by Lexie Davis
Chapter Twelve
Aubree stood in the bedroom doorway staring at Parker’s bare ass. He slept peacefully, which was a major accomplishment. He wanted her with him, and she couldn’t say no. She walked toward him and pulled the comforter over his body. Afterward, she went back to the living room and decided to work on stripping the wallpaper.
She spent a few hours peeling and scraping the walls. When she’d had enough, she decided to go to the hardware store to get supplies. Wallpaper stripper was the first item on her list, and she wanted to get the paint while she was there. After checking on Parker, she left.
Prospect was small enough that she could stay on one road and get the necessities she needed. The grocery store was next to the hardware store and that was next to the church. Parker’s house was in the middle of it all. She decided to walk instead of driving. Maybe afterward she’d stop by the bakery for some cookies-n-cream cake.
“You.”
Aubree glanced up as she stepped into the hardware store. Sophie stood behind the counter looking like she’d sucked on a lemon. The last thing Aubree needed was more trouble.
She didn’t say anything as she searched aisles for what she needed. One of the men in the back helped her by mixing the paint color she wanted. They had a perfect blue that matched Parker’s eyes. It was appropriately called bluebird.
Sophie stared at the items Aubree had and rolled her eyes. Aubree took a deep breath and ignored her. After she rang everything up, Aubree pulled out a fifty to pay.
“Is he with you because of your money?” Sophie asked taking the bill. “I mean, I don’t get it. You’re not even that pretty. You don’t have much class stealing someone else’s boyfriend. You’re momma and daddy can pretend they raised a princess, but you’re nothing but a two dollar whore.”
She tossed Aubree’s change and stared at her without bagging her items. It was as though she was back in high school again and Phoebe Dunn competed with her for Parker’s affection. She’d been called every name in the book. Phoebe had boobs since she’d been thirteen and she used them to entice boys, Parker included. Aubree had been flat chested then, and Phoebe pointed it out every chance she got.
“Why is he with you?”
“You know, Sophie,” Aubree said, collecting the coins that had scattered from the other woman’s tantrum. “I guess it’s because I give good head, being a whore and all.”
Sophie’s jaw dropped as Aubree tossed her change in her purse. She grabbed her paint and other supplies. Sophie stared at her as she left and she didn’t care. Phoebe had tried so hard to make her feel like she wasn’t worthy of any man’s affection, much less Parker. She’d dealt with so many men in Dallas trying to get into her panties because she suddenly grew a C cup. Parker never treated her like that. He said the same things to her when she’d been flat chested as he did when she had boobs.
Parker stood on the porch when she arrived back home. He frowned, clearly just getting out of bed. His brown hair was rumpled and he had sexy bedroom eyes that made her knees weak.
“Just so you know,” Aubree said, coming up the porch steps. “There may be a rumor going around that I give good head.”
Parker opened the screen door for her. He blinked a few times. Then he opened his mouth just to close it again. It took him a whole five seconds before he followed her into the house. She set the paint supplies down in the center of the living room and glanced up at the far wall.
“If you needed money for the supplies, you should have just asked me.”
And just like that he knew how to make her smile. Aubree turned toward him. “Why didn’t you tell me Sophie worked at the hardware store?”
He scratched his stomach. “Was that something I was supposed to tell you?”
“She’s Phoebe Dunn two point oh.”
“Ah, crap.” He walked over to her. “What happened? What did she say?”
Aubree turned back to the wall she’d been working on. “Well, it started out that you were only with me for my money and ended with me being a worthless two dollar whore.”
“That escalated quickly.”
She shook her head. “I told her the reason you were with me was that I gave good head.” Aubree propped her hands on her hips, trying to decide if she’d bought enough wallpaper stripper. “She shut up.”
His lips pressed against the back of her neck and her knees buckled. Parker’s hands gripped her hips as he kissed and nibbled along the curve of her shoulder. “I will admit your skills are pretty damn good, even if you learned them on a cucumber.”
