Saved Between the Sheets: An Anthology of Stories that Get to the Point

by R. M. Walker

  “Please, Lowena, I need you.”

  I’d have been all right if he hadn’t said that. As it was, it took the last of my cracking resolve to speak. “We can’t.” I groaned as his lips discovered the sensitive spot under my ear.

  “We can.”

  “It won’t change anything.”

  He didn’t listen and sucked on the skin of my throat, drawing a deep moan from me. My hands didn’t listen either as I unbuttoned his shirt. I wanted to see his chest, to get my hands on him. My brain knew it was wrong, my body told my brain to sit down and shut up.

  My brain complied.

  He jerked when my fingers brushed against his belly button as I tugged his shirt free from his trousers. He bit my neck as he unfastened the buttons of my jacket. “So many fucking layers, Lo. At least you kept the skirts.”

  We’d started a fire that would only be extinguished one way.

  His hands were rough as he pushed my jacket off and then hauled my jumper over my head.

  “More?” He groaned when he saw my t-shirt with my thermal vest underneath. Keeping my chest warm out-trumped sexy these days.

  “I should change.” My brain was working again. It wasn’t just my thermal vest; I had the granny knickers to match. He’d take one look at them and rejoice in his memory loss.

  “Change what?” He was already tugging my t-shirt up.

  “My granny knickers.” I was fighting with his belt, which had got stuck somehow.

  “Don’t need your knickers, Lo. I’m going to fuck you.”

  “Oh!” My head went back as he thrust my vest up and fastened his mouth over my exposed breast. “Oh, god, Parker.” I clutched his head. My eyes squeezed shut against the rush of lust rampaging through me.

  “Shit, shit, this isn’t going to be slow.” He pulled me away from the bookcase. I was still trying to get his belt undone as he herded us across the room until the back of my knees hit the sofa.

  Giving up on his belt, I undid his zip and thrust my hand inside, gripping his boxer covered cock. He groaned, and his breath hitched as I worked him as best as I could in the tight confines.

  “Bed,” he grunted, tugging my hand free.

  Before I could complain I was upside down over his shoulder and he was taking the stone stairs two and a time.

  “Don’t fucking drop me, Parker McGowen.”

  “Never!”

  He kicked open his bedroom door and flung me onto the bed. I wasn’t given time to finish bouncing before he was on me. His face buried in my stomach as his hands tugged my skirt up around my waist. I gripped his head, arching into his hot mouth as I cried out his name over and over.

  “Too fucking long.” He flipped me onto my stomach and hauled me onto my knees, with my butt in the air. My granny knickers were around my ankles before I could think.

  “Fuck!” I saw stars, moons, every galaxy in the universe as he sucked hard on my clit. He brought his fingers to my entrance and fucked me with them as his tongue drove me wild with a desperate need.

  “Jesus, Parker. Christ, you’re killing me.”

  “Good, we’ll be dead together.” His warm breath washed over my core, and he thrust another finger into me and twisted them in and out. His mouth went back to my clit, and his teeth grazed over it. “Come, Lowena. Come on my tongue.”

  I didn’t have a choice. He was in complete control, and I exploded around him as pleasure crashed through me. I couldn’t keep up, but he held me with one hand, his mouth and fingers never slowing. I screamed as he pushed me over the edge again.

  He gave me no time to recover as he flipped me over, and with hasty hands, he pulled his cock free and impaled me in one hard thrust.

  I lost it again. My eyes rolled back in my head, and my hands clawed at his back as I wrapped my legs around him. Too long, too fucking long. I adored this man, and if he wanted to try again, I’d try with him.

  He pounded into me, and I was helpless as he dragged me yet again to head-spinning heights, but this time we fell together, and it was sheer perfection.

  ***—***—***

  He was asleep. My head rested on his chest as I played with the new-to-me curly chest hair he’d gained. It wasn’t much, but I loved how it felt under my fingers. But my brain was shouting at my body to stop being such a nymphomaniac. There were things I needed to think about before he woke up.

