Chapter 6

Laurie

Friday 9.12pm

It’s pitch black and I’m both sick to my stomach and drunk when I see Parker’s vehicle finally roll up the mountain track.

My heart leaps to my throat when the lights switch off and I can’t see who is emerging from the vehicle.

I hit the lights and grab a knife from the kitchen and stand at the ready.

But the knock at the door I expect doesn’t come. And as I creep across the lookout I can see the door hasn’t opened.

I edge closer to the window, heart crashing about as adrenaline surges through me.

He’s been gone too long for him to have not contacted Carlos. It makes sense he’s brought someone with him.

But as I wait for an attack, nothing stirs outside. The rain keeps pouring down but Parker doesn’t appear.

Palms growing slippery, I lay the knife down on the table, and keep watch just in case the door opens.

I slump into the chair and watch until my eyes grow heavy. When I check the time, an hour has passed by and I’m stifling yawns.

Body groaning with tension, I ease off the chair, and with thoughts of Parker kicking the door in, or picking the lock, I drag it across the room so I can create a barrier.

When I’m satisfied, I’ll at least have a warning, I lie down on the bed, and turn on my side.

My eyelids flutter as I slip into an alcohol and anxiety induced dream.

Carlos is standing looking out the window. “You really think I wouldn’t know you left this floor?”

I swallow. “I just needed to see some different faces.”

He turns, his face twisted into a scowl. If I didn’t know him better, I’d think he was angry enough to slap me.

But he doesn’t need to hurt me that way, he has plenty of other ways.

His eyes narrow. “Perhaps we need to rethink the freedom I gave you.”

I hold my breath. “I just needed to speak to someone friendly. Your security guards won’t even look at me.”

He sniffs as though I’m an inconvenience. “You can speak to me.”

I swallow, hands starting to tremble. I try for a smile. “You’re been tied up with work. And Amaya is the only woman I see. And she barely grunts at me. I just spoke to Julie in the kitchen. It was harmless.”

He eyes me, and for a moment I think he might relent but a cruel smile appears making my heart sink.

“Yes, of course. You just need to talk to a woman.”

He grips my chin a little too hard. “I know an excellent doctor. She’ll be more than happy to talk to you.”

***

I wake with a start, sucking in air as the fragments of a nightmare cling to me. It’s still dark, but grey is edging in, letting me know it’s near dawn.

I toss the sheets off my aching body, and moan as the room spins under me.

I stumble into the kitchen and fill a glass with water. I suck it down, mouth parched and throat raw.

Thirst taken care of, another more pressing need presents itself, meaning I need to venture outside.

I check there is no movement from outside before I pull the chair away from the door and unlock it.

I creep along the side of the lookout, eyes darting to the vehicle, but don’t see or hear anything coming from that direction.

I rub my temple as I head to the outhouse, groaning as I see the clothes we left beside the shower.

I ignore the feelings the site of the shower brings up, use the outhouse as quick as I can, wash my hands under the tap, and almost run back to the front door.

Before I get to the porch, the vehicle door opens, and Parker climbs out of the back, muttering and cursing.

He staggers slightly as he climbs out, bent at an awkward angle, and his face laced with pain as he stretches.

I freeze, unsure if I should move when he spots me and gives me a half frown half-smile in greeting.

I take a cautious step forward, and he moves closer, his movements stiff as though he’s in pain.

When he reaches the porch, I realize he was serious about his bad back. I huff out a breath and step back inside. “I have some Advil if you need it.”

He nods wearily, and steps inside the lookout. “I do need it.”

I move past him, shut the door and get to work making coffee as he shuffles about like he’s an old man.

He doesn’t sit, just follows me into the kitchen, and accepts the pills in my outstretched hand.

His fingers brush mine, and despite my hangover and worry, my skin rises at his touch.

I eye him as he perches on the side of the bed and carry on making coffee we both clearly need.

He doesn’t say a word, just sits as I put some slices of bread in the toaster.

