Chapter Ten

What the hell was he doing flirting with Tamsen? He had no idea, but he couldn’t seem to stop himself.

Future stepsister!

And daughter of a possible con man.

Right, the big red flag waving over their heads reminding him what a monumentally ridiculous idea it would be to hook up with Tamsen. The mental reminder caused him to take a step back. And a physical one. This close proximity to Tamsen was messing with his head. He rocked back on his heels, affecting a teasing tone.

“Maybe you could come down and draw the whole crew at Station 42. We could make this year’s firefighter calendar real classy and charge a fortune for it.”

She blinked, the hazy, lust-filled look in her eyes disappearing as her lips curled up in a smile. “I don’t think ‘classy’ is what people want when it comes to those calendars. Come on, let’s get back to party planning.”

She shook her head with a laugh and headed out of the bedroom back into the kitchen. Parker gave her bed a fond glance before following.

“Can I get you some coffee or a cup of tea?”

He’d rather have more wine to dull the aching need burning for her inside him. “If you have decaf, coffee sounds great.”

“I do. Cream and sugar?”

He shook his head. Years of working the chaotic and exhausting job of a first responder had taught him to take coffee black because most times, that was the only way you could get it. Tamsen moved around the small kitchen, dumping the grounds into her coffeemaker and filling the reservoir with water.

He found himself fascinated by her movements, the swing and sway of her purple blouse that did that weird thing where it hung down farther in the back than the front. Her slim legs were encased in yellow leggings today. They hugged every dip and curve of her body, moving effortlessly with her like a second skin. His mother’s snobby society friends might say leggings were not appropriate attire. But Tamsen’s clothes were almost an art piece in and of themselves. He knew people tended to stare a lot at good art, and he found his eyes locked on Tamsen whenever they were in the same room.

Once the coffee was done, Tamsen brought it to the table and pulled a red notebook in front of her.

“Okay, let’s brainstorm,” she said, opening the notebook.

“I still think this is a weird idea.”

“Aren’t all traditions associated with weddings a little weird? The thing with the garter and the bouquet toss. Throwing rice. Decorating the car with streamers and tin cans. Giant inflatable penises at the bachelorette party.”

He recoiled in mock horror. “Please tell me we’re not planning my mother’s bachelorette party, too. Silly shower games I can handle, but I draw the line at shopping for dick paraphernalia for my own mother.”

She reached out to pat his hand. The small touch seared him, sending heat all the way down to his cock. Tamsen didn’t seem affected, so he told his dick to cool it and adjusted in his seat, grateful for the table masking his reaction to this woman.

“Poor Parker. How awkward that would be for you. Try being a thirteen-year-old girl explaining to your father that you have to go to the store for tampons.”

Yeah, she had him there.

She pulled her hand away and picked up a pen. “Your mom and my dad want a shower as a way to celebrate with their friends together, that’s it.”

He nodded. “Yeah, that’s more like Mom’s style.”

“First things first, we have to pick a location.” She tapped the pen against her lips. “Somewhere nice, but not as fancy as that clubroom place where they had the engagement party. This party will be much more intimate.”

“No need to impress the upper-crusts?”

“Exactly. They only want close friends and family invited to this one. Those who truly care.”

He could roll with that. Though, with the kind of money his family had, sometimes it was hard to know who cared and who was pretending to get in good graces with the family fortune.

“A nice restaurant?”

She shook her head at his suggestion. “The problem there is most only allow you to rent out a back room, not the full place, and we want something a bit more private.”

Her brow furrowed in concentration before her eyes suddenly lit up. She smiled, raising the pen in the air.

“I got it! I can ask Winston if we can use the gallery. As long as there’s not a show happening that night, I’m sure he’ll say yes. Hephaestus is the perfect location.”

