“I…” Feeling vulnerable, at risk her knees might buckle, she paused and rested her palm against the wall for support. “I’ll drive. Why don’t you come down from there and I’ll go change.”
He hopped down from the wall, gathered up the tennis balls and followed her inside. Taking in the clean lines and modest interior, Reed said, “Nice place.” He moseyed through the living room, softly dragging his hand over the large mantel made from a massive slab of Redwood.
“Thanks. Tom’s had it for years, way before he met my mom.”
He closely inspected the fireplace.
“The fireplace is the only thing they’ve changed since they got together. My mom designed it.”
“I’ve never seen anything like this.” His fingers traced over the wall made from sheets of hammered copper. “That’s a bad-ass fireplace.”
“You’ll have to tell my mom. I would imagine you’ll meet her at some point, seeing how you live right next door now.” She started toward the hall. “I’ll be right out.”
Walking into her bedroom, JC closed the door behind her and collapsed onto the edge of her bed. Holding her hands straight out in front of her, she looked down at her fingers wobbling in midair. “What the heck is wrong with me? Why does he make me so nervous?”
She tumbled fretfully through her drawers, searching for black running shorts and a charcoal gray t-back athletic top. She tried on three different tops as if she were dressing for dinner.
Emerging from her room fifteen minutes later, she found Reed inspecting the family photos placed throughout the living room. He pointed to a picture of her mom and Tom. “I take it this is your momma?”
“It is. How did you know I call her Momma?” she questioned with surprise.
“I didn’t.” He pointed to other pictures. “Who’s who?”
JC scanned over the photos, telling Reed the names of her family. He pointed at a picture of her family with Benny and Lisa Levi and their two kids. “I know who they are. I’ve seen a lot of their movies. Tom’s too. Are you related to them also?”
“No.” JC nudged his arm with her shoulder. “Well, not really, but I call them Uncle Benny and Aunt Lisa. Tom and Benny are best friends and my mom and Lisa are too. We spend Christmas together every year in Colorado. This picture was taken six years ago at my mom and Tom’s wedding in Greece.”
Grabbing her keys and purse, they strolled to the garage and got in her Prius. Pulling out of the drive, she looked over at Reed and laughed. The top of his head skimmed the roof of her car and his massive shoulders stuck out past his seat. “If we’re gonna hang out, Reed, I’m gonna need a bigger car.”
“Maybe we should stop by a dealership. This thing is as tiny as a sardine can.”
“Don’t try to blame it on my car. It’s you! You’re as big as one of those…those long horned cows roaming the range,” JC taunted, giving her best effort of a Texas drawl.
His deep voice sizzled in his chest. “JC, darlin’, you’re adorable. It’s cattle. Long horned cattle. But I’ll take that as a compliment.”
Heat gathered on her skin. She flushed, stuttering, “Reed, that’s not what I meant.” Her chest raised and lowered anxiously with her heartbeat. “I..I..shit. I can’t even talk right in front of you. I don’t know what the heck is wrong with me.” Unable to rid the image of his smoking hot naked body out of her thoughts, she shook her head. “Definitely a fair comparison though.”
His breath hitched. Silence filled the car.
After a moment of pure sexual electricity arcing dangerously between them, he broke the stillness. “Where are we headed?”
“A state park my mom and I hike at sometimes.”
Arriving at the park nestled in the canyons, they parked near the well-marked trail. Hiking under a thick canopy of sycamore and oak trees, JC and Reed hiked for hours, talking about everything from California to their careers.
“I grew up in a small town outside Austin.”
“What did you do there?”
“After college and a few years of hard work, a couple of my good buddies and I started an architectural firm. Got lucky with a couple of big clients. I still have ties to the company, but more as a silent partner now. My aunt left everything to me when she passed. I had no idea the woman had twelve homes in and near Malibu.”
JC stared at him with an open mouth. “No way! That old woman owned twelve houses?”
“That was my exact reaction when the attorney handling her estate got in touch with me. Most of them were beach rentals. She’d been married five times, widowed twice and divorced three. Apparently, every time she lost a husband she invested in real estate.”
