Redesigned (21 page)

As if reading my mind, his tongue finds the spot that drives me wild. I arch my back and gasp.

Reed may be going to school for a graduate degree in math, but his real expertise lies in what he’s doing now. The only comparison I have is Justin and his halfhearted attempts. Reed has just proven Justin had no idea what he was doing.

Reed lifts my hips and slips a finger inside me, then moments later, he inserts another while his mouth concentrates on its assigned task.

“Reed.” I plead.

“It’s okay.” His tongue circles in its tortuous dance. “I want you to come this way.”

I moan.

“
Oh, fuck
, I love to hear your little sounds.” One of his hands slides up my stomach and over the swell of my breast, fondling my nipple.

I arch into him, the onslaught of sensations pushing me to dizzying heights, and I can barely keep up, but Reed pushes me higher and higher, until I can hardly breathe. And then the bottom falls away and I cry out his name again and again. And when I land, I’m surprised to find my hands fisted in his hair.

Raw hunger fills his eyes and this sight of him between my legs, watching me with such longing, causes my passion to build again.

My hands still in his hair, I pull his mouth to mine. The taste of myself on his tongue is shocking, but it turns me on even more. I wrap my legs around his waist.

“Oh God, Caroline. I have never wanted anyone like I want you.”

His words turn me on too.

Reed has turned me into this wild, wicked woman and not only do I not care, I want more. I’m insatiable.

“Fuck me, Reed.”

The muscles in his neck tense. “I have to get a condom.” He sounds impatient.

I lock my ankles at the small of his back. My heels press into the soft flesh of his ass.

He sucks in a breath as his eyes close.

“Do you still like my heels?” I whisper huskily.

“God, yes,” he groans. “I want to be in you
now
.” He tries to get up, but I tighten my legs around him.

“I’ve had sex with four guys, and all but one wore a condom. The one who didn’t was an ass, but he didn’t cheat on me. I’m clean, and I’m on the pill.” I pull his head down and take his earlobe in my mouth, biting the soft flesh. “You always wear a condom, don’t you?”

“Yes.” His breath warms my cheek.

“I want to be your first without one. I want you to have lots of firsts with me, just like almost everything we do is a first for me.” My mouth moves to his neck and his pulse throbs against my lips as his erection throbs against my core. “Fuck me.”

He groans and rises on his forearms, his gaze on mine as he slowly slides into me. His eyes roll back as his head leans back. “Caroline.” He pushes deeper until he’s all the way in. “
Fuck
,” he growls.

I lift my pelvis so he can slide deeper. He grabs my hips, his fingers digging in to hold me where he wants me as he begins to move. “You feel so good.”

The pressure builds again, and Reed pushes me higher with every thrust.

“Fuck me, Reed.” I arch my back. “Fuck me harder.”

He groans and obeys.

I’m not the only one who likes dirty talk.

I’m so close but I hang on, letting the pressure build, and when I don’t think I can hold on any more I let go, flying apart into a million pieces.

I’m vaguely aware when he growls. It starts low then builds. His fingers dig into my hips, pulling me closer, as he tries to get deeper. When he comes, he releases a primal groan then collapses on top of me. I unlock my ankles, and he slides to my side, slipping his arm under my back then rolling to his back, my head resting on his chest.

“I swear to God, you’re going to be the death of me,” he murmurs against my temple.

“Are you complaining?” I yawn.

“God, no.” His hand cups my cheek and lifts my face so he can see me. Instead of the usual lust in his eyes, there’s tenderness instead. He brushes stray hairs from my cheek. “The next time you walk to your car again at campus in the middle of the night, promise me you’ll call the campus police to escort you.”

“That again?” I close my eyes with a sigh. I’d forgotten about our previous disagreement.

“If you promise me, the next time we have sex, I’ll make sure it’s even better than tonight.”

“I don’t think that’s possible.” But every time with Reed has been better than the last. Maybe it is possible. “Good call on the bed,” I murmur, my eyelids so heavy I can barely keep them open. I need to take off my heels, but I can’t find the energy.

“Say
you were right, Reed
.”

“God, you’re so bossy.”

