by A. C. Arthur
“I’m so sorry that happened to you, Adriana. And I wish to hell you would have called the police, told someone or pressed charges, or possibly found something to slit that bastard’s throat,” he said vehemently. “But mostly, sweetheart, I’m sorry that I wasn’t there to help you. That you felt like you had nobody that could help you get through that time.”
She shook her head. “I know now that there was help available. I just didn’t…I couldn’t. And I know you don’t understand, but I just could not tell anyone. I couldn’t let them know that I’d failed.”
Parker was no therapist, he had no experience dealing with this type of thing. And he might actually be doing something totally wrong. But he wanted her to get better, he wanted her to be confident and happy and successful. All the things she wanted for herself, he wanted double and he felt like this was the first step in that direction.
“You did not fail, Adriana. He was an ass.”
She opened her mouth to speak, then closed her lips tightly, before sighing. “You’re right. I know now that you’re right.”
“So let tonight be the moment that you look out to the horizon and see the stars and the moon’s beams glittering across the ocean. Take a deep breath, inhale the fresh air and then release it. Let the memory of this moment, right here and right now, just me and you, take the place of that horrible memory. Please, can you do that for me, baby? Can you just remember us, right here, looking at this view?”
He’d moved in closer, brushing his cheek along hers as he spoke, feeling the warmth as she leaned into him while he talked. She turned, letting her cheek lay against his chest and Parker breathed in her scent as it mixed with the sea-salted air. He kept his fingers laced with hers and after a few moments he whispered her name. When she looked up at him, he smiled and then he kissed her, slow and sweet and hopefully enough to erase at least part of that awful night from her mind.
#
The bath had been heavenly. Parker’s master bathroom was gorgeously decorated in soft marble and rustic stone. She’d been in there frequently in the last couple of weeks but tonight had been the first time he’d run a bubble bath for her and demanded that she stay in there for at least twenty minutes.
“That’s how long it takes to soak the stress of the day away,” he’d told her.
“Let me guess, Regan told you that,” she’d replied with a chuckle as she’d slid back against the lip of the large soaker tub loving the feel of the hot water against her skin and the fresh scent of the lavender bubbles.
“No, smarty pants,” he’d responded, dipping a hand into the bubbles and wiping them onto her nose. “Lyra added that little tidbit of information.”
He’d left her alone then with a smile on her face and a lightness in her heart that she didn’t think she’d ever felt before. Closing her eyes Adriana had thought all the way back to that night in Milan, to Carlos’s hands on her and the sick feeling that had engulfed her from that moment on. She should have reported him. She should have come home and told her family. But she hadn’t. She didn’t really know what she wanted to do about that now. What she did know was that she’d liked being with Parker. Of all the people in the world she would have never guessed that he would be the one to make her feel better about herself, about what she’d gone through. How could she have known that just a year ago when they’d sat down to dinner that first night?
And if she had, would she have let getting to this point take so long?
When she finished with her bath Adriana used one of the thick plush towels to dry off. She slipped her feet into slippers that were new and placed near the vanity, pale blue with a thick sole and a silky bow on top. They definitely weren’t here for Parker. There was a silk robe to match hanging on a hook on the back of the door and she put that on too. She’d always loved the feel of cool silk against her clean skin.
Parker had removed the dishes and the table they’d had on the terrace. He was still standing out there talking on his phone when she came into the bedroom. Not wanting to disturb him she went to the side of the bed that she’d become used to sleeping on and sat down. Her purse was on the nightstand and she picked it up, retrieving her cell phone. There was a congratulatory text from Gabriella. With a smile Adriana dialed her sister’s number.
“Hi!” she said as soon as she answered.
“Hi to you!” Gabriella said in her high pitched voice. “You know you’re still trending on Twitter. You and the show. I had to show it to mom because she had no idea what I was so giddy about.”
Adriana laughed imagining her mother, who even though she was married to a communications mogul, despised the rise of technology. “I can just imagine how that went. So you’re home on a Friday night?”
“I’m home every night lately, unlike you,” Gabriella said and then made some noise that had Adriana blushing. “I saw the pictures of you and Parker Donovan at today’s event. Looking mighty cozy there, sis.”
“I told you we were going out a little.” Adriana had been trying to downplay this thing with her and Parker, just in case it fizzled or turned out to be nothing. Tonight though, she’d definitely felt like it was something, quite a bit of something actually.
“Looks like more than that to me. But then I have insider information.”
“And what information would that be?”
Gabriella did not hesitate. “I just know that mom’s been talking to Parker’s mom a lot. She even said something about possibly coming down there for this big event the company’s having in a few weeks.”
“The All Access party? Really? I didn’t know they’d be interested in coming to that,” Adriana said.
“That’s because you don’t tell them about anything that’s going on with you. Never have and you know they don’t like that,” Gabriella replied.
Adriana immediately thought about that night in Milan. Her sister had no idea how much she was really holding back from their parents, from all of them.
