Reed cleared his throat, valiantly ignoring the merciless throbbing of his groin. “Look, I can’t pretend I didn’t enjoy what we did. I enjoyed it a hell of a lot. But…”
“But it can’t happen again,” she finished quietly.
“No, it can’t.”
“You know, you really didn’t have to come all the way here for this. We could’ve had this talk over the phone.” She sighed. “Is there a reason you decided to do it in person and up the awkward factor by a hundred percent?”
“That’s not the only reason I came. I hate to break it to you, but things are about to get a little more awkward.”
Suspicion clouded her eyes. “What do you mean?”
“I just saw AJ—” When she paled, he quickly held up his hand. “No, I didn’t tell him. I was going to, but I didn’t get the chance. He asked for a favor before I could.”
“What kind of favor?” she said warily.
“He wants me to take his place at the self-defense workshop you guys are holding at your school next week.”
A curse flew out of her mouth. “Oh crap. I totally forgot about that.”
Pausing, she nibbled on her lower lip, and the cute nervous gesture sent a ripple of heat to his cock. He suddenly imagined those perfect white teeth nibbling on something other than her lip. His neck, for one. Or maybe his shoulder, so she could stifle a scream as she rode him to orgasm.
Christ.
Fantasies weren’t usually his thing—good old-fashioned porn was enough to get him off—but his brain refused to quit running over all the delicious scenarios he and Darcy could find themselves in.
“I can see why AJ wants to back out.” Sadness radiated from her petite frame. “But the workshop is so important.”
“He feels that way too. That’s why he asked me to do it.” Reed swallowed. “Would you be okay with that?”
Her hesitation was palpable, but it didn’t stop her from giving a quick nod. “We’ll have to make it okay. The kids need this, especially after what happened to Jamal Littleton.”
Reed shook his head in anger. “That poor kid. He’s not still in the hospital, is he?”
“No, he got out last month.”
“That’s good.” Reed stared down at his scuffed Timberlands. “Anyway, text me the details for the workshop. Dates, times, all that stuff. I’m happy to help out.”
“Really?”
The skeptical note raised his hackles. “Why do you sound so surprised?”
“I don’t know. You just don’t strike me as the type of guy who’s into community outreach.”
Her answer only grated even more. “You think I’m not the type of guy who would want to help a bunch of children? Thanks for the vote of confidence, Darce.”
Shame stabbed into him as he remembered that his first instinct at the bar the other night had been to say no to AJ’s request, just for the selfish reason of avoiding Darcy. That she’d made the same assumption about his selfishness only heightened that feeling of remorse.
Clenching his teeth, he moved away from the stoop. “I should go. See you next week.”
“Reed, wait.” She grasped his forearm, her fingers warming his skin. “I’m sorry. I guess I had no right to say that. I don’t know you well enough to make that sort of judgment.”
“It’s fine,” he said roughly. “I really should go.”
She paused, and then her voice went dry. “So that’s it? Are we really not going to acknowledge the fact that we orgasmed together in a room the size of a closet?”
A burst of laughter flew out. “That’s a nice way of phrasing it.”
“How would you describe it?”
His gaze locked with hers. “I came in my pants dry humping you against a wall with my tongue down your throat.”
Darcy gave a sharp intake of breath. “Yeah…you’re right…my description was nicer. Yours just made me…”
This time when she drifted off, he truly had no idea what the rest of the sentence was. And God help him, but he wanted to know.
“My way made you what?” he said in a husky voice.
“Your way made me hot all over again.”
Son of a bitch. Why, why had he asked? What was the matter with him that he kept giving in to self-torture?
A groan rose in his throat, but he choked it down. “You really can’t say stuff like that. Not around me.”
“Why not?” Her voice was barely above a whisper.
His frustration soared to a whole new level. This woman would be the death of him. He’d never experienced a craving this strong—even the last two times he’d tried to quit smoking had been a piece of cake compared to this. His hands itched with the need to explore every inch of her body. His lips ached to taste her.
Hot jolts of desire whipped through him, so powerful he was liable to burst into flames. His pants had become unbearably tight, his dick throbbing painfully against his zipper. He was nearing his breaking point, that critical moment of desperation where he either kissed the living daylights out of her, or ran far, far away from her.
The latter. Christ, he definitely needed to do the latter.