Blame It On The Whiskey (On the Rocks)

She's searching my face and finally says something. "You're not mad at me?"

I laugh because mad is the absolute last feeling I have for her. "No. I have no reason to be mad at you. If anything, I'm glad that you decided to drink whiskey last night. If not, I never would've known."

It feels so good to let it all out, but it's killing me that she still is looking at me with a worried look on her face. "I can't lose you, Parker."

I don't even blink when I answer her. "I promise you that no matter what happens, you will not lose me."

We stand in each other's arms, staring at one another. She smiles and goes up on her tip toes. "Is this where you kiss me now?"

There’s no holding back for me. It’s as if I need to prove to her my feelings in just one kiss. With my hands on each side of her neck, I angle her to the side to deepen the kiss.

She moans, and her hands go up my chest and rest there. I nip at her lip, and when she opens for me, I plunge my tongue into her sweet, mint-tasting mouth. She groans and grips the front of my shirt. The need to touch her everywhere has me holding her tighter. Her body trembles, and she pushes her pelvis against mine. I’m a strong and disciplined man, but Haven is wreaking havoc on me. She is the only person that can possibly push me to my limits.

I pull back, breathless, and lean my forehead against hers. “Fuck, that’s good.”

She blinks up at me, pulling back. “Almost too good... I never imagined...”

When her voice trails off, I lock my hands at her back. “So you’ve thought about this before?”

Her watch dings, and without looking at it, she pulls back nervously. "I have class."

My heart is racing in my chest. I don't want her out of my sight, but I know she needs to go. "I'll take you and I'll pick you up afterwards. Then we can go eat."

"Parker, you need to spend time with your family. You don't have to spend it with me."

She still doesn't get it, but I've already made my mind up, and I'm not letting her get away that easily. "I'm going to take you to class and pick you up. We're going to go back to my house and let my mom stuff us full of food and then we're going to come back here and talk some more. Okay?"

She wants to argue. I swear, I think it's one of her favorite things to do with me, but surprisingly, she doesn't this time. "I need to get ready."

I nod and sit back down on the couch. "Go ahead. I'll be here when you get done."

She walks quickly out of the room. I can tell she's trying to put her guard up, build walls between us, but I'm not going to let that happen. She's mine now—I just have to prove it to her.

Chapter 13

Haven

I had told Parker that I needed to go to the library on campus to study a little after my class. It’s true. I definitely need to study, but I’m not able to. I can’t stop thinking of Parker. I was thinking that if we had some space, it would all start to make sense, but I can’t get past the kiss we shared.

I’m sitting outside the library on a bench when one of the guys from my class sits down next to me. We say hello, and after a quick scan of the parking lot again and not seeing Parker’s truck, I look down at my phone.

“You’re Haven, right?”

I glance at the boy next to me. “Yeah. Richard, right?”

He nods. “So, I was thinking that maybe you and I could study together sometime.”

I open my mouth to answer him when my phone dings. I read the incoming text from Parker. “Tell him no.”

I smile at the possessive tone of the text. When I look up, Parker is walking toward me. He stops in front of me, glaring at Richard. “Hey, you ready to go?”

I nod at him and then turn to Richard. “Hey, but yeah, to answer your question, if you need help studying, I don’t mind helping. We can get a group of us together or something.”

Parker sighs next to me. Obviously, I’m not going to give him exactly what he wants. Plus, I’m used to helping out other students. Parker holds his hand out to Richard. “Hi. I’m Parker. Haven’s boyfriend.”

Richard puts his hand in Parker’s and winces as Parker shakes it. “Hi. Yeah, nice to meet you. I’ll see you next class, Haven.”

He pulls his hand back and almost runs away.

I cross my arms over my chest. “Did you really have to do that?”