Denying Mr. Parks (The Parks #1)

by Lilly James

  “I mean it, Evelyn. You don’t fuck around with other men then come back to me. And I will not fuck another woman as long as you’re around.”

  “You expect me to believe that?” I could have slapped myself, but I soon came back down to Planet Evey. “Anyway, I don’t care if you fuck around. We’re not together, Parks. You don’t get to tell me what to do.”

  Ignoring my outburst, he quickly took hold of my cheeks with one hand and pushed his lips against my pouted ones. He printed them onto mine in a deep kiss and then pulled away, leaving me begging for air.

  “We will see about that.” He abruptly walked back around to his side of the door, climbed in, and sped away like a lunatic.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  I only realised I’d fallen asleep when I heard Steph walking into the flat.

  “Evey, you okay?” she called through my bedroom door. I looked sleepily and hazily around my bedroom and realised I was lying on the floor, clutching at an empty wine bottle. Fuck.

  “I’m sick,” I pretended.

  “Oh. I’m going to my mum’s for the weekend to dog sit. I can stay if you like?”

  “No. You go.” Fuck, my head.

  Steph breathed in as if she wanted to say more but then went on her way.

  When Parks left me last night, I couldn’t comprehend all the emotions bogging me down. I hated that he seemed to have this drive to punish, yet I was encouraging it by asking him to punish me because it sickeningly felt good. Begging to be punished? Finding it satisfying? I was fucked up.

  I dragged myself out of bed, bought a bottle of vodka, and drank away my thoughts. Suppressing the urge to devote myself to a man I couldn’t have in my life. Terminating my guilt for crushing Alex’s heart. I listened to Christina Perry’s “Arms” whilst I drowned my blood in my addiction.

  Fuck, my life was a mess.

  Monday morning I felt sick, disorientated, and woozy. Drinking all weekend made me feel disconnected, but I had to crack on with daily life and put on that amour. It was the only thing people got to see of me, and I wanted to keep it that way.

  I showered, pulled my hair back into a ponytail, and sat crossed-legged on my bedroom floor to start my makeup. My head was aching. From the wine and remembering what I had done to Alex; from remembering those spanks. I tried to ignore it, like I always did, because it was easier. I took out my mascara, glanced into the mirror, and saw Steph walking into my bedroom. She still couldn’t have known what I’d done to Alex or that I’d been drinking because she was quite cheery. I immediately deflated as she jumped onto my bed and began to chat with me.

  “How are you feeling?”

  “Better.” I began brushing my lashes with the mascara stick.

  “You look tired. Your eyes are red.”

  I was tired because I fell asleep on my bedroom floor two nights in a row with a vodka bottle clutched to my chest. Steph knew my eyes usually went a bit red after I had a drink. But I wasn’t going to admit I’d done that. “I’ve been sick all weekend, Steph. I’m going to look shit.” The way I quickly turned from her to focus on my wardrobe should have given my lie away, but she seemed to shrug it off.

  ***

  “Evey, the standin solicitor has arrived.” Melisa popped her head around the door to let me know. Whoopty-fucking do-dah, I sang in my head and made no attempt to stand.

  “You must greet him when he arrives, Evey.” Patricia stuck her big beak in, trying to order me around. I had to look away from her patronizing prick face because I was already seeing red and couldn’t get into an argument with Posh Twat Pat.

  Moments later, I heard Melisa speaking to a man outside the door and took a deep breath, ready to act fake, nice, and calm. She opened the door, and in walked a handsome, young solicitor. Melisa urged him over to me and introduced us.

  “Mr. Jordan, Evey is Clarke’s assistant. Anything you need she will be happy to help with.” Her look was encouraging me to say something nice.

  My gaze roamed from hers, then down to his black shoes and all the way up his black, three-piece suit until I rested on his face. He had big brown eyes and short, styled, black hair. I instantly wanted to roll my eyes because he was just another arsehole who thought he was better than everybody else.

  “Evey, I’m Dwayne. Nice to meet you. Clarke told me a bit about you.”

  “Oh, you must hate me already, then.”

