around his hips. They were going to have to ride tandem more often.
“Park?” Her voice slid across him like liquid silk, going straight to his cock.
“Yeah?” he said hoarsely.
“Thanks.”
He nodded, a sudden lump in his throat. Instead of answering, he revved the bike and tore off down the road. With Cassie behind him, he could conquer the world.
CHAPTER 21
Parker slowed the bike as he pulled into the long driveway. He’d only been gone a few months, and yet there was an element of unfamiliarity about his childhood home. Maybe that’s what happened when you left home for good.
“Wow, I haven’t seen this since… years,” Cassie said, obviously lost in a memory.
“You haven’t been here since high-school. Wait here? I just need to grab my tools.”
“And miss seeing your bedroom? No way.” She grinned wickedly. “I always wanted to see it, but your mom was pretty vigilant.”
Parker laughed and nodded. “Yeah. Nothing got past her eagle eye. Especially not teenage girls.” He held out his hand. “Come on. I’m sure Mom will be thrilled to see you.”
He liked the way it felt when she slipped her hand in his. Like she trusted him completely, like she was relying on him. Even if it was just a little bit.
“I still can’t believe you haven’t ridden a bike in so long.”
Parker shrugged. “It’s not that big of a deal. Besides, we’re fixing that today.”
He squeezed the handle to the front door and pushed it open, stepping in. “Hey Mom,” he called. “Look who I bro–”
What in the hell?
A flurry of limbs, some of them naked were moving on the couch.
Cassie bumped smack into him.
“MOM?”
The limbs were moving so fast he couldn’t figure out which limbs belonged to who, but that was definitely his mother’s squeal of surprise. Followed by a deep rumble. His eyes grew wide. Until the day he died, he’d never be able to unsee the sight before them.
He cringed, throwing an arm across his face. “For God’s sake mom, put on a shirt.”
Behind him, Cassie chortled.
“Parker,” his mother called breathlessly from the corner. “What on earth are you doing home?”
“Getting my bike tools. What in the hell are you doing home?”
“I live here,” she said crisply, her voice tinged with impatience. “What have I taught you about barging in?”
He risked a glance over to the couch, his mother was behind a big, bare, barrel chested brute of a man. One who was calling his mother Peggy. And was that? He shook his head trying to clear his vision. “Zack Forte?” he squeezed out, his voice going up an octave from the shock.
Zack Forte was a bazillionaire they’d all met in the aftermath of the tornado. And he was easily ten years his mother’s junior. Zack cleared his throat and met Parker’s glare dead on. “Your mother is an adult, son.”
“Exactly, which is why…” he shook his head. “Oh man. That’s my mom. You… you’re… oh man.”
He just wanted to get away with his bike tools and his vision intact.
His mother’s eyes were snapping as she peeked out from behind Zack’s shoulder. “Parker. You said you needed your tools. Now would be a good time.”
Cassie pinched him from behind, shaking with laughter. “Park, should I come with you?”
Oh great. He could see where this was going.
“Great to see you, Peggy. You look… great.” Cassie couldn’t even complete a sentence without dissolving into giggles.
“Nice to see you too, Cassie,” his mother replied tartly.
He crossed the main room in two steps and hurried down the hall to his old bedroom. Although old wasn’t the right word. It was still his room. He just didn’t live there right now. Apparently, something his mom had taken full advantage of.
Something niggled at him. Had she been waiting for him to leave all along? Only keeping vigil for his late father because of him and Cody? Granted, he didn’t want to see his mom naked any more than he wanted to see his uncle and aunt that way. But he’d hate to think she’d missed out on a lifetime of love because of him.
He searched the back of the closet, but couldn’t find his tools. He distinctly remembered putting them in the closet. And where were all the other things he’d left in the closet in case he needed them?
They were all sitting in the kitchen when he returned. Cassie and his mom both giggling, Zack, still shirtless, looking very self-satisfied. Parker stared at his mom, sitting at the table holding a glass of water wearing a shirt three sizes too big. She looked almost… schoolgirlish.
“Don’t look at me that way, Parker. I deserve a love life.” She took a deep breath and continued before he could speak. “Your father’s been gone over twenty years. All the years you lived here, I never had company. Never went on a date.” She glanced over at Zack who watched her with something akin to fondness. “Zack and I have been seeing each other for quite some time.”
Parker scrubbed a hand over his face. Stunned. “I thought you needed me, mom. You were lonely.”
She nodded vigorously. “I was, Parker. But not for you. It’s never been your job to take care of me, Son.” She reached for Zack’s hand, lacing her fingers with his.
Ouch.
