Parker reaches around me, his fingers gripping my wrist, guiding me to turn. His touch is surprisingly gentle as he moves the ice and inspects my hand. I don’t pull away, my heart lodging itself in my throat. Tension crackles between us, my breathing picking up. Parker seems unaffected, as usual, and I wonder what I’d have to do to rattle him.
“What happened?” I study Parker’s face for a moment before answering. His eyebrows are pinched, his lips pursed. He rotates my hand from side to side as he surveys the damage.
“Punched one of The Keepers,” I laugh. His eyes bounce back up to mine.
“No shit?”
I pull my hand away and take a few steps back from him.
“Yeah. Think I connected with a skull because the pain was instant. “I’ll take this bed,” I say, pointing to the one on the right. “Now shut up so we can survive this.”
“What are we supposed to do with our time?” Parker has the audacity to smirk, raising his eyebrows suggestively.
“You aren’t serious.”
“Don’t stand here and pretend like you haven’t thought about me like that. I’d even go as far as betting you stroke yourself when you’re all alone to thoughts of me.” He prowls me, and I retreat, backing up farther and farther. “Dareyou.”
“Fuck you, Parker. You’re pretty full of yourself, aren’t you? We aren’t even supposed to be talking to each other. Fuck your stupid dare.”
He presses me against the wall, his hand flat against my chest. I know he can feel how fast my heart is racing right now, the proximity, the picture he’s painting, it’s all too much. “But you don’t deny it,” he whispers, his voice low and tempting. All the air in the room evaporates, and I struggle to pull in needed oxygen.
Ever so slowly, his face leans in, and I brace myself for a kiss, but at the last minute, he skips my lips, instead, dragging his nose over my jaw. The shiver that runs through my body is his answer. I can’t deny it. He pulls back just enough to look at me, his green eyes darting back and forth between my own. Weshare air, the tips of our noses brushing against each other. Energy crackles between us, lights flickering, our chests heaving. A thunderclap rattles the windows, a storm raging just outside our little bubble.
I’m supposed to be in this room, this trial, as the son of an Ashcroft, a name that has meant something for generations. A name that comes with certain expectations, a life that was planned out for me before I was even born and had a choice. The only thing that’s keeping me from breaking that cycle is fear of the other side. But I need to take that leap. Maybe Parker’s right, maybe what Crimson Veil really wants is for us to make independent choices, rather than letting our names choose for us.
I’m falling for Parker. I have been. I know I want a relationship with Miaandhim. A real one. Where we’re all together. I just need to let go and give into this single moment and figure out the rest as I’m faced with it. Fuck it.
Then I’m kissing him.
Parker doesn’t seem stunned; there’s no moment of hesitation, just an immediate, desperate response, meeting me in the middle. His hand curls around the back of my neck, anchoring me to the spot. I reach for him, my hands sliding up his sides until I’m pulling him closer, our bodies flush against one another. My heart pounds against his chest, like it’s trying to claw its way out to find Parker’s. I hold him impossibly close as my body melts into his, my hands exploring his soft skin, the muscles of his back, and his strong shoulders.
His tongue delves into my mouth like he’s been waiting forever to finally kiss me. I know because I feel the same. Kissing Parker is transcendent, and if I had any doubts before thismoment, they’ve been completely erased. As his lips move over mine, his tongue pillaging my mouth, he systematically obliterates every coherent thought and worry that plagued me.
Everything feels . . . right.
“Fuck, baby, you taste better than I ever imagined,” he whispers against my lips. He’s quick to pull my T-shirt over my head, tossing it somewhere behind us. I tremble in his arms as his lips trail wet kisses over my jaw, descending down my neck and over my collarbone. Deft fingertips dip into my sweatpants, pushing them down over my hips. He never stops kissing me, his tongue lashing at my nipple. Pleasure pulses through my veins, my head swimming with desire.
I quickly kick off my sweats, leaving me completely naked in front of him. My cock jerks at my abdomen, beads of precum leaking from my tip and matting the short hair at my pelvis.
“Bend over, let me see this ass. I’ve been dreaming about it for way too long.” Parker doesn’t give me a moment to think, the hands on my hips turning me and sliding up my spine with just enough force to get me to obey. I bend at the waist over the counter as the flat of his hands run up my back and down again. My head lolls to the side as goosebumps scatter outward, a chill of arousal rushing through my veins, heating my face, and making my dick throb.
His hands travel south, massaging over the globes of my ass. Then his mouth is on me, and the moan slips free from my lips. He starts between my shoulder blades, peppering open-mouthed kisses down my spine, over my ribs, and lower. He stops at the base of my spine, dragging his tongue back and forth in a gentle tease. My hands ball into fists, as my bodycoils tighter.
He kicks open my legs, spreading me farther. I want to instinctively clench up, knowing that he’s getting an unobstructed view of my ass and balls right now. But something tells me not to.I want this just as much as he does.
The hands on each of my cheeks spread me open farther, and I take a deep breath, my entire body trembling.
“Fuck. Look at you. Wish you could see how sexy you look right now,” he mumbles, his lips brushing against my skin. Parker takes his time, tormenting me, winding me up so tight I might blow before he even gets his mouth where I want him the most.
As he kisses each cheek, my hips start to move of their own accord, my hard cock leaking all over the countertop as it throbs against the cool material.
“That’s it. I want you needy, so desperate for me you can’t think straight. Are you going to be my good boy, baby?” Fuck me, I couldn’t form words if I wanted to. He doesn’t have any idea how much his dirty talk affects me on a deep, primal level. He wants my head empty? I’m already there. So instead of words, I fuckingwhimper. “Ohh, poor baby. You need my mouth on this tight little asshole?” My entire body trembles, his words caressing over me like silk wrapped around thorns.
My voice cracks when I finally get the word out. “Yes.”
“Such agoodboy. You want my mouth on you, all you have to do is ask, baby, and it’s yours. I’ve been dreaming about it for far too long.”
Then he finally gives me what I’m such a desperate mess for. Parker spreads my ass open wide, and I arch my back, so fucking needy at this point, I don’t care if he knows it. It’s nolonger a game, a dare. I want him so fucking bad it hurts. The next thing I know, Parker spits right on my hole, his thumb brushing across the puckered spot, sending a jolt of electricity through my veins. I feel so worked up, so alive. He alternates with each of his thumbs, rubbing over the tight rim, teasing me, watching how I respond.