  He chuckled and looked down at the floor like he was embarrassed that he’d laughed or something. But nevertheless, it made me smile.

  “I’ll show you to your desk.” I indicated the desk next to mine, and he got settled.

  “Oh, Clarke has a password on his desktop, Evey.”

  I blew out a breath with puffed cheeks. Damn Clarke. “I think I know what it might be.” I pushed up from my chair, walked behind him, and leaned over his shoulder to take hold of his mouse. As I did, I caught the office door opening from the corner of my eye, then saw Parks walking in with a file in his hand. He immediately glanced towards me and came to an abrupt stop. His gaze scanned the position I was in whilst leaning over Dwayne to help him out. I knew what the password would be, but I purposely entered the wrong word, knowing my position had riled Parks.

  “Damn. Let me try another,” I said innocently.

  “Evelyn,” Parks snapped, making everybody in the room turn to him. I slowly stood back with a grin on my face whilst Dwayne shot up from his chair like some sort of celebrity had just walked in.

  “Mr. Parks. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.” Dwayne held out his hand, and I knew for a damn fact that Parks did not want to shake it, but being a gentlemen, he did. But not for long. He glared at me with hard eyes and flexed his fingers like he wanted to use that hand on my backside for flirting with another staff member.

  “I see you’ve met your assistant.”

  Dwayne turned back to me and smiled boyishly. “Yes. Evey is helping me sign on to Clarke’s desktop. It seems he has password in place.” He snapped his head back to Parks and went into fanboy mode again. “Can I just say I love the work you do, Mr. Parks. You inspire so many of us—”

  “Yes, yes.” Parks waved his hand in front of him rudely, his attention entirely on me. “Evelyn, I would like a word.”

  I turned my focus back to the desktop and yawned purposely. “I’m busy attending to Dwayne here. You’ll have to wait.”

  I could almost hear his jaw click from frustration. I had no idea why.

  “No, it’s fine, Evey, I’m sure I can get into it.” Dwayne, however, was acting like a child, and I instantly lost respect for him.

  The groan that left my throat was louder than I anticipated, but I marched away from both men and stormed into Parks’s office. He entered after me, locked the door behind him, and then threw the file in his hand onto the desk.

  “What the fuck do you think you’re playing at?”

  I leaned against the desk and crossed my arms, acting innocent. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  He marched over to the desk and slammed his palm down in rage. “You pushed your tits in his face to piss me off, Evelyn. I don’t like being messed about.”

  My mouth fell open at his audacity. “Messed about?” I pushed myself off the desk and pointed at him. “You think I’m messing you about? Why don’t we talk about you dating Carla? You don’t even like her, and you tell me I’m messing about? But hey, go fuck who you like. I do not care. But don’t hate me if I decide to go fuck Dwayne tonight, or any other man, when it has nothing to do with you.”

  I had no intention of sleeping with anyone, but Parks’s sharp, frustrated inhale and the growl he exhaled whilst narrowing sharp eyes at me was the reaction I’d hoped for.

  “You will do no such thing.” His voice was a low warning. I backed away from him as he came towards me, my chest rising and falling. Our gazes met, hostile and intense as we walked a few steps across the room.

  “What are you going to do to stop me?” I carried on, mov
ing around the desk slowly, watching him cautiously as he began rolling up the sleeves of his white shirt.

  “Don’t think just because I have an office full of employees outside that I won’t spank you for your bad behaviour, then fuck you right over this desk, Evelyn.”

  Hearing those words and watching his fine physique and perfection of a raging face storming towards me made my clit pound out of control. I needed him between my legs right there and then. My perseverance in denying him and staying away from him was wearing thin. He had the power to absorb my strong state of mind and replace it with a weak one. He had the ability to make my body obey his.

  “My behaviour?” I asked innocently. “Maybe I should punish you, Parks, seeing as your behaviour has been atrocious.”

  “This is not a game of cat and mouse, Evelyn.”

  “Maybe not, but I think you’re forgetting a certain woman. I’m sure you’d much prefer chasing Carla.” My words came out in a trembling breath whilst I came to a stop. I collided with the desk as Parks backed me into it. My gaze never moved from his hardened expression as he spoke firmly.

