Baiting the Maid of Honor (5 page)

above a whisper, but nothing he’d said so far had been reminiscent of the man she’d mingled with

over cocktails an hour earlier, making polite small talk. Perhaps when a man this sexually intense

became aroused, his voice altered slightly? She didn’t have the experience to know, but he was

making it too easy for her to picture Reed in his place, when she shouldn’t be sparing him a thought.

But she was. Couldn’t stop.

Julie wanted so badly for her theory to be true. That Logan became a different type of man in the

dark. She didn’t want this to end. But her instincts sent her hands over his shoulders, exploring,

testing. Had Logan been this big? Just beneath his shoulder blade, she felt it. A large, jagged scar. Not

the kind of mark even a marginally competent surgeon would leave. Logan’s bare back had been

featured in billboards for his sporting goods company…and he certainly had no scar.

“W-who are you?” No sooner had the words left her mouth than she knew. The hints and red flags

she’d patently ignored flashed in front of her eyes like fireworks.

His teeth traced the column of her neck and she struggled to keep from tilting her head to give him

better access. He pushed up hard against her damp center. “You know who it is. You’ve known all

along, haven’t you, pixie?”

Reed.
If the nickname hadn’t clued her in, she still would have known his identity beyond a shadow

of a doubt as soon as he spoke above a whisper. His baritone voice resonated within her. Julie’s

heart pounded wildly in her chest as she pondered his question. If she was honest with herself, she

hadn’t been attracted to the successful best man, gorgeous though he might be. But the second
this

man’s hands had touched her legs in the dark, she’d turned into a shivering mass of hormones. Had

she been aware of his actual identity? Perhaps not consciously, but deep down she knew she’d

purposefully ignored the warning signals her brain had given off. She’d been too lost in the heat to let

reality intrude.

Then it hit her. What Reed had done. Allowed her to sneak in and seduce him.
The wrong man.

Julie shoved him with all her might and nearly collapsed onto the floor when his wall of support

left her body. Her hand fumbled along the wall, searching for a light switch. When she found it, she

flipped it on and spun to face him. She opened her mouth to scream every obscenity she could muster

up, but his intense expression distracted her. Then her gaze dropped from dangerously narrowed hazel

eyes to the body beneath…and she forgot to breathe. At least a dozen tattoos stretched over hardened

muscle, some of them disappearing beneath the waistband of his low-slung dress pants. Two scars

bisected his abdomen and pectoral muscles, adding to his already considerable air of danger. Big

hands flexed at his sides, tightening into fists when she merely continued to stare at the most painfully

masculine physique she’d ever witnessed outside of the naughty emails Regan often sent her.

“Would you like me to take off my pants now so you can really be impressed?”

His gruff question jolted Julie out of man-candy fantasyland and she dragged her gaze up from the

large swell behind his fly, trying desperately to ignore the needy tightening in her belly. It enraged her

that she could still feel desire for him after the stunt he’d pulled. “By all means, take the pants off.

It’ll make it much easier when I castrate you.”

Julie ignored the fluttering in her chest when his full lips tilted at the ends, his amusement vanishing

just as quickly. “Now that would be one hell of a shame.” He took a measured step in her direction.

She refused to give up any ground when he stopped a breath away and dragged his teeth over his

bottom lip, eyes tracking over her heaving breasts. “You were enjoying it so much a minute ago.

When you rode it like you owned it.”

“Lord, would you please stop talking to me like that? It’s just not right.” She dragged a shuddering

breath into her lungs and raised a hand to keep him backed off. Any closer and she might be tempted

to lick one of those tattoos. And just where had
that
thought come from? Julie Piper didn’t lick

tattoos. She licked the odd Popsicle on a hot Atlanta day. Maybe a cherry lollipop on Halloween. Not

a depiction of a charging bull underneath the words…what was that? Latin? Huffing a frustrated

breath, Julie massaged her forehead, trying to focus on anything but the pent-up sexual energy

radiating from the man in front of her. It practically spilled from every inch of his skin, heating her

where she stood. He needed to be put back in his place. She straightened her spine and looked him in

the eye. “You knew I didn’t come here to see you. You let me think you were Logan.”

Whoa mama.
That certainly worked. Reed’s demeanor transformed from ready-to-play to

outrageously pissed before she could blink. He visibly reined himself in, but she could tell it wasn’t

easy. She could see the effort maintaining his control cost him. “Listen to me, pixie. You can pretend

all you want that you didn’t love my eyes on you all damn night when I couldn’t stop imagining your

beautiful legs draped over my shoulders. You can pretend to be indifferent toward me in front of all

your giggling girlfriends.” He braced a hand on the wall above her head and leaned in close. “But

don’t pretend, not for one goddamn second, that you thought it was Golden Boy ringing your bell. You

knew exactly who was between your thighs. You’ve wanted me there for hours. I just found a way to

give us what we both wanted.” He gave a frustrated shake of his head. “Well, one of us, anyway. I’m

still hard enough to cut through steel.”

“I didn’t…
don’t
want you,” Julie whispered shakily. Even to her own ears, it sounded like an

obvious lie, but she was still reeling crazily from his provocative speech to make a better effort.

“You have a wild imagination, though. Honestly, I wouldn’t have guessed it.” She cleared her throat,

trying to make her suddenly hoarse voice return to normal. “I only responded that way because I

thought you were someone else.”

Reed’s jaw flexed. “That so? Put your money where your mouth is, then. All the lights are on now.

Let’s see how you respond when you know who’s making you come.”

