Denying Mr. Parks (The Parks #1) (12 page)

“Evelyn, I spotted you from across the room. I wondered how you were feeling after last night.”

I knew he wasn’t referring to my drunkenness but to him tasting me. I narrowed my eyes at him, silently begging him not to do it. “I have a vicious headache, actually. You know, the ones that never seem to
fuck off
.”

“Wait. I have paracetamol in my wallet if you want one?” Alex butted in.

I shook my head, exasperated at how stupid Alex could be sometimes, and placed my hand on his arm.

“You know what, my headache seems to have gotten worse. Do you mind if I leave?”

He frowned, but it soon softened. “You want me to take you home?”

I was too quick to shake my head. “No, you go watch the film with your mates. I’ll be fine.” I didn’t give him time to react, but knowing Alex, he would have preferred a night with old mates anyway.

“Evelyn, wait. I’ll take you home.”

I screamed, infuriated by Parks’s stalker tendencies. “You knew I’d be here, didn’t you? Because I’m sure a man like you has no desire to come to the cinema.”

His smirk was unapologetic. “Maybe.”

I didn’t ask him how. I was too enraged. I spun on my flats and bolted through the lobby of the cinema with Parks marching beside me.

After getting outside, I quickly noticed the familiar Jaguar parked at the kerb with the driver waiting by the car door, but I carried on marching until Parks yanked my elbow.

“Evelyn, you’re coming with me.”

“Let me go.” I tried to fight him off, but he was too strong and wouldn’t release me.

“I won’t ever let go. You’re mine.” Before I knew it I was being picked up and practically hurled onto the leather seats without choice. “Drive until I say so, Cleaver.”

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing, Parks? This is kidnapping.” I was raging, and more so when he laughed, half-amused, half-angry.

“If kidnapping is what I have to do to get you to be with me and keep you away from Alex, then that’s what I’ll do. And you’re back to calling me Parks now? I seem to remember you calling me Wade clearly last night as I made you come in my mouth. Now put your seat belt on.”

I should have been shocked by the abrupt, straightforward way he talked about sex, but I wasn’t. It suited him. Like everything about him annoyingly suited him. I groaned my objection whilst flopping back into the seat, nauseated. “You are relentless. Like a child who holds on to someone’s leg and won’t let go.”

He answered straight-out and deadpan. “I can hold on to your leg if you want.”

I meant to turn and punch the smug prick, but it made me laugh. Really laugh. And Parks sat back and watched me, looking highly entertained until I couldn’t laugh anymore.

“That’s a special sound.” He smiled warmly, his eyes affectionate. “You should do it more often.”

I cleared my throat and turned to gaze out the window. “I would if there was something to be happy about,” I muttered under my breath.

I heard his soft sigh. When he spoke, his tone was sincere, and that’s what I couldn’t get a grasp on. His sincerity. “You’re a woman with a broken smile, Evelyn. I just wish I knew why.”

I scoffed, offending myself. “You don’t want to know about me.”

He tenderly placed a hand on my knee. “You’re wrong. I do want to know about you. Everything.”

“Why?” I was at a loss. “You have no business with me, Parks. No one does.”

He didn’t reply, and his pause made me turn my head. I watched his green eyes as they tried looking through the shield that guarded me. While he watched me, I studied his tanned, sculptured face. His full pink lips. That unruly dark hair. I already knew he was beautiful. Utterly flawless. And that made me uneasy. I glanced away, uncertain of my feelings, but Parks gently took hold of my chin and tilted it towards him.

“Don’t look away from me. Do you realise how beautiful you are to me?” He stroked my cheek tenderly, leaned over, and cautiously pressed his lips to mine. He kissed me delicately, moving at a slow, compassionate pace whilst caressing my cheek. I kept my hands by my sides but kissed him back whilst I dug my fingers into the leather upholstery. I wanted to touch him, but I denied myself the sensation. Instead, I forfeited and allowed myself to massage my tongue against the heavenly licks he was gifting me. When he pulled away, he kissed my lips once more and sighed deeply before pressing his forehead against mine. “You’re simply stunning. Please don’t make me stay away from you.”

