Tempted (In Too Deep)

by Jane, Eliza

  I nod.

  He hisses a breath out through his teeth. “Damn him. I knew it.” He shakes his head. “If you were mine, there wouldn’t be any of that shit to worry about.” He takes my hand before I have the chance to respond. “Come on.”

  Chapter 18

  Colt

  Bria bends seductively at the waist, reaching to the ground to remove her shoes. I tear my eyes away and flip through the papers on the desk. She releases a deep moan in the back of her throat and my eyes flip back to her. She slides the sandals from her feet slowly, one at a time, depositing them by the door. My eyes travel up her legs, then linger on her ass. Black thong today. Damn.

  She clears her throat, catching me in the act. I quickly turn back to my work.

  She laughs. “It’s okay. You can look.” She comes up behind my chair and places her hands on my shoulders. Her fingertips massage into my neck and scalp.

  My eyes drift closed against the pressure. I picture Taylor and my eyes snap open. “Bria, stop.” I stand, abruptly.

  She pouts, sucking in her bottom lip.

  “I love Taylor.” It spews from my mouth without my permission. I hadn’t even said those words to Taylor yet, and here I was admitting it to Bria.

  She shrugs. “Your loss. Again.” She stomps away for her bedroom.

  I may not know what I’m doing, but there’s one thing I’m sure of. Falling in love is the quickest way to getting your heart crushed.

  My Dad was the perfect example of that. He’d never recovered after my mom’s death. Instead of he’d become a workaholic hell-bent on never feeling a true emotion ever again. I guess I should be grateful that at least Reis doesn’t seem to be following in his footsteps. And I won’t either if I can help it.

  Chapter 19

  Taylor

  Reis and Logan sit on the floor of the rec room, battling each other in some zombie video game. MJ and I lounge on the couch alternating between watching the action on their game and having girl talk. She’d had a case translating sensitive reports from German to Portuguese. When she comments on her absence, I blush realizing I hadn’t even noticed she’d been so wrapped up with the case. I’ve been spending all my free time with Reis.

  Despite the hour drive, he’s been here most days after school and stays over on the weekends too. This weekend coming up will be Colt’s third weekend away. His daily phone calls have turned into occasional texts and emails. We’ve only spoke twice in the last week. And even then, I could hear Bria in the background and he cut the conversation short.

  Reis drops the controller on the floor. “You killed me.”

  Logan smiles proudly.

  Reis scoots back against my legs, resting his head on my knees. MJ lifts her eyebrows seductively looking between Reis and I. I roll my eyes and shake my head. I know MJs thoughts on Reis. She thinks he’s a better choice – less emotionally damaged than Colt, my age, and strikingly normal, without the demands of a fulltime job. That idea is crazy. Even with Colt’s issues, he’s still the one I want.

  Reis skims his palm along my calf. His fingertips are feather light and teasing, absently tracing patterns into my skin. It’s innocent, yet sensual at the same time. My heart jumps in my chest. The way his fingers dance over my skin leave a lingering awareness of my ache for Colt, to be touched, held, close to someone. I try to rationalize my reaction, maybe it’s just homesickness disguised as hormones brought on by the too-good-looking-for-his-own-good Reis.

  I avoid MJ’s watchful eyes, knowing she’s suspicious of just how close Reis and I are becoming. Over the past few weeks, Reis has become more comfortable around me, his gazes linger longer and penetrate deeper, and his touches and hugs are more frequent. I knew it was all adding up to him having feelings for me, possibly more than a friend, yet I felt powerless to do anything about it. The truth was, I enjoyed his attention. I didn’t want to do anything to stop it.

  Instead of looking at MJ and Logan who were now watching me, waiting to see if I’ll stop him, I focus on Reis’ hand slowly massaging my leg.

  He gives my leg a playful squeeze, and slaps the top of my foot, breaking me out of the spell. “Let’s go for a run or something.”

  “Sure.” My voice sounds thick and unsure.

