Lola: A Reed Security Romance (Reed Security Series Book 8)

by Giulia Lagomarsino

  “Damn, I could’ve just stayed home. I’m beat,” Derek yawned.

  “No one asked you to come,” I snapped. Ryan walked up behind me and slipped his hands around my waist.

  “Relax. I don’t give a shit if they’re here. I have you and James and that’s all I care about.”

  He kissed me on the cheek and then motioned for James to follow him. Chris, Ice, and Jules all walked over to me, each carrying bags.

  “I didn’t think you’d actually settle down, Lola, but I’m glad you got back together with Ryan,” Chris said sincerely.

  “Yeah, you just didn’t want to play any more Quidditch. I’m actually surprised that you let Axel take a break from training.”

  He shrugged. “Yeah, well, it’s part of American history. It’d be good for him to learn about it.”

  “I thought I was going to use this weekend to escape,” Ice grumbled.

  “So did I,” I snapped back.

  “Hey, I thought I was getting away from the she-Devil. I didn’t know that Hunter invited her along. I would have just stayed home.”

  “I’m not looking forward to being here with you, either,” Lindsey said irritatedly. “But at least here I don’t have to smell your dirty socks that you’ve left laying around.”

  “We should do a retreat like this every year,” Gabe said, walking up behind Derek and Hunter and draping his arms across both of their shoulders. “I like the idea of hanging out with you guys away from all the bullshit of work.”

  Hunter slunk away from Gabe’s arm and cleared his throat uncomfortably. “Yeah, well, just remember, I’m not sharing a room with anyone but Lucy.”

  “That’s not gonna happen,” I said smugly. “They didn’t have enough rooms for every couple to get their own rooms. You and Lucy are going to have to share with someone.”

  Hunter looked at all of us, but his eyes lingered on Gabe a little longer than necessary, and then flashed back to me in panic.

  Gabe held up his hands and took a step back. “No worries, man. I’m rooming with Chance.”

  Hunter visibly relaxed and blew out a breath. James walked over to me, waving his hand for me to hurry up. “Come on. We still have time to go out and see some of the battlefield tonight. They’re open until ten and we only have tomorrow and Sunday to spend on the battlefields.”

  We all put our shit in our rooms and were headed to Gettysburg National Park twenty minutes later. We started at McPherson’s Ridge and made it through Barlow Knoll, but on the way back, we decided to drive over to Soldier’s National Cemetery. It was getting dark out by the time we made it to Culp’s Hill and there were sirens in town going off for severe weather.

  “Maybe we should turn around and head back,” Lindsey said.

  “It wouldn’t do us any good. We wouldn’t get to shelter before a storm hit anyway,” Ice said in irritation.

  From the top of the tower on Culp’s Hill, we could see a great view of Gettysburg, but what was even more awesome was going into the woods and seeing where the soldier’s fought.

  “Look at this.” James pointed to a tree stump that looked like a cannonball had gone through it. The wind rustled around us and the sirens continued to go off. The woods were darker now and everywhere we looked, it seemed like a dead confederate soldier would pop out and attack us.

  “Maybe we should head back,” Ryan suggested. “It’s getting dark.”

  A twig snapped behind us and all the guys whipped around, looking for a threat, but there was nothing there.

  “I’m with Ryan,” Hunter said in a deep voice. “We should leave before someone gets hurt trying to walk back in the dark.”

  “I’m fine,” Lucy shrugged. “I think it’s kind of cool. Maybe we could have a seance and see if we can bring back any soldiers.”

  “That would be so awesome,” Claire said excitedly.

  “Have you ever been on one of those ghost tours?” Lindsey asked. “I went on one and you could hear all these noises, but no one was there and then things would move and it would totally freak you out. It’s so cool.”

  “That doesn’t sound cool.” Ice shook his head and I watched in amusement as his eyes scanned the area.

  “Yeah, we should definitely leave,” Derek agreed. “You know, for the sake of the women. We wouldn’t want you guys to get scared out here. In the dark.”