Julie didn’t know what to say. No way could she take him up on such a challenge. Even if her mind

insisted on denying the attraction, her body knew if Reed touched her, she’d boil hotter than a

teakettle. Might even whistle. Within minutes, he would prove her claim incorrect. Have her

shamefully begging and moaning up against the door once again.

She laid her hand on the doorknob. “Such a gracious and eloquent offer, but I’m going to have to

pass. I wasn’t interested
before
and I’m certainly not interested
now
, especially after this little

Houdini After Dark magic act.”

When she pulled open the door, his fingers curled around her elbow, bringing her to a stop. She

didn’t turn around to face him, but she could feel his lips moving in her hair. “I’m going to let you get

away with the lie tonight, pixie, since I made you come hard enough that I’ll be able to relax. For

now. But I need to make one more thing crystal clear before you leave.” He traced her ear with his

tongue. “If you need servicing while we’re stuck in this fancy-ass hotel for a week, I’m going to be

the one to do it. No one else. Not Golden Boy. Not even your right hand.” He let go of her arm and

she swayed, frowning when he laughed under his breath. “And when you slip between your sheets

tonight, think about this. I will service you so hard you’ll be booking another week here just to

recover.”

Julie slipped out into the hallway and walked toward her room down the hall without remembering

a single step of her journey to get there.

Chapter Six

Reed strode purposefully down the hotel corridor, his mood best described as surly. Although to be

fair, the description fit him on his best day. Today, however, his frustration had a name, an ass that

didn’t quit, and lips he’d spent the better potion of the night envisioning inching down his stomach.

Julie Piper. A hellcat disguised as Tinker Bell.

After the condition she’d left him in last night, he’d woken from his shitty attempt at sleep with the

intention of finding her and laying more groundwork. Whatever the reason, he wanted the stuck-up

rich girl in his bed. Like
hell
. And when something pulled him from his casual indifference long

enough to make him want it, he went after the damn thing with single-minded determination.

It was this driven intensity that had pulled him out of the backwoods slums of rural Tennessee and

made him a SWAT team leader in bustling Atlanta. A position he didn’t take lightly or for granted. He

knew how easily his life could have gone the other way. If he’d let it.

Yes, Reed didn’t make a habit of allowing obstacles to come between him and the thing he wanted.

However, this appeared to the first time that specific some
thing
was a some
one
. He didn’t have time

to question the anomaly, though. Not if he wanted enough time to work the blonde out of his system.

He had a feeling it would take longer than a week to rid himself of the clawing lust she’d cursed him

with, but a week was all he had. Time was of the essence. If avoiding him was her plan, he would

simply have to make it difficult for her.

After breakfast, he’d gone for a three-mile run outside on the resort grounds in an attempt to dull the

sexual frustration. It hadn’t worked. Not at all. He figured unless he could get Julie to give in to their

mutual need, he’d wear out the soles in his sneakers before the week ended.

Jesus, the way she’d pumped those hips as she came… Reed gritted his teeth at the memory. He’d

wanted to push those panties to the side and give her a good, hard fuck against the door. The first in a

series of many good, hard fucks he planned on giving her. The only thing that held him back was the

chance that she actually thought he was Logan. Oh, he knew she’d convinced herself of it, at least

partly. Call him arrogant, but he knew when a woman was interested in what he had to offer. Julie

was interested. Now he had to convince her of that.

The alternative would be to abandon the chase. Let her and Golden Boy hook up, like everyone

probably assumed they would. Hell, they looked like a goddamn Banana Republic advertisement

standing next to each other. Reed paused in the center of the lobby, deciding which direction he

would take to find Julie. He also took that moment to erase the image of Julie and Logan together.

He’d never been jealous a day in his life, not over a woman. The feeling had to go and there was only

one way to get rid of it.

Realizing he had no clue where Julie would be in the middle of the day, he drew his wedding

itinerary out of his jeans pocket with a heavy sigh. He was carrying around a damn
wedding

itinerary
. On pink and gold stationery with the words “True love doesn’t have a happy ending

because it never ends” in raised script along the top. God help him if his team ever saw it. The very

idea made him feel ill.

His gaze narrowed on the list. The next planned meeting wasn’t until six o’clock.
Wine and Dine

Welcome at Spago.
Reed groaned inwardly. He’d rather chug nails. Would it be so much to ask for a

Beers and Wings night? Or an Everyone Plan Your Own Shit Because We’re All Adults and Don’t

Require a Glittery Schedule night?

He considered his options. He could go check her room, although he wasn’t likely to find her there

in the middle of the afternoon. Turning on his heel, he headed in the direction of Spago. Julie didn’t

seem the type to sit still for five minutes. Her being the maid of honor and all, he had a feeling he

would find her already decorating for tonight’s event, unable to stop herself from being a way hotter

version of Martha Stewart. A walk to the other side of the hotel proved his theory correct. When he

ducked under the doorjamb into the lounge, he found her halfway up a ladder hanging a string of

garden lights. Her calf muscles flexed as she pushed higher to reach the ceiling, her dress billowing

mid-thigh.

His pulse kicked up at the thought of surprising her with his tongue trailing up her thigh. He could

love her with his mouth right where she stood. Reluctantly, he decided against it. If he startled her and

she fell off the ladder, it wouldn’t exactly help his cause. Having made the decision to wait until she

descended, Reed leaned against the doorjamb and watched her impatiently as she changed the

placement of the lights six different times. Then her cell phone rang, making her jump and wobble on