Love Again Page 6

  He shrugged. “Evie being hopeful, that’s all.”

  “Hopeful of what?”

  With a knock-my-panties-right-off-of-me smile, he replied, “Us.”

  Leaning closer, I whispered, “You say that like we’re an item.”

  He poured a glass of wine and held it up. “I hope by the end of dinner we are.”

  My eyes closed. “You drive me insane, Turner.”

  With a grunt, he put the wine glass down. “No, you drive me insane. It was your flirty little text that had me in my hotel room with my hand around my cock.”

  A lady behind us cleared her throat.

  “Shut up!” I whispered loudly.

  Frustration bubbled inside every time I looked at him. Was sexual frustration what got him in that fight? A small part of me hoped it had been.

  “You told your family about me?” I asked, changing the subject.

  Jonathon half shrugged. “I might have mentioned you at a family dinner.”

  “What did you say?”

  A mischievous smile played across his face. “Well, I didn’t tell them I got caught fucking one of my clients.”

  My stomach dropped. “Stop being crass,” I said before adding in a lower voice, “Save that shit for the bedroom.”

  His brows rose. “You like the dirty talk, do you?”

  It was my turn to shrug. “I don’t know. I’ve never experienced a man talking dirty to me in bed before.”

  “Is that a challenge, Waylynn?”

  Taking a sip of my wine, I replied, “Do you want it to be?”

  He leaned forward, his eyes full of hope. “Do you want it to be? I think you already know how much I want you.”

  My teeth dug into my lip as I let the corner of my mouth rise into a slight smile. “I mean, it would be a shame for me to have gone panty-less for nothing.”

  Jonathon hooked my chair with his foot and pulled me closer. When his hand touched my leg, I let out a gasp. “A little jumpy there, babe?”

  “Don’t call me babe.” I looked around the restaurant. Not a single person was looking in our direction. The long black tablecloth was hiding the fact that Jonathon’s fingers were moving up the inside of my thigh.

  “Spread your legs open…babe.”

  My mind fought my body, and my damn body won out. My legs slowly spread open as I picked up my wine and took a sip. When his fingers brushed over my folds, I sucked in a breath.

  We were sitting entirely too close for this to be considered a business dinner. If anyone in my family walked in, they would know this was a date. Hell…if anyone in the room looked over, they would know this was a date. And how in the hell was he doing this with his sister about to walk up at any moment!

  Moving his lips to my ear, Jonathon whispered, “Are you wet for me?”

  Lifting my chin, I kept the wine in front of my mouth. “Why don’t you find out?”

  I spread my legs wider, my dress riding up my lap. Jonathon pushed a finger inside and let out a low growl that rumbled through my entire body, straight to where his hand was. I’d never had an orgasm from a simple touch before…until now.

  “Oh, God,” I whispered as I gripped his arm with my free hand. My body trembled as the orgasm rushed through me.

  “Sensitive tonight?”

  Pushing his hand away, I set my glass down and adjusted the dress.

  “It’s been awhile,” I bit back, causing him to laugh. When he pushed his two fingers into his mouth I nearly died with embarrassment.

  “Mmm…preview of dessert.”

  “Y’all ready to order?”

  I let out a small yelp. Evie had scared the living daylights out of me. Swallowing hard, I tried to talk but nothing came out.

  “I think I’ll have the surf and turf. Can I also get a Caesar salad?”

  Evie wrote down Jonathon’s order. When had he even picked out his meal?

  “Waylynn?”

  I picked up the menu and scanned it. “I’ll have the um…toasted pecan crusted chicken.”

  “Ohh! That’s one of my favorites!” Evie added. “I’ll bring some warm bread with the salads.”

  My cheeks still felt hot from our little escapade. How was it this man could make me so weak I would let him get me off at a damn restaurant?

  “That wasn’t appropriate, Jonathon Turner.”

  He chuckled slightly. “Were you thinking of how Miss Manners would handle a situation like that when your legs were spreading, Waylynn Parker?”

