The Beginning of Us (90 page)

She playfully slugs me in the shoulder.

“It’s not
near
my ass.  I put it on my hip because every time we lay together, I feel like I’m home.  No matter where we are, once we spoon, I feel like I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be.”  I get exactly what she's saying.  She doesn’t need to describe the feeling any further.  I know now that we are on the same page and I have no fear of scaring her when I ask her for forever.

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Eaven

What a day. I spent most of the morning and afternoon with Ivy. We had a great girl’s day getting our hair and nails done. I was in serious need of some tender loving care after the past few weeks. We finished off at the tattoo shop so I could get the one I finally decided on. It came to me the other night when Talon and I were cuddling. I can tell he really likes it. His face lit up as soon as he could see what I had decided to have permanently inked onto my body.

I spent some time with Talon’s mom.  I can tell she will be easy to get along with.  She reminds me so much of my mom because of how easy she is to talk to.  Once my family arrives, Avery and Talon give me my gift.  He helped her make it.  He let her use drum sticks dipped in paint to splatter on a swatch of canvas.  He then had it framed.  There are so many colors and it's such a unique gift that no one else will ever have.  I absolutely love it.  

Talon has worked so hard to make sure this day is special.  Both of our families are here in the same house.  So far everything seems to be going smoothly, and even Taron hasn’t caused any commotion or awkward moments with my parents.  Maybe I have finally gained respect from him and he will not go out of his way to mortify me. 

It has been great having Ivy here all day today.  Since I have been staying here at Talon’s, I have missed her.  She comes to visit me daily, but it just isn’t the same as being roommates.  We have a lot of catching up to do. 

My parents leave after dinner and we all go to Smitty’s for round two of my birthday party.  Talon’s parents decide to join us until they have to head home. 

When we arrive, I'm overwhelmed by how many people are there to see me.  Of course my cousins are here, and all of the band members.  The cowboys and Macy are here as well.  This bar is full of other people that I have seen in here multiple times, but I never knew any of their names.  Every time I turn around someone is talking about the night I went into the river.  I had no idea how many people were out there looking for me.  Almost all of them told me that Holden had contacted them to help and had kept them in the know about my condition once I was in the hospital.  I had no idea he had done all of that. 

When I confront him about it, he just smiles and says that there were a lot of people concerned for me that night. He was just doing the big brother thing. I smile knowing he also had a hand in helping me that night. I knew Taron had been involved, but I didn’t realize that Holden is so good at working in the back-ground.

Talon has been near me all night until just a few minutes ago. I guess the band is going to play some tonight since so many people are here.

‘Rebel Walking’ takes the stage and begins to play.  I make my way near the stage like I always do.  This leg may slow me down, but it's not going to hold me back completely.  I notice that he's wearing his shirt this time.  It must be out of respect for his parents.  The band plays a couple of songs and Talon pulls his mic in close to speak. 

“I have a special song I would like to play tonight.  You see, I have been teaching someone to play the drums.  I would like her to come up here and show us her moves.” 

My face instantly rushes with heat.  Is he insane?  I know how off I sound.  It's one thing to make a fool of yourself in his room with a few people, but here in public, with lights shining in your face?  No way. 

I begin shaking my head no and working my way backwards until I notice Ivy. 

“Get me the hell out of here. I can’t go up there.”

“Eaven. Come up here baby!” Talon speaks loudly through the microphone. Now I notice the spot light on me as I stand there and try to plan my one legged escape. He hops down off the stage to come face to face with me.

“Do you trust me?” He asks with his face maybe an inch from mine.

“Yes.” I know the answer without thought. He takes my crutches and hands them to Ivy. He literally sweeps me off my feet and hauls me on stage. I notice all the other band members left the stage and he and I are the only two up here.

He gently places me behind the drum set on the stool set to play this massive contraption. 

“You see here people.  She has been practicing with a set of my drum sticks, so I thought I would buy her a set for her birthday.”  He kneels down beside me to reach a set of red sticks.  I see he even tied a red bow around them.  I still feel nervous knowing that he wants me to play in front of all of these people. 

I look down to untie the bow and see that the bow is tied though a ring. A platinum gold, square cut, solitaire, diamond ring. I look at him confused and see that he's still down on his knee looking at me. My eyes fill with tears as I finally figure out what he's doing.

“Ev, I love you so much.  You came into my darkness and in a heartbeat you brought light into my life.  You have shown me what love is and what it feels like to be truly loved.  I can’t wait to spend forever with you in my arms...” 

I know it's polite to wait until he finishes the beautiful words, but my insides are screaming and jumping up and down with joy.  In fact if I didn’t have this cast on, I would push him over onto the floor and attack him right here. 

I can’t contain my excitement any longer as I grab him by the collar of his t-shirt to pull him in close for a kiss.  I have temporarily forgotten the audience we have as I dive into his mouth for a kiss that screams
YES
.