  “We both know that’s not true. Turn around.”

  I didn’t do as he said, so he took my waist and spun me quickly, giving me my first spank for defying him. I closed my eyes and relished the sting. My backside ached for more.

  “Reach across the desk, Evelyn, and stretch out your arms until they won’t stretch any farther.”

  My breathing was rapid as I did what he said. I wanted him. I wanted his attention. I wanted his punishment. I felt him bend down behind me and grasp my ankles, then slowly slide his hands all the way up my legs. His groan made me clench my thighs together to suppress the throb between them.

  “You have great legs, Evelyn. I want to be the only man between them. Understand?”

  I didn’t answer him. I was too busy thinking about his cock inside me as he bent me over his desk, so he gave me another stinging slap across my arse. “Answer me.”

  “I understand,” I whispered.

  “Good girl,” he breathed. He slipped his hands up my thighs and brushed between them. Keeping one hand on the apex of a thigh, he stood behind me and grabbed my hip with his other hand. “This,” he hissed into my ear as he pushed apart the material of my knickers. “Is my sweetness. Not Alex’s, not Dwayne’s. Mine.”

  After his boast, he began to brush his fingertips across my cleft. I automatically pushed my bum out to meet his pelvis and felt his hardness dig into me. He moved his fingers in and out of my folds, making them slicker by the minute. My eyes closed on their own, and my moans were low but noticeable. He began making quick, rhythmical circles around my clit, and I was on the fastest ride to an orgasm. I dug my nails into the desk, pressed my forehead against the wood, and bit down onto my bottom lip as my moans became more ragged. I was building, building, then he took his fingers away from me and left me hanging dry. He breathed gruffly as he pulled up my skirt, exposing my backside, and down came the first harsh spank.

  Fuck. He brought his hand down a second time with a harder sting than the first, using his other hand on my back to keep me still. He quickly fondled my arse cheek, the one he’d hit twice, and removed his hand again. A slap came down onto the other cheek, and his breathing was coarse, louder than normal. He was clearly enjoying this. But was it the discipline he loved? Or inflicting the pain? To me it wasn’t painful. It was soothing. Something I felt I needed. Did that make me as bad as him?

  Another six spanks and he was done. “That should teach you. For now.” I thought he was going to let me leave, but instead he pulled my skirt farther up my waist and yanked down the zipper on his trousers. He then pushed my thighs farther apart, took hold of my hips, and thrust into me, making me cry out involuntarily.

  “You’re going to have to be quiet when I fuck you,” he growled, pushing himself into me again. I scrunched my face up, trying to absorb the pleasure of his big cock pushing inside of me, chafing against the sting of my arse.

  “That’s it, Evelyn. You love my cock, don’t you? Only. Mine.”

  I didn’t say anything, even though what he said was true. I was too caught up in pleasure and trying not to cry out to agree.

  His thrusts became fierce as he pounded into me so hard his balls hit the curve of my arse, making a sound that was so fucking hot. He was fucking me senseless and grunting with the force of it.

  “Fucking hell, I’ve missed this.” He didn’t even adjust his stance when we heard a knock on the office door.

  “Mr. Parks,” somebody called, but neither of us moved. He continued to pound into my slick, clenching channel with fast, thick strokes.

  “Mr. Parks?” That time the woman’s voice was confused from not getting an answer.

  “I’m busy,” he yelled, and Jesus, did that spur me on. I began to push back into him, meeting him thrust after thrust. “Ah, fuck. Evelyn. Your sweetness feels so fucking good. So greedy and tight.”

  I was clenching around him, fucking him back. He dug his fingers into my hips as I groaned, unable to keep the sounds in, especially as I was about to come. But I knew he wasn’t going to let me.

  “You’re being punished, Evelyn. You don’t get to come,” he confirmed.

  So I made a decision. If he wasn’t going to let me come, then I wasn’t going to let him. It took every ounce of determination I had to move away from him. I straightened out my back, making him adjust his stance.

