"Really? You think I give a shit about what high society assholes like you think about me? Please, I've been through much worse in my life," Chance scoffs.
I open my eyes just in time to see my brother turn a furious shade of red. "Do you have any idea who you are talking to?" Archie grits through his clenched teeth.
Chance turns, squaring off with him. "Does it look like I give a fuck?" he spits.
As much as I love Chance – holy hell did I say love? - for standing up to my dickhead brother, I can't let this continue. Because knowing my brother, he is about two seconds away from having Chance thrown out of the party and I don’t want to ruin my great-grandmother’s party.
"Alright, that's enough," I say. "Archibald, if you'll excuse us, I would like to say hello to Grams."
I grab the back of Chance's neck and lead him away from my dickhead brother.
"What a fucking turd," Chance grumbles when we're out of earshot.
"Yeah, tell me about it," I grunt.
I see my great-grandmother sitting at the head table and make a beeline for her with Chance in tow. Before I can get to her, a cool, thin hand grabs mine and stops me. I turn to see my mother, Melina.
"Parker, darling, so glad you took time out of your busy schedule to join us," she says, her face passive but the sarcasm is evident in her tone.
I give her a tight smile. "Anything for Grams," I tell her.
She purses her fat injected lips and narrows her eyes at me before glancing at Chance. She gives him a flirty smile. "Oh my, I didn't realize we would have such a famous guest. Melina Hamilton," she says, introducing herself.
I clench my teeth at her dig. Apparently, she considers Chance famous, but I'm just a disappointment to her. Bitch. Chance shakes her hand and gives her a fake smile.
"Hi," he says.
"Parker, why didn't you tell me that you were bringing such a high profile celebrity?" she asks without taking her eyes off Chance.
I'm kind of grossed out by the way she's eye-fucking him. I look over at Chance to find him shifting uncomfortably next to me. He obviously sees it, too.
"I didn't think that it would make a difference," I mumble.
Her eyes snap over to glare at me. "Of course it makes a difference! I could have ordered better hors d'oeuvres and cocktails had I known!" she barks at me.
"I...it really doesn't matter to me," Chance says with a frown.
Melina turns back to Chance, a seductive smile on her botoxed face. "I'm sure you are used to better than this. I apologize in advance if something is not up to par. Just let me know if there is...anything...I can do to make your visit here any better," she practically purrs and I can feel the bile rising in my throat.
"Uh...okaaay," Chance replies, frowning hard.
I grab Chance's arm and drag him away from my disgusting mother.
"What the fuck, man? I thought my upbringing was bad, shit," Chance whispers harshly.
"Luckily, I wasn't exactly raised by my parents; I had a nanny for that." I laugh bitterly.
"Jesus Christ," he breathes. "Are they all like that?"
"Everyone except my Grams," I reply with a sad smile.
Chance stops walking, forcing me to stop, too, since I still have his arm. I turn to look at him. My heart skips a beat at the look on his face - understanding, sympathy and pride. I know him well enough now to be able to see all of those emotions in his dark eyes. He steps a little closer to me, his hands finding my shoulders.
"I am so glad that you didn't turn out like them," he whispers, his eyes scanning over my face fondly.
I roll my lips in and nod, dropping my gaze to my shoes.
"You are so much better than them," he says, ducking his head to catch my eyes. "You hear me, asshole? Don't let them hurt you," he says fiercely.
I swallow hard and nod. "I hear you."
"Good. Let’s go meet your Grams then," he says and claps me on the shoulder.
I lead the way over to the table where my beautiful great-grandmother is sitting, talking to a couple of my aunts. She sees me coming and smiles brightly. She shoos away my aunts, who all give me dirty looks and opens her arms to me. I lean down and give her a big, warm hug. She kisses me on the cheek, which I'm sure left lipstick behind.
"My baby boy, how are you?" she coos as we separate.
I take the recently vacated seat next to her. "Better, now that I am with you."
"Mmm, tell me about it," she grunts in agreement.
