All Fired Up (DreamMakers) (27 page)

But it was Lynn who darted forward to stop inches away from Phil, boldly glaring into his face. She was damn near quivering with anger.

“You do any of what you threatened about going to the news, and I’ll not only press charges for kidnapping, I’ll go all the way to Mr. Bigelow with the rest of the story. You understand?”

Phil hesitated, then nodded.

Lynn backed away half a pace, then paused. “Oh, and if you want to talk about doing things of my own free will?”

She brought up her knee between Phil’s legs, hard enough both Jack and Parker offered involuntary moans that ended up as backup harmony for the sudden sharp gasp of pain from Phil’s lips. He curled into himself, hands clutching his balls, when she followed through, snapping up her joint hands and connecting with his nose.

One final spin, and she slammed her elbow down on his back, smack dab between the man’s shoulders, hard enough to drive him to the ground.

It was beautiful, amazing, and if Parker hadn’t already been in love,
that
would have sealed the deal.

Jack whistled softly. “Nicely done. You want a part-time job, I could hire you out as a bodyguard.”

Lynn brushed her hands together as if rubbing Phil from her skin. “Leave him his spark plugs, Jack,” she ordered. Then she turned her blue eyes to Parker’s, stepping to his side. Voice soft, and tired. “Take me home?”

He nodded. They’d talk over the rest when they got home. He checked over his shoulder, catching Suz and Dean descending the stairs. “Everybody in the truck. Let’s get the hell outta here.”

Chapter Eighteen

Lynn stumbled into her apartment three hours later, exhausted beyond belief and still reeling over everything that had happened that night. Behind her, Parker flicked a switch, and light flooded the room, highlighting the creases of worry on his handsome face.

“You sure you’re okay?” He reached for her hand, his touch warm and reassuring.

“You don’t have to keep asking me. I really am fine. Just tired. And still shocked.” She glanced at him with wide eyes. “I can’t believe Phil snapped. I honestly didn’t expect it.”

“Desperate men do desperate things, sweetheart.” He stroked the inside of her palm, eyes serious as they searched her face. “You can still press charges.”

She shook her head. “I honestly don’t want to bother. I don’t want him in my life, and pressing charges means dragging everything out, testifying if it goes to court…and I know you said you don’t care about negative press, but right now I’m in a position of power.”

“He keeps his mouth shut, you don’t press charges?”

The thought didn’t make her as happy as it should have. “I’m done with the man. And he’ll never try anything like this again.” An unexpected pang of pity tugged her. “You saw his face when we left him there. He was…broken.”

“Not as broken as he deserved to be.” Parker’s tone went razor sharp, his anger still palpable. “He took you there against your will, Lynn.”

She lifted her arms and twined them around his neck. “And you rescued me.”

His face softened. “You rescued yourself. I just happened to be there to see it.”

Lynn bit her lip, her hands trembling at the nape of his neck. She still remembered the joy and relief she’d felt when she’d looked down from where she was hanging and saw Parker standing below her. His strength had fueled her, surrounded her, and when she’d let go of the eaves trough and found herself freefalling, there’d been no doubt in her mind that Parker would be there to break her fall.

“I trusted you to catch me,” she said through the emotion clogging her throat. “I knew I could count on you.”

“Always.” His hands rested on her waist, fingers sliding beneath her shirt to graze the bare skin of her hips.

Lynn shivered, leaning in closer, until her breasts were crushed against his solid chest. She pressed her cheek to that rock-hard expanse and whispered into his shirt. “I don’t need time, Parker. I don’t need space. I need you.”

The noise of contentment he made vibrated in her ear. “You forgive me for lying to you?” he said roughly.

She lifted her head, smiled at the uncertainty she saw in his eyes. “I forgive you. So long as you promise to always be honest with me going forward.”

“Always,” he murmured again. His mouth brushed hers in the sweetest of kisses before he pulled away, his expression becoming strained again. “I…aw fuck…I’m a fraud, Lynn.”

She blinked. “What are you talking about?”

His shaky breath fanned over her forehead. “There are so many things I want to say right now. Romantic things. All those flowery words and sentiments I encourage other men to use, but I can’t come up with a single one. I…wanted it to be special when I said it the first time…” Embarrassment flickered in his eyes as he trailed off.

