The Beginning of Us (121 page)

“Breathe, pet. It’s just you and me. Listen to my voice. Imagine me there with you. Even though I’m not physically there, I’m all around you. The air that flows through your lungs. The blood that swims through your veins. The thump-thump of your heart as it skips a beat when you think about me.”

My eyes fluttered closed, my hand reaching my center.

“Picture me kissing you, my tongue deep inside of your body, licking you up like an ice-cream cone.”

I panted, my finger brushing over my clit. Slowly, back and forth.

“Remember my lips sliding along your skin. My cock full and throbbing inside of you. I can feel every ripple, every curve of your heat as I slowly make love to your body.”

I moaned, arching my back. “Parker.”

“That’s it, beautiful. Come for me. Let me hear the sweet sounds of your pleasure that I so terribly miss.”

“I need you.” I whimpered, a tingle spreading over my skin. A fine sheet of sweat coated my body as my hips undulated against the touch of my hand.

“You have me. Forever. And always. Three more months.” He groaned. “Fuck, I’m so hard for you.”

“Tell me,” I begged, licking my lips.

“I can feel your sweet body sliding down my cock. The look of pleasure exploding across your beautiful face. The purrs. Moans. Breaths of passion as I devour your body.”

Tears welled in my eyes, ecstasy ensnaring me in a blanket of divine bliss. “More.”

Parker groaned. “My hand is wrapped around my dick but God, nothing feels or comes close to your touch. Your heat. Shit, pet.”

Images of his large hand stroking his thick length popped into my mind. His veiny ridge swelling under his touch. The tip of his cock turning purple as he rode out his release. Always waiting. Taking control until he allowed himself to come.

“Parker. Come for me, my love.”

His heavy breathing was music to my ears as I joined him in the dance of passion that passed between us.

“I love you,” I cried out, an explosion erupting through me. It hit me hard, leaving me breathless.

As he grunted through his own release, I sighed, rolling onto my stomach.

“Tell me what other hearts you’ve opened.”

I told him. From the very first one. Some were difficult and they were meant to challenge me but what was hard about them was that he wasn’t with me. He knew that. That’s why he wrote them down.

“A lot of them, I couldn’t do,” I confessed.

“Why not?”

“Because I was scared and…I guess I’m not mentally ready.” I yawned. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. Place me on speaker phone. I want you to fall asleep to my voice.”

And I did. For that night and the following nights. Even if he couldn’t call me, he would send me voice recordings and I would play them over and over again. If only I had them a month ago but it was better late than never.

TWENTY-FOUR

“Keely. My beautiful pet. I love you. So damn much. My feelings for you are intense. They control me. I love you so hard it hurts. I can feel you in my soul. I love you.”

My body stirred, my skin tingling with remnants from the caress of the deep voice that still flowed around me. I was lightheaded, the room spinning around me from being woken up out of a deep sleep.

Rubbing my eyes, I sat up and gasped when I saw red rose petals blanketing the covers of the bed. Tall black candles cascaded around the room, leaving our special place in a romantic glow.

I frowned and pulled back the covers before rising to my feet. “Hello?” I called out. Maybe I was dreaming. How rose petals and candles got in the room was beyond me. When no answer came, I scrubbed the sleep out of my eyes.

A sheer nightie caught my eye that was draped over the back of a chair. Something told me to put it on. I listened to that little voice in my head, guiding me, keeping me from losing my mind. I liked to think that it was Parker deep in my thoughts. I could hear him, constantly.

“Before I walk into a room, you will feel me. You will crave the power of my seduction.”

I smiled to myself, slipping the nightgown down my naked body. Taking a step in from the floor-length mirror, I spun around in a slow circle.

It left nothing to the imagination but it made me feel beautiful. It hugged my curves in the right spots. My pink nipples peaked through the sheer material of the item. The dark shadow of my mound, showcased against the thin fabric.

Closing my eyes, I sighed, running my hands down the front of me. Pulling from my inner being, I imagined Parker with me. His rough strong fingers on my shoulders, tugging the straps down my arms.

