by Jewel E. Ann
Right there. Levi unknowingly gave Parker permission to never tell him the truth about her and Gus or Sabrina’s affair. Parker could lie, but she didn’t want to, not with Levi. She wanted something true in her life. Something untainted. Something real.
“Hi …”
They both turned.
“Hey.” Levi moved out of the booth and hugged his mom and then his dad.
“Where was our call that you got home safely?” His mom pressed her palms to his face.
She had a spark of life to her. A different Stephanie than Parker met in Iowa.
His parents turned their attention to Parker, eyes wide with recognition.
“You remember—”
“Parker, yes.” Joe nodded, sharing a genuine smile.
“Nice to see you.” Stephanie grabbed Parker’s hand that was resting on the table. “I never got a chance to thank you for what you did.”
“Oh, Stephanie, it was nothing.”
“It was everything, dear.”
Immersing herself in the Paige family wasn’t comforting. It only flared the guilt.
“So … are you here for a visit?” Joe’s lips pulled into a curious grin.
Parker’s gaze shot to Levi.
“She chased me down the street when I went to leave.”
Her jaw unhinged waiting for him to tell the truth. He couldn’t lie. Then it hit her—it wasn’t a lie.
“Parker’s never been out of the Midwest, never even seen the ocean. Since she’s between jobs, I invited her to come for a visit. Maybe she can find the right fit out here.”
The truth. Every bit. The “right fit” was an interesting choice of words. Was it in reference to a job or a person?
“In my defense…” she kept her eyes on Levi for a few seconds before giving her attention to his parents “ …he invited me before the ‘chasing him down the street’ part. I declined, but then I changed my mind.”
The waiter cleared his throat. “Will you all be sitting together this evening?”
“Oh … no. We just wanted to say hi,” Joe said.
“You should join us.” Parker expected her comment to be met with a cringe from Levi.
“Absolutely,” he said, gesturing to his side of the booth. When he glanced at Parker, she couldn’t detect anything but gratitude.
If he didn’t want them to stay, he would have said so. There was an upside to No Lie Levi.
When he sat next to her, she started to move over to give him more room, but he rested his hand on her bare leg, keeping her close and uncomfortably aroused.
After they had placed their drink and dinner orders, while chitchatting about the highlights of Levi’s and Parker’s road trip, Joe lifted his wine glass. “To Parker, may you enjoy your time here in spite of our crazy son.”
Everyone lifted their glasses as clinking and laughter filled the space around them. Maybe she didn’t need to clear her conscience. Maybe Sabrina’s and Gus’s memories were best left unmarred.
*
“If you need help finding a job, just let me know. I’ve lived here my whole life, and I have plenty of connections.” Joe hugged Parker as they said their goodbyes by the exit.
“Thank you. It’s my first day here. I’m too overwhelmed to think about staying or going. But I’ll let you know.”
Joe ushered Stephanie out, and Parker followed them. Levi rested his hand on the small of her back.
She grinned.
As they waved to his parents, who headed in the opposite direction, Levi moved his hand from her back and interlaced his fingers with hers.
She grinned even bigger.
“Thank you for inviting my parents to sit with us.”
“They’re really great.” Through his family, Parker saw the Sabrina that Gus must have married. The Paiges were kind, funny, and welcoming.
“We’ll have a redo first date tomorrow night.”
“I don’t know, I think this was a lovely first date.” She took a deep breath, relishing the warm but not suffocatingly humid evening air.
“Dinner with my parents qualifies as a first date?”
“It became an irrefutable first date when I opened the bedroom door and saw you in this suit. This blue suit.”
“I only have one blue suit. I might have to buy more since the bar has been set so high.”
They nodded to the new guard on shift standing by the elevator to his condo.
“Dinner was amazing. The wine was too.” Parker filled time with nervous chatter as end-of-the-date expectations drew near.
“So was my date.”
