Waiting (15 page)

"Just a little
stab wound. It's healed already," h
e assured me, but I was still concerned. I un
-
tucked his shirt and roamed my eyes and then my hands over his bare skin but felt nothing. It was for sure healed.
 
Wow. "I need to feed though, I'm getting weaker."

"I can scrounge up something for you." Francis was gone before he could reply.

I helpe
d him sit on a couple of crates
then happily sat on his lap when he pulled me into it. He stared into my eye
s, purple starting to form before he
bent to kiss me.

"I never wanted to lie to you and didn't think that Ashley's dad would get brought up
.  Ever.  B
ut I know you want to know."

Did that really matter at this point? We were both alive and he bravely took a stab wound for me and my friends to keep us safe.

"Doesn't matter. At least not right now. I was mad, obviously, but not after what we just went through." I kissed him again, this time savoring his taste when he parted my lips with his tongue.

"Ahem." Francis cleared his throat to let us know he was back.

When I turned to face him, I instinctively tightened my grip on Parker's shoulders. He'd brought back a young, skinny blonde who was gorgeous. Gorgeous on the same level as Parker and Francis were, leaving me feeling as ugly as a rock.

I unsteadily rose to my feet, leaving his lap open for the entranced girl
to take my spot
since he was too weak to stand at the moment.

"A pull or two should get you both home." Francis spoke to me while my
gaze remained fixated on the
girl's short green dress as her breasts pressed against Parker's chest, her dress inching up her thigh almost revealing her panties. "Ten pulls and he'll be good for a whole day." Was he still talking to me?

The girl giggled at so
mething Parker whispered to her
before his gaze met mine and I couldn't look away. He parted her hair off her shoulder, revealing a very pretty, tanned neck. Thinking she was about to be in pain, I let out a surprised gasp when she moaned as his fangs slid into her neck.

She moaned again when he began to visibly take pulls from her body. Parker's eyes remained on mine but I couldn't handle it. It was obvious he was giving her pleasure. Pleasure
I
didn't want him offering, or taking, from anybody else. When she giggled again I lost it. I turned and started running down the sidewalk in the direction of my home. I didn't think, just ran until about three blocks down I decided I'd gotten enough space between us.

TEN

I was panting and my adrenaline wasn't helping my heart rate when I turned a corner and found Francis lazily propped against the side of the brick building
inspecting his nails.

"Where are you going? N
o need to get all out of breath.
I could've brought you here, or home, if that's where you're going."

"I..." What? Am jealous and angry and confused? Duh. "I couldn't watch that anymore. I thought it was going to be painful, like it was when you let Quinn bite me, but it wasn't. It didn't look like she was in
pain
at all."

He kept
pace with me, walking me toward
my building, which was now only two blocks away.

"I figured. Parker didn't want to scare you away, or he would've just drank from you. Though I know he'd only do so if you asked on your own. He cares about you too much to force you into anything uncomfortable, unless it meant saving your life."

Francis did that on purpose.

"You brought a beautiful young girl for him so I'd be jealous?" I stopped walking and waited for him to answer. The smirk on his face got bigger.

"Wasn't in my original plan
but felt she'd work since she was the first person I found unattended." Right. "Besides, now he and I both know how you feel about him, which I know has been eating
away at him.  N
ot quite sure if you're interested in him, or just his lifestyle."

Who wouldn't be interested in him? He was
gorgeous
and mysterious. Tall and built. He cared about others above his own safety and no matter if he wanted to admit it, he loved his brother and would do anything for him.

"That's why he never revealed himself all those years he watched over you. He was too afraid that you were going to be scared of him, or just plain reject him."

We continued walking while I mulled over his words.

"He could have anybody in the world. Literally. Why would he waste his time on me?" Maybe I'd get a straight answer from him, since Parker never did.

"Sometimes we're just drawn to people. Being a vampire, we have heightened senses and those senses can flow into our feelings if we let them. Thankfully, Parker's held onto his feelings and they've become stronger and stronger over the years, instead of disappearing like most of our kind." I opened my mouth to ask another question, but he stopped me. "He's within listening range now and will be here any second."

Just as we reached my buildings front doors, Parker appeared out of thin air with a look of pure determination. He nodded at Francis, who took off, then opened the door and gestured for me to go in ahead of him.

When we reached my front door, still in silence, I opened it, then waited as he stood on my doormat.

"Are you leaving?" I asked, since he hadn't tried to come in.

"She meant nothing. I needed blood and was too weak to argue about who Francis brought for me. I normally drink from men. I don't want to hurt you." His voice was pained, holding my attention completely while he still lingered in my doorway.

"Ok." I really didn't know how to respond. "I want you to be healthy. I didn't mean to freak out."

He took two giant steps inside before shutting the door behind him.

