Chapter 26 Hazel #2
When the check came, Reid paid without even giving me a chance to reach for it.
I hoped it was because he considered this a date as well, and not because my financial situation stressed him out.
He barely let me pay for anything when he was around, even forcing me to eat his groceries instead of getting my own.
After dinner, Reid drove me to my car, and we rode back separately to his house. I was grateful for a few moments alone to hype myself up. I put on some playlist called “Main character energy” and took some deep breaths to calm my racing heart.
We’d just been on a date.
We were about to be alone together.
In his house.
After he’d made me orgasm…
The next step was obvious, right? I sure thought so.
When I pulled in, he was waiting for me in the driveway, hands tucked into his jacket pockets, a small smile tugging at his lips. I shut my car door with a satisfying thud and walked over, grinning like an idiot.
Without saying much, we headed inside together. My nerves were eating at me.
“Um, do you want to watch a movie or something?” he asked, eyeing the couch we cozied up on together most nights.
“Oh, sure.” Normally, I’d offer to make popcorn or grab snacks or something, but we’d literally just eaten. So instead, I flopped onto the couch and waited for him to join me.
He picked whatever movie was ranked number one—no arguments from me—and I sank deeper into the cushions, getting comfortable.
What should I do? Should I lean into him? Look up at him? How do I make sure he knows I want him to kiss me again?
I forced myself to take my eyes off his jawline and back to the TV. Yeah, there was no way in hell I was paying any attention to a single second of this movie. I could barely hear it over the pulse pounding in my ears.
Reid lifted his arm and set it on the back of the couch, just above my shoulders.
That was a good sign. Not a full-on move, but a half-move of sorts.
“Did you read that?” Reid asked, and I realized I’d been staring at the screen without registering anything.
“Um, read what?”
Reid scrunched his eyebrows together and looked down at me. “The year. It’s a flashback scene.”
“Oh, yeah, no. I didn’t see it.” I gulped.
He chuckled. “Are you sure you want to watch a movie?”
I blew out a slow breath before shaking my head. “If I’m being honest, all I’m really thinking about doing right now is kissing you.”
Reid’s smile grew and the relief I felt was instant.
“If I’m being honest, this was just my ploy to get closer to you. All I’ve been thinking about is kissing you again, too.”
“Really?”
He nodded, eyes searching mine.
Then that was it. He dipped his head and our lips met.
His glasses bumped my nose and he pulled back, offering me an apologetic smile. I pulled them off slowly and set them on the table next to us.
“I’ve never asked. Can you see at all without them?”
“My vision isn’t so bad. It’s just like everything is in low definition without them.”
“No offense, but you really seem like someone who would have bad vision.”
He snorted. “What does that even mean?”
“I don’t know. Like, you’re always at the computer, and—”
“Can I go back to kissing you now?” he interrupted.
I bit my lip to keep from talking and nodded. I couldn’t even remember the last time a guy had me this nervous. It was a good nervous, though.
Reid resumed kissing me. Strong. Confident. When his tongue slipped inside it was all I could do to keep from moaning.
The need from the other night had already returned, but we didn’t act on that yet.
Reid took his time with me. We made out on the couch for what could have been hours, for all I cared.
I could do this forever. We were kind of slowly melting into his couch, so when he finally pulled up for air, he was hovering above me, knee pressed between my legs.
I wanted him to stop being so restrained and press his entire body against me.
“Do you…”
“What?” I encouraged, when his words trailed off.
“Do you want to see my room?”
I smiled, my lips deliciously sore. “I’ve been waiting for you to ask.”
He stood up and held out his hand for me, easily lifting me to my feet. He didn’t let go of my hand as he led me down the one hallway I hadn’t dared to walk down yet.
Reid had never said it was off-limits, but I didn’t want to overstep or seem like I was snooping. But I had been curious. I’d almost wandered down here the other day while he was out but made myself resist.
“This is the office,” he said as we passed an open door on the right.
“Where all the investigative work gets done?” I asked, wiggling my fingers at him.
“It’s nothing exciting,” he added.
That was an understatement. The walls were white, the desk was wood, the office chair was plush, and that was about it. Absolutely zero personality had been injected into the room. When I looked from the room to Reid, he was scratching the back of his neck, looking self-conscious.
“I think we should make another trip to the thrift store.”
He sagged and looked down at me. “I’d like that.”
We moved on to the last door. This room was plain too, with everything put away in two dressers. No artwork. But the comforter was plaid, in blues, greens, and oranges.
“Wow, color!” I let go of his hand and flung myself onto the perfectly made bed.
“Regan got that for me,” he admitted. “When I went off to college and she was, like, eleven. I’ve never had the heart to get rid of it.”
“I love it.”
I realized then that I was on his bed, and he was hovering over me. The want returned like a wave. He looked good, standing above me in his cute little sweater. And the way he constantly squinted without his glasses was adorable.
“So, I’m finally seeing your room,” I said.
“Finally,” he repeated.
“And now that I’m here? On your bed?”
He shook his head, a soft laugh escaping his lips. “Now that you’re here…and on my bed…I’d really like to do something about that.”