Her admission slammed into him with the weight of a freight train. All along he’d been staying at the house because he thought she was lonely and needed company. Needed support. And the entire time, she’d been waiting for him to leave? How had he so badly misjudged the situation? “No wonder you jumped at the chance to help me move out.”
She laughed quietly. “I should have kicked you out years ago.”
Parker raked a hand through his hair, trying to wrap his head around the flurry of admissions.
“You know you’re always welcome.” Her face softened. “Always. But I need my privacy. Just like
you need yours.” She nodded her head at Cassie. “I’m sorry you found out about us this way. But I’m not sorry you know. And your tools are in the cellar.”
“What are they doing there?”
“I needed the room.”
He shook his head. “I don’t want to know.”
Cassie stood. “I’ll wait outside,” she said with a hint of laughter in her voice. “Nice to see you again, Mrs. Hansen.”
“Please, call me Peggy. And will you let your mother know I’ll be at the next bunko night?”
Parker rushed to the cellar, the house suddenly feeling very foreign. Sure enough, at the bottom of the stairs a crate containing the last few items he’d left here, ‘just in case’, including his toolkit, stood lonely and forlorn. Not wanting to analyze it, and more importantly, not wanting to stumble upon his mother sucking face with a younger man, he hurried up the stairs by way of the kitchen.
He paused, staring hard at the man who was at most only ten years older than he was. Until now, he’d respected the heck out of Zack Forte, self-made bazillionaire, philanthropist, and one of Prairie’s rebuilding champions. “Be good to my mom,” he growled. “’Bye mom. We’ll talk soon.”
Her laughter followed him out the front door, where Cassie’s belly laughs greeted him across the lawn.
CHAPTER 22
Cassie slipped into the garage and pulled the cover off her dad’s bike, tossing it over her mangled Ducati. She’d purposefully stored it back here where she knew no one would come looking for it. If she paid close attention this afternoon, maybe she could figure out how to fix it. The engines all worked the same, right?
She wheeled the old Yamaha across the yard to where Parker sat waiting on the steps to the playhouse. Parker cocked his chin back at the door. “Nice digs.”
“Dad built it for us years ago. It was the best place for sleepovers. And if you play your cards right, you might get the tour.” She waggled her eyebrows at him.
Parker dangled two beer bottles from each hand. “This butter you up?”
“Where’d you get those?”
“Swiped them from Mom’s fridge. I figured she owes me that much for burning holes in my retinas.”
“Aww, she deserves some happiness, don’t you think?”
“Of course she does. But I don’t want to talk about that.” Parker placed a beer on the little railing and leaned back on a hand taking a long pull from the other. Cassie’s focus riveted on the way his throat moved when he swallowed. When his tongue swiped his lower lip catching the last drop, her blood went molten.
“What do you want to talk about?” Her voice had gone all soft and breathy.
And what was left of her panties burned up in the look he gave her when he spoke. “I’d rather talk about all the dirty thoughts I had while you were pressed up against me riding the bike.”
Cassie’s mouth went dry. She couldn’t tell if the heat on her face was from his penetrating gaze or the sun. It was like someone had lit a torch inside of her. “How dirty?”
His eyes crinkled. “Very dirty.”
“Tell me,” she breathed, her pussy pulsing at full attention.
He put down the beer and stood, crossing the distance between them in two steps. Resting a hand on her hip, he dipped his head to her neck where he tongued the sensitive spot just below her ear. “I’d rather show you.”
His breath skated over her, sending an electric charge straight to her clit. She breathed in sharply as her nipples tightened to hard peaks. She slid her palm up his chest and fisted the soft cotton, giving him a little push back. “Inside. Now.”
He covered her hand with his, and turning, bounded up the steps, pulling her behind. He hauled her inside, and made a beeline for her bed, still covered in flight suits.
He swept them into a pile on the floor and tumbled her onto the mattress. “We can play with these later.”
“So you like it when I’m dressed for battle?”
He rolled her onto her back and braced himself above her, caressing her cheek with a thumb. “I like you every way.” He lowered his head, mouth hovering just above hers.
She reached up and stroked his jaw, slightly roughened from the day’s growth. Her heart beat erratically as she surrendered to his intense gaze. She closed the distance between their mouths, opening herself to him, sighing in relief when his tongue stroked in.
She longed for his weight on her, pressing her into the mattress and bringing relief to the ache that was rapidly escalating between her legs.
He broke the kiss too soon. “But especially naked.”
She squirmed under him, reaching for her waistband, but his hand caught hers stilling it. “Lie back.”
