Wanting Reed (Break Me) BOOK 2 (49 page)

“Doll, don’t.” He pulls me closer, wrapping me tighter and kissing me hard. “I’m sorry. I should have been upfront with you from the beginning when you found out about me...and my Landon Hunter days back in college. I should have told you everything then. I was an idiot to think that my problems would disappear because I moved up here. I want this so fucking much,” he says as his fingertips move over my lips. “After tonight, doll…after being away from you…I just want you.”

“I needed to hear that,” I reply, tracing the letters tattooed on his arm. I suck in a breath, thinking about him in the hospital alone and broken.

“I know that look,” he says, following the path of my finger on his arm. “Look at me,” he whispers, gently touching my cheek.

“Was this the arm that was broken and put you in the hospital when you were home?”

He rubs his face and looks up at the ceiling. “No.” He smirks, lifting his left arm. “It was this one.”

“I guess it’s fully healed based on your grip around me.”

“Yes.” He chuckles. “I’m not letting you go.” He pauses, inhaling a deep breath. “I thought I lost you. I really fucked up.”

“I guess we both did things that didn’t help the situation.” I drop my eyes and continue to follow the lines of the tattoo on his arm. How permanent are we? Now, there is Mindy’s pregnancy. What if he’s the father? What will I do about medical school? What about his football career?

“There’s that look again.” He frowns, lifting my chin.

“What about your football career?” I prompt, speaking carefully.

“My arm is fine. You need to come to a practice one of these days and see for yourself.”

“I’d love that, babe, but you forgot one thing.” I sigh, taking note of how his body stiffens beside me. He’s well aware of what I’m referring to. It’s fresh in both of our minds.

He clears his throat as he tries to find his voice
. “
No, I know.” He furrows his brow. “Mindy and the baby. It doesn’t change the fact that I want to be with you. Is that what you’re thinking?”

“You say that now, Reed. You know how it felt not to have your father around.” I lean into him. Silence consumes us, the words hang in the air sucking the energy in the room.

“You’re acting like I’m the father.” His response is flat and tense.

“There is a thirty-three percent chance of it,” I assert.

“Doll, I’ll do whatever I have to do if the baby is mine. For now, I am going to go with the fact that the baby is not mine. It may sound crude, but let me take the test first.” He contorts his face in contemplation. “Can we not talk about it right now? I want to enjoy the fact that we are together and that we just had the most amazing sex.”

I feel his strong, skilled hand travel down the length of my body and across my stomach as his hardness presses against my side. An ache for him begins to spread from his touch, but there is more I still need to say.

I begin chewing the inside of my lip and place my hand on top of his. “Juju invited me for Thanksgiving in Texas, to go shopping and to watch the Cowboys game.”

“Really?” He exhales in a whoosh and flashes me the most adorable smile. “Shit, I would love if you could come. You can meet Momma.”

“I know. I would love that. It actually works out for other reasons, too.”

“What other reasons?” he asks, leaning up on his elbow and eyeing me warily.

“You know that I’ve been applying to medical school, and regardless of what happens with Mindy, I have to start thinking about my future.”

“I know that,” he breathes, narrowing his deep blue eyes at me while waiting impatiently for my news.

“What if I decided to go to medical school in Dallas?”

“Dallas?” I glance up at him, watching a boyish grin spread across his face.

“Yes,” I reply. “I have an interview for the weekend before Thanksgiving at the University of Texas Southwestern.”

“Babe, that’s great news!” He hugs me closer. His eyes brim with excitement. “What made you decide on that school?”

“They have a great program, and then I fell in love with this guy.” I smile.

“He must be a pretty amazing guy.” He grins. One corner of his delectable mouth quirks upward.

“Yeah... he’s all right.”

“Is there anything he can do to change your opinion from all right to fucking out of this world?” he whispers gruffly as he trails his lips down my neck to my breasts.

“Possibly,” I whimper as I lace my fingers through his hair.

“I’m still at your beck and call. Anything goes. And I mean anything,” he says, scraping his bottom lip with his teeth. “Make it good,” he rasps, sounding sexy as hell. Warmth instantly blooms between my legs when his warm hand slides between my legs and his hands caress my sensitive skin.

“Hmm...good?” I moan, arching an eyebrow as I coyly run my finger down his incredibly solid chest and all the way to his victorious and glorious V. Lifting my eyes, I ghost my lips over his. “I want to ride you, cowboy.”

“Oh shit, baby,” he growls, rolling onto his back and throwing off the silken sheets. “Saddle up because it’s gonna be a long, rough and bumpy ride.”

The ache in my body surges. I roll over on top of him, his torso flexes under my gaze, his eyes burn with a myriad of emotions, enveloping me and caressing me. I know that his touch satisfies me and spoils me. Now is my time to spoil him and show him how I feel.

The next four days slip by, and I’m sad when the day comes for Juju and Tommy to leave. Juju and I stop at a Starbucks inside the terminal as I survey the crowded terminal and catch a glimpse of Reed nervously glancing out the windows to watch the planes take off. I notice how he clenches and unclenches his hands as each plane roars overhead, while the rest of his body remains taut and unmoving. At first, I found his fear of flying cute, but now I feel it’s my mission to find a way to make flying less stressful for him, especially if we’re flying to Texas together. I have about a month to figure out what I can do to alleviate his fear. I have a couple of ideas in mind, but I’m not sure how well they will work.