I smirk.
"Who's your boyfriend?" she asks, looking curiously at Chance, who is standing behind me.
I stare at her for a moment. Did she mean that the way it came out or does she mean it as my friend who is a guy? I can't tell.
"Chance Steele, ma'am," Chance answers, holding out his hand to her.
Grams takes his hand and he bends over to give her knuckles a kiss. “They tell me that it’s someone’s 100th birthday, but certainly it can’t be you.”
She chuckles and pats his face. "Oh, you little devil, you," she says and shakes her finger at him.
I glance back at him to find him grinning from ear to ear. I smile. The charmer has arrived.
"Lovely to meet the only decent person in this family...beside Parker of course," Chance murmurs.
Grams barks out a laugh and slaps me on the knee. "I like this one!"
I chuckle as Chance sits down next to me.
"For being a hundred, I gotta say that you look fantastic," Chance says, laying on the charm thick, but he is also being sincere.
"Thank you, my dear. I'm surprised that I've lasted this long as well. I thought for sure one of those money hungry mongers would have taken me out by now." She snorts.
Now it's Chance's turn to bark out a laugh. I watch him with a smile. He has no idea how ridiculously happy it makes me that he's getting along with my great-grandmother. She's the only person that I really care about in this family and I need her to approve of him. She leans in closer to me, bringing my attention back to her.
"How long has this been going on?" she asks, motioning between Chance and me.
I blink at her. "What do you mean?"
"You don't have to play stupid with me, sweetheart. I'm not blind, I can see that you two are a couple," she hisses.
I flounder. How the hell did she know? It's not like we were all over each other. "How..."
"Parker, I've been around for a hundred years - I've seen everything, I've heard everything and I’ve done, well, almost everything. I see the way you two have been looking at each other since you walked in, stealing glances and sharing secrets. Others probably won't pick up on it, but I do," she explains.
"Well, shit," Chance mutters with an awe-filled smile.
"Grams, you...you can't say anything..." I say, a bit panicked.
"Hush now, your secret is safe with me," she shushes.
"Thanks, Grams," I breathe in relief.
"So how long?" she asks again.
I glance at Chance, who sends me an encouraging smile. "Almost three months," I tell her.
She smiles softly. "That's lovely. You two are a gorgeous couple," she says quietly. She looks past me to pin Chance with a stern look. "You take good care of him, you hear? This one is my favorite and he deserves the best."
Chance grins and sends her a wink. "You got it, Grams."
"Hrmph, it's no wonder you like him, Parker, the man is sexy as sin," she murmurs.
Chance throws his head back and laughs. All I can do is smile and shake my head. That's my Grams.
Chance
After talking with Parker's crazy awesome great-grandmother for a while, Parker said we had to go and say hi to his father. After meeting his brother and mother, I'm really not looking forward to it. I know my childhood was fucked up, but this...this is just as bad, only in a completely different way.
We find his father over by the bar. Not the bar by the pool, but a second bar that is set up in the tent. I had no idea how loaded Parker's family was until we s
howed up here today. They are not just stinking rich, but they are wealthy, and that fortune goes back generations. In-fucking-sane.
I can see where Parker gets his good looks. He looks exactly like his father, just a much younger and blonder version. His father's hair is now gray. He looks to be in decent shape for his age and I'll bet any amount of money that he's had a facelift.
"Ah, here is my youngest son, Parker. He used to be a lawyer but now he's just an actor," his father says to the men surrounding him as we walk up.
I see Parker's shoulders tense and his hands ball into fists. "Hey, dad," he mutters.
"Oh, I see you've brought your co-star, Mr. Steele. Thanks so much for coming," his father says, offering his hand to me.
"Mr. Hamilton," I reply with a sharp nod as I shake his hand.
"So, son, Archie was telling me about this new role you are playing. Is he right that you are playing a gay man?" he asks, his eyebrows raised.
"Actually, I am playing a detective who happens to be gay," Parker mutters, his cheeks turning pink under the blatant scrutiny.
