Don't Rush Me (Nora Jacobs #1)(54)

“You’re attracted to me.”

He’s right, but that’s not enough. “I’m afraid of you,” I admit. “I’m afraid of all men. I’ve been hurt by nearly every single one I’ve ever met.”

Parker’s eyes fill with sadness. “I would never hurt you, Nora.”

I gulp. I don’t want to trust him, but my heart is starting to believe even if my head doesn’t. “It doesn’t matter,” I say again. It’s barely a whisper.

“How can I prove myself to you? Tell me how I can gain your forgiveness and your trust.”

I shake my head. It wouldn’t matter if I forgave him, and I already do trust him, or I wouldn’t be here with him now. But I can’t get into a relationship. It wouldn’t end well. He’s too drawn to me. If I gave him an opportunity, he wouldn’t be able to stop himself. No. Until I figure out what I am and how to control this curse of mine, I can’t date anyone. My body is just going to have to cool down.

“I’m not looking to date, Parker. But I could use your help tonight.”

“Anything.”

Our food arrives, and as we eat, I tell Parker about my day, about going to the university and discovering the fake fraternity full of dark magic users. I tell him about my vision in the car and about the plan I’ve concocted with Nick for the party tonight. Parker doesn’t like this idea, but he doesn’t get a say. “So what would you like me to do?” he asks, not quite able to mask his annoyance that I refuse to stay away tonight.

“I need you to keep Xavier away. I’m sure he’ll call you.”

“He already has. I haven’t returned his call, but he invited me to come to a party with him tonight.”

I grin, feeling the excitement from earlier when I was plotting this undercover operation with Nick. “That would be the one we’re going to.”

“So why don’t I just come? At least that way I could help Gorgeous keep an eye on you.”

I shake my head and scoop up the last bite of my falafel. Parker’s right: This is the best falafel I’ve ever had. “You can’t. These guys know Xavier. They like him and trust him already. He’s the one they want. If he shows up tonight, they won’t look twice at Nick and me.”

“That’s not a bad thing,” Parker says dryly. He glances at my empty plate and adds, “Shall we order some baklava for dessert?”

I should say no; dessert feels like it brings us back into date territory after I’ve finally got us in business mode. But come on. Turn down free baklava? I don’t think so. “Hell yeah. I love baklava.”

Parker laughs and flags down our server. After the guy is gone, I resume our argument because Parker is looking at me all lovingly again. “You can’t bring Xavier,” I say.

“But if I’m there with Xavier, then they can just take me instead.”

“Yeah, and then you’d end up missing, just like all the others. They’re using dark magic roofies, remember? You’d wake up trapped in a cage somewhere, and we wouldn’t be able to find any of you. The point of all this is not for me to be bait, but for Nick to rush. We need them to accept Nick so that they tell him where the ritual is. If you go with Xavier, we still don’t learn anything.”

Parker sighs. He knows I’m right.

“Please just keep him away from the party. Take him out somewhere else, compel him if you have to.”

Parker raises an eyebrow at me. “You’d have me compel him? I thought you hated us doing that.”

“To innocent people, yeah, but to dangerous, psycho creeps? I’m not going to lose sleep over it.”

Parker chuckles quietly and shakes his head once. He pins me with a considering look, and I see the precise moment he agrees to my plan. “Okay,” he says. “I’ll keep Xavier away for you tonight. Under one condition.”

“And that is?”

He leans forward in his chair. “You allow me a kiss goodnight before I have to hand you over to Gorgeous.”

My mouth goes dry, and all the air is sucked from my lungs. I hesitate just a moment too long, and then the server is there with our dessert. He sets the plate in the middle of the table between us and lays down two dessert spoons. As soon as he’s gone, I grab my spoon and dig right in. “Oh, wow. This is good.”

“Nora…”

I refuse to look at him. “You have to try this. Seriously.”

“Nora.”

Sighing internally, I clear my mouth and force my gaze up. “No.”

His damn lips twitch again.

“No. Not happening.” This time, I sound like I mean it.

“On the cheek, then,” he counters. “I want to prove to you that not every experience with a man has to be a bad one.”

I swallow. Hard. Even though there’s no more food in my mouth. Then I take another bite of the baklava. “You’d better get in on this before I eat it all.”

“Nora…”

He’s not going to let it go. Closing my eyes, I set my spoon down. “Fine,” I whisper.

When Parker sucks in a breath through his nose, I finally look at him. I shouldn’t have. His eyes are swirling with desire, and the intensity of it makes my stomach flutter. I’m excited, but I’m also terrified. “On the cheek,” I demand. “And that is it. Nothing else. You try anything funny, and I’ll sic my troll on you.”