Nineteen #2
I rose from my seat. Even in my heels, Reid towered over me. But I didn’t allow that to stop me from giving him precisely what he’d given me. I stepped close and leaned in. “Are you going to do something there that’ll make it impossible for me to concentrate?”
His hands engulfed my hips. “Like what?”
Leaning closer, I brushed my lips against his. “Like stand up in front of the crowd and give a speech.”
Reid groaned, his hands squeezing. “That’s all it would take?”
“It’s a start. I suspect you’ll find a way to have us both distracted as the night progresses.”
He smiled against my lips. “That’s a promise.”
“I need you to sign those documents for me, Reid.”
“And what am I going to get in return?”
I didn’t hesitate.
I offered up my mouth, Reid’s tongue sweeping inside to taste me. The way he kissed, it would’ve been impossible to deny myself the pleasure. So, I gave myself the opportunity to enjoy him for just a bit.
But since I wanted him to continue thinking about me long after I walked out of his office, I didn’t want him to get his fill of me just yet.
With my body plastered against his, I let out a moan. Then I pulled back and gave him the most seductive smile I could muster up. “Will that be sufficient?”
He groaned, pushing off the desk to round it.
Neither of us said a word as he signed the documents in the folder I’d brought, but I wondered if he could hear my heart hammering.
Reid signed the last of the papers, flipped the folder shut, and slid it across the desk. His dark stare was penetrating. I swore he could see right through me to my trembling insides.
I reached for the folder and smiled at him. “It’s been a pleasure.”
Without waiting for him to respond, I turned and walked out. And I was well aware that he was watching, so I put a little extra sway in my walk, wondering if my ass was beckoning him as I went.
Reid was doing all the right things.
There wasn’t a single area where I thought he was slacking even just a little.
And right now, as I watched him standing in front of this large crowd of retreat guests on their final day while giving a speech, something washed over me.
This man had transformed himself right before my eyes. Sure, he’d offered an explanation for why he’d been so standoffish in the beginning, and it was likely this was the man he’d always been, but I’d seen both sides. And there wasn’t a single thing I didn’t like about what I had witnessed.
“… I’ve taken some time this week to meet and speak with many of you individually, and it’s been rewarding to hear just how impactful this place, the staff, and the experiences have been for each of you.
As I said, my family and I are honored that you’ve chosen Sandstone Heart as the place to spend your time, and we look forward to seeing you back here soon.
I can see they’re ready to bring out the food now, so I’ll end it there.
Please enjoy your dinner and have a wonderful evening. ”
The crowd erupted with applause, a few whistles coming from the back of the room. I didn’t dare look anywhere but at him.
Reid hadn’t just put together some lame, forced speech. He’d actually taken the time to get to know some of our guests. My heart warmed at the thought of how far he’d come since those first few days.
Like he had only one thought in his mind, Reid walked off and straight toward me. He was grinning like an idiot, and I gobbled it up, grinning just as stupidly back at him.
“So, how was it?” he asked.
“Brilliant. I’m so proud of you.”
His eyes darted around the room. “Do you know how badly I want to kiss you right now?”
We’d decided that public displays weren’t exactly a wise idea at this point. We’d be friendly enough with one another—it’s not like anyone would think twice given how open I was with just about everybody—but we’d hold back the kissing and touching until we were alone.
“Well, we can’t leave, because I’m starved.”
“Any chance I can convince you to take your meal to go?”
I shook my head slowly. “Sorry. You’re going to have to sit through dinner.”
He dropped his head back and groaned.
A moment later, we were seated at a table with other staff members, everyone lost in their own conversations. Everything was going just as I had anticipated until our meals were set down on the table in front of us.
Reid leaned toward me, his hand landing on my upper thigh. My eyes rounded in disbelief as I turned my attention to him.
“Someone mentioned something to me earlier that I wanted to ask you about,” he said.
How I was paying attention to anything coming out of his mouth was beyond me. “Reid,” I hissed.
“What?”
I tucked my chin down and whispered, “Your hand.”
That hand twitched. “What about it?”
“It’s resting on my thigh.”
“And?”
I cocked a brow. “Anyone can see. I thought we weren’t going to give people something to talk about.”
A lazy smile spread across his face, the sight of it nearly my undoing. “Nobody can see. But if it would help, I could tuck my hand between your legs as opposed to resting it on top of this one.”
My core clenched, wanting exactly that, but I grabbed his wrist. “Are you insane?!”
His eyes dropped to where his hand was resting. “I think you might be drawing more attention to where my hand is by grabbing hold of it.”
As quick as a flash of lightning, I released him and tried to calm myself. “What did you want to ask me about?”
Try as I might to appear unaffected by him, the shakiness in my voice gave me away. All I could think about was the possibility of having Reid’s hand tucked between my legs.
His thumb stroked lightly along my thigh. “I heard about the Christmas party. The one we have here on Christmas Eve.”
“Yes, we do that every year. What about it?”
He smiled at me. “I would like to take you to it as my date.”
“The kind of date that’s just professional?” I asked.
Reid chuckled. “No. I’d like you to go with me as the woman I’m finding myself growing very fond of, the woman I’m not going to be upset about having people wonder why I’m holding her close or kissing her neck or touching her leg.”
My eyes locked on his, the exchange long and intense. He was serious about this, about us. He was growing very fond of me.
I licked my lips. And in those moments of silence, with quick, shallow breaths, I became acutely aware of the heat that spread through my body. My voice became a deep rasp. “I see.”
He was interested in giving us just a bit more time to keep things private before putting it out there. I liked it as much as it freaked me out.
Maybe this was just more of what I needed, though.
More proof from Reid that this wasn’t just a passing thing for him.
He was willing to allow the people employed by his father to see him making a connection with someone.
I didn’t think Reid would get involved with me if this was just a game to him.
“What if I declined?” I asked him. “Would you find someone else to take?”
“I’m not interested in attending if you’re not with me.”
What was I supposed to say to that? How could I turn him down?
“Okay, but I like to dance.”
“Looks like I better prepare myself, then.”
He had an answer for everything.
The more time we spent with one another, becoming friendlier and cozier, the easier it seemed to get for Reid. In the beginning, when he was doing everything to avoid me, I had a much simpler time of throwing him off balance. Now, it seemed the opposite was true.
There was no doubt about it.
Reid knew what he was doing, and he was doing all the right things.
And it left me asking myself one question. If I were already this caught up in how great this man was, how was I going to handle it if I wound up allowing that hand of his between my legs at some point soon?