“So, I heard something about you yesterday,” Kenleigh stated, totally out of the blue as I put the finishing touches on her makeup.

She looked flawless, as always, although it had little to do with the products that I’d just applied to her face, or the well-practised skill I’d used to do it. Kenleigh was just one of those women who always looked perfect. I’d seen her right out of a gym session, and she was still stunning. I guess that was why she was one of the highest paid fashion models in the country.

“Did you now?” I deadpanned. I glanced across the room at Hannah, but she was too busy creating some interesting-looking up-do on Harriet’s head to notice my impending interrogation.

“Now you know I’m not one to listen to idol gossip…”

I refrained from rolling my eyes. Kenleigh was a sweet girl, but she was the undisputed queen of gossip. If there was something going on in the world, then Kenleigh knew about it.

“But word on the street is that Parker Sloan has bagged himself a sweet little red-headed makeup artist.” She waggled her brows at me.

She was watching me like a hawk through the mirror as I busied myself touching up her already perfectly styled brows.

“Can I give no comment?” I answered with a grimace. The last thing I needed was Kenleigh Houston all up in my business.

She giggled lightly in that cute girly way she had completely nailed. “I knew it was going to be true,” she replied gleefully. “One look at you and I could just tell.”

“You’re not going to warn me off him, are you?” I asked her cautiously. Kenleigh might have been a gossip, but she’d always been pretty good to me and she’d looked out for me when I’d needed it. She was actually one of the few who had stuck by me and Hannah through the whole Stephen debacle.

“Warn you off Sloan?” She waved her perfectly manicured hand at me like the idea was ludicrous. “Hell no, honey, that boy is damn fine.”

I blushed.

“I heard he’s crazy about you, Lotte.”

I laughed. He’d certainly displayed some crazy tendencies. My mind wandered back to that first night in the club. He wasn’t just crazy, he was bat-shit crazy. But I was quickly learning that I loved that about him.

“You really like him, don’t you?” she mused, and I realized she was still watching me closely.

I sighed.

May as well give her something to talk about.

“I do… but we had a fight,” I confessed.

“I heard, saw the pictures… watched the videos.” she replied without missing a beat.

My jaw dropped. Nothing was private in this business.

“You’ve obviously resolved things,” she prompted.

I nodded and couldn’t help the smile that spread across my face. “Fine. He’s won me over, is that what you want to hear? That already I’m falling in love with a man who happens to be the most famous musician in the world right now?”

She giggled again and squeezed my hand as she stood up, seemingly impressed with herself for getting the answer she wanted. “I’m off to hair,” she answered with a cheeky smile. “It’s good to see you smiling, babe.”

I shook my head in disbelief as Kenleigh strolled over to Hannah, and took Harriet’s spot on the chair.

Harriet came and took up residence in the seat in front of me. “So…” She smirked. “Parker Sloan, huh?”

I groaned.

It was going to be a long day.

 

 

“Lover boy is here again!” Hannah bellowed from the living room. “I’m going out, you two make me sick.”

I caught sight of her grin as I hurried out to get the door.

I swung it open and there he was. Again. The exact same as the last four nights.

The male sex god in front of me smiled his best panty-dropping smile, the one with the dimple, and I let out a breath I didn’t realise I’d been holding.

“Hey, legs,” he said simply, but his eyes said so much more…

It’s good to see you.

I’ve missed you.

That’s what my eyes would have been saying if they could talk.

He turned me to total mush. I couldn’t seem to remember what I used to do with my spare time before I met this man.

What did I think about before I had his ice-blue eyes and sexy smile to daydream about?

I couldn’t remember that either.

Parker had only been in my world for a few short days, but he was making his presence firmly known.

I surprised him by reaching forward and wrapping my arms around his neck, landing a kiss on his perfect, cocky mouth.

His hands found my waist and wrapped me up tight like he was afraid I’d run away.

“Hey,” I breathed.

He ran the tip of his nose slowly up and down mine, before lowering his mouth to kiss me again, deeper this time and until we were both gasping for air.

Oh wow.

My head was spinning, all thoughts of Parker.

His soft lips… his addictive scent…

“I missed you,” he murmured quietly.

“I can tell,” I whispered back.

“See? Making me sick.” Han’s voice came from behind me, ruining the moment.

“I’m not even sorry,” Parker replied as Hannah wriggled past us.

“See you lovers later,” she called over her shoulder. “Don’t wait up!”

I peered around Parker’s side. Hannah was sneaking off down the hallway looking like an absolute sex kitten in a black slinky dress and stiletto heels.

