All Fired Up (DreamMakers) (18 page)

They ended up taking a break after round three, sliding under the covers and lounging in bed for the rest of the afternoon. Parker had never felt more content than lying there with Lynn snuggled up beside him, and, if he were being honest, a little confused.

He’d dated a lot of women in his life, some for much longer than he’d known Lynn, and yet he’d never connected with any of them the way he connected with her. And he’d never wanted
more
with them. His military life had made it difficult to consider—or maintain—any lasting relationships, but even after he’d rejoined civilian life, he hadn’t really thought about settling down with one woman. He’d been happy to play the field.

Until now. Because right now, playing the field was the last thing he wanted. Nope. He just wanted Lynn.

“Is it always like this?” Her uneasy question broke the silence between them.

“Is what always like this?”

She shifted, propping herself up on one elbow so she could meet his eyes. “Dating. Sex.” She gave a sheepish shrug. “I’ve never been with anyone like you before, and I can’t remember the last time I had this much fun with a guy. I was wondering if that’s normal.”

He traced her jaw line with his fingers. “Of course it’s normal. Sex
should
be fun. Dating, too.”

“The men I’ve dated have always been older,” she admitted. “And they were always more interested in quiet dinners at quiet restaurants, or going places where we didn’t talk.”

He grinned. “Sounds boring.”

“Sometimes it was. But I’d say it was more, I don’t know,
passive
than boring. I tended to gravitate toward serious men.” She smiled. “I like this better. You bring out my fun side.”

“I’m glad,” he said gruffly.

Out of nowhere, a rush of guilt trickled through him, a reminder he still hadn’t told Lynn the truth. He’d been holding off until they got to know each other better, but now that they were officially “together”, he had to quit stalling and confess their meeting hadn’t been a coincidence, or a twist of fate.

“Do you…” He had to clear his throat. “Do you trust me?”

Her eyes widened. “Of course I do.”

“You know I’d never hurt you, right?” His throat closed up all over again, and this time he had to gulp hard to ease the lump. “At least not intentionally.”

Lynn’s forehead creased in concern. “Where is all this coming from?”

“I…” Parker searched for the words. “I wanted to tell you someth—”

His ringing phone cut him off, bringing both irritation and relief. “Hold that thought,” he murmured, reaching for the nightstand.

The screen displayed Jack’s name. Parker instantly took the call.

“Hey, I’m glad I caught you,” his partner said. “Do you have a sec?”

“Sure. What’s up?” Parker asked.

“I need you to handle the Simms recon tonight. Dean needs more help with the Johnson event, and Didi’s come down with a stomach bug, so I have to step in for her.” Jack sounded frazzled. “Simms’s girlfriend is going clubbing and I was supposed to tail her, but now I can’t.”

“No problem,” he said immediately. “I’m on it.”

“You sure? I know it’s your night off.”

“I’m on it,” Parker repeated.

“Thanks, man. I’ll text you the deets.”

He disconnected the call and turned to Lynn. “Change of plans,” he said regretfully. “I know we were going to do pizza and a movie, but Jack needs me on recon.”

“That’s fine.” Interest flickered in her blue eyes. “What kind of recon?”

He slid up into a sitting position. “We’re planning a date for this client, Barry Simms. His girlfriend accused him of not having a romantic bone in his body, so he’s out to prove her wrong. But the guy’s hopeless. He seriously has no clue what she considers romantic, which means it’s up to us to find out.”

“Us?” She beamed. “Does that mean I can come?”

“I meant us, as in me and Jack and Dean, but…” Parker thought it over, liking the idea more and more. “Actually, I’d love it if you helped me.”

“Oooh, I can’t wait.” She damn near bounced on the bed. “Do I need to wear all black? Are we going to use walkie-talkies?”

He snickered, reaching to help her off the bed. “No.”

Lynn looked disappointed for a second as she searched for her clothes. She was in the middle of pulling up her pants when her expression changed, as if she’d remembered something. “Hey, what were you talking about? Jack’s call interrupted you.”