Lynn couldn’t fight a grin. “How about this? No sugarcoating, no flowers and rainbows—just tell me what you feel, Parker Wilson-style.”

His tongue dragged over his bottom lip, the nervous vibes he was emitting transforming into the sensual confidence she was more used to seeing.

“I love you, Lynn. I. Fucking. Love. You.”

Laughter tickled her throat. “That’s my man. To the point. Blunt.”

He stood motionless, as if waiting for something more. Waiting for her to confess she couldn’t live without him. That he was the reason she woke up with a smile in the morning, anticipating what they’d talk about that day. What new things she would learn about herself while learning about him.

Admitting he made her heart beat faster for all the right reasons. The words were right there, ready to explode out.

Only…

A seed of mischief grew rapidly. She kept her face deliberately blank as she patted his chest lightly then turned away, stretching her arms into the air before gawking at her watch. “Oh my, is that really the time? I need to hit the sack.”

She paced down the hallway toward her bedroom. Undoing her buttons as she waited for his reaction.

“Lynn.” It wasn’t a fearful question. It was a demand—a warning, and a delicious shiver raced over her skin.

“Yes, Parker?”

He cleared his throat, which only made her goose bumps double. “Did you forget something?”

“Oops. You’re right.” She spun on the spot, stripping off her top as she turned. She swung the fabric on her finger, as if considering hard. “Another trail to follow?”

She flung the material down the hall, and it landed on the chair beside him. By the time he’d looked back at her, she had her pants off, slipping them over the doorknob to the bathroom. His grin of anticipation grew wider as she backed away, stripping off her clothes under his eager gaze. “You’re trouble, aren’t you?”

“Uh-huh. But I’m
your
trouble.” Lynn breathed the words out on a sigh as she let her panties fall to the floor of her bedroom. Naked before him.

He swept her up, and suddenly she was naked
under
him, his fully clothed body pinning her to the bed. The stiff fabric of his jeans rubbed against her thighs and sex, the soft cotton of his shirt abrading her tight nipples as he slipped a hand up her torso. Teasing her skin, making her come alive with desire.

His big palm cupped her cheek, and he rubbed his thumb over her bottom lip. “Let’s try that again. I fucking
love
you
, Lynn Davidson. And now, according to all the rule books I’ve read on romance, you need to say it back to me.”

“Really?” Lynn had his belt undone and his button unsnapped, working frantically between them to free him. “Well, if you’re sure that’s how it works.”

A desperate groan escaped him as she wrapped her fingers around his cock, pulling him from his jeans and guiding him between her legs.

“Lynn, you’re not ready.”

“Baloney.” She rocked her hips, and the head of his cock slipped between her folds, dragging another helpless sound from his lips. “I’ve been ready since the first moment I laid eyes on you.”

Parker linked their fingers together, pressing her hands to the mattress by her head. His familiar green gaze locked with hers as he slid into her in one thrust. Filling her completely. Body and soul.

Pleasure surrounded her. She bunched up the front of his shirt, desperately trying to get it off him, needing to feel his warm flesh against hers. But the feel of his cock inside her was too damn distracting, summoning a frustrated groan from her throat.

“Take this off before I rip it to shreds,” she blurted out.

Grinning, he peeled the button-down off his broad shoulders, got rid of the wifebeater beneath it, and settled over her once more. Bare chest pressing against bare breasts, heartbeats pounding in unison. Lynn had never felt so connected to anyone before. Physically, emotionally.

“Parker?”

He withdrew slowly and she felt every inch of the motion. “Yes?”

“I fucking love you, too.”

This time he was the one to laugh. “You
are
trouble. My trouble. All mine—” He thrust forward on the final word, and a gasp escaped her. Lynn squeezed his fingers tighter as he picked up the pace.

Belonging. Sheer and total
rightness
. It was the only way to describe it.

She hooked her legs around his hips, welcoming his quickening thrusts, deepening the contact. And the entire time, she kept her gaze on his, watching in wonder as a kaleidoscope of emotion moved through his eyes. Heat and passion and tenderness and love, and yet those rough edges of his didn’t fade, not even when his expression glazed over with impending bliss. Instead, a wicked glint reflected back, an even wickeder request trailing after it.

