“Yes,” Emma whispered, her voice coated in satisfaction as I entered her. How the fuck was she always so tight when I got inside her? It was like a vice around my cock, wet and hot, perfection. It was just sex, nothing special in a way, but sex with others had never felt like this. Like I was fitting my puzzle piece up against another. Like we belonged together and our bodies just knew it.
Emma tugged at my shoulders, scattering kisses all over my face, trying to urge me to fuck her hard and fast, I was sure—but I wasn’t going to give in. I didn’t want this to turn into another round of furious fucking. I wanted this to stay soft, the way it was now. And I wanted her to be completely out of her head. She’d had a rough day and I wanted her to relax, to forget about absolutely everything except for this, what was happening between us, and that wasn’t going to happen with just a quick fuck. It might get her head out for the moment, but it wouldn’t last long enough. It wouldn’t truly relax her and turn her into a puddle.
I braced one hand on the couch and used the other to gather her to me, pressing into her slowly, carefully, and then sliding back out just as slow until only the head of my cock was inside—and then I slid back all the way in, right up to the hilt, my hips pressed against hers.
Emma moaned, long and loud, and it suddenly hit me that we didn’t have to work to be quiet. We were in my apartment, the walls were thick, nobody else was home—especially not Ally, a literal child.
“Yeah, that’s it…” I cooed. “Make some noise for me.”
Emma gasped, as if it was just hitting her too that she actually could make noise, that there was nobody around to stop us or walk in on us, asking what the suspicious sounds were, and her face flushed with pleasure.
“Yeah, you like being loud, don’t you?” I teased her, getting a handful of her hair and tugging on it slightly, in time with my next long, slow thrust into her.
“Stop teasing, Parker, please, faster!”
“Mmm, no, I don’t think so.” I sucked just underneath her jaw. “I think I want to hear you get a little louder for me first. Go on. Show me just how much noise you can make. Let go for me.”
Emma gasped and arched as I slid out and then back into her, and I grinned against the warm, flushed skin of her neck. “That’s it. Like that.”
I kept up that slow pace until she was whining and digging her nails into my back, my face tucked into her neck. She smelled so fucking good and she sounded so fucking good, it was addicting.
Emma moaned as I started to speed up my pace—just a little. Not nearly enough for either of us. It wasn’t as fast as I wanted. It was beyond tempting just to lose myself in her and fuck her, but that wouldn’t get me what I wanted. And what I wanted was her screaming my name.
I adjusted my angle and shit, when I slid into her that time, Emma made a surprised, keening noise at the back of her throat. “Oh, you like that. Feel good, sweetheart?”
“Oh, oh.” Emma’s legs wrapped around me, like she was trying to keep me deep inside her, keeping me from pulling out. “Yes.”
“Now that’s what I like to hear.” I pulled out and thrust in again at the exact same angle and Emma made a louder noise this time. I sucked at her pulse point, scraping my teeth along her soft, heated skin, and she moaned, her heels digging into the small of my back.
“Parker…” My name sounded like a breathy benediction on her lips as I gave into temptation and sped up a little more. “Parker!”
“Fuck, yes, keep saying my name,” I encouraged her. “Like that, keep saying my name.”
Emma’s nails raked across my shoulders and back, sure to leave marks, and the sting gave an edge to the pleasure of being inside her that just amplified everything. Fuck, yes. Nobody had ever made me feel like this. I wanted to stay inside of her forever.
“Yeah, that’s right.” I licked at the spot where I’d bitten her, soothing it. “Mark me up.”
“God, you’re so—you’re so—oh my God, Parker,” Emma moaned, clenching around me and tilting up her hips. “You’re being so slow, such a tease—”
“I want to draw it out. Make it last.” She might not let me be this soft with her again. She’d had a bad day, she was in a vulnerable place, of course she was going to let me treat her with a soft touch right now. But what happened once the walls went back up and she was no longer upset? I might never get this again. So I was gonna savor it, dammit.
