Parker hissed. “What? That’s not true! Don’t tell him that! Why would you say that?”
“You’ve been talking about me, Bunny? I’m flattered.” I leaned against her desk and over just enough to catch a glimpse of bare thigh below her shorts. “Is this like a high school crush type thing?”
Penny giggled. “That’s what I said!”
Parker was red faced with fury and the amber of her eyes was glowing, definitely in a rage way. “Not funny. Neither of you two are the least bit funny. And Maxim, you were just leaving. Hint, hint—GO!”
I scanned her desk and spotted a clipboard with her name across the top. I grabbed it and read over it before glancing back at her and laughing. “Hugh Hefner? You’re kidding.”
Penny did a cut throat motion and winced, trying to tell me that I was heading in the wrong direction.
“You think that’s funny, do you? I bet you do. It’s probably freakin’ hilarious to name a respectable, noble species after a creepy guy who walked around in a smoking jacket and who was most noted for his objectification of women and promotion of extremely narrow standards of beauty. How would you like if your species was named after him?”
I studied the drapes for a second while I pondered her question. I didn’t see a problem.
“Wait. Don’t answer that. Do NOT answer that.”
“C’mon. How do you not see the humor? Bunnies… Hugh Hefner…”
Penny held up her hands and backed away. “I tried to warn you.” She shook her head from side to side as she headed toward the staircase leading to the upper floors. “I did warn you. I did.”
Parker stood up and somehow managed to stretch across her desk to poke me in the chest with her neon painted fingernail. That seemed to be a thing with her. “It’s not the least bit fucking funny. That is a slanderous and defamatory stereotype. Go ahead and laugh, though. Laugh it on up. Just do it on your way out the door.”
“Calm down, Bunny. It’s just a name.”
“Out!”
I sighed. “Fine. What time do you get off? Let me take you out to dinner as an apology for…uh…offending your species.”
She huffed a laugh. “Not a chance in hell.”
“Why? Because of the bunny baby daddy thing?”
She scowled and her fist flew out and flipped me the bird before pointing to the door.
I rolled my eyes. “Look. You’re my—”
The bell rang and in walked a teenage kid. He frowned at me before turning his eyes on Parker. “Everything okay, P?”
She smiled at him and nodded. “Everything’s okay, Jake. Your mom just went upstairs.”
He edged around the counter and crossed his arms over his chest. “Is this guy bothering you?”
If he hadn’t been a kid, I would’ve knocked him out cold. As it was, I kind of admired him for attempting to defend Parker. That kid was half my size. So, I just growled and glared at him.
Parker leaned across and poked me again. “Don’t do that.”
“Jacob! Come up here, please!” Penny called from upstairs, saving the kid from any further embarrassment.
He ran off and Parker scowled at me. “What’s wrong with you?”
“I think you know what’s wrong with me.”
“I don’t.”
“You do.”
She hissed her anger becoming even more apparent. She rounded the desk, her sharply pointed finger ready to jab me again, aiming for me like a heat seeking missile.
14
Parker
The nerve of that damn bear. I rounded the desk and jabbed my finger into his chest. It was solid as a rock. Why did an arrogant ass like him have to be so hot?
For him to come to my place of employment and bother me was one thing. For him to laugh at my cause was a whole other thing. Worst of all, though, he’d growled at Jacob and had hinted that I was his…something. He had a lot of balls to even show his face around me.
“You’ve clearly fallen, bumped your head, and rattled your brain. Why else would you come in here and act like you had a chance in hell of me agreeing to go out with you?” I poked him again and then decided I wasn’t finished. “I saw you. I saw you the other night, going down to the beach with the sleazy brunette like you couldn’t get in her pants fast enough.”
I should’ve felt satisfied at the way his face blanched, but I didn’t feel anything but pure rage.
“It’s fine that you’re a complete man-whore and want to stick your dick into anything with a pulse. Do whatever you want, honestly. But you don’t get to ruin my dates or come in here acting like I owe you a goddamned thing.”