“Where are you going?” I demanded.

“Out…” she replied with a wave of her hand as she disappeared around the corner.

Parker and I had never been completely alone together. Just the thought of having no buffer between this man and me made me nervous as hell.

It wasn’t that I didn’t want alone time with him… I did.

God, I do.

But I was nervous. It wasn’t any great secret that Parker had been with his fair share of women. One quick Google search would probably have shown me a stream of them – not that I’d ever look. Just the thought of Parker being with someone else caused a lump to form in my stomach and my throat to go dry.

I’d never been a jealous girlfriend type, but that very thought alone had made me want to punch something.

“You’re nervous,” Parker observed.

I wasn’t aware he’d been watching me. My eyes were still fixed firmly on the spot where Hannah had disappeared from.

I tried to play it off with a nonchalant huff, but it came out as a very unladylike snort instead.

Parker chuckled and I felt the vibration through our touching bodies.

“Shut up,” I grumbled into his chest.

“It’s okay, baby, I won’t bite,” he taunted as I tried to escape his hold, my face flaming red. “Well… not hard anyway.” He added the cliché statement with a smirk, still holding me tight.

I don’t know why the hell I was freaking out over this.

I’d had sex before. Plenty of times… and there was nothing to say that tonight would be the night for Parker and me anyway.

But there was this… energy… simmering between us that I couldn’t deny any longer.

I knew it.

He knew it.

Hannah obviously knew it.

Maybe it’s time to do something about it.

 

 

“You’ve never told me about your parents?” Parker asked casually as he sat his beer down on the coffee table.

We’d made dinner together, well, I’d made dinner and he’d distracted me the entire time. We’d eaten, cleaned up and now we were on the couch, listening to music and having a drink.

“Haven’t I?” I murmured as I sipped on my cider.

I knew damn well I hadn’t. I’d told him all about my older brothers, but I’d deliberately left my parents out of the conversation.

“You know you haven’t,” Parker replied softly. He was getting too good at reading me already, I don’t know how he knew, but he seemed to have a sense for when something was hitting a nerve for me.

“There’s not much to tell.” I shrugged.

He nudged my knee with his hand, wanting me to look at him.

His ice-blue eyes were probing when I did meet them. “I’d like to hear it anyway.”

“Okay…” I agreed reluctantly. “But I was being serious – there really isn’t much to tell… I barely saw them growing up. My dad’s a really successful businessman and my mum is like one of those Beverly Hills housewives, all glitz and glam but she’s got no real substance.”

All about appearances.

“They had Tyler when they were really young, and the twins when they were in their mid-twenties. I have no doubt that they planned never to have any more kids. Mum had a tummy tuck and all that nonsense. Anyway, I came along six years later, a total surprise. The boys were already being raised by nannies, so I just got added to the pile.”

“That’s really sad,” he replied softly.

I shrugged again. “It’s all good. I got a lot of love from Floyd, Louis and Tyler… we didn’t need them. Mum and Dad were always more concerned with jet setting, meetings and money than they were with us.”

“When did you last talk to them?” he asked. He was playing with my fingers, which he had intertwined with his as I talked.

“Ummm…” I thought about it. “I think it was when all the Stephen drama went down…” I nodded, acknowledging to myself that I hadn’t heard from them since. “Yeah, Mum called to tell me that I was tarnishing their reputation and that they were both disappointed in me.”

Parker gaped in disbelief and I nodded.

Yes, my parents are that awful.

“Yep. That was it. Ty snatched the phone from me, told Mum to go fuck herself and instructed Dad to go help her.”

I let out a giggle. I may have had shitty parents, but I had the best brothers.

Parker laughed at that too.

“They made sure we had nice clothes and fancy electronics, but all we ever really needed was the one thing we never got… money and status can’t replace love.”

“They sound like dicks,” Parker stated.

“They are.” I grinned in agreement.

“How’d you turn out so good, legs?” He nudged me again.

I rolled my eyes at the nickname he’d dubbed me with. “You know, I do have to thank my mother for my love of cosmetics. She had the best makeup collection. And sometimes, not very often, but sometimes, she would show me how to use some of her stuff. I can still remember it, back when I was about eight years old, perched on the side of her bed, watching her apply her makeup with such skill. I think that was when I first fell in love with it.”

Now it’s my life.

“So, I guess I do owe that to her,” I acknowledged.

“I wish she could have given you more, babe.”