  I shot him the finger quickly. “It was a moment of weakness.” Rubbing my temples, I tried to erase the headache that was slowly building. “I agreed to have dinner with you to talk about a possible future, not for you to…you know.”

  “No, tell me, Waylynn. I want to hear it from that pretty mouth of yours.”

  Dropping my shoulders, I stared. “Can we be serious now? Yes, that was fun, really fun, but please can we talk.”

  Jonathon reached for my hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Yes. I’m sorry I let things get out of control.” He leaned back in the chair, motioning for me to start.

  I knew he wasn’t really sorry, and neither was I.

  I dragged in a deep breath, and slowly let it out.

  Here we go…

  Chapter Eight

  Jonathon

  I waited for Waylynn to start talking. She sat there wringing her hands as she looked everywhere but at me. At the rate she was going, our dinner would be out before she even said a word.

  “Tell me why the idea of us scares you so much.”

  Her eyes shot over to me. After a few seconds of gnawing her lip, she spoke. “When I moved back home, rumors started circulating about my failed marriage. I’ve never given much thought to what people said about me before, but that was in New York where I could pass a person every second and probably never see them again. Here, at home, I see these people all the time. I’m fixin’ to start a business where peoples’ kids will come to me to learn to dance. I just don’t want to be known as the washed-up dancer who is dating…”

  “A construction worker?”

  Her eyes widened. “You’re not a construction worker. You own your own business. And even if you were, that doesn’t matter to me.”

  I folded my arms over my chest. “Then what matters?”

  Her eyes landed on my chest, and she slowly ran her tongue over her bottom lip. I couldn’t believe her stupid-ass ex had let her go. His loss was my gain.

  “Your age.”

  “I don’t care about it. My family doesn’t care either.”

  “Well, I’m not sure how mine will feel.”

  Leaning forward again, I placed my finger on her chin and brought her gaze to mine. “Do they want you to be happy?”

  “Of course they do.”

  “Do you think you could be happy with me, Waylynn?”

  Her teeth sank into her lip again, turning it white. Fuck, that is hot as hell.

  “Do you?” I asked again.

  “Yes.”

  “Then who gives a shit about what other people think? Let me love you like you deserve to be loved. Give me a chance to prove that we can make this work.”

  A wide smile spread over her face. Leaning closer, I brushed my lips across hers. It hurt like hell with the busted lip Cord had given me, but my girl was kissing me back. In public. I wasn’t about to stop.

  When I dropped her chin and sat back, her eyes were ablaze. “I give you until tomorrow morning before one of my brothers hear about this.”

  “It doesn’t matter, because now that I’ve got you, I’m not letting you go, Parker.”

  The brilliance of her grin made my heart soar. “Please, don’t,” she whispered.

  I needed to tell her about Cord. The longer I put it off, the worse it would be.

  Evie walked up with our salads.

  Draping the napkin over my lap, I thanked my sister for the salad and casually dropped the bomb.

  “Besides, after the beating Cord gave me wh
en I told him about us, I can’t let you go ’cuz I promised him I’d never hurt you.”

  From the corner of my eye I saw her fork freeze at her lips. I was fixin’ to feel the wrath of one pissed-off Parker woman, and I thought I was mentally prepared.

  Boy, was I wrong.

  * * *

  I unlocked the door and watched Waylynn march through it. She threw her purse onto the table and faced me. Her hands went to her hips and her blue eyes locked on me with intense fire.

  Oh. Shit.

  “Brace yourself, Turner. I’m about to go all female crazy on your ass.”

  Lifting my hands, I took a step back. “Before you get all Parker crazy, let me explain.”

  “Explain? You want me to give you a chance to explain? You’re fixin’ to have another black eye to match the one my brother gave you.”

  “Waylynn, I couldn’t lie to him. Earlier in the weekend, he asked me if I knew who you were crushing on, and I lied. I get why you didn’t want him to know, but can you at least look at it from my perspective? He’s my best friend. He’s like a brother to me, and I didn’t feel right lyin’ about you and me.”

