Heat (Parker Reed Book 1) (22 page)

The tabloid was your typical piece of junk. What celebrity slept with whom, how much money they were making, how Parker Reed continued to sleep with his assistants until he got bored and moved on. Wait…what?

My eyes scanned over the words.

Parker Reed. Young self-made entrepreneur has more money than brains.

His assistants aren’t any better.

Keely Price, assistant to the rich business man bit off more than she could chew.

Does she realize that all of Reed’s past assistants have been in the same boat as her? Bought. Used. Paid for. And dropped when he got bored.

How long will it take for this one to figure out that he’s only using her for his pleasure only?

“Parker,” I said softly, my heart racing.

“What?”

I met his gaze and threw the magazine at him. “Care to explain this?”

He frowned, his eyes moving back and forth over the words. “Well, this is something that I never thought we would discuss.”

My mouth dropped open at his casual words. “What the hell does that mean?”

His jaw clenched. “I have a past, Keely. You know that but I don’t care what this article says.”

“So are you telling me that you’ve never had an assistant before me?”

“No.”

“Did you fuck them? Is that your thing? You hire women to be your assistant so they can spread their legs?”

His gaze darkened. “I don’t need to hire women for them to spread their legs,” he bit out.

My back stiffened and I slapped the intercom. “Jones, take me home.”

Parker pushed my hand out of the way. “Don’t you fucking dare!” He grabbed my wrist, spinning me towards him.

“Let. Go. Of. Me,” I said through gritted teeth.

“Or else what, Keely? Yes, I’ve had assistants before you. I fucked them as well. Is that what you wanted to hear? Do you want all the gory sweaty details? Want me to tell you how many women I’ve had? Hmm?” His eyes darkened to the point of black.

A cold draft washed over me and all I could do was stare into the depths of his furious glare.

“Do you want to know that I never gave them a safe word? I just took what I wanted from them because they were whores, Keely. They were easy. You,” his grip on me tightened, “you were a challenge and that excited me. You’re still a difficult puzzle for me to put together. But I will. I promise you that. But that’s not the reason I hired them.”

“So why aren’t they your assistants anymore? Huh? Tell me that,” I demanded, shoving out of his grip.

“Because I couldn’t trust them. They tried to force their way into my heart even though I knew they only wanted sex. I knew you were attracted to me from the very beginning. I could smell your arousal.” He leaned in, his mouth mere inches from mine. “I could sense it.”

“How?” I asked, licking my dry lips.

“The scent of your perfume got stronger. My voice turned you on,” he purred, brushing his mouth along mine.

Ignoring the electric shock that passed between us, I struggled against him. “Why are you still with me, then? Why not those other women?”

“They wanted to bring me and my company down. They wanted to destroy me.”

“Why didn’t you tell me this?” I asked.

“It wasn’t your fucking business,” Parker growled.

“Is that the reason why you hired me? So you could fuck me?”

A wicked grin spread on his face. “I didn’t need to hire you for that. I knew in time that you would allow me to fuck you. I just wasn’t expecting it so soon.”

I gasped, gearing up my hand to slap him.

In a quick move, he grabbed my hand and pushed me to the floor of the limo. “Hit me and see what I do to that beautiful body of yours,” he growled, holding my wrists tight between us.

“You can’t do to me what hasn’t been done already, Parker,” I said, struggling out from under his grip.

His nostrils flared, the muscles in his thick neck tightening. He pinned my hands above my head, forcing his hips between my legs. “Don’t you ever
fucking
compare what I do to you to that
fucking
bastard.” His voice was calm and even but dripped with pure and utter venom. “I gave you a safe word. Use it. For once in your fucking life, stand up for yourself and don’t give in because you feel like you have to.”

A lump formed in my throat and I looked away.

“Look at me.”

I ignored the firm demand, squeezing my eyes shut. If only there was a place in my mind that I could go to. A safe place. A place where no one else existed. Just me and me alone. It would be quiet. Real. And it would help heal me from the onslaught of the impending wrath that I knew I was about to get from Parker.

My body tensed, waiting for him to strike. It had happened so many times before with Devin. It got to the point where I would create an imaginary world, my happy place, and go there. At one point, I didn’t come back until Devin threw ice cold water on me.

“Keely.”

My mind jumbled with thoughts of the past, now and the future. My dreams, hopes and goals.

“You are nothing but a toy. A pawn. An object for my pleasure and use only. No man will want you, princess, after I get through with you.”

My heart raced, my back arching as I fell deep into the scene playing before me.

“You like the pain I give you. You like seeing my marks on your body. You can deny it all you want but I know there’s a sick freak deep inside of you. My little slut. I will ruin you. Destroy your hot little body.”

“Keely, damn it! Snap out of it.”

The voice. So far away.

“
Keely
.”

My eyes snapped open, landing on Parker’s beautiful green gaze as he stared down at me. His brows were furrowed, his jaw clenching and unclenching.

“I’m…I’m sor—”

Parker crashed his lips to mine, shoving his tongue between my lips in a rough, smooth stroke. He ground his hips into me, igniting a moan to leave my mouth. “I didn’t hire you to fuck you, Keely,” he said softly. “I hired you to be my assistant. The sex was just an added bonus. The previous women were nothing. They fucking meant nothing at all.”

I stopped struggling against him, my eyes searching his face.

“Do you want to tell me what just happened?”

“I…I’m not sure,” I said, frowning.

“Keely.”

“I don’t know. I just…please take me home,” I whispered. A nagging, sharp pain erupted behind my eyes.

“No.”

“Fine.” I pushed him off of me and smacked the intercom again. “Jones, take me home—”

“You fucking take her home and you’ll be out of a job!” Parker yelled.