Parker faltered, his previous burst of confidence having vanished. “Uh, nothing important right now,” he lied, keeping his tone light.

“Oh. Okay.”

He ignored everything they had to do to get ready. Instead, he jerked her against him, covered her sweet lips with his, and kissed her until they were both gasping for air. Her body nestled tight to his, not an inch of space between them.

Holding her felt so perfect.
Being
with her was so right, but an edge of uncertainty had crept in, and for the first time, Parker wasn’t sure how the next part of this relationship was going to play out—what came next between them.

It was no longer sex for fun. So much more than getting-to-know-you dates. They’d come a long way in the past weeks and were headed into unexplored territory. All he knew for certain was while he had no idea where this was going, hell if he wanted it to stop.

He was addicted. Totally and completely.

Chapter Eleven

The only thing not moving in the immediate vicinity was the solid weight of Parker’s hand pressed to her lower back. Lynn leaned harder into the point of contact as she took another incredulous glance around the room.

“Let’s go clubbing, he says. It’ll be fun, he says.”

Parker’s wicked chuckle sounded in her ear, the noise around them low enough they could hear each other without shouting—that part was a nice surprise. She’d never been to a club where the music wasn’t deafeningly loud.

On the other hand, she’d never been to a club where half the clientele was soaring dozens of feet above her.

“What kind of dance club has trapeze swings lining the walls?” she said in amazement.

“One with swingers?”

Oh. God. Lynn whipped around to stare at him. “You’re not serious. This isn’t a place where they’re going to…? I mean, no one will ask us to…?”

Damn it. She flattened her palms against her burning-hot cheeks, but it was no use. He’d already seen her blush for the millionth time.

His husky laughter trickled over her like a caress, broad shoulders momentarily blocking her view of the central wine bar and the teeny standing-room-only tables filling the center of the room.

“Not swingers in the dirty sense.” He slid his fingers to her wrists, tugging her hands away and leaning in to kiss her briefly. Their lips were still touching when he murmured an assurance. “No way would I take you to that kind of bar.”

Her heart was still pounding, but now because of the expression in his green eyes. “Really?”

His jaw tightened and he nodded curtly, then changed the topic. “There’s our mark. In the blue by the wall.”

Lynn pushed the question on her tongue aside, although she was curious. He’d had no trouble sharing her with Dean that first time.

The fact he didn’t want to share her anymore made something inside warm.

“Let’s get closer.” Helping with his recon was exciting, even if she was a touch uncomfortable. She felt weird tracking down some poor unsuspecting woman, but she supposed Parker’s mark would thank them after she got the date of her dreams.

Parker guided her through the crowd toward the woman they were supposed to shadow. Immi Duncan was doing circle after circle on a gymnast’s bar, long black hair whipping around and her fair face flushed from exertion.

High Flyers wasn’t like any club Lynn had ever visited, that was for sure.

“Are there a lot of places similar to this?” she asked Parker as they found positions along the narrow bar counter.

“Places that serve alcohol and let you act out as circus wannabes?”

“Clubs that aren’t just music and dancing and alcohol.”

He answered her slowly, inching them closer to where Immi was preparing to grab the trapeze swing. “Not adding in the typical darts, pool tables, and fight clubs, I know places where you can’t get in the door without an appropriate costume—Regency dress or monkey suit.”

“Monkey suit?” That didn’t sound too weird. “Tuxes, you mean.”

“No, fur. Long arms. Tails.”

“You’re pulling my leg.”

He slid his hand from her hip over her butt. “I wish.”

Lynn sighed. “I’ve led a very sheltered life.”

“Stick with me, babe, and I’ll open a world of possibilities.” With a naughty grin, he leaned in again and swiped his tongue over her earlobe. “Ever done it in public before?”

Her pulse instantly sped up, but she managed to shoot him a brazen smile. “Why, are you offering to do me right here, right now?”

