Taming Reid

by J. Margot Critch

  She smiled. Once again, she could see how devoted he was to his family. It was commendable. He was responsible, sensible, but passionate. Sure, she’d seen that passion the night before, but responsible and sensible wasn’t the impression she’d had of the man who’d seduced her in a restaurant and took her quickly, fiercely in her hotel that morning. He wasn’t at all what she went for when it came to men—she liked them more adventurous and carefree—but she might be tempted to make an exception for another go-around with Reid Rexford...

  Lila mentally slapped herself. Down, girl. You’re here for work! She had to think about her future and see if Reid would be open to some sort of partnership. That was one thing that could secure her the GO! Channel deal. But she wouldn’t be able to do that if she couldn’t keep her hormones in check. Straightening, she tried to tamp down her attraction to him. She tried to separate herself as the woman who’d slept with him from the blogger who was there for information. “That doesn’t sound boring. You keep the lights on, and keep the place running. You can be as charismatic, or make as much fabulous rum as you please, but without the boring numbers guy, there isn’t a business.”

  Another beat of silence passed between them. And Lila was sure at that point they would never get to finish the tour. Not that that would be the worst thing... “So, why don’t you tell me about making rum? What’s the step-by-step process?”

  “All right,” Reid said, rubbing his hands together, and pointed to the drums. “It all starts with sugar cane...”

  * * *

  Even though the distillery was Gemma’s domain, and he’d argued the opposite, Reid still knew the place inside out. Thankfully, back in control of the situation, he started the tour. He went over the process with Lila, giving her a spiel that he remembered from his days of running the tours. But he’d never had an audience like Lila.

  She was a stunning woman, all generous curves and red hair. But it wasn’t just her looks that drew him to her. She was vibrant, vivacious, and her energy filled the distillery as she hung on his every word. He could feel her attention so acutely that he had to concentrate to keep the words coming from his mouth. Reid gave her the chance the check out one of the giant stills, and as she walked around it, taking notes and asking questions, even the intricacies of her movements intrigued him. The way her pen went between her lips as her sharp eyes took in the process, the way she restlessly drummed her fingers against her thigh, not out of boredom, he knew, but to expel the excess energy that coursed through her.

  They moved over to the charred oak barrels where they aged the rum. He saw the cognac barrels from Gemma’s new batch in one corner. Her notebook—which contained her recipes—lay open on top. Rolling his eyes at Gemma’s carelessness, he snatched it up before Lila could sneak a peek at the words scribbled on the pages. But all it earned him was a curious look from her. Smooth. “And that’s the end of the tour,” Reid said, sliding the small coil notebook into his pocket. “Now’s the fun part—the tasting.”

  “The rest of the tour was pretty interesting. That does sounds like it’s more fun, though.” She smiled, laying her fingertips on his forearm. “But I know a more fun thing we could do together.”

  “I thought we promised to behave ourselves?”

  She walked past him, and her smile was daring—and sexy. “That was you. I never promised any such thing.”

  Reid clenched his fists and counted to ten in his head. It was barely enough to bring down his libido. He was barely hanging on. He had to remind himself that there was something strange going on with Lila’s reappearance into his life. She had called it a coincidence. But he didn’t believe in coincidence. While his dick might be happy to have Lila in his presence, he had to consider the other possibilities.

  On one hand, she might be a spy, sent by a rival distillery. On the other hand, she could be out to get the inside scoop into his personal life, to air his dirty laundry. Wouldn’t be the first time those things happened when he wasn’t careful about who he trusted.

  He ground his teeth, but still couldn’t stop himself from putting his hand on the small of her back to guide her into the tasting room. Immediately, he regretted the lapse in judgment. He should have kept his hands to himself; he would never have touched another distillery guest in such an intimate manner.

  He was so attuned to her that he could feel Lila stiffen underneath his fingers. Her head turned in his direction, not surprised by his touch, and she gave him that same devastatingly slick grin. He knew he was done. She didn’t move away from his touch, and instead settled back against his hand and continued walking with him.

  He turned on the overhead lights to the tasting area—the large room was designed and lit for intimacy despite its size. Edison bulbs on strings and in sconces lit the stone walls of the room, which held several long old wooden tables, big enough to accommodate larger tour groups. He gestured to a spot on the center of the bench that ran along one of the tables. “Take a seat. I’ll be right back,” he told her.

  He let his gaze linger on Lila for a second before he went into the next room to prepare the tasting. As he pulled out a couple of flat boards and the small glasses that went with them, he thought about the woman waiting for him. It had been a long time since he’d let any sort of need or desire rise to the surface. But since she’d come into his life the night before, she’d completely turned him upside down. He shook his head. If he wasn’t careful, he would find himself in a vulnerable situation with the woman. He poured himself a shot of rum and downed it in a fortifying gulp.

  But first. He had to think about the distillery. He had to put the business, his family ahead of his own goddamn sex life. Gemma and Quin were counting on him to make sure Lila left with a good impression of the Rexford distillery. He had to forget the effect that Lila had on him. He had to be on his best behavior. He had to think about the business.

