Edge (Parker Reed #2) (32 page)

She smiled and extended her hand. “It’s so nice to meet you.”

“It’s nice to meet you too. I’m Keely Price,” I said, returning her handshake.

She looked at Parker when Vade whispered something in her ear. She nodded, casting her eyes down. “It’s nice to meet you as well, Sir.”

“Parker Reed but you can call me, Parker.” Parker held out his hand.

Honey gave him a soft smile and shook his hand.

“How long have you been married?” I asked her as we stepped out into the hallway.

“Almost five years.” She hooked her arm in mine. “I like you.”

I laughed at the unexpected gesture. “I like you too.”

Vade shook his head, a huge grin spreading on his face. “My wife is good at reading people. First time she met me, she called me an asshole.”

“Really? And you got away with it?” I blurted out.

A light swat landed on my rear.

I yelped, rubbing the spot soon after. “Sorry. I’m just shocked,” I admitted, glaring up at Parker.

Vade chuckled and clapped his hands together. “Oh, how I love the training process. Now let’s go and get this done and over with before Keely falls asleep on her feet.”

As if on cue, I yawned, causing everyone to laugh.

“Where are we going?” I asked Parker after introductions were made.

“It’s a surprise.” He grabbed my hand and kissed my knuckles, smiling up at me.

“Actually, it’s a surprise for both of you.” Vade grinned and started walking away, whistling to himself. “I suggest that you all follow me if you want to find out what that surprise is,” he called out over his shoulder.

“Thank you,” Honey said after a couple minutes of silence had passed.

“For what? We should be thanking you for opening your home to us.” I found myself liking the small woman instantly. I still didn’t know exactly what her role was here besides being Vade’s wife but she seemed happy.

“My husband is a very private man. For him to allow the both of you to stay here with us is saying something.” She looked at him with warmth and love in her beautiful blue eyes. “He trusts you,” she said with conviction.

“It’s an honor for us to be here with you,” Parker said. “So we thank you as well.”

“It’s my pleasure, Sir.”

“If it’s not too personal, can I ask what a Courtesan is?” I found myself curious and wondered if it was the same as the BDSM lifestyle that Parker had introduced me to.

“It’s something that I’ve always known,” she said softly. “A lot of Courtesans are abused but I was lucky.” Her eyes saddened. “It’s like a glorified Master/slave relationship.”

I nodded slowly. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to pry.”

She shook her head quickly. “No. Not at all.”

“It’s a difficult subject,” Vade finished for her. “One day we will have to tell you our story.”

I smiled. “I would like that, Sir.”

Vade stopped at a large set of double doors. “Honey Bee, at my side, beautiful girl.”

Honey closed the distance between them and looked down at her feet.

“Ready, love?” he asked, caressing her cheek with the back of his hand.

“Yes, Master.” Her voice was filled with love, husky with the need to please her husband and do as he said. It was a beautiful scene to watch and I found myself not being able to take my eyes off of them.

“Don’t stare,” Parker whispered in my ear.

“I can’t help it. Their love is beautiful.” A tingle of heat spread through me when Parker brushed his hand down the length of my back.

“I will work damn hard for us to have the love that they share,” Parker said, his voice firm.

My heart swelled.

“Now we usually don’t allow people from the outside to see or hear the way we are with each other.” Vade ran a hand through his shaggy black hair. “People can be a little judgy.”

I scoffed.

He raised an eyebrow, looking between Parker and I. “Something you want to say, Keely?”

I quickly shook my head. “I was just going to agree with you, Sir.”

Parker chuckled. “You’ve embraced the term
intimidation
to its fullest extent, haven’t you, Vade?”

Vade barked a laugh. “You have no idea. Now let’s get this moving along before Keely’s curiosity causes her to blurt out more questions without permission.”

My cheeks heated.

Honey winked at me. “Don’t worry, he’s not that scary. And he won’t punish you. He’ll give Parker that task,” she told me softly.

“Vade really isn’t scary?”

“Well,” she took on a faraway look as she watched her husband disappear into the room before us. “He was. Not to me though. I was never scared of him.”

Interesting. I found myself wanting to know their story. How they met. How they fell in love. And why she agreed to be the gift that he was promised. I could only assume that she was the woman that Parker had told me about. Unless Vade had several women at his beck and call. He was a good-looking man. His European accent was velvety smooth and I was even drawn to it. But it was nothing like the deep rumble of Parker’s vibrato. If only I could bottle it. I would bathe in his voice.

“Follow me. Allow me to give you your surprise.” Vade stepped into the room and spread out his hands before him.

I knew the house was beautiful. Extravagant in a way that I could never imagine but when I entered the vast room, I was blown away.

“Wow,” Parker said for me. “Vade, you have outdone yourself. I never expected… wow… just…thank you.”

“Parker Reed. Speechless.” Vade laughed. “That’s a new one to add to the history books. Take a look around. Take all the time you need and then we’ll get started.”

A large stone fountain sat in the middle of the room. Two concrete birds were standing across from each other, their beaks pointed to the air as the water left their mouths. The liquid pouring into the base of the fountain glowed in the moon light by the open area in the ceiling. Candles hung on the brick beams, the flames dancing slowly every so often in the warm breeze.

An older man stood by a table and chairs, holding a bottle of wine. He looked content, peaceful as he waited for his next instructions.

