“Not glory so much as wanting to impress you.”
I froze. Of all the men I’d met before, not one would have done anything close to what Reid had done. In fact, I wasn’t sure any of them would have given half the effort Reid had in the last few days. “You’re impressive enough as it is.”
He strode toward me carrying our drinks, but it was too dark to see his expression as he handed me a glass. “Toast?”
“Bread.”
“What?” He let out a chuckle. “Random much?”
I shook my head. “Sorry, my brother and I always used to play stupid word games like that.”
“Do I remind you of your brother?” he asked.
“Not at all,” I quickly answered. “That would be gross if I thought about him the way I think about you.”
“How do you think about me?”
I held my glass up. “You’re one of a kind, Reid Gallagher, and I’m so unbelievably lucky to have met you and gotten to spend time with you. You scare me, but at the same time, you make me feel like I could fly. So, a toast, to whatever this warmth is that spreads through me when I’m near you.”
“To wherever this takes us.”
We clinked our glasses, and I took a sip of my margarita. “Mmm,” I said in surprise. “Wow, that’s good.”
“Thanks.” He set his down on the coffee table before going back and retrieving the only source of light and our snacks.
“Got any other hidden talents?” I asked before taking another sip.
I could see his grin as he walked over. It looked a little maniacal thanks to the harsh shadows. “Many. If you’re a good girl, maybe I’ll show you later.”
“What do bad girls get?”
He let out a groan as he sat. “What happened to PG?”
“Darkness? Adrenaline? Near death experience? Being within a ten-foot radius of you?”
“Let’s go back to twenty questions,” he said as he held out a chip loaded with salsa.
“Really?” I asked as I bit down on the chip, my hand cupping underneath to catch any of the bits that were threatening to escape.
“Need to cool things down.”
“Are you sure?” I asked. “Sorry. I just, this whole night…” I looked down to my glass. “You really are my savior, Reid.”
He brushed my hair back and tilted my chin up. “Don’t be sorry. It’s just that I don’t—” He blew out a breath. “I have a strong draw to you, and I want you, very much, but I don’t want it to all be physical.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Stop being sorry. Now, back to twenty questions. How long have you been friends with Sarah?”
He shoveled another chip into his mouth, then held one out for me.
“Having you feed me is kinda fun,” I said as I took the bite.
“Then I’m doing this right.”
“Doing what right?” I asked.
He leaned in closer. “Wooing you.”
I ducked my head and took another sip of my drink. Fuck. He needed to stop being so charming, or I was going to be in serious trouble. “We were college roommates. Met as fresh-faced freshmen and we clicked.”
“Like you and me?” he asked. Again, charmer needed to stop charming because he was making me a melty mess of emotions.
Another chip sat at my lips, and I leaned forward and chomped on it. “Well, we click on a level I’ve never clicked on with her.”
He let out a deep chuckle. “Good to know where my competition lies.”
“You think there’s competition? Ha!”
“There’s always some sort of competition.”
“What’s mine?” I asked.
He reached up and caressed my cheek, the smile gone from his face. “Time.”
I froze, expecting him to say something about all the beauties who surrounded him daily.
He let out a sigh. “Free time is something I don’t have a lot of, but I would give it all to you. Maybe not in person, but any way I could.”
“You would give it all to me?”
He caressed my cheek, his eyes locked on mine. “I will.”
My gaze jumped between his eyes looking for some sort of humor or deception, but I found neither. Instead, I found what I could only describe as longing.
“Did you get into acting for the fame?” I asked, changing the subject away from the ones that made my stomach do somersaults.
“I want to say no, but I think that’s more of a hindsight revelation. In the beginning, getting recognized on the street for my face on the screen was amazing and such a rush, but it changes you—and not in the way most expect.”
“Really? How did it change you?” I asked.
“You saw how Kimber was. Well, she’s that way with good reason.”
