Chapter 13
lina
Was I dying?
I moaned, my hand rubbing my mouth. Spit had dried at the corner, and I wiped it away. God, my mouth tasted like ass. I smacked my lips. It was as dry as the Arizona desert. My bones hurt, too. Even my scalp fucking ached. What the hell happened last night?
I groaned, starting to stretch, but then froze, realizing something hard and warm was wedged between my legs, and a heavy arm.
I lifted the sheet, and a very male arm with hair and veins lay across my stomach.
Yep, that was his leg between mine, too.
He shifted, his leg hitching up more until his knee was so close to rubbing right where I was starting to feel a pulse.
His arm tightened around me. Then he pulled me to him, his thigh scraping against my sensitive skin, until my back was flush with his front.
Blinking to clear my vision, I reminded myself I was in our camper. That the person who was behind me had to be someone other than Reed … right?
Oh God! I turned to look over my shoulder.
“Shit,” I whispered.
Reed lay behind me, spooning me, without a T-shirt. And based on the bare leg my pussy was now rubbing against, without fucking pants, either!
I turned slowly, silently praying he was wearing boxers. Silently praying I didn’t do something stupid again.
Lifting the sheet, I looked down, hoping I wouldn’t get an eyeful of Reed’s dick because his morning wood was currently poking me in the ass. I breathed a sigh of relief. “Oh, thank God.”
He thrust his hips, his hard-on pressing into me. “See something you like?”
I dropped the sheet at the sound of his voice. His rumbly, sexy, raspy morning voice that just vibrated through my entire body. My pussy clenched.
“No,” I said, pushing him away from me. His hard pecs flexed under my hands. Christ! How does he make his muscles so … so … musclely? The man was carved out of fucking marble.
He removed his leg from between my knees, and I had to bite back a whine. Why wasn’t he freaking out?
His mouth curved in a sleepy smirk, and he rubbed the scruff on his jaw. His dark eyes were soft, yet smoldered with an inner flame that made my skin feel as though it were on fire. Locks of dark hair fell across his forehead, begging me to run my fingers through it.
“Oh, God.” I threw back the sheet, sitting up on the edge of the mattress. My head swam and I grasped it, just as a pounding headache set in. My legs were bare, too. I was practically naked, except for my sleepshirt and underwear. “Fuck.” I breathed into my hands.
“Do you feel like you’re going to be sick?” he asked. The mattress dipped behind me as he moved, his hand going to the small of my back.
I stiffened.
“Yes,” I groaned. I was two seconds from vomiting based on the way my stomach was now roiling.
“Here.” He jumped out of bed, coming around to my side, bringing a trash can with a fresh bag close to my feet. “Or do you want me to help you to the bathroom?”
I looked at him then. Really, truly looked at him.
His thick thighs dusted with hair as he crouched in front of me, his corded forearms resting on his knees, his abs flexing with each breath he took, his throat bobbing as he swallowed, his jaw ticking with concern, and his dark eyes with flecks of amber gazing at me with worry and something else I was entirely too afraid to name. My gut clenched and my heart sped up.
“Oh, God,” I said again, pulling my attention away from him. I couldn’t look at him anymore. I had to focus on anything but him. The window had a nice view of the camp—more like the side of the trailer beside us—but it was better than looking at him right now. “You and me. Did we … ?”
“Lina.” His voice sounded like he was smiling. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you at a loss for words.”
Oh fuck the view! I shot a scathing look back at him, but he didn’t even balk. “Did we fuck last night or not?”
Reed looked like he was having to bite the inside of his mouth to keep from smiling.
“Fuck you, Reed, if you think this is funny. I’ve never once gotten blackout drunk to the point of not remembering what happened the night before, and I feel like I should fucking remember if we—” Now I was the one biting the inside of my mouth.
Too close to the truth. Because both times were still seared into my brain.
“I don’t even remember drinking that much. ”
Reed shook his head while his lips fought a smile. “We didn’t. Believe me, I’d make sure you’d remember if we had.”
“You’re a dick.” I huffed, relaxing my shoulders. Relief and regret settled in my chest.
Reed chuckled softly then. “Only for you, baby.”
“Why do you have to be such an ass?”
“Do you have any other names you’d like to call me, or are you done?”
“Ugh!” I sprang to my feet, pushing past him, hoping he’d fall on his ass, but he only rocked on his heels while I made my way to the bathroom. “Maybe go back to just grunting all your words because the ones you say now are fucking annoying.”
“Damn, sweetheart. You wound me.”
“Oh, fuck off!” I slammed the door of the bathroom to the sound of his booming laughter.
Needing to wash it all off, I took a quick shower and brushed my teeth.
By the time I was stepping out with a towel wrapped around me, I could smell fresh coffee and bacon on the stove.
I peeked past the door to see Reed fully dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, tongs in his hand while he flipped the strips of bacon.
Tiptoeing to grab my own jeans and shirt, I took my clothes back to the bathroom to dress.
“Do you want toast?” Reed called, not even turning around to see me walk out. He didn’t wait for my answer, putting two slices in the toaster on the counter.
“Are you seriously making me breakfast right now?” I asked.
“Already checked on Mushu and gave him breakfast, too.”
My heart fluttered seeing this man with bare feet in the kitchenette, cooking over the stove for me. No one other than Dad ever made me breakfast. Not even my own mother.
