“Parker, look at me,” I say taking his bearded chin in my hand and turning his beautiful face so we’re looking eye to eye. “I get what you’re saying. And for now, I’ll allow this plan to happen, but know what people say to me and what they think of me doesn’t matter. What matters to me is that the people I love and care about know my truth. We’re just starting our own journey together, so let’s see where we go.”
“Thank you, Mandy. Believe me I want the world to know you are mine, but I want you and Callie to be safe first and foremost,” he says as he pulls me into him, capturing my lips with his own. He runs his tongue along the seam of my lips wanting to deepen it. I open for him as his hand runs up the back of my neck, grabbing my hair gently, pulling my head back so he can deepen the kiss even more. I melt in his arms that are holding me up so I don’t slide onto the bench and down to the porch floor.
Grandma pops her head out the front door just as we are pulling apart to let us know Callie is ready to get tucked in. I move to get up holding my hand out to invite Parker to join me. He happily accepts and we walk into the house, directly to Callie’s room. She looks so happy and at peace and it makes me a little jealous. Going through so much the past few days and her innocence thankfully hasn’t been tarnished. I take her in my arms rocking her back and forth a bit and sing her a soft lullaby. When the song is over, I kiss her little head, then Parker leans in and does the same before I lay her down, making sure she has her pink flamingo. I have a feeling she’s going to have that thing by her side for years. I turn off her side lamp and the little night light glows as we quietly walk out of the room, closing the door almost all the way.
I turn to Parker at the end of the hallway. “You are so good with her. Thank you.”
“She’s precious and holds a special place in my heart just like her mother does. Please know, no matter how many times you might hear me deny we have anything between us to the press, I don’t mean it. I’ll never mean it. Hopefully, we are able to get the truth out there about what an asshole Connor is and then we can be as normal as possible, given my job. I want to be able to go out and have fun with you and Callie, I want to show the world how I feel. I think it’s best for a little while to keep it out of the press.”
“I get it, I really do. I might not like it or understand completely, but I get you wanting to protect us. It’s getting late, why don’t you crash here? You have your bags in the car from the trip so it wouldn’t be a big deal to get ready here before you have to go to your meeting.”
“I can do that.” He then pulls me into his chest hugging me tight, like he’s going to lose me. When he releases is hold on me, we go find Grandma.
“Parker is going to stay the night here since it’s getting so late and it’s a long drive back to his house.”
“Okay, should I go make up the guest bed or will be staying with you?” she asks with a sly grin on her face.
“There’s no need to make up the bed,” I say before I take Parker’s hand leading him back outside so he can get his bag.
“Maggie sure is a spunky one, isn’t she?”
“Oh, just you wait, it will get worse. She’s been rooting for you from the beginning and she’ll take every opportunity to rub it in my face.” I laugh.
We go back in the house, finding Grandma in the living room and sit and watch TV for a little while longer then I start to yawn and can’t stop.
“Mandy, why don’t we head to bed, it’s been another long day, I’m tired too,” Parker suggests.
I say goodnight to Grandma placing a kiss on her cheek and before I pull away she whispers in my ear, “you better take full advantage of this night,” then winks at me before she tells Parker goodnight, gets up and goes to her room, bringing Callie’s monitor with her.
I’m standing there with my head in my hands shaking my head, you’d think that woman couldn’t surprise me, but she’s managed to.
“What did she say to you? Maggie shot me a wink as she walked away with Callie’s monitor.”
“Oh, you know just telling me to take full advantage of this night.” Parker barks out a laugh then sweeps me off my feet, marching to my room.
“What are you doing? Put me down, I can walk,” I whisper yell.
“I’m just taking full advantage of the night.” He smiles at me. “Grandma’s orders.” Then he shuts my door with his foot before depositing me on the bed. “All joking aside, I want you to know that I’d be more than satisfied holding you all night long in my arms. I’m not going to ask you for more than you’re ready for.” He kisses me briefly on the lips before pulling away. He stands in front of me looking down into my eyes waiting for me to decide where I want this night to go. Honestly, I’m not sure, but I can’t complain about the hungry way he is looking at me. I lean back on my hands biting my lower lip trying to look sexy and thinking, trying to decide.
