Bourbon Street Blues (8 page)

She let go of him long enough to reach behind her back and hook her bra again. Then she leaned in to plant a swift, hard kiss on his mouth. “Let’s go then.”

She scooted off his lap and Parker muffled another groan as she slipped out from under his touch. He ached for her, and damn, that was hard for him to admit. But she’d sneaked in on him. She’d gotten under his skin without even trying, and now he had to have her.

He couldn’t sleep without dreaming about her.

Couldn’t work without thinking about her.

She opened the car door, grabbed her purse, then shot him a look over her shoulder. “You comin’?”

“Right behind you.”

She practically ran up the narrow stone walk to the front porch, and her key was in the lock before he’d stepped up behind her. The door swung open, and once they were inside, Parker turned the lock and followed her up the steep flight of stairs to the second-floor apartment. Another door here. He could feel his insides jumping, jittering, as he waited for her to get that door open.

At last he was stepping into an apartment that looked like a summer garden. Even through a blurred haze of lust, he could see the home she’d made here. The cool green walls and overstuffed yellow sofas. The place looked…cozy. Female. And it smelled like her.

Floral. Spicy.

Holly.

She threw her purse onto a nearby table, dropped her keys beside it, then turned into him. Hooking her arms around his neck, she pulled his mouth down to hers, then kissed him as if her life depended on it.

All thought and reason fled, leaving only the clamoring need to take her. To take all she offered and to give what he could. If there was a part of him that wished for more, he silenced it quickly.

Parker broke the kiss, lifted her shirt up and over her head, then quickly unhooked her bra again. She
shimmied out of it, letting the scrap of lace and elastic drop to the floor.

“Beautiful,” he whispered, covering her breasts with his hands again. He felt her pebbled nipples burn into his palms, relishing the skip of her breath as he touched her.

“Wow, that’s really good,” she said, swallowing hard as she kept a grip on his shoulders to steady herself.

“I’m just getting started.”

“Good to know.” She looked at him. “You’re overdressed.”

“Guess I am.”

She unbuttoned his shirt, and when she was finished, she pushed it off his shoulders and arms, then scraped the tips of her fingers across his chest. He felt heat streaming through him, filling up every empty nook and cranny inside him.

And even as he realized that, Parker pushed the awareness away. He didn’t want to know. Didn’t want to think about what that might mean later on.

For now, it was enough to touch her and be touched. To know she wanted him as much as he wanted her.

“I need you,” she said. “Right now.”

“Oh, yeah.”

She grabbed his hand and headed for the darkened
hallway and the room beyond. When she stepped inside, she flicked on a switch and a pale wash of light streamed from under a rose-colored lampshade. All Parker saw was the big brass bed with a mountain of pillows stacked against the headboard.

While he watched, Holly undid the button at the waistband of her slacks and pulled down the zipper. Stepping out of her heeled sandals, she kicked them away, then slipped off her slacks and threw them onto a chair. His mouth went dry. She wore only a tiny triangle of black lace suspended by two wispy threads of elastic.

“You’re killing me here,” he managed to say.

“Oh, Parker, that’s not my intention at all,” she said, turning to walk to her dresser on the other side of the room.

Frankly, if she said anything else, Parker missed it as his admiring gaze locked on her behind. Holly was open, easy with her nudity, and that was even more of a turn-on for him. He was glad she wasn’t insisting on darkness.

Because he really wanted to look at her.

She pulled the top drawer open, reached inside, then pulled out her treasure, holding it up for him to see. A handful of condoms in brightly colored packages.

“Glad to see one of us was prepared,” he said,
grateful. He hadn’t carried condoms around in his wallet since he was an eager eighteen-year-old, hoping to get lucky.

She walked back toward him, slowing her steps, swaying her hips, clearly knowing he was watching and enjoying the show. She smiled up at him, tossed her hair back and lifted her chin.

“You’re still wearing too many clothes, Parker.”

“Won’t be in a minute or two.”

“Why wait?” she teased.

“What’s the hurry?” he countered, and reached for her, cupping her breasts, loving the feel of her silky-smooth skin beneath his fingertips. As much as he longed to lose himself in her, he wanted to savor the glorious sensations coursing through him.