"Come with me." He took my hand and walked me into my kitchen, me kicking off my heels along the way. He grabbed a knife and
put his hand over the sink.  M
y eyes got wide in fear. "I'm going to make a blood oath to you." He slashed the knife across his open palm and started bleeding onto my unwashed dishes. "I swear to never lie to Piper Smith unless it's a life or death situation."

The cut healed
but I remained staring into his pained eyes. He really would do anything for me. The look on his face should've been illegal, all sexy that he was while promising never to lie to me unless it was to save a life.

I walked forward and took the knife from him, placed it in the sink, then brought his palm up to my lips and pressed a kiss to where the knife had slashed through it. His eyes remained fixed on mine, making me shudder at his intense need to make me happy.

There was no doubt about it. I wanted him. Needed him. I would always need him.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and pressed a kiss to his lips. He responded instantl
y, pulling me tight against him
then cradled my ass in his hands when I jumped and wrapped my legs around his waist.

We kissed slowly, seductively, tasting each
other and
savoring
the taste before we started rocking against each
other.

"Take me to the bedroom."

It was a demand barely above a whisper, but he listened, moved lightening fast to my bed, then
laid
me down while crawling on top of me.

My hands went straight for the button on his pants, practically ripping it off before undoing the zipper, then helping him ease his pants to the floor. His jacket and shirt followed quickly before he covered his chilled body over mine again, kissing me while running both his hands through my hair. His body was cold, but on fire, seeming to electrify me with every touch.

I wanted to mak
e sure he was telling the truth
so I decided to ask a few questions before I gave myself to him.

"Did you want to sleep with her?" I didn't have to say who, he already knew.

"No." His teeth scraped over my earlobe. "I only wanted, no
needed
blood. I needed the blood to keep up my strength to protect you."
 

He lifted me up and had me stand on top of my bed as he slowly undid the zipper on the back of my dress. When it fell in a pile on my bed, he picked me up, removed it, then threw it against the far wall before looking back at me. I was sans bra tonight, so all that wa
s left was both our underwear
.

"When was the last time you were intimate with someone?"

He didn't seem to like this question, but started kissing a path up my right leg while he answered.
Every time his sweet lips landed on my skin, I shuddered.

"Over fifty years ago." His cool breath made goose
-
bumps pop up all over
my
skin. "I've been waiting for you." He flipped my legs out from under me but caught me before I hit the bed, then
laid
me down
gently
.

His lips continued their path up my leg until he reached my core, pressing his lips over
the center of
my panties and growling, vibrating my already soaking panties, making me pant with excitement.

"Are you going to come back in a few days, even if you don't find your friend?"

All
I
wanted was to hear yes. I want him near me always.
I
couldn't stand to be away from him for long, now that I have him.

“If I’m able to.”

His left hand stroked up my right leg while his mouth moved up my stomach and kissed right above my belly button, making my stomach quiver.

“Stay. Stay here with me.”

It probably sounded pathetic, me begging like that as he continued to stroke the fire between my legs, but I didn’t care. Nothing mattered anymore besides him.

“I’ll be back on Monday for sure. If it’s a trap, we’ll sense it and leave right away. Monday at the latest, I promise.”

He shifted over me, moving me closer to the bed
frame so he could lay on the bed with me. His underwear barely kept his erection contained, poking out like a tent. A very big tent. I
whimpered
when he rubbed it against my core, arching into him with need.

Just one more question
then I’d end this and start what I should’ve a long time ago. I wanted him and was going to take him.

“D
id you ever sleep with her? Sam?
”

He claimed my lips in a kiss, as if to stop my question from being asked.

His erection slid against me once more, making me close my eyes so he couldn’t see them roll into the back of my head. Then his head tucked down to my nipple, effectively sucking
it into his mouth, lavishing it
s peak with his tongue before releasing it and doing the same to the other.

I moaned and arched my nipple into his mouth, wanting him to take more. He readily accepted my challenge, wrapping an arm aroun
d my back and pulling me toward
him for better access while my head laid against the pillow.

“Parker...” He hadn’t answered my question and I was quickly forgetting that I wanted him to.

“Years ago. Before even your parents were born.
Before your grandparents.
”

He claimed my mouth again, shutting me up and making me focus more on what was happening here and now, rather than what had happened in the past.

I could feel his fangs lengthen and
he was gentle enough not to ni
k me, though I soon formed another idea. I couldn’t change the past but I could make our present the best he’d ever had.
 
Or at least I hoped.

I pulled his
head back to look at his fangs
then slowly moved my finger
over
the length of one, watching as his face contorted into sheer bliss. He liked that. I could tell.

“Bite me.”

He sat still for only a second bef
ore we were up against the wall.  H
is erection would’ve been pressed against my opening if I w
asn’t
wearing any underwear.

He soon corrected that, tearing them from my body along with his.

“You don’t want that. But you do want this.” He slid against my wet
opening
, making me clutch his shoulders while he held us against the wall.

Parker. My Parker. After all these years, he’s here. With me. Almost in me. Dreams do come true.

“I do. I want that. I want both.”