"Why take a role like that? You aren't gay!" his father squawks.
"It's just acting, dad," Parker replies half-heartedly.
"Speaking of fruits," comes Parker's brother's voice from behind us, "I brought you a plate full." He chuckles, handing Parker the plate of fruit he is carrying.
The group of men start chuckling. I clench my teeth together to stop myself from calling them some not so nice names because inside I’m seething. I wish I could punch Parker's brother in his damn throat.
"Good thing neither of my sons are gay; that shit is unacceptable and disgusting. It would not go over well in this house," the senior Archibald says, his disgust in gay people clear in his tone.
Well shit, that's not good. I look over at Parker to see him putting the plate of fruit down on the nearest table. His face is pale and his hands are shaking. My heart breaks for him. When I was younger, I had always wished for a family, any family. But now I see that I would never have wanted this family. I guess sometimes having nothing is better than having something like this. These people are horrendous.
A gorgeous brunette saunters up next to the younger of the two Archibalds. "Archie, you said you were going to introduce me to Chance Steele," she whines while eyeing me up over her very large white-framed sunglasses.
His eyes flash angrily. "Allison, didn't I also tell you not to bother me while I am in the company of my father and his associates?" he barks and grabs the top of her arm in a brutal grip.
My turn to clench my fists. I can't stand when men manhandle women like this. Something like this is what got me arrested back in the day. I don't know what it is, but it just pisses me the fuck off when guys beat on women, and I have to step in. Archibald shoves who I am assuming is his wife away, making her stumble into a table. I try to bite my tongue but it doesn't work. I take a step toward her helping her up.
"That was unnecessary, Archibald," I growl, purposely using his name to piss him off.
He turns to me, eyebrow raised. "Excuse me?"
"I really don't appreciate you treating your woman like that in front of me," I tell him.
Archibald gives me a shit-eating grin and repeats my earlier words back to me, "Do I look like a give a fuck?"
"You sonofabitch," I grind out and take a step toward him.
Parker steps in front of me. "That's enough, we're leaving," he snaps.
We stare at each other for a second before I give him a curt nod before turning and walking back toward the mansion. Fuck, that dickhead almost got me into trouble. No doubt, he would have called the cops on me if I had gone after him. Thank God for Parker and his level head.
Without saying goodbye to anyone, we leave. Parker doesn't say a word, he just guns it out of there. I stare out the window as he speeds down the road. When I had first met Parker over ten years ago and had heard about who his family was and where he came from, I figured that he had had the good life. He must have gotten everything he wanted, had everything handed to him, didn't have to work a day in his life. I had been jealous, so jealous of how privileged he was.
Now, my heart hurts for him. I glance over to see him looking straight ahead, his lips pressed together in a thin angry line. Oh, how much we have in common that we never even realized. We have both had terrible childhoods, even though they were at different extremes.
“I’m sorry I lost my temper back there,” I say, feeling guilty that we had to leave because of me.
“Don’t be. He had it coming. I always knew he was a douchebag, but I never realized how bad. What made you snap?” he asks cautiously.
Parker bringing me here today was a big step in our relationship. It was his way of opening himself up to me, exposing himself and being vulnerable. It’s my turn.
I look straight ahead, once again not wanting to see his reaction. It also makes it easier to tell him my humiliating life story. “When I was a teen, I was homeless, lived in a shelter. I saw women constantly being taken advantage of, having to prostitute themselves just to have money to buy themselves or their kids food. One day I saw a woman I knew from the shelter being attacked in a back alley. I didn’t even think, I just jumped in and started wailing on the guy. She ran to get me help, but by the time she returned with back-up, I was being arrested, charged with assault.”
I take a break from my story to check on his reaction, but he is just shaking his head. I don’t know what that means, so I continue. I hope it doesn’t change the way he sees me.