She gave a soft moan. “You’re really good at that.”

“You ain’t seen nothing yet.”

“Goodie.”

Tossing the condoms onto the bookcase beside the bed, she bent over, grabbed a few of the pillows and pushed them aside. Slowly, she stretched across the mattress to remove a few more. That was all Parker could take.

He leaned over her and cupped her behind, then slid one hand beneath the black lace, finding her damp heat and cupping it. “Forget the damn pillows.”

She gasped, straightened and leaned against him, parting her thighs to give him more access. “What pillows?”

“Y
OU SMELL SO
damn good,” Parker whispered, pressing her breasts to his chest.

Holly grabbed hold of his shoulders and clung to him like a rock climber finally finding a precarious perch. His mouth moved down her throat to her collarbone. His hands slid up and down her back as he bent over her. Her knees backed up against the edge of the mattress and she fought for balance, knowing she probably wouldn’t find it.

Not physical balance.

Not emotional.

Not tonight.

And she didn’t care.

For the first time in a long time, she wasn’t going to think a situation to death. She was simply going to enjoy what she was feeling. Take this night for what it was and relish it, rather than try to turn it into something else.

Parker felt strong and hard and warm, and it had been too long since she’d been touched.

His hands were rough on her body and she wanted them even rougher. She didn’t want to be treated as if she were made of some fragile porcelain. She wanted him fast and hard and eager.

She tugged at the waistband of his slacks and he got the message fast. In a few seconds he was out of his clothes and easing her back until she lay across the mattress.

“This,” he said, flicking the thin elastic band of her thong, “is making me crazy.”

“Then my work here is done.”

“Oh, not even close.”

His quick grin shot a jolt of awareness through her, and before she’d quite recovered, he flicked his wrist and had her thong down her legs and tossed aside. Then his hands slid up her body, exploring, touching.

Holly gasped for air and stared blindly up at the ceiling as her heartbeat quickened. When Parker grazed her breasts with his mouth, she gripped the sheets in her hands.

Need spiraled up within her as his tongue teased her nipples and his teeth nibbled.

His breath dusted her skin, his mumbled words
floated in the air, and the rosy glow in the room blurred weirdly. She’d never felt anything like this before.

“I’ve wanted you since the first moment I saw you,” he whispered just loud enough for her to hear.

“Me, too,” she said softly, reaching down to stroke one hand through his thick hair, comb it through her fingers. “Oh, me, too, Parker.”

He lifted his head and moved to kiss her, taking her mouth even as his hands took her body. She met that kiss with a hunger that seemed to be pulling her into an abyss that shimmered with color and light and sound. Her mind blanked out as their tongues twisted and danced together.

Holly arched into his touch, lifting her hips, pushing against his hand, which cupped her damp heat, and strained for the release she knew she could find only with him.

Her hips rocked with his every touch. She felt the cool kiss of the night air on her skin and inhaled the scent of lemon clinging to her sheets. Every sense felt as if it were on overload.

She’d never experienced anything like this.

His thumb brushed her core and she shuddered, tearing her mouth from his….

“Parker!” Her voice broke on his name, tears
blurred her vision as the first bone-jarring climax jolted through her.

Her hips rocked, her back bowed and she looked up into his eyes, his incredible eyes, and rode the wave of sensation.

“Amazing,” he murmured, kissing her briefly, sweetly, as her body trembled.

“Just what I was thinking,” she managed to say. She cupped his cheek in her palm and pulled his head down to hers. One kiss. Two. Three. Then she smiled. “I want more.”

“Glad to hear it.” He reached out behind him, snagged one of the condoms she’d left on the bookcase, tore it open and sheathed himself.

In the next instant he was braced over her, hands at either side of her head.

He entered her slowly, languidly, teasing them both, torturing them both, dragging out the anticipated pleasure until it shimmered in the air around them.

“Take me,” she whispered, lifting her legs to hook them around his waist. “Take me, Parker, and let me take you.”

He groaned tightly and surrendered to the fury within. She surrounded him with heat, and even more, a feeling of completeness. Such an overwhelming sense of rightness.

And that was enough.

For tonight.

