Chapter 57 Parker
PARKER
“What’s wrong?” Brooke asks the second I drop into the seat next to her just a few minutes before we’re due to take off for Texas.
“Nothing,” I mutter, not really in the mood to talk.
The team appears at the entrance to the plane, and one by one they walk down the aisle to their seats.
I keep myself busy, pulling my iPad from my bag along with my headphones.
I don’t want to shut Brooke out, but also, I just need quiet. Some time to think, if that’s even possible on a plane full of hockey players and staff.
As the guys continue moving, my skin begins to prickle with awareness.
I know why, and I refuse to give him the satisfaction of knowing I’m aware of his presence.
My grip on my iPad tightens, and my shoulders tense.
I don’t want to talk to him right now.
I don’t even want to think about him, but that seems to be a challenge too much, because every time my mind drifts, I see him kneeling at the bottom of my bed with his dick in his hand and nothing but unfiltered pleasure on his face.
If it isn’t that image, it’s one from earlier: hard on the trainer’s table.
My mouth waters, and I curse myself for being so weak.
I’m stronger than this.
I’m not the kind of woman who falls under the likes of Lincoln Storm’s spell.
My heart rate picks up as he gets closer, and by the time he stops beside me, it’s practically beating out of my chest.
“Parker?” His deep, raspy voice rocks through me like a shockwave, but I don’t look up.
Despite not earning my attention, he continues anyway.
“Parker, I didn’t— I wouldn’t—I…I didn’t even know it was there. Not that it would have made a difference if I had.”
The silence that follows his words is probably the loudest of my life.
“Just go, Storm. You’re holding everyone up.”
Beside me, Brooke gasps at my cold dismissal. But it needs to happen.
I can’t do this right now, and we certainly can’t do this here.
He hesitates, but after a couple of seconds, he must realize that I’m right, and he continues shuffling down the aisle.
Others follow him, but I don’t dare look up. I don’t need to know who heard that.
I startle when a giant hand reaches out and squeezes my shoulder.
My heart launches into my throat, but when I look up, it’s into Kodie’s understanding eyes.
He gives me the briefest smile and doesn’t say a word as he continues toward the back of the plane. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Mitchell glancing over, probably trying to figure out his next move and how he can make it hurt.
Ignoring him, I sit there with my head spinning as the rest of the team files on.
Once they’re all on board, the flight crew prepares us for take-off, and boisterous chatter fills the air. While I’m losing myself in thoughts and regrets, it’s easy to forget the magic that Linc produced on the ice tonight.
“Sooo,” Brooke starts once we’re in the air.
“Men are jerks,” I mutter, loud enough for at least Mitchell to hear me.
“I can’t say that I don’t disagree.” She laughs. “But given our current situation, you might want to keep your voice down.”
She’s right. We are literally surrounded by men.
“Urgh,” I complain, resting my head back and closing my eyes.
“I went on a date the other week,” Brooke says quietly.
“He was hot as hell. I should have known it was too good to be true the second I saw his profile picture. But we matched, so I thought fuck it. Let’s go and see who he really is.
Amazingly, he actually was the guy in the picture, and if anything, he was even hotter in real life.
“So we have a few drinks, and then he invites me back to his place.”
I’m already cringing over this story and I have literally no idea what is coming next.
“We’re kissing, and it’s all great. We’re vibing, the air is crackling. I’m thinking, yes, this is it. Until…”
“Oh god,” I groan.
“He didn’t want me to take my clothes off.”
I frown, staring at her and waiting for what comes next.
“He only wanted my shoes off.”
“What?” I laugh.
“He was only interested in my feet. MY FEET, Parker.” The horrified look on her face has laughter erupting out of me.
“Do you have nice feet?” Monroe asks, poking his head between the seats, obviously eavesdropping.
Unfazed that he’s joined our conversation, she turns to him.
“I mean, I think they’re okay. I’ve certainly seen worse. It just…well, it wasn’t my toes where I was expecting the sucking action to be happening.”
I gag.
“I’d freshened up for the date, of course, but that didn’t include a pedicure, and I’d been on my feet all day at work and—”
“Did he look like he cared?” Hayden asks.
“Not in the slightest. It was so disappointing.”
“What did you do?” I ask, intrigued.
“Well, I tugged my foot from his mouth and asked if he was interested in using his tongue on any other part of my body. Honest to God, he looked horrified at the thought alone. At that point, I grabbed my heels and walked out, alone and unsatisfied.”
Laughter peals out of me.
“I’m not a foot man, myself. I mean, I can appreciate a pretty set of toes and all, but my mouth much prefers to be elsewhere. More than willing to share my services, if the need ever arises,” Hayden offers, while the rookie sitting beside him groans in mortification.
“That’s very sweet of you,” Brooke says. “But I’ve got to be honest, I’m pretty sure I’d eat you alive in the bedroom, Marilyn. We need you on the ice too much for that.”
“Well, damn,” Hayden breathes before falling back into his seat with his hand over his chest. “You’re missing out, Brooke baby. I’ll have you know that I’m a real freak in the sheets.”
