Chapter 23 Luna
Chapter Twenty-Three
LUNA
Parker stared at me for a long moment, and I worried I shouldn’t have said anything. He gave his head a little shake, palming my cheek as he dropped his forehead against mine. “I missed you too.”
His words shaped over my lips, and the raspy sound of his voice sent my belly swooping before he gave me a lingering kiss. We broke apart when someone called Parker’s name.
I glanced over to see Nate Fox approaching with Parker’s gear bag. I recognized it from the day he’d packed it up when he was leaving. “Hey, Luna,” Nate said as he stopped beside us, dropping the heavy bag on the ground.
“Hey, Nate, did you fly them back?”
“I sure did.” He nudged his chin toward Parker. “Graham told me to tell you to make sure to take him to the walk-in clinic at the hospital.”
“Huh?” was all I could manage.
Graham stopped beside us. “I actually have to go with you.”
“What the hell for?” Parker muttered.
Graham glanced toward me as worry sliced through me.
“He injured his shoulder on the rocks. I’m going over with Kincaid as well.
Before you get too worried, Parker is fine.
Everybody’s fine, but it’s protocol. Kincaid probably needs to get his ankle set, or at least braced.
Parker needs clearance that there’s no infection, and he may or may not need stitches. ”
Graham was way too calm for this. “Stitches?!” I exclaimed.
Madison approached, stopping at my side. “Life with firefighters. It sounds like everyone’s gonna be fine,” she said encouragingly. “Why don’t you let Graham take them and you and I can go get coffee?”
When I looked at her, she slid her hand through my elbow and squeezed. “I have to go with him,” I insisted.
When I met Parker’s gaze, I wasn’t sure what he wanted. “Do you want me to go with you, or do you want me to wait with Madison at the café?”
Fuzzy continued to circle his legs until Parker knelt down to pet him thoroughly. “Graham has to go with me,” he said with a put-upon sigh as he straightened again. “Why don’t you meet us there in about a half hour? I promise you I’m fine.”
“I’m going with you,” I insisted.
Parker’s lips curled in a slow smile. “Okay.”
A short drive later, we were in the waiting area at the walk-in care clinic at the hospital.
I’d left Fuzzy in the car with a chew toy and the windows cracked open after a brief bathroom break for him.
Holly usually worked in the ER, but she came over to check in.
Madison had come with me to keep me company after calling Graham’s older daughter to pick up their son.
“I’ve already seen Parker. He’s fine,” Holly assured me.
“Why aren’t you back there with him?” I demanded.
Holly didn’t even react to my demanding tone. “Because they don’t need me. He doesn’t even need stitches. They’re doing a deep clean and putting a fresh bandage on.”
I let out an impatient sigh. “Is it bad?”
Holly shook her head. “He’ll have a nice scar from meeting with a sharp rock. There are plenty of options in the wilderness of Alaska for that. He’s good.” She tipped her head to the side, her assessing gaze studying me for a beat. “It’s official.”
“Agreed,” Madison said, pressing her lips together to keep from smiling.
“What’s official?” I was legitimately confused.
“You’re in love,” Holly said, all matter of fact.
Alarm jolted my heart. “I don’t think I’m in love.
I mean,” I paused, considering my feelings for a minute before reality all but punched me in the chest. “Oh, my God.” I dropped my face into my hands and let out a sigh.
When I lifted my head again and my hands fell to my lap, they were both waiting with knowing smiles on their faces.
“Is this love? When I’m in a panic and I’m afraid Parker might die from a cut? ”
“Would you be panicking this much about a friend? Holly has clearly told you he’s going to be fine, so there’s no need to panic,” Madison pointed out calmly.
My breath puffed my cheeks as I let it out. “Oh, my God,” I repeated. “I’m not ready to say that out loud.”
“Understood,” Holly said, her lips twitching.
“Pretty sure Parker’s in love with you too,” Madison said hopefully. “I saw the way he looked at you. He wasn’t expecting you to show up at the airport.” She waggled her brows. “And he was really happy to see you.
“Oh, my God.”
I insisted on bringing Parker back to my place. “I have food and everything. Fuzzy loves it there.”