“Me too.” I sighed. “But I had three oversized men-children to look out for me instead. I did okay.”

Parker chuckled. “I’m intrigued to meet these guys one day.”

My stomach fluttered at the mention of the future. I don’t think Parker even realized what he was doing when he said things like that. It was always, ‘one day I’ll take you to this great little place’ or ‘we’ll go there when the weather warms up’ or ‘I can’t wait to teach you this’.

He was making hints at a future between us left, right and centre. And I liked it, more than was probably wise.

This wasn’t reality – having every evening together wasn’t how a relationship between the two of us would work. I was so busy with the business and he was an international best-selling musician who probably had tours and concerts coming up all over the world.

Shit. Tours…

That reality hit me like a slap to the face. I hadn’t even considered Parker going on tour before this moment… some musicians spent months and months on the road.

Where would that leave us?

“You’re panicking.” Parker tightened his grip on my hand. “Do you not want me to meet your family?”

His voice sounded more hurt than I would have expected.

“No, of course you can meet them,” I reassured him quickly. “It’s not that… I was just thinking about you going away on tour.” I blushed. “I was thinking that I’ll miss you.”

His features relaxed, the tension between his eyes easing immediately and a wide easy smile graced his lips.

“Well, babe, you are in luck.” He grinned in that cocky way that made him look sexy as hell. “I don’t have any tours on the cards. Just some local shows and a few to fly out to, but those are only a couple of nights max… I’m over touring – it’s a lonely life.”

“Well… good,” I answered lamely, having inadvertently revealed more about my feelings than I intended to with my previous statement.

He grinned like the cat that got the cream, and I knew I was about to get a hard time.

“You’d miss me,” he boasted, sitting his beer down and leaning forward like he was ready to pounce.

“You make a big deal about this and it’s the last compliment I’ll ever give you,” I warned him, scrambling back away from him until my back hit the arm of the couch.

“You’d really miss me,” he carried on, seemingly oblivious to my threat.

I squeaked as he lunged, closing the gap between us. He landed with a soft thud on top of me, his toned arms holding the majority of his weight off of me.

“Admit it,” he demanded, rubbing the tip of his nose up and down mine in that way I already loved.

“I’d miss you,” I admitted, my voice husky.

God, I would miss you…

“It’s okay, legs…” he murmured. “I’d miss you too.”

 

 

“Arms up,” he instructed softy.

I lifted my arms up in the air and he grasped the hem of my t-shirt before lifting it slowly over my head and arms, breaking the tense connection our eyes had made.

He sucked in a deep breath and I felt myself blush.

I was so god damn nervous.

It’d never been this way with a man for me. I’d never felt this… bond that I felt with Parker.

We connected on a level I hadn’t even known existed.

“You are so beautiful,” he murmured as he stepped into my body, giving me my first real taste of his skin against mine.

His shirt had been the first thing to go the minute we’d set foot inside my bedroom, and I could safely say that I’d never seen a sight so faultless in real life.

It was pure heaven. He was warm and soft, yet rock hard at the same time.

My whole body tingled at the contact and I shuddered.

“God, Charlotte.” He huffed out a breath. “I haven’t even touched you yet and I’m already losing my mind.”

I nodded in agreement. I don’t think either one of us had ever stood a chance at resisting this.

I reached down for his belt and undid the buckle. His button and zip were the next to be undone, revealing the top of his black boxer briefs.

“Give me a minute,” he mumbled, clasping my hands in his and halting my progress.

I looked up at him and nodded. I didn’t know why he wanted me to wait, but I didn’t care. I knew I’d wait forever if he told me to.

“Stay here, legs.” He waited for me to nod in acknowledgement.

I wasn’t going anywhere.

No way.

I was too far gone.

He strolled over to the docking station on my cabinet and slid his phone into it.

He hit play and turned slowly around. A beautiful, soft acoustic melody floated through the room from behind him. The sight of him walking towards me with his jeans undone and low on his hips was enough to make even the most innocent of girls have dirty thoughts.

He stopped right in front of me, eyes blazing and it was as though he was baring his soul to me.

“Is this your sex playlist?” I asked as I reached up to wrap my arms around his neck.

He shook his head softly. “No.” His voice was rough.

I tilted my head back to look up at him in question.

“It’s my Charlotte playlist,” he whispered. “These are your songs.”

Oh my…

I’m totally and utterly gone.

His fingers, calloused from years of playing the guitar, skimmed lightly over my skin, and suddenly I felt like an instrument. The look in his eyes told me that he knew exactly how to play me.