  “With the ghosts of dead soldiers that are probably roaming the area, crying for help. For someone to save them?” Ali asked.

  “I think it’d be kind of cool to meet one,” I said thoughtfully. “You know, ask what it was like to fight in a battle a hundred and fifty years ago.”

  The thunder rolled loudly and all the guys flinched as they looked around the woods. The wind picked up and it sounded like groaning was coming from all around us. Sounds of pain and agony filled the woods. Claire started walking further into the woods, searching for the sound.

  “Claire, what are you doing? Get back here,” Derek shouted.

  “Afraid of a ghost?” she smirked.

  “Yes!”

  A noise off in the distance had us all turning to see what was going on, but it was too dark now.

  “I’m getting the fuck out of here,” Gabe said before taking off back in the direction we came. When more moans sounded, the rest of the guys took off running, leaving us women all alone in the woods. We looked at each other and started laughing. Claire came running back, clutching her side as she laughed, holding up her phone.

  “That was hilarious,” she said.

  “I can’t believe that worked,” Lucy laughed. “They’re so gullible.”

  “Big, strong men afraid of some noises on my phone,” Claire laughed some more. Another groan ripped through the air and all of us stilled. The guys were still running for the parking lot, yelling at each other to go faster. We all looked at each other in confusion.

  “Was that your phone, Claire?” I asked.

  “No, I already turned the sound off. Lucy?”

  “That’s weird. My phone is dead. I was charging it the whole drive here.”

  We all pulled out our phones and surprisingly, they were all dead. The moans came louder this time and we looked around for the noise.

  “Are you seeing this?” Lindsey asked.

  “Is that a g-ghost?” Ali asked.

  “Either that or an incredibly transparent person,” Lucy said, gripping my arm, shoving me in front of her.

  “What are you doing?”

  “You’re the badass warrior woman. Defend us,” Lucy shouted.

  “Against a ghost? What exactly did you want me to do?”

  “I don’t know! Shoot it!”

  “I don’t have a gun on me and even if I did, I doubt that shooting it would do anything.”

  “Well, we have to do something,” Lindsey snapped. “We’re not gonna just stand here and let it walk up to us, are we?”

  I felt something slither across my shoulder and slowly peeked over to see something white-ish touching me. My eyes went wide as I stared at the other women. They looked like they were on the verge of passing out. I grabbed at the supposed hand on my shoulder, but all I touched was air. I shrieked and we all took off running after the men, looking behind us every few seconds to see if the ghost was following us. By the time we made it to the parking lot, we were all breathing heavily and shaking badly.

  “Believe us now?” Ryan asked.

  “Nice of you to leave us behind. So much for women and children first,” Ali pointed a finger at Chris.

  “You could have left when we told you to. It’s not our fault you’re all too stubborn to listen to us.”

  “I think I’ve had enough for one night,” I sighed. “Can we go back to the motel now?”

  “Afraid the ghosts are gonna get you?” James asked.

  More moans came from the woods and seconds later, we were all piled in our vehicles and heading back down the road to the motel.

  ✯✯✯✯✯

  Lying in bed with R
yan that night was absolutely horrible. With James in the next bed, it’s not like we could do anything. And after weeks of being apart, I wanted him more than I ever had before. To make it worse, Ryan was lying behind me with his erection pressed hard against my ass. Every few minutes, he would shift and it would press against the crack of my ass, making my pussy clench with need.

  “This is ridiculous,” he whispered. “Let’s just go in the shower. He’ll never know.”

  “I’m not having sex with you with your son in the other room.”

  “He’s asleep. If you could be quiet, then it wouldn’t be a problem.”

  “If I could be quiet?” I hissed. “You’re the one that grunts louder than any man I know.”

  “If you didn’t work your pussy magic on me, then I wouldn’t have to worry about being so quiet.”

  “So, you want me to be bad in bed?” I asked.

  “No. That’s not what I’m saying. I just- fuck it. Get out of bed now before I drag you into the shower.”

