Page 10 of Desirable
Parker: Your ceiling would be the best for my viewing pleasure.
Sleeping with this man would ruin me.
CHAPTER6
The Shanghai customs agent pays me no mind before stamping my passport and handing it back to me. When I leave the departures area, I find Parker waiting for me. He's dressed down in shorts and a polo, and I think he looks ready for a round of golf, not picking me up from the airport. Suddenly, my legs are wobbly again. Being around Parker has me feeling unsure about everything. I doubt he’s feeling even a fraction of what I’m feeling, but with every text, he worms his way further into my life and heart. His grin is broad as he walks toward me.
We stop in front of each other, unsure how to greet the other. There is no guide on how to say hi to a man who has had his fingers inside you, that you dream and masturbate about, but officially, he's paying you to be his date. A handshake feels too formal and a hug too intimate.
Parker seems just as unsure until he sweeps me into his arms in a tight embrace. A hug it is. I inhale deeply, filling my mind with his scent, a musk with hints of citrus. It's been twenty-four days, six hours, and seventeen minutes since I last saw him. Not that I'm counting. It feels like it’s been forever and no time at all. Since his sister confronted Parker about me, he and I have been texting nonstop. About big things like religion (we were both raised Catholic but tend towards being agnostic) and little things, like making sure our stories line up.
"I figured you might be jet-lagged, and being in a new country can be jarring, so I wanted to pick you up. How was your flight?"
I don't want to talk about my flight. I want him to take me into a bathroom and bend me over the sink while he fucks me from behind in smooth, even strokes that I know he's capable of.
"It was great. First class for fifteen hours from New York certainly helped."
"I wanted you to be well-rested. Jacoby said you insisted on not using my private jet, something about the environment. Today, we'll do some sightseeing, and tomorrow night is the event, so I wanted you to have today to get acclimated to the city."
"Then, what are we waiting for?" I sling my bag over my shoulder, tightening my grip on it before venturing into a new city.
* * *
This event is decidedly lessstressful than the gala. Most of the businesspeople Parker talks to speak Mandarin, so I’m given a sort of reprieve from needing to impress people. Jacoby still gave me short bios of everyone I might see at this party. I know that most of them speak English and have all greeted me in my native tongue, but when they start to talk business, that’s when I get shut out.
My dress is more conservative this time around. It’s made of thick, rich yellow silk with a diamond cutout from the nape of my neck to the small of my back. That’s the part of me that Parker touches all night long, his fingers stroking my skin along my spine nonstop. Not once does he cross the line into impropriety.
Towards the end of the night, I stumble getting out of my chair when my heel gets caught in my skirt. Parker has his arms around me, pulling me into his lap to stop my fall. Our faces end up a breath apart, and I remember what it was about him that drove me to kiss him at the bar. He may have been the closest guy to me, but I had been eyeing him long before that. The stern set to his mouth and his shrewd eyes that seemed to capture every detail. I wanted to know him better.
“Do I have to cut you off?” Parker asks, his hand holding my hip steady.
I loop my arms around his neck, pressing my forehead against his. It feels so intimate for what we’ve done, more intimate than our tryst at the gala. “Sober as a judge.”
“The judges I know aren’t very sober.”
I overhear one of the women sitting at our table say something loudly, but like most things tonight, I’ve had to ask Parker to translate. “What did she say?”
“That we’re very cute, and now she’s scolding her husband for not being nearly as gallant.”
I hazard a glance at who is speaking and move my lips closer to Parker’s ear. “That’s his mistress. His wife just had their fourth child two weeks ago.”
“You did your homework.”
“It pays to be prepared.” I stifle a yawn.
“Still jet-lagged?”
“It’s hard not to be when you’re putting me on another plane tomorrow morning.”
“I’m done mingling, if you’re ready to head back to the hotel.”
“I’m just here for you.”
Parker leans away from me for a moment, his eyes studying my face before he nods. “Then I suppose it’s time to get you back.”
We’re quiet in the limo and up to the suite he has us booked in. My jaw nearly dropped when I first walked into the room. At what point does it stop being a suite and just become an apartment? I mean, the suite has a baby grand piano in it. His bedroom is situated on one side, completely separate from mine. We would never have to talk while in the same space.
We have sweeping views of the city and river, and this life of luxury is unbelievable. There was hot tea waiting when we got back from touring the city, and a bottle of champagne tonight.