Play to Win (24 page)

Parker softly stroked my hair and face until I fell asleep.

M
om, I'm fine. I don't need a wheelchair.”

“Hospital policy,” the nurse said.

I rolled my eyes. “I'm fine—”

“Get in the damn chair, Sage.” When my father spoke, people listened, and I was no exception.

I plunked down in the chair, feeling ridiculous.

“If I have to be wheeled out, so do you,” Dad said, which was how it came to be that both of us were wheeled side by side down the hallway.

Ryker and Natalie were waiting outside. To my surprise, she came over and hugged me.

“I'm glad you're okay,” she said as I got out of the wheelchair. The nurses left and went back inside.

“Thanks to you,” I replied. “But I'm sorry. I'm sorry for not believing you.”

She shrugged. “I didn't exactly work hard to gain your trust.”

“Natalie,” my dad said, coming up next to me. He was moving slowly and had a cane, but was determined to walk. “My goodness, it's been years. How are you?”

“I'm fine, Mr. Muccino. Good to see you out of the woods.”

I looked at them in surprise. “You know each other?”

“Since you're the new CEO, I should probably tell you,” Dad said. “Natalie here helped us out a while back. What, was that ten years ago now?”

“I think so,” Natalie replied.

“What do you mean
helped us out
?”

“The business with SLS,” Dad said. “We needed someone on the inside, and Natalie here was friendly with Steven for a while. She knew what a crackpot he was, but couldn't get rid of him. She got me the information I needed. I paid her and helped her disappear.” His gaze switched to Natalie. “Faked your suicide, I believe?”

My jaw was hanging open and Natalie said nothing, just nodded.

“Obviously, that didn't work out since you're back here,” my dad continued, oblivious.

“Steven ended up going after my sister,” she said. “She…wasn't as fortunate as I was.”

“I'm sorry to hear that,” Dad said, contrite. I could see he was tiring and Schultz had pulled up in the car.

“You need to get home, Dad,” I said, taking his arm so he could lean on me because I knew he wouldn't ask.

“You catch that part about the CEO?” he asked as we headed for the car.

“Hmm?” I was concentrating on both of us not falling.

Dad stopped, making me look at him.

“What?” I asked.

“I'm retiring. The company is yours now.”

I stared. “You're serious?”

He nodded, the hint of a grin appearing. “As a heart attack. I'm done. Time for me and your mother to settle into our dotage.”

I laughed. “Like you could ever do that.”

“The paperwork's being done even as we speak,” Dad said. “Hope you're ready to go on Monday.”

“But what about Charlie?” I asked. “He's been your right-hand man for twenty years.”

“Charlie's great,” Dad said. “But you're my blood.”

And I could tell by the way he said it that it was final. Family was everything to him. Charlie may have been a devoted employee and friend, but he wasn't family.

I loaded my mom and dad into the car and watched it drive off. Parker's hands settled on my waist as he stood behind me.

“Well, that was a nice little bomb to drop,” I said.

“Yep. Do I say congratulations or I'm sorry?”

I turned to him, narrowing my eyes. “Did you know about Natalie?”

He held his hands up in a gesture of surrender. “I didn't. I swear. I don't really care why she left. It's as much of a surprise to me as to you that she was working for your dad.”

“Let's go have a chat with her,” I said.

Natalie was eyeing us as we headed back to where she stood next to Ryker. I glanced at him. He looked as shocked as I felt.

“…the truth?” he was asking her. “Which is it? Abusive husband or paid-off informant?”

“Both,” she said with a sigh. “I was married to Chad when he went to jail. His best friend was Steven. Steven decided he'd help me through it. He was just as much of an asshole. I met you two during that time.” She indicated Ryker and Parker. “At first, I thought maybe you could help me get away from Steven, but then I was offered the job from Mr. Muccino. I needed the money. Jessie needed the money. So I took the job. And when I needed to get out of town because Chad was released, he helped me get out.