An art gallery could be cool, even if it did have a weird-ass name. His mom would probably like it. She loved art. She was on the board of a few artist foundations in the area. Though she couldn’t paint herself, she loved attending gallery showings. Then there was the summer of his sophomore year they spent in Paris. She’d taken him to the Louvre five times. Once had been enough for him, but he’d been happy to go as many times as she wanted because of the way joy filled her face whenever she stared at the artwork.

Yeah, an art gallery would be perfect.

“Is that where your art is?” He didn’t know if Tamsen sold any of her pieces, but she should. The stuff he’d seen was amazing.

“No, it’s where I work.”

“Wait, I thought you worked at a restaurant?”

She glanced up from writing things down on the paper. “I do, but I also work at the gallery. And I do some freelance stuff online. Hopefully the show I’m working on gets my foot in the art world door. Then sell some pieces, arrange commission work, shoot, maybe I can even find myself a fancy, rich benefactor and I can kiss the starving artist life good-bye. But until then, it’s nose to the grindstone and multiple jobs. Such is the life, right?”

She chuckled, but he didn’t feel like laughing at the moment. Fancy, rich benefactor. Suspicion rose within. It was obvious Tamsen was a hard worker and managing to get by, but even she admitted it’d be a dream to have someone supporting her. Did her dad think the same way? He knew the guy worked at a library, but he had little idea what the man’s financials looked like.

Maybe Thomas Hayes wanted to pad his golden years by marrying into money.

“But,” Tamsen continued, “I’m doing what I love, so I guess I can’t complain, right?”

Now, that he understood. Parker’s dad had been prepping him for the bar exam since kindergarten. His mother hadn’t pressed, but he knew she assumed he’d follow her into the family business. His father had scoffed at his childhood dream of becoming a firefighter, but his mother encouraged him. She’d always been in his corner, encouraging his decision to follow his dreams, to enter the fire academy. She never questioned his decision or made him feel inferior for choosing it over the family business. And now, he was doing what he loved, despite the lack of riches or power.

Tamsen was right. Nothing could beat following your dream.

“So what do you think about the gallery? I’ll show you around, see what you think?”

What he thought was his head was aching from ping-ponging back and forth between wanting this woman and being suspicious of her father’s motives with his mother. If his damn PI would just finish his report, maybe Parker could have some peace of mind.

“Sure. I mean, I think you probably have a better idea of what would make for a great party spot. The last party I planned was O’Neil’s birthday at the firehouse, and all it entailed was getting a cake and rigging the fake snake to jump out at him when he opened his present.”

She glanced up from the notebook she’d been scribbling down ideas in. “I’m sorry, what? Fake snake?”

“Yeah, O’Neil is a wimp when it comes to snakes. He refuses to be lead on any animal calls involving reptiles. Says they creep him out. The fangs remind him of needles or something. So the crew and I decided it’d be hilarious to rig one of those rubber snakes to jump out at him when he opened his gift. Like those old snake-in-a-can gags.”

“Sounds like a very odd birthday gift.”

He chuckled. “He got a real one, too, but the gag came first. It’s kind of a thing at the station—we’re always doing harmless pranks. I guess you could say it’s a form of bonding. Why, don’t you guys prank each other at the restaurant?”

“No.” She smiled coyly. “But we like to do magic tricks.”

Hmmmm, something about the way she said that had his suspicions rising. “Magic tricks, huh?”

“Yeah, would you like to see one?”

The spark of mischief in her eyes told him he should say no, but his curiosity had always gotten the better of him. “Sure. Dazzle me with your mystical ways, oh Mysterio.”

She pushed away from the table and headed toward the fridge.

“Don’t get too excited. It’s not like I’m going to levitate or cut you in half. It’s just a coin trick.”

There was a jar of loose change on top of the fridge. Tamsen reached in and pulled out a quarter. The movement made her shirt rise, the longer tail end hiking up, giving him a fantastic view of her ass in those leggings. He hardened to the point of pain at the sight. An image of himself holding her hips, watching those firm, round cheeks bounce against him as he took her from behind. He reached for his coffee, wishing it were ice water. He needed something to cool down the raging fire of need inside him.

