Cole cleared his throat. “No ma’am. Saw that on my way here.”
“Then you’ve seen Lawton MacSweeny and I need to send a steed express boy out to notify my sister-in-law her boy is back.” Mary Sue smacked her lips. “Mostly so we can all keep watch for where he lands. Lords above, I hope the boy misses the bank this time.”
Chapter Eight
Lynn turned towards the warmth, assuming she was now facing the fire she’d started herself after bathing in the river. A strong arm wrapped around her and she gasped, her eyes opening wide.
“Hey you,” Parker said, surprising her. She’d assumed she’d have a break from him and all the drama by heading to the outskirts of town, to a riverbed. “I was worried about you.”
“I just needed some space and time to think,” she reassured, though she wasn’t sure why. She’d been hurt and angry by his behavior at his home, and the way he and Cole had acted like fools. “I was hoping to spend the night alone.”
He didn’t look too pleased by that proclamation. “I’d have been here sooner, but as I was lookin’ for you, word reached me Jonathan and Molly were confronting Gerald.”
Lynn gasped. “What happened? Is everyone all right?”
He put his forehead to hers. “Jon and Molly are wed good and proper now. Does that count as all right?”
She gasped, trying to sit up, but finding he wasn’t having any of that. “What? Really? Already?”
He flashed a smile and winked, keeping her pinned in place. “There is a party going on for them in town as we speak. Want to join me?”
“I’d rather know how you found me?” she answered.
He tapped the end of his nose and let his eyes shift quickly. “Seems I have your scent burned on my brain, woman. I think I could find you anywhere.”
“Did you track me down for another quick fuck?” she asked, still hurt by his words.
Parker blushed and then rubbed his nose to hers gently. “No. I tracked you down to bring you home with me, nice and proper, Lynn.”
“Nice and proper?” she repeated with a snort. “Sorry, but I really don’t think nice and proper came to your mind once. Not in regards to me. Now, you can be on your way. I’ll find Cole come morning and we’ll leave.”
He growled and dragged her against his powerful frame. “Like hell you will. You’re not leavin’ me. You’re mine now. I already told you as much. Keep it up and I’ll finish the claim I made on you.”
She opened her mouth, but no sound came out.
Parker snickered and kissed her. It was slow at first before becoming fast and heated. She moaned into the man’s mouth hating herself for just how easily she fell for his ways. He had pull over her that she couldn’t explain. He continued to kiss her, slowly, drugging her, making her body tingle and burn for him. His tongue claimed hers fully. She gasped into his mouth.
His hands were suddenly everywhere, lifting her chemise. His deft fingers grazed her sex and she nearly melted into a puddle then and there. He put his lips to her ears and whispered her name, his voice a brush of silk, making her shiver. Her pussy dampened and she moved her hips, swiveling them, wanting more than Parker was giving.
“Let’s go home,” he said softly. “I want to make love to you, darlin’.”
She nodded, grabbing his face, kissing him senseless. She bit at his lower lip and he growled, the sound low, deep, demanding.
Reaching down, Parker unsnapped his pants. He couldn’t wait any longer to be in her. It was wrong to take her on the ground like a rutting animal, but he’d lost his will power. She’d stripped him of it.
He freed his cock and lifted her chemise more, her warm heat there, ready and welcoming. He eased into her, her velvet sheath forming around him, gripping his shaft tight, holding his body in hers. He pushed in as far as he could go, his lips capturing hers as he pumped in and out of her. He took his time, building a slow and steady rhythm. She arched under him, countering his thrusts, bucking against him.
He tore at the buttons of the shirt she wore and then yanked at the chemise. The moment he freed her breasts he dipped his head and caught a nipple between his teeth gently. She cried out, her pussy clutching tighter to him. He went at her harder, riding her body into sweet oblivion. His muscles all tensed at once as his ball sac drew up, ready and willing to empty into her.
