by A. C. Arthur
Parker remembered that time very well. He also hadn’t forgotten how Sabine Ravenell had continued to taunt his family until she was finally taken away in handcuffs. He wondered briefly if that’s how this scenario would end, with someone going to jail for a good portion of their life.
“I don’t think you can ever get used to an intrusion on your personal life, even for work reasons. It’s just something that I know in the back of my mind is possible. So I’d like to think it helps me to cope when it does happen,” he told her honestly.
He was standing in front of her now, still not touching her. Still wanting desperately to do just that. She wore a dress today, white with huge purple flowers and a wide purple belt. The full skirt of the dress brushed along her upper thighs in what he suspected was supposed to be a flirty fashion but was really driving him insane as he knew exactly what was beneath all that material. Her shoes weren’t the stylish high heels that she normally wore, but instead purple flats with a gold buckle at the top that matched the buckle on her belt.
“I never expected any of this to happen,” she said, clasping her hands to the edge of the counter.
“You can’t predict craziness, Adriana. Some people just have a different mindset then others. For whatever reason, this seemed like a good idea for someone to do. Whether it was for money or simply personal gain. It’s a game to them. But it’s one they’re going to lose.”
He’d stepped closer to her, so close he could smell her perfume and the scent of the coconut shampoo she used. She looked up at him, her long lashes fanning against her cheeks as she blinked.
“I wasn’t talking about the pictures and messages, Parker. I was talking about us. I never expected to be here with you.”
It was an admission, he knew. One that had taken him by surprise and at the same time clenched like a fist holding tight to his heart.
“I don’t think I did either,” he told her honestly. “I’m not used to being with a woman the way I am with you. I mean, yes, I was married, but it was nothing like this. Last night I couldn’t sleep because you weren’t there beside me.”
She looked surprised but then gave him a small smile. “My eyes were open every fifteen minutes, looking out my dismally small window with a view of the apartment building beside mine.”
He chuckled and so did she.
“I kept thinking if I could just keep my eyes closed long enough that you would wrap your arms around me and pull me close. I wanted to feel your warmth against my back, to know that all I had to do was call your name, or simply turn over and you would be right there,” she said softly.
Parker reached up then, touched a lock of her hair, letting the silkiness slip through his fingers before grabbing for another piece. “My bed is too big without you,” he whispered. “The bathroom isn’t the same if it doesn’t smell like your shampoo. I walk out on the terrace and the stars don’t look the same without you standing beside me.”
“I never thought it could be like this. Not for me,” she said the moment he ran his fingertips over her chin, tilting her head upward to him.
“Me either,” he replied, leaning down to touch his lips softly against hers.
Finally.
She opened to him instantly, her tongue reaching out for his, and her arms wrapped around his waist. Loving the way she held tightly to him, tilting her head to take the kiss as deep as he desired, Parker moaned, pressing his body against hers. His hands moved back to cup her neck, loving the feel of her pulse against his fingertips. All night long he’d thought about her, about how soft she’d be in his arms. He’d wanted desperately to hear her voice, to watch her as she slept. Words did not seem to accurately explain how lost and alone he’d felt without her. This feeling was so new and unfamiliar to Parker and at the same time it was so intense and so soul-shattering that he had to let it have its way. He had to give in to a need for someone that surpassed anything he’d ever felt in his life.
On a ragged groan, he let his hands slide down her arms, until they were at her waist and he could lift her, sitting her on the counter. Her legs spread for him instantly and he stepped between them, taking her face in his hands once more for another hungry kiss. She’d shocked him again today by pulling at his shirt until it was halfway up his chest.
“Off. Now,” she ordered and Parker pulled his mouth away from hers long enough to pull the shirt up and over his head.
He kissed her neck as she rubbed her palms over his bared skin.
“I cannot stop thinking about you,” he told her through rugged breaths. His teeth raking over her neck, down until he was licking along the rise of her breasts. “And it’s not just this…sex, I mean. I want you with me all the time. Day and night,” he told her, his hands moving in a frantic search for how to get that dress pulled down so he could have unfettered access to her breasts.
“Zipper,” she panted. “In the back.”
She’d arched into his touch, letting her head fall back while he fumbled with the zipper. When he finally had it down and could push the dress away from her luscious mounds he buried his face there, licking along the sides of each swell.
She moaned. “Oh, Parker. I want to be with you, too. I never thought, never imagined. But it’s you. I know it now…it’s just you.”
Her words were like a melody, one which he’d been waited to hear played for what seemed like forever and before he could stop himself Parker was pushing her dress further up her thighs, reaching between her legs to find what he knew would be a sexy wisp of lace covering her sweetness. With one quick tug he heard the tear of the material and groaned as he pressed his fingers into her. “For me,” he whispered against her lips. “Just for me.”
“Yes,” she replied. “For Parker.”
She’d reached between them then, unbuckling his pants, sliding down his zipper and freeing his burgeoning erection.