My stomach is growling noisily, reminding me I was too anxious to eat last night.

I glance at Parker and find him watching me with an indecipherable expression on his face.

I pour two mugs of coffee and leave his black before I cross the distance to where he’s waiting.

His eyes still on me, he accepts the mug, and shifts slightly as I sit beside him.

I wrap my hands around the mug, and take a sip, hoping the liquid will warm away the chill in my bones.

When I’ve drunk half, and he still hasn’t said a word, I can’t stand it anymore. With my eyes on my coffee, I ask the question I think I already know the answer to. “Why didn’t you come back last night?”

I tilt my head in his direction. The look he gives me, and the way his gaze is traveling to my breasts tells me why.

A weary smile lifts the corner of his lip. “I needed time to think. I can’t do that around you.”

I frown at him. “What is there to think about? What did Carlos tell you about me?”

When he doesn’t answer, my stomach twists into knots. “Did you believe him?”

His face tightens in pain and my stomach flutters in anticipation of what he’ll say. But when he rubs at his lower back, I know the pain is physical, so I shift closer, concern overriding my desire to find out what lies Carlos told him.

The words tumble from my mouth before I can stop them. “You should have slept with me last night.”

His eyebrow rises and he manages to chuckle. “Maybe. But like I said. I needed to think.”

I frown hard at him. “Given the way you’re moving, you should have risked it.”

His eyes lock onto mine, and a flickering of lust begins to stir as his gaze shifts to my lips.

“Why didn’t you run?”

My heart rate doubles its speed, and my breath locks in my chest as I contemplate why I didn’t.

I swallow hard and look down at my coffee before a breathy reply slips out unbidden. “I don’t know.”

He shifts closer, wincing as he puts his coffee down and places a hand around the back of my neck. Shivers run down my body as he looks my face over. “Yes, you do. Say it.”

My breathing starts to speed as his fingers start to massage the base of my neck.

I moan softly, my grip loosening on my mug. “I don’t know,” I whisper.

He moves a fraction closer, but it’s impossible to miss the pain he’s in. Pain I want to remedy, pain I’m responsible for.

He grips the back of my neck tighter and slides his other hand up my bare thigh. “Tell me why you didn’t leave,” he growls.

I swallow, lust growing as his expression grows more and more desperate. I start to tremble, nipples hardening as his fingers tangle in my hair and he starts tugging gently. “I wanted,” I breathe.

His other hand slides further up my leg. “You wanted what?”

A tear slips down my cheek as he forces me to look at him. “I wanted to leave. But I couldn’t. Not without you.”

He flinches as though I’ve slapped him and releases his hand from the back of my neck.

There’s emotion in his eyes I’m not sure I understand when he slowly shakes his head. “I need some food,” he finally says.

Disappointment curls through me, but I get off the bed, and go back into the kitchen.

Parker retrieves his coffee and watches me as I pull out six eggs.

He rises slowly, pain creased on his face as he sips his coffee. “Carlos said he’s been here. He said you refused to speak to him.”

My blood runs cold but I keep my eyes on what I’m doing as I crack the eggs into a bowl. “That’s why you spent last night in the vehicle? You thought I’d lied to you?”

I glance up at him and find him half glaring at me. “One of you is lying. And right now, I’m at a loss as to which one of you it is.”

A shudder of fear tracks through me but I keep it hidden. “But you haven’t made up your mind?”

I whisk the eggs until they’re fluffy then pour them into the pan, trying to keep myself busy as I wait for his reply.

He near growls as he places his empty coffee cup on the counter. “No. Not yet.”

Since his mood seems to be hardening further, while he takes a seat at the table, I carry on preparing our breakfast and ignore the tension building both in my body and between us.

Rain is still falling as I spoon scrambled egg onto two plates and add triangles of buttered toast.

I carry them to the table and slide a plate in front of him like I’m back waitressing again.

He barely looks at me, other than to mumble a thank you.

Despite my nerves, I managed to eat half my food before I can’t stand the silence any longer.