  I follow him out of the room without another glance at MJ. As much as I preached about Colt’s behavior with girls and worrying over him being trustworthy, I knew MJ would call me out for allowing Reis to flirt with me. And I just didn’t want to hear it.

  We stop to part at the stairway and Reis waits for me to pass. “Come get me after you change.”

  I nod and race up the stairs. I can feel him watching me as I go. Why do I feel like something’s changed between us?

  I throw on my shorts, sports bra and tank top and head down to Colt’s room. I push the door open without knocking. Reis stands in the center of the room in his shorts, bare-chested. He’s tan and perfectly toned. Reis smiles at me appreciatively. “Like what you see?”

  “Hush.” I brush past him to make his bed while he laces up his running shoes.

  I fish the pillows out from under the covers, wondering how someone can get the bed this messy from just sleeping. I straighten the sheet and pull the comforter tight over everything. Satisfied it will do, I stand and turn around to see if he’s ready.

  He stands in place, staring at me, his eyes soft and hooded, his mouth slightly open.

  “What?” I ask, pulling at the hem of my shorts.

  “Sorry,” he chuckles to himself and runs his hand over the back of his neck, “but you have the hottest fucking ass ever.”

  His words rock through my body and my knees nearly buckle. Am I so needy for male attention that Reis is affecting me this much? Colt had only been gone two and half weeks. My cheeks flame at his words and the view I must have given him, bent over in these little shorts making the bed.

  “Reis.” I can’t help the pleading in my voice. “You can’t say stuff like that to me.” I unconsciously tug the little running shorts lower to be sure they’re covering everything they’re supposed to. My curves are typically a source of frustration, as I’m constantly on the hunt for jeans that make my butt look smaller, but now Reis is telling me it’s the hottest ass ever. I wonder if Colt feels that strongly about it.

  He steps in closer. “Sorry, but it’s just a fact, sweetheart.” His fingers graze down the length of my arm.

  I swallow roughly. My mind shouts at me to pull away, to walk out of the room, but my body is held captive, enjoying his closeness, the scent coming from his skin, the longing his eyes reveal.

  His gaze drops to my mouth and my mind shouts at me to move, but I can’t. Reis wants to kiss me…and all I feel is curiosity.

  As if suddenly realizing what he’s doing, he steps back and gives me some space. I pull a breath into my lungs. It succeeds in clearing my head just enough. “What are you doing?” As soon as the words leave my mouth, I’m sure he’ll laugh, blow off my comment and say he was only joking, but his eyes burn with intensity. They have the same flecks of gold and green making them hazel in a certain light, just like Colt’s.

  He looks down and wipes his palms on his shorts, buying more time. “If you were with me…” He stops himself and shakes his head.

  “What?” I probe. If I walk away now, he won’t tell me what he’s about to say, and maybe we need to have this conversation.

  He meets my eyes again. “You deserve more than having to duck around his past.”

  We stand in silence, watching each other, neither of us moving, or even blinking. I note the warmth I feel under his admiring gaze, the comfort of being near him. And even though I’ll admit I like him, I don’t feel that electricity, that indescribable pull toward him like I do with Colt. “I’m sorry Reis. I don’t…”

  He stops me with a fingertip across my lips. “It’s alright. You just need to know. You have options. Okay?”

  I nod softly.

  “Let’s go run.” He takes my hand securely i
n his with no nervousness, no awkward fumbling despite what just occurred between us. Twining his fingers in mine, he pulls me from the room. The fact that he’s still touching me makes wonder if I should have been more firm. If I should have told him this closeness between us isn’t appropriate. But I can’t bring myself to do that. And besides, we haven’t done anything wrong. As we begin our run, the pounding of my feet on the trail pushes it to the back of my mind.

  Chapter 20

  Colt

  Taylor’s grown quieter and more withdrawn each time we’ve talked lately. Which hasn’t been much. “What’s wrong, baby?”

  “Nothing, just tired.” She stifles a yawn. “I went for a run with Reis earlier, then he left to go back home and I’ve been working on that case you gave me most of the day.”