  He stood and practically ran to the bathroom, turning on the water as I laid in bed and wondered what the hell I was going to do. I looked over at James and he seemed to be fast asleep. I could be quiet. I could go have sex with Ryan in the shower and then we would slip back to bed and James would never know the difference. Having convinced myself it would be fine, I slipped out from under the covers and quietly opened the door, tiptoeing over to the shower.

  “What are you doing?” Ryan asked with a funny look on his face.

  “Being quiet.”

  “You think he’s going to wake up because you’re walking across the floor?”

  I glared at him and quickly took off my clothes, stepping under the warm spray of the shower. Ryan’s eyes traveled slowly over my body, taking in each inch of my skin. My nipples pebbled as his gaze grew dark and hot. He yanked me to him, barely keeping me upright in the slippery tub, and smashed his lips against mine. His hands were instantly roaming my body, caressing every curve and dip of my body.

  My hand slid down his hard chest, skimming over his abs and feeling the tickling hairs of his happy trail. He groaned as I slipped my hand down around his erection, squeezing slightly before I pumped his hard cock.

  “Fuck, Lola. It’s been too long.”

  “It’s been a few weeks,” I grinned.

  “One day not being inside you is too long.”

  “Then get inside me and fuck me hard,” I said on a whimper. His fingers slipped in and out of my wetness, pushing me higher and higher. My fingers tightened around him as I fell over the edge of the cliff and came crashing to the ground.

  He shoved me back against the shower wall and lifted one of my legs as he positioned himself at my entrance. When he pushed inside me, I gasped at the fullness and did my best to hold back the moan that wanted to spill from my lips. He rammed inside me harder and harder until my back was sliding up and down the slick wall. My toes were barely touching the ground and then they left the ground as he thrust hard into me again. His foot slipped, propelling him into me. Without any grip, I slammed back into the wall and we went sliding down into the tub with a loud thump. My spine ached and Ryan groaned from the way his body crunched up in the short tub.

  “Fuck, I think I cut my foot on the shower spout.”

  He shifted his weight off me, but his cock was still firmly lodged inside me.

  “You’re lucky you didn’t kill me with that thing.”

  “I doubt my cock could be considered a deadly weapon,” he smirked.

  “I don’t know, I wouldn’t mind going out that way.”

  He shifted his hips and then he was thrusting inside me again, using the other end of the tub to push off of. I spread my legs as far as I could, trying to allow him further into my body. His pelvis was grinding into me, rubbing against me so hard that I was coming in just a few seconds. He grunted his release and settled down against my body, squishing me into the bottom of the tub.

  “I think we should get up now,” he said quietly.

  “Uncomfortable?” I asked.

  “A little, but now that we’re down here, I can see how dirty the tub is. It’s really disgusting.”

  “Don’t tell me. I don’t really want to know.”

  He got out and then helped me out of the tub. I looked back and cringed at how dirty it was in there. “I can’t believe what we just did in that tub.”

  He handed me a towel and I quickly dried off, realizing I didn’t have any clean clothes with me. “Shit. I didn’t bring anything in here.”

  “Just put on what you had.” Ryan tossed me my clothes and I grimaced.

  “I can’t wear the same underwear I just had on. That’s disgusting.”

  “It’s not like we actually got clean and based on the way that tub looks, those underwear are cleaner than your ass now.”

  “I can’t believe I’m doing this. I feel so gross.”

  When I was finished getting dressed, Ryan carefully opened the door and we crept back over to the bed. I slid under the covers and held my breath, hoping that James wouldn’t wake up. After a few minutes, I relaxed back into the bed and let Ryan spoon me.

  “Told you it would be fine,” he whispered.

  I grinned and closed my eyes.

  “I hope you guys know the walls are really thin,” James said from the other bed.

  ✯✯✯✯✯

  “What’s going on?” James asked as we made our way to Seminary Ridge.

