Instead of spending my time pacing the floors while waiting for Reid to return from meeting Vanessa, I forced myself to get ready for bed. But now, instead of pacing, I was lying there feeling completely unsettled.
Dammit, fake girlfriend fail number thirty-seven if I was letting myself get upset that he was talking with his ex. I should know better than to let that bother me. Despite the intimate kisses and inside jokes, I’d never be more than his friend.
Stupid, stupid, stupid.
I needed to remember my place in all of this and not get wrapped up in the story.
How long had he been gone? Ugh. What if he’d met her in her room and they were— Nope, I wasn’t going there.
The sound of the key card followed by the opening of the door had me sitting up. His footsteps were quiet as he walked into the bedroom.
“Hi,” he whispered. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”
“You didn’t. How did it go?”
He expelled a long breath. “Which part? Talking with my ex or talking with my brother?”
“Yikes. Please tell me they didn’t meet you together?”
“No, no. I met Vanessa in the lobby and ran into Chance on the way back to the room. Then because I needed to cool down, I took a walk outside before coming up.”
I hoped the conversations had been shorter than the walk. I could hear him slipping off his shoes before the distinctive swoosh of clothing. No big deal. Reid was just undressing for bed. The bed we were about to share.
“Hold on. Give me a few minutes to brush my teeth.”
I waited, listening to the sound of the water in the bathroom and trying not to let the intimacy of the moment mess with my head.
“Are you sure you’re okay with me sharing the bed? My offer stands to take the couch.”
“It’s a king size, so plenty of room. Sharing will be fine.”
I tried to calm myself when the bed dipped, and then he was turned on his side, facing me, the moonlight illuminating his face.
“What did you say to my brother earlier?” he asked.
I repeated our conversation though I didn’t know how he’d take it.
His laughter filled the room, causing me to feel immediate relief he wasn’t upset by my unfiltered words.
“I’m sure Chance isn’t used to having someone put him in his place.”
“I’m surprised. He seems like enough of an asshole to warrant plenty of pissed-off people giving him a comeback or two.”
He chuckled. “True, but when you’re rich and the owner of a lot of restaurants and clubs, I suppose you get away with a lot more.”
“What kind of clubs?”
“Nightclubs, strip clubs, and who knows what else?”
“Your brother owns strip clubs?” My voice sounded high, even to my own ears. Although my moonlighting job in Dubai was completely secret, I didn’t like the coincidence of the connection.
“Yeah, I forget how many, but most of them are in the LA area.”
What a relief. “Have you ever been to one?” Color me curious.
“No. Definitely not interested.”
His words were laced with disgust. If I’d ever had any doubt how he’d feel about me stripping, it was now obvious. “So let’s rewind to your ex. What did she want?”
“She told me she’d been set up. That she didn’t actually perform the deed.”
“You think your brother set it up?”
“No doubt about it. He basically admitted he did it to save me. But it doesn’t change the fact she wanted to.”
I was quiet, absorbing his words.
“Can I tell you something I haven’t ever said to anyone before?” he asked.
“Of course.”
“I don’t remember the last time I was truly happy with Vanessa.”
Holy. Shit. It wasn’t a declaration he was no longer in love with her, but it was a start. “What makes you say that?”
“Hindsight, I guess. I’m seeing her in a different light now. Anyhow, she did the usual: ‘I want you back, I’m jealous, you proved your point by bringing a date, I’ll wait for you, we have so many years invested.’”
Acid crawled up my throat. “What did you say in return?”
“Not much. I just wanted to leave.”
Disappointment washed over me. So he hadn’t told her he was done. He hadn’t told her he no longer loved her. He hadn’t slammed the door in her face. “Then you ran into Chance?”
“Yes, unfortunately. It pisses me off that he feels he’s saved me. I won’t give him the satisfaction of agreeing.”
“Sounds to me like you could be tempted to get back together with Vanessa just in order to spite your brother.”
“What? No.”