Lynn panted, clawing at his arms and back. She tossed her head to the side and Parker lost control of his beast. His teeth lengthened and the next he knew his mouth was over the tender flesh of her neck. He bit and felt her coming, her pussy clenching and releasing his dick. He exploded in her, his seed jetting into her womb as he cemented his claim on her.
“I bind you to me, Honor Lynnette Smith. Should you try to cross over, my spirit will follow yours. As it once was written, so it shall be,” he said as he drew off her neck. Power buzzed around him as her pussy continued to milk his cock.
Lynn stared up at him looking drunk. She licked her lower lip and nodded. “I bind you to me, Parker Pickins MacSweeny. Should you try to cross over, my spirit will follow yours. As it once was written, so it shall be.”
Parker shook his head. It was one thing for him to lose control and say the binding words. It was another for Lynn to do it. She didn’t know. She didn’t understand this made her his wife. And there were no take backs in the world of supernatural mating.
His breathing was harsh as he stayed above her, buried deep in her. He dropped his forehead carefully, placing it against hers, “Lynn.”
She kissed him passionately, chasing away some of his worries. He pushed the rest down, wanting to be in the moment with her even if she didn’t fully understand it. He met her gaze. “Let’s get you off the hard ground and home.”
She wiggled under him. “Yes, please. My bum isn’t lovin’ this.”
“Mmm,” he murmured. “I could love that bum.”
She swatted him playfully. “Parker.”
Chapter Nine
Parker bounded down the steps to find breakfast waiting for him. He smiled at the sight of Lynn there setting out plates for them. His momma had come through for him, getting Lynn some clothes straight away. The rest was on order and would be in sometime next week. He didn’t want to broach the subject of being married just yet with Lynn, but he would need to do it soon. She’d not mentioned leaving with Cole again, but she would. She’d been running for so long it was all she knew. A life on the road was no life and he intended to assure his wife stayed put with him.
For good.
She looked up and tipped her head, her long hair falling over her shoulder. The blue chemise she wore made her eyes pop and he couldn’t stop raking his gaze over her form, having committed every inch of it to memory the night before. He’d brought her home, bathed with her, taken her to bed and then licked every friggin’ inch of that woman. Just thinking about it made him nuts with desire.
“I’m guessing you’re hungry,” she said.
He wagged his brows, remembering their night of lovemaking, remembering the taste of her sweet quim. “I am,” he said eying her. “I guess I could eat too.”
She blinked and then pink stole across her cheeks. He knew she’d gotten his meaning then.
“Parker,” she scolded. “Eat. You’ve got rounds this morning and then you’re seeing patients in the office in the afternoon. I want your belly full. Sending a hungry shifter out into the world is not a smart thing to do.” She winked.
He caught her hand in his. “Yes, ma’am.”
She gave him a look that said he’d be in big trouble if he didn’t get to eating what she’d spent time on. He took a seat and tasted the food. It was delicious. He reached up and caught hold of Lynn, pulling her onto his lap. She cackled with laughter that was infectious.
He kissed her shoulder. “This is amazin’, beautiful.”
She put her lips to his forehead quickly. “Eat up.”
He stared at her lush lips, his gaze slinking down her more. He cleared his throat, a proclama
tion of love on the tip of his tongue. She did things to him. Things no other woman ever had or ever would, yet three little words refused to come. How hard could it be to simply say I love you? Apparently, pretty damn difficult considering he couldn’t seem to spit them out to save his life. Then again, she’d not said them to him either. Maybe she didn’t feel the same way about him as he did her. Maybe it was strictly one-sided.
She touched his cheek, a knowing look in her eyes. “I feel it too,” she whispered, shocking him.
He opened his mouth to speak, but she shook her head.
“No, let’s just enjoy the moment for now. It’s enough that we’re both feeling it,” she said.
“How is it you know what I was thinkin’?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. I just had this overwhelming feeling that you were questioning if I was in this as much as you. I am. You should know that.”
He kissed her and she smiled against his lips before pulling away. “You taste like bacon.”
“Damn good bacon.”
Laughing, she eased off his lap. “Well, I am quite the cook.”