37
Parker
“What will it be, Mandy?” I question as she is looking sexy as hell leaning back on her bed, biting her lower lip. She’s driving me crazy. I’m not sure what kind of alone time we will get after tonight with a busy second half of the season and hopefully a run for the cup finals, so I want to take advantage of this time, only if it’s what she wants too.
“Come here,” she says with a smile.
I approach her slowly and when I get to the foot of the bed, I raise an eyebrow in question before I make another move. Mandy sits up so that I’m standing in between her legs, takes hold of the collar of my shirt pulling me down so our lips are inches apart. “Kiss me,” she says.
I’m not one to argue so I take possession of her lips, pushing her further up on the bed and covering her body with mine. Every kiss, except the first kiss, has been gentle and soft, but this one has all my pent-up sexual tension leading me. I’ve wanted Mandy for so long, but I don’t want to rush this, so I slow the kiss down, moving to her neck, her back arching bringing her closer to me, like she’s afraid I’ll disappear. Mandy takes hold of the bottom of my shirt pushing it up my torso. I break contact long enough for her to remove it, then attach my lips back to her neck. My hands move like they have a mind of their own sliding up her torso, I brush my thumbs along the wire of her bra, then slide her shirt up over her head. “Beautiful,” I say, looking into her eyes then slide to the side pulling her on top of me. I’m going to let her lead this night; however, she wants it to go.
“Mandy, I want this, believe me I do, but I’m letting you decide what happens here. I’m at your mercy. If you want to lay here kissing, I’m fine with that, if you want more, I’m good with that too. You decide what happens next.”
“Parker, I want you, all of you. Nothing will change my decision.” Then she kisses me. Before I have time to complete a thought she has started to move down my chest to the waistband of my pants. She unbuttons them and pulls down the zipper. I raise my hips so she can slide my pants off when she realizes I’m not wearing anything underneath. My dick springs free, surprising her. I kick my pants off and to the floor before she wraps her beautiful mouth around the head, swirling her tongue around the rim. I’m so wound tight I pull her off of me and back up the length of my body so I can look her in the eyes.
“That feels amazing, but if you continue, I’m not going to last long. I’ve been waiting for you since the day I met you that night at the arena.”
“Have you now? Well let’s remedy that for you.” She sits up and slides out of her own pants, tossing them to the floor alongside mine then straddles me. Sitting there looking down at me, toying with her bra strap the only piece of clothing left of her beautiful body. Finally, she reaches behind her and undoes the hooks, releasing her luscious breasts for me to finally view. I sit up, taking one nipple in my mouth while palming the other breast. She holds my head to her chest, making sure I don’t stop. I switch sides and I swear with the sounds she’s making I have her close to an orgasm. I release her nipple with a pop, then roll her onto her back so I’m on top now, kissing her again.
She takes hold of my cock sliding her hand up and down and I can’t take it anymore. “Mandy, are you sure about this?” I ask one last time.
“Parker, quit asking, and put your cock inside me, please,” she says with a devilish smile on her face. I reach over the bed to the floor to grab my wallet with the condom inside. When I’m about to tear open the package she takes it from me and puts the condom on for me. Not once has a girl ever done that, it threw me off balance for a moment until I felt her hand rolling it down my length.
“Parker, I want this more than you know. Please stop worrying and fuck me,” she begs.
I stop questioning the night and give all my attention to Mandy, making her feel good, wanted and loved. I check to see if she’s ready for me and she’s so wet that my fingers glide right down her slit. I tweak her clit for a few beats then lean over her, slowly entering her. She’s so tight, I can barely stand it. I’m not a small guy and I don’t want to hurt her, so I take it slow. When I’m fully sheathed inside her wet walls, I take a moment to collect myself before I withdraw and pump inside her again, slowly, letting her adjust to my size.
“Move faster,” she pants.
