Page 30 of I Choose You (Wilder #2)

Reid

“It’s not fine, Claire,” I yelled. “Everything doesn’t have to be fine all the time.”

“What do you want me to do? I can’t control it, so I accept it.” She did a little breathing technique, releasing a breath like she was expelling all the negativity.

“I want you to stop pretending. It isn’t fine that our timeline has been set back six-plus weeks, and now your job is on the line because of it.

It isn’t fine that your mother is an asshole and that your shitty ex cheated on you.

It isn’t fine that some drunk fucker pulled a gun out and was waving it around in your face. ”

Her eyes snapped to me, a dangerous challenge in her gaze. “You want me to stop pretending? Are you going to stop pretending to be over her, whoever she is? The woman you can’t even talk about? The woman whose picture you’re carrying around in your pocket?”

“She’s an ex. I wasn’t about to bring up a past relationship while I was on a date with someone. And I’m certainly not carrying her picture around in my pocket,” I huffed .

“I saw you take it from the mirror and put it right in your back pocket for safekeeping.”

“We broke up. I didn’t want it on display, but I wasn’t going to rip it into tiny pieces and throw it in the air like confetti either.

I put the picture in a box with some other shit from my past.” Somehow, we had made our way toward each other, but we were still too far apart.

My voice lowered, and I stalked closer to her.

“Trust me, she’s not the woman in my head all day, every day.

She’s not the woman I see when I close my eyes and wrap my fist around my dick. ”

I hooked my fingers through the belt loop on her jeans and pulled her closer to me.

She didn’t hesitate or resist, and that alone sent fire through my veins.

I pressed her body close to mine. Claire sucked in a breath.

I could feel her heart beating, see the way I affected her by the pulse on her neck.

I wanted to take a bite of it, trail my tongue up the column of her throat and taste her skin.

“Reid.” She breathed my name, and any restraint I possessed disappeared.

I captured her mouth with mine. She tasted so good I couldn’t get enough.

Claire moaned softly, and I tilted my head, deepening the kiss.

My tongue slipped past her lips, tangling with hers.

Her shirt rose as she wrapped her arms around my neck.

I touched her soft, smooth skin, pulling her even closer.

My dick was hard as stone, wedged between our bodies.

Claire shifted her hips, and I let out a depraved growl.

I hadn’t wanted a woman like this in… I didn’t think I had ever wanted anyone as much as I wanted Claire.

I kissed down her throat, sucking on that spot that had been driving me wild, where her pulse was beating in time with mine.

Claire tore her sweater over her head, letting it drop to the floor.

She was absolutely beautiful. I kissed and nipped across her chest. Pulling the cup of her bra down, I sucked her pretty pink nipple into my mouth.

Claire’s breaths were heavy as she shifted her hips against me again.

Her hands moved up my chest, beneath my shirt, her fingers on my abs leaving a trail of electricity behind.

“Shirt, off.” She tugged my shirt up as far as it would go. I pulled myself away from her tits long enough to pull it the rest of the way off.

Shit. I hadn’t done this in a long time.

The sex, sure. It had been a few months there, but I wasn’t concerned about that.

But was that where this was heading? Was that what she wanted?

Or was this just a hot make-out session?

I would be fine either way. I had my hands on her body and the taste of her skin on my tongue.

There wasn’t much that was better than that.

I cupped her face in my hands. Her midnight-blue eyes glowed with desire.

My lips crashed into hers, kissing her hard.

Her responding whimper was going to make me lose my mind.

I unclasped her bra, letting it drop to the floor with our shirts.

Her tits were perfection. They were full enough to cup, to squeeze, but not exactly large.

Her pert nipples poked out, looking for attention that I was more than happy to provide.

Claire’s head tipped back. “Oh, yes,” she sighed. She grabbed my hand and pulled me with her. Down the hallway. Into the bedroom.

I pulled her to me again, kissing her fervently as we tumbled onto the bed. The rest of our clothes came off in a blur. Our arms and legs tangled together, each of us grasping skin, reveling in the touch of each other. I pulled back, my gaze roaming her face. Desire sparkled in her eyes.

I reached for my jeans, pulling a condom out of my wallet. Claire took it from my grasp and opened it.

“Let me.” She bit into her juicy bottom lip and wrapped her hand around my shaft. If that wasn’t a green light, the way she held my cock in her fist and stroked it twice before rolling the condom down my shaft certainly was.

“Fuck, Claire. Are you with me?” Her warm, soft body melted under me, her legs opening wider, making more space for me.

“Yes. Reid, please. I need you.”

I lined us up and paused. I needed her mouth on mine. Like she could read my mind, she cupped my head and brought me to her lips in a searing kiss. I pressed into her slowly, feeling the way she expanded around my cock. She moaned into my mouth, her hips tilting up to take me in further.

Fuck.

Her warm, wet center had me feeling delirious.

I dragged my cock out and thrust in harder, growling in her ear.

“You feel so good, love.” I pounded into her again, causing her to moan louder.

She took everything I gave her, meeting my thrusts with her own, taking us even higher.

Heaven. Everything about her was pure perfection.

A sheen of sweat covered my skin, my rhythm picking up speed. Claire kissed my jaw, my throat, my chest. Her lips were everywhere, leaving a trail of fire from her every touch. Her tongue swiped up my nipple, licking the sweat off my body.