“Well, if they want to come out to the party that’ll be great. It’s going to be really nice. Regan and Lyra have been telling me bits and pieces of what they have planned. Well, mostly Regan’s been sending me pictures of dresses she thinks I should wear. I swear that woman lives and breathes fashion.”
“It is her job and that CK Davis Design show is really good. I saw a few things in the spring collection I’d like to have. And as soon as I get a job, I’ll be able to buy them.”
Gabriella had graduated from college where she studied to be an architect, but in her senior year she’d talked to only Adriana about the possibility of starting an interior design program.
“What about the other classes? You aren’t taking them now?”
“Dad has this friend that thinks I’ll be an asset to their firm. So I thought if I work there for a couple of years, save up some of my own money instead of using my trust fund, I could take the classes then and by that time I’ll have some business experience and I’ll be able to start my own interior design firm,” Gabriella explained.
Listening to her words had Adriana’s stomach cramping. Her sister wanted to be an interior designer. She knew this because Gabriella had spoken so passionately about it when she’d called her and for months after she’d still been talking about it. She’d never sounded that way about anything in her life before. But she would work at her father’s friend’s firm for the same reason that Adriana had refused to tell her parents about what had happened to her. Because she did not want to disappoint them.
“You should start the program now, Gabs. It’s what you really want to do so why waste time working at an architect firm?” Although the secret Adriana was hiding was on a much bigger scale than her sister not telling her parents she really wanted to be an interior designer, Adriana still did not want her making the same type of mistake she did. She wanted Gabriella to be totally up front with their parents about her career and her life, even if she couldn’t do the same.
“I mean, it’s your life and you should be abl
e to live it the way you want and be happy. They’ll understand,” she said. “They love you so they’ll understand.”
“I guess you’re right,” Gabriella replied. “I’ll maybe talk to them this week. They’re both pretty excited about your success right now, and mom’s still riding high on the birth of the triplets, so I guess now is as good a time as any.”
“Yes,” Adriana said. “Tell them now. Don’t wait.”
Gabriella agreed and then went on to tell her about her mother pushing for Alex and Monica to get married and for Rico to at least find a date. It seemed a little odd that Beatriz was more interested in marrying her sons off than her daughters, while Carolyn Donovan appeared to want all of her children married and settled into their happy ever after. She’d been just disconnecting the phone, shaking her head and with a smile on her face when Parker came back into the room.
“That’s what I like to see,” he said, closing and locking the door behind him. “A pretty smile on my lady’s face.”
Adriana grabbed her charger out of her purse and plugged her phone in before kicking off her slippers and sliding further onto the bed. “You mean, pretty like this robe and slippers. You know you didn’t have to do this. I brought an overnight bag with me.”
He’d changed out of his suit so that now he wore only lounge pants, his chest and feet bare as he climbed onto the bed. He was on his hands and knees coming toward her from the bottom of the bed, the way he was looking at her causing her heart to thump wildly and her center to pulsate.
“I like buying you pretty things,” he said just as he came close enough to pull the bow she’d tied at her waist loose. “So I can then take them off of you.”
“And that was your plan all along,” she said, gasping when he pushed the folds of the robe away from her, his fingers brushing over her naked body.
“Oh yeah,” was his reply when he was between her legs.
His lips were on hers in the next instant, his tongue delving deep. She was ready for him this time and more than willing, tilting her head and reaching up to grasp the back of his so that she could be the one to guide the kiss deeper this time.
“You looked fantastic today,” he whispered as his kisses trailed down to her neck and along her shoulders when he’d finally pushed the robe completely off of her.
She’d wiggled to get her arms free of the robe, eager to feel his naked torso pressed against hers. When the material was gone she was arching up towards him, her hands running up and down loving the feel of his muscled back. “You looked pretty damn good yourself.”
“Really?” he asked leaning back just a bit to stare down at her. “I was trying to impress this woman that likes to act as if I’m no big deal.”
She grinned, loving that mischievous twinkle in his eyes, that playful way he had about him that seemed to make him sexier than ever. “Oh, she knows you’re a big deal, she’s just being cautious so that she doesn’t become just another notch in your belt.”
She wasn’t totally certain why she’d said that and why at this moment, but Parker’s facial expression changed. Not drastically, just enough so that she knew he’d heard her words and was mulling them over.
His response was to cup her face in his hands, adjusting himself so that he was splayed over her. “You’re not like anyone I’ve ever been with before. No one,” he said with more force. “This—what we’re doing—is all new to me too. So believe me when I say you are not another notch, you’re something much more important to me. So much more.”
He’d barely said the last words before kissing her again and Adriana felt as if she were being swept away into a beautiful abyss. Her feet were no longer on solid ground, the excuses she’d had tucked in the back of her mind had dissipated. He kissed her long and thoroughly and she’d wrapped her arms around him, lifting a leg to tuck behind his back as he thrust against her bared center.
“You’re more to me too,” she admitted when he’d moved lower to kiss her breasts. “Too much more,” she whispered as her head thrashed on the pillow.
