Chapter 16
Reed smiled at my command. “You want me to kiss you?”
“Yes.” I pointed at my lips. “Right now.”
He shifted closer on the couch, and I held my breath.
It was one thing to demand a kiss, but another to have him listen to me.
I hadn’t been completely prepared. The early afternoon sun came in through the far window, lighting up the edges of his jaw and the curve of his mouth, making him even hotter.
Something cracked in the air between us. Every inch of my body came to the realization this was going to be so much more than a simple kiss right as his lips touched mine. I sucked in a breath.
His mouth found mine, and he pressed deeply as if he’d take away any chance I’d change my mind. But that wouldn’t happen. I inched forward, deepening our connection and savoring the feel of his lips locked against mine.
“A kiss like that,” Reed whispered when he pulled away. “Do you want another?”
I nodded.
He didn’t hesitate as he leaned in to cut the space between us to nothing. He cupped my cheek with his palm and brushed his thumb against my jawline. The strokes of his callused finger sent strokes of excitement through my body. “Has anyone told you that you’re gorgeous?”
“No.” I shook my head. Pretty, sure, but never gorgeous.
“Well then, let me be the first. You’re gorgeous, Elenore. I shouldn’t let this happen between us, but I can’t stop it,” he said right before kissing me again.
He tasted like passion and danger. The kiss grew between us, our breaths mingling while the rest of the room faded away.
I groaned softly as he squeezed my jaw with his hand and deepened the kiss once again.
His tongue reached out, sweeping my bottom teeth before asking for more.
I immediately gave it as heat blossomed in my stomach.
We were both breathing hard when the kiss ended, and it was still too soon.
Reed’s gaze hit mine, and he stared deep. “I want you to be sure.”
“I’m sure,” I said too quickly. Both of us aware of what my answer meant.
“This isn’t just a onetime thing for me, Elenore. You have to be positive.”
I nodded. “I’m positive.”
Sure, I wasn’t a hundred percent positive on what, exactly, I’d agreed to, but I figured we’d discuss the details later.
That’s all he needed before he brought his lips to mine again. This time we crashed together, somehow hotter than the last two. His tongue reached out for mine, exploring. I met him each time and ran my fingers through his hair, wrapping my arms around his neck until we had no space between us.
In one big swoop of a movement, Reed shifted, taking me with him until he brought me over his legs and had me straddling him.
I bit on his bottom lip, and he groaned, squeezing me even tighter to him.
His hand settled on my hip, jerking me closer.
The evidence of his arousal hit me between the legs, and I gasped at the contact.
I laid my open palm on his chest, and his heart thumped against my hand through his black polo shirt. Goosebumps pebbled my arm. I couldn’t wait any longer. I tugged on the hem of Reed’s shirt and brought it up over his head, breaking the kiss for less than a second.
The shirt landed on the floor beside the couch, and my hand ended up back on his chest. The warmth of his skin heating my already warm body. His muscled, tan chest begged to be touched, and I ran my fingers over his smooth skin.
He hissed out a breath through his teeth and then his hands were on me again, this time tugging on my shirt. I lifted my arms, letting him throw my shirt to the floor. The realization I was on his lap in nothing but a bra had me trying to cover my chest.
“Don’t. You’re beautiful,” Reed said, his voice thick. “Shit, Elenore.”
I didn’t know what that meant either, but before I could ask, he leaned in again, pressing small kisses along my throat down to my collarbone.
His hands roamed my back, unclasping my bra with a single flick of his wrist. I definitely didn’t worry about where he learned that as the fabric slipped away and I focused on keeping myself open for him.
“So beautiful,” he moaned before his mouth found the swell of my breast and he sucked.
I stayed still, letting him lavish me with attention, unlike anyone ever in my life.
The sensations from his lips and fingers as they caressed me sent shivers through every end of my body.
Heat pooled between my legs, and I rocked against his hard groin, wanting more from him.
I pressed my forehead to his. “I need you.”
“Any time, babe,” he said between kisses before taking my breast in his mouth again and sucking on the hardened nipple.
I closed my eyes and rocked against him harder.
“But if we don’t slow down, I’m not going to make it off this couch,” he warned around a short laugh that cut off when I raised myself a fraction and then lowered against him harder.
