What She's Looking For (6 page)

He tilted his head, a smile
slanting his lips. “You don’t look it. Just saying.”

“Thanks, Erik.”

For a young guy he’d navigated that
feminine minefield rather well, all things considered.

“How’s our guest? A little tipsy?”
Parker walked in, beer in hand. He sat down next to Ashley on the couch. She
felt both irritated and glad that he didn’t seem to have the same sort of
personal space consideration that Erik apparently did. Parker sat so close
their hips nearly touched, the clean smell of him apparent even over the smell
of beer she could sense wafting off of her.

Lovely, Ash. They’re gonna think
you’re a fucking lush.

“I think she probably should lay
down. Let it wear off,” Erik said, tipping his bottle toward her as he spoke.

Parker shook his head. “I’ll get
her back to her place.”

“Wait, I’m not three years old,
guys. I can make it myself. I’ll just walk.”

Parker grunted. “In those shoes?
You’ll either break a heel or an ankle — or both. Sorry, I’m taking you home.
End of story.”

Ashley sat forward, and a wave of
lightheadedness washed over her. “You guys slip me some GHB or something? I’m
dizzy as hell now.” She put her head in her hands.

“Oh no,” Parker said, quiet mirth
in his voice. “We wouldn’t do something like that. Too easy. Where’s the
challenge?”

She was too drunk to examine the
meaning of those words, but if she remembered them in the morning, she would
sure be asking Parker what the hell he meant.

“Drink this,” Drake said, walking
in and holding out a cold glass of ice water to her. “Best thing for you now.”

Glancing up at Drake, she took the
water. “Oh, thanks.” She felt the butterflies again when he flashed her his
quick grin, then walked over to sit at the kitchen table.

She took two huge gulps of water,
hoping the spins wouldn’t get worse.

“Drink the rest, Ashley. You’re
gonna need it tonight,” Parker said.

“How many beers did you give her,
dude?” Erik pointed at Parker.

Parker shrugged, a bright grin on
his face. Drake’s rich chuckle rippled from across the room. She loved that
sound, booze lowered inhibitions or not.

Ashley made a face at Parker, but
couldn’t really muster up enough energy to be angry though. She’d had a good
time. Unexpectedly so. She couldn’t say she’d had any fun for quite a while.

Maybe things really would be okay
after all?

“Let’s get you going, kid.” Parker took
her hand in his, his gentle touch at her shoulder. She clasped his fingers
tightly, enjoying the coolness of his skin, the security of his touch.

Is that what you’re calling
this?

Okay, so maybe she had other less
than pure thoughts as he helped her to the door, and she said her goodbyes to
Erik and Drake.

“Was great to meet you, Ashley. I’m
headin’ back to Seattle in the morning. I’ll be back, though.” His gaze scanned
her for an instant, obvious enough. “Sooner rather than later, I hope.”

As he took her hand to shake it,
she pulled herself to him and gave him a hug, not really knowing why. She
stretched up to whisper in his ear. “Thanks for looking out for me tonight.”

The surprised flush on Erik’s face
was plain to see as she pulled away, Parker guiding her toward the door. Feeling
Parker’s strong hands on her shoulders, made her feel that contradiction of
need again — to flee and at the same time to luxuriate. She wondered what those
hands felt like on other parts of her body.

“I’ll be back in a few, guys,”
Parker said, with a gentle squeeze to her shoulder. “Gotta make sure our girl’s
tucked in.”

“I don’t need to be—”

Ashley stumbled in her heels as she
crossed into the foyer. She’d have landed right on her face if not for the
steely grip of his hands, holding her steady as if she were light as a doll.
There was effortless power in those hands, and it arrowed arousal straight to
her sex, her nipples tightening.

“Thank — thank you, Parker.” She
could feel the heat of her blush. Apparently she wasn’t inebriated enough to
not care that she was looking like a sloppy drunk.

“Take this. It’s cold,” Drake said,
appearing at her arm, and draping his heavy coat over her shoulders. It smelled
like pines, and motor oil. Like a man. She thought she might like to sleep
curled up in it that night.

“Oh no, that’s—”

“No. Take it, Ashley. It’s cold.”
Drake’s voice dropped lower. “See you tomorrow.”

She shivered a little at that
voice. A hint of admonition in it? Her tingling clit took it as a lot more than
a hint.

Oh god. Two of them? This cannot
be happening.

* * *

Parker led her by the hand into the
house, shocked at how cold it was inside. “Have a seat, Ashley. I’ll get the
stove going.”