“Wow. That’s a big undertaking.”
Reed nodded with a smirk. “I remember telling them, I’ll fly in next weekend to go over her will. The attorney explained I might want to plan on staying longer seeing as it might take a considerable amount of time to go through her affairs.”
He stood along the edge of the creek, waiting for JC as she teetered on a rock in the middle of a stream. Her arms flailed to the side, gaping down at the moss covered rocks, strategizing her next step.
Reed came back for her, grasping both of her hands for support. “Eyes on me, darlin’. I got you.”
Peeling her concentration from the slippery stones beneath her feet, she locked onto his piecing blue stare. She remained frozen, simply ogling him as if in a trance until he urged her forward, breaking the spell.
“Are you settling her affairs by yourself?” she stammered, finding her footing. “What are you going to do with all the houses?”
As they reached the embankment he released a heavy sigh. “I’m the last one left in my family, so that left me the sole beneficiary. I’ve already sold most of them, and I have a beach house in closing right now. I’m trying to decide which home I want to keep. The house next to you, or the last house on the beach. Both need a major overhauling. Have you been inside her house?”
JC shook her head vehemently, nearly tripping over a boulder at the water’s edge. “Hell no, Reed! I never went near the driveway. I wouldn’t have taken that truth-or-dare on Halloween as a kid. I was scared to death of that woman.”
He caught her arm, steadying her. “Think gold, orange and avocado green. I have a lot of work to do on both houses.”
JC scrambled over a few large boulders. She stopped abruptly, turning to face him. “So are you moving to California or going back to Texas?”
As Reed climbed over the boulder, he wasn’t paying attention and ran face first into her boobs. His eyes drifted over her chest and she saw his throat jump when he swallowed. Her heart damn near burst noticing a pink hue dusting across his cheeks. Their eyes locked and a grin pulled at the edge of her mouth.
“’Scuse me? I wasn’t listening. What did you say?”
“Boys. You’re all the same. I said, are you moving to Malibu or are going back to Texas?”
Reed reached the top of the boulder and stood beside her. Gently grasping hold of her wrist, he pulled her closer. Hovering over her, he stared down with big blue eyes. “Darlin, I’m not a boy and all men are not the same. I’ve already moved here. I’m not going back to Texas. There’s nothing left for me there.”
Blood drained from her face. The feel of his fingers manacled around her wrist ignited a flash of panic, nearly throttled her voice. She wriggled free of his grip, snapping weakly, “Let go of me.”
JC quickly turned from his view, trekking briskly down the path cut within the rocky terrain.
Reed kept pace, calling after her. “JC. JC! Hey, stop for a minute. Wait up!”
Horrible memories had flooded over her when he grabbed her by the wrist. He hadn’t hurt her. The man did nothing more than touch her with playful affection and she freaked.
JC stopped, inhaling slowly to even out her heart rate and gain control of her emotions. Reed cautiously reached for her fingers. Her body quaked from head to toe.
“What’s wrong? You’re not
scared of me, are you?”
She refused to meet his worried gaze.
“I know I’m a big guy, but you don’t need to be afraid of me. I would never hurt you. JC, honey…”
The tender touch of his hand and soothing tone of his voice utterly disarmed her. Despite her heart pounding anxiety, she managed to sigh with a faint chuckle. “Reed, honey is pushing it. I kind of like darlin’, but honey is not gonna fly with me.”
He smiled, stroking the center of her palm with his thumb. “Then darlin’ it is. You all right now?”
Her lips pursed into a strained smile. “Yeah. I’m okay. Sorry about that. I…I’m not afraid of you, Reed.”
It was true. This man did not frighten her at all. It was just the flashback from her reoccurring nightmare haunting her in broad daylight.
“Thank God. I hope not. For a second, I thought you were gonna take off like a scared cat.” He paused beside a large oak tree blown over on its side by the wind. “I promise. I’m tame.”
Desperately needing to change the subject, JC took a seat, straddling the uprooted tree. “Can I see your tattoo?”
