Page 8

Reid pauses in the empty street, shoulders up to his ears.

But he doesn’t turn around, just keeps on walking, strolling into the diner like he owns the place.

I bite back a smile as I follow along behind him a few beats.

He’s already seated by Mandy when I step through the door.

Mandy’s lips are fighting a laugh and her brown eyes dance with the promise of teasing later. Great.

“Hey, Mandy,” I greet her.

Sliding into the booth, I let my foot tap against Reid’s, and he shocks me when he doesn’t immediately yank it away.

“Same as usual?” Mandy asks in her sweet southern drawl.

I hold up two fingers. “Yes, please.”

Mandy disappears toward the counter with her silver hair swinging as she walks.

Reid kicks my foot, hard. “Explain yourself.”

“Is that how you speak to someone?”

“It’s how I speak to you.” Reid rolls his hand in the universal sign for go on . “I’m waiting.”

“Yeah, I was following you.”

Mandy pops back by with two mugs and a carafe of black coffee.

I watch as Reid pours three creams and two packets of sugar into his cup before taking a giant gulp.

Jesus. I pour the coffee into my cup, sans creamer and sugar, and take a sip of the coffee that could power a small neighborhood.

Once Mandy is gone, Reid leans forward with his elbows firmly planted on the table.

My heart beats a little faster when he licks his pink lips, making them go a deep, dark pink under the sheen of his spit.

“No one else has ever ridden bitch on your bike?” Reid asks, completely throwing me for a loop.

“Uhm. That’s seriously your next question?”

Reid shrugs, hair tumbling into his eyes. “Sure, why not?”

“I don’t typically take hookups out of the club and I’m not letting any of my friends wrap their thighs and arms around me,” I explain before taking another sip of my coffee.

Reid leans back with a thoughtful look on his face. “Why have you been following me?”

“You’re reckless.”

“That’s not your problem,” Reid snaps. The fury that radiates from him doesn’t irritate me, doesn’t make me want to snap back, it only makes me want to get beneath it to see what he’s like under all that snark.His behavior is a security blanket.

“It’s not. But I like to protect people. It’s kind of a job, if you will.”

Reid snorts. “Like neighborhood police.”

“Sure.” I lean forward on my elbows this time, dipping my gaze until Reid is forced to meet my eyes. “Why are you at a different club every night taking drugs from random strangers?”

A hot blush creeps up Reid’s neck and cheeks at my question. He’s silent for a long while, but I don’t break his gaze.

“I like to feel like I’m in danger,” Reid quietly admits, tongue peeking out to lick at his plump upper lip.

“There are better ways to do that.”

“Yeah?” Reid asks hopefully, perking up in his seat.

“Sure.”

Reid narrows one eye at me in obvious suspicion. His eyes stay on me even when he lifts the mug to his mouth to take another borderline comically large gulp of his sugary hot bean water.

“My parents died in a plane crash when I was a teen,” Reid announces with all the gravitas of someone saying the sky is blue.

Just facts. He swirls his finger over the edge of the mug, eyes caught on the movement of his finger.

“Do you remember that plane crash that happened because the manufacturer cut corners when making that model of plane? The CEO of the flight company knew and was in on it with the manufacturer… blah blah blah buying planes for cheaper to increase profits. Anyway, my parents were on the flight that crashed into the Rockies. My brother and I got a settlement, enough for us to be okay for the rest of our lives, but I should’ve been on the plane with them. ”

“What do you mean?”

Reid squeezes his eyes shut tight. “They were going to visit my uncle but I didn’t want to go…

because… I don’t like my uncle. He’s not a good man.

He’s a senator and believes that everyone not like him deserves to die.

My parents left me home alone… Mason was away at college, so my parents let me stay behind. I was a teen and I was old enough.”

I can see the moment Reid shuts down, the moment the conversation is too much for him.

His shoulders push back and his weary gaze lifts to mine.

Mandy returns just in time to save us from a talk I’m not sure Reid really wants to have.

We eat silently, Reid picking at his breakfast. By the time my plate is clean, Reid’s cleared half his plate and a few bites of his egg.

I stare at him, hoping to maybe encourage him to eat, but all he does is glower down at his half-eaten food like it’s personally offended him .