The other rookie snorts a laugh.
“Dude, you can’t pull a chick for shit. When the hell do you ever get a chance to be a freak?”
“I get by,” Hayden states.
I can’t help myself, the thought of him sitting there pouting has me fully turning around to look at him, but the second I twist around in my seat, Monroe’s puppy-dog eyes aren’t the first ones I find.
Linc is sitting in his seat beside Kodie with a tight expression and his arms folded over his chest.
He should be celebrating, but instead, he's shooting daggers at me for having a laugh with his rookie.
Well, fuck him.
If he can go swanning around town picking up Matilda’s number, then I can enjoy myself with his friends.
Ripping my eyes away from his hard ones, I find exactly what I was expecting: Hayden sitting with his bottom lip pushed out.
“Aw, next time we all go out, you can practice your lines on me,” I offer. “Don’t get your hopes up, though. I won’t be going anywhere near your hotel room.”
“Damn, Donnelly. Way to get a guy excited,” he teases.
“You wouldn’t want me. I come hand in hand with my brother’s wrath.”
“Yeah…I quite like my face as it is.”
“Then you probably chose the wrong sport,” Brooke points out. “Give it a couple of years, and you’ll be just as ugly as the rest of them.”
“Hey,” Killer shouts. “We heard that.”
“You were meant to,” Brooke calls before dropping back into her seat.
“Man, I love my job and these guys. I might give them shit, but I wouldn’t change them for the world.”
As much as I hate to admit it, I feel the same. But mostly about one of them.
It’s late by the time we get to our hotel, and even later by the time all the key cards have been handed out.
With another game tomorrow, everyone heads for the elevators, ready to get some rest.
“So, Donnelly,” Hayden says, throwing his arm around my shoulders and plucking my key card from my hand. “What room do I need to visit for my hookup lessons?”
“Whoa,” I say, snatching it back, hoping he hasn’t already clocked the number scrawled across the front of the little card wallet. “I never said anything about lessons.”
“Come on, I’m on the tenth floor too. We can discuss details on the way up.”
“You know, if you weren’t so cute, you’d be annoying,” I say as I wave to Brooke and head for the elevator.
“I knew you liked me.” He laughs.
We chat away, thankfully not about any kind of hookup lessons, or about Linc, as we climb through the building.
“Looks like I’m heading this way,” he says after studying the sign when we exit the car. “Sleep well, Donnelly. See you in the morning.”
I turn in the opposite direction, tugging my small suitcase behind me until I find my room number.
The second I’m inside, I kick off my sneakers and unzip my suitcase to find my toiletries and pajamas. But I pause the second my fingers brush over the soft fabric of Linc’s T-shirt.
I can’t wear that tonight.
Digging deeper, I find my actual pajamas and pull them free.
With everything in hand, I shut myself in the bathroom, turn the shower on hot, and strip down.
I stand under the burning, powerful jets of water for the longest time, hoping it does something for my tight muscles.
It’s only once my skin is wrinkled and my body begs for sleep that I finally cut the water and step out.
I take my time doing my skincare, blow-drying my hair and brushing my teeth.
I tell myself that I’m not putting off going to bed, but I know I am.
The thought of sleeping alone shouldn’t bother me. I’ve done it all my life; it should be normal.
But just a handful of nights with Linc wrapped around me and everything has changed.
Turning the light out, I abandon the mess I’ve made across the counter. That’s tomorrow’s problem.
I head straight for my purse to grab my cell, but the second I round the corner into the bedroom, a blood-curdling scream rips from my throat because someone is sitting in the chair by the window.
Okay, not someone.
Linc is sitting in the chair by the window, waiting for me.
“What the fuck are you doing?” I screech. “And how the hell did you get in here?” His smirk grows as my heart slams against my ribs.
“We need to talk,” he states as he pushes from the chair.
“No. Right now, you need to leave, and I need to sleep.”
“I’m not leaving this room until you hear me out.”
“I’m not interested,” I mutter, turning my back on him and moving closer to the bed.
“Why aren’t you wearing my T-shirt?” he growls.
“Really?” I snap, turning back to look at him. “Of all the things, that is the most pressing issue on your mind?”
“I swear to you, Parker, I didn’t know that number was there.”
“It’s not about the number or the woman who wrote it, Linc. She’s not important.”
“Glad we agree on something,” he mutters.
“It’s more than her. It’s…all the women, the life you live, who you are, all the reasons why whatever this is,” I say, gesturing between us, “can’t be anything. It’s fucking crazy, and we’re even crazier for allowing it to get this far.”
He takes a step forward, and I immediately take one back.
“I can’t argue with the crazy. Or who I am and the life I lead. But the reasons that whatever this is can be something…I can talk about that all night long. Although, honestly, I’d prefer just to show you.”
“Fuck’s sake,” I mutter. “This isn’t a joke, Linc. This is our lives. Our futures.”
“I know that,” he argues. “But I don’t see a future for me. Not unless you’re in it.”