Chapter 27 Evelyn #2
Facing him with unshed tears in my eyes, I searched for the courage to speak.
“I need things to go slow.” Parker moved to shift off of me. “But I want this—I want you.”
“Never be sorry for asking for something you need. Thank you for telling me,” he said, wiping away a tear that had managed to escape. Pressing a chaste kiss to my forehead, he tried to get up again.
I believed every word from his mouth; Parker wasn’t like my ex. He didn’t disregard my needs or use my emotions to manipulate me. It was like night and day. Parker didn’t just ask me to blindly trust him. He showed me why I should.
“I don’t want you to stop.” I admitted, not wanting to lose his warmth. My body craved his heat and the electrifying feeling that came with it whenever our bodies were near.
Parker nodded his head. “Tell me if I do something that isn’t okay, and I’ll stop.”
I nodded, and he settled between my thighs and leaving open-mouth kisses on my neck. “Is this okay?” he rasped out.
I had no control over my body's urge to writhe and grind against him. My only response was a moan.
He tugged my bra down, freeing my aching breasts. Groaning as he kneaded them, shifting between licking and sucking on my nipples, his eyes never leaving mine.
I was lost to the sensation of his rough hands and mouth on me, my eyes shuddered closed. His fingers slid down my middle, dancing over the scars that lived there. My body went rigid as I felt the familiar twinge of pain that I was never sure if it were real or just in my head.
“Eyes on me, baby girl. Tell me what you need.”
My eyes fluttered open. I am safe.
“Sometimes they hurt, the scars. The ones on my stomach seem to be the most sensitive, though.”
He looked down at the landscape of scars before dipping his head down to kiss my lips. “Want to try something?”
Anything. That’s what I wanted to say, but I restrained myself. “Sure.”
Parker lifted away from me and repositioned me until my body was on top of him. He rested his hands on my hips, grounding me.
“You have all the power. I never want to do anything to hurt you, whether that’s physically or emotionally.
We go at your pace. Slow down when you want to or pick things up.
You’re with a man, not a boy. I’m not going to run away when things get tough.
Lean on me a little and let me show you what it's like to have someone standing by your side.”
I needed that reassurance more than I thought. There were times when I thought my trauma would make me unworthy, difficult to love. I was complex in a different way before. Now I was the embodiment of Pandora's box.
My fingers traced the roman numerals that adorned Parker’s chest before I captured his lips in a frenzied kiss, my tongue licking the seam of his mouth, swallowing his surprised moan.
My hips began to move on their own accord as Parker’s tongue resumed with long, languid strokes against my hard buds. “Parker, please,” I moaned loudly. If this is what it felt like to have his tongue on me, I wondered what it would feel like to have him lapping at my wet heat.
I should’ve know—the slutty little gold chain should’ve been an indicator.
He gripped my hips as I continued to rock back and forth against his hard length.
“Tell me how this feels, baby girl.” His voice was raspy and strained, like he was struggling for control. Pleasure was building inside me, the more he licked, sucked, and tugged on my nipples, the more the fire burned within.
“Words, baby,” he groaned as he ground his body into mine.
“So so good,” I panted breathlessly. “I think I’m going to come.”
My skin was tingling, like an electric current was running through my body.
Just as the words left my mouth, my orgasm crashed into me. Parker abandoned my breast for my lips. His tongue wrestled with mine as he continued to roll his hips, pressing the weight of his length into my throbbing clit. Pleasure thrummed through me as my body shuddered.
Parker rested his forehead on mine as we caught our breaths. He plopped back down onto the bed, looking into my eyes as he dragged his fingers down my center, pressing the dampened fabric into me, sending an aftershock of shivers down my spine.
Following his gaze, I found his pants damp with his release.
“You see what you do to me?” The way he was looking at me was filling me with heat all over again. If there wasn’t a meal to make, I’d be begging for more.
“You’re going to be trouble for me, aren’t you?”
Parker reached for me, turning us over onto our sides.
“The best kind of trouble.” He said before bringing his lips to mine.
“Now you spread the peppers over the fish. Make sure you drizzle some of the sauce.”
I directed Parker as I poured the rum into the pitcher.
Cooking had taken a bit longer than expected.
Parker regretted to mention that he’s never cooked anything beyond pasta, meatloaf, and grilled chicken.
He a terrible student. Parker insisted on being rewarded with kisses, of course.
After the fifth make-out break, I banished him to the other side of the kitchen.
He made me feel so jovial, I couldn’t help but smile to myself as I stirred the rum punch. Almost like he was reading my mind, Parker came up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist and pressing a soft kiss to my neck.