“The whole you don’t make friends that fast attitude?” I tipped my glass back to suck down the last bits of salty lime-ness.
“Exactly. There’s a serious lack of privacy, cameras always in your face wherever you go. People want to use you for how you can help them, or what the status being in your circle can do for them.” He stood and took my glass and the light. I watched the glow move away over to the bar as he refreshed our drinks. “Even Kimber has been used to get to me. It was a hard lesson for her and a restraining order for me. You become rude to people when you don’t want to be, simply because being nice invites them to take advantage of you.”
“Wow,” was all I could say. “All of that is a high price.”
“It is, and I don’t want to knock it, because I love what I do, so that’s why I treasure time with the people I trust. There’s no pretense or nefarious goal.”
“Well, the only nefarious goal I have is getting to know you better,” I said as I watched him expertly pour the tequila.
“That’s not nefarious. I think you need a dictionary recap.”
“Well, it may not be, but it’s my only goal. Besides taking advantage of you in the bedroom.”
“Bedroom?” He cocked a brow at me.
“Or couch, table, floor.” I gestured around the room. “Really anywhere.”
He let out another groan as he walked back over and handed me my refilled glass. “Where do you see yourself in ten years?”
“Is this an interview?” I asked as I took another hit of the strong liquid.
His shoulders gave a shrug as he sat. “In a way.”
What did I want? Over the last few months the only thing I wanted was to not feel so miserable and used. I wanted the opposite of that. “In ten years I see myself happy. I hope.”
“What does happy mean to you?” he asked before taking a long pull.
Happy. Happy.
There was only one image that came to mind.
“In love, married, children. Sharing my life with a man I love. A deep love, where there is no doubt he loves me. What about you?”
“Oddly, pretty much the same, only change man to woman.”
Envisioning Reid holding a baby was ovary explosion inducing. A sexy daddy that could take care of his baby on his own, as well as take care of his wife.
The next image that popped up was him with some super thin model or actress with perfect hair and makeup and very opposite of me.
“Margaritas also make me happy,” I said in an attempt to wipe the thoughts from my mind.
“Do they?” he asked, a seductive edge to his tone.
“And you make good ones.”
He leaned in closer. “Does that make me a keeper?”
“Are you asking if you’re ten-year material?”
“Maybe.”
My heart began to slam wildly in my chest. “Maybe you are.”
“Maybe I could be.”
Reid made strong margaritas, and by the time I finished the second one, I was straddling his lap, his hands lazily trailing up and down my sides. I’d reached that happy, horny state. Pleasantly buzzed, but not drunk. My inhibitions were lowered, and I relaxed a bit.
“I think you got me tipsy on purpose,” I sai
d as I pulled his glass to my lips.
He fed me another chip with salsa on it in an attempt to soak up the drinks. “Not on purpose, but I will admit I was curious about tipsy Harper.” His hands continued their path up and down my sides. Much like the magnet he talked about being, I was drawn closer, my chest pressed against his, my lips inches from his.
I reached between us and cupped his length. “You don’t need to get me drunk to have sex with you.”
He let out a groan, his hands settling on my hips. “I know. You told me.” He leaned forward and nipped at my neck before kissing and sucking his way up and then back down. “Fuck, Harper.” He took hold of my hand and pulled it from his warm length, placing it on his chest as he leaned back. “You’re making it fucking hard for me to be a gentleman.”
“Making it hard is kinda the point. And who said I wanted a gentleman?”
“What do you want?”
“A beast. A brute who takes what he wants from my body.” I leaned back, one hand on his shoulder, the other in my hair as I rotated my hips. “I want to feel desperation, desire.” My lips touched his lightly as our eyes locked. “I want you to want me like you’ve never wanted anyone before.”
His fingers dug into my hips, holding me close. “When was the last time a man gave you an orgasm?”
A gasp left me, and my hips gave an involuntary rotation. “Never. When was the last time you gave a woman an orgasm?”