He kissed one breast, sucking her nipple deep into his mouth while kneading the other in his hand until Adriana was squirming beneath him. She could hear him whispering her name, felt his hands splaying down her torso, his kisses and his tongue tracing a heated path further down until her mind was so full of desire she could barely breathe. When his fingers touched her dewy folds Adriana almost bucked up off the bed. His warm breath fanning against the tightened bud of her clit bringing forth a low and deep moan.
“Parker, please,” she whispered. “Please.”
“Yes,” was his immediate reply. “Yes, sweetheart, I’ve got you.”
His mouth closed on her then, the same assault he’d used on her mouth now taking place between her legs. He was thorough, his fingers separating her plump folds so his tongue could lick long and slow, dipping inside her center then coming out to lick long and slow once more. Over and over he teased and tortured her with his mouth until his fingers finally took on their own assault, dipping deep into her as he began a slow rhythm that he matched with his tongue against her clit. It was the best and then the worst, her mind whirled while her body soared. She felt like she was so close, so ready to fall and float and be free. But then she wanted more, needed it like some wicked kind of drug.
“Parker!” his name came in a long, drawn out scream as her body convulsed beneath his clever ministrations.
In the next seconds she figured he was ripping off his lounge pants. She faintly heard the sound of a condom package ripping before he was between her legs again, lifting them higher as he plunged deep inside her. She moaned and so did he.
“This feels so damn good, sweetheart. So damn right,” he told her as he’d held completely still letting his full length rest deep inside of her.
“Yes. Yes, it does,” she replied, lifting up off the bed until he had no choice but to shift his position to sitting on the bed while she straddled him.
Adriana wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him, sucking his tongue deep into her mouth before pulling back and making sure her feet were flat on the mattress before she started to ride. He grasped her buttocks, driving her deeper over his length, kissing one breast and then the other as she worked over him.
“I can’t stop,” she breathed, her head falling back. “I don’t want to stop!”
“No, sweetheart, don’t stop. Don’t!” Parker yelled this time as they pumped each other wildly.
She held the back of his head, loving the pull and thrust, the in and out, of their motions. Her breasts were heavy and sensitive, her clit rubbing against his groin with fantastic friction and her body began to tremble once more.
“That’s right, baby. That’s right, come for me.”
Adriana bounced uncontrollably, her breaths coming in fast pants, her eyes closed to the delicious pleasure. When he pushed her up off of him she thought she would scream, but it was only for a few seconds, while he moved her to the end of the bed, pulling her up onto her knees. He covered her hands with his and warned her to, “hold on,” before coming to stand behind her, thrusting his thick erection deep inside her once more.
This wasn’t slow and it wasn’t sweet, it was hard and fast and everything she’d never thought she would ever experience in the bedroom. Parker pumped into her with deep and wonderful strokes while holding her hips. Their bodies smacked against each other and his guttural groans told her he was enjoying this position just as much as she was. They came together, her toppling first as her fingers clenched in the sheets, her voice screaming out his name. Parker followed immediately, holding onto her with so much force she thought he might actually break something.
And then they fell, together, long and hard, both lying on the bed trying to catch their breath.
“You’re going to make me fall in love with you,” he said through quick pants, as he lay on his back beside her.
She’d fallen onto her stomach, her face turned away from him when she whispered q
uietly, “I can’t stop myself from falling in love with you.”
#
Hours later Parker was well ensconced in the blissful world of sleep and the delight of having Adriana tucked warmly under his arm when the buzzing of his cell phone sounded. He ignored it, hugging Adriana closer to him, snuggling deeper under the covers with her in his arms. Then his house phone rang.
“Parker,” Adriana said groggily. “The phone.”
With a heavy sigh he rolled over onto his back, reaching out his arm to his nightstand and grabbed the phone from its base.
“Yeah, hello?” he answered.
“What?” he said seconds later, bolting up in the bed. In the next instant he was tossing the phone aside and scrambling off the bed.
“What is it?” Adriana asked, following suit and getting out of the bed as well.
“That was the security company. Somebody just broke into my parents’ house.”
Chapter 10
“What the hell happened here?” Parker asked a few seconds after he’d jumped out of his car and ran up the driveway to the front of his parents’ house.
Savian was standing out there with Gavin. Four police cars were in the driveway, lights still flashing. His shoes crunched over broken glass and he swore again.
“Broke all the windows,” Savian told him. “Along the entire first floor of the house. They’ve all been broken out.”
“Kids?” he asked.
Gavin was already shaking his head. “Seems too calculated to me. Kids would break one window and then run the minute they heard the alarm go off. An average burglar would have attempted to get in from the back, breaking one of the back door windows, but then too, being scared off by the alarm. A professional, intent on stealing something inside or getting to someone inside, would have figured out a way to disengage the alarm before it went off. Whoever did this walked around the entire house, about four to six minutes if he was alone. If there was a group, of course, less. They wanted to break each window and didn’t give a damn about that alarm going off. They wanted to send a message.”