She took a breath and then tilted her face up to his. “I know I should tell you that we can’t do this again,” he said. Her eyes searched his and he thought she might be holding her breath. “But I can’t. I can’t say this won’t happen again because I want it to happen again. I want whatever this is between us. I know it’s awkward with the internship and everything, but I still want this. I want you.” “I want you too,” she said. Her eyes were wide and glassy and he lifted his hand to cup her cheek and run his thumb across her bottom lip. “No one at work can know,” he said. “I know,” she replied, letting her hand settle on his thigh. “I’m okay with that.” “You can’t tell Peyton.” “I know. I haven’t, I mean she doesn’t know about it before.” She dropped her head and let her hand slide off his thigh. “It seemed too precious to gossip about.” He lifted her chin, his hand sliding around to the back of her neck and tangling in the strands of ha
“Come back to bed,” Mia said as he reached for his pants. He leaned over her and kissed her. He loved kissing her. He didn’t ever want to stop kissing her, but he had to go. He had lunch with his mother in an hour and he needed to go home and change. He only had the clothes he’d worn to Mia’s place on Friday night and there was no way he could go to lunch with his mother dressed like that. “I’ve got to go,” he said, pulling reluctantly away from her. “I have a lunch appointment with my mother and you have family dinner tonight.” He slapped her butt and finished dressing while she watched and pouted. She was too cute and leaving her was harder than he’d expected. He didn’t know what the next week would be like working with her. How the hell was he going to keep his hands off her? At least they would have their nights together. That would have to be enough. It would be the carrot that kept him going through the day…it had to be. He kissed her once more before leaving
“How was your first week at your new job?” her father asked, not looking up from the paper. “Great,” she said, with a wide grin. She couldn’t stop grinning, even though her cheeks ached with it. “Not all that great,” Frankie said, coming into the kitchen and sitting down at the table. “Mia fell on her face in front of the boss.” He snickered and Mia narrowed her gaze at him, but she couldn’t really find any anger at his comment. She was too happy and satisfied to let Frankie’s niggling get under her skin. “I learned so much this week,” she said, instead. “You were lucky you weren’t fired,” Frankie added. “Hush your mouth, Frankie,” Mia said. “It wasn’t that bad.” “What wasn’t that bad?” Ant asked, coming into the room and sitting at the table. “It was that bad,” Frankie said. “Mia’s first week at The Playbook. She fumbled the ball, although I got a good laugh out of it. Carathurs wasn’t real happy though.” “Carathurs?” Frank said, lowering
“I ’m not fucking shaving my beard off,” Frankie said, his arms crossed over his puffed-up chest and his legs wide. The stance was meant to be intimidating but Mia had to hide her smile behind her hand. All she could see was her brother when he was a kid and their mother tried to explain to him why he couldn’t keep the stray dog that had followed him home. Frankie eventually wore Maria down and Buster got to stay, but only after an extensive search for his owner. Now he was trying to make the same stand with Liam, only Liam wasn’t Maria and Mia didn’t think he would cave on the beard thing. They were in the studio with the photographer and makeup artist patiently waiting for the hair stylists to start so they could get some action shots. But Frankie was being his usual mule-headed self. The guy really didn’t take direction well, which was probably why he was his own boss. “We aren’t going to shave it off completely,” Liam said. “But that thing definitely needs a trim. You look l
“Maybe I want to look like a hooligan,” he answered sulkily. “You’re here for a reputation makeover,” Liam said. “I don’t think hooligan is what we were going for.” “So what are you going to do, just shave it all off?” “Yeah, nah,” Mia said. “If you think you look like a hooligan now, you’d look like an axe murderer with a buzz cut.” She stepped closer to him, angling him so he could see himself in the large mirror that filled an entire wall like a dance studio. “We’ll just take this ratty hair off the back and blend it up with the longer hair on top. Ideally, I like to see you with an undercut, but you need to grow some hair back before we can do that. In the meantime, we’ll go high and tight. Think David Beckham.” Darius looked at himself in the mirror—his second favorite pastime after looking at his phone. “David Beckham?” “Yeah,” Mia said with a nod. “Alright. I’ll make it look better than Becks, though. That guy’s old.” “If he gets to look like David Beckham, who
Her arms slid over his shoulders and her fingers threaded into the hair at the base of his neck. Working with her hadn’t been as hard as he’d thought, especially when they could sneak moments alone like this. “Hmm,” she hummed as he kissed along her jaw and down her neck. “That feels nice.” “You feel nice,” he murmured. She tipped her head back to look at him. “Is everything okay?” “Of course,” he said, leaning in to nibble on her neck. “Who was on the phone?” she asked, her voice a little breathless. He leaned his forehead against her shoulder. “My mum. She’s going to stay in Melbourne for a while longer.” Mia tipped his face up so she could see his eyes. “That’s a good thing, right?” “Yeah,” he replied, dropping his head back to her shoulder and breathing her in. “She’s going to be staying with my brother.” “How do you feel about that?” “A little left out, if I’m honest,” he said quietly, not quite sure why he was being so truthful w