She hesitated. When they’d just been fooling around, it had just been banter. But now that she’d admitted she was falling in love with him, his words carried more weight. She got the feeling he was talking about much much more than clothing removal. She hadn’t even taken off her boots, and yet she felt exposed and completely vulnerable under his intense scrutiny.
She didn’t do vulnerable. Not very well, at least.
“Let me give this to you, Cass,” he murmured. “Show you how beautiful you are.”
Something in his voice slipped through her defenses like a key slipping into a lock. A flood of emotion swept through her. “Parker, I’m scared,” she whispered, looking away, heat crawling up her neck.
He gently pulled her back. “Look at me, Cass.”
Heart in her throat, she raised her eyes to meet his. There was so much love there, such kindness and steadiness, tears pricked her eyelids.
“You have nothing to be afraid of. I’m right here, and I’m not going anywhere.” Parker’s eyes shone as he smiled down at her. “I meant what I said back there on the road. I love you, and I mean to show you just how much.”
Her heart teetered on the precipice, scrabbling for purchase, wanting to let go, yet afraid of the fall. There would be no going back from this moment. “What about–”
He placed a finger across her lips. “Shhh. Whatever it is, we’ll figure it out together.” Replacing his finger with his mouth, he gave her a kiss so tender it hurt. Then he pushed off the bed, and in one fluid motion reached over his head and pulled off his shirt with one hand.
Her mouth watered as she perused his chest, the smattering of hair leading to a vee below his waist. She longed to explore the ridges and valleys his muscles created, to memorize every inch of him. But he moved away as she reached for him, squatting at her feet and working the laces of her boots.
Glancing up at her while he worked the knots, he spoke lightly. “It’s time we got you a proper pair of cowboy boots. Especially if you’re going to be working in the arena regularly.”
“What’s good enough for the army is good enough for me.”
He gave her a mischievous smile. “Then remember how much faster it is to slip out of cowboy boots. See?” He stood and toed off his boots, flicking them across the floor.
“Noted.”
Parker knelt back down, peeled off her socks, and pulled on her jeans, pausing to inspect the bruise at her knee. For a heart stopping moment, she forgot to breathe. His eyes narrowed as he traced it, then he looked up at her eyes full of concern. “That was some inanimate object.”
“I’ve had worse,” she answered lightly with a toss of her head.
“You need to have it looked at?” Worry colored his voice.
She shook her head. “Nah. Another day of aspirin and ice and I’ll be as good as new.” She bent her knee, making her point. The bruise was still very tender, but wild horses wouldn’t drag the admission from her.
He leaned in and kissed the spot gently. “So fierce,” he murmured. She winced at the tenderness in his voice. No one had ever shown her such care and concern before. The sensations rippled over her legs, warming her and weighting her limbs. She let her head fall back with a sigh when he placed a kiss at her ankle. “God, Park. That’s… heavenly.” She stretched langu
orously, leaning into his touch, wanting his hands in other more sensitive places.
“Mmmhmm. Yes, it is.” He began working the same magic on her other foot. By the time he grabbed her ankle and began to lightly stroke up her calf, her pussy was throbbing. She was wet for him already, and he’d only just started.
He lightly ran his fingers up the inside of her thighs, setting off goose bumps across her body. He kissed the top of her thigh where it met her body, but not the place she wanted most. Hooking a thumb inside her panties, she pushed, hoping he’d take the hint as her legs fell open to him. His fingers were everywhere, flicking, caressing, stroking. Setting off tiny fires of desire everywhere he touched. She rocked her hips up, trying to find relief, but the magnificent ache only built, working its way up her body.
Her breasts felt heavy and full, her nipples puckered into hard peaks waiting for his mouth. But his mouth landed on the place she least expected – the topmost shrapnel scar. The one that if it had been a half inch farther up her leg would have nicked her femoral artery, killing her.
She gasped at his touch. At the reverence with which he worked his mouth over the half dozen scars on her leg. “Parker…” His gentle strength pierced her, tightening her throat.
“You’re beautiful. And strong.”
He continued his upward caresses, fingers grazing her swollen pussy.
“Yesssss,” she hissed. “More.”
He grazed her again, and she jerked, hips chasing his fingers for something deeper, harder.
“Parker…” her breath came hard and fast as she writhed for more. “Want. Mouth.” She didn’t care she was shamelessly begging for his touch.
But he kept her there, stroking lightly and murmuring in her ear. “Not yet, Angel. You’re so beautiful. Your pussy is so soft. I love how you get wetter with each stroke. You feel so good, Cassie. I could touch you all day.”
She exploded with relief when he finally slipped a digit inside her and pressed his palm against her throbbing clit, wave after wave of tingling heat washing over her.
“Take off your shirt.”