  “It looks like they’re doing a re-enactment today,” I said, watching the soldiers march toward Cemetery Ridge. You could see the Union soldiers in the distance and the sound of cannon fire was loud. What was unexpected was the large pile of dirt that exploded into the air when the ‘cannon’ hit.

  “Wow, looks like they’re pulling out all the stops on this re-enactment,” Ryan said in amazement. “What are they using? Some kind of air explosive?”

  “I don’t know. You would think they wouldn’t do that for this,” I said curiously. “Someone could get seriously injured.”

  “What battle is this?” James asked.

  “Pickett’s charge. This was the third day of battle and the bloodiest.”

  “Cool. Can we get closer?”

  We all headed as close to the battlefield as we could, but the closer we got, the more concerned I got. This looked really realistic and the sounds of pain were very real to me.

  “Does this seem a little too…”

  “Realistic?” Hunter asked. “Yeah, I was kind of thinking the same thing.”

  I looked up when the cannons fired and could have sworn I saw a real, live cannon flying through the air. “Is that..?”

  “It couldn’t be,” Derek said. “Why would they…?”

  “But if they did…” I said.

  “It’d be bad for…” Hunter said.

  “Will one of you finish your sentence,” Ryan snapped. “What the hell are you guys talking about?”

  “They appear to be using actual cannonballs,” I said simply.

  “I think they’re using real bullets too,” Ryan groaned.

  “What? They can’t be. Do they even make musket balls anymore?”

  “Apparently.” Ryan’s voice wavered slightly and I finally looked over to see him staring at his arm. There was a hole in his shirt and blood dripping from his bicep. “I think I got shot.” He looked up at me and gave me a lopsided grin.

  “What the fuck?” I shouted as I tore off my long sleeved shirt and wrapped it tightly around Ryan’s arm.

  “Incoming,” Hunter shouted as he shoved us down on the ground. I felt the ground shake around us and something whizzed by overhead. I looked up just in time to see a cannonball bounce once more before exploding. I covered Ryan and pulled James in close to us.

  “Thank God you’re wearing a tank top or my kid would be seeing your boobs right now,” Ryan said thoughtfully.

  “Really? That’s what you’re worried about right now?” I snapped. “Someone’s firing real
cannons and shooting actual muskets and you’re worried about my boobs?”

  “Right. Priorities. Cannons first, boobs later,” Ryan muttered.

  Looking around, I saw that the rest of our group was starting to get up and shouting at each other.

  “Hey,” Hunter shouted. “We have to get everyone to safety.”

  “Where would that be exactly?”

  “Anywhere that’s not the battlefield,” Ice said as he ran up to us.

  “Is that blood?” Lindsey asked and then swayed on her feet.

  “Shit,” Ice grumbled as he caught Lindsey before she face planted. “Hey, come on.” He slapped her face until she focused on him. “We don’t have time for you to pass out right now. It’s just a scratch.”

  She shook her head and focused a little more. I turned to Ryan and helped him stand. “Come on. We have to move.”

  “Which way do we go?” James asked.

  “This way,” Gabe waved us back toward him. We all started running, trying to keep from getting shot.

  “Was this what you had in mind when you decided to take me here?” I asked Ryan.

  “Not exactly. I blame you,” he shouted.

  “Me? Why me? This was your idea.”

  “Because trouble seems to follow all of you wherever you go.”

  Another cannon hit the ground, sending us all sprawling in different directions and covering our heads.

  “I get to choose all the movies for the next year,” Ryan yelled.

  “What?” I shouted over the gunfire. “That doesn’t make any sense. You invited me on this trip.”

  “You get to live Die Hard,” he shouted back.

  “Would you two shut up and argue about this later?” Hunter asked. “We have to figure out a way to stop these guys from killing everyone.”

  I finally really took in everything that was going on and saw that tourists all over the battlefield were running and trying to find cover. This was insane.

  “I really don’t want to die at the Battle of Gettysburg,” James said morbidly. “This isn’t even a real battle.”

  My eyes snapped to his and I had an idea. “You’re right. It’s not. We need to surrender.”