My boss has lost all interest in the estate. Almost all the rooms are furnished now, but they’ve been swathed in dust sheets. It’s as if he’s preparing to hand it all over to Ilya. And why not? The Russian is already treating the place like his own.
I’m not complaining. The current arrangements are better than I could have hoped. But they’re also much worse than I feared. There are obvious advantages to becoming Ilya’s first point of contact at the estate, but I’m not just closer to him. I’m isolated.
I can’t count on Jason to back me. My new roomie is oblivious to what’s going on, and spends most of his freetime in his room, playing video games and pining over Tandy and Clara’s hasty departure – mostly Clara’s. She was never going to reciprocate his feelings, and from what she’s said, her job in Connecticut is a dream. She and Tandy are looking after a beautiful, but empty house. They’ll see even less of Barrett than I will.
But of all the men fucking up my life, Reid Griffin is the complication I don’t know how to handle. His face is so close that I can see the beads of sweat gathering in the furrows of his brow. His breath warms my skin.
“Please,” he begs me, his voice cracking with emotion. “Don’t make me leave you here.”
I twist against his hold, the tree bark catching on my sweater as Reid keeps me pressed against it. The flashlight I’d dropped on the ground provides just enough light to see the red mark on his cheek where I punched him. I want to punch him again. I want to punch him so damn hard. I want to tear off his stupid bulletproof jacket and hammer my fist into his chest. Except the vest isn’t stupid. He almost died right in front of me.
“I was the one who savedyou, remember?” I say, choking the words out. “I don’t need your protection.”
“Fuck you!” Reid hisses, and it takes a moment for me to figure out that the flash of anger isn’t being directed at me. He presses a finger to his earpiece. “Over and out, Mace.”
“What did he say?”
I don’t think Reid’s going to tell me, but there’s amusement in his eyes. “The asshole might have been agreeing with you,” he replies, pulling out the earpiece and shoving it into the back pocket of his jeans.
“Maybe I’ve fallen for the wrong Griffin.”
I’mgoading him, but when he smiles his stupid smile, I realize what I’ve just said.
“By that, I mean–”
“I know exactly what you meant,” Reid says. He brushes his nose against mine. “Admit it, Quinn. You like me.”
“No, Reid. I don’t like you. And I don’t need you.” They’re strong words, but my voice doesn’t carry them nearly as well as I’d hoped.
“I’m not so sure the girl who’s fallen for me would agree. She definitely wants me,” he insists.
I’m about to deny it when he presses his hips against my body, and not just his hips.
I fight the urge to arch my back and grind against his hard length. I hate the effect he has on me, so I try to deflect. “Do you ever not have an erection?”
“Not when I’m with you.”
When he moves against me, desire pulses at my core. I keep reminding myself that I’ve just killed a man. I’m in shock. But I feel so alive. And Reid… He’s alive too. And he nearly wasn’t. My gaze flicks to his parted lips. His tongue pokes at the corner of his mouth. It’s the same tongue that’s invaded my dreams on more nights than I care to count.
Still holding my wrists, Reid presses my hands to his chest. My fingers curl into fists as he angles his head one way, and I tilt mine the other. I breathe him in. He breathes in me. He waits. I wait some more.
“Say it,” he demands.
“I can’t. We shouldn’t.”
He rolls his hips and I arch my body into him before I can stop myself. Heat pools where it shouldn’t, and I might combust if there’s no release soon. “Fine! I want you.”
I press my mouth to his, but to my annoyance, Reidkeeps his lips pursed. This man is so damn frustrating, but if he wants me to make the first move, fine! I don’t expect his resistance to last long as my tongue glides over his closed mouth. He tastes of coffee and midnight, and I want more.
When I apply a little more pressure, his lips part. The tip of my tongue finds his, and we play a little dance as we tentatively explore each other’s mouths. The kiss is soft and tender, and intensely erotic. The thrill of anticipation has my heart pounding.
A moan vibrates deep within my chest, and the sound flips a switch in Reid. He plunges his tongue deeper in my mouth, claiming me at the same time he lets go of my hands. I hear the snap as he releases the straps on his vest. He breaks our kiss to pull his vest off, and as it drops to the ground, he pauses. He’d released me, and I hadn’t tried to escape.
I want to be here. In this moment. Amidst the danger already at my door. I’m risking everything for my sister even though she might already be doomed to spend eternity in an unmarked grave. I shouldn’t let guilt deny me this last moment of pleasure.
Reid watches me. Reads me. “Take what you want, Quinn.”
I remind myself that Mace and Jake are dragging corpses through the woods. Two of Ilya’s men are dead, but more of his soldiers could be on their way. We don’t have time.
