Chapter Eighteen #2
“If you admit I’m right, I can help you get out of your little date.” His voice grows increasingly smug, like sandpaper to my patience.
“I don’t need your help,” I say. “Who knows, I might even have a good time. And it’s not a date.”
It’s not meeting Isaac for drinks that bothers me.
It’s that Parker isn’t making an actual attempt to stop me.
He even pointed out that he wouldn’t intervene if I started seeing other people.
Should I take that to mean he’s seeing other people too?
I know—that’s the point of an arrangement without commitment.
But until now, the thought of being with other men hadn’t even crossed my mind.
Parker’s done all this before. He said so himself.
Is this what Isaac meant when he asked me if I was another fan?
It shouldn’t surprise me that women line up wherever Parker goes.
It was like that even when we were kids—all those nights at the local roller rink, girls giggling and trailing behind him on the floor, angling for a perfectly timed run-in.
Back then, I thought of myself as just an unfortunate bystander.
Now, I’m just another girl catching crumbs of Parker’s attention in the proverbial roller rink, and I’m up against models like Min and California babes like Heather.
I mean, is a work wife ever really just a work wife?
“So, if I were seeing other people,” I hedge, “you’d really be okay with that?”
Parker takes his time as he studies my face. “Like I said, it’s not up to me.”
The truth is, I have no plans to see other people.
But I’m trying to prove that I can do casual—even if there’s no part of me that desires multiple sexual companions.
I don’t know if Parker feels the same. I consider asking if he’s been seeing other people, but immediately shut that idea down.
I don’t think I want to know the answer, and it might even weird him out if I ask.
Maybe being kept in the dark is its own blessing. Ignorance is bliss, as they say.
“Got it. I just wanted to be clear on the ground rules.”
“I wasn’t aware we had rules.”
“Every arrangement needs some kind of guideline, or we’d just be running amok,” I insist. “I don’t show up during football games expecting you to drop everything.
That’d be like trying to booty call me when I’m watching House of the Dragon—and you wouldn’t dare.
Without some kind of code, it’d be madness. Chaos, even.”
“Wow, I had no idea the stakes were so high.” Parker whistles. “Let me guess—these rules also say you’re not allowed to spend the night at my hotel?”
“In a way, yes.” I do my best to sound aloof. “You’re free to add your own rules too.” I brace myself for a witty remark meant to make me feel ridiculous, but Parker only unfolds his arms. “I just want you to do what makes you comfortable, Dani.”
The hint of authenticity throws me off, but I’m still trying to play it cool. “Should we shake on it?”
“I don’t think that’s necessary.”
“Okay, then. Good talk,” I say, peeking over at the clock above his desk. “I should give Isaac an answer before I head back to work.”
Parker leads the way to the door, but just as he turns the handle, he stops short and lets go. I stare at the view of his broad shoulders until he turns back around, eyes dropping to me. “One more thing.”
Then he presses his lips to mine, and I don’t have time to react before I’m swept up in the momentum of the kiss.
He surges forward, and I take clumsy steps backward until I’m pinned between him and the desk.
Parker’s tongue pushes into my mouth, deep and hungry as it rolls over mine.
His large hands grip my thighs, sliding up to hike my skirt as far as it’ll go.
His palms are warm, heat oozing across my bare skin.
He moves with such authority that every muscle of my body yields, giving him whatever he wants.
The laptop bag slips from my grasp, and my arms fly around his neck as Parker kisses me more intensely, more aggressively than he ever has before.
Even without the theatrics of words, I know this kiss is meant to be possessive. It’s meant to ensure that even if I spent the evening with another man, I’d be thinking of Parker the entire time.
And it’s the best kiss I’ve ever had.
I’ve just about come undone when we break apart. All I can do is hold onto him, listening to his breath falling into rapid rhythm with mine. I have half a mind to tell him to bend me over the desk and have his way with me, but that would place me right in the palm of his hand.
“If I’m being honest—” Parker’s low voice carries into the lull. “I don’t love the thought of sharing you with someone else in this office.”
I don’t have the chance to respond before he lets go of me, stepping away to smooth out his collar. I pull my skirt back down and stutter breathlessly, “I—I have to go.”
When he opens the door for me, his tone is back to blithesome and light. “See you tonight, Dani.”
I pause, confusion settling in as I watch him retreat to his desk. We didn’t make plans to meet tonight.
“Dani, you’ve got my number, right?” Isaac’s voice is a distant murmur as I take a stilted walk back to the elevators.
“Uh-huh,” I mumble absently, touching a finger to my puffy lips.
That night, I text Isaac and lie that I’ve caught a stomach bug and won’t be able to meet him. Instead, I go to the St. Regis, just as Parker anticipated. When I enter the suite, he’s already grinning up at me from his bed.
It’s enough to make me curse. But still, I climb right in with him.