“I'm sorry I couldn't tell any of this to you,” her gaze had gravitated to Ryker. “I wanted to. I really did. I believed you did care about me. Maybe even love me. But Chad and Steven weren't going away, and I was afraid for me and for you. I didn't want to hurt you by just leaving, so I tried to make you hate me.”

“By sleeping with my best friend,” Ryker said.

Natalie nodded, her eyes filling with tears. “But even then, you still loved me. I wanted you to despise me, think the very worst of me. Everyone else did.”

Guilt washed over me as I listened. I could understand a little too well, and she was right. Everyone—their friends, Parker himself, and even me—had spoken of Natalie with contempt. The only one who had forgiven her was the man who loved her.

“I knew I had to make the break with you permanent or I'd always be tempted to come back. Pretending to be dead was best solution I could think of. I was forced to leave and start over again somewhere else.”

“But Chad found you,” Ryker said.

She nodded. “Unfortunately. And although I didn't know it, I guess Steven moved on to Jessie while I was gone.”

“It's okay,” Ryker said, pulling her into his arms. “I understand. I wish you would've trusted me—trusted us—to help you. But I understand why you made the choice you did.”

Her body relaxed into his. I felt bad for her, I really did. She'd had a tough life, had lied to people she cared about to try and protect herself and her sister. That same sister she'd seen murdered right in front of her just a few days ago. We might not ever be besties, but I could understand why she'd done what she had.

“I'm tired,” I said to Parker. “Take me home?”

“You got it.”

I half expected him to take me to his place, but he drove me to my apartment instead. It felt good to be in my home, though, so I was glad for it. But I didn't want him to go and wasn't sure how to approach the topic.

Parker settled me on my couch. He grabbed a blanket and tucked it around me. Then he started fussing over the blinds and television, getting my trio of remotes and setting them next to me. I grabbed his wrist.

“Stop.”

“Stop what?”

“You're coddling me.”

“Maybe I like coddling you,” he said.

“Sit with me.” I tugged him down onto the couch, then rearranged myself up next to him. “Can you stay a while?”

“I'll stay as long as you want.”

I really hoped he meant that literally.

We hadn't talked about “us” since everything had blown up in my face. I realized now that Natalie and he hadn't been “together” while she was staying with him, though I'd been glad to see her move out.

I flipped the television to a rerun of
Castle
and we watched for a few minutes. It felt really good to be in Parker's arms. I felt safe for the first time in too long.

“So what do you think about Ryker and Natalie?” I asked.

“If it's what he wants, good for him,” he said. “I told you, he's never gotten over her. And I think she's finally in a place where maybe they can work things out.”

“Guess we'll see.”

“Yeah.” There was a pause. “What about you and me?”

I twisted so I could look up at him. “What about us?”

His fingers trailed through my hair. “You forgive me for not telling you?”

I nodded. “Lives were at stake.”

Something close to relief flickered in his eyes. “So we're good?”

I smiled. “We're good.” Stretching up, I went for a kiss and he leaned down until our lips met.

His mouth was warm and soft as it moved over mine. My eyes drifted closed and I wrapped an arm around his neck, pulling him closer. He deepened the kiss, his tongue sliding between my lips, and a mewling sound escaped my throat.

“No,” he murmured against my lips. “You
just
got out of the hospital. I'd be the biggest dick alive to make you have sex right now.”

“You're not
making
me do anything,” I said, trailing kisses along his jaw. He smelled good. Mmmm. “And I'll be the judge of the size of your—”

“No,” he said again, pulling my questing fingers away from his belt. “You're not well yet.”

“I'm well enough.” I squirmed in his lap, gratified to feel that he was as primed for me as I was for him. “It'd be a shame to let a good erection go to waste.”

He laughed. “I'll tell you what,” he said. “I can make you feel good, and I'd really like to do that.” He talked as he stood, lifting me in his arms.

“You always make me feel good.” I nestled against his chest. There was nothing quite like having a man carry you. Maybe it touched something primal from the caveman days, of claiming and being claimed. I could analyze it, I suppose, but whatever the reason behind it…I liked it. I liked it a lot.