“Am I supposed to just sit tight and hope you’ll pick me?”

He looks up at me but carries on chewing.

I lean back in my chair and fold my arms across my chest. “You aren’t speaking to me now?”

He frowns and pushes another spoonful of eggs into his mouth before he answers. “What do you want me to say?”

I swallow hard and try to stay as calm as I can. “I want you to tell me why you came back.”

He starts to shake his head, and flinches. I roll my eyes. “Oh, for fuck’s sake. If you’re in pain, just admit it.”

Parker just pushes his plate away. “What good does complaining do? That’s not going to fix my back.”

I nearly growl the words. “Maybe not. But at least there’s something I can do about it.”

His frown only grows until I push back from the table and gesture to the bed. “Lie down. I can give you a massage.”

He doesn’t look convinced, so I huff out a breath. “Oh relax. It’s not sexual. I learned it off the internet and never had a chance to practice it.”

When he doesn’t move, I pull a face at him. “I promise to be gentle. What do you have to lose?”

He narrows his eyes. But the protest is dying. “My sanity,” he mutters as he gets to his feet.

***

Parker

My back is damn near killing me, and I’m beginning to think it wasn’t worth the sacrifice.

I didn’t have to see Laurie, but a night spent, cold, hungry, only led to aggravating an old injury.

Now I’m back where I started, and she’s not even dressed. Just wearing an old shirt that barely covers her ass.

I’m still no closer to making a call, despite what I told Carlos, a few hours away from Laurie, and she’s dominating my thoughts more than ever.

She grabs some cooking oil, and a towel, and points at the unmade bed. “Take off your shirt and your pants and lie face down.”

I freeze, cock already betraying me as I start conjuring up images that won’t help my back or me any.

“I’m not sure this is a good idea,” I say.

Her eyes narrow and a flickering of annoyance appears. Rather than fight it, I start unzipping my pants, and with a lot of muttered cursing, and huffing manage to get my pants off.

She shakes her head and helps me tug my shirt over my head. This time I curse a little louder as she tosses it on the floor.

Her eyes are roaming over me, and her cheeks flush giving me more reason to put the brakes on.

“Lie down. And try to relax. I’m going to warm the muscles first before I apply any pressure.”

I take a breath and hold it as I lie face down on the bed. My nose crushes into the pillow, and I inhale the subtle scent of her shampoo.

My body tenses in anticipation as I hear her uncap the bottle and rub it on her hands.

I close my eyes and try to keep my breathing even as I feel her fingers gently touching my skin.

She keeps the pressure light enough that I don’t need to tell her to be careful. When I’m sure she knows what she’s doing, I relax a little and close my eyes again.

Her voice is soft as I feel movement behind me. “I need to get closer. Tell me if this hurts.”

I frown until I realize that she means to straddle me so she can start to apply pressure. “I know, I know. But it’s easier on my back,” she says.

My muscles tense as I feel her rock back to position herself just on my ass. “Does that hurt?” she whispers.

“No,” I manage.

She drizzles some oil on my back and lays her palms flat. “Let me know if it hurts and I’ll stop.”

I grunt agreement and let her get to work. She keeps the pressure light as she rubs up my spine.

With her fingers slipping over my skin, and the feel of her pressed against me, it’s impossible not to think about what other pleasurable things we can do together.

Before I can think about even trying to stop them, my thoughts are straying to places I shouldn’t let them go.

My cock is starting to get hard, overriding the need to be cautious. And when she shifts and I know she’s not wearing panties, I nearly groan aloud at my stupidity.

She keeps working the muscles of my back, never ceasing, just gently soothing away the ache like she does it all the time.

My back is starting to feel better, but the consequences are becoming clearer when I hear her moan a little and her hands move over my ass.

She groans softly, and I can feel her rock her hips like she’s rubbing herself on my bare ass.

Fuck. She’s getting off on this. “I need to stop,” she says.

But she doesn’t. If anything her touch grows more insistent and she’s breathing way too fast.