He rocked in and out of her, setting a rhythm she matched stroke for stroke. Lowering his head, he claimed a kiss then watched as passion clouded her soft, gray eyes. Watched as she took a breath, held it, then said his name on a long sigh of wonder.

Her body quivered, trembled, and as she clung to him, he let himself go, riding out the last of the tremors with her.

A
N HOUR LATER
they were sitting naked in bed, sharing a bottle of good red wine.

“Quite a night,” she said.

“Been pretty damn good from my point of view.”

Holly grinned. “I think that’s a compliment.”

“Count on it.”

“Well, right back atcha.”

He grabbed the wine bottle, topped off her glass then did the same for himself. Setting the empty bottle aside, he clinked his glass to hers, and when they’d both taken a drink, he said, “I want you to know that what we have here is separate from me wanting you to sing at my club.”

She gave him a long, thoughtful look, then smiled. “Don’t worry, Parker. I believe you.”

“Good. Because I admire your talent.”

She quirked a grin.

“Your
singing
talent,” he qualified with an answering smile. “And I still want you working for me at the café.”

Holly studied his face for a long minute, then set her glass down on the bookcase and leaned in toward him. Her subconscious had been wrestling with his offer even while she was otherwise occupied. And now she had her answer. She really wanted to take the job he offered. Every extra dollar she managed to tuck away went into the account that would pay for her dreams. And this steady work from Parker would make reaching that dream a lot easier.

“I appreciate it. And…I accept.”

“Just like that?”

“What’s the matter?” She smiled at him. “Too easy for you?”

“Not at all, I just thought you’d want some time to think about it—”

“Your offer was a good one. I like your place, Parker. I like
you
.” She paused, then leaned back. “Oh, don’t get that deer-in-the-headlights look.”

“I don’t have—”

“Hell, Parker. I can see it clear as anything. You’re
worried about me giving you a nice little speech about falling in love with you.”

“No.” He took a drink. “That’s not it. It’s…”

“Don’t worry about it,” she said, and kept her voice light to cover any hint of hurt she might be feeling. She’d known going in that Parker James was out of her league. Of course he’d be worried if a nameless singer started getting all dewy-eyed around him. So she’d keep things on an even keel.

“Holly,” he said, reaching out and taking one of her hands in his. “I’m coming out of a marriage that was a nightmare.”

Guilt poked at her, and one more time she wondered if she should tell Parker what she knew about Frannie. There was no way to know if that knowledge would help him or hurt him, though.

So she kept silent about the past and tried to protect her future. Her heart was set on making that home she’d wanted so much as a child. She would hire a full-time housekeeper/nanny to be at the house when she was working, and she would lavish all the love she’d ever wanted on the children in her care.

Parker wasn’t a part of that future—it was best she remembered that.

“I’m not looking for anything from you, Parker, so you can just put that worry out of your head.” She
turned her hand under his and linked their fingers. “Whatever else we may find together…work is separate. You need a singer and, like I told you before, I can use the extra money.”

He smiled. “Got plans?”

“You could say so.”

“Care to tell me about them?”

She thought about it for a minute. But she hadn’t even told Tommy and Shana what she wanted to do. She’d trusted only one person with that knowledge and he’d betrayed her. Not that she doubted Tommy and Shana for a minute, but until she had her foster home up and running, she was not going to risk sharing her plan with anyone else. A part of her was afraid of jinxing the whole thing. Silly, she knew, to let superstition rule, but why take chances?

And she could see it all so clearly. An old house with a lot of room. A yard. Trees. A garden. And children. As many foster children as she could take in.

Holly had lived in the system. She knew what it was like to not have a place to call your own. And though there were some very good foster parents, there were all too many who didn’t care about the children.

She would be the kind of foster parent she’d wanted when she was still a lonely child, hungering for affection. And between her job at the Hotel Marchand and
the extra money she could make working for Parker, her dream would come true a lot faster.

“Not talking, huh?” he said softly, tracing the line of her jaw with his fingers.

She blinked. “Sorry. I was just…”

“Thinking about those plans you’re not telling me about?”

“Sort of.” She smiled at him to take the sting out of her next words. “An incredible bout of sex doesn’t mean we’re going to start sharing our lives, Parker. Didn’t we just decide that?”

