drape around my waist and he tugs me closer to him, close enough that a Catholic schoolteacher would blush. The tension between our bodies is palpable, so much so that I can feel it even through our clothes.
I’m not sure if I’m just being overly emotional right now, or if my deep-rooted feelings for Parker are coming to the surface, but I’m all kinds of flustered—just like the first night we ever spent together.
Parker places a kiss on my forehead, teasing me some more. His lips trail down the side of my neck and he leaves a kiss there too. The heat from his mouth sends chills spiraling all over my body, and I let out the tiniest moan of satisfaction. I roughly massage the back of his neck with my hand, allowing him to feel every little thing he’s doing to me. He trails his lips along my collarbone, one small kiss after another, ending at the other side. I pull his head back and smile once the sensation becomes too much.
He groans in protest, wanting to return to what he was doing. Instead, I plant my mouth on his. I feel completely entangled with him. His arms squeeze me tighter and he scoops me up, so I wrap my legs around his waist. I feel every one of his muscles constrict under his clothes as he walks me over to the bed.
I begin to feel so hot, overheating, but I don’t care. I’ve waited for this moment to happen again for years, though I never admitted it to myself.
Parker lays me down on the bed, hovering over me in a push-up position and straddling my chest with his arms.
“I’ve missed you more than you know,” he whispers in my ear.
Those words resonate deeply within me, and I just clutch my arms around his well-defined back, pulling him closer, our faces mere inches apart.
“You have no idea how long I’ve waited to hear those words from you,” I whisper back.
As he leans in to kiss me, I hear the worst sound I could ever hear at this very moment. The front door opens and closes.
“Dani, I’m home,” my dad calls out.
“Shit. He’ll kill you if he finds you in here with me,” I say to Parker, whose eyes are the size of golf balls.
“He’s got a gun, huh?” Parker asks semi-jokingly, but I hear the trepidation in his voice.
“Yep. A revolver, remember?”
“Shit,” is all he gets out as he pushes himself off the bed.
I hear my dad coming up the stairs.
“Hurry—in the closet,” I tell Parker when I see him heading for the window. “He’ll see you if you go out that way now.”
Parker listens and rushes over to the closet, quietly shutting the door behind him. He opens it really quickly and gives me a peck on the mouth, just before closing it again. I lean against it with a goofy smile plastered on my face, forgetting for a moment that my father is just outside the room.
His knock is stiff and booming.
“Come in,” I say, sitting in the chair next to my desk, pretending to do homework.
“Just coming to check on you,” he says as he opens the door.
“As you can see, I’m fine,” I reply, in a tone that lets him know I’m still irritated with him.
He just stands there, not saying anything. I can feel him staring at me while I scan over some random pieces of paper that are scattered across my desk.
I turn to look at him and say, “Is there something else you wanted?”
He releases a grumble and runs his hand through his hair. “I guess not,” he replies and begins to close the door. “Oh, wait. There is something I wanted to tell you.”
“Yeah?”
“Janice’s story is going to air tonight on the local news. They’re conducting a full investigation and a complete sweep of the woods where she was last seen. I wouldn’t be surprised if they make an announcement about it at school tomorrow.”
“Do you still think I had something to do with this?”
“I don’t know, Dani. I want to believe you, but I’m finding that hard right now,” he replies with a sad expression.
“I see.”
“I’ve had a long day. We’ll talk later about this, okay?”
“Sure, looking forward to it,” I grumble.
“Good night, Dani.”
“‘Night.”
When he closes the bedroom door, I see the closet begin to open. Parker pokes out his head and asks if he can come out. I give him the signal to wait until I hear my dad’s