I shoved him back. “You can’t force me to go to your cottage with you. You don’t own me. You can’t control me. I’m broken,” I cried. “You deserve so much better.” My stomach twisted and turned and I couldn’t help the impending anxiety that burned through my body. “You…you—”

Parker silenced me with a hard, bruising kiss. I moaned into his mouth but attempted to push him away.

“Stop fighting me,” Parker said against my lips, releasing my hands. “Don’t push me away. I don’t want anyone else. I want you, Keely. That’s it.”

I cupped his nape and deepened the kiss, arching under him. My body vibrated with a need so strong that it took over. I pushed him back with all of my might, forcing him onto his haunches.

With everything in me, I ripped open his shirt, scratching my nails into his chest.

He hissed, his eyes darkening with a hungry passion I had never seen before. His hands roamed over my body. Massaged. Kneaded. Squeezed to the point of bruising.

I struggled out of his grip and yanked off my yoga pants and panties and dove back into his arms before he could take a breath.

“Give me your fucking tongue, pet,” he ground out, smacking me hard on the ass.

I gasped, my skin burning with the delicious sting of his palm. I licked along his bottom lip, nipping, sucking it hard into my mouth at the same time I undid his belt. Reaching into his pants, I roughly pulled out his straining cock. Moving my hand from base to tip, I tugged until it swelled under my touch. The veiny ridge rippled beneath my fingers, the muscle flexing and twitching, waiting for my tight heat.

Rising to my knees, I pushed my tongue deeper into his mouth and impaled myself on him so hard, we both yelled out.

“Fuck, Keely.” He cupped my ass, digging his fingers into my flesh as I rode him hard and fast.

Undulating my hips against him, I slammed my body against his, taking him as deep as I possibly could. “Parker.” I gripped the back of his neck, scratching and pulling as I gave us both what we needed.

“Harder,” he snarled, biting his teeth into my collarbone.

I threw my head back, bursts of air leaving my lips as he filled me completely. My thigh muscles burned from the added stretch as I slammed my body against his. It was rough, bordering on painful, but it was needed.

The sounds of the city whirled around us but all I could focus on was Parker, breathing heavy against my neck, his hands all over me and my pussy wrapped tight around him. His hands dug into my rear when he pushed into me as deep as possible.

I whimpered, his cock bottoming out deep inside of me. A sob escaped me at the need for release. It was so strong, my lungs burned with the need for air. “Parker,” I said on a gasp.

“Come for me, Keely. Come all over my cock,” he demanded, gripping me. “Let me feel your hot little pussy tighten around me.”

I nipped and bit at his jaw, trailing my tongue down the length of it until I reached his ear. “You feel so good,” I purred.

He thrust into me hard, knocking the breath out of me each time. His hand cupped the back of my neck as an explosion set off in my core.

I screamed, my body tensing, my muscles shaking so hard, spots danced in my vision.

Parker deepened the kiss, swallowing my cries and whimpers of passion. His hips thrust a couple more times before he grunted, spilling his seed inside of me. He groaned, shaking through his release, my name leaving his lips on a snarl. His hands continued to caress me, my skin prickling under his touch.

Our breathing erratic, we stayed attached, kissing like our lives depended on it. If only he knew just how true that statement was.

“Parker, when you said that this was a cottage, I thought you meant an actual cottage,” I said as we drove up the gravel driveway. I sat there, staring in awe at the large brick house before us.

Parker chuckled, rubbing his hand over my back before leaning down to my ear. “The outside is deceiving, pet. Wait until you see what lays ahead for us.”

“Us?” I asked, cupping his hand that was on my shoulder.

“Oh yes, beautiful one. This isn’t just for you. Trust me.” He slid out of the car and I watched, waiting for him to open the door.

I wasn’t exactly sure what he meant by ‘us’ but I looked forward to finding out. After our fight and then the intense make up sex, I was tired, my body aching in a delicious way. His power calmed me. His need to protect me made me feel safe. Guilt ate at my stomach but I forced it down.

“Keely. Come.”

I pasted on a smile and allowed Parker to pull me from the car as Jones brought our bags to the entrance.

Once Parker unlocked the main doors, I never expected to walk into what I did. My eyes widened as I stepped into the large home. “This place is amazing.”

It had an open floor plan that overlooked a large back yard. Black was no doubt Parker’s favorite color when everything that in the vast room was…black, accented with whites, reds, and silvers much like the convention hall in New York.

Parker thanked Jones and sent him on his way, closing the door behind him. A smile tugged at his lips as he sauntered towards me. “You ready to see your surprise?”

My heart skipped a beat at the deep tone of his voice. “Yes.”

He cupped my nape and placed a hard kiss on my mouth before grabbing my hand. “Follow me.”

He led us down a hall to a set of double doors. Unlocking them, he took a breath and pushed them open, revealing a set of wide stairs. “After you, pet.”

I swallowed hard and made my way down the steps, Parker following behind me.

“Have you had many panic attacks?”

“Are you referring to what happened in the limo?” I asked, ringing my hands together.

“You went somewhere. I’ve only seen that a couple of times but usually it’s when subs hit subspace.”

I stopped and turned to him. “I have a safe place in my head. After some time of enduring Devin’s,” I swallowed hard, “rage, I created this world in my head. I know it doesn’t make sense but it’s like I can shut a part of my brain off. The part that feels.” I looked down at my bare feet, waiting for Parker to laugh and make fun of me.

Warm gentle fingers pinched my chin, forcing me to gaze into a pair of the greenest eyes I had ever seen. No matter how many times I looked at Parker, it always took my breath away.

“It’s not dumb and I know exactly what you’re referring to.”

My shoulders dropped with the added relief that he understood. My throat burned and I swallowed past the hard lump several times before responding. “You do?”