Aubree’s eyes went wide before she swiveled around to face him. “How do you know about that?”
A slow grin spread across his face. “I’m the sheriff. I know everything.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Riley.” Her best friend turned traitor. She shook her head and bent to undo the drop cloth.
Parker sat next to her on the floor and grabbed the squirt bottle with the stripper in it. “She said you used a thick one. Said it was most accurate.”
Heat rushed to her cheeks.
“Now, my question is, whose dick were you looking at? Because if memory serves, we hadn’t done anything yet. You going down on me was our first sexual act. It was in the shower in the boy’s locker room.”
She pursed her lips. “Do you like the color of paint I picked?”
“Yes.” His eyes were filled with humor. “I’ll drag it out of you if I have to.”
She groaned. “It was you.” He arched an eyebrow. “I got trapped in the boy’s locker room one time after school. I hid in the laundry bin and watched you take a shower.”
He eyed her curiously. “And here I was thinking that your brazenness came from somewhere else. How did you get trapped in the boy’s locker room?”
“Why does it matter?” Aubree stood to lay the plastic drop cloth out. “It was eleven or twelve years ago.”
He chuckled. “I just find it amusing that you compared me to a thick cucumber while Riley had a popsicle. Who was she looking at?”
Aubree laughed. “I don’t know. I think she had a crush on John Connelly back then. Her taste in boys changed with the wind.”
“Yet yours remained the same.”
She finally looked at him. “I suppose it did.”
He sat on the floor watching her with a smile on his face. It wasn’t a sexy grin, though she found Parker extremely sexy when he smiled. It was a grin that warmed her heart because they both knew they were with the right person.
“You know I’m never going to look at cucumbers the same.”
She held out her hand for the wallpaper stripper.
“Can I ask why you said that to Sophie? You know that’s not why we’re together.”
She sprayed a few spots on the wall, then smeared the gel-like substance along the wallpaper. “She took me back to those days when Phoebe used to make fun of my flat chest. No boy would ever want me because I looked like a boy. I went four wheeling and mudding. I didn’t wow boys with my femininity or whatever.”
“Is that what that damn rumor was about?”
“Phoebe wanted you. She thought she could stick her boobs in your face and you’d be her little whipped pup. She didn’t understand why you wanted to be with me. I told her it was the sex, thus the rumor of losing my virginity in the back of your car.”
Parker laid back on the floor, groaning. “We hadn’t even had sex then.”
“I know.” She used a straight edge scraper to peel the wet paper from the wall. “She hadn’t either. She showed her cleavage around and wanted to pretend she was experienced, but she wasn’t. I thought I’d one-up her.”
“Such a strong, independent woman brought down by teenage tactics. You’re better than that, baby. You’re better than them.”
Aubree tossed the paper bits to the drop cloth as she scraped. “I have a short fuse with people trying to make me feel ugly and unwanted. The two dollar whore jab just took me right back to that place. It was stupid. I shou
ldn’t have said anything to Sophie, but it popped out before I could stop it.”
“You are not ugly and unwanted, Aubree. We had an argument this morning about me not wanting you to leave Prospect. I could have sex with anyone if that was what I really wanted. But I don’t want just anyone. I want you.”
She didn’t say anything. She scraped along the wall for a while before Parker came up behind her and pulled her against him. He kissed her cheek and held her close.
“You’re stripping wallpaper off my living room wall and I’m hard for you.” He kissed her cheek as he reached for her hand, pulling it back against his crotch. “You, baby. Nobody else. You’re beautiful and sexy. You’re the kindest person I know. You make me feel better just by being here, standing here, in my arms.” He pressed his lips against the side of her neck, sucking the soft skin there. “You don’t know how horrible I felt this morning. I knew it was the shitstorm going on inside me, but you calmed me down. You make everything better by being your wonderful, beautiful self.”
“Even without makeup.” She chewed on her lower lip. She didn’t realize how badly it affected her until she started talking about it.
