Page 156 of Twisted Needs

My niece immediately reaches for me when she sees me. “Tonton,” she grins. I take her from Jeremy and hold her against my hip.

“Manu, you’re too big,” I chuckle, shifting her around until she sits comfortably. “You have to stop growing.”

She flutters her eyes at me in a way that reminds me so much of myself. “I’m five now,” she insists, holding up four fingers. “And I’m going to Kindergarten.”

I set her down on the grass and smooth her blonde curls, and she immediately books it over to her two older sisters.

Yeva comes over and pinches me on my cheek. “C’mon. Let me get a picture of you and Jeremy together in your nice gowns.”

“I can take it,” Parker says, pulling his phone from his pocket. “You get in there, too.”

And then after a million more pictures, Yeva finally says she wants some of just Parker and I.

“Put your arm around him,” she tells Parker. Then something in Russian that I don’t understand.

Parker quickly fires off more Russian before obliging, not only throwing his arm around me but also patting me gently on my cheek like it’s something automatic.

My face immediately heats.

When Yeva finishes with the picture, Parker keeps his hold on me. He pulls me in for one more quick hug. “You better be wearing it,” he mutters quietly into my ear. Sweltering heat spreads to the rest of my body. “I haven’t fucked you in a week,” he continues. “So if it’s not in—” I could pass out. “I’m bending you over my knee—” Oh my God. He lets out a quick, amused breath. “And I’m spanking you with that fucking diploma.”

I exhale sharply. The leather diploma holder in my hand suddenly feels like molten lava. Because I’m not wearing it…he never told me I had to wear it.

Parker pulls back and smiles softly at me, patting my shoulder. “So proud of you, sweetheart.”

And just like that…the heat fizzles into warmth. Because he’s actually here. He made it. That’s the part I’ll remember for the rest of my life.

CHAPTER 45

I STILL HAVE NEEDS

ANDERS

Never mind. I take it back.

After a long, emotional day of surviving my family and pretending I’m not in love with my brother’s best friend, I almost forget to worry about surviving the ride home.

My family was dangerously close to staying at Parker’s, but fortunately my brother insisted on getting a hotel instead because he’s convinced the townhouse isn’t child-proof. They offered to get me my own room at the hotel, but didn’t really even put up much of a fight when I explained I’d rather sleep in my own bed. The bed I share with my sexy Russian hockey player.

But the moment Parker and I are safely contained in our Uber, Parker’s energy shifts. It’s like one of those moments in a movie where one person is hiding from the truth, while the other person is trying to say something without actually saying it.

The first thing that gets my blood pumping is when Parker leans into me. He keeps his face forward, but he slides his hand up my thigh and interlocks his fingers with mine. What should be comfort, instead hits me like a million sharp daggers.

“Hey,” Parker murmurs quietly into my ear.

It’s pitch-black in the uber. Late. Up front, the driver has his music playing a little loudly, but I could never complain.

“I missed you,” he whispers. “And I fucking hate that I didn’t get to watch you walk across that stage.”

I peek at him through the corner of my eye. His face is dimly illuminated by the streetlights, but all I can really see is the outline of his sharp features. I can feel him, though. It’s like his body is exuding some sort of heat that stings. I know not to trust the sweetness in his voice. There’s something darker there.

“You came,” I murmur back. “That’s all I wanted.”

He tightens his grip on my hand, pulling it into his lap.

“I missed you,” he says again like it’s some mystery seduction tool of his.

“Yeah, you said that already,” I snort, turning to look at him finally.