  He’d said things only my Parker would know, so maybe parts of it were returning as he claimed. We hadn’t tried sex, both of us too broken physically. I didn’t know whether it would work now. But if he woke up, and the blankness was still in his eyes, it would kill me. He thought this would be a cure, that fucking me would jolt the memories back. His body may have remembered me, but was attraction enough for me? I craved him. I always had, but I craved the intimacy between us more. The cuddles after sex, the whispered words as we’d lain together. Holding hands and arguing over something trivial. The times we’d sit silently, but it was still comfortable because we knew each other inside out.

  I was a coward, but for my own sanity, I couldn’t stay to see the awkwardness in his eyes when he realised it was a mistake.

  I slid out of his bed and, taking my clothes, crept out without waking him.

  ***—***—***

  I’d got home from Parker’s in the afternoon and spent an hour in the shower, trying to erase his scent and touch. It didn’t work. I’d cleaned the entire cottage from top to bottom and collapsed into bed.

  But I couldn’t sleep. It was dark, only a few street lights left on as I lay staring at my beamed ceiling, a cobweb I’d missed hanging in the corner. I’d get rid of it tomorrow. I always felt bad destroying their homes, though. Spiders worked hard creating a web of beauty, and I’d come along and destroy it in seconds. It was unfair.

  “Just don’t drop on my head, and you can stay,” I muttered.

  A loud banging on my door frightened the life out of me. It echoed through the whole cottage and no doubt the whole street. I scrambled out of bed and scurried to my window, opening it to peer down.

  “Who the hell is that?” I demanded.

  “Me, of course. Who else would call on you? You’re mine.”

  I rolled my eyes. It was Parker, and judging by the slight slur, he was drunk. “Go back home, Parker! You’re drunk!”

  “I am home, Lo. I am home, and I’m not drunk. I had a couple of whiskeys because when I woke from the best sex of our lives, you were gone!”

  “Parker!” Heat filled my cheeks. Curtains were already starting to twitch across the street.

  “Parker McGowen is that you screeching like a tom cat?” Mrs Bell’s disapproving voice resonated through the night air from three doors up.

  “Yes, ma’am, it’s me.” He waved in her direction. “I’m trying to convince Lowena to stay until I wake up the next time we have sex.”

  “Lowena Penhallow, are you there too?”

  “Yes, ma’am.” I replied, covering my eyes with my palm. Could this get any more embarrassing? I would kill him. Slowly.

  “Well, let the lad in and allow the rest of us to get the sleep God intended for us. And you, Parker McGowen.”

  “Yes, ma’am, Mrs Bell?”

  “Lock the door and hide the key next time. Worked for Mr Bell. I ended up staying with him for fifty years, God rest his soul.”

  I heard her window bang shut, but I was too busy processing her words. She was encouraging him. Mrs Bell, the strictest, most moral driven person I knew. Bane of my school days and my teenage days, not to mention the incident with the roses.

  “You heard the fine lady.” He thought he was whispering. He wasn’t.

  “Shh, come in then and for god’s sake keep it down.”

  “You’ll have to unlock your door.”

  “It is unlocked.”

  “What?” He took a few steps back in horror. “Lowena Penhallow! You can’t do that these days! It’s not safe anymore. Bloody hell, I came back in time to save you. I’m coming in!”

>   I heard him open the door, stumble inside, and then there was an almighty crash. I raced down the stairs to see him passed out on the living room floor, snoring. The front door wide open. I shut it and looked down at him.

  My heart flipped in my chest, and I covered him with a blanket before taking up station on the sofa.

  ***—***—***

  “Good morning, Lo.”

  I turned from the stove to see him in the doorway, his hand rubbing his neck and his head lowered as he eyed me.

  “Is it? Tablets and a glass of water.” I pointed at the table.

  “Thank you.” He slumped into a seat and took them. “I think I embarrassed you last night.”