“Come all over my cock, baby. Show me with your body how much you love me.”

It had started as a slow, sweet buildup, but the final product was a burst of intense, exquisite agony that brought a wild cry to her lips. The pleasure was too much, an explosion of ecstasy that curled her toes and seized her throat and took her to a wondrous place where only she and Parker existed. A place she never wanted to leave.

“God, Lynn, I love you,” he choked out.

One last thrust then he stilled, messy hair tickling her chin as his head dropped and his cock jerked inside her. His release heated her channel, filling her, and another shockwave rocked her body. She clung tightly, planting soft kisses on his neck as he trembled above her, and when his head shifted and his mouth met hers, she kissed him with everything she had.

“Mine,” he whispered into her lips. “You’re all mine.”

Breathing hard, she nipped at his bottom lip. “And you’re mine.”

With his green eyes shining and his lips curved in a smile, she’d never seen a more beautiful sight. “And I’m yours,” he murmured. “I’m all yours.”

Chapter Nineteen

Lynn adjusted her chair, staring around her new office in shocked disbelief. Even after seeing the official documents, it still seemed like a dream.

“Nice flowers.” Suz stuck her head around the door. “Permission to enter hallowed ground requested.”

“Shut up and get your butt in here.” Lynn leapt to her feet and raced around her new oversized desk, the one with the shiny mahogany surface, to grab her BFF by both hands. She pulled Suz into a very undignified spin, accompanied by a heartfelt squeal of delight. The new Director of Digital might have to be serious about the people she was in charge of at Bay City Press, but with the people who were closest to her heart?

“Wheeeeeeeee!”

Suz laughed, dragging them to an unsteady stop. “You done good, girl. I’m so proud of you.”

Lynn shrugged nonchalantly before letting her grin escape. “I did rock it, didn’t I?”

“You did. Also, if you can take a minute from your Exalted Gloriousness of Director-dom, want to watch something interesting go down?” The evil delight on Suz’s face was enough warning
something going down
involved trouble for someone who deserved it.

Lynn grabbed her purse, giving her fancy-shmancy new office one last happy glance. “I’ll lock up for the day—it’s time to party anyway.”

“All the more reason to tie one on tonight with the boys. Come on.” Suz led her to the elevators and down to the lobby. “Your throne awaits.”

She wasn’t sure why they were there, but Lynn settled into one of the chairs at the side of the wide foyer as directed. “Are you going to tell me what’s happening?”

“A little birdie warned me today was the day. I thought you might like to see this in person.” Suz laid a hand on Lynn’s arm, her cheerful smile fading slightly. “Not that you’re nearly as vindictive and nasty as me. Just, more for closure, I guess. I’ll stop gloating.”

Lynn didn’t get a chance to ask for clarification when escalating voices and shouts rang out from the opening doors of the elevator.

Phil, surrounded by a group of very vocal women, was being escorted from the building by a uniformed guard. Phil held a cardboard box in his hands, and the weight of the world on his handsome face.

“Oh dear.”

“No,” Suz ordered. “Don’t you feel sorry for him. Anything he got, he deserved.”

Lynn sighed as more guards closed in and separated the mob of women from their target. “He made mistakes. We all make mistakes.”

“Uh-uh, girlfriend.” Suz caught her by the chin and tugged until Lynn had to look her in the eye. “A mistake is being scared to tell the truth for a while. A mistake is forgetting a birthday, or being a little bit selfish and not telling someone about a shoe sale so you can go through the stock first.”

“Fine. Phil chose to do what he did. I know.”

“The sexual harassment charges are all on his head,” Suz pointed out. “He’s not even getting dinged for what he did to you.”

Lynn knew that as well. Dana had told her they were planning on lodging a complaint—she and the other women, who it turned out Phil had all promised career advancement in exchange for their “favors”.

Still, there was something she had to do. Lynn rose and set an intercept course for Phil. His eyes widened as he spotted her, placing his guard between them. His bruises were fading, but still the lingering touches of blue colored his jaw.