by S. M. Shade
Parker is quiet during the ride back to the safe house. I can feel the regret pouring off of him and it makes a lump rise in my throat. I’m too damned emotional lately.
“Macy, I’m so sorry,” he says when we’re parked in the driveway of the safe house. “I swear I didn’t take you to the roof to…try to sleep with you. I got carried away.”
“I didn’t do anything I didn’t want to,” I reply quietly.
“You’re a resident, a client. I’m supposed to protect you, not maul you. I’ve done a lot of shitty things, but when it comes to this, to Striking Back, there’s a code of ethics. I can’t take advantage.”
Take advantage. Like I had no idea what I was doing. Because that’s what he sees, a weak, easily led woman who needs his help. “Don’t worry about it. It was a one time mistake.” The word mistake catches in my throat. “Let’s just pretend it never happened.”
His shoulders slump at the tone of my voice. “I didn’t mean that I…”
“I appreciate you taking me out today,” I interrupt. “But I’m really tired. I just want to go to bed.” I grab my crutches and head to the front door, feeling almost as stupid as I did when I discovered Al was an abusive asshole. Once inside, I make a beeline for my room.
“Good night, let me know if you need something,” he calls. My need is pulsing between my legs.
“I’ll be fine.” A long hot bath helps me get my head straight. I’m not here to date, and I won’t stay here much longer. I’ll give it two weeks. If Al isn’t caught in the next two weeks, I’ll agree to relocate, at least for a while.
I can’t stay cooped up here anymore with no friends or company except bodyguards. It’s made me obsess over Parker just because he was kind to me. I toss and turn for hours, finally giving up to read until dawn. When I finally sleep, I dream of Parker, staring down at me, brushing my hair from my forehead.
It’s nearly noon when I drag my ass into the living room. “Good morning,” Devon says, amusement thick in his voice. “Long night?”
“Couldn’t sleep,” I mumble, making my way to the kitchen. Where is Parker?
As if he’s reading my mind, Devon calls, “Parker left you some donuts. He’s taking a night off so I’ll be here, plus Jensen is out front.”
That’s right, he has plans to go to Hype tonight. “I’m sure we can survive without him.”
Devon chuckles. “Blackjack later?”
“You’ll lose all your M&M’s.”
“I’ll risk it.”
The day drags by. Parker’s probably partying his ass off, and I’m totally jealous. I’ve never needed to get laid so badly in my life. After an amusing evening of kicking Devon’s ass at Blackjack and stuffing myself with candy, I crash hard.
Parker
What have I done? As soon as she trusts me, I blow it all to hell. I had nothing but the best intentions taking Macy to Mason’s party. She’s been through so much and she’s so stressed out, I thought it’d be good for her to see her friend.
And I was right. The way she came to life, her smile competing with the afternoon sun, touched me in a way I can’t even begin to understand. She was happy. I’ve never seen her happy.
I meet the women at Striking Back during the worst time of their lives. They’re damaged, afraid, and suspicious of anything a man does or says. I know to be cautious, to tread carefully because they’re vulnerable and hurt.
With Macy I seem to forget all that. All I see is a strong woman who never stops fighting, who’s hell bent on being independent despite her inability to walk. If anyone else behaved that way, I’d think they were difficult and avoid them like the flu. For some reason, though, Macy’s stubborn determination makes me smile.
It doesn’t help that she has the face of an angel and a body that screams touch me. Call me a dick, but I’ve taken every opportunity to touch her. When I saw her lying on the pool lounger, her pale skin beaded with sweat, I couldn’t resist.
Her face bloomed pink when I slid one arm beneath her thighs and the other behind her back, and I wanted to run my lips across her warm cheeks. Even jumping in the cold water didn’t kill the urge to kiss every inch of her.
She leaned back with her legs wrapped around me, dipping her head into the water, and I damn near came in my pants like a horny teenager. It took a second to realize she was talking to me about loving fireworks.