  “You remember?” I turned back to the bacon I was frying.

  “Unfortunately, yes.” He sighed, resting his head in his hands and his elbows on the table. “You weren’t there. I woke up, and you’d gone.”

  “Parker, it was a mis—”

  “Don’t.” He slapped a hand onto the table. “Making love with you will never be a mistake.”

  “We fucked, we hardly made love.”

  I shoved a plate of bacon and eggs under his nose and took a certain glee from the greenish colour in his cheeks.

  “So, we make love next time.”

  He was so damn reasonable. So unflappable and it made me furious.

  “Who gave you the right to come back here after ten years? Who gave you the right to turn me upside down and break my heart again? I was living, Parker. I was happy. And you fucked it up for me.”

  “You gave me the right,” he whispered. He looked up at me, and his eyes were bright with unshed tears. “You gave me the right when you told me you were mine forever.”

  “You remember?” I held my breath, digging my nails into my palm as tears flooded my eyes.

  “I remember that.” A tear slid down his cheek. “I dreamt you were holding me. You wouldn’t go. I wanted you to leave me there, but you wouldn’t go. I tried so hard to tell you to save yourself, but you didn’t hear me. It wasn’t just a dream, was it?”

  “I never even thought of leaving you.”

  “You were going to die with me, weren’t you?” He covered his face with his hands, and I went to my knees beside him.

  “Parker, I love you. I will always love you. I couldn’t leave you there. I—” My voice broke as he dragged me onto his lap. He swept the table clear, and I didn’t care when the plate smashed on the floor.

  “I didn’t want you to die with me,” he growled, hoisting me onto the table. He shoved my nightgown up my legs and over my head. “I wanted you to live, and you wouldn’t fucking go.” He stood up, the chair flipping backwards.

  “Parker, I—”

  “Shut up, Lowena.” He shut me up with his mouth over mine. He wasn’t gentle, he wasn’t sweet. He was angry, but I heard the fear in his voice too. I felt it in his hands as he pushed me onto my back. I heard his zipper come down and my body responded. It was going to be angry sex, but I needed it as much as he did.

  “I was killing you. You were saving me, and I was fucking killing you.” He grunted, shoving my legs apart.

  I tried getting his shirt off, but he batted my hands away. He kicked his trousers off and knelt between my legs. The table groaned ominously, and he got off, picked me up and strode into the living room. He dropped me onto the sofa, jerked my legs apart and entered me. I cried out, partly in shock, mostly in lust. He gripped my hands, held my gaze and fucked me.

  I tried keeping up as he slammed into me hard and fast. But all I could do was lie there as he sent me on a collision course to pleasure. I cried his name as he ground against me, helpless as he dragged an intense orgasm out of me. I was wrecked, destroyed, and when he came inside me I saw a glimpse of my Parker in his eyes.

  Tears leaked from his eyes as I kissed his lips, his chin, his cheek. He collapsed onto me, and I wrapped him in my arms as we cried.

  “I forgot you because I couldn’t forgive myself.” He was stroking my hair from my face.

  “There was nothing to forgive. The choice was never yours to make.”

  He sat up, pulling me with him. “My memories are hazy, I don’t remember everything. I may never remember. But I remember the terror of losing you, knowing you were going to die with me. I remember you were my life, my world, my reason for being on this planet. I worshipped you, and I was murdering you with that love.”

  “No.” I shook my head, gripping his face and straddling his lap.

  “I didn’t want to live without you. I never once thought of leaving you. I’m selfish, I wasn’t letting you go, you were mine. And if I couldn’t have you in life, then I’d go with you into death.”

  “I love you. I love you so fucking much, and I forgot it, but I remember now. I don’t remember much, bits and pieces, but I remember how much I love you.”

  “I love you too, Parker. I’ll never stop loving you.”

  He wiped the tears from my cheeks. “We’re older, Lo, we can make this work. I don’t need to remember what we did before, I just need you.”