Emma’s whimpers and moans grew louder and higher pitched as I continued to fuck into her. Fuck, it was so good, hard and deep, each stroke feeling like a deep pull with an oar in a lake, drawing down through the water, pushing us towards our final destination.
“Yes,” Emma chanted as I kept going, getting a little harsher in my thrusts, grinding my hips when I bottomed out inside of her. “Yes, Parker, yes, yes, yes!”
I could feel my orgasm building up inside of me, the edges of my vision blurring. I wanted to bury myself inside of her completely, to feel that there was nothing here but Emma, Emma, Emma. I kissed her softly, across her shoulders and her neck, before working back up to her mouth and sliding my tongue inside.
Emma pushed her hips up to meet me on my every thrust and I moaned hard as I sucked on her tongue, the sound muffled. Yes, I thought. Just like this. I wanted to fuck her like this every damn day, as often as she would let me. I wanted to feel like we were joining together, becoming something more, indulging in each other instead of just working an edge off.
Even if I never got to have it again, though, at least I got it this one time.
I could feel my orgasm building up inside me like a wave, and I sank into it, welcomed it, let it envelope me. I could hear Emma moaning my name, her pitch changing and her voice breaking as she came, her hot channel fluttering and clenching around me. I couldn’t have held back then for the whole damn world and I spilled inside her, a groan stuck in the back of my throat.
For a minute we just lay there, panting, getting our breath back. It wasn’t really as… crazy as our previous sex had been. I felt less like I’d been hit by a baseball bat and more like I’d been drowning. But it was no less intense. I need a minute to recover from that.
I pulled back at last, and a rush of pleasure hit me all over again, seeing Emma’s flushed, relaxed expression, her heavy-lidded eyes, the gleam deep within them, the smile turning up the corners of her lips.
“C’mere.” I could see that she was tired, and I could feel my own limbs getting heavy. We weren’t teenagers anymore—sex could be tiring, making us want to sleep instead of winding us up for more.
I neatened up the couch, grabbed our clothes, and led her into the bedroom, where we collapsed together. I pulled her into my arms, and for once, Emma didn’t try to leave. She just snuggled in, laying her head on my shoulder. I could remember doing that before, up on the roof of whatever house her dad was fixing up at the time, watching the stars go by, or the clouds floating above us. Emma would be asleep in my arms and I would feel so… content, so at peace.
I felt the same way now.
For a little while, I dozed, just enjoying the feeling of her secure in my arms. Who knew when I’d get this again? Well, hopefully I would. I had every intention of talking to her and telling her that I wanted a relationship with her. A proper one. I wanted us to see what we could become together.
We’d been good for each other once, before I’d fucked things up. We could be good for each other again. Hell, I felt like we already were, she just wouldn’t admit it because she was stubborn. And scared of getting hurt. Which, well, was understandable.
But I wasn’t going to hurt her this time. I was going to stay. I wanted to be in her life, and Ally’s…
Ally!
I looked at the clock. It was almost time to pick Ally up from daycare. Hmm. But Emma was still asleep and she looked like she could really use the rest. Why not just go pick up Ally myself? I was pretty sure I was listed as the emergency contact since I was in the city and could get to Ally faster than Lucas or Van if someth
ing went wrong and Emma was unavailable. If they didn’t let me pick her up that was fine, I’d call Emma and wake her up then, but at least I could try.
Hopping in the shower, I quickly scrubbed myself and got dressed, pulling the covers of my bed up over Emma as I stepped out. I wasn’t about to carry her to her own bed, that might disturb her. I could deal with coming up with an excuse to Ally as to why her mom was napping in my bed later.
The daycare was only about ten blocks from the apartment, a perfect walk. The sky was sunny, and the air didn’t feel quite as smoggy as usual. Ally shouldn’t have to be stuck inside on a day like this. Hmm. Why not take her to the park on the way home? It was only a block or two from the apartment. Ash and I had gone running there a lot in the mornings, and Emma had taken Ally there a few times. She’d love it.