His soft, full mouth trailing kisses along my upper back. His teeth biting into my skin.

My breath caught, my nipples hardening. Moisture seeped between my thighs but I couldn’t stop the fantasy from playing over my mind. I imagined his hot breath against my neck, his thick erection pressing into the curve of my ass. A moan escaped me, startling me. My eyes popped open, a slight blush spreading on my cheeks.

Scrubbing a hand down my face, that’s when I felt the wetness. Tears. With a heavy heart, I grabbed a robe and headed slowly up the stairs to the main floor.

The house was eerily quiet. Troy and Patrick had gone away for the weekend; I was left alone to wallow in my own self-pity.

I was never truly alone, though. I could sense the men surrounding the house but I never saw them. Just like Parker had said.

The back of my neck tingled, my stomach flipping hard. I shook myself, my gaze moving around the moon-kissed glow of the living room.

Turning on a lamp, I nearly jumped out of my skin when a shadow moved from the corner of the large room. My chin trembled, my eyes welling as the shadow moved closer and closer to me. My body was frozen in place as the darkness turned into the shape of a man and all I could do was stare. At
him
.

“Parker,” I sobbed.

He grinned but it never reached his eyes. The shell of the strong man I knew, that I hadn’t seen since that horrible day months before, was cracking. He had been broken, torn down, and I could kill Devin for doing that to him.

“Come here, pet.”

The deep rumble of his voice washed over me and I ran to him, falling at his feet, and hugged his leg.

His hand brushed over my head, petting me before he lowered himself to the floor. “My beautiful one.” His voice was thick as he pulled me into his arms.

Sobs wracked my body as I wrapped myself around him, squeezing him with everything in me. I rained kisses on his face, wanting to cover every inch of him. Needing to memorize him in ways I never thought would be possible. “Please…please tell me I’m not dreaming,” I begged, cupping his cheeks.

He swallowed hard, clearing his throat before lifting me in his arms. “You’re not dreaming.”

“Are you back? I have thirty hearts left,” I whispered, keeping my mouth locked with his.

“No, angel. I can’t stay.”

The sobs poured out of me harder. “Please stay.”

“Keely.” His voice was firm as he laid me on the bed. Our bed. His fingers hooked around the thin gold chain at my neck and he kissed the small heart pendant before placing a peck on my forehead.

I noted the black leather trench coat he was wearing. Small lines had formed at the corners of his eyes and lips. His face had hardened. “What happened to you?” I asked, brushing my fingers over his mouth.

He kissed my fingertips, inhaling deep. “Nothing that you can’t fix.”

“How long can you stay?” I ran my hands inside his jacket, pushing it off his strong shoulders.

He shrugged out of the heavy material, lifting his white t-shirt along with it. “Long enough to take you, my beautiful pet, and to explain who I really am.”

My skin vibrated, the cells in my body coming alive. I straddled his lap, massaging my hands over his back when I felt them. Bumpy ridges that were smooth under my touch. “What happened?”

Parker pulled my nightie up and over my head. He glanced down at my mound, brushing his fingers lightly over the sensitive skin. “I’ll kill him.”

“No marks. Everything has healed nicely,” I said softly. “Tell me what happened.”

“What I do isn’t safe, Keely. It comes with repercussions and unfortunately, scars are one of them.” His thumb brushed my lip that held a hint of a scar where Devin had punched me. He had hit me harder than I thought and the split in my lip had turned into a light pink line. You wouldn’t know it was there unless you looked closely.

I kissed Parker’s thumb as it passed along my mouth. “Did your men give you my messages?”

He smiled softly. “Yes. They say thank you for the food as well.”

“I know they can’t eat on the job but it’s the least I can do. It feels a little weird having people watch me and I can’t even see them.” I shrugged. “I…it made me feel closer to you I guess.”

“When I come back, I’m never letting you go.”

“You’ll have to fight me off of you.”

“I’ve dreamt about this moment for the past three months.” He laid me gently back on the bed. His lips brushed down my jaw, his tongue sliding over the shell of my ear. “I’m not a good man, Keely, but you, my sweet angel, make me want to be one. We will share our darkness and learn to control it.” He pushed the strands off of my forehead, his eyes greener than emerald cut stones.