He helped her to sit. She looked
like she was nearly asleep, her hair now partially fallen down. The look was
lovely, really. He hoped to see more of it someday — much more.

Soon, Parker. Patience.

It took longer than normal to start
the fire. Parker was decidedly distracted by the form of Ashley laid back
against the couch. Her legs were open slightly, and he couldn’t help but notice
the bare length of thigh he could see above the stocking tops. Nice touch,
those.

His cock stirred at the thought of
her in nothing but thigh-highs. It was one of his favorite items of feminine
clothing, evoking just the right combination of forbidden and innocent. Plus,
they were just easier access than nylons!

“Caught you looking.” A wan smile
curved her luscious, her eyes just barely open.

Parker chuckled, shaking his head. “You
need to go to sleep, girl. You’re out of it.”

She sat up, and stayed (mostly)
steady. “What if I don’t want to sleep? What are you gonna do? Hmm?”

He flipped the damper in the back,
the stove roaring and putting out some healthy heat now. He straightened and
turned to face her, putting his hands in his back pockets, trying to appear
non-threatening. The thoughts her question elicited would seem less than …
friendly. Still, he couldn’t help it. “You ask me that on a night when you
aren’t shit-faced, and I’ll show you.”

Ashley snorted. “Promises.” She
tried to stand up, and Parker strode over to her, grabbing her arms again as
she overbalanced once more.

“Jesus, I‘m not normally this bad.
I can usually hold my alcohol.”

“It’s all right.” He flashed her a
grin. “You can make it up to me in the morning.”

Parker had a good idea why she
couldn’t hold her alcohol. She was too thin. He could see how her clothing hung
a little loosely on her. He would very much like to see her filled out more,
see that skirt straining at the hips, the buttons of her blouse a little tight.
She had the body type for it, no skin and bones her, but he had the distinct
impression she was underweight from what she normally would be.

Something we would definitely
work on, my dear. If you were mine.

She reached for him as he moved
toward the stove, her hands lain along his shoulders. He turned back toward her
and she hugged him, her cheek against the hard line of his jaw.

“Parker,” she whispered, her lips
brushing his skin. “What’s happening?”

Squeezing tighter to him, she
pressed her soft breasts against his hard ribcage, her hips moving against his
in a languid circle. His erection brushed against her belly, and she froze. Then
her hands grasped the back of his shirt in a strong clench, and she pressed
herself against his hardness.

“Parker. I want—”

He pulled her back. “You’re drunk,
girl.”

She shook her head, smiling up at
him. Her half-lidded eyes, the moistness of her lips, the glint in her gaze,
all of it, was devastating. He had to ignore it though, he not being in the
habit of taking advantage of intoxicated women.

Fuck.

Parker turned her around, the
movement brusque. He had a tight leash on himself; the urge to do so
very
much more to her was overpowering. “Let’s get you in bed, Ashley. You’ll feel
better. It’s gonna be a bitch of a hangover tomorrow though.”

“Your fault,” she murmured over her
shoulder as she let him guide her to the bedroom, his arms clasped loosely under
her breasts, her fingers wrapped around his corded forearms. He tried not to
let her buttocks rub against his cock as they walked, but it was a close-run
thing.

Parker moved her to the edge of the
bed, letting her try to stand unaided.

“Can you do this yourself?” His
brows raised, a hand on her forearm, gently squeezing.

Her head moved as if a doll’s; it
was a sort of nod, he guessed. Then she fell back onto the bed with a grunt.
She was out like a light.

Shaking his head, a smile on his
lips, he clutched her upper torso to him, her head lolling on his shoulder as
he pulled the covers down. He tried to ignore the soft press of her breasts
against his chest; his hard cock utterly failed to ignore it. He noticed she’d
kept the matching lavender bedspread, surprising him. He’d taken her for the
type to want to personalize everything as hers.

She mumbled, unintelligible, as he
lay her back down against the soft pillows, the clean smell of the linens
mixing pleasantly with the spicy scent of her hair. God, there was so much of
it. He didn’t realize it because she’d always had it up around him. Now, as he
pulled the pins from her tresses, it fell all around her in deep, silky browns.
He rubbed a soft lock of the blonde streaking through his fingers.

“Ashley,” he whispered. She was
still, her breathing steady and deep.

He brushed some of the hair off her
forehead, his fingers lingering on her warm skin, the pulse of her temple faint
against the edge of his hand.