His hands ran up and around my neck, fingers threading through my hair as he pulled me closer, his lips ghosting mine. “Ask me in an hour.”
CHAPTER 9
His hands were harsh, full of that need I so desperately craved. His mouth attacked my skin like a starving man.
“Harper,” he hissed. He nipped his way up to my lips, kissing me with a fervor that engulfed me. Set every inch of me on fire—a combustible flame only he could extinguish.
A moan left me as his hands squeezed at my breasts, his fingers pinching my nipples through the thin fabric of my top. He was the sweetest torture. I needed more, wanted him to fuck me raw, but Reid was in control and I loved every second of it.
His attempts to get his hands against my skin were thwarted by the design of the bodysuit, and a low growl left him. His fingers trailed against the exposed skin of the keyhole cutout, slipping under as he hastily searched for a way to get it off.
“What the fuck is this?”
“A bodysuit.” I reached behind me to unclasp the buttons at the back of my neck when I heard him growl.
“Fuck this.” With a strong tug he pulled at the fabric, the center seam giving way. He continued until the line of exposed skin slipped below the waistband of my jeans. The tug forced the fabric against my clit and my nails dug into his arms.
“Oh, God,” I moaned, eyes closing as a low keening sound left me.
I wanted him. Something he knew.
“You look so good being needy. Wanting my cock.” His lips closed around a pebbled nipple, flicking the sensitive skin with his tongue before pulling back to blow.
A gasp left me as cool air hit my skin, my nipples pebbling. Every touch fueled the fire that raged through my body. My skin buzzed with the electricity that sparked between us.
“Please.” I took hold of his belt, my hips undulating, seeking any friction.
“Stay still,” he hissed. One of his hands took hold of mine and pinned them behind my back, holding me still. I was at his mercy, bound and unable to move.
I fucking loved it.
“Please, Reid. I need more.”
“Fuck, I love the way you say my name. So pretty.”
“Let me touch you,” I whimpered. “I want to feel you.” My hips moved against his length, pushing down while his mouth continued his assault on my chest.
He pulled back, and even in the dim light I could see how hooded his eyes were. Reaching up, he threaded his hand into my hair and pulled me to him, our lips crashing.
I needed to feel his skin, was desperate to. Clawing at his shirt, I yanked it over his head, uncaring if it survived. The peek I’d gotten of his chest the other day was just a warm up for the main attraction.
“Christ,” I said in awe as I ran my hands around his abs, fingers dipping into each indentation. And then lower.
Deftly I worked open his belt, then the button and zipper. I slipped my hand beneath his waistband, fingers grazing his hard shaft. There was a hitch in his breath as I trailed up to the head, my finger swirling around a bead of pre-come there before bringing the glistening digit to my lips.
His taste was heady. All man and addictive.
“Motherfuck,” he bit out. His fingers dug into my hips as his own flexed up.
He fisted my hair and tipped me backwards, practically throwing me down on the coffee table. I let out a squeak, but barely had time to process it when he popped the button of my jeans and pulled them down my legs, leaving me in only my torn bodysuit.
I peered at him while he stared at my body. With one hand, he palmed a breast while the other trailed down the torn seam. When he reached the end he pulled, making me gasp and causing my back to arch, the seam brushing my clit again. A low growl left him before he did in again, making me writhe against the table.
“Fuck,” I whimpered.
Both of his hands gripped the fabric and continued its decimation. The sound of ripping cloth filled the silent air, and my body was pulled and twisted until the bodysuit was a pile of scrap on the floor.
He settled between my open thighs, his hands trailing down to my knees before pinning them against the table. The feel of his hot cockhead pressed against my clit had me bucking against his grip, desperate to feel more of him. Every nerve begged for it, to feel him fill me, to give me the pleasure I’d been denied.
Pleasure only he could give.
“Tell me what you want.”