The doors opened. Still holding her hand, Levi led her to his condo and opened the door. Rags made his best attempt at tackling them. Parker’s gentleman of a date stepped in front to guard her against the attack that might have left her dress with a few snags and holes.
“Hey, buddy.” Levi hunched down and scratched behind Rags’s ears so he wouldn’t jump up anymore. I’m going to take him out. I’ll be right back up.”
“Okay.”
He grabbed the leash then stopped at the door. “Leave that dress on.”
Parker stepped out of her heels. “You worried about returning to me naked on your sofa?”
Levi’s brows perked as his lips parted, tongue slowly wetting them.
“Go.” She laughed. “I’ll keep my dress on, but the shoes are staying off.”
Chapter Thirty-Four
After a long day in the car and then an evening cooped up in Levi’s condo, Rags had energy to burn. Their quick trip outside turned into a walk. Levi shed his jacket and tie, but there was nothing he could do about the shoes. It was ten by the time they made it back.
No surprise, Parker, still in her red dress, was on the blue sofa, asleep. In all fairness, her body was two hours ahead; even Levi felt tired from their trip and life in general.
“Go lie down,” Levi whispered to Rags. Then he flipped a switch that shut all the blinds.
That didn’t wake her. Like at the hotel, he wanted to wake her. Their date wasn’t over, but what was he supposed to say? How about that goodnight kiss?
Instead, like a true gentleman, he draped a blanket over her and went to bed.
After an hour and no signs of her waking and walking to bed, he fell asleep. Being in his own bed after weeks of other beds made it hard not to succumb to sleep.
The bed shook. He jerked up. Rags settled in beside him. “Shit, are you trying to give me a heart attack?” Levi glanced at his clock: 1:15 a.m.
After a quick trip to the bathroom, he started toward the kitchen to get a drink of water. The door across the hall was still open, bed made, red dress draped across the footboard. He turned on the lights beneath the counters to dim, but when he glanced over to the sofa, Parker wasn’t there, just a folded blanket.
Levi checked the other bedroom and bathroom, then his office, and even the balcony. No Parker. Her suitcase was in the bedroom, so it didn’t seem likely that she left for good. But it was after one in the morning, so leaving for any reason seemed crazy.
“Parker?” At that point he didn’t care if he woke her from some hiding place he hadn’t checked.
No answer.
She was an adult. The building was secure. There were no signs of a break in.
He tried her phone.
No answer.
Levi threw on shorts, a tee, and his tennis shoes then grabbed his keys. When he reached the lobby, he checked with the guard. “Have you seen a brunette—shoulder-length hair, tall, blue eyes, mid-twenties—come down here since ten?”
“Yes. Around twelve thirty.”
“Was she alone?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Did she happen to mention where she was going?”
“Asked if there was a twenty-four-hour convenience store nearby.”
“Circle K?”
The guard nodded.
“Thanks.”
“I’d take an umbrella, sir, it’s starting to rain.”
“Taking my car, thanks.”
Levi drove toward the convenience store as the rain picked up. A block away, he saw her running down the sidewalk, hunched over, getting pelted by the rain. Making a quick U-turn, he pulled up beside her. She kept running, even picked up her pace. She had no idea what car he drove. All she’d seen was the rental. Of course, she’d run from some car with tinted windows following her at one thirty in the morning.
“Get in!” He cringed as the rain soaked his passenger seat from rolling down his window only an inch.
Parker ran faster.
“PARKER! DAMMIT! GET IN!” If he’d waited much longer, the street would have been completely flooded, and his car would have been floating down it.
She stopped, turned, and squinted, shielding her eyes from the rain with her hand.
“PARKER!”
She jerked up with recognition and hustled to his car letting in a few gallons of rainwater as she got inside—not that it mattered at that point because she was drenched, and so was his leather seat.
He swerved toward the middle of the dead street to avoid the water closing in from both sides. Terrible drainage.
“So … what’s up?” she said casually.