Check out the other books in the Rebel Walking series: 

Heaven Sent

Banded Together

No Strings Attached

Hold Me Closer

Fighting the Odds (Coming Soon)

HEAT

PARKER REED BOOK 1

BY J.M. WALKER

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

Heat

Copyright 2014, J.M. Walker

DEDICATION

To all of you. My readers. Without you, none of this would be possible. I would not be doing what I’m doing or be where I am today if it wasn’t for your constant support, encouragement, pats on the back.

Your love of my Alpha males and the women that bring them to their knees is astounding. And I thank you. Each and every single one of you. Whether you are a new reader or you’ve been with me every step of the way.

I love you. I appreciate you. I thank you.

WARNING

This book has graphic adult content, subjects of abuse and BDSM. This story is also on the lighter side of darkness.

Please Remember:

SAFE. SANE. CONSENSUAL.

A Message From the Author:

Research research research. If you are interested in the BDSM lifestyle, please remember to tread lightly and don’t jump in head first. Get to know your surroundings. Meet likeminded people. And be safe. No two relationships are the same. What works for you, may not work for others. Choose a safeword. Trust and communication is key.

Welcome to the world of Parker Reed.

dom·i·nant

/ˈdämənənt/

adjective

1. most important, powerful, or influential.

"they are now in an even more dominant position in the market"synonyms:   presiding, ruling, governing, controlling, commanding, ascendant, supreme, authoritative

noun

1. a dominant thing, in particular.

sub·mis·sive

/səbˈmisiv/

adjective

ready to conform to the authority or will of others; meekly obedient or passive.synonyms:   compliant, yielding, acquiescent, unassertive, passive, obedient, biddable, dutiful, docile, pliant; Stepford; informalunder someone's thumb "she's far from being a submissive woman"

ONE

Holy shit. Holy shit balls on fire. Holy crap. I was going to interview for an internship at Reed Industries.

Reed. Industries.

Only one of the biggest marketing companies in all of North America.

My heart raced. My palms were sweaty. And if I didn’t need the damn job, I would turn around and head home. I was in over my head. Way over my head.

My stomach churned. Oh God. I was going to puke. I took a couple deep, cleansing breaths. Throwing up in front of the place I was trying to work at would not look good. At all.

I stood outside the huge office building, looking straight up. And up. How many floors was this freaking place?

“Fifty-six,” a man said, walking by me.

I frowned, not realizing I had spoken out loud.

It was late, almost evening. The sky was dark and gloomy. There was a chill in the air from the impending rain.

It was almost 7pm and I was getting ready for my meeting with Parker Reed. Why he wanted the interview so late in the day was beyond me.

“Ma’am?”

I glanced to the driver that had driven me to the building. Not like I could take a taxi or anything. No, that would have been way too normal for me. I was high class and all.
Puh
-lease. Mr. Reed apparently had more money than brains.

“Ma’am?” the driver pressed.

“Sorry.”
Distracted much, Keely?

The man’s eyes twinkled, but other than that, no emotion showed on his face. “Ready? We don’t want to keep Mr. Reed waiting.”

I bit back a scoff. No doubt. I didn’t know much about the guy. He was young. Insanely rich. And that was about it. I never paid attention to the news. I guess I should have done my research. My stomach twisted with how little I knew about the company that I was interviewing at. What was I thinking? There was no way he would hire me. He would probably laugh in my face, thinking what the hell was this girl doing?

I swallowed my pride and headed into the building.

“Miss Price?”

I turned to the sound of a deep voice coming up behind me and looked up into steely grey eyes of a large man. “Yes?”

“Mr. Reed is ready for you.” His tone was short, to the point, and all I could do was nod in response.

Way over my head.

I followed the large tank of a man – I guess a security guard, of sorts – and made note of my surroundings.

People milled about, dressed in suits and dressed in business attire, looks of concern on their faces, as though Mr. Reed would chew their heads off if they didn’t complete their jobs in time. I smiled to myself, imagining a T-Rex with tiny arms, ordering people about. God, I had issues. Little sleep, racing nerves, and lack of coffee could do that to a girl.

“Follow me, ma’am.”

I was. Did the guy think I would bolt out of there in hysterics?

“Liz, Miss Price is here to see Mr. Reed,” the man told a young secretary.

She glanced over my way, her perfect eyebrows narrowing in the center before she nodded and picked up the phone. “Your seven o’clock is here to see you,” she said before hanging up.

My heart pounded against my ribcage, my blood screaming in my ears.

“This way,” the security guard said when I went to sit down.

“Good luck,” Liz called out, her eyes wide with concern.

Okay…well that made me feel a ton better. I caught a door opening slightly and pushed my way inside, jumping when it shut behind me with a click.

The back of a large black leather chair was turned to me and I couldn’t help but feel like a lamb caged in with a lion.

“Sit.”

I swallowed hard at the demanding tone. The deep vibrato sent an unexpected warmth over my body. I frowned but did as I was told.

“Name?” he barked.

“Keely Price,” I said, my voice small.

“Is Keely short for something?” he asked a moment later.

“No. It was the name of my mom’s best friend,” I explained, not sure why I felt the need to. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to ramble. I’m just—”

“How old are you, Keely?”

My stomach fluttered at the way he purred my name. “Twenty-four.”

At that moment, the large chair turned around to reveal the man behind the company.