“Parker…” I whispered, unsure of what else I could say. He was so unexpectedly sweet and thoughtful.

And so damn sexy...

He tugged my hands from around his neck and placed them on the band of his jeans, instructing me without words to pick back up from where I left off.

I gripped the rough fabric in my hands and tugged down, his black jeans skimmed down his legs and he worked his way out of them, kicking them free. He stood before me in nothing more than his black boxer briefs and I’d never felt more aroused.

My body was shaking with desire and I wasn’t even out of my clothes yet.

Parker obviously felt that it was time to remedy that situation; he reached for the band of my yoga pants and crouched down in front of me, tugging them down with him.

He placed soft kisses to my thighs as he went, sending shivers up and down my spine.

The music in the background was building slowly, making the moment feel more intimate and intense.

Nothing in my life had ever felt so erotic.

He tapped lightly on the top of my foot and I lifted it, stepping out of my pants. He repeated the action on the other foot and I complied. It was as though my body had forgotten how to function without his instruction.

I almost felt like I was his puppet – he pulled a string and I moved. Just the idea of that should have repulsed me – given my history, but I knew I could trust Parker. He wasn’t Stephen – he was nothing like him and he’d never, ever take advantage of me.

Parker skimmed his fingers lightly up the sides of my legs and stomach as he stood up tall. I shuddered; just the lightest touch from him was enough to set my whole body on fire.

“You’ve got no idea, do you?” he murmured as he cupped the side of my face in one of his hands – the other finding its way to the curve of my back.

I leant into his touch and hummed deep in my throat.

“You’ve got no idea just how tempting you are, do you, legs?” His voice was low and raspy as he moved in near; he was so close I could feel the warmth of his breath on my skin.

“Me?” I murmured, more focused on his lips than his words.

“Tantalising…” he breathed.

His lips made contact with my neck and I barely managed to hold back a groan of satisfaction.

“Desirable.” His lips brushed my skin again, just below my ear.

“Irresistible,” he muttered before drawing the lobe of my ear into his mouth and sucking it gently.

“Parker…” I groaned. I didn’t know how much more I could take. He was building me into a frenzy with little more than a few whispered words and gentle touches – I was going to physically combust when he really got down to it.

“Hold on around my neck,” he instructed, his voice a murmur against my skin.

I did exactly as I was told – I gripped my hands around his neck and clung on.

His rough hands grabbed hold of my thighs and hoisted me effortlessly into his arms, pressing my core against the very noticeable bulge that had formed beneath the fabric of his boxers.

I bit down on my lip and ground myself against him – unable to hold back any longer.

“That’s it, baby, just like that,” he moaned.

He walked the few steps to the bed and bent down, lowering me onto the mattress.

I lay back, looking up at him. “Take them off,” I ordered, gesturing to his underwear.

His eyes never left mine as he slipped his thumbs into the waistband of his underwear and slid them down his legs.

His dick stood hard and proud, pointing up towards his belly button. I’d be lying if I didn’t say the sight scared the shit out of me. I was a little woman – and there was no way in hell that third leg was going to fit inside me easily.

He’s like a god damn tripod.

“Now mine?” I told him, but I was so nervous, it came out like a question.

He chuckled. “You asking or telling, babe?”

I didn’t even know anymore, I just wanted him inside me – even if it was going to hurt like hell.

He must have read my mind because he reached for my underwear and tugged them down roughly – throwing them over his shoulder.

Right now, he looked exactly like the bad-boy the world thought he was.

And it’s hot as hell.

He could be my bad-boy any day of the week.

He gripped my ankles and pushed my feet up towards my butt, so my knees were bent.

He crawled into the space between my legs and my heart thumped in anticipation. I expected him to press his weight against me, but he didn’t – not yet. He stayed up, looking down at me with a look of pure appreciation on his face.

I felt myself blush as he took his fill of my body.

“I might have to change your nickname,” he mumbled as he pulled the cups of my bra down exposing my breasts.

“Why?” I panted as his thumbs rolled over the hard peaks of my nipples.

“I thought those sexy damn legs were my favourite… but after seeing these…”

He lowered his head down and sucked one of my nipples into his mouth before releasing it with a pop.

I whimpered from the pleasure that took a direct path to my core.

“After seeing these beauties…” he carried on. “I might have to rethink how I address you from now on.” He chuckled.

I might have been all but writhing under the heat of his touch, but I wasn’t about to let the idea of naming me after my rack slip by without comment.

