you to just… have a little fun with me? Just until it’s time to say goodbye. And then, you can go back to your super busy, super serious life and you can forget all about the bodyguard who encouraged you to spike your midnight hot chocolates.”
“Derek…” My words trailed off as I considered Derek’s offer.
I’m asking you to just have a little fun with me.
Just until it’s time to say goodbye.
I looked over at Derek, my eyes taking him in as something heavy drummed away in my chest, in my abdomen, in my fingertips and lips.
And at that moment, there were two things that I knew for sure.
That Derek Lavine was going to absolutely break my heart.
And that I was going to let him.
“…Okay,” I quietly agreed to Derek’s terms, bringing my lips back up to meet his.
And Derek smiled into our kiss, his fingers sliding underneath the sides of my shirt. He then pulled away from me, almost like he’d just gotten an important call. “We should probably go somewhere more private, right? Just in case someone walks in.”
“Yeah. Right.” I nodded over at him before I began to head toward my bedroom. “Just follow me.”
8
Derek
Parker’s bedroom was a lot like Parker.
It was immaculately decorated, like he’d spent days picking out just the right pieces of furniture for every corner of the room. And yet, despite its general sense of perfection, the room still felt approachable, no framed art on his wall seeming too expensive and no signs of someone trying to preserve any particular piece of furniture, either.
I’d seen Parker’s bedroom before when I’d first been hired as his bodyguard. It had been one of the several rooms I’d searched for anything suspicious or out of place, making sure no one had recently been in any area of the Bed & Breakfast that they shouldn’t have been in.
But now, seeing his bedroom again, after I’d gotten to know him a lot better, I was slightly amused by how much the room matched his personality to a T.
“What is it?” Parker asked from his place on the bed. He was sitting on the very edge of it, watching me from across the room. “Is something funny?”
“No. Well, yes.” I let out a gentle laugh. “It’s just… seeing your bedroom again, after hanging out with you… well, let’s just say the room really suits you.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s perfect.” I shrugged. “But in an effortless way, like it’s not really trying. It just reminds me of you.”
“So, you’re saying that you think I’m perfect?”
“I’m saying that I think everything about you is effortless,” I explained. “It’s just another one of the reasons I like you, Parker. Even when you’re trying… it’s like I can’t see the strings.”
“Have you ever considered that’s because there aren’t any strings?” Parker chuckled. “Maybe I’m just… being myself?”
“Yeah, I get that now.” I grinned as I walked toward Parker’s bed, taking a seat beside him. “But you can’t blame me for not knowing that when we first met. I’ve worked with a lot of clients who were fake, from head to toe. They’d say one thing and do another. Especially the ones who happened to have a whole lot of cash in the bank.”
“Well, I’m glad you gave me a chance to prove your preconceived notions about me wrong.”
“I’m glad I gave you a chance, too.” I grinned again before pulling Parker closer to me.
But as I went through with the motion, Parker placed a hand on my chest, keeping me in place.
“Wait.”
“Wait?” I felt my heart pick up speed in my chest. “Why? What’s wrong?”
“You never told me if you’ve ever been with a guy or not,” Parker murmured.
“No, I haven’t,” I admitted. “Is that… going to be a problem for you?”
“No.” Parker offered me a warm smile. “I just wanted to make sure I was your first.”
“Why?”
“Because if I’m your first, you’re never going to forget me,” Parker went on. “Not even when you’re running back and forth between every last continent on Earth.”
“I don’t think I’d forget you that easily, Parker Williams.”
“Hmm. Only one way to be sure.” Parker lightly chuckled before he leaned toward me, pressing his lips against my own.
And as he kissed me, I gently pushed him back toward the bed, not stopping until his back was pressed against the bedsheets.
And then, I pushed myself over him, our chests soon meeting one another’s, as the kiss continued between us, as my tongue explored Parker’s mouth, as my fingers delicately