They were breaking so many rules, and maybe that added to the excitement. Anyone could walk in on them at any time, but again, didn’t that just make it that much more? “Liam,” she moaned just before she came for the second time. He rode out her orgasm until it began to ebb and then he let go and chased his own climax. He pushed into her, leaning his weight against her, panting into her neck as he came and relishing the feel of her wrapped around him. He lifted his head and gazed into her dazed eyes. She was so beautiful and precious and exactly what he needed. He kissed her, telling her with his lips and tongue what he couldn’t tell her with words. Eventually, he pulled away from her, holding her steady until she found her legs. They smiled at each other. She wasn’t the only one feeling a little wobbly on their feet, Liam definitely needed a minute to collect himself. “I, ah, I didn’t mean for it to go that far,” he said, not looking at her as he took care of
Mia sighed as Liam’s lips coasted down her throat, sending goosebumps skittering across her skin in the most delicious way. The man knew how to get her going from zero to a hundred in two seconds flat. Not that she was complaining. After their little tryst in the closet a couple of days ago they decided, by mutual silent agreement, they wouldn’t go there again at work. It was too easy to get caught. The fallout was that Liam had barely walked into Mia’s apartment before his hands and mouth were all over her. Again, she wasn’t complaining. The phone rang and she pulled away, but Liam wouldn’t let her go. “Leave it,” he said, his raspy voice heating her skin. “I can’t,” Mia replied reluctantly. “It’s Peyton. I’ve been avoiding her all week and if I don’t answer, she’ll come over to check on me.” Liam groaned but let her go, at least enough so she could answer the phone. He kept his arms around her, though and his lips continued to tease the soft skin of her neck as she tried to
6 months later“Are you ready for this?” Anthony asked as they stood outside the courtroom. Talia nodded and gripped Parker’s hand. The judge had called them back in for the verdict on Mark’s trial and she couldn’t deny she was nervous. The weeks spent preparing for the trial and then sitting through the witness statements and being cross-examined by an aggressive defense attorney who made her out to be some sort of diva and ungrateful bitch who was somehow ripping off the father who had done everything for her had taken its toll. And the media beat-up was just as bad. However, not all the media had been on her father’s side. Talia had discovered she had far more supporters than she’d thought. Her fans—the true fans—had gathered in force to support her and she loved them for it. Not enough for her to consider going back into acting, but enough that going through the trial had been bearable. But if not for the constant and unwavering support of Parker, Talia didn’t think she woul
Parker rolled his eyes as he took her hand and stood. “Seal the deal?” “Isn’t that what you said earlier?” He shook his head, his grin still in place. “No, I said celebrate.” “Okay, good. Let’s do that then.” Parker grabbed her and lifted her up, making Talia squeal. He kissed her and she wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his shoulders. Stumbling, he carried her to the bedroom and tossed her on the bed with a flourish, making her squeal again. “I feel like we need champagne and strawberries or something,” Parker said, standing with his hands on his hips as he looked around the room. “You mean like pouring champagne in my belly button and licking it out?” Talia asked, lifting her shirt to reveal her navel. Parker cocked an eyebrow. “Hmm…that’s something to think about for a later celebration,” he said. Talia pouted. Parker held up his hands. “I don’t have any champagne on hand,” he protested. “Then I’ll just have to
“You called Isaac,” Parker said when he walked into the apartment. Talia looked up at him and bit her lip. “I did,” she said. “But before you get mad, I didn’t say anything about what happened. And I did it because I knew you wouldn’t say anything to defend yourself.” Parker sighed. “I’m not mad,” he said, walking over to where she was seated, working on her miniature diorama. He leaned down and kissed her. “I’m grateful. Thank you. What you said to Isaac helped.” Talia grinned up at him. “So, they’re going to let you do the article?” Parker nodded. “They are.” “That’s so great,” Talia replied. “So it all worked out.” Parker pulled out a chair and sat down beside her. “Things have worked out for me, but what about you? What are your plans now? Without Mark controlling your every move, you can do anything you want.” Talia dropped her head and fidgeted with her fingers in her lap. “I don’t know what I want to do,” she said quietly. “I don’t think I wan
