Vintage Volume One (10 page)

He grinned. “Ever since I met you, my material has been top notch. I don’t know what it is, but the more I thought about you, the better my lyrics became. And when we set my words to our music… Jesus, Jimi. It’s special. It lights up Flashing Light in a brand new way, and I have you to thank for it.”

“Parker, we hardly know each other.”

“Exactly. That’s what it’s about.” He finished the other half of his beer. “It’s about finding a connection with someone you don’t even know. It’s about doing things you should with people you shouldn’t. Breaking the rules. Exploring shit you’d written off.” He paused, and his eyes connected with mine. His voice lowered to a sexy rasp. “Most of all, it’s about you.”

My heart warmed at his sentiment, but my brain was stuck on his words. “You mentioned once before that you shouldn’t be with me. Why shouldn’t you be with me?”

A flash of guilt crossed his eyes, but it disappeared as quickly as it had come. “It’s just, you know, this is all new. I shouldn’t want the things I want with you.”

“And what is that, exactly?” My heart pounded in my chest as I considered his potential responses.

A server came to drop off bread at our table, breaking the moment between us.

Parker grabbed a roll and tore off a chunk. He shoved it in his mouth and chewed it, and I wasn’t sure how to get back to the conversation we’d been in the middle of.

Eventually our dinner came, and topics changed. He asked me about Vintage, and I filled him in on my earlier conversation with Tim. We chatted about nothing important, and disappointment lanced through me at the loss of what we could have said.

I didn’t bring up my dad’s offer. I decided to keep that to myself for now.

I wanted to know so much about this enigma sitting across from me, and instead our conversation moved back to safe topics.

I just wanted to know when I’d ever really get to know who Parker James was.

nineteen

We arrived back at my place after dinner. We stopped at a liquor store so Parker could pick up a case of beer. He bought me a bottle of wine, too, and when we walked into my place, he opened a beer and I poured myself a glass of wine. We went out to my balcony, and we sat on the outdoor sofa facing the direction of the ocean even though we couldn’t see it from Beverly Hills.

We propped our feet up on the rail, and Parker pulled me toward him, his arm around me as I cuddled into his comfortable nook. We fit together like puzzle pieces.

It was one of those perfect June California nights, warm with a light breeze. We sat in silence, sipping our beverages and enjoying the quiet.

“You asked me something before, and I never answered,” he finally said, his voice soft and gentle in the quiet of the night. 

I froze, not sure if he was finally going to answer what I was desperate to know.

“You asked me what I want with you.”

“And?” I prompted.

“And it’s complicated.”

My heart raced. Complicated? That could mean any number of things. “I’ve got time.”

He sighed. I glanced up at him, and he looked far away. His eyes were squinted toward the blackness in front of us. From my quick glance, I had a feeling he was going to leave something out when he spoke.

“All I know is that I like you. I like taking you out to dinner. I like chilling on your balcony. I like sitting in the café drinking coffee while you slurp your Coke. And I really, really liked that time I fucked the shit out of you. I want to do it again.”

Somehow he had the ability to make me blush in the darkness. No man had ever made me blush before.

“Then do it,” I whispered.

My question didn’t really get an answer, but I was happy with this solution.

Parker took my wine glass from my hand and set it next to his beer on the table beside him.

His arm that wasn’t around me came across his body and his hand cupped my cheek. It was a sweet and gentle contrast to the first time we’d been together.

The only time we’d been together.

He leaned down and brushed his lips softly to mine, and a little piece of my soul broke off and latched onto his. It was a gentle kiss, tender and sensual. It was far from sweet, though. A level of heat was always present between us, but as he kissed me on my balcony, the heat intensified.

He pulled on my torso, guiding me onto his lap so I was straddling him. He laced his arms around me and pushed his very hard cock up toward me, and I grunted softly into him. He answered with a soft sigh, breaking our kiss as his neck stretched back. “Christ,” he muttered, the veins in his neck corded.

I leaned forward to kiss the skin on his neck. I licked it, nipped it, and sucked it. He tasted delicious.

His arms tightened around my waist. He flexed his hips up into me again, driving me wild with need.

I’d dreamed so many nights of Parker’s cock entering my body that I couldn’t take the anticipation any longer. I moved back and unbuckled his belt. I lowered the zipper slowly, my eyes concentrating on my task in the dark. I reached into his boxers and grasped his cock. He hissed in appreciation, and then I pulled it out.

I glanced up at him, and his eyes met mine. His were heavy with lust, dark and glinting in the moonlight. He’d never looked so dangerous and so sexy at the same time.

I moved forward again, balancing on my knees. I held his cock in one hand and used my other hand to move my panties to the side. I moved to lower myself over him.

“Hang on,” he muttered, reaching into his pocket. He tore a wrapper and rolled on a condom, and then I resumed my work, grasping him in my hands. I looked up at him. His head was leaned back, his eyes closed.

I lowered myself over him, gasping as he entered me.

He filled me completely. I sat down as low as I could, taking in every last inch of him. His hands found my shoulders, and he pushed me down, somehow managing to inch his way in even more.

