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“No, Reid.”
“Then meet me at the railing where we were last night. We’ll talk.”
“You want to talk?”
“Yes, Carrie.” His voice is sandpaper and silk. “I do.”
“Why?”
“Meet me.” He hangs up.
I press my phone to my forehead. What am I doing with this man? I stand up because apparently what I’m doing is going downstairs to see him because, well, I want to. I slip on sneakers, brush my hair, and spray perfume before I grab my wallet purse I use on occasion. I stuff a credit card inside for no reason other than I don’t like to be anywhere without money, slip the strap across my chest, and head downstairs. Once I’m in the lobby about to exit my building, butterflies flutter in my stomach. I’m nervous. Why am I nervous? This man’s hands have been all over my body, but even as I ask the question, I know the answer. I’m on dangerous territory with Reid. I’m vulnerable with this man professionally. I don’t want to be vulnerable personally, but I fear it’s too late. I already am.
I exit the building into the starlit night and travel the sidewalk, ocean air lifting my hair, cooling my skin that only turns hotter when I find Reid standing at the railing, facing the water. He’s dressed in sweats and a T-shirt, and he’s just one of those people who manages to radiate power and masculinity no matter what he wears. He doesn’t have to turn around for me to know this. I’ve experienced his impact quite fiercely.
I inhale and close the small space between us, stepping to his side. Close but not too close. Reid reacts instantly, pulling me between him and the railing, the ocean at my back, his big, hard body at my front. His fingers tangle in my hair and he doesn’t speak or ask permission for what he does next. His mouth closes down on mine, his tongue licking into my mouth, and I don’t even think about resisting. I sink into the kiss, my arms wrapping around him, hard muscle flexing beneath my touch. For eternal moments that are still not long enough, I’m lost in this man, in his spicy, masculine taste. The way he consumes me. The way he—
He tears his mouth from mine, his forehead settling against mine, his hand on my cheek. “What are you doing to me, woman?” He pulls back to look at me. “Come home with me. Spend the night with me.”
My hand flattens on his chest. “No. I’m not doing that, Reid.”
“Because you think I’m going to send you away? I want you there way too fucking badly to be that foolish. But take me to your place if it makes you feel better. You have control there. You can send me away.”
“What are we doing?” I ask yet again.
“We’ll figure it out.”
“You have everything to gain and I—”
“Have everything to lose,” he finishes for me. “I know. I can’t change that dynamic, but believe it or not, I now have a lot to lose as well. Come home with me.”
“No. That changes things. It feels different from the hate sex in your office.”
“So you can fuck me in the office, but not at one of our homes?” he challenges.
“Seems like that’s where we’re at.”
“Then let’s go to the office.”
I laugh. “We aren’t going to the office.”
He cups my face and kisses me before his fingers lace with mine. “Then let’s go to the coffee shop around the corner and talk. Yes?”
Talk. I do want to talk. I want to understand this man. I want to trust this man. “Yes.”
He kisses me again. “Or we can—”
“No,” I breathe out, but it takes effort. I want whatever he’s about to suggest. I want him to kiss me again. I want to be fully naked with this man and truly know what it feels like to be with him, to really be with him, but I don’t want to be owned. And Reid will own me if I let him.
“Coffee it is,” he says, leading me forward, and to my surprise, he folds our elbows and pulls me to him. “I’m holding on,” he declares. “I’m not letting you dart away.”
“Don’t be an asshole and I won’t.”
He laughs, a low, deep, masculine laugh that I feel in every part of me. “I can’t make a promise I might not keep.” He lifts our joined hands and kisses mine. “And I never make a promise I don’t keep, nor do I say anything I don’t mean.”
He lets those words linger between us during our short walk, and I decide they’re meant to drive home what he’s already stated. We are not enemies. We want the same things. We want each other. All words that mean more as my connection with this man grows more intimate. That doesn’t mean I proceed blindly or without caution.
We reach the door of the coffee shop, that really was just around a corner in one of the buildings along our path. He releases me and opens the door. “Ladies first,” he says motioning me forward.