I closed my eyes. “Why do you want me to stay?”

He caressed the sides of my face with his palms. “Apart from your beauty, and from how much I desire you, I’m still trying to figure that out. The same as I’m still figuring
you
out.”

I scoffed at his comments and pulled my face out of his hold. “You will never work me out. No one does. No one gets me.”

“Let me get you,” he pleaded softly.

I shook my head firmly. “No.”

“Why?”

“Can’t you just take no for an answer?” He was making me snappy and irritable, and it made him smirk. He loved my attitude.

“Do you speak to everybody like this?”

“No, just people who fuck me off.”

He shifted in the seat, but I refused to look at him. “I fuck you off because I ignite something in you that you want left untouched.”

Yes, that halted my reaction a little. But he wasn’t right, was he?

“That’s not true,” I told him, turning my attention to the window, watching the streetlamps disappear as we drove past.

He groaned. “Cleaver, pull over and leave us.”

I looked around quickly and realised we were at a deserted car park, and I had no idea where Cleaver was going to go.

“Why are you making him—?”

I didn’t have time to finish. As soon as Cleaver closed the door, Parks swiftly unclasped my seat belt, took hold of my ankles, and pulled me down so I was lying beneath him. His mouth crashed into mine fiercely, and his tongue ravaged mine whilst he pressed his hard, hot body against me. His steel erection dug into my thigh, which only spurred on my lustful thoughts—thoughts of having his hard length inside of me. He turned me on in every sense, making me delirious with arousal, erasing all rational thoughts.

He was about to rip my jumper off, so I automatically panicked and pulled it back down over my stomach. “I can’t do this,” I breathed against his lips, hating myself for moaning under his sliding hands whilst telling him no.

He pushed me back down breathlessly. “Yes, you can. We both need this.”

Whether that was true or not, I still couldn’t do it. Not in the back of a car. Those days were gone. I wasn’t a cheap slut; neither would I be made to feel like one.

He went for my jeans, and I continued to decline. “Not here, not now.”

He pulled away from me, his gaze drifting over my body before he knelt up, looking distraught. “What the fuck am I doing? Forgive me.” He cursed to himself and quickly climbed off me, then opened the car door and let himself out before slamming it shut, leaving me sitting alone, confused, and a little out of sorts. My emotionless mind was running wild, capturing feelings I’d learned to block out. Parks was slowly trying to destroy my barricade. He was trying to break down that defence I had built, and I hoped I was strong enough to keep myself from caving in.

Sitting in anxious silence, I wondered why he got out. Why he was so furious with himself.

After what seemed hours, Parks came back into the car along with Cleaver. I couldn’t look at him when the car started up, and neither did he look at me. He seemed cold and aloof. He wasn’t approachable, and his body was turned away from mine. I continued to stare out into the black night as the car drove towards my home. When it stopped, Parks jumped out. I knew he was walking around to my side. He opened door and stood aside to let me pass, but he didn’t look my way.

“Thanks,” I mumbled as I skirted him, not entirely sure what I was thankful for.

“For what, exactly?” His tone lacked affection.

I lifted my eyes from gazing at the floor, stared at his impassive features, and shrugged. “The lift home, I guess.”

“The lift home…?” he repeated slowly, narrowing his eyes. After a deep pause, he sighed harshly and turned away from me. Without giving me a second glance, he ducked into the car and closed the door. I stood in the road and watched the Jaguar drive away, feeling surprisingly empty.

Heading to my front door, I heard the sound of a woman’s stilettoes clipping their way up the street. I causally turned my head to take a look as I dug inside my bag for my keys. There was nobody around, and the sound immediately stopped. I stared down the quiet street, waiting for someone to pass, but they never came. I shook myself after a creepy feeling came over me and unlocked the front door. I was hoping for a quiet flat, but Steph was on one sofa with Mathew, and Alex was on the other. All eyes shot to me when I entered.