“Ah, Aubree.” He turned her around and cupped her face. “Do you remember that time when you and I went four wheeling and you broke your foot? You had mud all over you and you tried so damn hard not to cry, but the bone sticking out of your foot hurt like hell.”
She nodded. “You carried me to your car and drove me to the hospital.”
“That was also the first time I told you I loved you. Miles deep in the woods with nothing but mud and rough terrain. Ashley got the four wheeler stuck and backed the damn thing over your foot when you tried to help her out of it.” He kissed her lips. “You didn’t have an ounce of makeup on that day. You were flat-chested and still a virgin. I thought you were the most beautiful woman on the face of the earth. I still do.”
His eyes grew serious the more he spoke. “All that other stuff you’re worried about came later after you already had me. Boobs, sex and … cucumbers were just icing on the cake.”
“It’s hard not to compare.”
“Compare to whom? Sophie? Phoebe?”
“Anyone.”
“Ah, baby.” He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against him. “I want you just the way you are no matter how big of a pain in the butt you can be.”
“I’m not a pain. You’re the pain.”
He kissed her. His fingers played with the ruffled edge of her romper before he hooked a finger in the area between her breasts and tugged it downward. His mouth pressed hot kisses along her neck while he gripped her arms to keep her from moving.
“You do have great boobs.” He stared at them.
A knock sounded at their open door and Aubree jerked away from him to pull her romper into place. Parker sighed and waved at whoever stood on the other side.
“I love the porch, Parker.”
He walked over to the door. “Thanks, Mrs. Lee. Aubree worked hard on it.”
“Oh, I heard she was back in town.” Mrs. Lee worked as librarian at the small public library on the other side of the doctor’s clinic. “Well, Riley told me you were feeling under the weather today and I wanted to bring you some soup.”
He smiled. “Thank you. You didn’t have to do that though.”
“Oh, it’s nothing. I don’t know where this town would be without you. It’s the least I can do.” She handed him a bag. “There are some breadsticks in there. And we had a baking class for the kids today. They made you cookies and a get well card.”
Aubree smiled. The town loved him.
Parker hugged Mrs. Lee before she left and promised to tell Aubree hello. He then turned toward Aubree, who stood watching him.
“Don’t say it.”
“Don’t say what?”
“What you’re about to say.” He set the food on the kitchen counter. He went to the door and closed it, flipping the lock. Aubree watched as he closed the blinds so they had more privacy.
“This whole town loves you.”
He came to her. “I thought I told you not to say it.” He backed her up against the wall and tugged her romper down and off her body. She stood before him in lacy black panties. “Where were we?”
Aubree brushed her hand along the wall. “My great boobs.”
“Ah, yes.” He lifted her. “Still not my favorite part about you.” He pressed her against the wall as he took one of her hard nipples into his mouth. Holding her arms above her head, he used his hips keep her in place.
Aubree dropped her head back, closing her eyes as a wave of dizzying desire flooded through her. She rocked her hips against him, drawing a groan from his mouth. He had her wet within seconds.
He pulled back and met her eyes. The tips of her breasts were shiny with his saliva and the cooler air around them had her nipples hardening to an unbearable degree. He sat her down on wobbly legs and tugged her panties off with one motion.
“Let me guess. That’s your favorite part?”
He gave her a devilish grin as he knelt on the floor in front of her. Nipping along her inner thigh, he forced her to stand wider. His fingers ran the length of her calves, lightly stroking her while he kissed and licked her inner thighs.
When his mouth settled over her center, she tried to steady herself by clutching his head. The act only pulled him closer, encouraging him to continue torturing her with his wicked tongue.
A knock sounded at the door, jarring Aubree from her passionate haze.
“Stop.” She tried pushing him away and he clutched her ass tighter. “Parker,” she whispered. He ignored her. Her eyes drifted closed as her body hummed. The sound of someone knocking at the door faded into the background as Parker continued to drive her wild with his tongue.