He grabbed my hips as I did it again. “I don’t want slow.”
We’d have time for slow later. Right then, I wanted heat and passion. Reed’s smile told me I’d won the argument. We were past the point of no return, and I never wanted to go back.
* * *
“What about the local new stations? Anything being sent to them?” Reed asked his contact on the phone as he paced the living room in front of the television.
I couldn’t look at the couch without turning red in the face at the memories of what we’d done on that fabric just a few hours earlier. And then the bed. More than once.
Holy crap. I had smoking hot sex with a Navy SEAL—former—on a couch in a rental home in Savannah. And I didn’t regret a single second of it.
Reed lifted his brow at me and smirked, like he knew exactly what I was thinking while I stared at the couch.
Ahh. How embarrassing.
I had to find something to do.
Anything but stand around and stare at the hot guy.
I backed into my bedroom, doing everything possible to avoid glancing at the wrinkled sheets. While decorated adorably with Southern charm, the room wasn’t that big. It took me less than a minute to realize the only thing to do in here was sorting through the owner’s closet more.
Reed and I had pawed through a few boxes during our free time but hadn’t found anything of merit.
It was mostly Christmas decorations and some high school yearbooks.
Nothing that pointed to someone who wanted to murder Lisa.
Not even love letters from an illicit affair to add spice to the podcast piece.
I moved a box from a stack we hadn’t touched yet and carefully opened the top. It seemed weird to be going through Lisa’s closet, but there weren’t many places to look for new clues. With Casey dead and my chance at a tell-all interview gone, I had to keep going. For both of them.
To help with seeing—so I didn’t accidentally grab a spider—I turned on the closet light and peeked inside the box. Two tall stacks of cards took up half. I flipped open the first few and read the messages on the insides. They were all from the Christmas before she died.
I pulled a card from the middle of the stack and read it.
A holiday wish from Christmas four years earlier.
It seemed Lisa kept her cards just like my mother.
Did they ever go back and read them? I read a few more cards but found nothing substantial.
There weren’t any death threats. Each card had a nice handwritten note that made my own adventure at sending cards last year seem pathetic since I used the same verse on everyone.
It seemed in the South holiday cards required a more personal touch.
The box weighed practically nothing, so I slid it from the top of the pile and positioned it on the floor next to me, making room to go through the next. The contents of the second box were more exciting by far.
A small black over-the-shoulder purse sat right on top. I grabbed the well-used item and carried it out of the closet. Even with the light on, it would be easier to see in the bedroom. I sat on the bed, ignoring the comforter we’d tossed to the floor, and unzipped the purse.
My stomach fluttered. The bag had a little weight to it, meaning Lisa kept things in here. Was this the purse she had on her the night she died?
Positioning myself against the headboard, I reached into the bag and pulled out a few items. A mint from Chick-fil-A, two clicky pens, and a stack of coupons for The Cobbler Shop. I guess Lisa enjoyed sharing dollar-off deals as well. She and Samantha may have bonded over a love of sugar.
I pulled out her wallet and flipped through it. Nothing except a few credit cards and her license. Lisa’s unsmiling face started at me from the piece of plastic that served as her driver’s license. What a weird world we lived in that so many pieces of a person stuck around after they left.
Nothing else of merit was in the bag, but I flipped it upside down to be sure. I gave it a little shake.
Nothing.
Ugh. I dropped the purse on the bed and gathered up the items, ready to put them back inside. Something scratched my hand as I lowered them into the main pocket.
What the heck?
The tip of a piece of paper—a newspaper clipping like all her others from the folder—peeked out from the back pocket. I undid the zipper the rest of the way and pulled it free.
Holy shit!
I scanned the article, reading the details about the opening ceremony for the riverside condo development and studied the picture. The woman standing beside the property developer beamed out at me with a smile I recognized.
Holy shit.
Everything clicked into place. I stayed frozen as I finished reading and then jumped into action. The mint fell to the floor as I slid off the bed in search of Reed.
“Reed,” I called as I caught up with him, doing a pace in the kitchen while he drank water. “We need to talk.”
His eyes widened as I waved the article in front of him. “I’ll call you back, Spencer,” he said as he hung up his call.
“I know what Lisa had to tell Casey that night at the bar.”