Tamsen opened the fridge and pulled out a water bottle. For half a second, he panicked, thinking he’d accidently spoken out loud, but then she turned with a smile and headed back to the table, placing both the quarter and water bottle in front of her. He breathed out a sigh of relief. He hadn’t muttered any of the inappropriate thoughts in his head—she was just thirsty.

“This is called the teleporting coin trick. I’m going to magically teleport this coin into this bottle of water.”

Oh, it was part of the trick. Wait, why did this sound familiar? He wasn’t a huge magic fan, but he’d seen a show or two as a kid at some birthday parties. He racked his brain but couldn’t put his finger on it.

“I have in my hand a normal, ordinary quarter. Parker, will you please take this coin and confirm it’s a legitimate one?”

He grinned. “You take your magic tricks very seriously.”

“Shush.” She frowned at him. “The theatrics are what make the magic work.”

He chuckled. He’d never been so thoroughly charmed by a woman. “Sorry. I’ll be good.”

“I seriously doubt that,” she muttered under her breath. “Now, take the quarter.”

He plucked the coin from her, their fingers grazing at the exchange. Pinpricks of electricity shot up his arm at the contact. Judging by the sharp intake of breath from Tamsen, she felt it, too.

He rubbed the coin between his fingers, tapping it on the table but drawing the line at biting it the way people always did in movies because money was disgusting.

“Seems legit to me.”

“Thank you.”

She held her hand out, and he placed the coin back into her palm, purposefully stroking the tips of his fingers along her skin as he did. One dark eyebrow raised, but she didn’t call him out on it. He saw a slight tremor in her hand as she curled her fingers around the coin. Dammit, he really had to stop testing this line they were both dancing on.

“Good. Now can you confirm this is an ordinary bottle of water? Feel free to open it and take a sip if you want.”

He grabbed the bottle, flipping it all around, running his fingers along the plastic. No leaks, no false bottom. Seemed normal. It even still had the safety seal. Again, his brain tried to warn him of something, but the danger was just outside his grasp. He twisted off the cap and lifted the bottle to his lips but paused before taking a sip.

“Wait, you’re not going to poison me or anything?” he joked.

“I’m an artist. If I was going to kill someone, I’d hack them into pieces, encase those in body casts, and pretend it was an art installation. Probably sell it for a mint, too.”

He tipped the bottle down. “It’s kind of terrifying how much you’ve thought of this.”

“Naw.” She pushed a lock of dark hair behind her ear. “It was a real story. Some artist in the seventies did too much acid and thought his landlord was a giant snake monster trying to devour him. He grabbed an axe and hacked the poor man to death then tried to cover his crime by dunking the body parts in cement. The cops discovered him mid-dunking, and he was sent to prison for thirty to life. But it’s a great line to give creepers at the bar when they won’t take no for an answer.”

He laughed, bringing the bottle to his lips again. Cold, fresh water filled his mouth. He swallowed the sip and passed the bottle back. “I can confirm that’s a normal bottle of water.”

“Thank you. Now.” She held up the coin. “I will put this quarter on the table.”

She put the quarter down between them.

“Now I will place the water bottle on top of the quarter.” She waved her hand over the bottle. “And say the magic words, presto change-o.”

He snorted. “Presto change-o?”

“Shhh!”

He mimed zipping his lips, amused by her dedication to a silly trick.

“Now, look deeply into the bottle and see the quarter in the water’s depths. No, no, from the top,” she insisted when he stared through the side.

He scooted forward on his chair, leaning over the top of the water bottle, his eye over the opening. How was he supposed to know if the quarter—

Suddenly a gush of water came shooting out of the bottle, hitting Parker square in the face. He sputtered, the sound of Tamsen’s bright laughter filling his ears as he wiped water from his eyes.

“Oh my God, I can’t believe you fell for that.”

