Chapter 7 #2
“Yes. We both agreed to keep our relationship open at that point and see other people until he came back to Newport. Get stuff out of our system.”
“And why the fuck would you do that?”
“So that we would have no regrets, thinking the grass was greener elsewhere. I signed that shit so young. It was a chance for us to both have a life before the agreement was honored.” I realized my slip-up instantly.
I had said agreement. I’d never told Reed my marriage to Jasper was an arranged one, as I knew he try to talk me out of it. Luckily, he didn’t seem to notice.
He was clearly struggling to hold onto his temper. “So, I was a wild fucking oat, is that what you’re saying?”
“What if you were?” I waved his comment off and then rubbed my hands down my dress.
Reed’s jaw ticked, showing me how hard he was fighting for restraint. “Are you sure it’s wise to tell me you used me to my face?” I knew he would never hurt me physically, but I recognized that look; he was itching to put his hands on me.
Rolling my eyes, I crossed my arms over my chest. “Typical male response. Men do it to women all the time,” I stated, raising my voice.
“I’m not most men, and I know you’re lying.” Reed was right, but like fuck was I confessing to that.
I held my hands up. “We need to go back inside, Reed. He’s probably looking for me?”
“Fuck him. In fact, strike that, as you probably already are.”
I didn’t deny it; what would be the point? Maybe that would deter him from making suggestive comments. “He’s my fiancé, Reed. What do you expect?”
“So, you are sleeping with him? Funny, as in your office, you made it seem like that wasn’t happening.”
My brow creased. “No. I did nothing of the sort; you made up your own version of the truth. Just like you always do.”
Reed’s eyes flashed with temper. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
Taking a deep breath, I attempted to calm my nerves.
“I’ve read your notes, remember, Reed? Why didn’t you ever say anything?
” I sifted out any pitying tones as I knew that would only antagonize him further.
I was in two minds once I read about the abuse; one side of me felt empathy and despair, the other, annoyance that he’d never confided in me.
Reed dashed a hand down his face. “I told you some stuff, and anyway, I thought we’d agreed there's a time and place for that discussion, Doc. Didn’t you say that you kept your professional and personal opinions separate?
” He was provoking me on purpose. Taunting me for not sticking to the code of practice I had thrown at him during our meeting.
“Usually yes, but these are different circumstances.” Surely, he understood that. We had loved each other. I may not have confessed that out loud, but we both knew it was there.
Reed folded his arms. “How are they different?”
“Because we have a history.
“That’s right, we do have a history, an all-consuming, cannot live without each other one, and so why are you trying so fucking hard to ignore it?” He dropped his hands and turned away. I watched the way he rolled his broad shoulders and how the tux pulled across that taut area.
“I’m not ignoring shit. You’re the one doing that.”
Placing my hand on his shoulder, I attempted to encourage him to face me again. “I’m sorry, Reed—for all of it.”
He turned around, and I dropped my hand. “Look. I wouldn’t have brought it up again, but you didn’t give me a choice; you missed our last session, and I was so upset by what I read. When I found out you weren’t coming...”
His face darkened. “That wasn’t my fault, and you know that.” Reed then paced back and forth in front of me, pinching the bridge of his nose and closing his eyes.
“Reed?” I said softly, my training kicking in. I could see he was struggling.
After a few more seconds, he dropped his hand, his eyes clashing with mine.
He had managed to get hold of himself, and his response was textbook.
When you feel cornered, it’s human nature to attack.
“I heard you checked my no-show with ‘the powers that be?’ How’s that for not taking me at my word?
” He was right, as soon as I heard he’d canceled, I called his manager.
“It’s my job to check.”
“Why? I’ve never lied to you. Can you say the same?”
That got my back up. “Yes, I can, and it wasn’t like that.
I think we can agree that we are both guilty of leaving stuff out when it comes to sharing.
” I knew what I was saying was ridiculous under the circumstances, but I was Storm Summers, and I played with words and manipulated people to get me off the hook.
Making someone else shoulder the blame was instinctive and in my blood.
All members of the Summers family were the same.
Reed shook his head in disbelief. “Leaving stuff out? Are you really trying to compare you not telling me you were fucking engaged to me not sharing the sordid details of ten months of my childhood? How is that comparable?” Reed said in amazement.
Of course, he had a point. They weren’t the same at all.