I move faster per her request. She’s trying to be quiet so as not to wake Callie or her Grandma but it’s starting to be difficult. I can see the strain in her face. I take possession of her mouth to mute her screams of ecstasy as I feel her walls tighten around me. I’m so damn close and about to burst but I want her to orgasm first. With three more strokes, her body tightens, and she lets go. I follow her over the ledge after two more strokes. We lay there trying to catch our breath, me still inside her.
“That was amazing, you were amazing.” Then I kiss her lips with a smile on my face.
“You weren’t half bad yourself,” she jokes.
I reluctantly pull out and dispose of the condom in her attached bathroom, where I find a washcloth and dampen it with warm water so when I return to her side, I can clean her up. I toss the washcloth to the floor when I’m done and then get under the covers, pulling her into my side where she throws a leg over mine and props her head up with her hand so she can look at me.
“Parker, I’m not gonna lie, I’ve honestly never felt such a connection when having sex in the past. What just happened blew my mind.”
“No regrets?” I have to ask.
“None,” she says then lays her head across my chest. I lay there stroking her hair until I hear her breath even out, she is asleep. I lay awake for a little while longer, thinking about her, us, and what I asked her to do earlier tonight. Hiding her and our relationship doesn’t feel right, but it does protect her from the media. Connor is evil enough to make this about him and make people feel like he’s the victim. Still I get an unsettling feeling as I lay awake with her in my arms. She feels so good there, so right. I shake the thoughts out of my head and bring myself back to the moment, holding her in my arms. I eventually fall asleep.
38
Mandy
I wake before Parker, still feeling nothing but love for this guy. Not a single regret. I finagle my way out of his vice grip so I can use the bathroom, then find some clothes so I can go check on Callie, who’s still sound asleep in her crib. I make my way to the kitchen where I smell coffee brewing. There is nothing like the smell of coffee first thing in the morning. Grandma is sitting at the table with her own mug in her hand.
“Morning Sweetheart, how was your night?” She winks at me.
“Shush you,” I say as I grab my own cup of coffee. Taking the seat across from her I smile and take my first sip.
“Answer me this one question and I’ll leave you alone.”
“Okay, ask away just remember this is your one and only question.”
“Was it better than you expected?” she smiles behind her coffee mug.
“Yes, it was. Now moving on, I need your opinion,” I say.
“I’m listening.”
“Say you are in my situation, with everything that was said last night on the sports channel, would you be okay if your man asked you to hide the relationship you’re building from the outside world?”
“It would depend on the reason behind the request,” she answers.
“For mine and Callie’s protection. To change what is currently being said about me. To make me look good in the media and not like the home wrecker they are making me out to be.”
“Mandy, I can see his point. If you aren’t publicly dating, he thinks that people won’t talk. I’m here to tell you they will always talk. This has not been the best few months for either of you. I’m glad you came to your senses and saw what a great guy he is, beyond what the media made him out to be. Maybe he was like that once upon a time, but I’ve seen a huge change in that boy since he met you. But there’s my point, Parker will always be in the media, and with that anyone he dates. I think you both should just brush it off and move on. We will have enough to deal with when everything goes to court and who knows when that will be. Are you going to hide in the shadows until everything is resolved?”
“Maggie, you have a point,” Parker says from the doorway. “I was lying awake last night thinking about what I asked you to do, Mandy. It doesn’t feel right to me anymore, especially after last night. I don’t want to hide you, and I don’t want to hide Callie. Now that I think about it the whole thought was plain stupid.” He comes over to me, kisses me on the lips and then goes to make his own cup of coffee. Then he turns and leans against the counter. After taking a sip and watching me over the edge of the cup he says, “Mandy, I want you there today by my side. I want to make it clear that Connor signed his parental rights away before she was born and that no one is replacing anyone but on top of that I want to let it be known we are in fact dating.”
“Really?” I question.
“Yes really, we aren’t lying, and I’m not hiding anything either. We have not had the easiest time lately, and there is no point in making it worse by doing what I asked of you last night. All that would accomplish is making us miserable. What do you say, will you officially be my girlfriend?” he asks.
I get up and start walking in his direction, rubbing my chin in contemplation, “Hmmm, what do you think Grandma, should I be this guy’s girlfriend?” I ask stopping midway to turn to her and ask.
