Page 14 of Just One Bite

Chapter Ten

Parker

I didn’t expect Barrett to accept my challenge, but that didn’t keep me from being disappointed when he didn’t.

There’s no way Barrett would risk losing status in a challenge.

Maybe that will be enough to get them to leave Olivia alone for good.

After the house round table, I spent the rest of the weekend showing her and her sisters the campus.

Since the fake dating is new, me physically going everywhere they go is the only way I know they’re safe.

Emma and Eva were both mortified when Olivia and I escorted them to their rooms.

But that’s all going to change tonight. It has to or I’m going to spend our first week of classes running around the campus accompanying them everywhere. Coach would not be happy.

“How do you want to handle PDA?” I lean to whisper in Olivia’s ear as we enter the common room.

Noxx House is alive with movement. It’s Bonding Night.

In Noxx House, that means all of us argue till we agree on an activity both the introverts and the extroverts like.

Last year, the introverts settled on watching and judging the extroverts from the sideline as we played rugby out on the lawn.

It oddly worked for me; they only praised wins they thought were worthy, then degraded us the other half. It was pretty great.

Olivia has her eyes locked on Darien and isn’t listening.

I don’t blame her. Darien is an asshole, but he’s small fish compared to the rest of them.

Zant and Darien are two of the four vampires on the council, and Zant tells me he is a selfish lover of chaos but not inherently corrupt like some of the others.

With a hand on her shoulder, I bring her to my hip and away from him and his friends.

He’s not the only annoying asshole in Noxx House.

There are plenty to go around. Cane and Aster are here too with their buddies, sitting on a couch by the far fireplace.

When we walk in, their scowls disappear into the violet lights.

Our common room stays dimly lit most of the time due to the stained-glass windows.

“You’re safe next to me. Now back to the PDA talk.”

She sighs. “Is it necessary?”

Yep. She probably thinks I’m being a creep.

“No one is going to believe I’m going to take you as my mate if we look like acquaintances. We don’t need to kiss, just look friendly. We already have the quick timing working against us here.”

Her eyes glaze over as she analyzes the room.

Noxx House has the largest common room. There is an area for chess, two fireplaces, and a large glass room that overlooks the lawn and the trees.

It’s set up for the painters and sculptors in our house.

It pales in comparison to Luxxia’s common room that has an area for every creative endeavor you could think of.

“Just kiss me. It’s fine.” Her eyes snap to me.

“Wow, so eager. Have you been dreaming about this moment?”

It’s a joke, but her face drops in horror. “Did Emma tell you? I’m going to kill her.”

I take a beat, letting it sink in. Oh, shit.

“Uh, no. It was a complete shot in the dark. Have you had a dream about me?”

Her heart stutters. “No.”

Oh fuck, she did. “Go on. Tell me what it was about.”

I can’t hide the grin spanning my face. She shakes her head, refusing to answer, and I think that can only mean one thing.

“Did you have a sex dream about me?” I’m having fun already.

“Would you just shut up and kiss me so we can get on with the night?”

“Like right now?”

She nods .

“I don’t know, I want to hear more about the dream.”

“Don’t be a baby about it, just kiss me.”

Her brows furrow and she places her hand on her hip like I’m the one being exhausting.

“Alright.” I grab her forearm and bring her into the heart of the common room where I can ensure more people will see.

Leaning down, I breathe in her scent. I’m in her air, and she stumbles.

Grabbing her hand, I bring her a step closer so our chests are almost touching.

She’s so nervous; it’s cute. I wonder if she’s ever kissed anyone before.

Her gaze is trained on my lips as I cup her cheek with my palm.

She flinches at first, but I run my thumb up her jaw and stare into her eyes. Relax.

One quick glance around the room tells me everyone is definitely watching.

Wasting no more time, I tug her by the waist toward me and lift her chin so her lips meet mine. One quick kiss for the party.

Pure electricity seers through me when our lips touch.

Hot. Like an electric wire on the skin. She hesitates, then deepens the moment with another kiss.

Then another. I squeeze her, needing her against me.

Every swipe of her tongue takes me further from reality.

I can’t get enough of her. The softness of her lips.

Her heart rate skyrocketing. I need her. No one else can have her.

We realize it at the same time, and our eyes open.

I see her for the first time. Olivia is the type of beautiful you see in actresses you dream about as a kid. That, I saw very clearly the day we met, but something has shifted.

She feels like mine.