When I got to the daycare, I was immediately met at the door by an older woman, obviously monitoring check in. It looked like a cheery place, with flowers painted in bright colors on the walls and an outside play area. Other parents were around picking up their kids, and I grinned as I stepped out of the way for some of them to pass me.
“Name?” the woman asked me, eyeing me up and down suspiciously.
“Hi, sorry, I’m Parker, I should be on the emergency contact list for Ally? I’m her mother’s roommate, we live together.”
The woman went down the list, then went and checked another list that was behind her. “Ah, yes, I see you here. I’ll get her.” She looked up as a much younger woman passed her. “Jess, could you grab Ally and tell her that her friend is here to pick her up?”
Jess smiled and nodded, and a moment later, Ally was hurrying out. “Hi Parker!”
“Hey, Ally!” I crouched down to give her a hug. “Did you have a good day?”
“I sure did!”
“Excuse me, you have to sign her out.”
“Oh.” I stood up and took the pen the woman offered me, signing Ally out on the sign-in sheet by putting down my name and the time. “Thanks!”
“Have a great day!”
Ally waved to the woman and then took my hand as I offered it to her. “Where’s Mama?”
“She’s tired and needed to take a nap. I thought maybe you and I could have a playdate while we let her rest?”
“Ooh, yes! A playdate where?”
“Well, there is the park, if you think you can keep up with me on the jungle gym…”
Ally laughed. “I can keep up with anyone! I’m the fastest!”
“Yeah? I bet you are, a clever alley cat like you.”
Ally smiled up at me and I swore I could feel my heart melting. She was so damn cute. Her hand in mine felt so small and precious, and yet she gripped me with strength. She was a tough little one, just like her mom.
For what felt like the hundredth time, I wondered about Ally’s father and where he was, who he was. How could he have given up on such a great kid? I wouldn’t be able to give up my kid if I knew I had one.
Maybe he didn’t know? What kind of guy would Ally’s father be if Emma hadn’t let him know about the kid? Or had he died?
Emma’s parents had died. Lucas hadn’t mentioned anything about Ally’s father dying as well, but then, he might have felt it wasn’t his business to mention it. Emma wouldn’t have wanted me to pity her.
“We’re here!” I told Ally as we reached the park. “What do you want to do first?”
“I want to swing!”
“All right, I’ll race you!”
Ally let go of my hand and took off as I followed, faking running a lot faster than I actually was. Not that I had to do too much faking, the kid was like a rocket. She streaked right for the swings and clambered on, turning to face me with a huge smile on her face. “Push me!”
“Hmm, I think we’re forgetting a word in there…”
Ally’s forehead crinkled as she thought about it, and then she smiled again, this time triumphantly. “Push me please?”
“There we go.” I patted her head. “Good kitty.”
Ally laughed and then tried to imitate purring. It sounded more like she was gargling water or something was stuck in her throat, and I had to bite the inside of my cheek to hold in my laughter. I walked around behind her and grabbed hold of the swing chains, lightly pulling the swing back and then letting go to give her a push on her back.
“Wheeee!” Ally let out a shriek of glee as I pushed her. “Higher, higher!”
I pushed her until she got pretty high, but I didn’t let her get up too far. She kicked her legs wildly, loving it, giggling the whole time, and my heart felt like it was too big for my chest. Emma so clearly needed a partner, someone to help her, and Ally liked me. Would she accept it if I wanted to be her mom’s boyfriend? Would she be okay with that?
After all, getting along with someone was one thing, liking someone was another, but accepting them as a potential parent… that was a whole different thing and just because you had the first or the second didn’t mean you had the third.
We swung for a while, and then I chased her around pretending to be a monster, snapping my teeth and growling while Ally shrieked and laughed, running away from me. I caught her eventually, tickling her, and then helped her climb a tree, keeping my hands ready underneath her so that she wouldn’t fall.
“Guess what?” she asked when we had moved on to the monkey bars. I helped her learn how to hang upside-down from them, ready to catch her if anything happened.
“What? I guessed it!”
“No you didn’t!”
