The Anchor (6 page)

Just before dinner wrapped up, Edie and I made a quick trip to the ladies room. All through dinner she kept looking at me with a questioning gaze. I figured we needed a powwow so I could fill her in and relieve her concerns.

“So, you two are really hitting it off,” she began casually as I applied my lip gloss.

“He’s cute,” I replied with a shrug. I was definitely downplaying Parker’s looks. He wasn’t cute, he was fucking hot. And the way he said my name, why was that so hot? It was almost as if he was challenging me, or trying to fire me up. If that was his goal, it worked. I felt like a live wire the moment my name unapologetically rolled off his wicked tongue.

Of course Edie wouldn’t let my vague response slide. “He’s
really
cute,” she corrected. “I think he likes you.” Her mouth curved slightly and I could tell she was having one of her matchmaker moments.

“What’s not to like?” I smirked and held up the applicator stick to my lip gloss, letting her know she could benefit from a little gloss. The lipstick she applied back at Parker’s had faded. She tilted her head up and pouted her lips for me. “Are you trying to be a matchmaker, Edie James?”

She rubbed her lips together and said, “No. I think you guys are doing fine on your own.” I tossed my makeup in my purse and looped my arm with hers. “We’re just having fun. We could never date. I don’t do long-distance relationships.” And that was true, but Edie knew me well enough to know distance didn’t matter much to me. I was a guarded person in spite of how I might appear to the outside world. There were very few people that were close to me, and for good reason. The more people you let in, the more likely they are to let you down.

“Just be careful, okay?” An outsider might think she meant letting Parker take advantage of me or if we hooked-up to be careful, but that’s not what she meant. Edie was warning me not to hurt Parker. She knew how I operated.

Not wanting to delve into her obvious meaning, I simply answered, “Yes, ma’am.”

The club Parker took us to was packed, but the atmosphere was electric, the music blasting, bodies writhing on the dance floor. And to add to it, the intense chemistry surging between Parker and me was insane. We sat in the backseat of the cab together on the way over; I was in the middle between him and Edie while John sat in the front. His leg remained pressed against mine the entire ride and the simple contact was causing my body to tense. I hadn’t reacted like that to a man’s touch in years. It was scary, and amazing, and . . . scary some more.

Once we made it to the club, Parker bought us all our first round of drinks. He handed John and Edie’s to them first then turned back for ours. I couldn’t help the smile I beamed when he handed me a shot of whiskey. Leaning toward me, his mouth to my ear, he said, “I like a girl that can handle the hard stuff.” Something deeper surged through me with his words and my belly fluttered. And an intense ache blossomed between my legs. Who was this man? The vagina whisperer?

As I took the shot from him, I placed my mouth close to his ear, repaying him the favor, and replied, “I’m a woman, Mr. Hayes. Not a girl. You’d do well to remember that.” Stepping back from him, I raised my shot in toast before tossing it back.

His dark eyes flickered as a sexy grin took over his features. Then he raised his shot in toast in return and downed it. We followed Edie and John to the dance floor and Parker’s hand found my hip, holding me close to him as we weaved our way through the crowd. Maybe it was the whiskey or the madness of the dancing and music around us, or maybe it was how Parker Hayes made me feel alive, whatever it was, I went with it. I let the want and need to let loose of my inhibitions free and let Parker move my body to his. His hand pressed into my back as we moved, his scent consuming my senses. Once we started dancing, I felt high, euphoric, and every time my gaze met his dark stare, I felt an ache down low in my belly. Then a little farther down. I wanted him. I didn’t care if having a one-night stand with him meant I was a slut. I was so tired of being a virgin and I had been too scared to give it up to anyone. But that night, I knew I’d lose myself in Parker Hayes and when I went home Sunday, it would be over. I would give him something of myself willingly, and then I would go home where he couldn’t hurt me.

Craning my head, I gave him a huge smile before I asked him, “Are you ready to see how much of a woman I am, Mr. Hayes?”

When I pulled back, he swallowed hard, then his hand came to the back of my neck and he crushed his mouth to mine. His tongue dipped into my mouth forcefully as we clawed at one another, the need between us frantic and consuming. There we were, in the middle of a chaotic dance floor, kissing each other like our next breath depended on it. Most men I had kissed were timid the first time; they kissed me like I was made of porcelain and they might break me. Parker kissed me like he was punishing me; it was hard, and rough, and all-consuming. He bit my lip and tugged, then he sucked on it before invading my mouth with his soothing tongue. When I nipped his lip back, he growled, his hand gripping the back of my neck tighter, and jerked my body as close to his as possible. He was hard and he wanted me to know it.