He was inside her in one quick thrust, deep and completely sheathed in the warmth and wetness he’d craved like an addict. She wrapped her legs around his waist, locking him inside of her and rotated her hips until he was gritting his teeth.
“We’re never going to get to that slow love making are we?” he asked, nipping her bottom lip with his teeth.
She smiled and licked his top lip, shaking her head. “I love it, just…like…this,” she sighed heavily, letting her head fall forward until he was kissing her forehead as he’d pulled slowly out of her and thrust quickly back in.
“Yeah, just…like…this,” he repeated her words, and his actions over and over until they were both moaning and calling each other’s name, heading straight for that precipice wanting nothing more at this moment than to topple over it…together.
And it happened just like that. She trembled in his arms and he stilled in hers.
“I love you, Adriana. Just you. Only you,” he told her as he held her tightly in his arms, every drop of his essence shooting inside of her.
“Parker,” she whispered. “My sweet and sexy, Parker. I love you back. I do. I swear I do.”
#
The Rolls Royce Wraith pulled up on Brickell Avenue in front of a high rise office building of turquoise tinted windows and white concrete that gave it more of a magical feel versus a business one. The numbers of the building’s address were in huge shiny silver numbers across the front of the building like a beacon and palm trees surrounded the perimeter. In the back seat Parker held Adriana’s hand while Savian sat on the other side of her staring out his window. He’d been quieter than usual in the week since the pictures had surfaced. Parker admittedly hadn’t taken a lot of time to speak with him either about how he was feeling as a result of the scandal or about the break-in at the family houses. There just seemed to be so much going on lately.
“I’ll call you when we’re ready,” Savian said through the intercom located right next to the closed privacy panel in the back of the company vehicle.
He was climbing out of the car before Parker could say a word, so he didn’t bother, simply s
tepped out then reached for Adriana’s hand and helped her out as well. Smoothing down his tie he gave Adriana his arm and once she slipped her hand through began walking towards the glass doors of the building. They rode in the elevator in complete silence, Parker staring up at the numbers on the display and Regan looking down at her shoes. He had no idea what Savian was doing and figured his brother was just in his own thoughts, which he’d seemed to be even when he was younger.
Savian could have actually been an only child, his mother used to say, because he could play in his room alone for hours on end without coming out to talk to anyone. Even when he started school Savian had, for the most part, stayed to himself, getting good grades and coming home to once again play in his room alone. Except for the times that Parker and/or Regan went in to agitate him and made him play with them. Funny how Parker hadn’t thought of any of this in years, yet today, for whatever reason it seemed like pertinent information.
They arrived on the seventeenth floor and stepped out of the elevator to the words Langley Law, one on top of and the other beneath, the scales of justice.
Adriana took a deep breath, letting it out slowly and Parker held her hand a little tighter.
“Our appointment is at one. I’ll go in and let them know that I’m here and then I’ll come out and get you two when they’re ready for us. No need to give the staff any more time to stare at you than absolutely necessary,” Savian told them before walking off.
“If I didn’t know better I’d think he was the oldest brother,” Adriana said with a nervous chuckle.
“I was just thinking that myself,” Parker replied. “He’s really trying to handle a lot. At work he’s been attempting to take on more of my meetings so I don’t have to face people. I finally had to tell him on Wednesday to cut it out. I’m a part of that company and I’m not going to let some lying idiot stop me from doing my job.”
She nodded her agreement. “I wish I had a job to do. Jaydon hasn’t returned any of my calls about the interview with Thad and there’s nothing promotional wise we need to do for the show until the end of the summer before the new season airs.”
“And your family left days ago. Maybe you should have gone back to Connecticut with them for a few days.” He didn’t like that idea but he would have understood her need to visit with them, especially since her sister hadn’t been able to come up here on such short notice because of some big interview she’d had. Renny had showed plenty of pictures of his triplets the night they were at Parker’s parents’ house for dinner, and Adriana had talked about them for the rest of the night. So he knew she missed them terribly.
“Oh no, the couple days they were here were more than enough to remind me why I needed to make my own space in the world. I would like to see Delia, Desirae and Daniel, they look like they’ve grown so much since they were born a few months ago. But I figured I have all summer to schedule a trip for that. I was kind of hoping that I’d be going to Paris instead,” she told him.
“I know, sweetheart,” he said. “But maybe once we get this taken care of we’ll be able to reach out to Thad and see what’s going on. Have you talked to Seamus at all? Because I’m thinking that maybe we should both steer clear of Jaydon until we find out for certain who did this.”
“I thought that too after leaving that second voice mail message. Parker, I really hope it’s not her. I don’t want to believe that she would be this petty just because she couldn’t get you back. I mean, she’s a beautiful woman there’s no reason she can’t find another man.”
“There’s only one me,” he’d said with a huge grin.
“Arrogant and conceited, just two of the reasons why I love you,” she quipped, playfully.
He laughed. “Just wanted to see you smile,” he told her.
“Ha. Ha,” she was saying when Savian came out and announced it was time.
