Harper took her mother shopping for a new dress and decided, what the hell, a slinky outfit for her date with Parker was exactly what she needed to make his mouth water. Even if she had no intention of fucking him until the case was over, she could tease the ever-loving-shit out of him.
The hanger screeched as she slid it across the rack and flipped through clothes at the third store they’d stopped at after dinner. Her mother was in the dressing room trying on another outfit for the charity function on Saturday, which she’d tried to drag Harper to, but that wasn’t exactly her idea of fun.
Harper stuck to racks close by in case her mom needed another opinion on the dress. Surprisingly enough, she was enjoying hanging out with her mom. Harper found an olive green dress, which matched her eyes when her mother’s voice called from the dressing room.
“Hey, would you take a look at this.”
Harper opened the door. Her mom spun slowly in the black gown, which was high in the front, but dipped low to reveal her back and had a long slit on the side that showed off her incredibly long legs. Her mother was still slender, and her flawless skin belied her age.
“Wow.”
Monica smiled, her dark eyes sparkling. “Perfect. That’s precisely what I was going for.”
“Well, you look really beautiful, Mom.”
“And it’s on sale,” Monica said, toying with the tag.
Harper winced. “I told you not to worry about it.”
Monica frowned. “I hope you know I plan on paying you back.”
She didn’t want to hear anything about money. It wasn’t the point. Harper would much rather see her mom happy, and with someone who appreciated her and wouldn’t use money to manipulate her. It was total bullshit anyway, and she really didn’t care whether it was her father or not. Right was right, and what he was doing definitely wasn’t.
Harper brushed a bang out of her eyes. “I don’t care about the money. And it doesn’t matter if you pay me back or not.”
“It matters to me.” Monica’s eyes glistened under the harsh fluorescent lighting in the dressing room.
Shit.
Mothers were supposed to take care of their daughters, not the other way around. She hadn’t thought about that until it was too late.
Harper stepped forward and hugged her. “I’m sorry...I hate to see what you put up with, and it makes me so mad that he treats you this way. You have to do something about it, Mom. You can’t use us as a reason for staying anymore. We’re adults now. We can handle it.”
A tear shining in her mother’s eye slipped down her cheek, and she wiped it away, stepping back from her daughter. “I’ve loved you kids my whole life and always put you first. I did it for you.”
“I know you did, Mom. But you don’t have to now, and it’s time you lived for yourself. You deserve it. Honestly, I really wish you would’ve left sooner.”
Monica nodded and turned her back toward her daughter. “Unzip me.”
Harper unzipped the dress and tried to think of something casual to change the subject and lighten the mood. “So what’s this charity event?”
“It’s called Turning the Pages. It’s a literacy campaign to raise funds to provide mentors and put books into the hands of underprivileged children in our community. The Miami Lightning agreed to match every dollar we raise.” Excitement radiated in Monica’s voice. This project was likely near and dear to her heart. Her mom loved books and used to read to Harper, her brother, and her sister all the time while their father spent his nights at the country club.
Now that Harper was older, she imagined he’d spent plenty of those nights with other women, too. “I’m so proud of you, Mom.”
Monica laughed softly. “I’m the one who’s supposed to say that. Give me a second. I’ll be right out,” she said as she closed the door to the dressing room. “So what are you up to this weekend?”
“Oh, not much,” Harper lied, pausing before she decided to share her plans for Friday night. “Actually, I’m going out to dinner with someone.”
“Really? What’s he like?”
“He’s a football player for the Miami Lightning, but it’s not a date. It’s more of a business dinner. He’s a client of mine.”
“Uh-huh. I’m sure he is,” her mother said. “It’s not like you do anything but work. How else are you supposed to meet anyone?”
“No, don’t get any ideas and make this into something it’s not.”
“It could be something if you give it a chance. You’re a workaholic, and that’s a good way to let life pass you by. Trust me, I wrote the book on doing things for all the wrong reasons.”
Harper let out a long, deep, audible breath.
“Just because I’ve been unlucky in marriage doesn’t mean I want to see you end up alone.”
Harper didn’t want to admit her mom had a point. Although, she sincerely doubted she’d ever follow in her mother’s footsteps and walk down the aisle in puffy, white dress. Maybe she was jaded from her line of work, but you don’t need to get married to have a committed relationship. Wow. What the fuck was she saying? She’d never considered anything other than keeping it casual. How the hell had a relationship pop into her mind? “Are you almost done? I need to try this on.”
Sighing, Monica opened the door to the changing room, dress in hand. “Fine, but you know I’m right.”
“Okay, Mom.” She rolled her eyes. It was always easier to agree.
Harper slipped into the dressing room and quickly changed. The dress brought out the color in her eyes. It was dressy enough for dinner, but also appropriate for a more casual atmosphere, depending on where he decided to take her. Parker hadn’t told her where they were going. She swiveled in front of the mirror.