Pulling away, he looked down with hungry eyes. His mouth found my ear, where he nipped at my lobe, and I hoped the loud music muffled the whimper that escaped me. “The custom suit and fancy job might have you fooled, Nicole,” he growled. “But I’m no gentleman when it comes to fucking. I fuck like I work—hard. Are you woman enough for that?”

And I gasped. A sensation ran through me. Fear. His words scared me, but they also excited me. I wanted something—someone—to make me feel alive. I was a humongous knot of built-up tension, something I hadn’t realized before that night. I lived with an ache, an itch I could never quite scratch. But what was the itch? It was only with Parker’s words that I realized what it was. I was a beauty queen, pretty and fancy, accustomed to men treating me like I was nothing but a prize they wanted to conquer. I wanted someone to see past that and handle me like the woman I knew deep down I was. This is what Parker was offering. In his bed, I would be Nicole, not Miss Holly Springs.

Pressing my body to his, I slid my hand between us and squeezed the bulge on his pants where his erection was straining. “I can take anything you’ve got to throw at me, Mr. Hayes.”

He growled again, but before he could respond, someone shouted, “Parker!” It was a panicked shriek barely audible over the loud music. I almost wasn’t sure if I’d really heard it. My eyes darted around us as I searched for John and Edie.

“Shit,” I breathed as the incredibly hot moment between Parker and I dissipated and remembered where we were; in public, with our friends. “Where are they?” I asked as that same frantic voice shouted Parker’s name again.

Parker—a great deal taller than most of the people surrounding us—stretched slightly and looked toward the bar. “What the fuck?” he murmured. I lip-read his words more than heard them.

“Do you see them?” I yelled.

Grabbing my hand, he jerked me through the crowd, bulldozing through the mass unapologetically. When we made it to the front door, we found Edie white as a ghost, and John trying to get free from two gigantic bouncers holding his arms behind his back. One of the bouncers had blood dripping from his nose down his face. Then two cops walked in and took John away.

At least this time,
I
wasn’t the cock blocker.

I was leaned against the cold brick wall of the jail building as I waited for John to exit, looking dog-shit tired. I couldn’t help the grin that broke out across my face. Last night my best friend got caught fucking his girl in a cleaning closet and punched a bouncer in the face. I was kind of proud to know him.

“How’d you sleep, slugger?” I laughed. He, of course, didn’t laugh.

“I didn’t,” he grumbled. “Where’s Edie?”

“She and Nikki are in the cab,” I said, jutting my chin in its direction.

“Is she okay?” he asked, his tone rich with concern. When he’d told me about Edie and this little fulfilling-fantasies fuck buddy thing they had going on, he emphasized this was casual. But I knew it wasn’t true. He cared about her way more than he wanted to admit.

“A little shaken up. Mostly, she feels bad. But hey, the bouncer isn’t pressing charges. You owe me five hundred dollars.”

“You paid him off?” I could feel his relief. The last thing he needed as we embarked on our careers as attorneys was a criminal record. Probably wouldn’t go over so well.

“Yeah. And you’re banned from the club. Apparently, they don’t like people banging in their cleaning closets.” I had to take a dig at him. “Damn, man. Where’d you find her? You hit the jackpot. She’s all innocent looking, but deep down she’s a little freak.”

“Don’t talk about her,” he growled and I couldn’t stop myself from laughing. He was fucking crazy about this girl. No doubt about it.

“Okay, man. Let’s go.”

When we reached the cab, I opened the door and leaned down and in. Nikki sat beside Edie, grinning ear to ear. This shit was just too good. I mean, there Nikki and I were in the middle of the dance floor practically dry-humping while our friends were getting busted for fucking in a cleaning closet. I had no doubt we’d both give them shit about it for years to come.

“Nik, why don’t we go out for a bit and let these two have a little time.” As funny as the events of last night were, and as much as I enjoyed laughing at my best friend’s expense, their little freak-a-thon had interrupted what was going to be an amazing night between me and Nikki. I was jonesing to get Nikki alone and hopefully rekindle the fire we started last night. But I also wanted to get to know her, really get to know her. The girl sparked my curiosity.

Nikki practically bounced out of the car, and gave John a little wink as she stood. “Try to keep it in your pants, lover boy. You guys will have the entire apartment to yourselves for a couple of hours. Hopefully that’s not too boring for you.”

Nikki and I both chuckled as Edie shrieked, “Nikki!”

“Have fun!” Nikki called as we took off.