by Erin Rylie
“Jesus FUCK, Carlos. Shut the hell up! It was one fucking missed turn, what the hell is wrong with you? I swear, I’ve never had such an annoying partner. Did someone train you in the art of pissing me off, or are you just a fucking natural?”
He put the car in park after pulling into his designated spot at the precinct, and looked over at Carlos. He expected his partner’s face to show surprise or annoyance at being practically screamed at, but the fucker was smiling.
“Fucking finally! I’ve been trying to get you to let out all of that tension all damn day. You can’t go into your talk with Becky with this shit attitude. If blowing up on me can get some of that off your chest, then maybe you can go into the conversation that much more calmly.”
Reese was so startled that a laugh burst from his lips. That was the last thing he’d expected to hear from Carlos; he’d thought the guy was just being annoying to keep his thoughts off Becky and Ryker. Annoying him to get him to blow off some steam? Smart.
“Wow, that was surprisingly helpful—I’m incredibly nervous about this. I mean, it’s a pretty high-stakes conversation.”
“I still think you should take my advice: bang it out before you talk it out. You’ll both be so much calmer.”
“Dude, I will not be sleeping with Becky tonight. We are meeting to talk about our son.”
“Hmm, and where are you meeting?”
Reese knew where Carlos was going with this and bit back a heavy sigh. “My place.”
His partner scratched his chin, making an overly dramatic pondering face. “So is there a bed at your place?”
“Christ, dude. We aren’t going to fuck. Just drop it.”
“Whatever you say, man. Whatever you say.”
As Reese paced his apartment and waited for Becky to show up, his mind was filled with R-rated images. Dammit, Carlos. He needed to be thinking about what he would say to convince Becky to let him spend more time with Ryker, but all he could think about was how Becky sounded when she came.
Did she still sound surprised, like the sensations had washed over her before she was ready for them to? Would she still gasp his name as he pumped into her, building them both up only so that they could come crashing down in each other’s arms?
He found himself wondering how she looked naked after all these years. When they’d been younger, Becky had been breathtakingly beautiful, but too thin. He’d always hated that she tried so hard to starve herself, and every time he’d seen the stark outline of her ribs, he’d wanted to punch her mother for making her insecure.
These days she looked like she was deliciously curvy, and his fingers itched to explore the now unfamiliar landscape of her body. He could practically feel his fingers digging into her hips as he—
A knock sounded at the door, and his thoughts returned to the present. Shit, Becky was at the door and he was hard as fucking steel and wearing loose sweatpants. Becky had wanted to tuck Ryker into bed before coming over, so he’d had time to go to the gym before coming home to meet her. After working out, he never liked to return to his stiff polyester work pants, and kept a clean pair of sweats in his gym bag to change into before leaving the gym.
While comfortable, they did nothing to hide his current state, and the last thing he needed right now was for Becky to see how much she was still able to affect him. For fuck’s sake, he’d gotten as hard as a randy teenager just thinking about touching her.
He yelled out, “Coming,” before cringing at his choice of words, and then focused on getting rid of his problem. Closing his eyes, he pictured a huge hairy roach, focusing on nothing but getting the blood to drain from his damn dick.
Another, more insistent knock came at the door, and he bit back a frustrated groan. He’d managed to get himself down to half mast, but apparently his stupid cock had a mind of its own and he was pretty sure he would get hard again the minute Becky walked into his place. With nothing else to do, he tucked the head of his dick under his waistband and pulled his shirt down as low as it would go. That would have to do.
When he opened the door and saw Becky, his dick twitched, letting him know that it was not in the mood to be hidden and very much wanted her attention. He gave his shirt another self-conscious tug and did his best not to let his eyes wander.
Unfortunately, she was dressed in a sundress that practically demanded his attention. The rich blue of the dress complimented her creamy skin, and the way the dress tightened below her breasts before flowing out accentuated her killer figure. His mouth was suddenly dry, and his fingers itched to touch her.
Fortunately, sanity returned before he reached out and pulled her into him. He cleared his throat, raised his eyes to hers, and gestured for her to come in.
“Hey, thanks for coming.”
Thanks for coming? What the fuck am I, a greeter at a fucking funeral?
“Look, I know you want more time with Ryker, but I just don’t know if I’m comfortable with you seeing him more than once a week just yet.”
“Ah,” he replied, closing the door with a click when he really wanted to slam it. “So we’re diving right in, huh?”
“I just want to get home—”
“Yes. Home. To our son. Need I remind you that I don’t have the same luxury? I don’t get to come home to my son. I don’t get to spend the weekend with him. No, according to you, I get one fucking night a week to eat a burger with him.”
“That’s not fair, Reese. I fought for him for years, and now I finally have him back. I don’t want to mess that up.”
“Yeah.” He paused, his anger bubbling up beneath his skin. He tried to fight it off, to stay calm, but found that he couldn’t. “At least you had the option to fight for him. I would have too if you’d fucking told me he existed.”
Color appeared in Becky’s cheeks, and her eyes burned with frustration.
Welcome to the club, sweetheart. I’m frustrated, pissed off, confused, and turned on as hell.