“Are you going to let me see it?” her mom asked.
Harper opened the door.
Monica nodded approvingly, her eyes twinkling. “But it’s not a date.”
“Nope, it’s just dinner.”
“Yeah, I don’t think that’s the idea he will have when he sees you wearing that,” her mom said with a smirk.
Harper wasn’t going to acknowledge their dysfunctional relationship, at least not when her mom was right. She turned and looked in the mirror. The sleeveless silk dress had an ornamental silver belt and a ruffled skirt that fell mid-thigh. It would look fantastic with a pair of brown wedge sandals she had at home. She smiled to herself.
Parker wouldn’t know what hit him.
* * *
Harper spent most of Thursday putting her plan into action. If Rebecca—or whatever her name was—could use TMZ to her advantage, then so could they. The information Bold Security gave her would be more than enough to refute her allegations.
Before she knew it, Friday evening had rolled around. Parker would be at her apartment any minute now. Giddy nervousness swirled through her as she showered and got ready. She applied light make-up and spritzed herself with some perfume before there was a knock on her door.
Although she’d already put him on the visitor list at the gatehouse, she checked the peephole before swinging the door wide. He wore khaki trousers and a button-down shirt, his brown hair curling over the collar slightly, and he smelled good enough to eat.
Harper swallowed the lump in her throat. What was she getting into? How could she possibly think she could deny their chemistry when the man exuded sensuality? Dinner was the furthest thing from her mind. All she wanted was to feel him inside of her, his sweat-slick body rocking against hers, and another night of wild one-on-one, fuck until the sun comes up sex.
“Hey, gorgeous.”
Heat rushed to her core. “Let me grab my purse. Where are we going?”
“You’ll see… It’s one of my favorite places to eat.”
Oh, god.
The way he said eat didn’t sound like he meant food. A crazy urge to grab him by the front of his shirt and pull him into her apartment came over her. She resisted the strong desire throbbing between her thighs and grabbed her bag from the breakfast bar, but when she turned, Harper bumped into him. He’d stepped inside, and her nerves were so raw she hadn’t noticed. When her palm landed on his chest, her pulse quickened. Harper tried to pull away, but she wasn’t fast enough.
He grabbed her hips and yanked her even closer to his solid body. Parker made her kitchen feel entirely too small and filled her body with awareness. His football player muscles swelled under her hand, making her want to take his shirt off and slide her palms down his chest, to his ripped stomach.
“I want you, and there are so many things I want to do to you, Harper. You have no idea. Everything about you attracts me.” His breath against her neck sent tingles across her skin.
“I can’t…not now. Not until this is over.”
His fingers dug deeper into her hips. “Fair enough, but the fact that I can’t have you makes me want you even more.” He ran a thumb over her bottom lip and down her neck.
An involuntary moan escaped. She’d set the rules, but she wanted to break them, hop on top of him, and thrust his cock deep inside of her. He wanted her, too. Evidence of that was prodding her stomach. He let her go abruptly, and the absence of his body against hers left her needy and drunk with desire. Raw sexuality and unquenched passion vibrated between them.
“Let’s go, before I give into what I want.” His voice came out husky.
“What do you want?” Harper knew, and she could tell the affect she had on him, but couldn’t help reaching forward and wrapping her arms around his neck with a breathy tease against his mouth.
He sucked in air. “I want to touch you, taste you. I want to be cock-deep inside of you, giving you everything I’ve got. I want you to fall apart and scream my fucking name. The only reason I’m holding back is because that’s what you say you want. Except you don’t. And if you keep tempting me, I won’t be able to stop myself.”
Damn. That was fucking hot. Tearing herself away from him was hard when he talked like that. Her hands shook as she unwound them from his neck and slowly stepped away.
“We should go,” she said.
Parker ran a hand through his hair. “Yeah, we should.”
* * *
They drove to the restaurant in his Spyder, and he seemed to relax with physical distance between them. A sexual charge still filled the car, but Parker turned down the hotness to a more manageable level by making small talk. At least that seemed to be working for him.
Harper still found the proximity of being in the passenger seat next to him intoxicating. What the hell was wrong with her? Her panties were wet from their provocative exchange back at her apartment, but he hadn’t even kissed her. It was crazy to feel this way.
He was right—she didn’t want him to stop. She had a primal, visceral need to have his body pinned against hers, skin-on-skin contact to alleviate the calm, logical reserve she clung to with desperation. She’d never been good at giving up control. Maybe that was why she excelled at what she did. Maintaining order in the chaos surrounding her clients was part of the job description.
