She shook her head. “I’m not explaining this right. The thing is—I like you. But I also like someone else. Two other people actually.”
I groaned. Of course she did. I couldn’t fault her for liking two of the people I liked best in the world. “Do they know?”
“I’m not sure,” she said, smiling. “I think Mason’s predisposed to think every woman likes him, so there’s that.”
“And Jude’s not slow on the uptake.” He was a drummer in a band. He knew when a woman wanted him. “So, have you all acted out some of our nighttime fantasies for real?”
“No.” She shook her head for emphasis. “Just… Well, let’s just say when I arrived on your doorstep at Henderson, I hadn’t been kissed in over a year. That’s not the case anymore.”
I grinned. “Sounds like I need to make up for some lost time.” I tugged her toward me, but she still resisted.
“Just as long as you understand how it is. I’d never want to do anything to hurt you.”
“You won’t,” I said gruffly. I suspected she hadn’t given this speech to either of the other two. After all, they weren’t the ones she considered fragile and broken. That thought rankled, but I knew if I pressed my mouth to hers again, it’d fade away.
Kylie moved in again, and I took her face in my hands, reclaiming her mouth. The contact made the intrusive thoughts in my mind recede. But it still felt like my reactions were off. A gorgeous woman was pressed up against me. She had the best legs I’d ever seen, and her unique eyes with their dramatic eye makeup was sexy as hell. She was enough to make any man’s blood boil, but mine still simmered.
I broke off the kiss. She looked startled as she bit her swollen lower lip and looked at me. “I want to do what we did in the fantasy.”
Kylie looked shocked. “W-which one?”
“The one last night. And the first one, too. I want to go down on you.”
Her mouth formed a perfect O of surprise. “Why?”
I gave her a crooked grin. “It’s really not that much of a surprise that a man wants to go down on a beautiful woman.”
To her credit, she knew it was more than that. “Why?” she repeated.
I sighed and looked away, my hands on her shoulders. “Because… because I’ve been the tin man lately. No heart. No emotions. But maybe if I make you feel something… I will, too.”
Her cheeks colored as she thought it over. “I can’t decide if that makes no sense or perfect sense.”
“Go with the latter,” I urged. “I guarantee I can do a few things your little pink toy can’t.”
Her cheeks were full-on crimson. “I like you, Parker, I really do, but—”
“I heard you twice the first time,” I interrupted. “You like all of us equally.” I put a finger under her chin, making her look up at me. “From what I overheard before, you’re having a crappy day. I get it. Classes are hard. Mondays suck. But I’m offering a way to make your day a hell of a lot better, if you’ll let me.”
She was torn. I could tell she wanted to—but she wasn’t sure if she should.
“You said you wanted me to help you,” I reminded her.
That produced a hint of a smile. “I’d hoped you’d help the cohort.”
I grinned. “I think my tongue would tire long before I was through with the whole group. Now, are you going to take your shorts off or what?”
Her indecision lasted for another twenty seconds… and then she reached under her sweater to undo her shorts. Relief filled me. I still didn’t know if this kind of thing would make my heart finally beat again, but I was determined to make hers race so hard, it nearly pounded out of her chest.
Her lavender sweater kept her covered as she slid her shorts and panties down, stepping out of them, but it made a difference, knowing she was bare under there.
I circled her small waist with my hands and picked her up, turning her around and setting her on the edge of the table. Her cute little mouth opened, but before she said anything, I pressed my lips against hers. This time, she was the one who spread her legs and I stepped in between him.
I stroked her hair as she linked her wrists behind my neck. Then I rubbed my way down her back. At last, I cupped her soft ass. Even through her sweater, it felt amazing. I’d always been a sucker for a girl with a heart-shaped ass, and even in my deadened state, I’d noticed hers a time or two back at the suite. Or more.
She moaned into my mouth as I squeezed her soft cheeks. God, she felt amazing. But again, it felt like my reactions were dulled. Like I was hearing someone talk underwater. Or feeling someone touch me through several layers of clothing.