Reed plucked the bacon from the pan, laying it out on a plate with a paper towel to soak up the grease.
“Here.” He turned with a mug of coffee in his outstretched hand. I reached for it, our fingertips brushing while his eyes tracked over my body, leaving a trail of heat in their wake.
“Thank you.” I swallowed the lump forming in my throat, wondering if I was going to throw up after all.
Reed gave a single nod. “Two sugars and a splash of milk, right?”
He knew how I made my coffee. I shuddered a breath. Why was getting my coffee order right making my chest tight? “Right.”
“Let’s sit and eat, and then I need to talk to you about what happened last night.” The muscle in his jaw twitched and he averted his gaze, turning back to the toast that popped up.
“That doesn’t sound good.” Anxiety twisted my gut. I had a sickening feeling that what happened last night was bad, and the reason I couldn’t remember anything had nothing to do with how much I drank. “What happened last night?”
I immediately started replaying everything I remembered.
The last thing I recalled was heading to the bar …
or was it dancing with someone on the dance floor?
And then making a beeline for the bar to get another drink.
I think … it was only my second drink of the night, or was it my first?
My heart rate sped up, my breath leaving my chest in little gasps. Why couldn’t I fucking remember?
“I only had two drinks, I think.” I’d heard of girls getting roofied in college, and maybe it happened on the circuit, too, but I was always so careful who I got drinks from.
“I bought that last drink myself.” How could someone have gotten something in my drink?
I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to force my mind to recall the night.
Did I turn away from my drink at any point while I was at the bar?
Maybe? “I can’t fucking remember anything.
” I was starting to get frustrated with myself that I didn’t know what happened. I was on the edge of panicking.
“Let’s sit down,” Reed suggested, plating our food and setting it down on the table.
I slid onto the bench, and Reed sat down across from me. I set my coffee down, suddenly not wanting it or the food in front of me. A wave of nausea was threatening to overpower me.
“Please, just spit it out.” I was growing impatient.
Reed’s eyes were hard, as if he was remembering what I couldn’t. He rested his elbows on either side of his plate and laced his fingers together, his gaze intent on me. “When you hadn’t texted me by midnight, I came looking for you.”
“Just like you said you would.” The lump in my throat stung.
Reed nodded. “You weren’t at the bar anymore. Christian and Kale didn’t know where you’d gone, so we went looking for you.”
“Did he—did he have me?” I swallowed the vomit. I hated throwing up. I’d much rather swallow it. I wrapped my hands around the warm mug, letting it settle me.
“He had you,” he said matter-of-factly, knowing I just needed to hear the truth.
One thing about Reed was that he was a straight shooter, and I was so appreciative of that.
I needed someone who was willing to just rip off the Band-Aid and tell me like it was.
“But I caught up to him and stopped him before he could take you.”
My nose stung, and my mind immediately jumped to the worst case. “Oh, my fuck! He could have raped me.” I had to say it out loud. I had to speak my thoughts into existence, or I’d spiral.
Reed shook his head. “No, he wouldn’t have. There is no scenario here where I’d ever let that happen.”
“Reed, he drugged me and took me away from the bar.”
“He put something in your drink, you’re right, but there is no way in hell he would’ve ever walked away with you. I was coming after you no matter the cost.”
“Fuck.” I dropped my forehead into my palm, propping it up to keep myself from passing out. “You could’ve been too late.”
He reached over to me, his hand resting over the one still clutching my coffee. “Look at me,” he said softly. I lifted my head, my gaze finding his for a moment. “I will always come after you.” I could almost hear him swallow down the lump in his own throat.
Pain was etched all over his face. He was beating himself up about this. He was almost too late. That’s what that look told me.
“You stopped him?”
“We won’t be seeing him again.”
I gulped. “You didn’t—” I couldn’t say the word.
“No, I didn’t. But he may wish I had. If he’s smart, he’ll stay far the fuck away from the circuit from now on.”
“How can you be so sure?”
Reed’s face fell, staring into his own mug of coffee. “I’m not.”
He’d been right. He couldn’t leave my side. Not anymore. Not when it was so easy for my stalker to slip something in my drink and drag me away without anyone noticing.
My head shot up, almost too quickly, the room spinning with it. I grimaced. “You didn’t happen to get his name, did you?”
Reed’s mouth turned down at the corners. “No, we still don’t know who he is.”
I nodded in understanding. We could go to the police about this, but all I had was a description, and from the sound of it, Reed delivered a message that we didn’t need the cops knowing about.
“I don’t think I—” I forced down the vomit as the acidic taste flooded my mouth. I popped to my feet, ready to dash to the bathroom. “I don’t think you need to give me space to breathe anymore,” I forced out before covering my mouth, desperately needing the toilet.
“Are you going to be sick?” Reed’s brows rose in concern as he hopped up, ready to help.
I only nodded before rushing to the bathroom.
I was shook.
I needed my dad. One more rodeo, and he’d be out here with us.
I totally tanked my time at the Salmon Ridge Rodeo.
Mushu felt my shot nerves, and of course, he struggled making those turns when I was on edge.
I felt like I was being watched, and no matter what Reed did to stay in my line of sight, I couldn’t shake the feeling—like insects were crawling all over my skin.
I was in a damn pissy mood, and Reed, of course, got the brunt of it.
I hated that I needed him now more than ever, but not being next to him gave me anxiety like I’d never experienced before.