Read My Mind

by Natasha Preston

  Reid pushes the cover off and shoves his shorts down. He groans when his hands caress my skin. “You’re naked.” His hands move lower as he places soft kisses down my neck.

  I shudder and bite my lip so that I don’t make too much noise. He’s instantly ignited something inside of me, and I’m crazy with the need to feel him. My legs fall to the sides as his finger slides inside me.

  “Reid,” I mutter through clenched teeth.

  My body is ready for release and he’s barely touched me. I writhe, pushing my chest against his and sliding my fingers into his thick hair.

  “I love how ready you are for me. You’re so wet,” he whispers in my ear.

  I groan into the pillow, my body moving of its own accord, perfectly in tune with his hand. I meet every thrust with desperation. Nothing else matters in this moment than chasing the orgasm.

  “Reid,” I whimper, my head falling to the other side.

  “You keep tightening around my fingers,” he says, sliding a second one in. “You’re close.”

  I feel myself clench at his words.

  He kisses my throat. “That’s so hot.”

  His fingers find that spot inside that drives me wild, while his thumb swirls over my clit with just the right amount of pressure to make me forget my own name.

  I haven’t forgotten his, though. No, his name rolls from my tongue over and over like a prayer.

  “That’s it, baby.” I can hear the smile in his words as my hands pull at his hair.

  I gasp, and my belly coils. Reid’s mouth slams down on mine in a wet and wild kiss that pushes me over the edge. The orgasm hits, and I arch into him, gripping on for dear life.

  Wave after wave of ecstasy rolls through my entire body.

  He moves his hand and kisses me one last time. “It turned out that sneaking into your room was a fantasy of mine, too,” he whispers.

  “I can die happy.” My smile grows wider.

  His slips. “There will be no dying, Mila.”

  “Yes, sir.” I frown, needing him to come back to me from wherever he’s gone in his mind. “How was the gym and dinner?”

  “Horrible on both counts.”

  “Why?”

  He lowers his head, his lips grazing mine, and I feel him with me again. “You know why.”

  My heart thuds harder. “I don’t think I do.”

  “Fishing for compliments.”

  “Just asking for honesty.”

  He rolls his eyes, seeing straight through my lame response. “I missed you,” he says for the second time. “I can spend an entire day sitting beside you and still miss you when we’re apart. There is no logic to it. All I know is that, when I’m with you…” He shoves his shorts down. “I’m free.”

  My lips part, and I take a breath. I have no time to reply or tell him that I know exactly how he feels because he pushes inside me, and I can no longer form coherent sentences.

  Thirty-Five

  Mila

  It’s a little over one week since Reid and I first went to bed together, and we’ve been at it like horny teenagers ever since.

  It’s just so… normal. Like, good normal—not boring normal.

  We hang out, read, edit, watch TV, drink coffee… and have sex. The naked thing feels as natural as the rest. Reid is killer in bed. I love that. I’m not the sort of person to hide in the background, but when it comes to sex, I love a guy to be in control. Most of the time.

  I also like it when I push him down and pounce.

  Reid has no trouble keeping up. He’s never ‘too full’ or ‘too tired’ for me. I don’t know if it’s because we’ve only just started sleeping together or if it’s because he has a sex drive similar to mine, but I want it to continue.

  I’ve just finished uni for the day, and I’m now driving home. It dragged like a motherfucker. All I want to do is go back to Wilson Press, but I have to wait until Mel calls.

  This afternoon, I’m doing nothing but watching Netflix. It’s been so long since I’ve chilled on the sofa. After uni, I’ve been going straight to Reid’s on the days he’s home, or I’ve hung around with my mum until Reid got home from the office.

  Isn’t it healthy to have some alone time?

  Healthy sucks.

  I stop at the same traffic lights again because some twat in front of me didn’t put their foot down. We both could have got through there, dickhead.

  Taking a breath, I try to think happy thoughts, like the smell of rain and the look in Reid’s eyes when he’s turned on.