You need to go. This is not a
road you need to walk. Yet.

He wriggled her out of her blouse,
groaning at the white lace bra that contained her pale breasts. Parker wanted
to feel them in his hands; their weight had been a tease when pressed to his
chest moments before. He resisted the urge, and unbuttoned her skirt at her
hip. He murmured to her, and she raised her ass a little to allow him to pull
the skirt all the way off of her legs.

Some of her consciousness was still
there after all.

Her matching panties molded to her
mound in a close embrace and he longed to clutch that warmth in his own palm, the
heart of her in his grasp. He lay a gentle hand on the smoothness of her thigh,
a thumb caressing the flesh a moment, then pulled the covers over her. It was
one of the most difficult things he’d ever had to do.

Resisting the urge to plant a kiss
on her hair, he instead stood over her for a moment, just listening to her
breathe. Her pale pink lips were partially open, the perfect white of her teeth
just hinted at. He wanted to take those lips with his kiss. Feel how she
yielded to him.

Soon.

He checked the windows, and pulled
the damper on the stove before leaving. His hand clutched the worn handle of
the door for several moments as he stood outside her front door. Then he drew
the deadbolt with her key and headed back toward the house, gazing up at a sky
awash in stars.

Chapter Seven

T
he grating tone of her cell phone alarm
woke Ashley from oblivion. She rolled over to hit the snooze and groaned.

“Fuuuuccckk,” she croaked, pressing
against her closed eyes with thumb and index finger.

It felt like someone was trying to
chop off the top of her head with a dull hatchet. She threw the covers off,
grabbed her phone, and stumbled into the bathroom, cursing at the coldness of
the floor.

Her phone rang as she leaned over
the bathroom sink to splash warm water over her face.

“Ashley?” It was Tara.

“She’s dead,” Ashley said, shaking
her head slowly. “We buried her. This is her pickled corpse.”

Tara laughed, not quite able to
make it seem unforced. It snapped Ashley fully awake.

“He came by this morning.”

She swallowed, her throat feeling
like thousand year old parchment paper.

“Already? Jesus, I hoped he’d just
leave you alone.”

“You knew that was a slim chance.”

Ashley pulled down her panties and
sat on the toilet, her head cradled in her hand. “What did you tell him, Tara?
Does he have a clue where I went?”

There was a short pause. “He didn’t
ask where you were, Ash.”

“Huh?”

“I wanted to slap the sonofabitch,
but Brian made it clear there would be consequences for doing so.”

Was she hearing this right? “Tara, I think I must still be drunk. Can you start over again? This is
not
making
sense.”

She flushed the toilet, and pulled
her panties back up. She realized she had no memory of how she’d gotten into
just her underwear.

Parker?

“Ashley, he — he didn’t ask about
you at all.”

“Not at
all
? He must be
trying something. Getting me to let my guard down. Something.”

“I don’t know, Ash. It was really …
weird.”

“What did he say then? I’m guessing
he wasn’t dropping by to shoot the shit with you.”

Ashley splashed some water into a
glass and downed it with a couple of aspirin.

“He told me that he was … sorry.
Sorry for being an asshole to me.” Tara’s voice reflected the incredulity that
Ashley felt.

“You’ve gotta be kidding, Tara. Don’t fuck with me, please. My head can’t take it.”

“This is no joke. You can ask
Brian, if you want. He saw the whole thing.”

“Jesus, Tara.” She shambled back
into the bedroom, and slipped beneath the blessedly soft covers. Her stomach
flip-flopped as she lay back. She guessed she might be running back into the
bathroom sooner rather than later.

“There’s more, Ash. He — I still
can’t believe this. He told me that he wouldn’t be tracking you down. He knew
that you wanted to end it.”

She felt like the world had taken a
turn for the surreal
.
Terry was not a man who apologized — for anything.

He’d had more than one run-in with Tara. One time, her boyfriend Brian even had to step in to physically restrain Tara at a New Years Eve party they’d all been attending. Everyone had been drinking, and of
course Tara had to tell Terry what she
really
thought about Mr. Tough
Ass Cop. And of course, Terry replied right back with what he thought about
Ashley’s nosy, big-mouthed best friend. There was zero love lost between those
two from that night forward.

“I know he’s up to something, Tara. He told me I’d never leave him. That I needed him too much. What he gave me.”