Parker’s gaze slid toward me in the car. All the while, Fuzzy’s tail was squishing back and forth on the seat behind him, and his chin was resting on Parker’s shoulder. He was so happy Parker was home.
“You don’t have to baby me,” Parker said with a sigh. “I assure you I’m fine. I didn’t even need stitches.”
“I know.” My heart twisted just thinking that he might’ve needed stitches. “We can get takeout for dinner, and I can make something for dessert and—”
Parker reached across the console between us, resting his palm on my knee and giving me a reassuring squeeze. “I’m home, Luna.” He cleared his throat. “I’m really glad you came to get me.”
My heart felt like it was tumbling down a hill, the beat racing at a breakneck pace. My emotions were so intense, it felt as if they were pressing against my skin.
When we got back to my house, a giddy sense of joy was spinning inside.
I was just so plain happy to have Parker home.
Fuzzy had no qualms about containing his happiness.
He spun in circles and yipped in excitement when we let him out of the car.
Parker played fetch with him for a few minutes.
I watched from the porch, realizing I could get used to this.
This feeling of being at my little house with a happy dog and Parker, it felt like home. This moment in time held everything I’d craved in those years when my parents were crisscrossing Alaska and the country. Stability, a place to call my own, and a person there with me for all of it.
Fuzzy brought back the ball one last time, and Parker turned to approach the porch where I stood halfway up the steps. Emotion rushed up, crashing through me while tears stung my eyes.
Parker stopped in front of me at the base of the stairs, while Fuzzy circled my legs. I buried a hand in his fur, stroking through it as Fuzzy leaned against my legs.
Parker’s eyes were level with mine where he stood one step below me. “Are you okay?” he asked, a line appearing between his brows, a little furrow of worry, as concern chased through his gaze.
I felt silly, overcome with emotion to have him home and feeling all of these mundane, domestic thoughts. “I’m good, I promise. Really good.”
His gaze softened as he took a step closer. He caught my free hand with his and palmed my cheek with the other, leaning close to brush a kiss over my lips. “I’m really glad to be home, Luna,” he murmured over my lips when he lifted his head.
My belly filled with butterflies, tingles radiating everywhere. “I’m really glad you’re here,” I whispered.
Fuzzy shimmied between our legs, and we glanced down together. The sound of Parker’s chuckle spun into the sensations in my body. It felt like the windows to my heart had been thrown wide open, and his presence was filling me with sunshine and light and happiness.
Just then, Parker’s stomach growled. A chuckle rustled in his throat. “I guess I don’t have to tell you I’m hungry.”
A little while later, Fuzzy was happily asleep in the living room. I’d made a quick dinner for Parker, one of my staples from our years on the road, a simple meal of pasta with whatever veggies I had on hand, a dash of red peppers with feta and olive oil. It was tasty, filling, and yummy.
When he told me he’d missed my donuts, I used the dough I already had and made him some on the spot. I glanced at the timer on the stove as I tucked away the last dish in the dishwasher. “Three minutes,” I tossed over my shoulder.
“Luna, you didn’t have to do all this.”
“You’ve been away, and you needed a shower.” I grinned over at him as I dried my hands on a dish towel. “You were filthy,” I pointed out.
He threw his head back with a laugh. “I was. Hazards of the job. Normally, we would land and go back to the station, and I would shower there, but you met me at the airport.”
Airports in small Alaskan towns were officially airports, but nothing like an airport in a big area.
There was a small runway as they mostly serviced the array of small single-engine and two-engine planes that dotted the skies of Alaska on a daily basis.
Even in isolated rural areas, there were small landing strips for planes to land.
Some of the Alaskan native villages that served as hubs for the other areas had over one hundred planes a day pass through.
With Alaska’s vast geography, the small planes were even called air taxis and functioned as such.
“How’s your shoulder?” I asked.
Parker leaned back in his chair, rolling said shoulder lightly. “It’s fine. A little sore, but it’s just a cut.”
Pressing my lips together, I narrowed my eyes. “You make it seem like it’s the equivalent of a paper cut. Graham wouldn’t have insisted you get cleared at the urgent care walk-in if he didn’t think it was important.”
Parker let out a sigh. “It’s just deep enough that there could’ve been a risk of infection. The clinic confirmed I’m good to go.”