I’ve watched the fireworks from the gym roof before, so I knew we’d have a front row seat. I didn’t mean to kiss her. Her warm body and sweet scented skin overcame my self-control, especially when she smiled at me, her gaze on my lips, clearly wanting a kiss. Thank fuck Alex interrupted us. I know he’s going to give me shit later, but right now I don’t care.
There’s a line I can’t cross and I stomped on it. I apologized, but she was still upset, though she’d never admit it. She went straight to bed without speaking to me again. Now, I’m lying here trying to figure out how to undo the damage I’ve caused. I’ll never sleep unless I check to see if she’s okay.
She’s stretched out on her back, her booted foot propped on a pillow. The covers have slipped just below her waist and a smooth strip of skin between her t-shirt and panties glows in the moonlight. A small smile graces her lips when I pull the covers to her chest and tuck a lock of hair behind her ear. So sweet. So beautiful. And so off limits.
I don’t obsess over any woman. It’s obviously been too long since I got laid. Tomorrow night I’ll take care of that problem.
Macy is still asleep when I wake, and I decide it’s best to give her some space today after my fuck up last night. I want to do something nice for her, so I make a quick run to the corner bakery to get her a half dozen chocolate covered cake donuts and take them back to the house.
Devon grins as I tell him for the tenth time, “If she needs anything, gets upset or anything, call me.”
“I said I would, now get the fuck out of here. I won’t let her out of my sight.”
Hype is packed as usual and I barely manage to snag a table. Alex shows up, his arm around Cooper’s shoulders, a few minutes after I arrive. Ian appears across the club just as Cooper and Alex plant themselves at my table. Alex snorts when Ian stops to flirt with a thin blonde. “He’s worse than you. Hasn’t been here two minutes.”
“He’s got nothing on me.” I feign offense. Cooper and Alex laugh, and Ian drags a stool over to join us.
“What’s so funny?”
“You strike out?” I ask, nodding at the woman he was talking to.
“She’s here with her old man. Too early to settle anyway.”
“See what I mean?” Alex says to Cooper, who grins back at him.
“What the hell did I miss?” Ian asks.
“These two have the nerve to judge us.”
Ian raises his eyebrows at Alex. “I wasn’t judging,” Alex argues. “Just pointing out that you could give Parker a run for his money in the man whore department.”
Ian scoffs. “He couldn’t keep up with me.”
Oh. I smell a challenge. Alex’s smile widens and he leans over the table. “Well, let’s put it to the test. Most of these women would follow either of you out of here, so let’s make it interesting. You can only use horrible or offensive pickup lines. See who can still pull.”
“Are you kidding?” Ian asks. “Like ‘did you fall from heaven’ horrible?”
“Yep. Whoever can say the worst thing and still get the girl wins, and the rest of us will buy his drinks.”
“I’m in,” I say at the same time Ian says, “You’re on.” When the waitress returns, Ian flashes a lopsided grin at her. He holds up his finger and motions for her to come closer. With a cautious expression, she walks over to him. “See how I made you come with one finger, beautiful? Imagine what I can do with more.”
The waitress rolls her eyes. “Save the juvenile bullshit and tell me what you want to drink.” A smile flashes across her face when we laugh at Ian.
“It’s still early, assholes,” he grumble
s. We give the waitress a large tip when she brings our drinks, just for putting up with us.
“How about her,” Cooper suggests, pointing out a petite woman nursing her drink at a corner table.
“Nah, she’s the okeydoke,” Ian replies.
“The what?”
“The okeydoke. The one you know will go home with you. The one you save for last if you can’t get anyone hotter.”
“You’re horrible human beings,” Alex says.
A few minutes later, I notice two women at another table eyeing us. “All right, man. How about them?” I ask Ian.
“I get the blond.”
“Deal.” We send drinks to their table and motion for them to join us when they wave. They’re both pretty and obviously down to party.
“Hi, I’m Shawna,” the blond says, “and this is Chrissy. Thanks for the drinks.”
“You’re welcome,” I reply, pulling up a stool beside me for Chrissy while Ian does the same for Shawna.
After a few minutes of small talk and flirting, I lean toward Chrissy. I’ve been trying to think of a line that won’t be bad enough to get my face smacked, but is offensive enough to win. “I have a riddle for you.”
