Not including my brothers, I’d never been driven to work by a guy before. Getting out of the car had also been a new experience for me. I’d wiggled my fingers at Reece and thanked him.
That hadn’t been sufficient.
“Whoa.” He’d caught my arm before I could step out of the truck. “Where do you think you’re going?”
“Um? To work?”
“Not like that.”
Confused, I’d opened my mouth to ask for a little more detail, but then he’d tugged me toward me. “We don’t say good-bye to one another,” he’d claimed. “We kiss.”
And we did.
He’d tilted his head, lining up his mouth with mine. A heartbeat full of sweet anticipation had passed and then he brushed his lips across mine. Sweet and quick, I had thought that was all, but I’d been mistaken. Then he really kissed me, hot and rough. The kiss sent my blood boiling and blistered my skin. He kissed me like he thought he might never be able to do it again, and that kiss left me drowning in Reece, in his taste and in his warmth.
I’d stumbled out of that truck and walked into Mona’s in a daze. Hours later, and my lips were still tingling from that scorching kiss.
Working tonight was definitely a lot different from the previous couple of days. My chatting with customers came more easily, my smiles became more sincere, and that meant my tips were through the roof.
Which was great, since it looked like I’d be adding another monthly bill to the expense list. It sucked but was necessary.
During a lull in customers, Nick pulled me to the back of the bar, in front of the displayed bottles. “Hey, I wanted to make sure you’re not staying at your place tonight.”
“I’m not,” I assured him.
His expression was unreadable. “Reece’s?”
“How did you guess?”
He shot me a bland look. Totally read that. “I’m psychic. Instead of falling off a stripper pole, I hit my head on a liquor bottle.”
Laughing, I smacked his arm. “Shut up.”
His lips twitched. “Seriously. I’m glad to hear you’re not staying there.” He glanced at the customers sitting at the bar. “You doing okay?”
Truthfully, I wasn’t allowing myself to think about the fact I had a legit stalker. If I let myself focus on it, I’d drive myself crazy. I’d end up rocking in a corner. “Yeah,” I told him. “I’m okay as I can be.”
He studied me for a moment. “If you need anything, you let me know, all right?”
“Okay.” Affection for Nick rose, and I didn’t think before I acted. Springing forward, I wrapped my arms around his waist. He stiffened like someone had dropped cement down his spine, but I squeezed him tight, ignoring the awkwardness of the hug. “Thank you for last night. Thank you . . . thanks for caring.”
His arms came around me and he awkwardly patted my back. “Uh, it’s no big deal.”
“It’s totally a biggie,” I told him and then pulled back. Looking up at him, I smiled. “You’re a really good guy even though you have questionable dating practices.”
He grinned then, before turning to a guy who’d shimmied up against the bar. “Keep that knowledge to yourself.”
The rest of the night flew by and when it came time for Reece to arrive for my pickup, there was a nervous excitement that felt like a nest of hungry butterflies had erupted in my stomach.
Reece was pulling into the parking lot as Nick and I were finishing locking up. He nodded at Nick, which earned him a weird manly nod back in greeting. I didn’t get dudes sometimes. Why couldn’t they just say hi to one another like normal people?
Climbing into the cruiser, I was greeted with a bag from Subway. “Roast beef for you, turkey club for me,” he explained, shifting the car into drive. “Figured you’d be hungry.”
“Thank you.” I held the bag close. “That’s really thoughtful.”
I got the manly nod thing in return.
Glancing out the window, I watched the bar fade away in the night. A thought occurred to me. “Will you get in trouble for picking me up in your cruiser?” I didn’t know the rules, but I figured it was a valid question.
He shrugged. “I’m on lunch, so it’s really not like I’m going out of my way, and I’m in the county, so whatever.”
“But you could get in trouble?” I asked again, worried.
“I won’t,” he assured me, grinning slightly. “How was work?”
“It went by fast. I think Clyde is coming back next week, so I’m sure Sherwood will be happy to have him back.”
“That’s good. No one makes old bay wings quite like Clyde does.”
It was different to be talking about how my day went with someone—with Reece. It was all so very intimate. It also felt . . . real. I liked the idle, needless chat as we got back to his condo and ate our subs.
“I’ve never done this,” I blurted out as I rolled up my wrapper.
Reece, who was sitting in the chair opposite me, leaned back. His dark blue uniform stretched across his shoulders. “Done what? Eaten subs at three in the morning?”
“Ha. I’ve done that more than I can count.” Standing, I gathered up our trash and walked it into the kitchen. “This. I haven’t really talked to a guy about what it was like at work.” I was glad for the low light, because I could feel my cheeks burning. “I mean, the guys I dated—we talked, but it wasn’t like this.”
