My eyes turn cold and flinty as I assess her. Long, light brown hair. It’s so fucking shiny it looks like polished brass. Pale skin, pink lips, and big, green eyes. She’s small but not petite, and her body is… fuck, what I’d give to kiss her. Just once.
Maybe I’d even break my ‘no kissing, no intimacy’ rule for her.
I’d likely break all of my rules for her, now that I think about it.
And now I find out that someone else had the audacity to try and steal her virginity at a fucking house party?
“Fine. Don’t tell me. But I’ll find out.”
She smirks. “Fine.”
“So, that’s it? You obviously turned his offer down,” I growl.
“Of course I did. I’m not—that’s not who I am. I want my first time to be with someone I trust. Someone I care about, and someone who will be gentle.”
“That’s right,” I tell her, pushing off the counter and turning toward the dishwasher, before I get in over my head.
Calm down, Ravage.
“Your first time should be with someone who will revere you,” I murmur, popping in some detergent and then pressing start. “Someone who will make your toes curl and your eyes roll so far back in your head that you’ll see white.” I’m still facing the sink. I can’t face her while I say this, but she needs to hear it. “Someone who will make you wonder what the fuck you’ve been missing out on. Not some guy at a party. Not in some random bedroom in a house you’ve never been to. Somewhere meaningful—with someone who will treat you like a seven-course meal.”
When I turn around, I don’t expect the look on Parker’s face. It’s almost… triumphant?
“I agree,” she says, her voice clear and resolute. “Which is why I’m going to ask you to hear me out before you say no.”
I narrow my eyes. “Okay…”
She clears her throat and pulls her phone out from the pocket in her dress. I want to laugh, because dress pockets are another Parker-ism I’ve come to adore. She refuses to wear dresses without them.
I’ve seen her pull out full-sized books from the depths of her skirts.
“Chase,” she starts, pinning me with the same look she gives to anyone she expects will challenge her. Standing straighter, she gives me a soft smile. “I’ve been thinking—since the party, that is—”
“Parker,” I warn, not liking the sound of this one bit.
“I think you should take my virginity. Tonight.”
I squeeze my eyes shut and rub the bridge of my nose. Exhaling slowly, I open my eyes again to Parker’s hopeful expression.
“What?” I growl, crossing my arms.
I’d love nothing more than to knock her legs apart and wrap them around my waist while I fuck her into this counter, but there are so many reasons that can never happen.
Does she realize how fucking tempting she is? Always—not just tonight.
I’ve held Juliet Parker on a pedestal for years.
“Before you freak out, let me read off the list I created in the taxi earlier.”
I groan. “Of fucking course you have a list. Leave it to you, Parker, to be the best at selecting the person to take your virginity.”
She gives me a wry smile. “You know I have to be the best at everything. Why would this be any different?”
Sighing, I rub my mouth, trying to distract myself from the way every nerve ending seems to be firing off inside of me at once.
I think you should take my virginity. Tonight.
“Go on, then. I wouldn’t want your list to go to waste.”
She wastes no time—almost like she expected this. “First, you’re my brother’s best friend. The stakes are high for you. You’d be gentle and caring because of Jackson. You’d never want to lose him.”
I never want to lose you either, Parker.
I watch her as she continues her little list of reasons why I should fuck her. And with every word that leaves her lips, I lose another fraction of my resolve.
“Two, you come from money. Should our tryst end in an unexpected pregnancy, I know you could—and would—provide for me.”
Fuck. Me.
I don’t know what to say to that. My skin heats at the thought of pumping her full of—
No.
Fuck.
“Third, I trust you, and I like you. I also find you physically attractive,” she states, as if she’s reading from a textbook. “Fourth, I don’t have any other options. I don’t want to go to college as a virgin, and you’re my only hope.”
She lowers her phone, and my eyes roam over her pink cheeks and flushed chest. Her last point sticks in my head, though.
I don’t have any other options.
She needs someone to pop her cherry. I’d be checking off one of the things on her list of things to do before college.
Too bad for her, though. She means more to me than that.
My jaw tics. “I assume—since you’re always thorough as hell—that you also have a list of reasons why I shouldn’t take your virginity.”
She gives me a look that screams of course I do before glancing down at her list.
“You can’t hold any of these against me, Ravage.”
I shrug. “I promise you there’s nothing on there that I don’t already know.”
She nods and begins reading. “One… your family.” She winces slightly as she looks up at me for a second to gauge my reaction. I keep my expression indifferent. “We all know that the Ravage name doesn’t have the best reputation. And while it doesn’t matter for the purposes of taking my virginity, it could reduce the chances of a real relationship down the road.”
I was wrong.
Her words hurt.
Real relationship…
She continues. “Ultimately, the pros outweigh the cons on this point. I only have two weeks before I start my first semester. Like I told you before, you’re kind of my only choice.”
“What else?”
“Two… we come from different social classes. I had to take your preferences into consideration, and it occurred to me that perhaps you might find me too common for you—”
“Jesus, Parker,” I growl, glaring at her as I shake my head. “Seriously?”
She chews on her lower lip as her shoulders sag forward slightly. “I don’t know. I’ve actually never seen you date anyone…” she trails off and her eyes go wide. “Oh god.” Her hand comes up to her mouth. “Are you gay?”
I smirk. “Definitely not gay, Parker,” I tell her, my voice gravelly as my eyes wander down her body once. “Keep going.”
“Three is sort of similar to two. I realized that your sexual preferences might be entirely different than mine—which are, as you know, nonexistent. I have no idea what I’m doing, and maybe you’d prefer someone more experienced.”
I roll my tongue against my cheek as I peer down at the ground, trying not to smile.
Oh, Parker. If only you knew the depraved things I like to do in bed.
I raise my eyes slowly as my own list formulates in my head. So many cons for why I should decline her offer—and one giant pro.
Because I’d probably commit murder in order to be Juliet’s first.