Chapter 12
Clayton
I watched Reese push through the door and made my way after her. If she thought for one second I was going to let her out of my sight again, she was crazy.
“What the hell are you doing?” She stopped short in the hallway, spinning around. My momentum almost took me right into her, but somehow, I caught myself from barreling her over or grabbing her to steady myself. I had a feeling neither would win me any points.
“Following you.”
“Why?” she exclaimed, flinging her hands in the air. “I said I’d be back.”
“Oh, Reese.” I dropped my voice and lowered my head closer to hers. “After your disappearing act the other day, there’s no way I was going to let you get away this time.”
I’d searched this building high and low for her once I’d finally gotten my dick under control and shirt on after her flight from my room.
I didn’t know how she’d managed to avoid me completely for over twenty-four hours, but it had made me crazy.
Even her texts taunted me. I wasn’t used to one woman throwing this much chaos into my life, at least not one that wasn’t related to me.
“I didn’t disappear.”
“Well, I certainly couldn’t find you.” The woman I spoke to at the front desk, Constance, either honestly didn’t know or had been sworn to secrecy, because she’d given me nothing.
“Not my fault.” She looked me up and down, the perusal taking me right back to the way she looked at me in the room. When she shook her head, I knew her thoughts had ventured to the same place. We really needed to get a handle on what had happened between us.
I’d given it some thought as I searched for her and didn’t come up with a satisfying decision. Giving in to this attraction would be a disaster considering I was essentially lying to her or at the very least not telling her the real reason behind my interest in her project.
Staying away was the smart move.
I simply wasn’t sure it would be possible.
“All your fault. Who else walked out and didn’t come back?”
“I told you. I had things to do.”
I didn’t believe that any more than I still believed in Santa Claus. The only “thing” she had to do was avoid me.
“Be that as it may, I’m not chancing it again this time.”
She dropped her head back, and somehow, I restrained myself from running my tongue up the length of her neck.
This woman had managed to do the impossible—completely wipe the thought of business from my mind.
I wasn’t sure exactly what to do with that concept.
Since I was a child, no more than seven or eight, my family had me focused on business, all so I could run it one day.
Until that day came and it was lost to me.
“Listen, Clay—”
“You know, I prefer Clayton.” Only Lachlain called me Clay, and it was to piss me off. I wouldn’t be surprised she did it for the same reason.
“And I prefer not being called Little Trouble.” Propping her hands on her hips, I knew an ultimatum when I saw it. Except I had no intention of giving up the nickname. It fit her and got a rise out of her—a win-win in my book.
“Clay it is.” I bit back the smile that threatened to appear when she glared at me, not happy being on the losing end of that little skirmish. I had a feeling it would be the first of many.
“AHHHHH!” she cried before pivoting and heading toward a swinging door. With the heel of her hand, she hit it to set it moving. “Logan? Mom said there was a package for Abby. Freezer, I’m guessing?”
Sticking out my hand, I made sure the door didn’t smack me, which I think may have been her intention if her frown was any indication.
She’d led me right into an enormous kitchen, white marble and cabinets giving it a modern country feel.
The equally enormous man, sporting an apron and backward ballcap, standing at the sink looked out of place in the airy setting.
He nodded his head toward the built-in appliance.
“Of course. There’s a cooler you can use on the counter.
” Turning off the water, he reached for the towel on his shoulder and dried his hands.
That was when he noticed me. He may be speaking to Reese, but she was not his priority at the moment.
Oh, I knew a big brother when I saw one.
“I think Mom got it from Ms. Maple at their book club last night. There’s like three containers for her.
Beck’s gonna lose his damn mind. You can grab the ice packs that are on that shelf too.
” Arm extended, he made his way to me. “Logan Henley, Reese’s brother. ”
“Really, that’s how you’re going to introduce yourself?” Looking my way, she opened the door and pulled out what looked like a tub of ice cream. “Lo’s the chef here. If you’ve come down for breakfast, you would have sampled his delicious cooking.”
He may be the chef, but in that moment he was all brother.
Overprotective brother. I knew because I knew that look.
I’d given it to men sniffing around Sofia more times than she’d be happy to learn about, which made me wonder what exactly this man knew.