I reached between us and wrapped my hand around his shaft, loving the feel of how hot and hard he was. “I want you inside me. I want you to fuck me.”
He slipped from my grip and his head dove between my legs, tongue swiping up my slit before giving my clit a flick. I squirmed from the sudden intensity but could only whimper and grip the edge of the table as his arms held my thighs tight, leaving only my hips to buck against his face.
Nobody had eaten me out in years, probably since college, and my mind couldn’t handle the pleasure that rang through me.
“Reid! Oh God, please. Please, Reid,” I cried, my eyes rolling back as my muscles tightened, but he didn’t let up, only licked and rubbed harder. His fingers joined in, fucking me, getting me ready for him.
Every breath was stunted, half of it sacrificed to the pleasure that was quickly driving me insane. I couldn’t think, only feel and only at his pace. My shoulders and head were all that touched the table, my body bent for him to devour and for me to see. His eyes met mine and my mouth dropped open, muscles coiled tight.
The edge was close, so close, and so strong I was almost afraid, but there was nothing I could do. My vision became unfocused and my back arched as I failed to draw in a breath.
And then snap.
A scream left me, my hips rocking against his face as I jerked against him, my pussy pulsing as I shook. He backed off and slowed, kissing down my thigh as he lowered me back to the table. Strength left me as I tried to regain my breath.
“Ask me.”
“How long since you gave an orgasm?” I said between stunted pants.
He beamed down at me, obviously proud of himself. “Thirty seconds, give or take.” He reached out and ran his hands up my thighs, thumbs skimming my outer lips on their way up to grab my breasts. “You’re so delicious I could do that every day.”
“Okay. Go for it.”
He chuckled, his touch deepening. While I may have come, he had not, and the way he moved around my body left my skin burning even more. It was that touch I’d craved for so long, the one that sat deep in my bones in an unfulfilling relationship.
After
a minute of recovery, he stood and moved over near my head. I salivated at the sight of his cock still protruding from his jeans, my pussy clenching. It was long and thick and so hard as it pointed at me.
He pushed his pants down, making sure he was free of the cloth.
“Wet it.” His tone was deep and commanding, and I wanted to give him everything he asked for.
I craned my neck up and flicked the tip before closing my lips around the head. A deep moan left him, and I reached out to grab his thighs to bring him closer as I slowly worked my way down his shaft, then back up.
I loved a vocal man, and Reid made certain I knew how good it felt simply by the sounds he made.
He stepped back, his chest heaving, and pulled something from his pocket as he shed his jeans. I’d been on birth control for years, but Jeremy still wore a condom every time.
All I wanted was to feel Reid. Every inch of him.
“I’m clean,” I said as my hand slipped between my thighs to rub against my clit. “Tested two months ago, and I haven’t had sex in over eight.”
He froze and stared at me, his gaze trapped to where my hand was. “Same.”
“Same?” I needed clarification before I asked him.
“Tested six months ago, haven’t in ten.”
“How did I say I wanted it?” I asked, pushing him in the direction I was desperate for.
“Fuck,” he cursed, his jaw locked tight. I could tell he was restraining himself, warring with his desire.
A gasp left me, my fingers pinching my clit. “Take me. Bare.”
Even in the dim light his expression said so much, and the condom was forgotten on the floor. In a second he was between my legs again, positioned, and stretching me in one thrust.
I drew in a breath as he slammed forward. Each inch made my back arch more and more, and my eyes to roll back. A couple rotations of his hips and he was completely buried.
Every nerve lit up again, heat and pleasure spiking through my blood. With one hand fisted in my hair and the other pinning my hip to the table, he set up a brutal pace. Each time he bottomed out, I let out a loud keening sound. With all the foreplay, it didn’t take long for his strokes to falter.
“Fuck,” he groaned as he pulled out, grunting as he fisted his cock, firing off. Rope after rope of warm cum landed on my stomach, some reaching my breasts.
Blackout: A Romance Anthology Page 100