“I think you should. I mean he’s almost begging you with those puppy dog eyes he has going on.”
I turn to look at Parker and he in fact has puppy dog eyes and a pouty lip sticking out. I chuckle at him then close the distance between us stopping within arm’s reach of him. “I suppose I can agree to that. Just remember I am a package deal, you not only get me, but also a beautiful little girl and an adorable pink flamingo, yet to be named, and a crazy cool old lady.” I laugh
“Hey, who are you calling old?”
“All I see is this awesome lady over there,” Parker says.
“Well however you see it, you get us all. I hear the little girl waking up and calling for you to go change her diaper. It’s all part of the deal.” Then I kiss him and grab his hand pulling him down the hall to Callie’s room where he gets his first lesson in diaper changing. I can hear Grandma laughing in the kitchen as I lead him away.
The rest of the morning goes by quickly and then it’s time to get ready to go to work. Angie will be here in about an hour and I’m the only one left to shower and get dressed. Parker made a call earlier to the team PR person and gave her an update on how he wanted to handle things this afternoon. Reluctantly she agreed and we are due to meet her outside the locker room this afternoon before practice starts at three.
Callie is waking up from an after lunch nap when Angie arrives. Grandma is getting Callie changed and her bag packed for the afternoon because Angie and Callie are coming with us to the afternoon skate. I didn’t want to tell Angie before, because I knew her husband wouldn’t have approved, but the entire team was worried about her after the kidnapping and John took off with her as soon as she was released. This way, I have Callie close by toda
y, and everyone can see Angie. However, when I had this plan Angie didn’t have a black eye and bruised lip. Cam is going to go ballistic when he puts two and two together. I can’t worry about that now. Parker takes his car and I take mine with Callie and Angie in tow. When we arrive, I get her permanent team identification card and then set them up in the lounge area, where there is a little kid’s section in the corner. Parker and I go and meet up with Cindy, finally I can call her something besides PR person, and do the press conference. It felt good to get a few facts straight with the media and we actually got a lot of congratulations from them as well. I’m surprised it went so well. Afterwards, a couple apologized to me for what they had said previously. Since today is going so well I hope the other shoe doesn’t drop and ruin it.
Meyers had gotten everything ready and started pre skate treatments while I was with the media, knowing that he has it all handled, I stop in to check on Angie and Callie. Yup the shoe just dropped. “Fuck,” Parker runs into my back knocking me a step forward.
“Why did you stop?” he questions then sees what I see. Cam is with Angie and he isn’t a happy camper. He repeats what I just said. “Fuck.”
When we approach, Angie is almost in tears.
“Cam, what the hell are you doing? Look at her, she doesn’t need your shit,” I say as I pass him and go sit next to Angie and wrapping my arms around her. Parker steps in front of Cam, “Let’s go, you’ve done enough.” He then ushers him backwards until they are out of site.
“Angie, what was all that?” I ask.
“Cam came over when he saw I was here with Callie to check on me, then he saw my face. He wasn’t mean to me, just angry in general. Saying he was going to kill John for doing this to me, he definitely wasn’t happy. He was blind with anger. I don’t even think he even saw I was crying. Mandy, I have to be honest with you, this isn’t the first time John has done this to me. It probably won’t be the last. We have a prenup and I get nothing if I divorce him unless he’s the one caught cheating then things change in my favor. Until you came back to town, I had no friends, he’s kept me in his little circle like a good trophy wife. I have no family I can turn to; I’ve been stuck for way too long. I can honestly say I’m confident he’s cheated on me, but I have no proof. When you offered me this job, I took the chance to be able to escape my mundane life, John didn’t like it, but it was the first time I did something for myself and stood my ground. Then when everything happened in Vegas, he blamed me as I sat in the hospital bed. After I was released, we went to get our things at the hotel and we were on the next flight home. He was the angriest I’ve ever seen him. I was terrified. You haven’t even seen my torso, and the bruises left behind after he pushed me into the coffee table.”
Breakthrough Page 22