“You are getting bolder and bolder,” he said, then licked his lips. “And I fucking love it.”

She had to admit, she liked it, too. Parker brought out a naughty side she usually only shared with Suz.

“Well, hold that thought,” she said sternly. “First, tell me exactly what we need to find out about our mark.”

He quickly snapped into business mode. “Likes, dislikes, what she finds romantic. Her boyfriend wants to wow her, but he says she’s impossible to please.”

Lynn’s gaze strayed to Immi Duncan, who’d just hopped off the swing and was making her way toward them. Lynn experienced a jolt of panic, but it faded when she realized Immi wasn’t walking over to
them
, but to the trio of women near Lynn and Parker.

“That was amazing!” Immi gushed to her friends. “I can’t believe Barry didn’t want to come tonight.”

The tall African-American woman directly beside Lynn snickered. “God, can you see Barry at a place like this? He’d run out screaming.”

Immi made a
tsk
noise. “I swear, he refuses to take any risks. He wants to go to the same old restaurants and clubs and he won’t
ever
try something new. I don’t know why I’m still with him.”

“Yes you do,” another friend piped up. “We all know you love that man to death.”

Immi’s features softened. “Yeah, I totally do. I just wish he’d make more of an effort to share in my interests.”

Lynn exchanged a discreet glance with Parker. She wished Immi would elaborate on what those interests of hers were, but her friends had changed the subject and were discussing a coworker who’d recently gotten engaged.

The longer they eavesdropped, the more frustrated Lynn got, because Immi wasn’t giving them anything to go on. When the woman eventually excused herself from the group to use the restroom, Lynn glanced at Parker in determination.

“I’m going after her,” she murmured.

He frowned. “Might not be a good idea.”

“Dude, if we don’t step up our game, we’ll be here all night. And I’ll have you know women spill
all
their secrets in the ladies’ room.”

He stared at her. “Did you just call me
dude
?”

“Got a problem with that?”

His lips tightened in amusement. “Not at all, bro.”

A laugh popped out. “Why don’t you grab us a couple of drinks? I’ll be right back.”

“Hey baby, wanna swing with me?”

Parker stifled a groan as he got asked the same question for the fifth time. And for the fifth time, he shook his head and declined the invitation, this one from a cute blonde in a skintight red catsuit.

Lynn was taking a ridiculously long time in the ladies’ room. A glance at his watch revealed another five minutes had passed, making her absence a total of twenty minutes. He absently sipped his beer and wondered if he ought to go after her, but before he could move, he caught sight of a familiar face.

A moment later, Jack threaded his way through the crowd and reached the table.

“Hey,” Parker said in surprise. “What are you doing here? I thought Dean needed you on the Johnson job.”

Jack ran a hand through his sandy blond hair as he looked around the room, eyebrows raised. “This place is bonkers. I’m surprised they don’t make you sign a liability form when you walk in—it’s a lawsuit waiting to happen.” He swiped Parker’s beer out of his hand and took a hearty swig. “And to answer your question, the Johnsons’ anniversary dinner is going splendidly so Dean graciously suggested I take off.”

Parker narrowed his eyes. “That was nice of him…”

After a beat, Jack grinned. “Fine, there was nothing gracious about it. We were arguing about something and he told me to get lost.”

“What were you arguing about?” When Jack simply shrugged, Parker let out a groan. “For fuck’s sake, you two agreed to a ceasefire. I even made you sign that agreement never to discuss it!”

Jack’s sputtered defense was one Parker had heard too many times before. “I’m sorry, but it’s bullshit!
Saving Private Ryan
is an epic movie, and one of these days that asshole is gonna have to admit it. I refuse to hear a bad word about—”

“I don’t want to hear it. I swear, I had to listen to this debate during
two
tours of duty, and I fucking refuse to listen to it again.” Exasperated, Parker checked his watch. Two more minutes had ticked by.