  Her voice sounds different. I know something happened, but I won’t push her. “Go lie down. I’ll talk to you till you fall asleep.”

  “Colt, it’s only seven! I can’t go to bed yet. No one will be in there though, so I guess I could go relax.”

  The sound of her voice and picturing her alone in bed gives me an idea. “I’ve missed you.”

  “Me too.”

  “Pull down the covers and get in bed, baby. I’ll help you relax.” She releases a soft sigh.

  “Are you in bed?”

  “Mm-hmm.”

  “Are you alone?”

  “Yeah,” she breathes.

  “Close your eyes,” I whisper.

  “Why? What are you going to do to me?” she challenges.

  I chuckle at her assumption. “Well I can’t be there to do everything I want to you, so you’re going to have to help me. Your hands are going to have to be my hands. I’ll tell you what I want. Is that…okay?”

  She’s quiet.

  Shit.

  “This is weird.”

  She’s thinking too much. As usual. “Let’s just try it, okay? I miss you so damn much my whole body aches.”

  “Hm. Where on your body, exactly?”

  I like that she’s playing along.

  “God, you’re getting me hard already.” It’s a lie, but I see it’s done its job. She whimpers softly into the phone.

  “Colt,” she whines.

  “What do you want, baby? Tell me.”

  “You,” she whispers back. “I want you to kiss me.”

  “Imagine I’m kissing your neck and breathing in the smell of your shampoo. I’m kissing your lips, caressing your tongue with mine.

  “Mmm,” she moans. “That’s nice.”

  “Uh. Those noises are going to be the death of me baby. You’re killing me here.”

  “Well you could always…” she stops herself.

  I drop my voice an octave lower, barely above a whisper. “Tell me what I should do next.”

  “Unbuckle your belt,” she whispers.

  The sound of her voice works to rouse me. I undo my belt and the buttons on my jeans, and just for good measure describe what I’m doing. She moans into the phone. Just as I’m thinking up what to tell her to do next, I hear the telltale click of the hotel door being unlocked.

  “Shit!” I curse into the phone before standing abruptly to pull my jeans up. “What the fuck are you doing here?”

  Bria laughs. “This is the living room…might I ask what you’re doing with your hand in your pants?”

  I don’t answer. I reach for my phone, which has now slid under the couch.

  “You were on the phone?” Bria laughs. “Phone sex operator? Nice Colt. If you were that hard up, you know you could’ve come to me,” she says, loud enough for Taylor to hear her.

  I cringe, and press the phone to my ear. “Taylor?”

  The line is dead. Either the call disconnected when my phone hit the floor or Taylor overheard Bria and hung up on me.

  “Why do you insist on destroying everything?” I shout at Bria.

  “Why do you insist on being someone you’re not for someone who doesn’t understand you?”

  I weigh her words for a moment, but I know she’s wrong. I feel more alive, more whole with Taylor than I have in a long time. She makes me better, gives me hope that I deserve more. That I’m deserving of love. What I can offer her on the other hand, is still in question. She’s going to be pissed about Bria’s interruption. Which is exactly what Bria wants. And I still haven’t told her that our case is taking longer than expected and we’re going to be here a couple more weeks.

  “Just stay out of it.” I close the door to my room, in need of a cold shower.

  Chapter 21

  Taylor

  I expect my ringing phone to be Colt again, and I consider ignoring it, but it’s not Colt. It’s Reis. “Hello?”

  “Hi, Shrimp.”

  I roll my eyes at the ridiculous nickname he’s given me, until I remember he can’t see me. “Just left and you’re already missing me?” I tease. It’s Sunday night, which means Reis is making the hour drive back home for school tomorrow. Sometimes I worry that if he spends every weekend here with me, he won’t make friends at his new school. But he doesn’t seem all that concerned with that. And the one time I asked him, he brushed it off, saying he’d only be there one year anyway.

  “So I wanted to ask you something. It’s probably stupid, but…” He hesitates.

  I sit up in bed, wondering where this is going and if it’s related to our conversation in the bedroom. “What?”