  “What are you doing?” he breathed, trying to reposition me. God, it was hard to resist, because he felt so dangerously good. But I wanted to beat him at his own game. I quickly pushed myself from the desk and prised myself away from him, letting his cock fall from me. I immediately regretted it because I wanted him buried in me again, but I stood firm.

  His eyes were wide with shock, anger, and confusion. “What do you think you’re doing?”

  My gaze drifted down to his rock-hard penis, standing tall and so big against his stomach. The only other time I’d ever seen one so magnificent was in one of Steph’s porn magazines, which had probably been Photoshopped.

  “I don’t get to finish. Neither do you. Think of it as your punishment from me,” I breathed, trying to rearrange my skirt.

  He recoiled slightly, then his expression exploded in rage. “You can’t do that.”

  “I just did. Go tell Carla to finish you off. Bet she’s been doing it all week.” My aim was to reach the door, but he bolted over to me with his trousers half-down and pushed me against it. The glass was blacked out, but surely everybody in the next room knew what was going on by the bang our bodies made. I didn’t give a shit.

  He held me against the door by my shoulders. “She means nothing to me. I would never let her ride my cock. Ever. I crave only one pussy, Evelyn, and it’s not Carla’s.”

  We were inches away from each other’s lips, and the sexual tension, the steaming passion mixed with blazing desire was not showing any signs of evaporating.

  “I told you no.” I pushed him away, unlocked the door, and scrambled back into the office. I vaguely heard Parks curse after me, but he couldn’t follow because his trousers were down. All eyes were on me when I emerged with a skewed skirt and my hair a mess, but they dared not say a word. I marched to my desk, grabbed my bag, and got ready to leave.

  “Evey?” Dwayne called after me as he put someone on hold on the telephone, but I ignored him and all my other gaping colleagues.

  I darted into the lift that had just opened, pushing my way to the front of the line of people waiting for it.

  “Evelyn,” Parks roared, but thankfully the lift closed before he caught up with me. I tapped my foot impatiently until I got to the ground floor, then bolted out of the building, flagged down a taxi, and gave the driver directions to my local pub.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Slumped over a barstool listing to Disclosure’s “You and Me” pumping out of the speakers, I counted six double vodkas, three glasses of wine, and two Sambuca shots.
I got ready to order another after pushing away a sleazy man offering to buy me one.

  Every time the going got tough, I needed to run from it. Every time I couldn’t deal with an emotion that would burn me and leave scars, I had to flee. It was my fault the scars were there, and the fault of a man who would continuously bombard my mind. But then, why did I keep playing with fire?

  “Don’t you think you’ve had enough, Evey?” The bartender shot me that sympathetic look most people did when I was too drunk. It was like everyone around me knew I didn’t drink to have a good time but solely to numb myself.

  “I’ll tell you when I’ve had enough,” I spat.

  I stayed at the bar until closing time, then piled through the doors with the other clubbers. I had no idea what time it was, and I didn’t care. Neither did I care that my phone had constantly rung all night.

  I put my earphones in and pressed ‘play’ on my phone for another thing I used for therapy: Ed Sheeran. “I’m a Mess” began to play as I walked alone into the cold, early-morning London streets to flag down a cab.

  When it pulled up at my flat, I stumbled out of the taxi, clumsily dropping my open purse and sending money scattering onto the pavement.

  “Fuck,” I mumbled whilst the taxi driver asked if I wanted any help. I told him no but then felt him standing next to me.

  “Let me help you, miss.” He bent down to pick up my change, and I pushed him away and screamed.

  “I told you, I don’t need any help.”

  His face fell at my sudden outburst as his held his hands up defensively. “Suit yourself.”

  It took several attempts to get the key in the keyhole, and when I crashed through the door, Steph’s wrathful glare met me. My vision was hazy, but I could work out when she was annoyed all right. She was darting questions at me with bloodshot eyes and in a screechy voice.

  “So you want to tell me what the fuck you think you’re doing? And why the hell have you finished it with my brother?” she screamed so furiously the veins on her neck were almost popping.