“If she didn’t make you happy and she was the type to cheat on you, I would hope you would’ve eventually realized it on your own.”
He was quiet for a full minute, making me wonder what he was thinking.
“The thing is I don’t know if I would have. I was blinded by this concept of investment. My thinking was I couldn’t quit now when I had so many years invested. When I moved to Dubai, it was the first time I’d initiated the breakup. Every other separation had been her choice.”
“How did breaking up with her feel?”
“Frankly, it was empowering. I’d finally made a choice for myself.”
“Because she’d always held the power in the relationship?”
“Basically. It was on her terms more often than not. Yet the moment she flew to Dubai and promised she’d come live there with me, I took her back.”
“Do you think you’re angrier over the way things came to an end rather than the fact they ended? Maybe you’re not ready to move on because it would mean you have to let go of your anger toward your brother. Almost like, on some level, you can’t admit your brother cheating with your fiancée could turn out to be a good thing.”
“I never thought of it that way.”
We were both silent for a couple minutes. Then he killed any romance I could have been wishing for in one sentence.
“It means a lot to have a friend here with me to talk to about this stuff. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
He turned over, facing away from me. “Good night.”
“Good night.”
I was warm. Too warm for some reason, but it took a moment, as my mind floated between sleep and consciousness, to recognize why. Suddenly, my eyes flew open at a decidedly foreign sensation.
Reid was wrapped around me, my back to his chest, as we both lay on our sides.
My heart wildly thumped against my chest as I enjoyed how good it felt to be wrapped in his embrace. As much as I didn’t want to ruin the moment, I was quickly becoming aroused by the position. I shifted slightly, trying to put a little space between us, but his arm only tightened around me, pulling me closer.
The intimate contact robbed me of breath, especially once I felt the distinct bulge against my ass. Holy erection. Was it getting bigger. Yep. No mistaking it. My God, was he really that big? Just as I was contemplating how large he was, I was robbed of his heat when he suddenly pushed away.
“Shit. Sorry about the, uh, inadvertent snuggle,” he muttered.
“It’s okay.” I turned over to face him.
He was on his back, an arm flung over his face. Could I help it if my eyes traveled south to investigate the mystery of Reid’s size? Unfortunately, the comforter impeded any further investigation. Stupid cock-block comforter.
He reached for his charging cell phone on the nightstand, checking the display before resuming his previous position.
“What time is it?”
“Little after six.”
“You have golf this morning?”
“Yeah, unfortunately.”
“You don’t enjoy golf?”
“Not my favorite activity, especially early in the morning.”
“Trade you. You go to the spa with the catty women, and I’ll go golf.” I was less than thrilled to have a spa day on the agenda.
He moved to his side to face me, his grin making my stomach clench. Jesus. Reid Maxwell in the morning with the slight stubble was about the sexiest thing I’d ever seen. In contrast, I was sure my hair was a mess, and my breath smelled, well, like horrible morning breath.
“You’re welcome to skip it.”
“Really?” As much as a facial sounded divine, it wasn’t worth the trouble of hanging out with the women.
“Absolutely. Do what you want for the day. We have the rehearsal and dinner tonight, but afterward we can go out just the two of us.”
“Sounds good.” After having him to myself the last few days, it was difficult to share.
“It will be nice to have the evening alone with you.”
I tried not to read anything into his words. “I’ll ask the concierge about places we could go. You getting out of bed?”
“Uh, yeah, but I’ll probably wait a minute or two.”
I couldn’t help the grin spreading across my face. “Why is that?”
His entire face turned red. “You can guess why.”
“Sorry, don’t mean to make it hard on you.”
He barked out a laugh. “Thanks for the assist. You giving me a hard time about my hard time has effectively deescalated the situation.”
My laughter came easily although I felt a little guilty it was at his expense. Once he hopped out of the bed, I had to pretend I didn’t want to stare at his ass encased in black boxer briefs. Jesus, I’d always known Reid was in decent shape, but my senses were overwhelmed by the sight of his back and shoulder muscles set off by his trim waist.