  With gentle touches, soft kisses, and whispered words of love, we put the pieces back together we’d left broken for too long.

  It came as no surprise to the village when Parker sold the chapel and moved in with me. We got married in the June and Mrs Bell gave some of her roses for my bouquet. I think I was finally forgiven.

  Parker never regained all his memories of us as kids. But he remembered our love for each other. We made new memories every day, and he never left me again.

  We saved each other and we continued to save each other for the rest of our lives.

  The End.

  Author’s note:

  Thank you for reading Saving Parker. It’s a bit of a departure from my normal stories with not a dragon in sight. I enjoyed writing it and I hope you enjoyed reading it.

  I hope you’ll consider reading some of my other books. My website has all my book details, including upcoming books as well.

  https://www.authorrmwalker.com

  and you can also find me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rm.walker.180

  Bewitched Arrows

  A.C. Wilds

  To the Four Pages – You guys are the most amazing group of women I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. I’m grateful every day for finding you. Love you!

  Bewitched Arrows

  The Witches of the Moonbeam Coven have gone missing. Izel, the Lead Protector, is determined to unravel the mystery of the witches’ sudden disappearance.

  Sent to aid her mission, three sexy as sin Warriors of the Underworld arrive. With an instant attraction between the Protector and the Warriors, their mystery takes an unexpected turn.

  The sudden arrival of Mazatl, the crocodile shifter sent by the UnSeelie Queen, Lucifer has the group questioning his motives.

  Will they find the witches together, and bring justice to the Moonbeam coven, or will they become a part of the mystery they are so desperately trying to solve?

  Chapter One

  It’s in the dead of night that I’m at my strongest. Walking the perimeter of the town when everything is quiet, and empty is my definition of a happy place. The only sounds that can be heard are those of animals scurrying about, trees whistling in the breeze, and my footsteps across the jungle floor. There are predators out here, but I’m the deadliest of them all. Armed with my magical bow and arrow, I can take down almost anything, including the wolves who have been attacking my town.

  Lately, there have been attacks in the town, and women from my coven are missing. There has been no evidence or known motive. All of them gone — on my watch. As the town and coven protector, I am tasked with everyone’s safety. Losing these women has become a thorn in my side because I can’t figure out what has happened to them.

  The full moon provides all the light I need. My eyes track any movement as I push my senses out to see if there’s anyone out here with me. The most recent victim, Violet, went missing last evening.
She was carrying laundry from the washing pool back to her cabin. Somewhere in between, she was taken. The only thing we found was her laundry basket and a lock of hair. It was the first clue that we received. While it wasn’t human in nature, it smelled of man and wolf. This could only mean one thing — a rogue pack has come to town.

  A twig snapping has my ears perking up, and my bow at the ready. The sound came from my right, but I know not to give it my full attention. If wolves are at play here, they like to hunt in packs, and a juicy, pink-haired witch is something they would very much like to have.

  Waiting and watching for any movements, I throw out a locator spell, to see what exactly is out there. The spell responds quickly, and it reveals three beings in the woods. All male, and all huge. Two are in animal form, and one has stayed in his human form; probably to communicate to me my impending capture.

  I slowly walk backward toward a large tree, keeping all three shifters in my line of sight. The bark rubs up against my hunting leathers, and I get a sigh of relief from the thousand-year-old tree. I’m an elemental witch, able to control all five of the elements. I use Mother Earth to protect us, should we need it, and right now we do. This makes me the best protector our town has.

  I spell my arrow to spark with lightning and the night lights up. I can clearly see the three shifters in front of me, two of them are large cats, but I can’t tell which kind. The man is tall, around 6’5” and built like a tank. He smirks at me as if my lightning won’t affect him. Oh, how he’s about to be proven wrong.

  “You have three seconds to tell me who you are, what you are doing here, and why I shouldn’t kill you right now,” I shout! The worst thing you can do is show fear to a shifter, they eat it up.