He caught her wrist. “Lynn, we need to have a talk before I head out on rounds today.”
She averted her gaze. “It’s about last night, isn’t it?”
“Yes.”
She bit her lower lip and faced him. “Okay.”
Parker slipped from the chair in one fluid movement and took a knee in front of her. He held her hands in his. “Honor Lynn, I’d be very honored if you’d be my wife.”
Moisture pooled in her eyes and then she burst into laughter.
“Lynn?”
“You’re asking me now? After the fact?”
He stared harder at her. “Wait. You already know that I completed the claiming? That as far as everyone is concerned, I’m your husband and you’re my wife?”
“Well, not everyone. Just the supernaturals,” she corrected. She ran her fingers through his hair. “And yes, I knew when you did it what it meant. Cole explained it all to me once—well as much as he knew that is.”
Parker’s chest tightened. “Wait. So, you’re saying that when you repeated the words back to me, you knew full well it meant you’d be tyin’ yourself to me—that you’d be my wife?”
A lone tear escaped, running down her cheek. She wiped it away. “Yes.”
He yanked her against him, burying his face in her midriff. He covered her abdomen in kisses. “Woman, I’m gonna make you the happiest gal ever. You’ll see.”
“You already have,” she said, only just so that he almost missed it.
He stood slowly and kept her near him. “Lynn, I know you want to go on rounds with me this mornin,’, but I don’t like the idea of takin’ you on the road, not knowin’ what we’ll run into. But,” he stopped her protest, “would you maybe consider helpin’ my father at my offices this mornin’? He’d enjoy the company and I think you’d enjoy the doctorin’. Then, this afternoon I’ll be there with you. The two of us can handle any patient flow that comes through the door.”
She stared up at him for what felt like forever before going to her tiptoes and tugging on the back of his neck. She pressed her lips to his and the kiss was scorching hot.
He took hold of her hips and bit lightly at her lip. “Mmm, woman. Do that again and I’ll be eating you for breakfast.”
She winked and slid off his lap. “Eat up and then off with you. I’ll go over and help your father this morning. Then, I’ll expect you home for lunch. Send word if something comes up, Parker. I don’t want to be worrying endlessly about you.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said, hiding his joy. He caught hold of her hand. “Lynn, about you leaving with Cole.”
She squeezed his hand. “I’d never run out on my husband, Parker.”
*
Lynn came down the stairs of Parker’s medical offices holding another large basin of water she’d used to clean the dressing on one of the outlaws. So far, none had mouthed off. Apparently, they’d heard about how the other among them ended up with a broken jaw.
Smart men.
“Doctor MacSweeny?” she asked, trying to find Parker’s father. When she’d last seen him he was handling the lower room patients. She rounded the corner, entering one of the main surgery rooms. The basin water, tinged with pink, sloshed slightly, but didn’t spill. “Doctor?”
She came to a grinding halt, accidently dumping blood tinged water on the floor when she spotted Parker’s father. He was being held by two men she didn’t know. One of the men had a syringe close to Pickins’ neck.
The man that stepped out next made her stomach instantly twist into a knot.
Darby.
He looked even crazier than when she’d last seen him all those years ago.
She dropped the basin and it shattered, bloody water spilling over her feet and the floor. “Darby, let him go, please. I’ll do what you ask.”
“Honor, no,” Parker’s father said.
“That will be enough from you.” Darby twisted and delivered a nasty blow to Pickins. He went down hard and fast. “If he moves, inject him with the liquid silver. That will stop his heart—filthy shifter.”
Lynn cried out and tried to get to Parker’s father, but Darby caught her around the waist. He clamped a dirty hand over her mouth. “You’re coming with me, bitch. I’ve had just about enough chasin’ you around.”
*
Rounds had gone quicker than Parker had thought. His patients on the outskirts of town were doing well, and the baby he thought he might have to birth still wasn’t ready to come just yet. All in all, it had been a quiet, easy morning. He pulled his wagon to a stop and reined his horse near the trough. He rubbed his horse’s head.