“How did you know I have a tattoo?”
“Streaker,” she teased sardonically.
Guardedly, he folded his arms across his chest, tucking his fists beneath his biceps.
She sobered.
“It’s not a big deal, Reed.” Though she wanted to see it, his austere body language and sadness concealed within his eyes let her know the tattoo was a painful subject for him. “You can show it to me later. Or you don’t have to show me at all. It’s okay.”
Unbuckling his arms and tugging at the hem of his shirt, Reed pulled it over his head. Kicking his leg over the tree, he sat in front of her.
JC stared at his exposed muscular back. His light brown hair cut in layers covered the nape of his neck and a spicy scent lingered with the heat of his skin. An intricate tattoo of a dead tree, which was nothing short of breathtakingly beautiful, covering the entire left side from hip to shoulder.
“Sometimes I forget it’s there, especially lately. After I had the tattoo done, I wondered if I’d made a mistake by putting it on my back because I don’t see it very often.”
“And now?” JC asked inquisitively, examining his ink and half-naked body. Green vines climbed up the trunk of the tree and several colorful flowers in full bloom dotted the old dead tree with life.
“And now, I know I made the right choice,” he admitted somberly.
JC tentatively reached her hand forward. Her fingertips warily traced over the dead branches and the outlines of the colorful flowers. “Do the flowers have a meaning?”
Reed released the air from his lungs and hung his chin to his chest. “Each flower represents someone I’ve lost in my life.”
As her fingers continued touching his skin, she felt his powerful strength yielding to sadness and loss. “I’m sorry, Reed. You’ve lost all of your family?”
“Sure ‘nuff. I’m officially the last of the Riders,” he said candidly.
“That’s a lot of flowers. Do these represent all your family?”
“Most of them. I lost a couple buddies in Iraq too.”
“Don’t you want to have kids someday to carry on your family name?”
“Maybe.” Reed turned to face her. “I’m still on the fence.”
“My daddy died when I was a senior in high school. It was terrible.” She sniffed back a tear, rubbing her hand affectionately over his shoulder. “I can’t imagine having that many flowers on my back, Reed. One was hard enough.”
“You like kids, JC?”
She beamed. “I love my nephews. They’re hysterical. Have you met them? They were here in Malibu over last Halloween.”
“Nope. I’ve never seen anyone at your place.”
“Are you ready to head back?”
He nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”
JC tugged gently on a lock of his hair. “I don’t have a chance in hell of breaking you of your yes, ma’am, do I?”
“Fraid not, darlin.”
Returning home from their hike, JC dropped Reed off at his driveway. “Do you want to run with me in the morning? Or hike or bike or swim or whatever your little heart desires?” he suggested with a smile sexy enough to send her heart into overdrive.
What her little heart desired had nothing to do with running, swimming or biking, but it definitely entailed some heavy breathing. “I’m up for anything, Reed. Are you going to call me or just hop the fence at seven in the morning?”
He tapped the hood of her car. “I like the fence. See you in the mornin’.”
JC spent the rest of the day being bored to death. John called and left a message, but he didn’t pick up when she returned the call. She opened up a book to read. However, she kept re-reading the same pages over and over because all she could think about was Reed.
After dinner and a movie, she wandered outside on the balcony with a glass of wine, staring up at the night sky. The faint sound of music from next door resonated in the night’s cool breeze. She tried forcing herself to ignore it, but soon found herself moseying down the driveway. Standing on top a boulder inside the flower garden planted beside the drive, JC peered over the wall. Butterflies filled her stomach. Should I go say hi? Jumping down from the rock, she headed back toward the balcony.
Coming to an abrupt halt in the middle of the drive, she said to herself, Screw it! What’s the worst thing that could happen? He’s not interested in me? So what, I could use a good friend and Reed Rider is one hell of a nice guy. Before she finished convincing herself, JC had already marched to the large set of wrought iron gates at the end of her driveway. Entering the code, the gate opened and she headed to Reed’s house.
