Parker leaned back, fingers idly tapping against his glass as Tessa scrolled through the details on the tablet, her voice smooth as she listed every custom feature on his new toys.
After reaching an understanding, Parker made the call. Thanks to Tessa's help, he'd placed an order—custom cars, four motorbikes, all fine-tuned to his specs, and, of course, sothing else he conveniently forgot to ntion to her.
So, while Tessa and the maids had been off training, his orders had been in motion, moving through production, getting prepped.
And now, here they were.
Tessa had found all the necessary details in the lounge and was currently explaining everything to him—each and every little customization—while their lovely third-wheel, Atalanta, was on her phone, grinning at sothing stupid, completely oblivious to the absolute obscene amount of money being spent right under her nose.
Tessa smiled to herself. Atalanta, the very definition of a carefree but fearso warrior. Innocent, cute, sotis even naïve, but when it ca down to it? Dangerous like a goddamn apex predator. She was a beast. The kind that would smile while ripping soone in half.
She turned to Parker, her gaze steady. "So? If it's all fine, we can go check out what you ordered, finalize the paynt, and wrap everything up."
Parker t her eyes and smiled. Instead of answering, he reached out, took her hand, and pulled her in—slowly, deliberately. His fingers skimd against her palm, warm and firm, before settling at her waist.
And then he kissed her.
Soft at first, like a tease, just barely brushing against her lips, before pressing in deeper, stealing a slow, lingering mont. His hand slid up, cupping the back of her neck, tilting her just enough to make her shiver—yeah, he felt that. She barely had a second to react before he dipped in, catching her lips in a slow, lingering kiss. His fingers traced along her wrist, featherlight, his touch precise.
Tessa let out the softest sigh, leaning into it, lting against him as her hand clutched at his arm, her pulse just a little unsteady.
And when he finally pulled back, just a breath apart, his thumb traced the edge of her jaw.
Tessa hadn't told him what her deal was—what she had to do to stay with him. She was shut tight about it, locked down, and he didn't push. Not now.
He just let her be.
Breaking the kiss, he ruffled her hair, watching as she huffed at the gesture but didn't actually pull away.
Tessa blinked up at him, lips slightly parted, before she exhaled a laugh and leaned in, resting her forehead against his cheek. "I love you." Parker smiled.
It wasn't hesitant or shy—just honest, like a fact she'd finally decided to say out loud. And when she pulled back, her eyes searched his like she wanted to see sothing deeper. "I feel so lucky I t you, Parker. Like… what were the odds, you know?"
Parker exhaled, his fingers tracing the back of her hand before he murmured, "I love you too, Tess." His voice was soft, real, but then he pulled back just slightly, tilting his head at her. "But let's get one thing straight—this wasn't luck."
Tessa blinked. "Oh, so you planned this? You just woke up one day and thought, 'Hey, let fuck around and go at Blacktower Hotel and run into this absolute goddess of a woman'?"
Parker huffed out a laugh, shaking his head. "No, but you're thinking too small. You ever hear of 'geop'?"
She stared at him. "If I say yes, will you drop whatever nerdy shit you're about to hit with?"
"Absolutely not." His thumb brushed circles against her wrist as he continued. "Okay, so think of ti like… layers, right? In Buddhist thought, they have this concept of a 'kalpa'—which is basically a unit of ti so fucking long, it makes human history look like a two-minute YouTube ad. Picture so celestial dude with a silk cloth, and once every hundred years, he brushes it against a mountain. By the ti that wears the whole thing down? That's one kalpa."
Tessa's nose scrunched. "So, ti is just a slow-ass exfoliation process?"
Parker smirked. "Kinda. But the point is, existence isn't just a straight line. It's cycles—actions stacking on actions, lifetis feeding into lifetis. You and ? We weren't so random-ass coincidence. This?—he gestured between them—"was always gonna happen. Because of everything before it."
She pursed her lips. "So, you're telling I've been suffering through reincarnations just to end up right here, dealing with your philosophical ass?"
"Basically." He grinned. "And not just that. There's also this thing called 'uji'—it's a Zen concept that ti and existence are the sa thing. aning every mont is an intersection of past, present, and future. So us being here, like this? It's not just now. It's layers of choices, history, maybe even so weird divine joke. But it was never random."
Tessa's eyes narrowed. "Parker, I swear to god, if you're about to tell you were also so kind of ancient monk in one of your past lives—"
"Nah, that'd be boring as hell." He let his fingers slide through hers, his voice lowering. "But I have lived through things that don't make sense in just so hundreds of lifetis for so. Shit that shouldn't be real. And if I tried to explain it all to you, you'd probably think I was insane."
She watched him carefully now, her playful irritation fading just slightly. "Try ."
Parker's gaze softened, but he didn't push further. "Let's just say, when I tell you this wasn't luck, I an it. There's another idea—'kalachakra,' the wheel of ti. It's the belief that ti moves in cycles, that events repeat, not exactly the sa, but close enough that they feel like echoes. And sotis, those cycles pull the sa people back to each other. So maybe this isn't even the first ti we've t. Maybe we've been here before, in different versions, finding each other over and over again. Perhaps you were so waitress in one in and we closed paths."
Tessa stared at him for a long mont, then exhaled dramatically. "Great. So I'm stuck with you for eternity. Love that for ."
Parker chuckled, reaching up to ruffle her hair. "Damn right you are."
She groaned, slumping against him in exaggerated defeat before murmuring against his chest, "I was just trying to say sothing cute. And now I have an existential crisis. I hope you're proud of yourself."
He smirked, pressing a slow kiss to her forehead before whispering, "Always."
Reviews
All reviews (0)