  “Pull it together, Reid,” he muttered, giving himself a mental shake. As per the standard they’d set for the tours, Reid finished preparing the tasting boards with the selection of rum, giving visitors a range of what the distillery had to offer. And even though he would rather be laying Lila out on top of the old oak table in the next room, and burying himself deep inside her, he had to be professional.

  Professionalism had never been a problem for him before. As Gemma and Quin were quick to remind him, he was the serious, boring one—the one who never let anything get in the way of work. Why Lila was such a temptation him, he didn’t know, but he normally didn’t have any trouble separating the business from his dick.

  But that didn’t mean he could stop thinking about the woman waiting for him in the main room. He’d had an incredible night—and following morning—with Lila. When they’d been completely anonymous. But now she knew who he was, and that made him feel more vulnerable than he liked.

  He frowned and poured himself another shot of rum. It had been a while since he’d done the tasting spiel, but he knew the qualities of each type of rum and could explain it in detail. He wanted to give Lila the authentic, typical experience, but his desire for the woman was anything but typical.

  * * *

  With Reid in the other room, Lila was able to finally take a deep breath, but it did little to settle her. Reid Rexford was as formidable as a brick wall, and seemingly unflappable despite her giving him her sexiest looks. She, however, was completely shaken. His inquisitive, even skeptical, eyes had bored through her. She’d enjoyed the tour of the distillery, but she was glad she’d recorded it because after seeing Reid, she found it difficult to remember anything he’d said to her.

  Given the passion he’d exhibited the night before, she’d been surprised by how stiff and serious he looked in the distillery. It was difficult to reconcile the businessman him with the passionate lover he’d been. They could have been two different men, but when he put his hand on her, low on her back, she’d nearly sighed with pent-up pleasure.
<
br />   Using the reversed camera on her phone as a mirror, she checked out her reflection, and smoothed her hair. Still cute. When she looked up, he came back into the room and laid down two wooden board platters that contained four small glasses each. The whole time, he kept a noticeable distance from her.

  “What do we have here?” she asked, eyeing each of the glasses.

  “Here’s a sample of our regular rums—” he pointed to each glass “—white, amber, spiced, and we finish it off with a cream rum.”

  He went into a speech about each of the products, about the differences in production, laced with humorous tales of Joseph Rexford. Reid knew the family lore, but she was more interested in learning about him. “And we start with the white rum.” He picked up the small glass that held the clear liquid.

  They both held up their glasses of white rum, clinked them together in salute, and took a sip. The clear rum was smooth, some of the best she’d ever had. Normally her rum came mixed with fruit juice and topped with little umbrellas. But without the decoration and overpowering fruit, she was able to taste the clarity of the rum. She drank again, and their eyes connected over their glasses. When his glass was empty, he put it back on the table. His posture was rigid, his serious face set with hard features.

  “Can I ask you a question?” he said after a beat of silence.

  “Shoot.”

  “Why are you here?” he asked, surprising her.

  Her mouth dropped open in shock at the almost accusatory tone he used. “What does it look like I’m doing here? I’m taking a tour of your business.”

  “Why though? I’ve got to know. Did you know who I was when we met at Arlo’s? And then you show up here. It’s all a little too coincidental for my liking.”

  “If you remember, last night, you approached me. The only thing I knew about you until today was that your name was Reid, and that you’re good in bed. I’ve been in touch with Gemma, and she’s the one who invited me for a tour. You know, I really don’t like having to explain myself to you.” She narrowed her eyes at him and saw that he was still suspicious. “Whether you like it or not, it’s just a coincidence. Are you accusing me of something, Reid? What’s with the inquisition?”

  “I don’t believe in coincidence, fate or happenstance. I don’t understand how we meet in a restaurant, sleep together and then you randomly show up at my business. Is this a way to get extra information, an inside scoop for your blog?”

  “What, In Bed with the Rum Baron? You think that’s a traffic booster? Please.” When he didn’t say anything in response, and just looked at her critically, anger quickly replaced any other feelings she might have had for Reid. “Are you fucking kidding me?” she asked, indignant, standing from the table. “I don’t need a salacious story to sell people on my brand. I wanted to take a tour of the distillery because I like your sister, and maybe I wanted to see you again. Jeeze, you’re so freaking hot and cold. I don’t understand you.”

  He shook his head. “You’re right. I shouldn’t have said that. It seemed... Never mind.”

  “You can’t just accuse me of what—trying to gain your information, and then say forget it. I’m just going to leave.” Like that, she saw her dreams of them working together burst into flames. Without a brand partnership, she could kiss her television career goodbye. But her integrity was worth more than that. “Thanks for the tour.”

  “Lila.” Reid’s voice remained even. “Please don’t go. Believe me, I’m very sorry for what I’ve implied. It didn’t come out the way I meant.” He exhaled. “I’ve... I’ve been burned before. And I don’t normally see women more than once. So, my reaction to seeing you this morning, and then seeing you here—it’s all too incredible for me.”

  Even though she knew she should be halfway out the door, she briefly forgot how insulted she’d been by him. She could see the mix of emotions on his face. He looked uncomfortable, troubled, confused, frustrated, vulnerable, and Lila was intrigued. She sat back down and watched him. “What happened? Who burned you?”