“Dates? Plural?” He was growling again and I was tempted to knee him in the balls.
Penny popped her head down from the top step and nodded at the door. “Take the afternoon off, Parker. You two are scaring the guests.”
I went back around to grab my purse. “Gladly.”
“You’ve had more than one date, then?”
I stomped out of the front door and headed down Main Street, toward home. I knew Maxim was following me, but I was so angry that I didn’t care at that moment. “Are you for real? You’re out fucking every woman with a pulse but you’ve got a problem with me dating?”
“Yes!...No!…Yes!”
“First of all, you don’t know me. I don’t know you. You’re a stranger. Which means this possessiveness over who I date isn’t cute or endearing. It’s psychotic. Second of all, if you’re going to be possessive, the least you can do is act like you have some dignity and keep your dick in your pants.” I turned and poked him in the chest again—just because it felt so damned good to do it. “And third of all, where do you get off growling at a sixteen year old boy?!”
He grabbed for me, but I was fast. I backed out of his reach and kept moving toward home. Down Main and then Toucan Boulevard, all the way down to Shipwreck Way. He just kept following me, arguing with me, and driving me utterly insane.
“I didn’t put my dick in the brunette—or anyone else. You’re wrong.” He growled. “Would you stop walking and talk to me?”
I shook my head. “No! I’m not stopping for you. You’re a total man-whore.”
“Okay, that’s just not true.” He hesitated. “Well, maybe, it’s a little true, but that’s not… Just stop walking!”
I snorted out a laugh. “No.”
“Bunny, I’m trying to talk to you.”
“And I’m trying to ignore you!”
“Fine, the whole beach can hear, then. I didn’t fuck anyone else. I didn’t even have the slightest desire to. Not since the moment I met you. The only reason I was with her was to see if I could conjure up any feelings for anyone else. But I couldn’t. I didn’t. I haven’t been able to get you off my mind since I met you. No other woman compares.” He nearly ran me over when I stopped short and glared at him. “I wanted to be absolutely sure about you and me. And I am.”
His words got through to me. They sliced right through my anger and terrified the hell out of me. I knew what he was getting at. I could read between the lines. I just didn’t want to accept it. I wouldn’t accept it. No way! I was meant to have a rabbit mate, and pure rabbit babies, to keep the bloodline pure and going strong.
“Are we talking now?”
I jerked back into gear and swore as I nearly stumbled up my front steps. “No, we are not. I’m not interested. I’m looking for a nice rabbit shifter who hasn’t slept around with every woman on the island. Someone loyal and decent.”
He stomped up behind me. “You and this rabbit bullshit!”
I yanked my front door open and stormed inside. “Bullshit? It’s not bullshit! It’s who I am.”
“Why is this door not locked? Are you trying to get yourself killed? Have you ever heard of basic safety?” He followed me into the kitchen and cornered me against the fridge. “Why are you obsessed with a rabbit mate?”
“Because, you overgrown bully, that’s what I want.” I ducked under his arm and turned, scowling
up at him. “And it’s none of your business.”
“It is my business.” He turned and braced himself on the counter, an arm on either side of me, cornering me again. With his face right up against mine, he growled low in his throat. “And you know very well it’s my business. I know you do.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Yes, you do.”
“Look, my mate is out there somewhere and he’s a nice rabbit shifter with manners and a healthy respect for personal space.” I bared my teeth at him and was rewarded with him pressing his lower body into mine.
“Your mate is never going to be a rabbit shifter.” He lowered his face and stared me in the eyes. “We both know that, Bunny.”
I pushed feebly at his chest. “Wrong.”
He grabbed the back of my head with one strong hand and gripped my hair. Using it to hold me still, his lips crashed over mine. Momentarily shocked by the vehemence of his kiss, I pushed at him and twisted my hips to get away, but my struggle ended in just a few seconds.