“Not true,” he said, heading down the hall. “Remember that time I got mad because I thought you'd forgotten to amend the Houston file? I got all pissy with you.”

Now it was my turn to laugh. “That's right. I still remember the look on your face when you realized you'd deleted it. I had to call IT and have them restore the backup.”

“I was a dick. Did I even apologize?” He laid me on the bed.

“You may have grunted something at me,” I said. “I do recall you being very generous on my birthday, which was about two weeks after that little incident.”

He lay down on top of me, bracing himself on his arms so his weight was supported. “I don't know how I got along before you,” he said. His fingers pushed into my hair as his hands cradled my head. I felt his thumbs brush my cheeks, but I was captivated by his eyes.

“I love it when you look at me like that,” I murmured.

“Like what?”

“Your eyes are like windows into your soul,” I said. “Everything else about you is hard to read, but your eyes…your eyes are so expressive. When you look at me, they change. Sometimes they burn right through me and I can feel how much you want me. Other times, like now, they're soft and warm, like you're thinking of how much you love me.”

“What an odd coincidence. That's exactly what I'm thinking.” He kissed the tip of my nose.

“Great minds think alike,” I quipped.

“And fools seldom differ,” he finished.

“Well, that puts a whole different spin on it,” I huffed.

He smiled, then said, “Enough talking.” His lips moved to my neck and my eyes closed again. His breath was warm against my neck, and the weight of his body covering me was bliss.

Parker moved down, unbuttoning my shirt and sliding it off my shoulders. He kissed my collarbone and the dip at the base of my neck. I wasn't wearing a bra and my breasts practically tingled in anticipation of his touch.

Parker pushed upward so he could look at me. My nipples hardened under his gaze. His blue eyes lifted to meet mine.

“There's that look,” I murmured. The searing look sent a jolt through me and told me more than any words how much he wanted me, desired me, had to have me.

“You're beautiful,” he said, his lips closing over a nipple.

The heat of his mouth felt like heaven, and the brush of his tongue like liquid fire. He spent a lavish amount of attention to my breasts, until my clothes were too constricting and my body burned for him.

“Please,” I begged, tugging at his shirt. He let me pull it off, and the touch of his skin against mine was a relief and further incentive. Time for the belt…

“No,” he said, pushing my hand away. His tongue dipped into my navel and I forgot to breathe.

Parker's fingers hooked into the waistband of the leggings I wore, pulling them over my hips and down my legs. He dragged my panties with it and tossed the whole bundle aside.

“I've missed your taste,” he said, pushing my thighs apart.

Okay, that was totally hot
was my last coherent thought before Parker went about setting a new personal record for how many orgasms I was capable of.

I was sweating and panting, my fingers clutching his hair, when I knew I couldn't take any more. I tugged on his hair. Lazily, he lifted his head from between my legs, brushing his lips against my inner thigh, then my hip.

“That was…” I didn't know what to say. Amazing? Incredible?

“Words don't do me justice, I know.”

That got a laugh out of me. Parker lay next to me, pulling me close in his arms. I rested my head on his chest.

“Arrogant, too,” I teased.

“I prefer confident.”

I could see that not only was he confident, he was also very aroused. Although I wouldn't have thought I could do anything more, my body had other ideas. I reached for his belt.

“I said no; you're not up to it,” Parker said.

I pushed his hands away. “If you don't let me have my way with you
right now
, you're going to be on the business end of a hissy fit.” This time I got his belt undone. Jackpot.

“Are you threatening me?” I could hear the smile in his voice.

“Absolutely. Now be still.” Button? Check. Zipper? Easy there…got it.

“For how long?”

I didn't answer because I'd managed to bare the part of him I was most interested in at the moment. I closed my mouth over the head of his cock and smiled when I heard his sharply indrawn breath.
That should shut him up.

I planned on paying a great deal of attention to Mr. Happy, so I settled between his legs and got comfortable. Parker was well endowed and it took some practice to handle all of him without embarrassing myself by gagging. I circled the base of his shaft with my hand, squeezing lightly as I moved up and down. He was making encouraging noises as he watched me, which turned me on even more.