“Anyway, I was charged with assault but refused to take a plea so we went to trial. The woman that was being beaten testified on my behalf, along with a few other people from my shelter, and ultimately, I was found not guilty by reason of self-defense. When I joined the Army, they helped me get the record sealed, but anyone checking into my background can see it if they try hard enough. Up until now, I’ve never had reason to talk about it.”
Parker’s hand landed on my thigh sometime during my story, but I was so engrossed in my self-pity that I hadn’t noticed. He gives me a squeeze but doesn’t say much for a few minutes. I let him soak it all in.
“Why were you homeless?” is the only thing he asks.
“You want the whole shebang, huh? You sure you’re ready for this? Cause once I tell you, there’s no un-knowing…” I ask, hoping that he doesn’t want to hear anymore.
“There’s nothing you can tell me that will make me lo…like you any less. I just brought you home to meet my family. Do you think less of me now that you know where I came from?”
“Of course not. I’ve gained a whole new respect for you. Thank god you escaped them.”
He smiles. “Thank you. Now lay it on me.” He chuckles.
Here goes nothing. "My mother was a prostitute, and as you already know, my father was a drunk. I grew up in foster care. At the last house I lived in, their biological son raped me almost every night. I was seventeen when I ran away and never looked back. I thought I had it bad and would have given anything to grow up in a mansion and have tons of money, but now I see that growing up with a family like that is just as bad," I murmur into the silence.
Parker's head whips around to stare at me in shock. "You were raped? Is that what you meant when you said that you were with a man, involuntarily?"
I shrug. "Yeah, it was a long time ago, I've dealt with it and moved on," I say softly.
Parker nods in acceptance but doesn’t say another thing about it. He reaches over and grabs my hand, lacing his fingers in mine. "Thank you for sharing that with me. I don't feel so alone in knowing that my family sucks ass."
I snort. "Your family is atrocious."
Parker chuckles, but then it turns into a full-blown laugh. I start to laugh, too. Soon we're laughing so hard that we have tears running down our faces. It's a relief. Such a huge relief. When we finally quiet and dry our eyes, Parker leans over and gives me a loving kiss. A horn blows behind us, breaking the moment. We chuckl
e as Parker hits the gas. And just like that, all is good in the world…well, at least in our little world.
Chapter Thirteen
Chance
I wake to a warm body covering mine, and a hot mouth at my neck. Mmm, Parker. He nips at my earlobe before dragging his tongue down my throat. I slip my arms and legs around him. I feel him smile against my chest.
"Morning," he murmurs.
I just hum and thread my fingers into the back of his blonde hair. I take a deep breath, pulling in his masculine scent. He always smells like the Aveeno body wash that he uses. He rocks his hips, which are cradled between my thighs, rubbing his hard length against mine. We both moan softly.
"Do we have time?" I mutter, turning my head to try to see the clock, but I can't.
"Plenty," Parker rasps.
We have to be at the studio by eight and if Parker says we have plenty of time, then it's probably six in the morning. Ugh, too early. But if it means that we get to have sex before work, then hell, I'm up. This has been our routine for the past couple of months. I've practically moved into Parker's condo. We have been spending our days and some nights at the studio making the movie while our non-working nights are spent hanging out, watching movies, getting to know each other better, and fucking. Lots of fucking.
I’ve tried. I’ve tried really hard to keep my feelings out of this - relationship? - that we have going. I've never opened my heart to anyone before, so I don't know how I let this happen. But somehow, Parker has gotten under my skin and sunk in his claws. The more I get to know him, the more I learn about what he likes and dislikes, the more I find out how much we actually have in common. It just embeds those claws deeper.
His hand dips down between us and wraps around both of our cocks. He strokes us slowly, lazily, as if he doesn't have a care in the world. I roll my hips and dig my heels into the backs of his thighs to try to get more - more friction, more pleasure, more something!
"Parker," I gasp and claw at his back.
Parker lifts his head, his blazing blue gaze meeting mine. "I fucking love it when you say my name," he breathes.
"I will say your name a million times if you tighten your grip," I groan.
Crossing The Line (A Taboo Love series Book 3) Page 12