She strolled down the long gravel driveway. The sound of her footsteps crushing the gravel beneath her feet filled the quiet darkness. Approaching the old mission style home, JC heard the music again. The lights were on and the front door was wide open. JC’s heart pounded in her chest and she paced back and forth outside. What the hell is wrong with me? Just go say hi.
Wiping her sweaty palms on her jeans, she raised her hand to knock on the open door. She paused, listening to Reed sing along with Van Morrison’s, Brown Eyed Girl. Containing her laughter, she stepped inside the open front door and peeked around the corner into the unfurnished living room.
Reed held a sledgehammer in his hand and the wall in front of him stood half demolished. Jeans hung low on his waist and his heavily muscled bare back was covered in sweat and dust. He sang along to the song, only changed the words You my brown-eyed girl to You my green-eyed girl. JC grinned and nearly laughed out loud when he grooved to the music, popping his hip to the beat.
Unable to restrain herself any longer, she sauntered up next to him. When he caught sight of her in his peripheral view, she mimicked his groove, holding two fingers in a peace sign and dragging them over her eyes.
Reed turned crimson red. “Woman, don’t you know how to knock?”
“I was going to, but you look way too hot doing your dance moves.” She smiled and mimicked his groove again. “But I like your singing even better.”
He closed his eyes and lifted his chin, belting out another verse.
Her heart soared as the lyrics came out of his mouth. “Did your last girlfriend have green eyes?”
The smile widened across his flush cheeks. “Nope. I haven’t had a girlfriend in a long time.” Reed paused, bending his face lower, he shot her a piercing blue stare penetrating straight into her soul. “But I’m hoping my next girlfriend does.”
Bolts of electrifying energy ricocheted through her insides. JC flushed hard, biting her lip playfully. “Got one in mind, do you?”
Reed volleyed with a raised brow. “Workin’ on it, but I like to take my time.”
Heat rippled down her limbs. Her smile eased into a hungry stare for what seemed like an eternity as excitement roared through her.
“That all right with you, darlin’?”
he asked with a heavy drawl, slipping his finger over her forehead to brush a long strand of hair from her eyes.
Utterly captivated by his light blue eyes that resembled a glacier ice melt on the National Geographic Channel, she could only nod.
Not very often, if ever, had a man enamored JC so deeply she couldn’t speak. Sensual tension caught in the pit of her stomach, tied her tongue into a double knot and left her hands wringing wet.
“Wh…what are you working on?” she stammered through ragged breaths.
Turning his attention to the wall in front of them, he said, “I’m gutting this place. Everything in here was from the seventies. So I’m tearing down walls and redoing the kitchen, bathrooms, pretty much a complete remodel. And I’m adding a pergola out back, maybe a pool too if I decide to keep it.” Flirtation tugged at the corner of his full lips somewhat hidden behind the stubble of his trimmed beard.
Finding her courage, JC nonchalantly glanced around. “It’s got great potential. Luckily, you’ve got ten foot ceilings. That’s unusual for a house this old. Do you have a set of plans?”
“I do.” A lazy wry smile slid from one side of his jaw to the other. “How does a girl like you know anything about architectural plans or building?”
“I’m not a girl. I’m a woman.” JC chimed, repeating the remark he’d made earlier in the day.
Reed’s gaze drifted over her. “Hmmff. That you are.”
“My daddy was a contractor, so I grew up around building. Pink tool belt and all.”
He motioned her to a bedroom set up as his office.
JC studied over the floor plan.
“Got any suggestions?”
“Do you really want to know my opinion?” She nervously chewed on her cheek. “I have two recommendations, but only if you truly want to hear the answer.”
“Don’t hold back. Let’s hear it,” he assured.
Reed leaned forward, resting his palms on the table. Their shoulders touched as she pointed at the plans. Hard muscles and heated skin played against the length of her arm. The warmth filled her with hot sparks. Attempting to reign in her nerves, she pulled a deep breath through her nose, only to be hit with the intoxicating scent of a steamy male. The energetic scent of black leather and cedar wood hung in the air.
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