Parker held her hand as they walked through another set of glass doors, into a sleekly decorated office with cranberry colored carpet and gold and white decoratively papered walls. The receptionist gave them a friendly smile when they walked in with Parker and Savian keeping Adriana between them because they figured she would be the most noticeable one of the threesome. They followed a tall, slim woman’s lead moving pretty quickly down a long hallway before turning left and passing two more closed doors and then entered the corner office.
Behind a huge cherry wood desk, sitting in a burgundy leather office chair was a full-figured woman with a pretty face, long manicured nails, and a bright smile which she immediately displayed the moment she looked up to see them. Recognition came in the very next second, but she was good, she simply stood saying a quick, “That’ll be all. Thank you,” to her assistant.
Coming around the desk Parker noted her very professional black skirt and jacket, the bright white blouse and black patent leather pumps on her feet. Her hair, short cut, was neatly styled. The silver choker at her neck and matching studs at her ears added a splash of fashion to the professional look, the silver, black and white Disney watch on her wrist telling him she had a playful side.
Parker smiled first, extending his hand as she’d come around the desk to greet them. “I’m Parker Donovan.”
She took his hand, giving him a hearty shake in return. “And I’m Jenise Langley. It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Donovan.”
“Same here,” Parker said, reaching out to where Adriana stood just a few steps away from him. “This is Adriana Bennett and my brother, Savian,” he continued, looking over his shoulder to Savian who was looking strangely at the attorney.
Jenise shook everyone’s hand, even Savian, who had cleared his throat before seemingly remembering where they were and reached out to accept her hand.
“Let’s go over here to the table,” Jenise told them. She pointed to a medium-sized conference table across the room before taking a notepad and pen from her desk.
Parker guided Adriana over to the table and into her seat. He sat beside her and Savian went to the other side of the table to take his seat.
“My secretary stated that this would be some type of litigation. She said you’d asked specifically to speak to me about this confidential case,” Jenise began the moment she took the seat at the head of the table.
“You came highly recommended,” Savian said. “I spoke to Brice Wellington personally last night. He speaks very highly of your family and your firm.”
Jenise looked in Savian’s direction, her cordial smile still in place. “Yes, well, that was very nice of Brice to say. Our great-grandfathers worked on a huge civil litigation case that went all the way to the Supreme Court many years ago. Our families both have historical law firms.”
“Langley Law is based in Chicago, correct?” Savian asked.
She nodded. “Yes. My father and brothers are practicing from that location. After years of pleading and threatening to leave him, my grandmother finally convinced my grandfather to retire.”
She chuckled then and so did Adriana.
“Aww, I hope he’s enjoying his retirement though,” Adriana added to what Parker was afraid was about to become an inquisition.
“What made you come to Miami? Are you barred here already? How many cases have you tried in Florida so far?” Savian continued, sitting back in his chair with his hands folded in his lap.
Parker frowned because now he was certain this questioning was getting a little out of hand.
“I think what my brother is trying to find out is if you believe your firm would be able to handle a high-profile lawsuit such as the one we are proposing,” Parker interjected.
To her credit, Jenise never skipped a beat. She looked as if she’d been about to answer every one of Savian’s question and possibly suggest that he ask her more, while keeping that smile on her face. But at Parker’s comment, she turned to look at him and then Adriana.
“Why don’t you tell me about the proposed case and then I’ll tell you what I can and cannot do. How does that sound?” she asked.
�
�It sounds like a plan,” Adriana replied.
Parker explained the situation, ending with, “Our private investigator hasn’t been able to pinpoint who the person that sent the pictures and text messages is yet, but we want to be prepared for when we do find out.”
“Well,” Jenise said after jotting down a few more notes and then looking up to Parker and Adriana. “It’s going to boil down to the evidence your investigator is able to uncover. There may be some criminal charges for identity theft, that’ll cover the hacking into your private cell phones and sending the messages. As for the pictures and text messages, that’s libel and it’s litigable.”
“This case will come with a lot of press coverage. We’re a high profile family and Adriana’s a television star. Are you prepared to honor our confidences?” Savian asked.
Adriana pinched him on the thigh and Parker frowned before giving his brother a confused look. He had no idea what was going on with his brother today.
“What I think he means is—” Parker began.
Jenise held up a hand. “It’s alright, Parker. I understand exactly what your brother is saying.” She turned to Savian then, her smile gone, now replaced by a serious, stop-messing-with-me look.
“Once my services are retained I adhere to the attorney/client privacy privilege. This means I do not give press conferences or statements, unless otherwise advised by my clients to do so. I represent my clients with complete professionalism at all times and go to court prepared to win. Is that okay with you, Mr. Donovan?”
Savian’s brow furrowed, but he nodded his agreement and then, to everyone’s surprise, excused himself.
“I apologize,” Adriana said when he’d closed the door behind him. “Our families have been under a considerable amount of stress in the week since this incident. He isn’t usually like that.”
Smile back in place, Jenise shook her head. “No worries. I’ll be representing you and this Mr. Donovan, is that correct?”