“Say it. I want to hear you say it.”

I’m too tired to fight him. “You were right, Reed.”

He kisses my temple again, and the last thing I hear before I drift off to sleep is Reed whispering. “Yes, I am,” But he doesn’t seem happy about it.

I wake in a tangle of sheets and limbs. I’m not wearing my heels. Reed must have taken them off.

His arm lies across my chest. I turn to watch him sleep, and I wonder again how I could have so easily dismissed him the night I met him. Granted, I was intent on getting a date with Dylan, and Reed was a bit awkward, but Reed has to be the most attractive man I’ve ever known. Or is he more attractive because of what we’ve experienced together?

His eyes flutter open, and he grins before they close again. “Good morning.” He pulls me tight to his chest. “I had the most
amazing
night.”

“Really?” I tease.

“Not only did I get the most beautiful woman in the world to strip for me and lie naked wearing her heels, but she begged me to fuck her.” He groans, and I feel his erection against my thigh.

I laugh, but I feel a stir deep in my abdomen. “As difficult as it is for me to be the voice of reason, we both have classes we need to get ready for.”

One of his eyelids slits open. “And you know about my class, how?”

“You handed out copies of your schedule. I memorized it in case you threw a pop quiz and then executed anyone who scored less than eighty percent.”

He laughs against my hair. “So maybe I was a bit intense….”

“You think?”

He rolls me to my back and rises on an elbow. “It’s all your fault, you know.”

“Mine? How?”

“You drove me crazy. It was either be a fucking prick or beg you to give me a chance.” He laughs. “I would have begged you if it came to that, but listening to you beg me is so much better.”

It’s my turn to moan. “As much as I want to spend the entire day with you, we both need to get up.”

Reed leans over to check the time on my bedside clock, then drops his face into his pillow with a groan of protest. “No.” He grinds his head into the pillow as he shakes. “Somehow I don’t think my Algebra 101 students will appreciate the sacrifice I’m making for them.”

“You’re probably right, but I have an environmental impact class I can’t miss.” I swing my legs over the side of the bed, then give him a saucy look over my shoulder. “Want to take a shower with me?”

He lowers his mouth to my shoulder. “Now here’s a neglected part.”

“Focus, Reed.”

“It’s quite difficult to focus with you purposely distracting me. You are
very
naughty.” I know from the way he says it that he’s not talking about this morning.

I start to stand but he pulls me back down. I turn to him, laughing. “Shower or no?”

His smile falls. “I need to get home and check on Lexi.”

I try not to react to his news. “So Lexi
does
live with you?”

His eyes narrow. “What does it matter?”

“She’s a sophomore in college, yet she can’t seem to do anything without her big brother. That’s just….” I search for a non-insulting word.

“Weird?” His tone is dry, and the shutter over his eyes—the signal that announces that cold, unyielding Reed Pendergraft is open and ready for business—falls into place. He sits up, his playfulness gone.

Damn my mouth. Why did I start down this path? But now that I’ve frolicked headlong into it, I decide to press on. I owe it to Lexi. “Don’t you think she should have a real college experience that doesn’t include living with her brother and having him chaperone her every move?”

Anger flickers in his eyes. “Let it go, Caroline. You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

He slides off the bed and picks up his clothes, angrily stuffing his legs into his underwear and jeans.

“You can’t smother her forever.”

“Let it go, Caroline.”

But for some reason, I can’t. I’m like a dog with a bone, and I refuse to give it up, even when I know it’s suicide. “Have you ever asked Lexi what she wanted?”

Reed pulls his shirt over his head, his face red. “Caroline, let’s not forget this isn’t a real relationship. We’re doing this until your Prince Charming shows up on his white horse. Based on those limiting parameters, I think it nullifies any say you have in my affairs with my family.” Cold Reed is back, the man I’ve encountered in a host of places. But I never thought I’d find him in my bedroom.

“If I’m so disgusting, what are you doing here? You can’t find anyone else to talk dirty to?”

His face softens, and he closes his eyes with a groan. “No, Caroline. God, no.” He grabs my arms and drags me against his chest. His arms wrap around my back and hold me in place. “Please don’t say that. This isn’t dirty, and I don’t want to be with anyone else. I don’t think of you in any way but with respect and adoration.”

