chapter three

122K 3.3K 1.9K
                                    

o l i v i a

The bright morning sun warms my face causing my eyes to flutter open. Basking in the comfort of the sheets, I turn my head to the right and rest my cheek on the fluffy pillow. The masculine scent of sandalwood fills my nose, and that's when I become aware of the weight on my stomach. Confused, I look down and see a muscular arm resting on my naked body. I abruptly sit up, and my head to throbs. At my sudden movement, beautiful blue eyes that belong to the figure beside me blink open.

The events of last night rush through my mind: Parker inviting me to his place, me saying goodbye to Annalise and Hayden, me sending a quick text to Harrison that I wouldn't need a ride home, Parker caressing my thigh in the car, us stumbling into his condo and ripping each other's clothes off... and his skills in bed. Let's just say that memory will be on repeat in my brain.

"Morning," his voice raspy from sleep.

I bite my lip resisting the urge to go for round two... or was it round six? "Good morning," I say groggily.

He props himself up on his elbows and looks over at the clock on the nightstand. "Wow, it's only 7:30."

7:30! "Uh oh! I'm going to be late to my shoot!" I curse myself.

Hurriedly, I jump out of bed and search for my clothes that are scattered across the room. As I run into the living room to look for my dress, I realize there are floor to ceiling windows overlooking the city. Wow, imagine waking up to this, I admire the view. The shoot, Olivia! I shake my head and continue searching for my clothes.

I hop back into my dress and grab my purse lying on the couch. When I take out my phone, I see eight missed calls from Annalise asking where I am. We both were invited to a shoot with Louis Vuitton. "Shit, shit, shit!" I mutter under my breath.

I'm about to phone Harrison when I see Parker enter the living room. He leans the side of his body on the kitchen island and crosses his arms over his shirtless chest. It takes every cell in my body to refrain from gawking at him. Thank God he put some joggers on!

"Leaving so soon?" He quirks an eyebrow.

"Yeah, sorry. I'm late to a shoot. I'm calling my driver," I tell him.

Without responding, he goes back into his room and comes out seconds later with a fresh white shirt on. Mmm. "I'll just take you there." He swipes his keys off the kitchen island.

"Oh no, it's fine. I don't want to bother you," I shrug my arms into my coat.

Parker walks toward me and my breath quickens. His blue eyes stare into my soul. His face comes closer to mine, our lips almost touching. He teases me with a smile and reaches for the door handle. "I'm not taking no for an answer," he says. Assertive, I like it.

When we get into his car, I plug in the location of the photoshoot onto the GPS. I try my best to fix my appearance and make myself look more decent with the mirror on the sun visor. I run my fingers through my tangled hair and grab makeup wipes from my purse to remove the remnants of mascara and eyeshadow from last night.

"You look beautiful, by the way," Parker steals a quick glance at me. Like a lovesick teenager, my heart flutters and my cheeks flame.

He parks on the curb in front of the building, and before I can open my door, Parker gets out and jogs over to my side. Such a gentleman! I get a warm, tingly feeling in my stomach as I look into his eyes.

"Thanks for the ride," I say.

"Thank you for the ride, last night," his voice a little deeper. This man! "When can I see you again?"

The Ties That BindWhere stories live. Discover now