“Help me,” I whispered.

“I will, pet, but I need your help as well.”

“What do you need, Sir?” I asked, reaching between us for his belt.

“I need you to trust me.”

I didn’t get to ask any more questions as his mouth crashed to mine. His tongue slowly slid between my lips as his body inched into me.

I whimpered, arching under him, taking him to the hilt of my soul.

Parker pushed his hips between my legs, thrusting forward and stopped. “Remember me, Keely. I am yours. My body, mind, soul…they belong to you.”

“Make love to me, Sir.” I ran my hands down his back, cupping his rear and pulled him as deep inside of me as possible.

He gripped the sheets tight in his hands, his neck cording from the strength of his powerful thrusts. “Keely,” he groaned.

My thigh muscles burned from the forced stretch, my core swelling under his touch.

His normal rough, fast movements were slow, deliberate as he tugged the pleasure from both of us.

I cried out, wrapping my arms around him and sunk my teeth into the thick muscle of his shoulder.

His warmth spurted into me, coating me, marking me from within. “I love you,” he breathed hard against my neck.

“I love you. So much.” My eyes welled. “So damn much.”

He covered me completely, spreading me out beneath him, still staying connected to my body. “I want…no. I
need
to tell you everything but I don’t know where to begin.”

I brushed my hand down his face. “Who are you?”

“I’m…” He hesitated. “I’m a trained assassin.”

***

“You have a glow. You’re smiling. Why are you smiling? What’s going on?”

I laughed at Troy’s incessant questioning and sighed, curling my feet under me. Every time I moved around the cottage, I kept the tube of hearts with me and when I gathered the needed courage, I would open one.

“Girl, talk to me.”

I smiled up at him. “I saw Parker.”

His eyes widened. “What? When?” He looked around the back yard. “Where is he?”

Troy didn’t need to know every detail. It hurt not to tell him but I had to do what was right. I had to protect Parker as much as I could. I was still getting over his confession and who he really was. An assassin. One of the best apparently that the CIA had ever hired. I learned that Collin Vain was with the CIA as well and he was the one that had recruited Parker. He was more than just his mentor; he was the father figure that Parker never had.

I didn’t know when I would see him again. Although I only had a couple hearts left, I wasn’t sure that Parker would be back when they were all opened.

When I didn’t respond, Troy huffed. “You’re not going to tell me, are you?”

“Some things are better left unknown for the moment,” I answered, repeating Parker’s words.

Troy grabbed my hand. “I understand your need to protect him. Just, please…be careful.”

“I’m careful,” was all I said.

We sat there in silence, drowning in our own thoughts.

It had been almost six months since I had first stepped into Parker Reed’s office. I remembered the damp smell of the rain, the lemon cleaner as I walked into the large building. The white walls and floor were no match for the blackness that lay deep within him.

Whatever happened, whenever he was able to come back to me, I would be waiting.

EPILOGUE

Parker Reed, aged 27, found dead in his local home at 4am Tuesday morning.

Police say it was a forced entry. No suspects as of yet.

Next of kin, Keely Price, is officially the sole owner of Reed Industries and will take full control in a month’s time.

Sources say she was not with him at the time of death.

No funeral arrangements have been made as of yet.

It had been a week since I found out that Parker had died. Six months since I had last felt his touch. Weeks since I had heard his voice. The screams and agony tore through me like a hot knife. I could feel my soul being ripped in half as the news forced its way into my mind while I thought over and over how things could have been different. How I could have helped stop the madness. I grieved over my loss. I didn’t eat or sleep. Or that’s what I wanted people to think anyways.

There is a darkness in all of us. At one point in time every criminal, every murderer, every rapist was innocent. Even just for a split second. Give that person a trigger, trauma, and they could very well become the monster of your worst nightmare. The demon that invades your thoughts. The icy cold fingers of fear that grip your spine.

It was an act. Everything was all an act. Questions, answers, hints at little stories played out over and over. It was a game. The pieces of life being moved until someone won.