I lifted my body up slowly, until he was almost all the way out of me, before slamming back down. He pressed down on my shoulders, holding us both still for a moment. The feel of his body inside of me, neither of us moving, was emotional and sensual.

We were both quiet, but I wasn’t sure how long I’d be able to do this quietly. He felt so good, so perfect. While my balcony was private, that didn’t mean that my neighbors wouldn’t hear us.

He let go of my shoulders and we resumed movement. Our eyes were locked in the darkness.

He leaned his head back as I slowly rode his perfect cock on my balcony.

My body started tensing for release when a noise sounded below us. A door sliding, and then voices. My downstairs neighbors were on their patio, too.

He opened his eyes and picked his head up, his face inches from my own. His eyes were almost black in the darkness, in our stolen moment of exhibitionism on my balcony.

I could feel his cock pulsing inside of me. I resisted the force of his hands on my shoulders, pulling upward just slightly, wanting the friction. He pushed my shoulders back down, his eyes still locked on mine in the dark, and my body took in every inch of him again. He eased the pressure on my shoulders, and I moved upward slowly. It was the leisurely movements that drove me wildly toward the cliff.

The voices continued. I had no idea what they were saying because I could only focus on the fact that Parker’s dick was inside of me and he felt so good and I needed to keep my mouth shut because I was about to scream from the pure pleasure of him.

He looked around for a second and handed me a small throw pillow I kept outside. “Bite it,” he whispered.

He knew I was about to come. He could somehow tell from the way my body reacted to his.

We’d only been together one other time, but it had been enough for him to learn my body, my sighs and moans, the way I contracted around him.

It was perfect timing. I grasped the pillow between my teeth just as I shattered into an intense and very silent orgasm. He thrust up into me a few more times, moving as quietly as he could. He leaned his head back once again, his eyes closed as he pushed up hard into me in his own climax.

I tossed the pillow back on the couch and relaxed forward onto him. He wrapped his arms around me, his cock still inside of me.

We stayed there together until the voices downstairs moved back inside. I may have fallen asleep for a few brief minutes. Parker gently shook me awake, kissing my forehead and lifting me to pull out of me.

I had no idea how much time had passed until we finally moved inside, his beer and my wine long gone. I checked the clock. It was well after one in the morning.

I was exhausted. The wine made me tired, but the sex wore me out.

“I better get going,” he said softly when I turned to walk down the hall to my bedroom.

I sighed, hoping he’d stay. Leaving after sex was becoming his habit, and I wondered why.

But I didn’t ask.

The fact that I was wondering was my own damn fault. I had ample opportunity to ask, but I didn’t. I wasn’t sure we were in that place yet. We’d had sex twice now, but that didn’t mean we were exclusive.

He’d written an album of songs, some of which I inspired.

But that didn’t mean we were exclusive.

For all I knew, he was using me for his inspiration. He fucked me when he needed to, and then he had to leave. And maybe he had to leave for some other woman.

Or maybe he just had things to do.

There had to be some reason, but I was weak. Part of me was scared to learn the truth, while the other part of me yearned for it.

So I let the weaker part win. For tonight. I was too damn tired for the conversation, anyway.

I walked him out. He pressed his lips softly to mine once more at the door, and then he was gone.

I headed straight for my bathroom, washed my face, took my sleeping pill, and went to bed.

twenty

“CC, just come with me.”

My dad was very convincing. I was grateful for a few minutes of alone time with him. His blushing bride was off doing her make-up or spending his money somewhere, so it was just the two of us. We’d just finished a breakfast of homemade waffles with strawberries and scrambled eggs prepared by my dad’s live-in chef. It was my favorite, and my dad knew that.

He was buttering me up.

I just wasn’t exactly sure
why
he was buttering me up.

We were drinking coffee by his pool, a modern affair with a swim up bar and tons of palm trees and beautiful landscaping. One thing I loved about my dad’s mansion was his backyard. It was a paradise oasis.

I sipped my coffee.

“Is Jadyn going?” I knew what newlyweds did. I knew what rock stars did. I refused to think of my dad as either of those. It really helped me maintain my sanity, especially considering the woman was only a few years older than me.

“Of course she is.”

I sighed, thinking back to the conversation I’d overheard at his wedding. I was just about to open my mouth to inform my dad when he spoke again.

“I don’t want to hear anything bad about her. You’re just going to have to deal with the fact that she’s my wife now. But I need you to come with me. I need to protect you.”

To
protect
me? I didn’t know I was in danger. “Why do I need protection?”

“There are things you don’t know.”

“That’s a non-answer.”

My dad flashed me the grin that told me that I wasn’t getting anything else out of him. I was sort of used to his over-protection, so I didn’t read too much into it.

“You’ll be busy, Dad. I don’t want to interrupt your tour just so you can protect me.” I threw some finger quotes up in the air around the word “protect.”

“Stop it, CC. You’re my top priority. I’ll cancel the rest of this fucking tour if it’ll keep you safe. You know that.”