“I love riddles!” Chrissy giggles, flipping her hair. Truthfully, she’s everything I dislike in a woman, looks aside, but I try anyway. Cooper and Alex aren’t too wrapped up in one another to listen in.
“What fucks like a tiger and winks?”
“I don’t know. What?” Her eyelashes are going a hundred miles per hour. I wink at her, and Alex snorts, burying his face in Cooper’s neck to muffle his laughter. “Um, okay,” Chrissy replies, looking at her friend. It totally went over her head.
Shawna breaks the awkward silence by asking Ian, “So, what do you do?”
“I’m a carpenter,” he lies. Oh, where is he going with this?
“Really?”
“Uh-huh, so what do you say we get hammered and I’ll nail you?”
Shawna huffs and jumps off of her stool. “You’re a dick.” Chrissy follows her back to their table while Alex and Cooper taunt us with our failures.
A few drinks later, we decide to try our luck on the dance floor. Cooper and Alex are behind me, grinding all over each other when a sexy redhead dances up to me, turning her back to wiggle her ass against my crotch.
You want it, you got it, baby. I notice a petite, sweet looking girl dancing with Ian and I barely overhear him say, “You’re the perfect height for what I have in mind.” The ring of her palm against his cheek echoes across the bar, and I’m not the only one laughing.
“Looks like your friend doesn’t know how to talk to women.”
“I’ll have to teach him,” I murmur, spinning her around and pressing her hips into mine, waking my hard-on.
“You know what women want, huh?”
“Sometimes. You, I’ll bet you like antiques and you’re in luck. I’ve got some junk you can touch.”
Cooper laughs behind me, and I wait for the backlash, but her hand slips between my legs. “You have a lot of junk.”
“Come with me and you can help me sort it out.”
“Let’s go.”
I turn and smirk at Alex. “I’m going to go. See you assholes later.”
“Un-fucking-believable,” Alex says, shaking his head.
“What’s your name, baby?” I ask, leading her toward the door.
“Amber.”
“I’m Parker.”
She giggles. “I know. Everyone knows who you are.” Great. She’s heard of me. Either from my fighting or fucking. Probably from one of her friends I screwed another night. “Are the rumors true?”
“Depends on the rumor.”
“That you can fuck a woman until she can’t move.”
“Baby, you’re going to need a wheelchair when I’m done with you.”
* * * *
The heavy scent of cheap floral perfume permeates the air and I’m ready to gag when we finally step out of her car. My lungs pull a grateful breath of cool night air. Why can’t women go easy on that crap? Macy never wears perfume and she smells delicious.
“A hotel?” Amber says with a disapproving look.
“Sorry, babe, but my house is being bombed for spiders.”
“Spiders?”
“Big nasty ones,” I lie, swiping the card to unlock the door. “Not poisonous, but still.”
She shudders and shakes her head. “I hate spiders.” Yep. All women do. It’s a surefire way to get a woman to agree to a hotel without making her feel cheap.
I’ve done this so long it’s second nature. Rent a hotel room beforehand and drive her car if possible so I can leave without leaving her without transportation. The cab companies know me well.
“Give me just a sec,” she says, and bats her eyelashes at me before disappearing into the bathroom. Stripping down to my underwear, I toss a couple condoms on the bed. The clock shows it’s almost midnight, and I wonder how Macy’s doing. Is she asleep? Having another panic attack when I’m not there to talk her through it?
Shit. This isn’t the time to think about her. Amber emerges from the bathroom in a set of tiny purple lingerie. Looks like I wasn’t the only one planning to get laid tonight. Swollen round tits bounce as she sashays over to me, licking her lips. Her gaze sweeps over me and a wide smile stretches her mouth.
My hands fall automatically to her hips when she runs her fingers down my abs. Without a word, she kisses me, sweeping her tongue around my mouth. Her lips are too firm and she tastes like vodka.
