Parker could honestly say that he had never seen Melissa look so beautiful. Her hair was a bird's nest on the pillow. Her enticing eyes were hidden behind their lids. She snored softly-a fact that she denied whenever he brought it up. He smiled at the string of drool that glistened across her cheek end in a small pool on her pillow. She must have been remarkably tired if she was drooling.

The babies had been moved to Mod's room so Melissa could get some sleep. Mod had had to convince her to part with the children at least for a few hours to get some rest. She complied, of course; she trusted Mod when it came to those things. He regretted not being with her during her pregnancy, but that was the only thing he regretted. Preserving her had been the best decision of his life. 

When he first met her, she hadn't been a blip on his radar. She was beautiful, of course, but the times were changing. The time of revolution was nearing... And employees were off limits. Besides, it wasn't like he saw her very often. She was only working some evenings while going to nursing school. He hadn't talked to her very much after he hired her. It was actually some of his more regular guests who brought her to his attention. There always seemed to be some comment he overheard about her hair or her eyes or her ass or her breasts. Although he could hardly say he disagreed with the comments, he found he didn't like them. He didn't like men talking about her that way. It wasn't like he had never talked about a woman in the same way but Melissa wasn't just some broad... He just didn't know exactly what she was.

Parker recalled how his thoughts were darkened any time he heard men making comments about her. It would be bad business to make a scene. She was a striking woman; and it never hurt to have a woman like that working in a bar. He began to watch her, wondering if she was somehow leading on any of the customers. All that he was able to garner was that she was a beautiful and charming nursing school student working in a bar. She wasn't dressed inappropriately. She wasn't acting indecently. What could she possibly be doing to have so many men raving about her?

Never mind the fact that she didn't have to do anything to get that kind of attention. And forget about the other girls who danced and worked the bar with her. Melissa was one of the favorites. Guys asked about her even when she wasn't there. The nerve of those clowns! Who were these jerks to ask where she was on her days off?! Pay no mind to the fact that Parker was disinterested whenever guests asked about any of the other girls. Melissa was another issue altogether. He had to put an end to this.

"Melissa, I need to see you in my office." She was wiping down the bar after a busy Saturday night-Sunday morning. He breezed past her, knowing she would follow.

He closed the door quietly behind her and gestured for her to have a seat before his desk. He sat behind the desk, thinking that this would have to be quick and direct, a sudden attack, a seduction-ambush! They sat there silently for a few moments. Melissa eyed him warily while he watched her, beginning to doubt himself.

"Why don't you come to my place for coffee?" It sounded smooth but he felt like his heart was lodged and pulsing in his throat.

He watched her face as she exhaled loudly. Her eyes brightened and she smiled.

"Oh my God! You scared me. I thought I was fired!"

Her smile was dazzling. Like the sun, he couldn't look directly at it. He gazed into her eyes, waiting for her to answer his question.

"Of course! Yeah! Let me get my things!"

He watched her bound out of the room, sure that he got the result he wanted but uncertain as to how it worked so well.

That night was the beginning of a beautiful...thing? Affair? He couldn't call it a relationship. According to her, it was little more than a string of booty calls. And maybe that's all it was...to her. She remembered great sex and leaving right after. He remembered waking up the next morning wishing she was there and obsessing over how to shield her from impending doom.

Parker sighed deeply and leaned back in his chair. And now he was here: a father with a mate he hadn't spoken to in months. How was he going to fix things now...

"Hey." The covers rustled as Melissa stretched under them. "Were you watching me sleep?"

He smirked. "So what if I was?"

"You're such a creep," she mumbled. She pulled the covers up to hide her smile but he saw it. "Where're the babies?"

"Slow down, babe. You have the rest of your life to be an overbearing mother. Enjoy the silence while it lasts."

He leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead, practically the only part of her that wasn't covered. He got up to leave, thinking she might like some time alone.

"Stay."

He didn't have to be told twice. He turned right around and scooted under the covers with her. Along with the heat radiating from her body, he felt his heart fill with the pride of a father and the passion of a lover. He couldn't recall ever being so content.

~ | ~

‘Peter' wandered into the room some time later. Seeing the happy couple in a comfortable slumber, he exited as quietly as he had entered. Bitterness and jealousy darkened the raincloud over his heart as he wandered down the hall to another room.