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“He claimed I was withholding his rightful assets and tried to sue me for all of it. I may have lost my temper and lunged at him, which his PI conveniently caught on film. He threatened to have me arrested for assault, and he made it clear he’d take the story to every journalist who would listen.”
“Lorelai, please tell me you didn’t give that asshole your inheritance,” Parker said through a clenched jaw.
“No, we came to an agreement through mediation. George preferred to use the legal system as much as possible to manipulate me. I’d give him most of my stipend, let him live in the house with me, and agree to an environment free of threats.”
“What the fuck does that mean?”
“I had to be nice to him or he’d tattle. The bullshit assault charge would go forward, and my coach at SWU wouldn’t have had a choice but to suspend me while they investigated.”
He threaded his fingers through my hair, tugging gently. “And by then it would be too late. Your reputation would be trashed.”
“Yeah. I just wanted to play and be left alone. George made my life a living hell until I gave in.”
I hated that part of the story—where I wasn’t strong enough to defy him. The storm worsened outside, sending flashes of lightning streaking across the sky, but I felt safe with Parker. Cocooned in his dim room, in his bed with him wrapped around me, the shit with George seemed like it had happened to someone else.
Parker tugged on my hair until I raised my chin to meet his gaze. “Your transfer to TU was about more than playing football.”
I propped myself up on his chest. “Don’t get me wrong—I’d have jumped at this chance no matter what. But after two years of dealing with George’s constant demands, I couldn’t pack my bags fast enough.”
Parker grunted in assent, subtly shifting his hips away from me. We’d done this enough that his hard-ons were nothing new.
“Why does he want you to come back?”
He’d nailed the part I still didn’t understand. All evidence pointed to George being better off with me gone, but he kept searching me out.
I shook my head. “I honestly don’t know. My best guess is that he likes having me under his control. Maybe he’s hoping to find some other way to weasel himself into the estate. He can’t truly get in my way because he loses his leverage if I stop playing football.”
“Has he ever…” Parker didn’t need to finish the sentence for me to understand.
“No. He’s a horrible human being, but he’s never crossed that line.”
His shoulders relaxed, and he pulled me back down to kiss my forehead. “Want me to sic my mom on him?”
A laugh burst out of me at the unexpected threat. “Thanks, but I don’t want your mom involved in my sordid past.”
“Nothing sordid about it. He took advantage of you when you were grieving.”
Tears threatened again, and I cursed the emotions hiding just under the surface. I needed them to burrow down so I could enjoy Parker’s soft bed and hard body.
“I’d make it better if I could,” he whispered into the dark.
“You already are.”
His lips brushed my temple. “Go to sleep, Lorelai.”
As if he’d flipped a switch, my eyes became heavy and lethargy seeped into my muscles. I hadn’t been tired when we came in here, but telling him about George had exhausted me. I didn’t think I’d given him enough information to make him suspicious about my dad, but the potential for discovery was always in the back of my mind.
Would it be so bad if Parker found out? Not any worse than someone discovering that we couldn’t keep our hands off each other in the most frustrating way possible.
I was almost asleep when Parker grazed my ass and trailed his hand down my thigh. Before I could stop it, a moan slipped out as my half-dreaming brain screamedfinally. Under my fingers, his abs clenched, but I didn’t get the result I wanted.
He paused, then pulled my phone from the pocket in my leggings and set it on the bedside table next to him. I slipped back down into sleep, disappointed and horny, as he covered us both with the blanket.
* * *
The room wasdark when I opened my eyes. For a long moment, I looked around at the strange configuration with confusion. The window was on the wrong side of the room, and the air smelled way too fresh.
Parker made a gruff noise behind me, and the last few hours came rushing back. He was plastered against my back, arms banded around my middle where my tank top had ridden up. His fingers grazed back and forth across my stomach, igniting a slow burn.