How? He didn’t know. The woman was drowned, hair matted to her face, water dripping from her everywhere, and a bag—or the remnants of a brown bag—disintegrating on her lap.
“I’m up.”
She nodded.
He parked in the underground parking garage and got out. When he opened her door, she peeled her bare legs off his leather and stood. Shoulders back, chin up.
Splat!
They both looked down at the soggy mess that fell out of the bottom of her bag.
“Muffin?”
She shook her head. “Donut.”
“You turned down dessert at the restaurant.”
They continued to stare at the donut.
“I was full from appetizers and dinner.”
“So you took off, on your own, in a new city, after midnight, looking for a donut?”
“Two donuts. I ate one before it started raining.” Parker shrugged. “I woke up. You were asleep. I thought about waking you, but you looked too peaceful. By then I was really awake and hungry, so …”
He looked at her. “You were going to wake me to go with you?”
“No. For…” her face turned crimson “…other reasons.”
“A goodnight kiss?”
“Maybe.” She risked a quick glance up.
“Or more?”
She shook her head a half dozen times. “I don’t know.”
“But then you chose donuts over ‘more?’ And by more I mean me. Wow … major ego blow.” Levi pushed a button and the trunk opened. He retrieved a towel. “Excuse me. I think there’s a bit of water in my car.”
“Sorry.” Parker frowned.
“I can see that,” he said with as much sarcasm as possible as he wiped down the seat and the inside of the door. “Let’s go.”
She followed him to the elevator. “Private garage. That’s cool. So is your car. Red is my second favorite color.”
As the elevator ascended, he glanced down at her, wondering if he’d ever figure her out. But even after she’d worried the hell out of him and soaked the inside of his car, he still wanted the opportunity. Maybe even more.
“Red sure was your color tonight.”
Her lips pulled into a tiny smile. “Thank you.”
When she stepped into his entry, a grimace contorted her face. “Sorry.” She stared at the puddle of water on the floor as her clothes continued to drip. “I’m going to take them off before I do any more damage.”
He glanced up from the puddle. “Oh … I’ll get you a towel or robe—”
She peeled off her shirt, keeping her eyes on him.
Levi blinked slowly as his lips parted.
As if she wanted him to watch, she held his gaze while tugging off her wet shorts, stepping out of them as she stood again.
Don’t fuck this up.
He swallowed, scared out of his mind to let his eyes move from hers. She wore a nude bra and black panties. He didn’t know the details of either. But he wanted to.
One step. Two steps. She moved toward him. Then she brushed past him, hooking her pinky finger to his, leading him down the hall. Making a right turn into his bedroom, she released his finger and continued to the foot of his bed, leaving her back to him.
Levi held out his hands. They shook. He fisted them. Wanting sex was nothing new. Neither was seeing a beautiful woman naked in his room. But that woman brought him to his knees. Because it wasn’t just the body he wanted. Levi wanted the woman and all the little things about her that gave color to his world.
“I’m…” her voice shook as much as his hands “ …not sure how many women have stood in this spot … w-wearing so little.” She reached behind and unlatched her bra, letting it fall to his floor. “But if you don’t understand what this means, then …”
Levi toed off his sneakers while he removed his shirt dropping it to the ground next to her bra. Parker’s breath caught when he feathered his fingers down her arms.
“How do you do that?” she whispered.
“Do what?” He clasped her hands slowly bringing them above her head and then back behind his.
“Make me feel like you’re the first man to ever touch me?” She fisted his hair and arched her back as he ghosted his hands back down, under her arms, around to her belly, teasing them just below the waist of her panties before inching up to her breasts. She moaned when he cupped them, and then she pushed them even more into his hands.
“Because…” he dipped his head and pressed his lips to her shoulder “…my touch is the only one that will ever matter.”
Levi thought the night in the back of the truck was pretty fucking spectacular, even drunk. But touching her, knowing that she truly felt every bit of it, knowing that she wanted it with clear thoughts and no regrets, it left him teetering on the verge of coming undone.