She tastes like mine too.

That’s a little much for a man she just met. I'll need to drown out that revelation with liquor immediately.

We’re both dumbfounded, staring still.

“You, uh, want me to get us drinks?” I say.

Her lips are wet with my saliva. It’s hot. That calm outer exterior has cracked just enough to see the embarrassment peeking through in the pink of her cheeks.

“Yeah, let’s do that.”

“I’m on it.”

A flash blinds me on my right.

“What a cute couple. Has Parker Owens found a mate?” Cherry is the only one in Noxx House who works for the school newspaper. I was hoping she’d be here.

“Yeah, I have.” I kiss Olivia’s cheek for good measure, and she looks at me with a lethal stare.

“Will you give me a quote for the paper?”

“Do I have to? I already gave an interview,” Olivia says, and I quietly back up and leave her there to grab our drinks.

With a little distance and air, it’s better.

I just got carried away for a second. That’s all it is.

The alpha blood is messing with my head again.

Is this why I couldn’t “mind my fucking business and eat my food” like Zant had so lovingly put it that day I'd told him about what happened in the dining hall?

I’d been eavesdropping, staring a little, but everyone noticed when Aster and Barrett walked over to Olivia and her sisters.

Her expression stayed calm, but her heart was hammering, screaming for help.

She needed someone in her corner, and even if I didn’t understand why, I wanted to be that person.

“Parker.” Gavin steps beside me as I pour some alcohol into a cup. Oh, shit.

“Hello, Alpha.” I sip my drink and meet his glare.

“I know your game.”

“There is no game.”

“Tell me right now. That’s an order.”

I grit my teeth. “I’m taking Olivia as my mate.”

“I don’t believe you. We just talked about this—”

“Things changed. This thing with Olivia is real.”

“This has nothing to do with what happened in the dining hall a few days ago?” His brow furrows as he takes another drink.

“Nope.”

I don’t like lying to Gavin. I shouldn’t be able to, technically.

Once you’re linked in a pack, doing anything to oppose the Alpha is supposed to be nearly impossible.

I still have a hard time sensing anything pack related even while bonded to Gavin.

For packmates, it’s visceral. When the Alpha feels something, they all do internally in some way.

Since I have alpha blood, the most I can sense is a mildly uncomfortable stomachache.

“Hope I’m not interrupting.” The thud of Cane’s thick-soled shoes accompanies his voice.

“No,” Gavin says .

“Aster is wanting to talk with you, Gavin.”

“I wonder what about.”

I pretend not to notice Gavin’s tone.

“Have to get back to the Mrs. anyway. Catch up later?”

I don’t look in Cane’s direction. The last thing I want is to make more problems for Gavin, but I don’t have many other options. Aster and Barrett respect Gavin, or at the very least, they’re willing to be civil and settle disputes without fights or antics.

It still feels like the right thing to do. It’s not fair Olivia’s father sent them here with no protection, thinking he was sending them to some type of safe haven. They need me more than I care about ruffling feathers on campus. Aster and Barrett have never liked me anyway.

Olivia is hiding in a corner, nearly blending into the curtains when I find her.

“You weren’t supposed to kiss me like that.” Olivia looks really cute when she’s pissed off at me. There’s a trickling of rain hitting the stained-glass window as she leans against it.

“You’re the one who shoved your tongue in my mouth,” I say, handing her a drink.

“You’re saying that was all me?”

“No. I don’t know what that was.”

My answer doesn’t satisfy her even though it’s the truth. It just happened. And if she lets me, I’d like to do it again.

She draws her arms to her chest and huffs. “New rule. Don’t touch me.”

“We really need to make a show here if you want anyone to believe this.”

“Fine. After this, you don’t touch me.”

She’s going to be stubborn about this, but as a human, she has no idea how much I can sense, and that kiss wasn’t forced. Every stroke of her tongue was deliberate and needy. And … Fuck, I have to stay focused .

I sip my drink and savor the burn of the alcohol. “Okay, I won’t touch you unless you ask.”

“I won’t ask.”

I shrug. “You might. And it’s okay to change your mind.”

“I don’t want to be known as just Parker Owens’s mate. That’s not why I came here.”

“You came here to make a name for yourself?” I ask .

“Yes … and no. I just want to be known for ballet.”

“And you will be.”

“Tell that to the girl who ambushed me in the library for the name of your cologne.”

“This is all temporary until … we figure out a better solution to our problems.”