It makes me long for Macy’s soft lips and sweet mouth. She palms my cock through my boxers and it doesn’t even twitch. Tits. That’s what I need. With a practiced flick, I unfasten her bra and come face to face with two round melons with nipples the size of hubcaps. I know they’re fake before I take their firm weight in my hands.
Nothing like Macy’s soft mounds and tasty little raspberry colored nipples. What is wrong with me? I’ve never had a problem with fake tits before. I need to stop thinking and analyzing. A beautiful woman has her hand down my shorts and I’m not even a little hard.
“Little too much to drink tonight, baby?” she murmurs. “No problem. I’ve got this.” She sits on the edge of the bed and shoves my boxers down, pulling me toward her. “I see the one rumor is true,” she says, grinning up at me before taking my whole length in her mouth.
I sink my hands into her hair and mumble, “Yes, fuck.”
She moans, really going to town on me, and I try like hell to want it. To enjoy it. To block out the sight of those coffee colored eyes that keep haunting me. Thinking of Macy’s little figure with those long slender legs firms me up a little, but not nearly enough. I can’t believe this shit. I’m Parker Reed. I can always get it up. This is humiliating. Fucking Macy.
With a growl, I pull her off me and shove her on the bed. Maybe I can’t fuck her, but I can damn sure make her come. Maybe that’s what she’ll remember instead of telling her friends I’ve got a limp dick.
She squeals when I jerk off her panties and sink two fingers inside her, going straight for the g-spot. My thumb rubs over her clit. “Yes, right there!” she cries.
In less than a minute, she’s coming on my hand, something that usually makes me hard as stone, but that doesn’t faze me now. When she reaches for my cock again, I press harder, rubbing without mercy and pinching her clit. “One more. Give me another one,” I order. There’s no way I can fuck her. Hands clawing the covers, she cries out through another orgasm.
I have my boxers and jeans back on before she can recover. “Fuck. I don’t think I’ve ever come twice that fast.”
“Look, I’m sorry, but I guess I had too much to drink.” I resist spouting the typical this never happens to me line, even though it’s true.
She peeks up at me, a satisfied expression on her face. “Happens to everyone, hun. Just promise me a raincheck. If you can do that with one hand, I need to feel what you can do with your cock.”
“You got it,” I lie, jerking my shirt down over my head. “Right now I need to go. Stay here tonight if you like. I’m going to grab a cab.”
“Sure thing.” Scooting up the bed, she burrows under the covers and is asleep before my taxi shows up.
“Where to?” the driver asks.
The thought of returning to my empty house is too damn depressing. “Stan’s Bar, it’s on thirty-eighth and…”
“I know Stan’s, buddy.” Fortunately, the driver isn’t a talker. I’ve got way too much going on in my head to bother with small talk.
What has this woman done to me? I’ve known her a month and can’t get her out of my head. I’ve told myself I’m just concerned because she’s in danger, but that’s bullshit. I’ve tried convincing myself I’m just attracted to her, but that’s not it either. I like her. Really like her.
Fuck.
Chapter Four
Macy
A commotion in the hallway rouses me from sleep. Before I can think to be afraid, I hear Parker’s voice. “I just want to check on her,” he slurs.
“Then have a look you stubborn son of a bitch,” Devon sighs, opening my door a crack. “Sorry,” he says when he notices I’m sitting up in bed. “He’s shitfaced and stupid and won’t go pass out until he sees you’re okay.”
“Is he okay?” I mumble, still trying to wake up.
“He’s a goddamn pain in my ass who needs to sleep it off.”
“Macy? Everything all right?” Parker asks, stumbling into the doorway.
“I’m fine, Parker,” I reply. “You need to go to bed.”
Devon grabs him by the collar when he starts into the room. “Your bed, numbnuts.”
I can’t help but giggle, and a cheesy smile breaks across Parker’s face. “I love your laugh. You should laugh more.”
“We’ll have plenty to laugh at you for tomorrow. Come on. Let her sleep.”
“Kay, goodnight, doll,” Parker says, making Devon snort and shake his head. I can still hear Parker argue as he leads him down the hall. “What? She is a doll! Tiny and pale like a porcelain doll.”