My body reacted to Maxim like a flame to a candle. Instantly, I was ignited, my body on fire for him, and my hands, instead of pushing, began stroking and exploring. My brain went to mush and all I knew was that I needed more.
15
Maxim
I hadn’t meant to start anything physical. My intent really was to simply talk. The kiss was meant solely to try to get her to shut the fuck up about rabbit shifters for a minute before I lost my temper. As soon as my mouth landed on hers, though, electric sparks shot through my body like fireworks. For a second, I’d wondered if she’d brought out the taser after all.
I gripped her hair tighter and devoured her mouth. Her nails raked down my chest, her hips wiggled against mine. She was liquid heat, her lower body rubbing and caressing until I thought my head would blow. Kissing down her throat, tasting and nibbling the tender flesh of her neck, I grabbed her ass with my free hand and pulled her into me harder.
Parker’s hand reached around and grasped my ass, too. I growled into her throat, nipping her hard. She gasped and arched her back, locking her leg around my hip. The position put my cock against her pubic bone and the heat coming off of her made me crazy.
Her tantalizing laugh was half moan as she gripped my head and guided my mouth to her chest. I yanked her shirt up enough to grip her bra and shove it up, too. Then, my mouth was on her breasts, tasting and teasing her hard, pink nipples. I bit and sucked while she worked her hips against me, working us both into a frenzy that teetered right on the edge.
“More.”
That one breathy word from her kicked things up another notch. I spun her around and with a hand on her upper back, pressed her down so her body was leaning over the counter. She shoved down her shorts as her ass wiggled out of them. They tangled around her knees, her perfect ass on display, and I felt every last bit of control vanishing. I leaned down and bit the curve of her ass hard enough to leave a mark. Parker moaned and arched her back, pressing her ass into me.
I swore and jerked my pants down low enough to unsheathe myself. Lining our bodies up, I thrust into her. The way her body squeezed around me was almost too much and I gripped the counter on either side of her hips and growled into her shoulder.
“Fuck, Bunny.”
Bent over with her chest on the counter, I was curved overtop of her and, as she panted under me, her hands reached back clawing at me, urging me into her deeper. Her walls pulsated around me, her sweet pussy trying to suck the life out of me. “Maxim…”
“Parker, are you here?”
My little bunny gasped under me and, like she was waking up from a trance, jerked upright shoving me backwards. She spun around and wiggled back into her shorts, staring at me in wide-eyed shock. “Holy Fuck!”
I heard someone coming closer and yanked my own pants up, tucking my still rock hard cock away. “You can say that again.”
The soft, needy look that had been in her eyes was gone, replaced by anger—at me. She jabbed her finger at me and then pointed to the way we’d come in. “Out!”
“Parker?” Her wolf friend appeared in the doorway to the kitchen and her eyes grew even wider than Parker’s. She burst into a fit of giggles and slapped her hand over her mouth. “Oh, my god. I’ll go!”
Parker shook her head, her messy bun even messier as it flopped over to the side and several clumps of hair escaped. “No, stay! He was just leaving.”
My hands ached to touch her again, but I could see the threat in her eyes. She was not about to allow an encore. I licked my lips, longing for another taste of her. “Okay, fine. But, you and I aren’t finished, Bunny. Not by a longshot.”
Her cheeks turned bright red and she clenched her thighs together hard. “We are more than finished.”
I winked at her and, forcing my feet to move, left as she requested. Leaving was the hardest thing I could ever remember doing, but I knew for sure that the little bunny was my mate. Her taste, her smell, every inch of her body was addicting. I couldn’t imagine ever touching another woman. I couldn’t imagine not being with Parker for the rest of my life.
All of that should’ve freaked me out, but it didn’t. Not anymore.
I didn’t want to leave, but I forced myself to walk down to the beach and to wade straight into the water. It was cool compared to the hot sun that was beating down on my back. I needed a cold shower and to work off the rest of the energy I had coursing through my veins. The ocean was a piss-poor replacement for making love to my mate, but it would have to do. Besides, it beat walking home with a massive hard on and blue balls. I swam out and then shifted, shredding the clothes I’d been wearing.
