by Mia Carson
But this was not a dream, and he shook his head when her eyes suddenly narrowed. She gave a little shake of her head before the man she danced with pulled her in close again, and they were off.
Reider’s grip on the glasses tightened until he was sure they’d break before he got a hold of himself. When she circled the floor again, he chanced a look at her face and inwardly breathed a sigh of relief to see the fire back in her eyes. The set of her jaw, though, revealed she did not like the company of the man holding her way too close for comfort. His feet moved closer, ready to break them apart, until he remembered where he was. He forced his steps to veer off to find his cousin.
“Who did you run into?” Micah asked as he took his whiskey and sipped it. “Damn, you couldn’t have mixed it?”
Reider laughed, trying to drag his gaze away from the mesmerizing beauty on the dance floor. “The men in this family usually don’t. You know that.”
“Still,” he muttered and glared into the depths of the glass. “You going to tell me why you look ready to kill someone?”
“I do not.”
“Yeah, actually, you do,” Micah argued. “Is your girl here with someone else?”
Reider choked on his whiskey, and Micah pounded him hard on the back. “Why would you think that? I don’t have a girl.”
“Sure you don’t. I saw you coming back from the bar,” he said and glanced at the dance floor. “Which one is it?”
“Really, it’s nothing,” he muttered because he didn’t want to yell at his cousin to mind his own damn business in front of everyone. The guy was more observant than he realized, and Reider saw how precarious the situation between him and Johanna had just become. If Micah picked up on any vibe between them—a gesture, a glance—he’d blabber to his parents because he didn’t know how to keep his mouth shut. He could never keep a secret when they were kids, and Reider knew he hadn’t improved since.
“Need some air,” he told Micah. His cousin stood up, ready to join him, but Reider shook his head. “Mind if I have a minute alone? Need to make a call to Benny at the station.”
Micah tilted his head, slightly confused, but he nodded and sat back down to watch the dancers on the floor. Reider strolled through the crowd, smiling and sharing greetings with everyone he passed while trying to catch another glimpse of Johanna. The man led her from the dance floor, and they stopped to talk to her older brothers and two other men Reider didn’t know. Johanna laughed at something her brother said, but Reider smirked when he heard the mocking undertone as he passed quickly and out of the ballroom.
A balcony stretched along the entire back part of the building. He leaned on the railing, no longer in the mood for his whiskey. He tossed it over the railing and leaned hard on his elbows, hating that he couldn’t rush in and grab the woman he wanted to be with.
What he didn’t know was why he wanted to be with her. Why, when he saw her with another man, his chest tightened and his eye twitched in jealousy.
His mind warring against what he was told about the Chadwick family and what he knew from spending time with Johanna, he leapt over the railing to the ground, a few feet down, and with his hands shoved deep into his pockets, strolled towards the garden path. Lights lit the path, so he wandered down one at random, the stillness of the night closing in around him. He hoped to sort out his thoughts, but by the time he reached the bench under a willow tree in the center of the garden, his head ached and he was more confused than before.
He debated hiding in the garden the rest of the night when heels clicking hard against the flagstones met his ears. He perked up at the sound of a startled feminine gasp.
“Oh, sorry,” Johanna muttered. “I didn’t know you were out here. I’ll go.” She turned quickly to leave through the high hedges, but Reider was quicker. Without thinking, he reached out for her hand.
“No, you can stay. I don’t mind the company.” His thumb caressed the back of her hand, and he smiled until he saw the tears pricking her eyes and the strain etched on her face. “Johanna? What’s wrong?”
She pulled her hand free and crossed her arms. “It’s nothing… something in my eye.”
“You’re a worse liar than I am,” he said with a quiet laugh.
She joined him for a moment before her eyes lightened, and she sucked in a deep breath. “Rough night, is all. I needed some air and a drink—or several.”
“And to get away from the man your brothers were showing you off to?” he asked quietly.
He expected her to yell at him, curse him, threaten to stab him in the eye again, but instead, her shoulders hunched and she cried, tears streaming down her face as she turned her back to him. Reider froze, not sure what to do. Her body trembled and instinct took over. Carefully, he reached out a hand to rest on her shoulder in comfort. When she didn’t flinch away, he moved closer and turned her gently around to face him. Reider had no idea what to expect, but when Johanna’s head fell against his shoulder and she leaned into him, he put his arms around her and held her close. Hidden away in the garden and cloaked by the night, she wasn’t a Chadwick and he wasn’t a Marquette. She was simply Johanna, and he was Reider.
When she calmed down, she stayed in his arms, mumbling against his shoulder. “They expect me to marry one of them. Just like that. Date him one day and announce an engagement the next.”
“Don’t you have a choice?” he asked as his anger grew.
“Of course not. They’ll be heads of the family, and I’m their little sister. It doesn’t matter what I want and never will,” she spat bitterly. “All I want is a chance to choose, and I can’t even get that.”
“There has to be something you can do,” he argued stiffly. “They can’t force you to marry someone.”
“You don’t know my family very well. Trust me, they can. I have a little sister to think of,” she said, and for the first time since he enveloped her in his arms, she met his gaze.
Her breath caught, and her face softened as Reider looked down at her, his brow furrowed at the sudden longing filling him. He wanted this woman more than he wanted any other he could remember. Her body pressed into his and his arms tightened against her back, one hand sliding up towards her neck.