“I get it. Don’t cancel anything. I’m perfectly fine here.”

“It’ll just be the last leg of the U.S. tour. Four weeks. We’ve got three openers, including some up-and-comers. They’re young like you and they’re one hell of a good time.”

I shrugged. “You know if I come it’s not because I’m interested in having a good time with your openers.”

“I need you anyway.”

“For what?”

“Remember Europe?”

I remembered Europe. I loved every second of Europe.

As much as I hated the fame associated with my dad’s lifestyle, he’d invited me to work as his personal assistant for the two months his band toured Europe. Traveling Europe as an eighteen-year-old fresh out of high school was an offer I couldn’t refuse, even though it thrust me into the very world I expended so much energy resenting.

I’d kept track of his schedule, made sure he arrived at his appointments on time, and did pretty much everything else he asked me to do. As much as I hated the lifestyle, being behind the scenes hadn’t been so bad.

“You’ve got people for that, Dad. You don’t need me. Don’t fire someone just to give me something to do.”

“I wouldn’t do that. Rebecca’s getting married, so I need someone to keep me on schedule when she’s out.”

“You want me to be your assistant?”

He nodded. “If you can’t do it or don’t want to, I’ll find someone.”

“Let me figure things out with Vintage. I’ll get back to you.”

He sighed. He wasn’t used to people telling him he had to wait for anything, and I loved the little bit of power it gave me. Not many people could reduce Gideon Price to a sigh, but I had a special talent.

“Two things. First, I want you to know that I’ll pay you handsomely. Double what I paid you in Europe. And second, once you agree to come with me, I have something to tell you.”

That statement caused a sigh out of
me
. My dad was as good at dishing it as I was.

“You’re the worst,” I whined.

“I know.”

“What’s it about?”

He took a sip of his coffee and glanced around the yard for a few seconds before answering. “It’s complicated.” He stared off into space.

“Fine, I’ll go. Tell me.”

He chuckled as his eyes returned to me. “You’ve got your mother’s patience.”

It wasn’t often he mentioned my mother. It always struck me as odd. I didn’t like being compared to her.

“Oh, and you’re a paragon of patience,” I said with a healthy dose of sarcasm.

“Your mother’s patience and your father’s wit.”

I rolled my eyes.

“You’re serious? You’ll come with me?”

I nodded. When my dad wanted something, he always got it. It was easier just to give in, anyway. Particularly when he was dangling information in front of me. 

“Fine. I’m just not sure how to tell you.”

“Did you knock up the lovely Jadyn Snow?”

“Right. You do know her former profession, don’t you?”

“Adult movie stars can’t have kids?”

“She had her tubes tied when she was twenty. She wants nothing to do with kids.”

“No little brother or sister for me, Daddy?”

He chuckled. “I’ve got my hands full with one kid.”

“The road’s not a great place to raise them, anyway,” I muttered.

“You turned out fine,” he shot back.

I shrugged. “So what is it, then?”

He took a deep breath and looked around, as if checking to see if anyone was listening. He expelled his breath slowly, and then he lowered his voice to a whisper. “It’s about Damien.”

I felt a punch to my gut at the mention of his name. It wasn’t even a mention, really. It was more like my dad mouthed his name in my direction.

Emotions raced tumultuously through me.

I wondered for one brief second if I would’ve felt it so hard if I had never met Parker. He’d caused me to feel again after so much time in darkness, and I wasn’t sure how to balance this new information with everything else I was feeling.

I sucked in a breath and waited for him to continue.

“He’s safe, CC,” he said, his voice still soft as his eyes locked on mine. “That’s the main thing. And I need you with me so I can keep you safe, too.”

I thought he’d meant he just wanted to keep me close to him, the way a father protects his daughter. I wasn’t aware that my safety was an actual issue. “What do you mean?”

An icy chill gripped my heart as I recalled the strange series of events that had occurred over the past couple of weeks. Or was it months? Time bled together in my mind.

Things moved in my house. That feeling of being watched, the same feeling I’d felt my entire life. Cars following too closely. The fire at Vintage.

Oh fuck… the fire.

Had the fire somehow been related to the other things that had been happening to me?

I had brushed every damn thing off, but the second my dad mentioned Damien and the fact that he was safe, suddenly I was questioning everything. And to my father, my safety became a priority.

Was I in danger?

My dad’s voice remained quiet. “There’s a lot you don’t know.”

“Then fill me in.”

“I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“Because if I do, I risk his safety. But worse, I risk yours.” I knew who he was talking about. He didn’t need to say his name again.

“What the fuck are you two into? How do you know where he is?” My voice was rising to a hysterical level.

The lovely Jadyn Snow appeared at the patio doors, looking camera-ready. She sauntered toward us.

My dad glanced over at his blushing bride and back at me. “Later,” he said, effectively ending our conversation and leaving me with far too many unanswered questions. He stood and walked over to Jadyn, taking her in his arms. I stared at the water swaying gently in the pool in front of me, wondering when I’d ever get the answers I was suddenly desperate for.