Whatever it was, he would not find out more information from me.
“Clayton Montgomery.” I grasped his hand in greeting.
“Reese is correct; breakfast was indeed delicious. I assume it’s your specialty.
” I was used to Michelin-star restaurants and celebrity chefs, but the breakfast this morning could have rivaled any of them, something I wasn’t at all expecting to encounter in the Virginia mountains.
“I’d like to never bake another fucking scone or cook another egg in my life, actually.”
I laughed, noting the way Reese shivered slightly at the sound.
Considering everything the woman did got me rock hard, I felt as if turnabout was only fair play.
“Want to expand your horizons, do you?” If everyone in Reese’s family felt the same way, I may have a better chance of convincing them I could help.
I needed them onboard with working with Conti-Montgomery.
I had too much riding on this for any other outcome to occur.
“You could say that.” He pointed to the coffeepot on the counter. “Coffee? We have travel mugs if the two of you are headed out.”
“Thanks, I never turn down coffee.” I rounded the island, stepping to the coffeepot as he handed me a mug.
“Reese lives off iced coffee.” Logan pulled a pitcher from the refrigerator and poured the dark liquid into an ice-filled tumbler. Reese promptly added milk and sugar until it was barely dark any longer.
“I do not. Sometimes I live off wine,” she chimed in as she packed the ice cream away. “Clay, why don’t you change, and I’ll meet you back here in a few minutes.”
I stepped closer to her, staring down into those startling blue eyes I hadn’t had enough time to study yet. Her lips pressed together, making me want to wipe the expression off her face with my mouth. “Little Trouble, we’ve been over this. I’ll come with you.”
“Little Trouble?”
Well, shit. It wasn’t often I lost sense of my surroundings, of what I was doing and who might be around to see it. With Reese Henley, I seemed to lose all sense of everything.
“It’s a stupid nickname Mr. Clever came up with. It’s not even accurate,” Reese grumbled as she grabbed the now packed cooler.
“But it is,” Logan and I responded at the same time, earning me glares from both Henley siblings.
“I hate both of you.” She stormed toward the door, flung it open and stepped outside. Given the chance, she’d be gone before I could catch her.
“Nice to meet you, Logan.”
“Yeah,” he responded absently, and when I looked back, he had his phone out, “you too.”
Reese was halfway across a cobblestone path by the time I caught up.
As I approached, she picked up her pace, navigating the stones in her high heels as easily as a model on a New York runway.
Simply being near the woman had my cock already semi-hard, but watching her ass sway as she walked away from me had the damn thing jumping to solid steel in a matter of seconds.
Never had a walk away from me been so enticing.
“Why aren’t you back there? Changing into something that isn’t a thousand-dollar suit?” The words traveled over her shoulder, but she never once turned.
“I don’t have anything with me that’s not a thousand-dollar suit.” I came here to do business, and I did business in a suit. The fact that I had yet to conduct anything resembling business didn’t seem to matter in the moment.
“You going to pick grapes in that suit? Maybe you should go buy new clothes, and I’ll just see you tomorrow.”
“Trying to get me out of my clothes, are you?” I sidled up behind her, close but not touching, and leaned over near her ear.
“If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were still trying to ditch me.
” Then, because that fucking devil was still on my shoulder, I added, “Your mother would not like to hear that.”
“I hate you,” she huffed out as she stomped up the staircase on the side of the garage, leading to a wide porch.
What the hell could I say to that? I hate you, too?
No, because Reese was the most entertaining person I’d been around in way too long, even if she drove me mad.
No, you don’t? I didn’t think that would go over well at all.
I may not know her well, but I had a feeling that telling her what she thought might get me punched.
I want to get to know her better.
The sentiment came out of the blue and hit me as hard as the gut punch I imagined her throwing.
I couldn’t remember the last time I had wanted to get to know a woman.
The opposite sex had become nothing more than a diversion for me lately, something I wasn’t overly proud of admitting.
Between work and trying to find some way to dethrone Reginald, I had no time for anything more than sex and not even much time for that.
In fairness, most of the women in my social setting were more interested in getting to know my bank account than the actual man, so I didn’t feel all that bad.