felt sorry for him but then another part of me wanted to be Devin.” He scoffed, shaking his head. “I wanted to be him.”
“Hey.” I walked up to him and stopped him in his tracks. “You were never and will never be him.”
“Keely.”
“No! I refuse to believe that you had no sense of morals. No goal in life besides bringing people down.”
“The only goals I had were being in control!” he shouted. “When I first fucked you, I had to hold back from ripping your body in half.” His mouth snapped shut, his chest rising and falling. He glanced away, his brows furrowing.
My eyes widened. We had been rough before but those words sent a flutter of unease roaring through me.
“I’m sorry.”
I wrapped my arms around myself and sat on the edge of the bed. “I had no idea.”
Parker knelt in front of me, running his hands up my thighs until he reached my hips.
Tears welled in my eyes when he rested his head in my lap. Swallowing several times, I took a breath and cupped his nape. “I don’t blame you. You are the one that told me not to blame myself for the shit I did. You—”
“That’s not the same thing,” Parker snapped, trying to pull out of my grip.
“Yes, it is.” My hold tightened. “I may not have hurt anyone physically but I’m sure what I did was just as bad.”
“Keely.”
“No.” I pushed him back and cupped his chin but he only looked away. “Parker, look at me.”
He tried shoving his head out of my grip. “I’m warning you,” he said, meeting my gaze finally.
My skin tingled with newfound awareness but I ignored it. “Punish me after but right now, you are going to listen to me.”
His jaw clenched but he stopped struggling.
“I love you. You know that, right?” I asked, picking up his t-shirt that he had thrown on the floor and slipping it over my head.
“I do,” he said slowly, watching me. “Why did you get dressed?”
“Because the way you look at me when I’m naked distracts me,” I said, pulling him to his feet. I switched spots with him and stepped between his knees.
Brushing my fingers over a tattoo on his shoulder I sighed, trying to find the words. The black tiny dragon dug his claws into Parker’s muscle to the point it looked like it was holding on to him for dear life. It reminded me of myself, so much so that I couldn’t take my gaze away.
Parker grabbed my wrist, brushing his thumb back and forth over the smooth skin. His gaze took on a faraway look. The muscles in his jaw twitched, no doubt remembering the time he was forced to push me out of Devin’s limo several weeks before. “He’s accused me of only being with you to get back at him,” he said through gritted teeth.
“I know that’s not true,” I said, brushing my thumb along his bottom lip. “I know you love me.”
“Why did you forgive me so easily?” he asked, scratching his jaw.
I frowned. “What do you mean?”
“When I pushed you out of Devin’s vehicle…how could you forgive me so easily?”
I thought a moment. Troy had asked me the same thing. “Because I love you and I trust you. I knew even when I saw you come into the limo behind Devin, although I had my doubts, a part of me, that part that has remained strong through my whole entire life…that part was the thing that latched onto you. That knew you would never really hurt me.”
“But I could.”
“But you won’t,” I argued.
“Keely—”
I silenced him with a kiss. Just a peck. But that small touch meant so much more than our words could ever say.
He leaned his forehead against mine. “I wish that I could bring you with me.”
My throat burned. “I wish you could stay.”
“You know I can’t,” he said, gripping the hem of my shirt. “Take this off.”
I pulled out of his grasp. “No.”
“Keely.”
I spun on him. “No. We need some sort of barrier between us or else I’ll lose control.”
“That’s the point.”
“Not when we need to talk. You look at me like you want to eat me alive. Like you want to get under my skin.”
A smug smile formed on his face. He rose to his feet and closed the distance between us. “Eyes on me, pet.”
I met his gaze, my stomach tumbling at his firm voice. Meeting his heated stare, I licked my lips.
“I don’t want to get under your skin.” He