Finn let go of Jack and ran his hands through his hair. Fuck. He had it bad for this girl. Jack slapped him on the back. “Look,” he said, “I think you’ve gone past the maybe stage with Peyton. You are definitely falling for her and I think you should see where this thing goes. What is the worst that could happen?” “She could rip what is left of my heart out of my chest and stomp on it,” Finn replied. Jack chuckled. “There is that. But what if she doesn’t? What if you actually find happiness with her? What if she can restore what Chantel stole from you? Did you ever think of that?” Could he risk it? Could he just let this thing between them happen organically? He exhaled roughly. There was only one way to find out.Peyton smoothed the dress down with shaky palms. After Liam had told her that Finn had seen her at the bar with Daniel, she expected him to call off their date. He hadn’t. Instead, he had called her to confirm it. She was nervous. For the first
Rhonda was not what Peyton expected. The woman was a knockout, and tall. Taller than her husband. Rhonda pulled Peyton into a hug. “So glad to meet you. You’ve come on a good night. I’ve made lamb shanks.” Finn groaned and Peyton looked over at him, surprised. “Sorry,” he said with a grin. “I love Rhonda’s lamb shanks. She cooks them in Guinness. They’re amazing.” “Come on, let’s get you a table,” Phil said. “You get back to the kitchen, woman,” he said affectionately to Rhonda. She bopped him on the butt and laughed as she walked back to the kitchen. “Here,” Phil said, presenting a table to them. “The best seat in the house. I’ll be back with the wine.” Finn held out her chair for her and she smiled up at him as she sat. “I love this place already,” she said. “I’ve been coming here forever,” Finn said as he sat. “The food is always good, but I just love Phil and Rhonda.” “You’ve really never brought a date here before?” Peyton asked.
She got a pensive look and ducked her head before speaking again. “So why me?” she asked, not looking at him. “Honestly?” he asked and waited for her to look up and nod. “I don’t really know.” He smiled at his own honesty. “There’s just something about you, Peyton Smith. Something that makes me want to get to know you better.”“Sorry to interrupt,” Phil said, coming to the table with an abashed grin on his face, “but we’re closing up and…” Finn looked around to realize they were the only two people left in the restaurant. “Oh God,” Peyton said. “We’re so sorry.” How had that happened? How had the night simply disappeared? It felt like they had only just gotten here and now it was time to go. Finn wasn’t ready for the night to be over. “Sorry Phil,” he said, standing and then holding out his hand to Peyton. “We’ll get out of your hair now.” He had paid the bill a while ago, now that he thought about it. He had been so lost in Peyton that he hadn’t even rea
Peyton was nervous as they rode the elevator to her floor. It had been a long time since she had been with a man other than Dale. Finn seemed way out of her league. Oh, but she wanted him. Her nerves were in part because she was afraid he would change his mind. God, please don’t let him change his mind. Finn held her close as the lift ascended. He kissed the tip of her nose and her cheeks. He threaded his hand through her hair. He skimmed his other hand down the length of her spine. It wasn’t what she expected. There was no desperate kissing and tugging at each other’s clothes because they couldn’t wait to get each other naked. It was almost as if Finn was savoring the moment, memorizing each minute that passed. It built the tension in her. In some ways, she wished he would just let go and ravish her. She needed a good ravishing and she didn’t doubt that Finn would be the man to do it. But he took his time, driving her to distraction. Her nipples were hard and painful, rubbi
His fingers caressed her hips, tracing the line of her panties. Some part of her brain wished she hadn’t thrown out all her g-strings. Another part of her brain told her that Finn didn’t seem to care. And then her brain stopped thinking altogether as his fingers slipped down between her legs to cup her silk-covered mound. She made a weird groaning sound and couldn’t help but rock her pelvis into his hand. That seemed to jumpstart her brain. She needed to be naked. She needed him naked. Her hands found his buttons and she fumbled with them, rushing to get them open, not caring if she ripped the buttons off in the process. Finn lifted his head and his hands cupped her face, and kissed her, stilling her. Then he stepped back and pulled his shirt over his head. Her eyes ate him up greedily and then she was pressing her naked, needy breasts against his chest. She rubbed against him like a cat, the few wiry hairs on his chest rubbing against her nipples deliciously. “On
Who knew sex could be like that? Now she understood the sly smile that she sometimes saw on her sister’s face. Wow.Finn reluctantly dragged his body away from Peyton’s. He rolled to the side and took care of the condom, wrapping it in a tissue and dropping it into the wastebasket beside her bed. To say that his world had been rocked would be an understatement and he needed a moment to understand what the hell had happened. There was nothing earth-shattering about what they had done, except that it had completely shattered his world. He liked sex and he’d had a lot of good sex, but there was something different about sex with Peyton. He didn’t want to admit the truth, but he knew it was more than just their bodies connecting. Sex for the sake of sex was always good - well for him, anyway. Two naked bodies finding pleasure in each other? What could be better? That. Whatever the hell they had just done? That was better. He rolled back onto his side and pulled her int
He spread the folds of her sex and she tilted her hips up, begging for him to touch her. He opened his mouth on her, sucking her hard clit into his mouth. She moaned and he grinned. He loved the sounds she made. He tongued her, French kissing her pussy. He loved the taste of her. It exploded across his tongue and he closed his eyes to savour it. Her legs wrapped around his head, her thighs pressing him closer. She rocked into his face, demanding more from him. Finn grabbed her legs and spread them wide, opening her up to him. He slid a finger inside her as he continued to suckle her clit and then added a second one. She was so wet and warm and tight and it felt so good as her muscles squeezed his fingers. His cock hardened, wanting to be in the party, but the little fucker would have to wait. He wanted Peyton to come all over his face first and then he would fill her up, ramming his cock into her until he was balls deep. He curled his fingers inside her, dragging them a
“Look, Carter,” Finn said, trying to keep his desperation in check. “I really don’t think I should continue this blog series. Things have gotten…out of hand.” Carter looked at him like he was some sort of fucked up alien. “Out of hand how?” “The specifics don’t matter—” “I beg to differ,” Carter interrupted. “You have the man in the street hanging off your every word. Your subscriptions haven't only grown but surpassed your previous levels. This is gold, mate. Absolute gold. Why would you want to walk away from it?” “Because—” Liam burst through the office door, panting like he had been running. “You need to call this thing off with Peyton,” he said. “What? Have you all gone stark raving mad? Why would I do that? These blog posts are the most popular thing on the site. There would have to be a damn good reason for us to stop them.” “How about the Alpha Pi Tau?” Carter looked at Liam. Finn looked at Liam. There was a moment of complete silence and stillness as they
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