My cock starts to prime for another round. I should stop her, but her touch is enough to make me forget pretty much everything including why I shouldn’t.

Instead of thinking about all the reasons this is a bad idea, I’m thinking about grabbing the oil and massaging her.

Except I’m not thinking about her back, I’m thinking about her tits, and what they’d look like covered in oil.

I groan and her hands fly off my back. “Did I hurt you?”

“No. But you can stop.”

I’m sure I hear a little disappointment in her sigh, but she obliges by climbing off me.

I test my back, and know I’ll have no chance of hiding my throbbing cock wearing only my skivvies, so I turn, ready to ask for my pants.

The sight of her, eyes still locked on my naked torso, mouth parted, and her chest rising too fast, makes my cock take charge again.

“I’m sorry. Touching you, I, um, you don’t understand.”

But I want to understand. I want to know every last thing about her.

Forgetting my back, I grab her, and pull her on top of me.

She doesn’t fight me when I wrap my arms around her, just kisses me with enough tongue to convince me she’s as horny as I am.

My hands slide to her ass, and I slap her lightly. “You knew this would happen,” I growl.

She bites her lip as she sits up, and slowly unbuttons her shirt. “I wanted to help you. I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

I shake my head. “There is nothing wrong with you. You’re perfect.”

She doesn’t look like she believes me, but she’s sitting too close to my cock for me to try to convince her right now.

And when she pulls her shirt apart and her magnificent breasts hang loose, both my cock and my brain decide to agree she’s the most beautiful woman we’ve ever seen.

She wriggles back and grabs the oil. Her eyes are locked on my body as she drizzles the oil over my chest.

My eyes near pop out of my head when she takes the oil, leans her head back and pours it over her own chest.

I groan way too loud when she replaces the cap and starts to rub oil all over herself like she’s putting on another show for me.

Jizz is drizzling from my cock as I watch mesmerized as she slowly rubs oil all over her chest and her stomach until she’s glistening.

When I don’t think I can stand it any longer, she lies on top of me, kissing me as the oil makes us slick.

She whimpers a little as she slips and slides until I’m going out of my fucking head with how hot this is.

I’m so turned on, so absolutely entranced by her body against mine, I need to take her.

I grab her too roughly and flip her on her back. Since I’m still wearing my underwear, I wriggle out of them, leaving her panting on her back as she waits for me.

“Fuck me. Fuck me, hard,” she whispers.

Heat blazes through me and I lose every last doubt I had. I need to know she’s wet, so I spread her legs, and run my tongue over her until she’s squirming and tugging at her nipples.

Since I started, I carry on, licking her clit, gently pushing a finger inside her and her asshole, until I feel her quivering and can taste her coming in my mouth.

She screams my name, and grabs my head pushing my face against her as she keeps coming.

When she’s done, I give her a good lick and climb on top of her. I kiss her, slide inside and smile at how wet she is.

She wraps her legs around me and grabs my head as I start to pump her until we’re both gasping for air and uttering primal animalistic grunts.

I come a shuddering wreck, and collapse on top of her. Still breathing hard, I push up so I can look at her.

Her skin is flushed, lips red from the intensity of my kisses, and her hair is spread around her face.

She smiles and curls her fingers into my hair. “How’s your back?”

My lips curl into a smile and I kiss her before I roll off her and lie with my shoulder pressed against hers. “My back is fine,” I say.

I turn and look at her and run a hand down her stomach. “But the rest of me is completely, and utterly fucked.”

***

Laurie

I shift so I can prop myself up on my elbow, and run my finger down his abs. He looks completely relaxed, lying there, totally oblivious to the mess I’m in.

He thinks he’s fucked? Well, so am I. Instead of preparing for the worst, I’m just prolonging it by putting myself in impossible situations.

Even now, after an incredible orgasm, I can feel my body still wanting his. I’ve never felt this way about a man before.

He’s awoken something inside me, something that begs to be explored deeper.