  My car won’t fare well if I ram this idiot in front of me.

  The lights change again, and we’re finally off.

  Mum is home when I pull into the drive. Her Mercedes is shiny clean. I think she loves it more than her children. Apparently, it was her gift to herself when we’d all grown up, when we would stop leaving crumbs in it.

  Reid’s not at his place, but he wouldn’t be back for another thirty minutes, anyway.

  “Mum?” I call when I let myself in the house.

  “Kitchen!”

  I find Mum at the breakfast bar with a bottle of white wine open.

  “You know it’s only four, right?”

  “Four is the new five, darling. Want a glass?”

  “I wasn’t judging.”

  I get myself a glass, and she pours the wine, filling it almost to the top.

  “How was uni?”

  I tell her a little about my day and how much I’m still enjoying the course but prefer working at the publishing house. I tell her how much I miss it, and she tells me about her day. It’s been a while since we’ve shared a drink together.

  “I’ll be glad when I’m done with uni.”

  “Then you just have to find a way of making money and not flopping.”

  “Yeah, thanks, Mum.”

  She laughs. “I’m kidding. You’re really getting your life together, ditching that limp dick and working hard.”

  “Did you just call Liam a limp dick?”

  “Oh, you know he was. Nice enough boy but a floater. He would sail through life, eating the same set meals each day, having sex on a Friday and Sunday, and getting his hair trimmed every four weeks, on the dot.”

  I shake my head. We rarely had sex on a Friday. “All right, I’ll give you that. He wasn’t very exciting.”

  “Watching mould grow on that loaf of bread your dad still hasn’t thrown out is more exciting than him, love.”

  “I said I get it. We’re done now, Mum.”

  “I know. Now you can find someone who is crazy about you and treats you properly. Your dad and I have no patience for another Liam. The next man in your life will need to meet our approval.”

  “Sorry, did I turn thirteen again?”

  “You didn’t have a boyfriend when you were thirteen.”

  My back straightens. “Right. No, I didn’t.”

  “Mila Thomas! Who was he?”

  I laugh around the rim of the glass, grateful I haven’t yet taken a sip or I would have ended up spraying the kitchen with Pino Grigio.

  “Benji.”

  “Benjamin Martin? The kid down the street?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Good thing they moved away or your brothers would have beaten him up.”

  I roll my eyes. “They’re ridiculous.”

  “You don’t know how many times I’ve had to stop Hugo from knocking on Liam’s door.”

  “Well, you don’t need to worry about that again.”

  She goes on to tell me how much she’s looking forward to my graduation next year. I think that’s code for ‘move out next year, too’. I’ll be ready by then.

  “What’s that noise? Oh no, the bloody wine fridge has gone again.” She gets up and walks around the island, as if she knows exactly what to do with any household appliance.

  “And what do you think you’re going to do?” I ask, craning my neck to see over the side. “You remember that time you tried to fix the washing machine and pulled the door off,
right?”

  “Yes, thank you. I think it’s just the plug at the back. I had your dad pull it from under the counter so I could clean the top, but I think he pulled it too far. If I can get it out, I can push the plug… save the wine.”

  “We should drink all of the wine now. I’ll do that for you.”

  “God, this thing won’t budge. Help me, Mila, will you?”

  “Sure, I’ll just enable my Thor strength and get right on that.”

  It took two men to get that thing in here when she had the double width wine fridge installed.

  “Mum, we’re not going to be able to do this, and I had a manicure recently.”

  “The wine is warming as we speak, Mila.”

  “You have another fridge!”

  “I gave you life. Can you not move a fridge for me?”

  I walk around the island, taking with me the knowledge that we’re about to fail. If the big, burly men from Curry’s almost popped a muscle getting it in there, what chance do we have?

  “Mum, let me get Reid.”

  Her head pops up over the counter like she’s a meerkat. “Now, why would you get Reid?”

