Her Marine Next Door - Aliyah Burke Page 0,18
Not at all. The way those incredible blue eyes watched him, craving to trust him, broke him. Already.
The man grunted. “And the other?”
“I’m sleeping in the guest room. What does that tell you?”
“That she is a shit ton smarter than the other pussy you used to go after.”
“Fuck you.”
Ioan laughed. “You’re so used to pussy falling over in front of you. This is good for you. She isn’t someone who’ll fuck anything that moves. She’s not a woman who wants it known she did a man in Recon. She’s the real deal, and the sooner you realize that, the sooner you’ll understand what’s in front of you. What’s been this entire time.”
“So says the man-whore.”
“I’m not looking for my forever. You, on the other hand, have been thinking about this woman since you moved in there. And now it’s right there in your lap. Her. A child.”
Instant family. He shook his head. “I’m not looking for that. I’m coming back to Recon, and once I fuck her, it’ll be out of my system. I’m not your nine-to-five kind of a guy. I love the adrenaline rush, the thrill of being with my guys.”
“And your injury?”
He clenched his jaw as he thought about the potential it had to ruin his life. “A minor setback.”
Parker expected Ioan to make a snide comment or laugh. The man did neither, but held silent for a short time, then said, “Don’t hurt either one of them. Let me know how PT progresses.”
Ioan ended the call before he could comment back.
He swore and tossed his phone to the side. Fucker.
He wasn’t sure if he was irritated more with his friend for calling him out or himself for having those exact same thoughts.
Chapter Four
Skylar woke slowly, still emotionally drained from yesterday. Her dreams had been less than pleasant, reminding her why having Parker here was an all-around bad idea. A good portion of the night she’d cried, missing what she no longer had and that which had been yanked from her.
It wasn’t one of her best nights.
Rolling from the bed, she walked to her master bath and got ready for the day. After making sure her mask of indifference was on, she straightened up her room and walked out to find Alpin standing by the door.
“Morning, handsome,” she whispered to him, cupping his face and kissing the top of his head. After ruffling his ears, she stretched and grabbed his food bowl. Then she let him out, filled his dish, and put it back in the stand. Leaving the sliding door open, she scrubbed a hand down her face and turned, only to freeze. Parker stood there, dressed only in his jeans, watching her like she was his last meal. She pushed her fingers through her hair and fought the urge to run over to him to touch and explore.
She couldn’t help how much she wanted to stare at him. Trail her fingers along his tattoos. Find out the meaning of them. How long he’d had them.
His gaze grew intense, and he didn’t look away from her, just stared.
“What?” she finally asked, uncomfortable with the silence.
“This,” he said, gesturing between them. “I know you wanted to talk this morning. It’s morning.”
“Fine. We talk.” She crossed her arms, hating the way her body reacted just from a look alone. She was going to have to invest in much thicker shirts or learn to control herself around him, or her nipples would be poking out all damn day.
“I meant what I said earlier. There’s something between us. You can’t deny it. It fucking sizzles.”
He had a valid point. She chewed on the inside of her cheek and didn’t lower her arms. “Is that it? That’s all you have to say?”
“Darlin’, I’m not sure what else there is to say. You’re helping me out, but while I’m here, I don’t see why we can’t both enjoy what’s so blatantly between us.” He held up a hand as she shook her head. “Don’t. Don’t lie to me about it, Skylar. It’s there. A living, breathing thing. Sizzle, spark, call it what you will, but it’s fucking volatile. We will be fucking amazing together.” He scratched at the scruff aligning his jaw. “I get that my putting you on the spot wasn’t the best way to handle it, but as my fiancée, if you need or want cock, you come to me. We have to show a united front. I can’t have my fiancée going off to get dick from another man.”