  He shook his head. “It’s nothing I’m eager to talk about, especially to a stranger.”

  A stranger. That stung.

  “It’s a story best left for another time,” he continued. “Or never. But I’m a little more careful now than I used to be. And seeing you here today confused me.” He picked up the next rum, the amber. “Shall we carry on? Forget that I even said anything?”

  There was a story there, a reason for his sudden shift in attitude, and despite feeling a little hurt, instead of telling him to go fuck himself and walking away, Lila was eager to dig a little deeper to hear it. The man in front of her was intriguing. But he was also kind of a jerk. Good thing he was sexy as hell on top of it. “Sure.” She picked up the next small glass, still mad at Reid, but willing to drink his rum.

  He cleared his throat. “This is the amber,” he told her, back in business mode. He held the small glass aloft, and Lila did the same, the light shining through a liquid gold. “It’s medium-bodied, aged three years, and caramel and spicy in flavor.”

  He brought it to his lips, and she drank hers, as well. It was just as good as the first. It didn’t have the same burn that most straight liquor had, a testament to its quality. The only burn she felt came from the infuriatingly complicated man who sat across the table.

  “What do you think?” he asked.

  “About the rum?” she countered, shrugging. “It’s good.” She looked at the two shots still in front of her. “I’m glad I had lunch, though.”

  “We can skip the rest if you want to leave.”

  “And let it go down the drain?” She laughed. “Never. I’ll just carb-load later to soak it up.” She picked up the next. “What’s this one?”

  “Our signature spiced rum. Flavored with a combination of spices. The recipe is one of Gemma’s most tightly held secrets. I’ll be honest, Quin and I don’t even know how she makes this one.”

  They both drank. The spiced rum was amazing, and she hummed in approval as she savored the flavor. It was heavy, spicy but also sweet—just like Reid—and it felt warm in her stomach. A pleasant feeling spread to each of her extremities. “Delicious.” She smiled at him.

  He exhaled as he put down the glass with a heavy clunk, and she wondered if he was feeling the effects of the alcohol as well. “Lila, I really am sorry I got so angry earlier, and I’m sorry I accused you of being unscrupulous. I acted poorly. You did nothing wrong, and you didn’t deserve it.”

  His apology seemed heartfelt. The beast wasn’t all gruff. He might have a heart, after all. “Thank you. This is a weird situation we’ve found ourselves in. Fate works in mysterious ways.”

  “I don’t believe in fate. It all seems a little too coincidental.” He gestured to the last glass. “Shall we drink?”

  “Yes, please.”

  He picked up the last shot, the creamy one. “Last one. This is the cream liqueur. This one is a combination distilled rum and cream. Then Gemma added a little vanilla, cinnamon and a few other delicious spices from around the world. Once again, only Gemma and her guys know the exact recipe.”

  She held the glass to her nose and sniffed. It smelled sweet. “Down the hatch,” she said. When he laughed, she explained. “I know it’s not the fanciest toast, but whatever.” She savored the flavor. “That was delicious.”

  When she lowered the glass, she saw that Reid was looking at her, and he was smiling.

  “What?” she asked.

  “You’ve got a little...” He reached across the table and swiped his thumb across her top lip. He pulled it away with some of the creamy rum on it, and before bringing his hand back to his side of the table, he paused, and touched it to her mouth. She parted her lips and closed them around his thumb. When she released him, she dragged her tongue along the outer edge of his thumb, tasting the rum on his skin, combined with his own flavor. She wanted
more.

  He groaned and without saying anything, Reid came around to her side of the table. She was still seated, and he stood behind Lila, towering over her. Resting his palms on the table, one on each side of her own hands, he hovered over her, caging her in. Lila leaned back against him and looked up. The all-too-familiar heat had returned to his eyes. Despite his accusations, he wanted her again. So goddamn hot and cold.

  He drew the fingers of one hand along her cheek, down her throat, to the crevice of cleavage revealed by the low cut of her dress. Lila again leaned into his touch, unable to do anything else but urge him to keep touching her. His hand slid underneath the neckline of her dress and bra and cupped her breast. He pinched her nipple between two fingers, and she gasped, and it turned into a moan when he smoothed his hand over her.

  “Still want to leave?”

  Lila drew her bottom lip between her teeth, and closed her eyes, leaning against his chest. She inhaled his cologne, his rum-scented breath, and she moaned. Her laugh was a throaty sound. “I couldn’t if I tried. I thought you said we were a one night only thing.”

  “I was a fool. And we already broke that rule this morning, didn’t we?”

  His hand left her breast and smoothed down the front of her dress to her thighs, where the material of her skirt had already ridden up. He slid his hand between her thighs, and she responded by spreading them further for him. He hummed in approval. “That’s good.” His fingers traveled upward to the apex of her thighs, where he found her already wet panties. He stroked her through the soaked satin and her moan filled the small room.

  “I don’t know what you do to me, Lila,” he whispered in her ear, as he slipped his hand underneath her panties and touched her without a barrier. “I know this is a bad idea, but the minute I’m near you, it’s all I can do to keep from fucking you.”