“If I chase danger enough, maybe it’ll find me,”Reid finally admits as he pushes his plate away.

“Doesn’t work like that.”

Reid’s eyes sparkle as he leans forward, close enough I can feel his breath fan across my face. “It does though. You found me.”

I slap a couple of twenties on the table and stand fast enough to make Reid gasp.

Grabbing his bicep, I yank him out of the booth, ignoring his annoyed huff because at this point I don’t give a shit anymore.

The night is cool when we step outside, but warmth blooms low in the pit of my belly as Reid fights against my grip. Little does he know, I like that shit.

“Stop,” I order in the lowest voice I can.

Reid freezes like a deer caught in headlights.

I slip the helmet over his head, straddle the bike, and manhandle him onto the seat behind me.

He grips my stomach tight without me urging him to do so.

I keep thinking about him dancing in the club, taking pills from some random person.

By the time we pull up in front of his house, my blood is boiling again, but not in the way I’d expected.

Reid jumps off the bike, grabs the helmet off his head and angrily slams it to the ground.

He’s one second away from screaming my head off when I grab him by the shirt, and plunder his mouth with mine.

One second is all it takes for Reid to get with the program.

His fingers curl into my hair, tugging me closer as I all but lay claim to his mouth.

He tastes like the goddamn sugar-laced milky coffee back at the diner.

The way his lips move against mine ignites a fire at the base of my spine.

Everything blurs around the edges when Reid presses close, lifting a leg as if trying to straddle me on the bike.

“Invite me inside,” I mumble against his mouth.

“What are you, a vampire?” Reid snarks back.

Fuck. Tangling my fingers in his hair, I yank his head back until he gasps with pleasure or pain, I can’t tell either way.

“Invite. Me. Inside,” I order, enunciating each word with a tug of his hair.

“Come inside,” Reid dutifully repeats.

I smile in the dark. “Good boy.”

Reid all but melts against me. I’ve found his trigger and I’m the bullet.

After that bone-melting kiss, Reid is easy to maneuver into the house.

The lights are off and the house is quiet when Reid unlocks the door.

He gathers himself enough to press a slim finger to his lips in the universal sign to shush.

I bite the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing.

Reid points at my shoes, then points at his own as he carefully takes them off and places them on the mat by the door.

I didn’t have to do this last time but who gives a fuck.

I copy him, toeing my shoes off and leaving them on the mat.

I follow quietly behind Reid as we climb the stairs to his room.

I like being in his house better this way.

My eyes trail from the top of his head, down to the perfect curve of his ass.

We sneak quietly into his room and Reid shifts behind me to close the door, locking it before pressing his forehead against the wood.

He stays quiet as he moves around the room, clicking on the fairy lights pinned to the ceiling.

The room glows to life, dark blue walls and a large queen bed piled high with comfy-looking blankets.

Reid fiddles with his phone before tossing it onto his desk as music softly booms from the speakers in the corners of the room. It’s a sensual beat, undoubtedly meant for fucking. But I don’t need a soundtrack when I fuck.

I nod toward the rug in front of me. “Get on your knees.”

Reid’s jaw firms up and I half expect him to argue.

But that kiss earlier must’ve rattled his brain enough to make his normal argumentative nature calm.

He falls to his knees in front of me, eyes hooded as he lifts his gaze to meet mine.

Fuck. He’s so pretty. I clench my hands at my sides to keep from reaching out yet. Not yet.

“I’m not normal,” I say softly.I never know how to explain this part well.

How sometimes I like to cause pain to my hookups, sometimes I like to make them cry, and that’s why I don’t usually have repeats.

So, I have to say this clear as day so that Reid understands what I need… what I want from him.

Reid swallows loudly. “Okay.”

“Sometimes I like to make my partners do what I want. I like to make them cry. Do you like to cry, Reid?”

Reid’s chest heaves with each breath. His hands lift from his thighs as if he’s going to reach out, then fall back to his thighs, firmly gripping at the muscle under his tight jeans.

“I’m really bad. All the time.”

Fuck. The way Reid says it breaks my goddamn heart.

I’ve got to do this right.

If I mishandle Reid, I’ll hurt us both.

And something about Reid needs protecting.

I’m the only one who can keep him safe.