“It was superficial?” he asked.
I glanced over my shoulder, my gaze gliding over the smooth, angular cheeks and then my stare lingered on the handle of the gun, a frank reminder of how dangerous his life was. How incredibly short it could be. Knocking those thoughts out of my head, I dragged my gaze back to his face. “Yeah, that’s the right word for it.”
Turning back around, I bit down on my lip. That really was the truth. Things were truly superficial when it came down to the guys I’d dated. I searched out the trash can and disposed of the trash. When I straightened, I swallowed a gasp of surprise. Reece was behind me. I hadn’t even heard him move. “Good God, can you teleport or something?”
Crowding me in the most welcome way possible, he placed his hands against the counter on either side of me. The warmth against my back sent a wave of awareness through me. He chuckled deeply. “Did you see where scientists were able to teleport an atom successfully?”
Mouth dry, I shook my head. “Nope.”
“Yep.” He moved one hand from the counter and brushed my hair to one side, exposing my neck. “Before you know it, we’ll be beaming ourselves everywhere.”
My skin heated as I felt his breath on the side of my neck, sending my pulse fluttering. “If you had a choice between teleporting and flying, what would you choose?”
“Such a weird question.” He laughed again, and I grinned. “I’d teleport myself.”
“Really?” I shivered when I felt his finger drift down the side of my neck. “Because if you teleported, you could end up with your arm sticking out of your head. So it’s like you’re choosing a ninety-nine percent chance of dying horrifically versus a one percent chance of dying.”
“I hate flying.” He moved his finger along the line of my jaw. “I do it when I have to, but that’s about it.”
My eyes drifted shut. “I love flying.”
“You’re not human,” he murmured, pressing a kiss against my pulse point. “I still have some time left on lunch.” He caught the lobe of my ear between his teeth. I gasped at the electric shock that pulsed through me. “And I want dessert.”
As cliché as that sounded it was still incredibly hot.
“It’s really all I’ve been thinking about.” He slid his hand down my throat, to my breast. My nipples immediately beaded in response as he smoothed his fingers over the tip. “It’s fucking distracting as hell, how bad I want you.”
A hot shiver hit me. “Sorry?”
He nipped at my skin. “Oh, you should feel sorry. I’ve been hard as a rock all night long.”
“That’s got to make for some awkward traffic stops.”
“Listen to you.” He caught my nipple between his thumb and finger, and even through the clothes, the sharp slice of pleasure shot straight to my core. “I want you, Roxy.”
“You have me,” I breathed the words before I could think better of them, because they hung between us like a promise, like a key that unlocked something deep inside of Reece.
Stepping back, he gripped the hem of my shirt and lifted it up. Cool air wisped over my flushed skin as I looked over my shoulder at him. His face was shadowed, but the features were intent. Another thrill hummed through me when he reached for the button on my jeans. I kicked off my sandals as he peeled the jeans off.
He paused, kissing the spot between my shoulder blades, and then smoothed his hands up the sides of my legs as he rose, stopping long enough to press a kiss at the base of my spine.
“Reece,” I whispered.
“Yes?” Those hands dragged up to my waist.
“What are you up to?”
The tips of his fingers toyed with the strap of my thong as he leaned his hips against me. I could feel the hardness against my back. “What does it feel like?” He didn’t give me much of a chance to answer, because he glided one hand down my belly, under the skimpy panties. He cupped me. “In case you need a helpful hint. You said you were mine. I’m acting on that.”
Oh God, he totally was acting on that. He slid a finger inside me, where I literally throbbed for him, gliding through the wetness. My hips jerked as he brushed against the spot I thought only my trusty vibrator knew the location of. His thumb circled the bundle of nerves with exquisite skill. I surged against his hand shamelessly, my body completely taking over.
He ground his hips as he continued to work me with his fingers. “I could come just with you riding my hand.”
My body burned at his words. There was something truly hedonistic about this, raw and new to me. And I was so close to exploding, so much so that when he pulled his hand away, I whimpered.
Then I heard the heavy sound of his equipment belt hitting the floor, the tinny sound of the zipper. My heart pounded. “Hurry,” I urged him.
He kissed my shoulder as his arm circled my waist. “Babe, if I hurry any faster, this will be over before I get inside you.”
I reached down to tug my panties off, but he stopped me. “Leave them on,” he ordered. “And put those hands on the counter. Keep them there.”
Surprised and turned on way too much, I placed my hands over the countertop, biting back a moan. I kind of—okay, I really did—like when he got all bossy like this.