I have yet to tell my family about my trip and missing Thanksgiving with them. It will be the first time in my twenty-two years that I will miss a Thanksgiving at home with my family. I’m worried about how they are going to take the news.

Reed catches me staring at him as Tommy chats animatedly about football with him. He shoots me the most sinful grin, trailing his eyes the length of my body from across the crowded room. My pulse flutters, and my body is instantly aroused with his simple gesture. Sex was out of this world to begin with, but the whole slave idea has brought our sex life to an entirely different level. It is probably the smartest idea I’ve had to date.

“Hey,” Juju says as she puts down her coffee, interrupting my sexy imaginings. “What are you thinking about?” she probes, following my line of vision and watching Tommy throw his arm around Reed’s broad shoulders as they approach. She laughs and turns back to me, smiling knowingly as we rise from the table. “They look like two big boys. Don’t they?”

“We’re a couple of lucky girls,” I reply, never breaking eye contact with Reed. The look he’s shooting me means only one thing, and we have the whole day to find out what it means.

“We’ve gotta go, babe. It’s time to check-in, take off our shoes and strip down for the plane ride. I know you’ve got on about five layers of new clothes.” Tommy chuckles, adjusting his baseball cap.

“Stripping?” Reed inhales a breath. “Thanks, Tommy, you gave me an idea.” A cocky grin lights up his face as he peeks at me. I lick my lips, and he follows my tongue’s path. God, I love teasing him. I may be in some trouble later though, when I meet his intense gaze that sends jolts of heat coursing through my veins.

“I knew I was good for something.” Tommy’s exuberant voice breaks me from my reverie.

“I’m going to miss you making me laugh, Tommy, and Juju for the endless shopping,” I say, giving them both a goodbye hug.

“Well, I’ll have a ton of new material when you come down for turkey day.” Tommy smiles as he pulls away.

“Yeah, I can’t wait for Momma to meet Elle,” Reed proclaims, wrapping his arms around my neck from behind. “She’s going to love her as much as I do.” I draw in a breath as his voice floats over my cheek and his lips graze over my ear. I kiss the underside of his jaw and rest my head against his chest.

“Yes, she will,” Juju concurs, giving me a wink.

“The only sticking point is getting this chump on the plane.” Tommy snickers. “Do you know about that, Elle?”

“I have an idea,” I reply, squeezing Reed’s hand. “I’m trying to figure out how to make it less stressful for him.”

“Hey, listen. I’m good with a few shots of Jack,” Reed answers with a frown. “Why do people always have to give me shit about it?” His laugh is a low rumble that reverberates through my back. I grab his arm and give him a reassuring squeeze.

It’s my life’s mission to make sure that the man of my dreams overcomes his fear of flying. I will do everything in my power to do it, and I think I may have figured it out.

Life is back to normal. I guess that’s all a matter of opinion, considering the situation with Mindy. It’s crunch time for me as I focus on my medical school interview that occurs in two weeks. I am definitely attending Sunday dinner today and bringing Reed along. It’s been a week since I told Reed about my interview, and now it’s time I tell my family. I’m not sure how they are going to take this bit of news.

Reed and Luke scheduled their paternity tests right before we leave for Texas. He kept putting it off, so I had to make sure I was in the room when he made the appointment. I guess he’s thinking that the number thirty-three is a bigger piece of the pie than he originally thought. He doesn’t want to find out the results until we return from our trip. I can understand his reasons.

Pacing the golden hardwood floors of my bedroom, I twirl a chunk of my hair and quietly hope he’s not the father. I’m not sure what I will do if he is. It’s hard to say; feelings can change when a baby is involved. Both Reed and I know the void we felt by not always having our father around and how much it means to us for a baby to have both parents. I don’t know who is more anxious about the results, him or me.

My phone chirps, alerting me of an incoming text. I eagerly grab it when I see that it’s Tyler, returning my earlier text when I asked him if he is free to come to Sunday dinner. I cross my fingers. I can’t imagine not telling Tyler about this. I want to tell him in person. I’m happy when his response comes back as a yes. Now, all the important people in my life will be there to share my amazing news.

My stomach is in knots, and I nervously coil my hair as we drive down the street to my mom’s house on this brisk, sunny autumn day. Tyler, Jace and my dad are tossing football in the front yard as we pull and park the Hummer on the street behind Tyler’s motorcycle.

Reed trots out of the truck and opens the door for me as my dad looks on with a raised eyebrow.
One point for Reed.
This is the first time for my dad to meet Reed. Cane was the last and only boyfriend he met. My dad always thought that Cane was the one because he was caring and respectful. It still breaks my heart to think about the two years I spent with him. We had so many good memories, but sometimes those memories cannot make up for his lack of trust and his betrayal.

They stop tossing the ball around, so I can introduce Reed to my dad as Jace gives him the rundown of Reed’s football career at Texas A&M. Dad is instantly impressed and starts asking him a million questions. I take this as my cue to leave. I catch Tyler’s eye before I walk away. I’ve missed his constant presence in my life over the past couple of weeks. I’m dying to tell him about what’s going on, and I know there are things he wants to tell me, too.

My eyes suddenly blur with tears when I open the front door, hearing my mom in the kitchen preparing Sunday dinner and smelling the familiar aromas of my youth. I linger in the hallway, scanning family photos of Jace and me as kids at proms, graduations and birthdays and wondering where all the time has gone. Coming home like this, especially with the holidays around the corner, makes me emotional. I laugh it off, trying to fight back my thoughts and reminding myself that we are all still together today as a family.