She turned, pressing her hands to his face. “My heart is beating so fast it’s hard to breathe.”
A satisfied smile eased across his face while his hands traced her curves. “I’m not done taking your breath away.” Lowering his body, he inched her panties down her legs.
Patient.
Methodical.
Threading her fingers through his hair, she hummed as he kissed his way up her naked body.
So. Very. Slowly.
“Today is my favorite day.” Levi grinned. His lips a breath away from hers.
Parker’s lips mirrored his. “You said that yesterday.”
“That was yesterday.” And when he kissed her, it put his imagination to shame. The real thing. Sober. Clear. Present.
She wrapped her arms around his neck as he lifted her legs, guiding them around his waist before lowering her to the bed. He underestimated his unquenchable thirst for her. The woman clinging to his body pieced together all the wrong and made life right again.
Levi couldn’t tear his mouth from hers, so he kissed a hundred lifetimes out of her, taking his leisurely time while his hands set off on their own exploration of the rest of her body. Memorizing curves. Noting all the places that made her moan and even a few that made her lips grin against his as she squirmed a bit every time he brushed a ticklish spot.
Parker’s hands released his hair and inched along his back, muscle by muscle, along his scar and tattoo and beneath his shorts.
He groaned into her mouth. That, too, made her lips curl into a smile against his.
“Take these off,” she mumbled. “I want to see you. All of you.”
He tore himself away and stood at the end of the bed, pushing down his shorts and briefs.
Parker leaned up on her elbows. Unhurried eyes moved along his body.
“You’ve seen it, whether you want to remember or not.”
Her eyes snapped to his. “Nothing was clear that night.”
“And now?”<
br />
Parker swallowed hard, a flash of pain ghosting across her face. “I want it to be clear,” she whispered.
Levi crawled between her spread legs, kissing his way up her body. She played with his hair again like her fingers couldn’t get enough as he tasted his way up her abdomen. Her lips parted, eyes locked on his. He hooked his arm under her knee as his mouth covered her breast. Watching her eyes the whole time, he pushed inside of her.
She sucked in a sharp breath, eyes heavy but still focused on him, as her hands curled into his hair.
Pulling back slowly, he plunged into her harder.
“Levi …”
The bed jerked beneath them.
He kissed his way along her neck up to her mouth. “I think it’s pretty clear,” he whispered.
The bed jerked harder.
She arched her back, eyes drifting shut on a long moan. “Real … I need something … that’s … real.”
Levi grabbed her other leg, guiding it behind his back, as he worked to find deeper penetration. “It’s real. So fucking real.” He devoured her mouth, making sure she felt him everywhere.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Parker slid out of bed early the next morning, wrapping a blanket around her as her heart and stomach did a happy dance together seeing naked Levi on his stomach.
“Shhh.” She ushered Rags back toward the kitchen when he greeted her in the hallway, and then she grabbed her phone to call her mom.
“Hello, I wondered when I’d hear from my rebel daughter again.”
Parker snorted a laugh, plopping down on the blue sofa. “Sure. I’m such a rebel. No tattoos. No piercings. No arrests. Not even a parking ticket. Try again, Mom.”
“So where are you?”
“Levi’s. He has a condo in Scottsdale, right in the middle of a shopping district. Lots of restaurants, art galleries … just a really cool vibe. We had dinner with his parents last night. And the view … Mom, it’s incredible.”
“You don’t sound like my daughter. Who took my daughter? The grumpy one? The one who always had something smart to say?”
Parker chuckled. “What can I say? The desert suits me.”
“And Levi? You’re staying with him?”
Before Parker had a chance to answer, the man who took Janey’s daughter shuffled down the hall in nothing but a pair of black boxers low on his hips, really fucked-up hair, and a life-is-good grin on his scruffy face. Her gaze followed him to the kitchen.