His body shook and her legs trembled around his waist, as they climaxed together in a wave of passion and ecstasy that only tormented thoughts and emotions could evoke.
Their labored breathing fell into a rhythm as he rested his forehead against hers.
“Is it okay if I stay here with you?” he asked, rolling off of her and drawing her into him, the pain in his voice tearing a hole through her, yet his words filling her heart.
“Of course,” she whispered as she softly kissed his lips.
And he did. Even when the sun’s first rays came through the window, he stayed.
* * *
Opening his eyes the next morning, Tyson experienced a moment of panic. Where the hell was he? Glancing around Parker’s bedroom, the familiar surroundings brought his heart rate back to normal and he turned to look at the woman lying next to him.
He’d never seen a woman first thing in the morning. She was still as perfect as the night before. Her blonde hair spilled across her pillow, and her exposed bare back beneath the edge of the sheet was soft and warm to the touch.
He couldn’t believe he’d stayed. What had he been thinking? He hadn’t been thinking. He’d been feeling hopeless and depressed over Dane’s issues. He weighed his options. Stay and deal with what would without a doubt be an awkward situation. Or slip away, like an asshole who’d just used her, before she woke up.
He had to go, but not that way. Touching her shoulder, he said her name.
She moaned in her sleep as she rolled onto her back. Her eyes opened slowly and she looked just as surprised to see him there. Surprised. Happy and relieved.
Shit. That just made things a whole hell of a lot worse.
“You’re still here.” She smiled and snuggled closer.
Oh God, she was killing him. He kissed her forehead before gently easing her away from him and getting up. “Yeah, I should really get going though.” He reached for his jeans on the chair next to her bed.
“I can make breakfast . . . all eighteen hundred calories of it,” she said, her voice teasing.
He forced a smile. “I need to go kill my brother and then go see if Dane needs anything.” He expected a crazy day ahead of him—one he wasn’t going to enjoy. Dealing with Connor, trying to help Dane figure out a way out of the mess he was in, reaching out to the family of the victim, which was customary among the fighting community as a show of respect . . . Nothing on that day’s list was anything he wanted to do. As he reached for his shirt, he fought the urge to climb back in bed with Parker and stay there.
“Tyson, about last night . . .” she was saying behind him and his mouth felt dry.
He had no idea how to explain last night. Not in a way she wouldn’t feel used anyway. He’d needed her. He’d needed the comfort she could offer. And he hated his own weakness. She deserved better than the way he’d treated her right from the day they’d met. “Parker, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have . . .”
Her cell phone rang on her bedside table and he’d never been so grateful for a ringing phone. He wasn’t sure he could handle an “about last night” conversation right now. Or ever. He had no idea what to say.
Looking frustrated by the interruption, she picked it up and glanced at the caller ID before setting it aside. “It’s just my agent.”
“Answer it.” He put on his T-shirt.
“I’ll call him back.”
He could sense she wanted to answer and he really wanted her to. “No, really go ahead.”
She did a second later.
He tried to look as though he wasn’t listening but he heard every word.
“Yes, of course I’m interested. Send them over,” she said, unconcealed excitement in her voice. “We start filming next week in LA . . .”
That’s right. She would be gone soon.
“Definitely we need to have drinks. I’ll call you the minute I land . . . Okay, I have to go, though . . .”
A second later, she hung up. “Sorry about that.”
“No problem. Good news?” he asked, even though he knew he didn’t want to hear it.
“Not really. Just a few scripts he wants me to read. It’s been forever since that has happened.”
“That’s great. So you’ll be back in the spotlight in no time,” he said, hating the bitterness he detected in his own voice. He had no right to be angry with her. Yet, the idea of her moving on with her life and her career killed him, even though he’d just been ready to once again walk away from her.
Never in his life had he felt like such an asshole.
Parker stood, and crossing the room, she wrapped her arms around his waist. “I have a few hours until I need to be at the hotel for the read-through, why don’t we go out to eat . . . and talk.”
Talk. As if that could solve anything. “I have to get to the gym.” He moved away from her and grabbed his shoes.
“Okay, well, I’m not sure when I’ll get there. The read-through will probably take most of the day . . .”
He pushed his feet into his running shoes without untying them. “Don’t sweat it. You’re just supposed to look good on screen anyway, right?”
Her face fell and he wished he could punch himself in the nuts. “Sorry, that came out wrong. I just meant you’re done training now anyway, right?” She’d gotten what she needed, and now she was moving on. And he needed to do the same. Even if it meant hurting her to push her away. The way he’d needed her the night before had rocked him like no punch inside the octagon ever had. The emotions spiraling through him as he’d made love to her had terrified him, but the way she’d clung to him, gave everything to him had only made him crave her even more. And he couldn’t have more . . . not if he hoped to be okay once she realized he wasn’t the right one for her and moved on.
“Yes. I guess so. I’ll just have to stop by to pick up the things I left in my locker,” she said quietly, studying him. “What’s with you?”
“Nothing. I’m just keeping things real, that’s all.”
“Keeping things real,” she repeated.
“Yes. You needed a place to train and now you’re done.”
Her eyes widened. “What about you? You had your own reasons for letting me train there. You never wanted me in your gym.”
She was right about that. He hadn’t wanted her ten miles near his gym or his heart, but she’d somehow weaseled her way into both. Now she had to leave. And he wished she’d hurry the hell up about it. “You’re right. And now we both got what we needed, so that’s it. We’re done.”
“That’s it? We’re done? Really?” She stared at him with disappointment in her dark eyes.
“Parker, you have your career back on track, you live a life I could never even pretend I could be a part of, and I have my own shit going on. Let’s just call this what it was.”
“What was it?” she asked, crossing her arms across her body as if she knew his next words would be a blow she’d need to protect herself from.
“A good time that eventually had to come to an end,” he said as he left the room, hating himself. This was exactly why he always left before dawn. This was why he didn’t get involved. One-night stands couldn’t break him the way her pained expression just had.
* * *
Seeing the Sportsnet reporter van parked in the front of his gym, Tyson drove his motorcycle around the side of the building and went in through the back door. Several fighters trained in the cage, but the place was much quieter than normal. A feeling of apprehension had settled over the gym and for the first time in his life he didn’t want to be there.
Leaving Parker that morning had been awkward and tense. He didn’t know what he’d been thinking the night before going to her house, but he’d been desperate and confused and he’d just needed to see her, hold her, be with her . . . But it hadn’t been the smartest or kindest thing to do when it had only made her look at him with renewed hope.