Oh, shit, now he remembered. Ward had shared a video of this a few months ago. Some viral prank. It was funny when he saw it, not so funny when it happened to him. But Tamsen’s glee was infectious. He found himself grinning as he subtly reached for the water bottle.

“Touché, but I’m a firefighter, sweetheart. A little water won’t make me melt. Of course, you’re as sweet as sugar, so…”

Her eyes widened as he rose from his seat, water bottle in hand. She popped up from the table, hands held out in front of her, laughter spilling from her lips as she shook her head.

“Parker, don’t even think about it.”

“Oh, I’m thinking about it.”

She squealed, trying to dodge around him, but he scooped her up with one arm, holding her close to his chest as he tipped the water bottle over her head. She yelped out a half scream half laugh, water pouring down her face.

“I can’t believe you did that.”

“Turnabout is fair play.”

She smiled up at him, tiny droplets of water catching on her dark lashes, rolling down her face. His laughter died as Parker took in their position. Tamsen was pressed up against him, and as much as he tried to control himself, it was turning out to be impossible around this woman. His cock was so hard he was about to bust through his damn zipper. She had to feel it. One subtle shift of her hip, pressing closer, and he knew she did.

“Tamsen,” he growled out a warning, but she ignored it, making the tiny motion again. He grabbed her hips, meaning to put some distance between them, but instead he pulled her tighter, ground himself closer.

“Parker,” she moaned his name, gaze hazy with lust as she stared up at him. “Kiss me.”

Hell, he couldn’t fight this anymore.

He dipped his head, lips crashing down on hers. It wasn’t a gentle kiss. It was hot and raw and so damn good, it nearly blew his head off. He felt her arms snake around his neck, fingers digging into his hair. Her touch was electric. Every bit of him felt alive in a way he never had before.

She moaned, lips parting slightly, tongue coming out to lightly taste him. He took the invitation, thrusting his tongue against hers, drinking in the uniquely amazing taste that was Tamsen. He wanted her. More than he wanted his next breath. More than he wanted a cold shower after working to put out an enclosed fire. More than anything in this damn world right now.

But as her hands slid down his chest, nimble fingertips slipping under the hem of his shirt, his brain screamed at him.

Future stepsister! Investigating her father!

Shit!

He pulled back, dropping his hands from her and taking a huge step back. Already he missed her warmth, missed her taste.

“Parker?”

He shoved his hands into his pockets to avoid the temptation of reaching out again. “This is a bad idea, Tamsen. Our parents are getting married.”

She frowned. “True.”

“So this”—he pointed back and forth between them—“wouldn’t work out.”

She touched her lips as if she could still feel him there—he sure as hell still felt her—her bright gaze focusing on his face as she appeared to be gathering her thoughts.

“I won’t deny the fact that I’m…attracted to you.” Her cheeks flushed bright pink. “And I understand this is a…complicated situation. But we can keep it casual. Actually, I prefer that, to be honest, and our parents don’t ever have to know. If you don’t want to explore this chemistry thing between us, that’s fine. I just figured I’d put the offer out there in case…”

Oh, he wanted to. He was desperate to, but there were so many things that could go wrong. His brain and body were in a war, and the more time he spent in this woman’s presence, the more his brain lost. Which was why he made his feet move to the front door.

“I should go.”

She sighed, hands coming up to cover her bright pink cheeks. “Oh god! I can’t believe I actually asked you to—”

A pang of guilt hit him square in the chest at her dejected look. “Tamsen, I don’t want to leave, but…”

“Yeah.” She waved a hand in the air. “You probably should.”

“If things were different…”

“But they aren’t.”

Nope, and wasn’t that a bitch.

“Thanks for dinner, and let me know what your boss at the studio says about the party.”

She nodded. “Will do. Bye, Parker.”

“Bye, Tamsen.”

Parker headed out of the apartment, knowing he’d done the right thing but wishing like hell he hadn’t.