The sound of the water from the shower had me picturing him standing gloriously naked under the warm spray. Would he be jerking off? Had he been remotely tempted to take our morning position a step further? Ugh.
What I needed was an orgasm. And once he left, I’d have plenty of time to take care of things. Thank goodness I’d thought to bring my trusty vibrator along for the trip. I must have known I’d find myself sexually frustrated and in need of a good release.
A few minutes later, the water turned off. When Reid came out of the steamy bathroom, I nearly groaned aloud. He was wearing nothing but his khaki shorts, completely oblivious regarding the way his naked man chest affected me. Had I suggested he hit the gym? Seemed silly now. He was obviously already in terrific shape.
There was something weirdly personal in watching him go through his morning routine of shrugging into a shirt, threading his belt through the loops, and finally sitting on the bed to put on his socks and shoes.
“What will you do today?”
“Mm, sleep in.” After an orgasm. “Maybe hit the gym, then the sauna.” And have another orgasm. “Then I may sit poolside with an ice-cold cocktail to keep me company.” Ellen had given me her cell phone number, so I might see if she could join me.
He flashed me a grin. The type which had me thinking I might need three orgasms to take the edge off.
“I’m jealous of your day. I don’t know how late golf will go, but I’ll text you from the road once we’re on our way back.”
“Take your time and have fun with your friends.”
He stood up. “I forgot how nice it is not to have the pressure of dating.”
Yep. Wouldn’t want that, now, would we?
Once I heard the click of the door closing, I lay back in the bed with a gigantic huff. Yep, I’d been friend-zoned. Again. He’d said how nice it was not to be dating. Yet even if we were dating, I wouldn’t have changed my words. I wanted him to have fun with his friends.
Dammit. I was doing it again. Spinning this fake relationship in my head.
Deciding now was a good time to chase away my unrequited feelings, I jumped out of bed and retrieved the little black satin bag from the zip pocket of my suitcase. I’d charged it before leaving, so it should be ready to go. Taking out the silicone hand-held device, I laid it on the bed while I shimmied out of my sleep shorts and thong. Settling myself on the comfy mattress, I turned the device all the way up to the highest.
What could I say? I wasn’t a patient girl. And as for all the fancy settings? What was the point? Did anyone ever climax to the Morse code setting? Doubtful.
I preferred a straight vibration, so it could happen hard and fast. As I lined up the working end of the small device to my clit, I thought of Reid this morning. Turning to my side, I imagined him behind me now, pushing into me while I used the toy. Would he be turned on by the thought of me masturbating while picturing him—or horrified? Oh, God. The vision of him pumping into me made my legs start to shake and my hips want to move. If only I had the real thing, but no matter. I was on the edge now, pressing the device into me to maximize the vibration.
I was so caught up in my need for the impending orgasm I barely registered the electronic sound of the door opening.
“Sorry, I forgot my wallet—” came Reid’s voice.
I grasped for the bedspread, pulling it up to cover my naked half as I saw him frozen, one step into the bedroom, his face rapidly turning red.
“Shit—I didn’t mean—”
“Sorry—I didn’t know—”
Our frantic words bounced around the room until there wasn’t a sound—except the buzzing.
Shit.
My fingers fumbled blindly to find the switch, only to hit the one that changed the pattern to rapid pulses. Fuck. Finally, I found the button to turn it off.
But still, he hadn’t moved. Hadn’t said another word.
I decided to break the silence in the hope it would also halt the eternal awkwardness and my humiliation, which seemed to be heating up my entire face.
“You forgot your wallet?”
“Uh-huh.” He finally went into motion, stepping toward the dresser and grabbing his black leather wallet. “I’m so sorry.”
“It’s fine.” It wasn’t, but I’d wait until after he left to die of embarrassment. “It’s just that after this morning in bed with you curled up to me—” Oh, sweet baby Jesus, what was I telling him?
Abort, abort, abort.
“I meant, it’s fine. I don’t want this to be awkward later.”