Talia pulled back from the kiss. “Don’t you think it was pretty selfish of me not to sacrifice myself for you?” she asked. “No,” he said, reaching up to tuck some hair behind her ear. “What you did wasn’t selfish, it was survival. There’s a difference. Me expecting you to sacrifice yourself for my job would have been selfish. Are you doing what you need to in order to survive? Not selfish. Not in the slightest.” “It feels selfish,” she mumbled, leaning her forehead against his. “I feel like I need to do something to make it up to you.” Parker cupped her face. “Talia,” he whispered. “This is not some quid pro quo thing. There will be times when you will save me. I have no doubt about it. That’s how relationships work. It’s swings and roundabouts. There is no big tally sheet in the sky and nobody is keeping score.” “I just don’t want you to feel resentful—” Parker cut off the rest of her sentence with a kiss. “How could I be resentful of the fact that I get to have you in my l
“She’s asleep,” Parker said, coming into the living room from his bedroom where Talia had finally succumbed to sleep. He slumped onto the couch beside Stephen and laid his head on his father’s shoulder. Anthony looked over at him from where he was sitting, going through some paperwork on his laptop, and Carter paced, not able to sit still. “I take it the article came out,” Parker said. “Yeah,” Carter replied with a sigh as he raked his hand through his hair. “It’s going to do us some damage,” Parker said. “Maybe,” Carter said with a shrug. “Maybe not.” Parker frowned at him. “What does that mean?” “It gets your name out there,” he replied. “It will drive people to your blog.” “Fucking hell, Carter,” Parker exploded, jumping to his feet. “Seriously? You think this is a good thing?” “I didn’t say that,” Carter replied. “I just said it wasn’t necessarily damaging to us.” “And what about Parker asked. “The article would have tanked that de
Anthony had filed a police report as soon as he arrived in the city. “Their hands are tied,” Anthony said with a sigh. “There is no evidence of force and as she recently hid from the public because of a scandal, we have nothing to say she isn’t doing it again because of the latest issue.” “But can’t they force her to at least speak with them? To check that she’s okay?” Parker asked. “As far as they’re concerned, she has just gone into hiding again,” Anthony reiterated. “Until we have something to say otherwise, they can’t do anything. This has the potential to be a high-profile case because of who she is, so if they make a big deal about it and it turns out to be something innocent, it might blow up in their faces.” “That’s bullshit,” Parker growled, pushing up from his seat to pace around the room. He hated that he was sitting there doing nothing while Talia was trapped in her father’s house. It was torture to know where she was and yet not be able to get to
“You have got to be fucking kidding me,” Talia said. After Mark’s big reveal the night before, Talia had been left to sleep off the effects of the sedative he’d given her. The fucking bastard. He’d locked her door so she couldn’t get out and the window was too far from the ground for her to escape that way. Not without breaking something, anyway. Which Talia wouldn’t have minded, except with the way she’d been feeling, the thing that got broken might very well be her head, and she was kind of attached to it being in one piece and remaining on her shoulders. So Mark had stalked her and Parker and then kidnapped her and drugged her and imprisoned her and he was under the impression that he was perfectly within his rights to do so. “I’m doing this for you,” Mark said. “Your mental health is at stake here.” “The only threat to my mental health is your arsehole behavior,” Talia snapped. They were sitting in the sunny kitchen at the table and Mark was trying to pretend that it
Carter clicked his fingers. “The original photos, the ones that were taken when you took her out to look at the miniature street art.” Carter turned to Parker. “You were in some of those photos. Your face was blurred, but that could have been done after the fact.” “So he’s been following me?” Parker asked. “You and Carter. Both would be my guess,” Jack said. “So he’s been following us, but how did he know I was sending a car to pick her up?” Parker asked. “Have you noticed anyone following you?” Carter asked. Parker shook his head and then paused. “What?” Carter asked. “What’s that look?” “It’s probably nothing,” Parker said. “Just say it,” Carter said. “I was speaking to Talia just before I went into the meeting he said. “When I hung up from the call, I bumped into a guy…you don’t think…nah. It can’t be. This isn’t some espionage movie.” “Could he have overheard your conversation?” Jack asked, leaning back in his chair and looking up
Parker was on a high. By all accounts, Atticus was on board with his proposal. Isaac just wanted to check in with the rest of the band before giving him a definitive answer. That was fine with Parker. Things would go much more smoothly if everyone was in agreement. The last thing he wanted was a hostile environment and if any of the members had misgivings about the proposal, then he would walk away. It would hurt, but he would do it. For this to work—for everyone involved—there had to be open communication and a willingness to participate. Without that, Parker may as well give up now. He climbed into his car, cursing the parking ticket and flapping on his windscreen. Getting out again, he grabbed it from under the windscreen wiper and shoved it into his glove compartment. The Playbook could pay for that. It was the price of doing business, after all. He turned the music up loud as he navigated through the heavy traffic toward his apartment building. He couldn’t wait to tell Ta