My bear wanted to swim back and go to Parker. He wanted her just as much as I did. He didn’t understand leaving her that way, and he pouted, angry at me like it was my fault.
I swam deep under the water and, oddly, found myself for the first time not hating Florida. The water felt good against my fur, the fish tasted great fresh from the source. I swam deeper and farther until I couldn’t see the shoreline.
Only then did I roll over and float, letting myself hang there, in the ocean, while I thought about how drastically my life was going to change. No more random hookups. No more walking home at midnight after sleeping with some nameless, faceless female. From now on, it was only going to be Parker. Parker for the rest of my life.
I waited for panic to hit, but I found, instead, that I liked the idea. She was fire and, as it turned out, I had a penchant for getting burned.
16
Parker
Laila sat next to me on my couch, both of us staring at the TV. Animal Planet was on, Pit Bulls and Parolees, but neither of us was really watching it. I hadn’t said a word about what had happened yet. My heart was still racing and I could still smell Maxim all over me, even after a quick shower. My lips still tingled from his kiss, as did other places, and my libido was still worked up, craving more.
How had I lost control like that? Ugh, how had I let it happen? I mean…he was a total player. I was just another notch in his bedpost, no matter what he said. My rabbit was angry that I was thinking so negatively about him. She kept screaming “mate” at me, as though the word was going to make Maxim any less of who he was.
“So…” Laila kept her eyes on the TV. “That happened.”
I glanced over at her and she glanced back at me. She broke first, falling over into a fit of hysterics. Something about her giggling lessened the gravity of the situation and I laughed, too. I’d been caught with my shorts down.
“God, that was embarrassing.”
She fanned her face, trying to stop the tears from leaking out of her eyes. “You should’ve seen your face!”
I shook my head. “Ugh. I can’t believe that happened. Thank God you walked in when you did.”
She froze. “Wait, what?”
“I mean, not that it wasn’t too late, but at least we didn’t…finish.” I groaned and sank back into the couch. “I can�
��t believe that happened.”
“You said that already.” She curled up and turned to face me. “What do you mean by at least you didn’t finish?”
“I mean you came in before we finished.”
“Did the hot dog go in the bun?”
I stared at her. “Are you serious right now?”
“Yes! I need to know!”
“Yes. Yes, the hot dog was in the bun. Not for long, though.” I shifted and tried not to think about it. “It doesn’t matter. It was a mistake. I temporarily lost my mind.”
“So… just out of curiosity, are we talking cocktail weenie, bun-length hot dog, or meaty, jumbo bratwurst?”
“Are you not listening?”
“I’m listening and choosing to ignore your cold feet and misgivings. Cocktail weenie or bratwurst?”
I hesitated then sighed loudly. “Gastro pub brat.”
She screamed. “We’re talking a sixteen dollar sausage! Handcrafted, no less!” Her hand flew to her chest.
I doubled over laughing. It was the lighthearted fun that I needed to help me get over feeling like I’d just buried my dignity in the sand.
“I’m so jealous. He’s beautiful and he has a high quality wiener. Not fair.”
“You’re forgetting the part where he’s a man-whore, though.”
She wagged her eyebrows at me. “I don’t know. Maybe Mr. Gastro Pub is looking at you like you’re the one for a reason.”
“He is not my mate!” I yelled it so loudly and sharply that Laila jumped. I took a deep breath and repeated myself more calmly. “He’s not my mate.”
“O-kay. He’s not your mate.” She leaned back and sighed. “Can I have him, then?”
I hissed at her, which gave away entirely too much of my inner turmoil. When she smirked knowingly, I knew she could read through my bullshit. I just continued the act, though. “I have a date tomorrow.”
Tactical Bear (P.O.L.A.R. Series Book 4) Page 6