"Are you going to stare at it or eat it?" she teased.
"Eat it. Stare at it. Eat it some more."
"Well, a girl can't argue with that. Or if she does, she's stupid."
He dipped his head, loving that she tasted just like she smelled. Like chocolate and lust. He'd be content to lick her forever. Especially when she gasped and jumped like that. When she grabbed hold of his hair and pulled, demanded he increase the pressure and the pace. Parker kept doing exactly as he had been. This was where he held the keys to heaven, this was where he had the power, and he'd use it to take her higher than she'd ever been.
"Parker, please!"
He took his time, using all of his senses to drink her down. Not only the way she tasted, the way she smelled, the texture of her skin, the velvet heat... yeah. When she was gasping and begging, that was when he increased the speed and pressure of his tongue against her clit. It wasn't until she was crying out in a language unknown to him that he was even close to satisfied with a job well done.
Because even after she hit her peak, he wanted to give her more. Wanted to keep that flush in her cheeks, that taste on his tongue. Parker eased back, but didn't stop working the engorged bud. She squirmed away, but he held her fast, and before long he had her growling at him.
Fucking growling.
His beast growled back.
And she came again.
He sprawled down next to her on the forest floor. "So that's what happens when you tease a werewolf."
"Is that supposed to be a deterrent?" she gasped. "I'm going to tease you every day until..." She went quiet.
He knew what she was going to say. She was going to tease him every day until this was over. Until she wasn't his anymore. Except she'd always be his.
And he'd always be hers.
That was the way of things with wolves.
But not so with vampires, he knew. Parker realized that for the good of the pack, he'd need to speak with Blake about the plans he'd had to make when he realized Randi was his mate and she didn't want him.
Parker wasn't as close to his wolf as his brothers were. He didn't despise it, or hate that part of himself, but he'd never much had to rely on it. He found it easier to navigate the world as a man. Some wolves would die without their mates and they were content to do so.
That wasn't how Parker was wired. He didn't want to stop existing, stop living just because his mate didn't want him.
He liked living. He liked all that the world still had to offer him, even if that part of him would be empty and dark.
Maybe he'd change his mind when the sickness set in. Or maybe, like his uncle, he'd survive.
Of course, he didn't want to be a bitter old grumpy fuck like Warner, but...
"Sorry I ruined the mood," she said as the silent chasm between them grew.
"Don't be sorry for the truth. We both knew this was temporary. It's not your fault my wolf doesn't understand that."
"I meant what I said. I don't want you or your wolf to suffer because of me. How do we make it understand?" she asked.
"We don't. I'll talk to Blake and to Westwood. I'll figure it out. I'm a man grown. I'll handle my shit."
"Remember what you said about being alone? About how I didn't have to face everything alone? You don't either."
"But I do." He touched her face softly. "You can't help because you're the problem." Parker pressed his lips to her forehead.
"I knew this was a bad idea," she began.
"No, this was the only way. It still is. Don't worry about me, Belle. This thing between us, it is what it is. It'll only be whatever it was meant to be and neither of us can make it anything else."
"It's going to hurt," she whispered, looking up at him.
He flashed her a forced smile. "Yeah, sometimes the best things do."
Chapter 8
A vampire getting married on national television.
She’d lost her mind.
It was crazy, right?
It was even crazier she was talking to herself.
She looked at her reflection in the mirror. Yeah, that girl right there in the mirror was about to marry a billionaire werewolf in the Caramel Room at Bissinger’s.
The plus side was all the chocolate.
And Parker, a little voice in the back of her head whispered.
She didn't want to hear anything that voice had to say. It spun tales of pretty castles in the clouds, princesses, and fables like forever.
Nothing was forever.
Except maybe her existence. That was close to forever.
Bloody tears welled in her eyes and she swore to herself softly as they started to fall. That's all she needed was a blood-stained wedding dress.
It really was a beautiful dress.
"Are you crying?" A soft voice asked from the door.
She looked up to see Blake's mate, Randi, standing there, her dress unzipped on the side.