Mr. Parker held up my winter jacket, something he’d bought especially for me, a deep purple coat filled with goosedown, thin but warm and stylish. I’d accidentally left it in the hall closet when I left, cursing myself when I realized.
“Yeah, Violet’s good,” he rumbled. “She and Mrs. Larson get along like a house on fire, you were right, they’re a great match. But I stopped by because you left this at my place,” he added. “And seeing that I had a business meeting in the area, thought I’d drop it off. You can’t be very warm in the parka you have on.”
I flushed, because I hadn’t had time to buy myself something new, so had dressed in layers instead, wearing two sweaters and then a thin windbreaker over the whole pile. Okay, I looked a little bulky and shapeless, but it was zero degrees after all, really cold. And for some reason, I hadn’t wanted to touch the money Pete had paid me until I got my emotions sorted out, until I felt like there was a solution at hand. So yeah, I’d been schlepping around school looking like a fuzzy bear, cuddly and warm but hardly attractive.
“Thanks,” I said, trying to sound as normal as possible. “Did you want to hang out here, or can I take you to a cup of coffee as a thank you? Show you around our snowy campus? It’s gorgeous this time of year, really Christmas-y.”
And at that moment, Jane whisked back in, looking like a sexy homemaker. She’d tied her hair up so that blonde tendrils hung around her ears, and even put on a red-and-white striped apron, tying it tight around her waist to emphasize the narrowness.
“Oh stay!” she fluttered, putting down the brownies and leaning forward so that the big man could get a good look at that bosom. I snorted then. The blonde had no idea that she wasn’t his type at all. Small boobs and a flat ass are popular for models in magazines, but I knew Mr. Parker’s type. Big, bountiful, and lush, with plenty to squeeze. The girl was barking up the wrong tree like a horny cat and didn’t even know it.
And Mr. Parker was through as well, Jane’s “temptations” be damned. He was on his feet in a sec, hauling that big form up, towering in our tiny apartment, making our furniture look positively doll-like.
“Let’s go out,” he growled. “These brownies look delicious, um … I’m so sorry, what was your name again?”
And my roommate pouted, her cherry red lips going down in a frown.
“I’m Jane,” she said testily. “Jane as in Dick and Jane.”
I snorted a little under my breath, it wasn’t often that men forgot my gorgeous roomie’s name, but this man was already taken, and he had other things on his mind. But the blonde was tenacious, that was sure. Reaching for her jacket, she breezily said, “Oh I’ll come too!” while fluffing out her hair so that it hung perfectly over her shoulders. “Café Roma’s just two blocks away and has the most amazing peppermint hot chocolate. We could share a large,” she looked meaningfully at Mr. Parker. Heat almost steamed from my ears because there were sexual insinuations in every word from her mouth. But the big man didn’t even look her way.
“Naw, not a fan of hot chocolate,” he growled, picking up his scarf and wrapping that dark material around his bronzed throat. How many times I’d pressed my mouth to his throat as I came, shrieks ringing out against his skin, breasts smooshed against his chest as my pussy shook. And Mr. Parker looked at me as if reading my mind, eyes gleaming, a wicked smile playing against his lips.
“Like I said, not a fan of hot chocolate and Mandy and I have some catching up to do,” he growled, looking at Jane finally, an unmistakable disinvitation if there ever was one. “We’ll be great on our own, thanks.”
At least the blonde got the hint this time. But still, she didn’t give up.
“Well if you need to reach me, here’s my number,” she said, slipping a card into his big hand, his fingers gripping it reflexively, surprised. This was going too far, she’d crossed the line and I wasn’t having it.
“Thanks,” I said, fixing her with a stare. “Thanks, we appreciate it. Let’s go. Ready?” I asked the big man.
And he nodded.
“As ever,” he growled, and together we stepped outside and onto the sidewalk. It was chilly and I stamped my feet a bit as we started to walk, our feet leaving prints in the thin layer of snow.
“I’m so sorry about that,” I murmured, looking down a little. “It’s not usually so bad, Jane and I aren’t really friends, she just wanted to be your friend.”
The big man shot me a wry smile.