  “There’s a homecoming dance at my school this Friday night. And I’ve never actually been to a dance before…so, I was thinking maybe you’d be my date.”

  I frown down at my hands. I had no doubts going to the dance with Reis would be fun, but I wondered what Colt would say about it… did I even care? He’d been gone for weeks with Bria, sharing a hotel room and clearly indulging her in flirty behavior. “I’d have to get a dress.”

  He chuckles. “Sweet. You’ll go?”

  “Yeah. If it’s okay with Colt,” I add.

  “It is. I called him before I called you. He wasn’t in the best mood. But he said he didn’t care. So we’re good there.”

  The fact that Colt doesn’t care if I go on a date with his brother stings more than it should. But I correct myself, this isn’t a date. We’re going as friends, that’s all.

  The next week passes by quickly, but without an explanation or an apology from Colt about Bria interrupting us. He just pretends it didn’t happen, and he’s even more withdrawn. Each day that passes without him opening up, I lose a little more faith in us. And it doesn’t help that each day Reis sends me sweet and funny texts that let me know he’s thinking of me.

  Desperate to know what’s going on between me and Colt, I seek out Britt in the cafeteria on Friday afternoon. But looks like I’ll have to wait, she’s on the phone. When she spots me, her eyes widen and she muffles her hand over the phone. I get the sense she’s talking about something she doesn’t want me to hear. My heart clenches. She’s probably on the phone with Bria. Does she know something I don’t? Why is she looking at me with sympathy in her eyes? Oh God, I need to get out of here.

  I do the only thing I can do. I log into my computer, punching in the string of commands that will allow me access to Colt’s email account.

  I pull a deep breath into my lungs. There aren’t any messages from Bria, just a few work-related things and a status report form Vera of happenings at the school.

  I go to the folder for sent items. There’s an email exchange between him and Bria from yesterday.

  I read over the note she wrote to him first.

  TO: Colt Palmer

  FROM: Bria Simonson

  SUBJECT: The dynamic duo of London

  When are you going to tell her? You’re the world’s suckiest boyfriend. Not that I’m complaining about that.

  TO: Bria Simonson

  FROM: Colt Palmer

  SUBJECT: RE: The dynamic duo of London

  I just need a little more time. I know you want this all solved and figured out to so we can mo
ve on. Just hang in there with me.

  Oh God. Is he going to breakup with me? What other explanation can there be? Her note implies that he’s being a bad boyfriend and has something to tell me, and his note assures her that he’ll solve it soon so they can move on.

  Later MJ finds me in bed. “You skipped last period?” she says, shaking my shoulder to wake me.

  “I think Colt’s breaking up with me,” I groan and roll over.

  She doesn’t speak, but her eyes convey everything. She’s nursed girls back from Colt’s heartbreak before. She warned me about this from the beginning. At least she doesn’t say I told you so. She sits down beside me on the bed.

  I open the email and show her.

  She reads over it slowly, then lets out a string of curse words in every language she knows, possibly even throwing in a few made up ones. “I’ll admit it doesn’t sound good, but you don’t know what that could be referring to.” she says finally.

  “I think it’s pretty damn clear MJ. No matter what might have gone on between him and Bria, I can’t trust him. It’s just a matter of time before he screws up. I can’t go to that dance tonight, MJ. I feel like lying in bed and eating a pint of ice cream.”

  She pats my back. “I know. But you can’t stand up Reis. You wouldn’t do that to him.”

  I nod. She’s right.

  I force myself out of bed and into the shower. The warm water soothes my heartache just a bit, and I go through the motions of getting ready.

  Chapter 22

  Colt

  I sit at the bar nursing my pint. The one good thing about being in London – the drinking age. I need a reprieve. Between dealing with Taylor ignoring me, Bria’s mood swings, and managing Geoffrey’s unyielding demands on this never ending case, things have been intense.

  I glance at my phone. Still no word from Taylor despite numerous texts and emails asking her to call me back. We really need to talk, but for some reason, she seems reluctant, and hasn’t been answering her phone.