Part of her believed it too, even
when it got out of control. A small, persistent part of her that she tried to
ignore still told her that not
all
of what Terry did was bad. Some of it
— she was still ashamed and confused by this — was very good indeed.

Fucking whore.

“The asshole just said his peace
from the porch — didn’t even try to barge in with the whole cop-on-duty
bullshit. Just told me what he had to say and left. I still can’t believe it
myself.”

Whatever shit Parker gave her last
night apparently had reality altering properties. It was so unlike Terry as to
completely dumbfound her.

“I don’t know, Tara. Maybe I should
call him.”

“Are you fucking nuts?”

“See what he’s—”

“Listen, you drunk trick,” Tara’s voice had an edge to it now. “Sleep it off because you’re not thinking straight. You
need to see this as a good thing. If he really is giving you space, then
take
it. Don’t look a gift-horse in the mouth.”

“I know. Look, you’re right. It’s
just — I know there’s something up.” She rubbed her face, squinting to try to
get her vision to clear.

“Maybe there is, maybe there isn’t.
But you need to not worry about that until you have to.”

Ashley could feel tears welling.
Last night had been so fun, so relaxing. She was able to forget everything, if
only for a few hours. Being with those men had felt … secure. Safe.

Well, maybe not safe in the chaste,
chivalrous protector sense; Parker made her feel disturbingly — appealingly —
not
safe, in that regard.

Not the only one, Ash.

Then her past had to dredge itself
up again. A recurring nightmare. Maybe it would never be over.

“I’m sorry, Ashley,” Tara said, a slight quaver to her voice. “I’m still pretty keyed up from the whole thing.
Brian’s been holding on to me for the past half hour. Some tough bitch I am,
huh?”

She could hear Brian’s amused
chuckle. “He says ‘hi’ by the way.”

Ashley smiled. She was jealous of Tara now, there was no getting around it. Brian was something she’d never had in Terry;
kind, considerate, even gallant. A sweetheart. He was not really the kind of
man she’d ever imagined her best friend ending up with though, truth be told.
She’d always imagined a bad boy to be more Tara’s type.

Tara had hinted that there was a
whole lot more to him than met the eye once they were behind closed doors
though. Oddly, though they had always talked in great detail about each of
their men, her best friend had been unusually circumspect about information
related to Brian. Maybe he was the bad boy only in the bedroom?

She hoped so. Tara needed something
as a reward for her putting up with Ashley the Drama Queen.

“So, why are you hung-over, Ash?
You get shit-faced and taken advantage of last night? Please God.”

Ashley snorted. “I’m not sure. I
was so out of it, I don’t even remember getting into bed. There wasn’t anybody
in here with me when your call woke me up, so I’m guessing the drought
continues.”

“Damn it.”

She was glad, really. Knowing that
Terry was sniffing around was a warning. She needed to keep aware, stay
vigilant. This was going to be rough, and so far it had been way too easy.
Getting involved with someone (or more than one) else was not a good idea.

Too bad her pussy wasn’t on board
with the plan.

“We had dinner last night at
Parker’s house. Couple other guys were there too. It was fun.”

“Dinner? Other dudes? What the
hell, Ashley! Back up the truck. You have some filling in to do here.”

Ashley laughed. “It wasn’t that big
of a deal, really. Just Parker’s best friend Drake —whose also his roommate — and
a young college kid named Erik. Parker grilled up some steaks for us. You
should see the house. Total bachelor pad. Very manly — testosterone city.”

“Sounds like heaven,” Tara murmured.

“His friends were really cool, nice
guys. I’d seen them when I first went to meet Parker about the house, but
hadn’t talked to them.”

“And?”

“Are you looking to add a couple studs
to the Tara stable? Brian not keeping up with you?”

“Oh God no, it’s not that. I’m the
one who can’t keep up with—” There was a muffled jostling on Tara’s end, and
Ashley thought she could make out voices.

“Tara, you there?”

“Yeah, sorry.” Tara sounded a
little out of breath. “So, anyway. Tell me about them. Are they cute?”

“Damn, Tara! Brian is right there!”

“Oh, he doesn’t mind. We’re both
still allowed to look! He looks at other chicks all the time, though I have no
idea why he’d want to — I mean he’s got T! Now, it’s payback, bitch.”

Ashley laughed again. “You’re gonna
get your ass busted, Tara.”

“Too late now, Ash, I’m already in
trouble. Now I might as well make it worth it. Spill it. Details.”

“Hmm, I don’t know. What do you
want to know about them?”

“Everything.”

* * *