  She drew in a deep breath through her nose and slowly exhaled. Even though her expression softened, there was no way I was letting my guard down. I was smarter than that.

  “I’m going to guess he was rather pissed off.”

  “Yes. At first. When we were on the plane.”

  Her eyes widened. “You told him on the plane? In an enclosed area with no escape? Are you crazy, Jonathon?”

  I chuckled. “I actually thought it was the safest place, truth be told. The flight attendant separated us, speaking of, remind me to tell you about how she knew Cord.”

  Waylynn’s brows pulled tight, figuring out their “connection” without me even vocalizing it.

  “Anyway, by the time we got back to his place he had cooled off.”

  Pointing to my face, she smiled. “That’s your definition of cooled off?”

  “It could be worse.”

  With a shrug, she agreed. “That’s true. Keep going.”

  I motioned for her to sit on the sofa while I took the chair across from it.

  “Well, he gave me the chance to explain things. I told him it was wrong to act on my feelings for you before I talked to him about it, but that we’re adults and your brothers don’t have a say in whom you’re dating.”

  Waylynn grinned and leaned back. “What else did you say in this moment of insanity?”

  The corners of my mouth rose as I continued. “I told him how I feel about you. How I love your smile and laughter. This feeling I have for you is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced before, and I can’t even begin to put it into words. I told him I’m falling for you, Waylynn, and I do not intend on sitting back and not fighting for you. I want to see where this will go, because when I close my eyes at night I see a future that I’ve longed for, and you’re the woman in my dreams.”

  She swallowed hard. “You said that to him?”

  “I did.”

  When she pulled her lip between her teeth, my dick jumped to attention. Damn, she did that a lot.

  “Do I get brownie points for standing up to a Parker?”

  “Maybe. What did he say after you said that?”

  “That if anyone was going to date his sister, he’d rather it be someone he trusted with his life. And he may or may not have threatened my life if I ever hurt you.”

  Her smile grew bigger. “Sounds like Cord.”

  “He’s a teddy bear. It’s Tripp I’m worried about.”

  Waylynn let out a laugh. “How about if I let Tripp know. Lord knows what he’ll do to you.”

  Now it was my turn to swallow hard. “That makes me feel tons better. Your brothers are going to give me an ulcer.”

  Slowly standing, she made her way over to me, lifting her dress higher as she walked.

  “I bet I can make you feel better. Help relieve those bumps and bruises…”

  My heart slammed against my chest, beating so fucking fast. If I didn’t know better, I’d have thought this was my first time having sex.

  “After all, I am still without my panties.”

  I let a slow grin move across my face. “You’re going to keep me on my toes. Aren’t you, Parker?”

  Her tongue slid across her bee-stung lips as she crawled onto my lap. “I’m sure as hell going to try. Do you know what I’m going to do first?”

  My head slowly shook as I let my eyes drop to her chest. I was itching to put one of her nipples in my mouth and hear her moan.

  “Fuck,” I groaned as she moved against my dick.

  She chuckled as her lips moved over my neck, dropping kisses along the way. “You wish. No, the first thing I’m going to do is show you what happens when you go against what I ask.”

  I was dizzy with desire. Need. Want. Waylynn Parker had a way of making my body completely surrender.

  Her words finally hit me, and I pulled back to look into her eyes.

  “What?”

  Lacing her fingers through my hair, she pressed her lips to mine. Our tongues danced in harmony, and we each let out a long, soft moan while she pressed harder against my cock.

  Just as my hands were moving to grab her ass, she broke the kiss and climbed off of me. With her head tilted and sporting an adorable grin, she said, “Enjoy your evening, Turner.”

  She turned, grabbed her purse, and started for my front door.

  What in the hell just happened?

  I flew up and nearly tripped over my own damn feet trying to get to the door. Before she could open it, I placed my hand on it. Still breathing heavy from her kiss, I asked, “Where are you going? I thought we were gonna…”

  “Fuck?” she blurted out.