The air was thick, like it didn’t have enough oxygen, as I took in a ragged breath. “Holy fuck.” That was so hot, spurring me on even more.

I needed to slow this down, or I was in jeopardy of blowing this. I refused to finish before her. That wasn’t fucking happening.

Claire grabbed my hand, intertwining our fingers. Her breath hitched, and her inner walls tightened around me. She was close. I could feel it.

“Yes, yes, yes,” she chanted.

I brought our joined hands to her center.

We massaged her clit together, as one. She whimpered and moaned as her climax hit, her muscles spasming around my cock.

I had never seen anything more beautiful than Claire DeLuca falling apart for me.

The feel of her orgasm was my undoing. I unleashed inside of her, my eyes nearly rolling back in my head.

“Holy shit,” I breathed out. Our breaths mingled, both of us spent and exhausted.

“Yeah. That was…” I brushed her hair off her face and looked into her sated eyes. She was so fucking perfect. “Amazing,” she sighed.

I kissed her slowly before rolling off her, leaving the warmth of her heat. She got up to use the bathroom first. Her wobbly legs made me smile. When she came back to the bedroom, I got up to dispose of the condom and clean myself up.

She was sitting on the bed, halfway dressed when I got back to the room. Kayleigh had liked to cuddle after sex. I guess I thought that was something that all women wanted, but apparently not. “Are you not a cuddler?” I asked.

“Oh, did you want to?” Concern flashed across her features, like she was afraid to offend me.

I found my briefs and jeans, following her lead. “No, it’s fine. I guess I assumed that all women liked to cuddle, that’s all. ”

“All women?” she asked, laughing as she threw a pillow at me. “There is nothing that ‘all women’ do or like.”

I was laughing too. “Fair enough. My bad. Not a cuddler. Got it.”

I leaned over her, putting the pillow back on the bed and caging her in my arms.

“That was…” I started. What did I even say? Mind-blowing didn’t seem strong enough.

“Yeah, wow.”

“We should do that again sometime.” I left kisses behind her ear and down her jaw. “What are you doing in twenty minutes?”

“Reid.”

I stilled. My name on her lips didn’t sound nearly as good as it did earlier. “Claire,” I growled.

Her hand came to my chest, her fingers digging in for a brief second before she flattened her palm.

“I don’t know about that. We need to work together, and things are about to get a lot more hectic with the timeline and budget.

” She paused but wouldn’t look me in the eyes. “Plus, I don’t live here.”

“You do right now,” I said. My chest felt like it was filled with lead balls, sinking me down.

“But what happens when it’s over? When I have to go back home, to my real life?” She sighed, her voice defeated. “We shouldn’t start something, Reid. It won’t end well.”

She was probably right. I would lose my heart to her. Hell, it was already starting. I wouldn’t be able to go through another heartbreak. My breakup with Kayleigh nearly broke me. I couldn’t handle it again.

I took a deep breath and nodded. Yeah, she was probably right.

But that didn’t mean shit to me right now.

If she thought she could walk away from this, from us, she was dead wrong.

There was no way I was the only one feeling this pull between us.

If it made her feel better though, sure.

We would go back to being, what… colleagues?

I kissed her cheek lightly and backed away. I wouldn’t push her. But I wasn’t giving up either.

“Okay, love. If that’s what you want. But if you change your mind…” I placed two fingers under her chin, lifting it to meet my gaze. “You just let me know.”

After I found my shirt on the floor behind the couch, I grabbed my shoes and coat and said good night to her.

The drive home wasn’t nearly long enough for me to decompress.

I couldn’t do anything about Claire right now.

I wasn’t going to change her mind tonight.

She would figure it out eventually. She wanted me just as much as I wanted her.

One roll in the sheets was not enough. It was never going to be enough.

But if work stress was part of the problem, that I could do something about.

I broke out my laptop and started researching custom, handcrafted light manufacturers.

I didn’t have the designs saved; Claire had drafted and submitted them, but I could at least reach out and start the inquiries.

I shot off a dozen emails, asking about lead time, materials used in the construction, and pricing structure.

I didn’t expect a response back tonight.

It was late, even for those on the West Coast, so I was surprised when just a few minutes after my inquiry went out, I got a message back from one of them.

His lead time was only three to four weeks, and his specialty was in period lighting specifically.

I thanked him for his quick reply and told him I would get in touch with him in the morning with the designs so we could get the pricing nailed down.

One less reason for Claire to use to keep us apart.

We had plenty of work left that needed to get finished between now and when the new lighting fixtures would be in.

I needed to adjust the electrician’s schedule, and staging for the lights would need to be moved out of the way.

The ceiling was being repaired and repainted.

We could do the prep work now; it would just be the painting that would be set back.

But overall, we could work around the delay, minimizing the impact.

I would have to see what could be done to get a refund from Baudelaire Custom Lighting, although I wasn’t optimistic that would be an option.

Whatever it took, I was getting this project done on time and under budget. Come hell or high water, I would ensure that Claire didn’t lose her job over my construction project.

A little voice inside my head questioned whether I should just let the pieces fall where they may.

Maybe if Claire didn’t have a job to go back to, she wouldn’t have a reason to leave.

Solve another of Claire’s concerns. But I could never do that to her.

She loved her job, loved the independence it represented.

No. We were going to get this project done. And we would do it together.