“I thought you came home because of your headache?” Alex pointed out. Shit. What was I to say? And why was he in my flat? Steph frowned whilst Mathew turned his attention back to his monster-sized packet of crisps and the television.

Mathew was cool and utterly laid-back, and I had no idea how he put up with Steph. He was tall, and Steph called him a bean pole because he towered over her, but his curly hair matched hers. It made him look like a surfer dude.

I hesitated when I answered. “I…went for a walk. Thought the fresh air would do me good.” I shrugged flippantly so they wouldn’t become suspicious.

“Why was Parks following you?” he asked.

Shit. “He wanted to see how I was. That’s all,” I answered coyly.

Steph didn’t relax her frown, so I looked away from her interrogating eyes and asked Alex about the film.

“I left halfway through. I was worried about you.” He tapped the side of the sofa next to him, urging me to come sit with him. All eyes, except Mathew’s, were on me, so if I declined I would have looked shifty. I inwardly sighed, dropped my bag off my shoulder, and sat next to Alex. He immediately shimmied up to me and draped an arm around the back of my neck. I tried not to stiffen, but it was so hard. It was indubitable that my body, no matter how hard I tried, would fall cold and stiff when given affectionate contact. I didn’t know how to react to it. I had never received affection from my parents as a child, so I never knew how to deal with it when I had some. And having none made me want it less. Or so I thought.

That was why I was extremely confused about why my body would allow Parks to touch me like he did without an inch of hesitation. Sure I had sex with men, but that was it: just sex. We never exchanged affection or tender moments.

I got a feeling that Alex shot over a gesture to Steph that I didn’t quite catch. I did, though, spot her nudging Mathew, and purposely, they both got up to leave me and Alex alone. When Alex was certain they were gone, he shifted to face me.

“Evey, I wanted to talk to you about…us.” His elated eyes made me feel bad because he looked as happy as Larry, and I didn’t understand why. I hadn’t made him feel happiness. I was a cruel, cold bitch, and I hated myself for it. I knew Alex wanted something I prominently couldn’t give.

“Us?” I squeaked.

“Yes. Is there going to be an us? I really want to get to know you more, Evey. I understand you’re a tough girl, but it’s just…I’ve always had feelings for you. I think you know how much I’ve liked you since we were kids.” He was fidgeting, and it annoyed the hell out of me, but I didn’t want to make it worse by telling him to spit the words the hell out. “It’s just…I want to be more than friends. I think we could make a good go of this. What do you say?”

What
could
I say? Let him down and hurt him? Or actually try and make a go of it with a man that would do anything for me? I liked him. He didn’t make my stomach flutter, and he didn’t give me that tingly feeling, but then, did it matter? I wouldn’t be happy with Parks. I mean, how could I? He was everything I hated in a man, and he was already making me second-guess myself. He was making me drink because of how much my emotions ran wild around him, and that wasn’t good for me. Alex was good for me.

I sucked in a deep breath and said something I knew I’d regret, but I wanted to try and lead a normal life. Was it so bad that I was being selfish to spare myself from harm?

“I guess so,” I finally said.

Alex was about to react to bad news, but then realised what I’d actually said. “Really?” His eyebrows shot up in surprise.

“Really.” I was trying to act happy, but my voice was laced with trepidation. He leaned in, and I knew he was about to kiss me, so I braced myself whilst his lips met mine. At first it was awkward; he went the same way as I did.

“Sorry.” He chuckled. Jesus, was he a man or a boy? When he’d calmed himself down, he leaned in again and kissed my mouth. While he kissed me, I urged myself to feel something. I tried endlessly to prompt some emotion, some arousal, but nothing came. I had never felt hot for someone—until I locked lips with Parks. He was right. Every time I kissed him a flame ignited inside of me that I wanted to keep blown out. As soon as that thought came into my head, the thought of Parks’s lips grazing along my body, I got the chills. I was aroused and thinking of another man whilst kissing Alex, and it was so wrong. I pulled away immediately and held my hand over my lips, jerking a salient reaction from Alex.