  Jamming my hand through my hair, I closed my eyes and tried to clear my thoughts.

  “Yes. No! Waylynn, I thought we were going to be together tonight.”

  She tapped her finger on my nose. “Aww, you’re so cute. I did say we would talk, but then you told my brother about us sleeping together when I specifically asked you not to…and without even giving me a heads up.”

  My jaw dropped open. “So, you’re…um…”

  “Leaving. Yep.” She popped her p and winked. “We can try the whole talking thing tomorrow.”

  Her eyes drifted down to my still rock-hard dick. With a shrug she snapped her gaze back up at me. “Pity you’re going to have to take care of that all alone.”

  Reaching up on her toes, she gave me a hasty kiss then opened the door. When it closed, the only thing I could do was laugh. I rubbed the back of my neck and made my way into the kitchen for a beer. “Lesson one? Don’t piss Waylynn off. Retaliation is a bitch.”

  Chapter Nine

  Waylynn

  The sound of my feet hitting the ground and the feel of cold morning air in my lungs were the exact things I needed to clear my head. After last night, I’d been desperate for a release and no matter how hard I tried to make myself come, it had been no use. I finally gave up and fell asleep at two in the morning.

  An early morning run was the one thing I could count on to get out built-up energy and frustration. A truck came up behind me, and I stopped and turned around. Smiling, I waved as my father’s truck pulled up.

  “Hello there, young lady.”

  Catching my breath, I leaned my hands on my knees. I hadn’t realized how fast and hard I’d been running. “Hey…Daddy.”

  “Hitting the dirt road early this morning, aren’t you?”

  I blew out a deep breath. “Needed to clear my head.”

  With a nod, he motioned for me to hop in the truck. “Come with me. We can catch up on things.”

  I loved spending alone time with my father. Even when I was little, having his full attention was something I loved, and so did my brothers and sister. The Parker kids jumped at the opportunity when it came around, which was often. Our father made sure his children knew how much he loved us.


  I jogged around to the front of the truck and climbed up in the cab of the Ford F-250.

  He put it in drive and started down the main ranch road. “How are things going with the studio?”

  Grinning like a silly fool, I answered, “Wonderful! Now that we’re on schedule and things are moving smoothly, we should be open in mid-January.”

  “That’s wonderful, sweet pea. I’m so very proud of you for following your dreams.”

  My heart ached slightly. “Well, most of them anyway. A part of me wishes I hadn’t wasted all those years on Jack and kept dancing in New York. Who knows where I would have ended up.”

  “Well, I know you wouldn’t be here right now, and call me greedy, but I do like having you close to home.” He squeezed my hand.

  “I love being home, Daddy. Honestly, I do. And opening a dance studio in Oak Springs is a dream, so it’s win-win no matter what. I’m just doing it a little sooner than I thought.”

  “That’s my girl,” he said, giving my hand another slight squeeze.

  We drove along in silence for a minute or two before he dropped a bomb. “So, Jonathon Turner, huh?”

  I sighed heavily and faced him. “News still travels fast among the Parker men, huh?”

  He laughed. “First thing this morning I got a call from Tripp, asking what I thought about my daughter dating a man younger than her.”

  Anger rushed over me. “How dare he! Why is it okay for men to date younger women, but God forbid a woman date a younger man! I’m going to string Tripp’s balls up in the town square with a sign that says vote for someone else!”

  My father let out a roar of laughter. “You are so much like your mother, it is unreal. Now, calm down, sweet pea. I told Tripp he needed to take a seat and rethink what he just said. I asked him if it were another woman, would he have an issue? He said no. But you’re not any woman, you’re his sister.”

  Okay, I had to admit, that one got me in the heart. I had no doubt that my brothers loved me and cared about me.

  “Thank you for that, Daddy.”

  “Waylynn, I think what your brothers think about your dating situation should be the last thing on your list of give-a-fucks.”