Damned if Harper wasn’t ready to betray herself and let go of restraint when they pulled into a parking lot across from Rinaldo’s, a little Italian restaurant known for its authentic cuisine. She’d heard good things about it, but had never been there. She pulled herself together and tried to focus on the fabulous meal ahead as she smoothed her palms against her thighs.
“Ready for a bite to eat?” Parker asked as he turned to her with an easy smile.
“I’m famished.” She grabbed for the car door handle when his arm snaked forward, stopping her.
“Allow me,” he said, getting out of the car and loping around to open her door. He gave her a hand as she climbed out, a little less gracefully than she would’ve liked, but the vehicle rode low to ground.
“Thanks,” she said, her cheeks flushed with heat.
“Come on, gorgeous.” He hadn’t let go of her as they walked hand in hand across the parking lot. There was something tender about the way their fingers were interlaced. “I know Antonio and Anna personally, and they do a great job running the place. You’re going to love it.”
Parker introduced her to Antonio Rinaldo, who greeted them and showed them to their table. When the waitress stopped to take their order, Parker took the liberty of ordering for her. She found his cocksure, take-charge attitude incredibly sexy. She was used to being the confident one, and with the tables turned, Harper was in uncharted territory.
She was grateful when the waitress returned with their wine. Maybe that was why she wanted to take a moment to talk business and explain her strategy of leaking information about Paige to TMZ to discredit her and lift Parker’s suspension. In fact, she’d already given the information to the tabloid. She’d agreed to dinner because of an obligation to keep her client informed. That’s all this is. Business. But who was she fucking kidding?
She cleared her throat and focused on being professional instead of how insanely good he looked. “Tomorrow, TMZ is running a story about Paige.”
“If you think that’s the best way to deal with her allegations, I trust your judgement,” Parker said.
“It’s too late to get ahead of the story, but I think we can change the focus if the spotlight is on her history.” Harper took a sip of her wine. “She’s done this before. Why should anyone believe her now?”
Parker smiled and grasped her hand across the table. “You’re amazing. Do you know that?”
She flushed. “It’s my job. This is what I do… And I’m good at it.”
“There’s a lot that you’re good at,” he said. His words were suggestive, and his voice was husky. He was stroking the back of her hand with his thumb.
She squirmed in her seat, fighting the desire tingling through her thighs. “Oh?”
“I could go on for days about the things you’re good at, like how you use your tongue, how you ride me…”
He trailed off because the waitress was bringing their food. The meal was delicious, and Parker entertained her with more flirtatious banter and shared how he’d come from nothing and achieved a successful career playing for Miami Lightning.
As dinner went on, her resolve not to sleep with him was slowly slipping away, and the wine really wasn’t helping. Harper was stuffed by the time they finished eating, but Parker insisted on dessert, so they shared a tiramisu.
He forked a bite into her mouth. “I want to show you my appreciation for all your hard work.”
She swallowed, and the velvety dessert slid down her throat. “It’s my job.”
Parker cleared his throat. “Well, you have no idea how relieved I am that your office is handling the situation.”
“I imagine your career makes you a target. It’s unfortunate, and I’m sorry you’re going through this,” she said quietly.
His eyes darkened as they met hers. “I’m used to being a target. When I was growing up, I was a scrawny little runt until tenth grade. Middle school was brutal.”
Harper nodded. “Same here. I had braces and head gear. Besides, I was never terribly popular because I preferred books and studying to keggers.”
“Is that why you’re single? Too busy finishing law school to settle down?”
She paused, unsure how much she was willing to share with him. “It’s not so much that I’ve been too busy. I guess ‘reluctant to get involved’ would be a better way to put it.”
“Why? Are you afraid it won’t work out?”
Harper swallowed. “I think my parents are about to get a divorce. My father is really controlling with money and a cheater. So I don’t have a lot of trust in relationships. I’ve always prided myself in being independent and earning my own money. I couldn’t imagine that being stripped away from me. I watched my mother go through that and saw how much she gave up for us.”
“That’s admirable, and refreshing, because most of the women I’ve dated are more interested in my credit cards than me.” He paused, searching her face. “But not all men cheat.”
She let out a nervous laugh. “I know that, but it’s hard for me not to think the worst.”
Parker reached across the table and took her hand, his thumb pressing against the delicate skin on her wrist, where she was sure her pulse betrayed her. “When I find a woman worth being with, she’s the only one I want. All I want is for you to have and do everything you’ve always wanted. ” He brought her wrist to his mouth and pressed his lips against her pulse, its rhythm picking up under his touch. “I want you to come home with me, Harper, but only if it’s not an issue with your work. I’d never jeopardize your career.” His words were whispered against her skin, a feather-light contact.
The effect of the simple brush of his lips and his sweet seductive words were enough to make her forget all her rules. She closed her eyes. Rules were meant to be broken. “Yes.”