“I—” She looked away, a sure sign that she was feeling guilty. Good. She should feel guilty. “You left, I didn’t think that you even would have cared about him. I didn’t think you cared about me. I called you and your family multiple times and nobody responded. It’s not like I didn’t try at first.”
“After a year together, a year during which I proved to you time and time again that you were the center of my universe, you still thought that I didn’t care?’
“I was hurt! You didn’t tell me why, you just disappeared, and you were the one who didn’t answer a single one of my phone calls! I was young, and scared, and fucking pregnant. How was I supposed to react?”
Reese took a deep breath, one of many he’d already taken over the course of this infuriating conversation. “All right, let’s say that I can forgive you for not telling me at first. You were young, emotional, and scared. It looked like I had just abandoned you for no reason—I can only imagine how hard that was for you. Why didn’t you tell me later? Why not reach out to me a single fucking time in the last nine years? Why keep his entire existence from me when I could have probably helped you get him back sooner?”
“This conversation is going in circles, Reese. I’m just trying to do what’s best for him. I don’t see why that’s so hard for you to understand.”
He laughed without humor. “Okay, you don’t want to have that conversation anymore? Let’s switch gears then. Are you keeping me away from Ryker because he can’t handle it? Or is it because you can’t handle being around me?”
She reeled back, and he saw her hand move to slap him before clenching into a fist and falling to her side. “This isn’t about us, Reese.”
“No? Because it sure as hell feels like it is. You and I both know that if the roles were reversed, you wouldn’t be content with just one night a week spent with that amazing little boy. No, I think you don’t want to spend more time with me, and you’re using all of this as an excuse. I’m not asking you to tell him I’m his father yet, I’m asking you to let me spend more than one night a
week with him. What other reason could there possibly be to deny me? I’m just a family friend as far as he’s concerned. Hell, I’m willing to bet that Sophie and Kelsey see him more than once a week, so why can’t I? I think it’s because you’re scared.”
Becky stepped up to him and shoved a finger in his chest, reminding him of the feisty teenager he’d fallen in love with. She’d never been afraid to stand up to him then, and he was happy to see that she wasn’t afraid now either.
“You egotistical ass. How dare you try to insinuate that my decision has anything to do with you. I’m doing what’s right for Ryker. Any feelings I had for you are dead and buried.”
Anger and lust flared within him, swirling in his chest—a lethal combination. She was already close enough that he felt her breath tickle the exposed skin at his collar, but he stepped closer, invading her space. Her breath hitched and her lips parted.
Reese smiled triumphantly. “So your feelings for me are completely gone?”
“Yes,” Becky bit out, glaring at him.
His hands fell to her hips, and he tugged her closer, removing the last inch of space between them so that her body was completely flush with his. She gasped and her eyes shut for a brief moment, her hands rising to his chest. He was sure she was going to push him away, but her hands curled into fists in the material of his shirt. When she looked up from his chest, he was pleased to see that her face and neck were flushed, her pupils wide and her breath coming in short gasps.
She still wants me, too.
“You’re such a self-centered prick.”
He lowered his head slowly, giving her time to pull away. When she didn’t, he brushed his lips over the pulse at her throat, not quite kissing her, but making contact. Becky shivered in response, and his lips curled. Slowly, he moved his lips up the column of her throat to her earlobe. He bit down lightly and when she groaned, he felt his cock pulse in the confines of his thin sweats.
“And you’re a fucking liar.”
She turned her head and met his heated gaze with one of her own. “I hate you.”
“Liar,” he whispered before slamming his mouth down on hers. Their kiss was feral and full of passion. His pulse pounded and his mind was a riot of thoughts he couldn’t quite process. After all of this time he was kissing Becky. The one woman he’d thought he could never have again, the only woman he’d ever wanted to spend his life with. It was heady and terrifying all at once.
They kissed with ten years of pent-up frustration, hurt, and lust between them. Reese backed Becky into the wall, his hands biting into her hips as her fingers pulled on the material of his shirt, keeping him close. Their movements were a blur and their lips never stopped touching as Reese lifted Becky’s dress, his fingers pushing aside her thong so that he could feel how wet she was.
“See? You’re fucking dripping for me. Liar.”
When he slid a finger inside of her, Becky threw her head back. “More,” she gasped.
He slid two more fingers into her and almost came in his pants. “Still so fucking tight,” he growled between clenched teeth. He could feel his dick leaking precum, begging for relief. Becky’s head was still thrown back, so he kissed her neck, tasting and biting her skin. He knew he should be careful and make sure that he wasn’t leaving marks, but he couldn’t help himself.
“Fuck this,” Becky said, pushing on his chest. At first he thought she was asking him to stop and he removed his fingers from her tight pussy, prepared to step back and regain his composure, but Becky surprised him by pulling her dress over her head and then reaching for his shirt. Once it had joined her dress on the ground, she pulled down his sweatpants and groaned.
“Dammit, why do you have to have the perfect fucking dick? On the floor.”
Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, he lay down on the floor of his living room, something he never thought he would do. The wood laminate was cold on his back, but he hardly noticed it. His body was on fucking fire. He’d pictured Becky naked plenty of times in the time since they’d been reunited, but she was even more perfect than he could’ve imagined.
She was curvy in all the right places, and her full breasts made his mouth water. She didn’t give him much time to stare, however. Becky made quick work of her thong and climbed on top of him to slowly slide his aching cock into her tight, wet heat.
It was his turn to groan now. She felt fucking perfect.
He leaned up and shoved a hand in her hair, pulling her down to meet his lips in another punishing kiss as she moved up and down his shaft, grinding her hips in a rhythm that had Reese seeing stars. His free hand found her waist and moved to her ass, grasping it tightly as he lifted his hips to meet hers, stroke for stroke.
She broke away from their kiss, panting. “So good. Christ, it’s still so fucking good.”
Though he loved her on top, he wanted to be in control so he rolled her to her back, pulling his dick out all the way before thrusting in hard.
“Shit!” Becky cried out, her nails digging into his shoulders, urging him to keep moving. He could tell she was getting close and he swiveled his hips in a way that ground his pelvis against her clit. Her body felt like a puzzle he’d already solved as he remembered all of the best ways to get her off. Maintaining the rhythm and pace his hips had set, he bent down to take a nipple in his mouth, biting down as she cried out.
He could feel his orgasm building with hers, tension pulsing at the base of his spine, his balls tightening. Reese laved her other nipple with his tongue before taking it into his mouth and biting down again. Becky’s hips rose to meet his and her knees clenched at his sides, squeezing his hips as her orgasm washed over her.
Reese raised his head to watch her come, loud cries and gasps leaving her mouth as her orgasm washed over her. Seeing her like this again, so open and bare and raw, pushed Reese over the edge. His own orgasm raced through him, as he came with a shout.
As he rolled onto his back, Becky’s breathing matching his own, two thoughts hit him. One, that was amazing—if possible even better than sex with Becky had been when they were younger. Their chemistry had certainly not dimmed over the years.
Two, fucking Becky was the last thing he needed to be doing right now. What the fuck was I thinking?
Reese knew exactly what he’d been thinking, though. He’d been thinking that it had been too long since he’d kissed Becky, held her in his arms, felt her come apart around him. These things couldn’t be his priority anymore, however. He needed to focus on his son, his mother, and his job. He couldn’t afford to get sucked back into anything with Becky—she loved with her whole heart and the depth of her emotions, and his feelings for her had consumed him when they were together.
He opened his mouth to tell her that the sex had been a mistake, but she beat him to it.
“Shit. What the hell did we just do? That can’t happen again, Reese. I need to go.”
He could hear her rushing around and gathering her clothes and shoes. Reese heard the rattle of her keys as she dug them out of her purse and found that words had escaped him. What could he even say to her at this point? He knew how he was feeling but had no idea how to give voice to the torrent of emotions and thoughts swirling through his mind.
So he did nothing. He lay on his back, his breath slowly calming, the sweat on his skin drying as he stared at the ceiling and listened to Becky leaving his apartment. He stayed completely silent as she left, the door slamming behind her.
He lay there trying to process everything for an indeterminable amount of time, and was finally pulled from his thoughts by the shrill sound of his phone ringing in the other room. He picked himself up off the floor slowly, his back protesting. He grabbed and tugged on his sweats and made his way to his phone, but he’d taken too long and it stopped ringing before he got to the kitchen table.
Immediately, the phone started ringing again, and Reese’s heart plummeted. He picked up his pace, rushing to snatch his phone off the table, and his breath felt frozen in his ch
est as he saw the name on his caller ID. With a shaking hand, he swiped to answer the phone and lift it to his ear, willing his voice to come out calm.
“Hello?”
“Reese Petrov? This is Dr. Jones calling from Memorial Hermann Hospital. You were listed as the emergency contact for Beth Petrov.”
Chapter Nine
Reese paced the apartment he shared with his mom, running his fingers through his hair. A habit that his mom constantly reminded him would cause him to go bald some day. He couldn’t help it though, something about the motion calmed him and helped him think—and he needed to calm the fuck down right now.
He was beginning to suspect that Becky’s mother did more than emotionally abuse her. Today in their history class she’d flinched, fucking flinched, when the teacher had called her by her full name. For a brief moment after the teacher had called out the name Rebecca, there had been a look of absolute terror on her face.
He wanted to punch something. Hell, he wanted to punch someone. But he needed to approach this calmly, and he was too worked up to do that right now. Just the thought of anyone hurting Becky, a girl he was rapidly falling head over heels in love with, made him feel like there was something crawling under his skin.
There was only one person who would be capable of talking any kind of sense into him, so he picked up his phone and called his brother. Jesse was able to look at things more rationally, more devoid of emotion than Reese—something he desperately needed right now. He needed someone who could be objective.
“Reese? I’m at work, you know I don’t like to talk on the phone at work.”
Fuck, he’d actually completely forgotten that Jesse was at work right now. He was too focused on his own issues and he knew how much his brother hated a break in routine.
“I’m sorry, I can call back.”