She gasped as he pulled the little bundle of nerves between his lips. Her legs threatened to give out, and he swiftly lifted her away from the wall to lay her out on the floor. The plastic drop cloth clung to her sweaty skin as he pushed her legs wider, adding his fingers to the mix. The knock continued along with a voice.
“Sheriff, are you home?”
Aubree ran her fingers through his hair. He had no intention of quitting to answer the door. The voice sounded like Mr. Quinn from the diner. He and his wife ran the place for nearly forty years before they were even born. They still made the best chicken pot pie in the world.
When Parker pushed her over the edge, she covered her mouth so that the poor old man didn’t hear her. Her fingers dug into his scalp, holding him to her as her body floated through ecstasy. Parker finally extracted himself from her and moved away, wiping his fingers on his shorts. He kissed her stomach before standing and grabbing a blanket from the closet to throw at her. He wrapped one around his shoulders for good measure and went to answer the door.
“Hey, Mr. Quinn. Sorry, but you caught me in bed.”
Aubree closed her eyes as she listened to him.
“Oh, that’s okay. Riley told me that you were sick. I just wanted to bring you some pot pie that Pearl made. It’s nothing contagious, is it?”
“No. I’ve got a migraine. Light really bothers me.”
“Oh, I hear ya. Well, this will cure anything that ails you. Pearl told me to tell you to drink plenty of fluids. Don’t get dehydrated. If you need anything else, you let us know.”
“Thank you. I appreciate it.”
Aubree arched her head back to watch Parker back away from the door, kicking it closed with his foot. “Wait. Bring that to me.”
He snorted. “It’s mine. I’m the one that is sick.”
“You’re the one that is lying.” She sat up and held her hands out. “And I’m starving.”
He went to the kitchen and grabbed a fork before carrying it over to her. Aubree smiled and opened the dish, moaning when she smelled the hot food.
“I wasn’t lying. I did have a headache. I slept it off.”
She dipped the fork in the pot pie. “Maybe I should ca
ll Riley. She needs to make a memo that you’re not dying.”
He laughed. “Share.”
Aubree took a bite then scooped some on the fork for Parker. She watched as his lips wrapped around the food and pulled it off the fork.
“Good, right?”
“The best.” He leaned in to kiss her. “After we refuel, we’re going to pick up where we left off.”
“Oh we are?” Aubree glanced up at the wall. “I really need to finish this room so we can paint.”
He took the fork from her. “But I’m sick. I need loving more than new paint.”
She watched as he ate, grinning up at her. “Yeah, you look sick.”
They finished the pot pie and Parker got into the cookies the kids made for him at the library. Aubree curled up beside him, still wrapped in the blanket while she laid her head on his lap.
“You need pictures.”
“Of what?”
“I don’t know. What do you want to look at every day?”
Parker tugged her blanket aside and she slapped his thigh. “I’m down with nude art. You can put a picture of you, naked, in my bedroom.”
“Try again.”
“I don’t care.” He grabbed another cookie. “What kind of crap do you want to hang on the walls?”
“There’s this awesome shop in Dallas that has some really nice things for a cheaper price. They’d probably have all kinds of stuff that would look good in here.” Aubree stared at the center of the far wall. “I went shopping for my penthouse there. I bought nearly everything I wanted and only spent a few hundred bucks. That store is an addiction for me.”
His hand rested on the side of her neck. “I told you that you can do whatever you want. I don’t care.”
Aubree pushed up from him and pressed a kiss to his chest. He smiled at her and leaned down to kiss her lips. She held off on telling him that she loved him, but the longer she stayed with him the more she knew she wouldn’t be able to hold back.
Chapter Thirteen
After making love, they spent the rest of the afternoon peeling the majority of the wallpaper from the living room. Several townspeople stopped by to see how he was feeling, and Parker greeted each one, thanking them for their generosity. He never dreamed so many people would miss him when he took the day off, but was happy nonetheless. He liked feeling wanted.
