“You think?” he said, eyebrow arched.
And I burst out laughing then, our previous easiness restored.
“Yeah, definitely. And seriously, that girl and I have nothing in common, she’s like a vampire sometimes, you never know when she’s going to draw blood,” I said with a rueful sigh.
He paused to throw her card into a nearby trash bin.
“No worries,” he said easily. “It’s nothing, not even a fly on my radar,” he grunted. “Now where to? You got a place you want to go, little girl? Some place we can be alone?”
And the word “alone” made my heart leap. But unfortunately, there weren’t many alone-type places on campus, not now with class in session. So I shook my head hopelessly until an idea sprang to mind.
“How about the library?” I asked quickly. “I know it sounds really dorky, but there’s a place deep in the stacks where no one really goes, and we can talk there in private. You did want to be private, right?” I asked, stammering a little.
Mr. Parker grinned at me, blue eyes dancing.
“I definitely wanted to talk privately with you,” he rumbled deep in his throat. “And sure, the stacks sound great so long as they’ll let me into the building.”
Oh shit. Right. You have to have a student ID to get into the library, it’d completely slipped my mind and there was no way we could magic one out of nowhere. My heart sank. I guess we were going to have to have meaningful conversation in a coffee shop somewhere, with other tables mere inches away, curious ears and curious eyes all around.
But seeing the slump in my shoulders, Mr. Parker laughed then.
“Baby,” he said gently. “How about if we sit in my car? I brought the Range Rover and it’s big,” he said with an eyebrow raised, “at least we can be warm and talk there.”
And I nodded gratefully. Mr. Parker to the rescue again. The Range Rover would be perfect, with its heated leather seats and plush interior. But especially because I wanted to be close to him, to see his features mere inches away, instead of just in my imagination. So I agreed.
“Sounds perfect,” I murmured. “Let’s go.”
And with quick steps, we made our way two streets across to where he was parked, the black SUV just like I remembered, luxurious and sporty, a mammoth pulled up to the sidewalk.
“Up you go,” he growled, helping me in. “Don’t lose your balance.”
And I huffed a little. They made these things so high and I was hardly a small girl, there was a lot to move into the car, my flesh bouncing as I heaved myself into the seat. But finally we were all settled and the big man shut the door behind himself, closing us off from the outside world.
“Ready?” he asked, eyebrow quirked.
I was confused. Ready for what? To talk? Were we driving somewhere? But instead, his mouth swooped in and seized mine in a kiss, deep, pulsing, everything I hoped it would be and more. Because it was so reassuring to be with him once again, to be in this small space with that dominant form, the confident alpha, knowing deep in my bones that everything would be okay.
And Mr. Parker felt the same way, I could tell. Because his mouth moved feverishly over mine, tracing the seam of my lips before gently coaxing them apart, and then burying his tongue inside, tasting me, licking, like he couldn’t get enough.
The big man shook a little as he touched me, his hands trembling as he stroked my curves, sensuously running his palms over my breasts.
“I’ve missed these,” he ground out. “You can’t imagine how much.”
And I mewled as he touched me, body going to a hundred degrees immediately. Because I felt exactly the same way, craving him, so desperate for him, his form, his presence surrounding me day after day, buoying my spirit, bringing peace, warmth and laughter to my soul. And I’d been so confused that I’d actually gone for counseling, to get a professional opinion for my problems. But it’d worked because suddenly, Rebecca’s words rang in my head again, how there were many paths and maybe I didn’t have to choose. So I broke off the kiss for a moment, leaning back, gazing at him as we both tried to get our bodies under control.
“Peter,” I said, “we have to talk.”
The alpha looked like he wanted to devour me, strip off all my clothes and take me right there in the car, but he nodded, breathing hard.
“You’re right,” he ground out. “Talk, right, talk,” he muttered more to himself than anyone.
And I smiled at him.
“But first, I want to know why you’re here,” I teased a little. “The winter jacket excuse? You know you paid me more than enough to buy a new one, you didn’t have to bring it up.”