Jimmy, a young boy who worked at the General Store as a stock boy, came rushing towards Parker with a box in his hands. “Doc MacSweeny, your purgin’ pills arrived from the city. Ma’ said to bring’em straight over to ya.”
He reached into his pocket and withdrew a coin. He tossed it to Jimmy as he took the package from him. “Thanks.”
Jimmy caught the coin, a smile spreading over his dirt smeared face. Candy would be filling his stomach soon enough. “Thanks, Doc!”
Laughing, Parker put the package under his arm and headed up the steps to his office door. He headed into the building with a smile on his face. It faded quickly at the sight of the main room. It was in shambles. A shattered wash basin lay there and the smell of blood rent the air. His stomach tightened.
Had the outlaws gotten out of hand? Had they hurt Lynn?
He glanced to the left and spotted his father on the floor, his body limp. “Pops?”
He rushed to his father’s side, fearing the worst. When he dropped, he felt for a pulse and found one. His father stirred awake slowly.
“P-Parker?” he asked, rubbing his head. “Honor. They took Honor Lynn.”
Every ounce of reason abandoned Parker as those words slipped over him. His woman, his wife, was gone. “Who?” he managed to ground out as the beast began to take hold of him.
“Someone named Darby,” his father returned, easing to his feet slowly. He swayed. “She tried to trade herself for me and I told her no. I’m fine! Go! I’ll send for Eli and Jon.”
“No,” he said slowly, his teeth lengthening. “She’s my wife, my responsibility. I’ll bring her home safe and bring his head back on a platter. Then I’m gonna mount the damn thing to my wall. He wants to be an animal. He wants to be like me. Fine. I’ll show him what an animal I can be.”
“Son, no. Think this through. If you do something that extreme, the people here might very well turn on you, on all of us.” His father shook his head, trying to reach for him as Parker moved away quickly.
He sniffed the air, catching his wife’s sweet scent. As he smelled her blood, his boiled. He rushed from the building and out into the fresh open air. It took him a second, but he caught her scent again. He tuned out his father’s yelling for him and went straight for the nearest steel
steed he saw. As luck would have it, it belonged to someone he’d treated more than once for drunken brawls. The man owed him big.
Payment had come due.
Parker mounted the beast and wasn’t surprised in the least to find keys in the ignition. He revved it up and the heavy scent of oil and fuel ripped through the air, temporarily masking Lynn’s sweet smell. He shook it off and focused hard, pulling his senses, finding Lynn’s scent over the industrial smells. He launched the steel steed forward and it responded to his commands much the way a horse would. It sensed the pressure he applied with his legs and the way he pulled on the handles. He only hoped the fool he’d taken it from kept the fuel cells charged. While in theory this could outrun his horse and out last it, it wouldn’t do him a damn bit of good if it was out of fuel, especially with the sun setting. Solar panels weren’t worth a shit after dark.
*
Lynn gagged and spit the taste of Darby from her mouth. He’d kissed her and forced his tongue into her mouth. The taste of him was revolting to her. Her hot, tear streaked face was more than likely already starting to bruise from his rough handling of her.
He gripped her face tighter, a crazed look in his eyes. “Say you love me, witch!”
She glanced fearfully at the two men who had helped abduct her. They lay dead, their bodies mauled like her father’s had been. Darby had waited until they’d arrived at this location before turning on them and ripping them to shreds before her. She couldn’t seem to look away.
Darby slapped her hard enough to make her ears ring. She could do nothing to protect herself. Her hands were bound behind her to a wooden stake driven deep in the ground and her ankles were tied as well. Wood pieces were at her feet. She knew what he planned to do, burn her at the stake. There was no reasoning with him. His mind was too far gone.
He held a personal transport unit in his free hand and he kept checking it as if he were waiting for something big. He looked at her again, slapping her once more. “Tell me you love me!”
Parker’s Honor (Cowboys and Supernaturals 2) Page 7