“I’d really like you to do something about that, too.” I propped myself up on my elbows as he took a step closer. He put one knee on one side of me and his hands to my waist. I let out a tiny yelp when he pulled me up further on the bed.
Then he kissed me, and it was perfect again. All my anxiety was erased.
This felt scary-good. I wanted more. I wanted his entire being to consume my entire being. Was that healthy? Probably not. But I felt so safe with him.
His lips moved to my cheek and then down to my neck, where he continued to roam.
My nipples hardened as soon as his chest gently brushed my sweater.
The layers between us were suffocating. I pulled at the bottom of his sweater, desperate to get a glimpse at what was underneath.
He broke away from my neck and helped me pull it off.
I was rewarded with my first glimpse of shirtless Reid, lean and muscular and soft at the same time.
My breath hitched when his fingers traced the bottom of my own sweater. “Can I?”
I nodded, too eagerly, but I didn’t care. Reid’s hands gripped the hem and pulled my shirt over my head, leaving me in only my bra. A plain black one, thankfully. Not my cutest piece of lingerie, but it could have been a hell of a lot worse. Wait…what underwear did I have on?
Reid’s jaw clenched as he took me in.
“Come back.” I grabbed for his biceps and lowered his body to mine. The first contact of his skin on mine made me shiver.
He trailed gentle kisses along my neck, nipping ever so slightly when he got to my collarbone. He shifted us both back on the bed, the movement allowing him to finally press into me. I moaned and arched my hips to get more friction against him.
He sucked in a breath and stopped moving.
“We don’t have to rush, or anything—”
“Reid, I will be personally offended if you don’t end up inside me tonight,” I snapped. Maybe not the classiest thing I could’ve said, but fuck, I wanted this man. And it wasn’t just because it had been a while. I wanted him to have all of me. I craved the closeness.
Reid scanned my face, all serious, before nodding.
Instead of kissing me again, his hand moved to the bra strap on my left shoulder.
He pulled it down slowly, exposing me. I arched my back, practically begging to be touched.
Then his mouth found mine again, while his fingers slowly traced my breast until they finally found my peaked nipple.
I cried out when he tugged it and started playing with it.
I’d always had sensitive breasts, but the way he was slowly toying with me was both wonderful and torturous.
He hadn’t been touching me for nearly long enough when he moved his hand and unhooked my bra with frankly shocking accuracy.
I pulled away for a minute to raise my eyebrows at him, but he just smiled, took off my bra and tossed it aside.
When he moved back on top of me and took one of my nipples in his mouth, my eyes rolled into the back of my head.
He teased and nipped until I was writhing beneath him.
When he moved on to the other, I put my hands in the waistband of his pants, shoving them down.
He helped me get them off before pulling down my leggings.
“You sure?” he asked.
“Please get inside me, like, right now,” I breathed.
Reid abandoned me for a minute to grab something out of the bedside table. He tore the package open with his teeth and rolled the condom onto his length.
I smiled. Obviously, he was prepared. Didn’t surprise me at all.
He settled back on top of me, and pressed into me. I was already soaking wet by this point, so I eagerly shifted down, desperate to take him.
“You feel incredible,” he whispered, slowly moving in me inch by inch.
My anticipation bloomed into outright, feral desire. When he was finally in, I started moving beneath him, impatient for friction. He pumped in and out a few times as I moaned embarrassingly loudly. Seriously, I had no control over my vocal responses at that point.
“Sorry,” I said after a particularly loud sound of pleasure escaped me.
“What?” he choked out, pausing momentarily. “That’s like, insanely hot, Hazel. Please never apologize for that again.”
In response, I arched my hips, asking for more.
He kissed me and moved inside me a few more times, then to my surprise, he flipped us, so that I was on top.
Not usually my preferred position, but the angle alone was hitting me in the exact right spot.
I gasped and started riding him, savoring the friction of my clit against him and the perfect way he was hitting my g spot.
“Yes, right there,” I cried. He grabbed my ass, pressing us somehow even closer together. The pressure was building and building as I rocked.
My movements became more frantic.
My sounds of pleasure became more ragged.
Finally, I started to come undone, my orgasm hitting me with a fierce intensity.
As soon as I started coming, Reid let out a loud groan before taking his hand off my butt and moving it behind him to prop himself up.
He sat up partway, pressing our torsos together and kissing me deeply as we both came.
I stared into his eyes—an all-consuming, overwhelming affection hitting me right in the chest.
He kissed my forehead and I came to the conclusion that he had me—completely.
When it was over and I untangled myself from him, he shot up out of bed. He returned a second later with a washcloth, using it to gently clean me off.
He was so careful with me. Careful with how he looked at me, careful with his touches.
After, he laid back down on the bed, settling in close to me so that our sides touched.
“Hazel, that was…that was amazing.”
I blushed. “It was pretty good.”
We stayed like that awhile, cuddled into each other. We didn’t say much. Part of me wanted to ask what we were, but also, a part of me didn’t feel like I needed to. The way he looked at me said a lot.
There wasn’t even a mention of me going back to the other room. At one point, he handed me a soft t-shirt and we nestled under the covers.
Eventually, we drifted off to sleep.