This house must have been built around this room or the other way around. God, the history. “Parker?”

“Yes, angel?”

I went to ask him if he knew if there was a library here when I saw two gold rings sitting on top of a red satin pillow. It was on the edge of the fountain, glistening in the glow of the candlelight. My heart jumped in my chest. “What is this?”

Parker smirked.

“I see you found my surprise,” Vade said, coming up beside us.

“Surprise? What’s going on?” My palms became sweaty, a tingle of unexpected excitement fluttering through me.

“Well it seems like our host is moving things along faster than I expected.” Parker grabbed the small pillow, brushing his fingers over the gold bands.

Vade snapped his fingers. “Ready?” he asked Parker.

“Oh yes.” Parker grabbed my hand and kissed my knuckles. “I love you.”

My heart sped up. I could feel people moving around us but my gaze remained locked with his. “I love you too.”

“I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want to grow old with you. You captured my heart. You latched on, not letting go even if you wanted to.” His green eyes sparkled. “You are the light in my darkness. The rainbow in my storm. We’ve both led difficult lives. Made hard choices. Did things we weren’t proud of for those that we love. I never did romance before I met you, Keely Price. You are the angel that God gave me.” He cupped my cheek, his jade eyes filling with unshed tears. “I am yours. Mind. Body. And soul.”

“Oh God. Parker.” I swallowed hard, tears streaming down my cheeks at his unbelievably sweet words.

“I’m not a romantic guy but I find myself wanting to pamper you as much as I can. You deserve it. Diamonds. Fur coats. Your own private jet.”

I laughed. “I don’t need all of that stuff as long as I have you, my love.”

His thumbs brushed under my eyes. “I know. And this is why I love you even more. You have the biggest heart. Your love for your best friend is astounding. If I was half as kind as you, I would be a better person but you make me want that. You make me want to be a better man. I would give up everything to spend the rest of my life with you, wrapped up in your arms. That would make me be the happiest man in the world.” He pinched my chin. “Marry me.”

My eyes widened. “W-what?”

“Right now.”

I glanced down at the rings on the pillow before looking back up at him. “Is this what you had planned?”

“Actually, I was just going to propose.” He shrugged. “But going straight to marrying you works for me.”

My mouth fell open. Marriage. I never even thought that I would get married again. Was I ready? Did I want—?

Warm soft lips covered mine, silencing my thoughts. “I know this is hard since you’ve already been married once before. But I want you to know that I am
not
Devin. Once we marry, I won’t change.” He pointed at himself. “This is me. In the flesh, Keely. I am Parker Reed and I want to marry you.” He brushed his mouth gently along mine. “I can see your beautiful brain questioning me. But please don’t. I need you to trust me.” He got down on one knee, staring intently into my eyes.

I stifled a sob. I heard someone sniffing softly near us and I could only assume that it was Honey. I knelt in front of Parker. “Growing up, I thought that I would only marry once and stay married to that person for the rest of my life. When that blew up in my face, I made a promise to myself that I wouldn’t give my heart to anyone. Ever again. Then I met you. This intense dark brooding man that brought me to my knees just from a mere look. Your beautiful green eyes captivated me. That was the first thing that I noticed about you. Well, that and your sexy as hell voice.”

He laughed, a slight flush spreading up his tattooed neck.

“I could sense something that was inside of you. Something that could help me heal. That could help me move on.” I cupped his cheeks. “You erased my memories of Devin and replaced them with you. Not completely but I know together, eventually it can happen. We will get through this.”

“You never answered my question.”

A slow grin spread on my face. “Ask me again, my love.”

His eyes heated. “Will you marry me? Right now.”

“Yes.” I threw my arms around his neck igniting a deep chuckle to rumble from his chest. “A million times yes. And yes, I will marry you right now.”

“YOU SURE are beautiful.”

I smiled at Honey in the mirror as she brushed my hair. “Thank you.”

“Are you excited?”

I couldn’t help but nod, knowing that only minutes from now, I would be marrying Parker. “I don’t think excited is the right word.”

She giggled. “I know that feeling.”

“How long have you known Vade?” I blurted. God, these questions were going to get my ass sore.

“Many years.” She laughed. “You remind me of myself. The spankings I got at first,” her cheeks reddened. “Well, let’s just say I was walking very slow for a couple of days.”

I turned towards her, smoothing my hands down the red floor length satin dress she had lent me. “How do you do it?”

She frowned. “What do you mean?”

“How do you live every day, submitting to him? I’m only assuming, but that is part of what a Courtesan does, right?”

“Oh yes. But that’s not just the only thing.” She sighed. “I love him. I came from a very poor family. He’s…he’s given me so much. Way more than I could ever ask for. I’d love to tell you everything but not right now. We’re running late and we don’t want to get in trouble, now do we?”

“I don’t know. The punishment sure seems rewarding at times.”

“I agree.” She laughed. “I will tell you that submitting to him every day is freeing. But my situation is different than yours. I was raised in this lifestyle. You? You have a choice.”

“Don’t you?” I asked, rising to my full height.

Her eyes searched my face. “I’ve never had a choice.”

“Honey—”

She turned me until I was facing the floor length mirror and stood behind me. “I know you have worries over this. But Parker loves you. And I know that you love him. I can see it in your eyes. Trust that and everything else will fall into place.”