Page 93 of Heartless

Parker buried his head into my neck and kissed me but I got ticklish and I burst out laughing. He leaned back a little and the look of surprise on his face made me laugh even harder.

“You’re a strange woman, Madison Hartley,” he kissed my collarbone and resumed his thrusts inside me.

I reveled in the sensation of him filling me up. The tension that would become another orgasm started building inside me again as our bodies collided.

Parker's eyes locked onto mine as his pace quickened, his breaths becoming deeper and harsher. He was getting close.

“Do you feel it, love?”

“Feel what?” I asked.

His hands gripped my hips tightly, his thrusts becoming more frenzied, more desperate. “You’re mine now.”

Chapter Thirty-One

Parker

Aweek after I pretended I was okay with Madison’s proposal to basically fuck while she was here and then part ways, I put my plan to win her over into motion.

Step one was terrifying but necessary. Even more so on a personal level. I was about to leave my villa and go check up on how the wedding currently happening in the gardens of The Gem was going. It was about time that I stopped hiding like a coward in my bedroom while happiness happened for everyone else outside my door.

I still loved Franny and I would probably always love her, but my feelings for Madison made me realize that I could keep a small part of my heart solely for Franny and give the rest to someone else. And that didn’t make me a villain. It made me human.

A human ready to move on.

Strangely, the moving on part involved Madison.

Falling in love with her kind of snuck up on me. Once I realized it was happening, it was already too late to prevent it, but admitting it? Claiming her while knowing she wanted us to have an expiration date? She wasn’t ready for a love declaration. I had to be patient and make her fall in love with me at her own pace.

So I shaved, showered and put on a suit. Then headed out to the gardens to show her that I wasn’t a shadow of a man anymore.

With my heart in my throat, I stopped by one of the rose bushes and looked up at the sky. “I will never forget you, Fran, okay? I know you would want me to, if that meant I had a shot at a happy ending, but I can do both. You’ll see.”

As much as I talked to my deceased wife, I never looked for answers from her in the form of signs. I knew Franny better than I knew myself. I didn’t need signs. I could hear her voice in my head. She wouldn’t want me to grow old alone and lonely. She would root for me and Madison.

So I picked a rose from the bush and glanced once again at the sky. “Thank you.”

Looking ahead, I started towards the lights and music coming from the wedding reception. The closer I got, the better look I had at what Madison had done. It looked like a picture plucked out of a fairytale book.

Twinkling lights, casting a warm glow over the carefully curated floral arrangements. White linen-covered tables adorned with centerpieces and fragrant candles. A live band playing a romantic tune as couples swayed on the dance floor.

The only problem was I couldn’t see Madison.

One of the waiters walked past me and I stopped him. “Have you seen Miss Hartley?”

His gaze dropped down to the single rose I was clutching, then he cleared his throat. “I saw her and Mr. Montgomery entering The Pearl, sir.”

I blinked and a second later unprovoked jealousy twisted my stomach. Nodding at the waiter, I strolled over to The Pearl.

As I was about to enter the villa, Madison swung the door open and almost bumped into me on her way out. She wore a black sleeveless jumpsuit that clung tightly, almost like it was a part of her skin. Her legs looked even longer in that outfit and they ended as always in a sexy pair of stiletto heels.

When she recognized me, she froze to the spot, her mouth agape. Normally I would think that my presence caused her to freeze like that, but my jealousy made me irrationally angry.

“What are you doing here?” I asked.

Madison reared back a little at the harshness of my tone. “What areyoudoing here?”

“Don’t play games. Just answer the question.”

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