I try to pull back, but his arms hold tight.

“I’m just protective of my sister.”

“I guess we’ll have to agree to disagree.”

“Have dinner with me tonight.”

I grin against his shirt, but my earlier happiness has faded, leaving an empty ache in my chest. “I don’t know if I’ll have time.”

He sighs, gripping my arms and taking a step back. “You’re giving me the brushoff.”

“No. I’m being truthful. I’ve got so much to do and so little time.”

“We have a committee meeting this afternoon. You can tell me if you think you can make it then.”

His eyes have lost their earlier sparkle.

I want to cry, and I’m not even sure why. I feel like I’m losing him, but then again, the plan is that he’s temporary. He’s never been mine to lose. The ache in my chest expands and steals my breath.

“Reed?”

His hand lifts to my cheek. “Um?”

“Will you kiss me before you go?”

He smiles, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. “As if I could physically leave you without kissing and fondling you again.” His mouth lowers to mine, and his hands cup my butt, pressing my pelvis into his. “If I were getting a doctorate in physics, I’d concentrate my studies on the unexplained and unprecedented phenomena of the pull you have on me. Is it gravitational? Electromagnetic? Is it some new force science has yet to discover? Perhaps I should change my doctorate. I’m sure I could get a Nobel Peace Prize out of it.”

I grin against his lips, grateful some of his playfulness has returned. “Maybe you could be an overachiever and go for both.”

He kisses me softly then leans his forehead to mine. “I think I’ll see how my current attempt at overachieving goes.” His presses another soft kiss to my bottom lip and drops his hold on me. “I’ll see you this afternoon.”

I’d follow him out the door, but I’m completely naked. I’ve had this entire conversation with him without a stitch of clothing on and I never gave it any thought. What has this man done to me?

After I take a shower, I throw on my robe and pad out to the kitchen to make a cup of coffee.

Tina’s standing in front of the sink, eating a bowl of cereal. She sees me, sets the bowl down, and claps, a cheesy grin on her face. “Bravo.” She holds her hand up to highfive me, but I ignore it.

“That was one
hell
of a good time you had last night.”

Shit
. I squeeze my eyes closed. I’m going to die. “Sorry.”

“Oh, hell no. Don’t ever be sorry for great sex. Is it that Brandon guy? I thought you decided not to go out with him anymore.” She picks up her cereal and shovels in a spoonful.

“No, it’s not Brandon.”

“So? Who is it?” Her words are muffled by her mouthful of food. “Do I know him?”

I turn my back to her and change the cup in the coffeemaker. “Yeah, you do.” I press the button to make a cup of coffee, then turn to face her. “It’s Reed. Reed Pendergraft.”

She blinks. “Wait. The Reed Pendergraft in the math department? The boring guy who took me home before eleven o’clock on a Friday night?”

The Reed in my bedroom was anything but boring. “Yes, the Reed you went out with.”

A wicked grin lights up her face. “Maybe I need to give Mr. Pendergraft another chance.”

I’m surprised at the possessiveness that shoots through me. “I think he’s currently taken.”

She holds her fingers up like claws and scratches them at me with a wicked grin. “Look at you.

Pulling out your claws over a math professor.” She laughs. “Who would have thought it?” she says as she sets her bowl in the sink.

My back stiffens. “What does that mean?”

She scrunches her face in disbelief. “Come on, Caroline. Everyone knows the guys you date have to meet certain
criteria
. Reed definitely doesn’t make the mark.”

“What criteria?”

Laughing she shakes her head in disbelief. “Are you serious?” Tina rests her butt against the counter and crosses her arms. “Major. They have to have a major with a huge potential salary. Then there’s their current financial situation. Coming from families with established money is a big plus.

And of course, looks.” She lifts an eyebrow. “I don’t blame you on that one. You’re gorgeous. You deserve to marry a gorgeous man.”

Nausea rolls in my stomach. “Anything else?”

She twists her mouth to the side in thought. “Only that you’re a Virgin Mary in the bedroom.