  It was risky, I knew that. The mere mention of his name gets her hysterical. There’s this look in her eyes. She’d tell me that’s she interested. Bloody interested. As if I don’t know her definition of that word.

  She’s already planned the wedding. June, so she can wear a classy, knee-length dress, and have nice photos in the venue’s gardens.

  It’ll be my future husband’s job to tell her I want to go abroad and get married on a beach.

  “He can help us,” I say. “He’ll be home before Dad.”

  “What a great idea. You go get him.”

  There it is. Instant regret. I should have kept him away from her.

  Two visits in a few weeks and she’s going to ramp up the wedding talk.

  “He should be home now.”

  “Good thing you know his schedule.”

  “I don’t know his schedule. He finishes work at the same time every day.”

  She beams. “I’m sure he does.”

  “He does! People have set hours. That’s a thing, Mum.”

  She laughs as I walk away.

  Fuck’s sake.

  Thirty-Six

  Reid

  I’m about to unlock my door when I hear Mila’s voice.

  Smiling, I turn around just as she crosses the road. Her beauty hits me with full force.

  She huffs, stopping within arm’s reach. “I have a situation.”

  “I’m intrigued.”

  “It involves my mum, so you can say no. In fact, the way she is right now, you should definitely say no. Just go inside and pretend you didn’t see me. This didn’t happen. I’m not here.”

  “Mila.” I step forward and grab her hand as she turns away. I pull her close. “You can’t say that and run. What does your mum need?”

  She places her free hand on my chest, and I’m sure she can feel my racing heart. “The wine fridge isn’t working.”

  “Okay…”

  I reluctantly drop her hand, suppressing the urge to kiss her in the street. She doesn’t stop touching me, though, and it makes me want to throw her over my shoulder and take her inside.

  “Would you help us move it, please? Mum thinks the plug isn’t in properly.”

  “All right.”

  “It’s heavy.”

  “Really? I assumed you just couldn’t be bothered to try.”

  She laughs, running her hand down my chest before finally moving back. “Well, that, too.” She holds her hands up like I’m supposed to know what that means as we cross the road. “Nails!”

  “Right. I love the feel of them cutting into my skin. Never really looked at the colour.”

  “Reid Walker, if the neighbours heard that. Also, I’m going to use this gorgeous red manicure to grip your arse while you fuck me later.”

  My chest tightens. “Mila…”

  She looks over with innocent eyes that wouldn’t fool anyone. “Yes?”

  “I don’t care about this fridge. I’ll take you back to mine.”

  Laughing again, she takes my hand and tugs me towards her house. “There’s plenty of time for that later, stud.”

  I walk into Mila’s house with my hand in hers, like it’s the most natural thing. This isn’t the first time I’ve been in here, but it is the first time she’s touched me in public. Up until now we’ve been strictly business outside of my house.

  My hand is released when we get inside, though. I’m assuming for her mum’s benefit.

  “Reid,” Dawn says, smiling warmly when I walk into her kitchen.

  “I hear you have a wine emergency.”

  “It’s getting warm,” Mila says. “Very bad.”

  I glance at her, trying not to make my feelings for her too obvious. Though I feel like every time I look at her, my eyes are shouting I love you. Mila seems to be the only one who doesn’t see it.

  Dawn stands back. “It’s under here, and it’s a total bitch to move.”

  She moves out of the way when I walk past.

  “He’s not limp,” she whispers to Mila. I look over my shoulder to see Mila scowling and mouthing something to her mum that I imagine would turn the room blue.

  Mila turns to me and smiles. “I’m sorry.”

  “I don’t think that’s something you need to apologise for.”

  Dawn points to me. “See, he knows. No one wants a limp—”

  “Mother! Go and drink in the living room. Or better still, go to the pub. A pub in France.”

  “You can’t kick me out of my own house, love.”

  Dawn makes me understand Mila a lot better.

  “You know what? We should just order a new fridge. Come on, Reid, let’s go.”