He nodded thoughtfully. “You’re an intriguing woman, Holly Carlyle.”

“I’m glad you think so, Parker James.” She took his wineglass, set it beside hers, then moved to straddle him.

“Another plan?” he asked, hands moving to her hips, thumbs stroking her skin.

“This one’s a little more immediate,” she said, and flicked her thumbnail across his flat nipple. “And one I have no problem telling you about. Or maybe,” she said slyly, “I should just
show
you.”

He tightened his grip on her and reached blindly for another condom. “So far,” he said tightly, “I like this one a lot.”

“Yeah?” She bent her head and nibbled at his
bottom lip with gentle tugs that sent sharp jabs of need shooting through her. “Kind of fond of it myself.”

She took the condom from him, tore the foil packet open and leaned back, taking his length into her hands.

“Holly…”

“Let me,” she said, and tenderly, carefully, seductively, she sheathed him, smoothing the latex down and over the tip of him. She stroked him, watching his eyes close and his jaw tighten.

Her own body quivered with renewed passion. She could hardly believe how quickly she wanted him again.

Lifting up onto her knees, she settled herself over him, taking him inside her until they were joined as closely as possible. His hands gripped her hips as she moved on him. But this time she set the pace. This time, she was the one steering them both toward completion.

She swept her hands up, lifting her hair, letting it fall to her shoulders again in a soft cloud. She twisted her hips on his, increasing the friction between them, stoking the fires licking at them.

P
ARKER COULDN’T
have taken his gaze off her if it had meant his life. She was every woman. She was beautiful and wild and…breathtaking.

As sensations poured through him, he felt something indefinable notch into place inside him. Something he hadn’t expected. Something he didn’t want.

Something he wasn’t entirely sure what to do with.

Then his body took over, shut his brain down, and he surrendered to the moment. To the incredible feelings coursing through him. He was at the edge of madness, and as he stepped over, he took Holly with him.

“C
AN YOU BREATHE
?” Parker asked after rolling her onto her back. “I’ll move once I can.”

Holly laughed, stroking his back as he lay collapsed on top of her. “I must be breathing,” she finally said, “so don’t move on my account.”

“Okay then. Good night.”

She smacked his back and laughed again. “Oh, no, you don’t.”

“Hmm?” He lifted his head and grinned down at her.

“Getting comfy?”

“Can’t remember ever being comfier.” His fingers twined through the hair at her temple and she sighed at the soft, sweet contact.

She shifted beneath him, twisting her hips against his until they were both breathing hard. This was one connection they could share completely.

“Okay, that’s even
more
comfy,” he admitted through gritted teeth.

“I hear that.”

Holly’s mind was happily blank, her body deliciously limp. It had been a while since she’d shared her bed with anyone. Actually, it had been since Jeff. He’d so messed with her head and heart, she hadn’t been interested in testing the waters again.

But Parker was different.

Different enough that she was willing to take a chance by getting this close to him. Sure, physically close was a far cry from emotionally close, but she felt herself teetering blindly on the edge of taking that next step.

And she so didn’t want to.

She wanted to be a modern woman. A woman who could separate sex and affection. And she knew she’d be in far better shape if she simply treated sex as men did. Casual. Enjoyable. Move on.

But she wasn’t wired that way.

For Parker’s sake, she’d try to keep her heart out of the mix. She just didn’t know if she’d be able to pull it off.

“Okay, moving now,” he said, dropping a quick kiss on the column of her throat.

“You sure you want to?”

“Nope.” He lifted his head, looked down into her eyes and smiled. As he did, he shifted position and gently pulled his body from hers.

Holly groaned softly, then stretched, arms over her head. She smiled, rolled over to face him and admitted, “I’m cold without my human blanket.”

One corner of his mouth quirked as he reached for the edge of the quilt and pulled it over her. “This’ll have to do till I get back.”

“You leaving?”

“Just going into the bathroom. Then the kitchen. Suddenly, I’m starving. Do you have any food?”

Holly laughed, enjoying herself, enjoying him. “Actually, I do. Stuff for sandwiches, anyway.”

“Sounds perfect.” He leaned in, kissed her, then rolled off the bed and stood. “Damn it.”