“You told me to guess ‘what’ so I did!”
“That’s not how that works!” Ally was giggling, and she sounded so much like her mom in that moment that I almost wished I was filming this to show Emma later. “I was gonna say that I think you’re cool.”
“You think I’m cool? That’s a pretty big compliment, Alley-Cat.” I helped her down from the monkey bars. “So you like having me around, huh?”
“Yes! You do funny voices and read me stories.”
Ah, to be a kid, where it was that easy to decide to like people. “Would you like it if I was around a… a bit more?”
“Yes!” Ally’s enthusiasm surprised me. Even more so when she hugged my legs. “I want you around forever!”
Okay, I could feel my heart flinging itself out of my chest and flying right into this kid instead. Fuck. I scooped her up and hugged her. “You’re my favorite, Alley-Cat.”
Ally meowed.
28
Emma
Mmm. I was feeling rather… groggy… swimming to the surface slowly… the dream fading—what was the dream? Something about a picnic…
With effort, I opened my eyes, blinking them slowly, feeling a lot more rested than I had been before. That had been some amazing sex. Parker had taken me to the edge slowly and methodically, taking me apart piece by piece until I had been moaning like there was no tomorrow. I hadn’t had sex that good in possibly ever. And he’d been so kind and soft about it, it almost made me think that he really did care for me on a deep, emotional level…
I rolled over, frowning as it sank in that I wasn’t in my bed. I was in Parker’s bed. Crap, I hoped Ally didn’t see that. I wasn’t about to explain all of that to her, even though she really did seem to like Parker a lot. The other side of the bed was cold, too. Parker must’ve gotten up a while ago.
Sitting up, I looked over at the bedside clock—and my heart froze in my chest. It felt like someone had dropped a bucket of ice water down my spine. It was six o’clock! I was over an hour late to get Ally!
God knows those poor daycare workers must’ve been calling me, worried. How could I leave my daughter for so long? And where was Parker?
I threw my clothes on, grabbed my phone and my shoes, and raced out the door. Shit, shit, shit. I shouldn’t have fallen asleep. How could Parker not have woken me up? Where was he? Why didn’t I set an alarm? Ally was my priority, not my job, or my drama related to my job, or Parker—no matter how good the sex was. Shit!
As I ran down the hall and hit the button for the elevator, I called the daycare. “Hi, this is Emma, I’m so sorry I’m late, I’m Ally’s mom—”
“Oh, no, it’s all fine!” I recognized Jess’s voice, she was one of the assistants at the daycare. “Ally was picked up, it’s all good.”
What!? “What the hell is going on? I’m on my way!”
I hung up the phone, even as Jess tried to respond and protest—I had no idea what Jess was saying and it didn’t matter. Who could have possibly picked up Ally?
The elevator doors opened right as I started to wonder if taking the stairs would be faster and I breathed a sigh of relief as I started to step on—
“Mama!”
Ally stepped off the elevator and gave me a big hug around the knees. “Did you have a good nap? Parker said you needed sleep. We went to the park! And Parker got me stickers for my coloring!”
She held up a sheet of stickers proudly and I stared at her for a moment in utter confusion. What?
Then I remembered—I had put Parker down as the alternate emergency contact for Ally’s daycare and made him an authorized person to pick her up, just in case something happened and I couldn’t get her. Van and Lucas were also listed as contacts but they lived far away, if I’d been stuck at work or sick or whatever, there would’ve been no way for them to get here in time to get Ally. And even though I’d had my issues with Parker, he had always been good and kind with my kid.
My heart was hammering. I’d been so confused and upset—and still half-asleep—that I hadn’t stopped to take a breath. This must’ve been what Jess was trying to tell me, that the person who’d picked Ally up was my roommate.
And of course it had to be. The daycare would never have let a random person pick up my daughter no matter how good their cover story might’ve been. I’d educated Ally all about stranger danger in preparation for moving to the city. She would’ve kicked up a massive fuss if someone she didn’t know and trust tried to take her. I’d been completely out of my mind.
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