  My heart beats faster. “Rude, Mila. I said I would help.”

  I don’t want to leave yet. Dawn is telling me more than Mila does. Her reactions to her mum are eye-opening.

  “You’re not my fucking handyman, Reid.”

  “I don’t know. I’ve been your mechanic, taxi, editor, and mentor.”

  She grits her teeth harder. “This was a mistake, though. My mum has a big mouth.”

  Dawn laughs, clearly enjoying Mila’s discomfort as much as I am.

  “Reid, please.”

  “Mila, it really is rude to throw your gentleman friend out of the house when he’s come to our rescue,” Dawn says.

  “I swear to all the gods, if you keep calling him my gentleman friend, I’m going to get myself emancipated.”

  How often do I feature in their conversations? I’d take a seat to enjoy this if I didn’t have to walk past Mila to get there.

  “No need to be dramatic, darling.” Dawn turns to me. “Do you find her a tad dramatic at times, too? When she was five, she used to hold her breath until she passed out to get her own way.”

  “Nope. This isn’t happening. Reid, we’re leaving right now.” Mila grabs a bottle of wine off the island and holds her hand out to me.

  In front of her mum.

  Dawn smiles like she’s just won the lottery. “The fridge isn’t even broken, but thanks for coming, Reid.”

  Chuckling, I take Mila’s hand and let her pull me out of the house.

  “Oh, fuck’s sake, Mum!”

  I throw my head back with laughter.

  “She is such a meddling twat!” Mila rants as we step outside.

  “You can’t call your mum a twat.”

  “Did you see what she did in there?”

  “Yes. Your mum wanted to get me over.”

  “Yeah, she’s a meddling little… ugh! I hope that fridge breaks now. As if!” She holds up the bottle in her hand. “This is my last one. The rest is hers, and I hope it goes warm and tastes like vinegar.”

  I open my door, and Mila storms in ahead of me. “I guess you’re staying this afternoon?”

  She looks over her shoulder on her way to my kitchen, no doubt off t
o help herself to a wine glass. “Oh, I’m moving in.”

  Don’t tease me. “Oh, really? Do I not get a say in this?” I ask, following her.

  I lean against the counter and watch her pouring wine into two glasses. “No, you don’t. You’re getting sex, and I’m awesome to live with.”

  “I’m not sure. I’ve seen the future you and it’s very meddling.”

  “You’re being a smartarse and smartarses don’t get laid.”

  “Tell that to my year group in high school.”

  She spins on her heels. “What were you like in high school?”

  I shrug. “Much like this, I suppose. I had a decent circle of friends, but I wasn’t willing to be someone I’m not to get ahead.”

  “I find it interesting that you think being popular is getting ahead?”

  “Isn’t it? You can be the best author in the world, yet someone popular with no desire to be a great writer can type shit and outsell you. High school was no different. The students with morals and an authentic personality were constantly overlooked.”

  “What was her name?” she asks.

  “Who’s name?”

  “The girl who overlooked you in high school.”

  You, for the last nine years. Only it wasn’t in school.

  “That’s not what I meant. I had a girlfriend back then. She was as sweet as can be.”

  “What happened?”

  I shrug. “We grew up and grew apart. She dumped me a month before we left.”

  Mila takes a few steps closer to me. “What a bitch.”

  “She’s married now, I hear.”

  “Was that a dark day for you?”

  Laughing, I shake my head. “She’s not the one who got away, Mila.”

  “Good to know you’re not pining over an ex.”

  I raise a brow. “And you?”

  “Well, you know all about Liam, and he’s definitely not the one who got away. He’s the one I should have thrown away a long time ago. There were a couple of others I dated, but nothing at all serious.”

  Stepping closer to her, I can almost feel her pulse spiking from the way her eyes widen a fraction.

  “Was she your first? The girl from high school,” Mila asks.

  I nod. “Yes.”

  “Did you love her?”