“Hell no...” I murmured as he began his sweet torture on my other breast. “There’s no way you’re calling me, boobs.” The words came out all breathy and unsure – not at all authoritative.

He chuckled deep in his throat. “We’ll see.”

He rolled me over slightly, unhooked the clasps of my bra and tugged it off over my arms before throwing it in the same direction my underwear had gone.

“But the only thing I want to see right now, legs, is me buried so deep inside you, you can’t remember your own name.”

Oh god yes.

I lifted my hips off the bed and pressed against him – a not so subtle hint to take me.

He gripped his hard length in his fist and gave it a few fast pumps before lining up to enter me.

I sucked in a deep breath and waited for the burn.

He froze. “Condom.” He shook his head at himself. “Sorry, babe.”

I released the breath I was holding with an uneasy giggle.

He leaned over me, his bulging bicep hovering right above my head as he reached for the top drawer of my bedside cabinet. He rummaged around until he came out with a box of condoms.

“How’d you know where they were?” I asked in-between placing soft kisses to the skin on his arm.

He chuckled as he nestled back in between my legs and ripped open the foil packet with his teeth. “Does anyone keep the rubbers anywhere other than the top drawer?”

Valid point, well made, rock star.

He slid the condom on and lined himself up again.

I inhaled another sharp breath.

“Relax, baby… this won’t work if you don’t relax.” He told me gently.

“Okay,” I whispered.

He leant down so his weight was pressed against me. He kissed my lips tenderly at first and then more passionately until I was gasping for air.

I felt him press against me before he pushed inside.

It was a damn tight fit.

God was it tight…

I could feel him stretching me as he slowly pushed in further.

It hurt like hell.

He let out a hiss right as I was about to tell him to stop. “That’s it, baby, are you okay?”

I nodded and bit down on my lip and tears prickled my eyes.

“Charlotte?” he whispered.

I looked up to meet his eyes.

“We can stop…”

I shook my head quickly. “Just give me a second.”

The burn was fading now into a much less intense ache. “Can you move?” I asked timidly. “Slowly,” I added.

He nodded and kissed me hastily on the lips before lifting his hips and slowly drawing out, before pushing slowly back in again.

I let out a whimper. This was right on the cusp of pleasure and pain and I couldn’t even decide if I wanted him to stop or carry on.

“You okay?” He repeated the movement again and this time it was definitely more pleasure than pain.

I nodded. “Keep going.”

He did.

Parker dropped his head to my neck and nipped gently at my skin.

“Mmmmm,” I moaned. That was the sweet spot.

He lifted his hips again and this time I came up to meet him.

“Legs,” he groaned. “Damn, baby…”

He moved in and out of me, me meeting each of his slow thrusts, until we both came totally undone, one after the other.

 

 

I traced my fingertip lightly over the guitar he had tattooed on his upper arm. It was surrounded by a variety of other colourful images, but this one stood out the most to me – it had from day one.

“I like this one,” I told him as I touched it again.

He turned his head to glance at it. “You like all of them.” He smirked.

One hundred percent.

“I don’t know… I’m not overly fond of that skull you’ve got on the other arm,” I teased.

“Oh, c’mon, it’s an old favourite.”

I screwed up my nose in disapproval. “Doesn’t do it for me.”

He laughed lightly. “You and I both know, legs, one look at my ink and you go all mushy inside.”

I placed a kiss on the guitar. “What can I say? I’m a convert.”

“I knew from the start I’d sway you to the dark side,” he replied, his voice cocky and sure.

I lightly punched his arm. “You damn well did not!”

He chuckled and kissed the top of my head. “Nah, you’re right. I had no clue… all I know is that I’ve never wanted anything as badly as I want you, legs.”

Oh. My. God.

“The moment I saw you, something broke inside of me, and I’ve got a pretty good idea that the only way I can be whole again… is if I’ve got you by my side.”

“Parker…” I whispered. I was lost for words.

There was a damn good reason this man had won awards for his songwriting talents – he was an absolute master with words.

I didn’t know how I felt about his confession, or what I wanted moving forward, but I knew I was in no way able to resist him. The universe had plans for the two of us – that much was obvious… and whatever those plans might have been, I doubted I had the willpower, or the desire to stop them.

It wasn’t fair really, Parker was beautiful, he could sing like an angel, he was sweet and an absolute god in the sack. The day the big man was handing out things, he got a bit heavy handed with Parker.

He smiled and my heart fluttered.

I knew what was happening here.

I’m falling in love.