I lean over and press a kiss to his stomach and look up at him. “What are we going to do?”

His arm wraps around me, and he caresses my skin. “I don’t know. Something. I just haven’t figured it out yet.”

He keeps on stroking my skin, the rain pattering softly overhead, making me feel entirely content.

I lean my head on his chest and feel the steady thump of his heart. “How did you hurt your back?” I murmur.

His fingers move down my back as he answers. “I got into a bar fight.”

My eyebrows lift in surprise. “What happened?”

He exhales low. “This douche was getting out of hand. Then he started getting handsy with the waitress.”

I look up at him. “You were defending the waitress?”

He shrugs. “She was just doing her job. She didn’t need him putting his hands on her.”

Warmth spreads through my body. “But you ended up hurt?”

His lip curls into a half-smile. “Yeah. Things got a little messy before I threw his ass out on the street. It’s why I left the Navy. I wrecked my back and the guy turned out to be related to one of the brass.”

He doesn’t elaborate, and I don’t push for details. Knowing he defended a woman’s honor, is giving me hope.

“I’m sorry. That seems unfair. Did you know her well?”

He frowns down at me. “Why?”

I scrunch up my nose. “Just curious.”

He scratches his chin stubble. “You could say I knew her well.”

A ridiculous surge of jealousy stabs at me and my voice comes out too harsh. “Were you sleeping with her?”

He locks eyes with me and has the audacity to chuckle. “It was three years ago.”

I frown so hard my forehead hurts. “Answer the question.”

Instead of answering me, he grabs me around the waist and tugs me on top of him and holds me in place. “Are you jealous?”

I try to wriggle out of his grip, but he’s too strong, so I just growl at him. “Let me go.”

He shakes his head. “Not until you admit it.”

Irritation flows through me at the smirk on his face. I smirk back at him and near spit the words. “Fine. I’m jealous. I’m stupidly, inappropriately jealous of a woman you slept with then rescued three years ago. Happy?”

His smile disintegrates as his arms relax and eyes roam over my naked body appreciatively. “That’s the problem. When I’m with you I am happy.”

I swallow and have to blink back tears stinging my eyes. His smile is a little forced as he places his hands on his hips. “And you don’t need to be jealous of other women. You’re in a category all of your own.”

My heart starts to thump a little faster, and my stomach backflipping as he smiles so lovingly I have to look away. “You believed what Carlos said about me, didn’t you?”

His jaw works before he answers. “Some of it rings true.”

Pain shoots through my chest, until it’s crushing the air out of my lungs and choking my throat. “Carlos is good at mixing the truth in with lies,” I manage.

His eyes narrow. “And what about you? Are you being completely truthful with me?”

I know if I so much as blink he’ll take that as confirmation I’m lying to him, so I just shift off him.

Disappointment fills me, when he lets me go without a word as though accepting this is coming to an end.

But when I reach for my shirt, and he covers a flinch my movement causes him, I’m convinced he’s hiding more than the extent of his injury from me.

“But then you aren’t telling me everything are you? You aren’t telling me why you didn’t go home, or why you left the Navy.”

He doesn’t say a word, but his posture tightens as he sits up, and gives me a dark look that speaks volumes.

If he spoke to Carlos, there’s no telling what lies he’s been spun. That he’s still here and not forcing me to go back, is a testament to how torn he must be.

I sit on the edge of the bed, and tug my shirt back on, looking around the small lookout, and mentally packing away what I brought with me.

I close my eyes and pray I’m not making a horrific error in judging his character. “I need you to believe me, Parker. If going back to Carlos is what it takes, then I’m ready.”

I can almost feel his surprise as he shoots upright in bed. He shifts closer, frown etched on his face. “Are you sure?”

I nod weakly even though I’ve been less sure of anything in my life. “It’s the only way,” I breathe.

I wish it wasn’t. I really do. I wish I could stay here with him forever.

If I stay, Carlos will send someone else.

Or worse, he’ll come himself.