I leaned my head back onto his chest. Our bodies began swaying to the music playing lowly from the speaker. He hummed the melody of the song, and the low timbre of his voice in my ear sent a shiver down my spine.
Why was everything this man did sexy? I felt like a cat in heat.
“Everything looks delicious, babe,” he murmured against my neck.
The compliment filled me with pride. It had been a long time since I cooked an authentic Jamaican meal. Feeding people was my love language. Some of my fondest memories involved cooking with or for my family.
Tilting my head up to look at him, I teased, “Thank you, everything looks pretty good despite your attempts at sabotage.”
I saw a flash of his dimples before his attack. Suddenly, I was in Parker’s arms, and he was walking toward his room.
He released me just as the twins walked up to the sliding door entrance in the living room. I waved them through, and they walked through the pool house, appraising the dining table.
“Whoa, girl, this spread looks amazing.” Janae praised while bringing me in for a hug.
“You really outdid yourself, Lo.” Aja agreed.
“Your brother helped me prepare everything tonight, so I can’t take all the credit.”
“Pfft. Yes, you can. We’ve tasted Park’s food before,” Aja chuckled as she walked over to the table and took a seat.
The shocked look on Parker’s face had me fighting back a laugh.
Once everyone was seated, I poured the drinks and told everyone to dig in.
The table was quiet as we all tucked into our food. The silence was broken by the sound of Parker clearing his throat, followed by the echo of him gulping down his rum punch.
“Damn. What kind of pepper did you put in here?” Parker choked out.
The twins and I made eye contact and burst into a fit of laughter at the scene he made.
“Scotch bonnet,” I said matter-of-factly. Parker insisted that he loved spicy food and encouraged me to toss the whole pepper in when I had suggested forgoing it. “I thought you loved spicy food?”
The twins snickered as they watched the exchange.
“I think we have different interpretations of ‘spicy,’” he retorted, already pouring a glass of water for himself.
“Let the record state that Parker thinks Frank’s Red Hot is spicy,” Janae produced with a snort.
“He once chugged a Gatorade after eating a few Hot Tamales. His taste buds are weak as hell,” Aja tacked on.
Parker got up and went to their side of the table, trapping them playfully, mussing up their hair.
I smiled as I watched the twins bat him away until he returned to his seat beside me.
I loved seeing them together like this. Momentarily, I allowed my mind to think of a future where this could be something we did regularly.
Dinner resumed, and Parker managed to finish his food, albeit in tears, but he cleared his plate.
“Let’s do a toast,” Janae said as she lifted her glass of rum punch.
“To what?” I asked curiously, even though I was already making moves to lift my glass.
“To crossing another item off the list, girl!” Aja said as she refilled her glass from the pitcher.
It was sweet that the twins were invested in seeing me do everything on my list.
Parker bumped my shoulder as he lifted his glass. “To healing, to conquering, and new beginnings.”
He knew better than anyone what this list represented for me. I pressed a kiss to his cheek in appreciation. We hadn’t discussed what we were or what we would tell people. I hoped the twins wouldn’t read too much into it and just see it as a kind gesture.
That didn’t seem to satisfy Parker because he firmly grabbed my chin and pressed a searing kiss to my lips. We got so lost in each other that we only broke away when the twins started a chorus of boos and gagging.
My cheeks flared with embarrassment even though I knew it was all in good fun. I threw my napkin at Aja’s head after she made a dramatic scene of fainting at the table.
After clearing the table, we played a very intense game of Monopoly, ending with the Woods siblings regaling me with stories of their childhood, each story pointing a finger at which sibling was the sore loser.
The night still felt young, so we took our drinks to the pool and enjoyed the cool, crisp air under the stars.
Briefly, my mind drifted to the text messages I had received from Charles, but I shook the thought off. I didn’t want to ruin this moment.
As the time neared midnight, we dried off and decided it was time to call it a night.
When we made it back inside the pool house, Parker helped me clear the rest of the mess from the meal and filled the dishwasher as I wiped down the countertops.
Once we’re done, we make our way down the hall in the direction of our rooms.
“I’m going to move my schedule around so I can leave the office a little earlier. We have a list to finish,” Parker said as we reached my door.
“You don’t have to do that. I know you have an agreement with your dad.”
“I want to, Ev. I want to be there with you while you see this through.” He says, placing a chaste kiss on my forehead and then my lips.
“Sleep well, baby girl.” Was all he left me with as he turned away and walked into his room.