Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 86364 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 432(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 288(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86364 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 432(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 288(@300wpm)
It was tempting to schedule an appointment with my stylist for him, but I hesitated because I wanted to run my fingers through it. To twist my fist in his hair as I held him down for a long, thorough kiss. It had been so long since I’d last tasted him.
“Declan?”
I jerked, blinking rapidly to clear my head and remember where the hell I was. When Parker came into focus, he was grinning at me.
“Sorry. My mind drifted,” I mumbled, my gaze darting away from him.
“It’s all right. I was saying I didn’t expect to lose so much of my day to chatting with Byron. He wasn’t what I was expecting after hearing he got caught sleeping with the big boss man.”
“No, Byron is a very good, thoughtful person. Sebastian is lucky to have him.”
Parker’s eyebrows lifted, disappearing under his hair. “Oh, really?”
“What?”
“You almost sounded wistful. Is he a fish that got away?”
“No! Absolutely not. At least, not how you mean. If I have any regrets, it’s that I was never able to steal him away to be my assistant. Byron is the only person who has managed to keep Sebastian organized and on time. His new assistant, Kaylan, is still learning, but I think he’ll get Sebastian under control soon.”
Parker slumped deeper in his chair as he cackled. “Like you need help to stay organized.”
“True, but I appreciated his efficiency and punctuality. Thankfully, I found Mrs. Turner. She has worked out nicely over the past couple of months.”
Another huffed laugh slipped from Parker as he continued to stare at me with his goofy, lopsided grin.
“I am sorry your work was disturbed today,” I apologized. Sebastian had been trying to get information out of me all week about Parker, but I’d kept my mouth shut in order to protect Parker’s privacy. I should have known he would convince Byron to sneak past me.
“I’m not. Byron is cool. Once you get past his super proper façade. We traded war stories.”
“War stories?” Parker had never mentioned being in the military, and I felt certain Byron hadn’t either.
“Tales of battles we survived.” Parker absently waved one hand in the air. “I lost Molly, became a dad, and my place burned down. He has crazy family drama. It would be nice to hang out with him. He’s the kind of person I wouldn’t mind having a drink with.”
“He’s taken.” The words shot out of my mouth before I could catch them. I wasn’t sure why I’d said it, other than the fact that he’d never suggested that we hang out and have drinks.
“No shit.” Parker snickered. “You think a homeless, unemployed single dad has a shot at luring him away from his billionaire boyfriend?”
I didn’t get the chance to argue that he was selling himself short. Parker waved a hand at me and continued. “Besides, he’s not my type.” His grin turned wicked as he waggled his eyebrows at me.
“Am I your type?” I asked.
“The type to scramble my brains and make me forget my own name.” He paused and rubbed his index finger against his lower lip. “Speaking of…I might have mentioned that we’re fuck-buddies when I was trying to explain that we aren’t dating. He said he wouldn’t tell Sebastian, but then…people talk. Do you mind?”
“That you told Byron about us? No.”
In fact, I was glad Byron knew. Part of me wanted more people to know that I was fucking Parker. Ever since we’d encountered Rome at the grocery store, a restless feeling had been creeping through me. Parker was mine, and people needed to know this so they wouldn’t think they could take him.
But the first problem regarding the world discovering that Parker belonged to me was that things had stalled between us. It had been nearly three weeks from when we’d last had sex. Of course, things had been crazy in Parker’s life, and he needed space to figure things out.
Now we’d fallen into a comfortable routine. What was to stop us? Not a damn thing.
I set the tumbler of scotch I’d been holding on the coffee table and pushed to my feet. Parker’s eyebrows rose in silent question as I crossed the room and stood in front of him. I said nothing as I took his hand and pulled him to his feet. He might be taller than me by a couple of inches, but I had him on sheer muscle mass and girth. There were few things I enjoyed more in the world than being able to manhandle him.
As soon as he was standing, I grabbed him by the nape of the neck and pulled him in for a rough, demanding kiss. Parker remained frozen for a heartbeat and then melted into me with a moan. God, I’d missed that sound. He returned the kiss with the same restless hunger he’d had every time we’d met at his apartment.