I tossed the dish towel on the counter and walked across the kitchen, leaning down to press a kiss on his cheek.
He slid his arm around my waist and brought his mouth to mine.
A moment later, my knees were weak after he laid a tongue-tangling kiss on me.
We broke apart when the oven buzzer went off.
My breath was coming in heaves, and I could barely stand. “I have to take those out,” I rasped.
His palm smoothed over my hip before he gave my bottom a squeeze. “Hurry and then come right back.”
On wobbly knees, I crossed the kitchen to take the donuts out of the oven and put them on top.
Seconds later, I was standing before him again, and he tugged me onto his lap.
I straddled him as our kisses melted from one into the next.
My hips rocked over the hard ridge of his arousal, and I could feel the slick moisture in my core.
I was restless, reckless, and desperate for him.
I whimpered when he blazed a trail of wet kisses down my neck, his teeth grazing lightly.
He unbuttoned my blouse, swiftly snapping open the clasp between my breasts. He cupped them, his thumbs teasing over my aching nipples just before his mouth closed over one. He gave a hard suck, and my hands speared his hair as I let out a sharp cry.
“I need you.” His voice was husky and commanding at once.
We stared at each other, breath heaving, and all I knew was I needed him. The next few moments were a messy scramble. Shimmying off his lap, I kicked my jeans off.
We couldn’t stop touching each other as we fumbled.
I wanted to feel his skin, and I slid my hand up under his shirt, savoring the heat emanating from him.
He tugged his shirt up over his head. We were in too much of a rush.
He stumbled and almost fell when I swiftly unbuttoned his jeans to slide my hand in and curl it around his hot, velvety length.
He almost knocked the chair over, tugging me close as he sat down.
Just when I was about to straddle him and sink down over his length, he stopped me with his palm gripping my hip tightly. “We need a condom,” he bit out.
“I’m on birth control,” I whispered.
When I first moved away from my parents, my grandmother had a direct, practical conversation with me about it because she wasn’t sure my mom had.
For all of my mom’s faults, she had talked with me about it, but routine medical appointments weren’t part of my life until I moved away.
My grandmother made sure I found a good doctor, and I’d started birth control to keep my cycle regular.
Parker held my gaze for several long seconds. “Are you sure? Because I can wear a condom.”
“Am I sure that I’m on birth control?” My cheeks burned.
“I know you know that. I just want to make sure it’s okay if I don’t wear a condom. I promise you we’re all good health-wise for me.”
“I know,” I whispered, pausing to suck in a breath. “Please. I want to feel you inside me. Completely.” I didn’t even know how to put into words how much I wanted to feel that.
His eyes burned into mine as he tugged me back over his lap.
I felt the press of his thick crown notching at my slippery entrance.
One of his hands slid up my back to land between my shoulder blades as the other gripped my hip.
Impatient and restless, I sank down swiftly, crying out in relief and pleasure at the feel of him filling me.
I felt the press of his fingers into my hip. He seated himself fully inside of me, levering me forward with his palm in the center of my back. My heartbeat echoed through me. He leaned closer, whispering, “Luna.”
I dragged my eyes open. “I missed you,” he rasped, the words brushing over my lips.
“I missed you too.” Staring into his eyes, a rushing sensation built inside of me.
I didn’t expect myself to say what I said next, but it just slipped out. As if the emotion itself was rushing through me and had to be spoken aloud. “I love you, Parker.” The moment the words were whispered, a jolt of anxiety and fear struck me. I almost panicked, but he never looked away.
I felt the brush of his thumb down along the edge of one of my shoulder blades as his gaze held mine. “I love you, Luna,” he whispered back to me, the you said with a definitive edge to it.
He rocked his hips, nudging deeper into me.
I rose up, sinking down over him. That rushing feeling sped faster and faster as we rocked together.
The friction from where we were joined teased my climax to its edge until he reached between us and gave me the exact pressure I needed.
I cried out, his name a ragged gasp as the pleasure radiated through me like rays of light splitting me apart as he held me close.
I felt him thrust upward once more, and then he was shuddering along with me, his fingers clenching where he held me.
I collapsed against him as he held me close.
Through all of this, my sense of coming home was complete.