Wringing my hands, I glanced around him. “I don’t know. It’s not, I suppose. Look, we’re getting nowhere. Let’s go back inside.” I stepped forward, and Reed did the same, bringing our bodies dangerously close. I could feel the heat from his chest permeating through my dress.
He then got in my face, his nose brushing mine. “Back inside? To him? To that fucking prick that tells you what to eat and drink, what to wear?”
I shook my head, placing a hand on his torso to hold him back, but it was like trying to move a mountain. “Jasper doesn’t tell me what to wear, Reed.”
“I told you not to say his fucking name to me!” he roared, grabbing me by my upper arms and pulling me onto my tiptoes. If the music hadn’t been loud in the gym, everyone would have heard our fight.
“You need to let go of me, Reed,” I warned quietly, my breath hissing between my teeth. Every nerve ending was alive with his touch. His grip was firm, but he didn’t hurt me.
I could see from the expression that twisted his features that he was torn. And then, his fingers tightened as he pushed me back against the wall of the gym. “I don’t think so,” he husked, his eyes hooded as his gaze transferred to my lips.
And. I was on fire.
There was nowhere to go, not that I wanted to move. Being held by Reed, even in anger, was better than nothing. I eyed the boy I cared about with every fibre of my body as I fought for control. It was as if Jasper’s name had lit a match to the biggest bonfire.
Reed was breathing heavily, clearly tormented, and after another moment's silence, he released my arms.
The rug was then ripped away beneath my feet as Reed’s hands captured my face and drew me towards him.
He lowered his head and, with a growl deep in his throat, took my mouth with his.
The intensity of the kiss powered through my entire frame.
Could you die from excitement?
I went up like a rocket, my fingers lifting to grasp his biceps as his tongue slid into my mouth. One hand then moved to cup my jaw, and the other threaded into the hair at my nape.
I was dragged back into the past, back to him, Reed, the one I had always wanted.
My past lover drank from my lips, his mouth hungry and insistent, dominating, taking.
It was as if the taste of me was what he needed to survive, and I fucking loved it.
This was no lazy exploration; this was a branding, a claiming of his territory.
As his tongue stroked mine, the ache between my legs grew, and it throbbed against the lace of my underwear.
Reed pulled back slightly, trailing a few kisses down my jaw before fusing our mouths again, needy for more.
I pushed myself up and into the kiss, my braless breasts flattened against the hardness of his chest. Moaning against his mouth, the friction of my nipples against his rock-hard pectoral muscles felt amazing.
Tingles shot all the way down to my toes.
Reed’s hand tightened in my hair, angling my head where he wanted it to go, and his other gripped my throat and gently squeezed, marking me as his. Would I have bruises? At that point, I didn’t fucking care.
A shudder made its way down my body as I felt Reed’s stiff cock pressing into my stomach like steel, and memories of how big he was came flooding back, creating red-hot lust to pool between my thighs.
I wanted him to lift my dress and take me there, hard against the wall.
I had to fight myself to stop from rubbing against him.
Reed tore his mouth away and murmured into my ear. “I need to be inside you, so fucking bad.” The way he said the words was filthy, and everything in me screamed, yes.
He then devoured my mouth again like a starving man, his fingers now digging into the skin of my neck.
Reed forced his tongue back between my lips. It wasn’t a friendly kiss; it was a clear, I want to fuck you, message. He was being a little too rough, but just enough to make me feel giddy without fear.
The hand that held my hair suddenly moved, releasing the strands that had been pulled tight against my scalp. I inhaled my gasp as I felt his fingers against the top of my thigh, sliding in through the slit of my dress.
“Oh my God,” I whispered against his mouth as I felt him cup my sex; the only thing separating his skin from mine was the tiny scrap of lace I wore.
“You’re soaked for me,” Reed husked, mashing his mouth to mine again. My fingers had slid up around his neck and were in his hair as I felt him push my panties to one side.
“Please,” I breathed into him as his tongue teased my bottom lip, drawing it into his mouth and biting it.
“Beg me,” he commanded, and I did.
I was surging against his palm as he put extra pressure on my pussy before lifting his head. Our eyes met, mine half-drugged from desire, his full of ownership and determination. I writhed in ecstasy as he slid his hand into my panties, his thumb resting on my clit.
“Do you want me to make you come, princess?”