“Johanna,” he whispered, “what are we doing?”
He waited for her to pull away and yell at him, but she shook her head and replied just as quietly, “I don’t know.”
His mouth slanted down over hers, and she melted into his touch. His hand moved up into her hair, not caring if he messed it up as she grabbed the lapels of his tux jacket and brought him closer, the kiss intensifying when her lips parted and his tongue slipped inside. She moaned, and Reider forgot where they were or why this was such a bad idea. Her breasts pushed up against his chest, and his hand moved to cup her ass, groaning because it was as firm as he’d imagined. If they had been anywhere else, he would’ve found a soft patch of grass and showed her everything they could have together.
A door opened that led into the ballroom, and the loud music from the band trickled out, killing the moment. Johanna pulled back instantly, holding her swollen lips and shaking her head. Reider sucked in a few deep breaths, mentally telling the bulge in his pants to go away now that the kiss was over.
“What did we do?” she whispered. “Reider? Oh my God! Someone could’ve seen us!”
“Calm down,” he said. “No one saw us, we’re fine.”
“No, we can’t do this,” she muttered and took another step backwards. “This never happened. Understand? It didn’t happen.”
He reached for her, but she staggered away and, hiking up her dress, ran down the path. Reider stepped after her but stopped. If he did, anyone out on the balcony would see, and if her brothers knew, he didn’t want her to deal with that grief. So he waited. He returned to the bench and sat down, glaring at the hard-on in his pants. It was probably a good idea to wait before strolling back inside with the bulge, anyway. He would give her enough time to collect herself and mingle amongst the cr
owd before he went back inside.
His own lips swollen from the kiss, Reider reached up and ran his fingers over them, unable to stop the smile from spreading across his face. Hers were softer than he imagined, and God, was she filled with a passion that he wanted to be a part of. He knew it was wrong to want more, that it could never happen, but as he sat there alone, he knew there was no way he could ever forget that damn kiss happened.
Figuring enough time had passed, he walked down the path, remembering every second of the kiss he shared with Johanna. He almost didn’t notice the young woman standing on the balcony, shooting him a curious glance as he opened the door to go inside. He smiled absently at her, and she grinned in reply before moving farther down.
The music hit him hard, and he frowned as he refused to look for Johanna. No one could know what happened, and he wasn’t going to piss her off by making a scene, not with everyone there.
“Where’ve you been?” Micah asked sharply even though he smiled. “Thought you got lost out there.”
“Nah, took a walk to clear my head,” he said.
“Everything okay with Benny?”
Reider frowned. “Benny?”
“You said you had to call him about something at the station,” Micah said, tilting his head curiously. “Did you forget?”
“Oh, right. No, I called him. He didn’t answer,” he lied quickly. “Think I need another drink.”
“Looks like you need another one.”
He nudged his cousin with his elbow as they went to the bar. “Thanks, Micah, really.”
“Just being honest. Did you see the Chadwick twins? Been showing off their sister all night long,” he muttered with a nod in their direction.
Reider didn’t mean to look. Frank and Frederick were with Johanna, who stood between them, her body language clearly revealing her hatred of the position. His feet slowed, and he wondered if she thought of their kiss in the garden. He didn’t think it would ever fade from his mind. Micah asked if he were coming, and Reider hurried to catch up. At the bar, he ordered a shot of whiskey first, followed by another whiskey on the rocks.
Micah watched him with a close eye. “You sure nothing happened out there?”
“You worry too much,” Reider told him. “Let’s go find you someone to dance with.”
“What? Reider, come back! I don’t want to dance!”
“It’ll be good for you, trust me,” he insisted and moved easily through the crowd, Micah trailing behind, until he found several women he had dated very briefly. Most of them were sweet, and two were very good in bed.
“Ladies, you remember my cousin, Micah?” They smiled and giggled at Micah’s blushing face. “He’s in need of a dance partner. Mind obliging the poor boy before he falls asleep from boredom?”
Reider took his glass as Meredith led Micah out onto the dance floor. “I’m going to get you back for this,” he called over his shoulder, eliciting a laugh from Reider.
The other women moved closer and asked if he wanted to dance, but he shook his head. “Not tonight, ladies, sorry. Strictly on babysitting duty.” He finished his whiskey quickly, watching Micah dance awkwardly across the floor. Reider finished his cousin’s whiskey next, then excused himself to grab another.
Several hours later, when the event finally came to a close, Reider left Micah to put Meredith’s number into his phone and headed for the front doors. At least he’d ridden with his parents; otherwise, he’d be calling a cab to get his sorry ass home. The whiskey helped dull the ache left behind from Johanna’s kiss but not enough to make him forget it happened, not even close. He would dream about her all night, and though it wasn’t what he wanted—he’d rather have her—it would suffice for the moment.
His head down as he moved through the crowd, he didn’t pay attention to where he was going until he ran into a soft body. His arms shot out to catch her before she could fall, and he cursed when he saw Johanna’s face staring worriedly back at him.
“Shit, I’m sorry,” he said quickly and steadied her on her feet. “Are you alright?”
“What the hell are you doing, asshole?” Frank yelled from behind Johanna and charged forward. “Get your hands off my sister.” He shoved Reider back roughly and blocked Johanna from view. “Touch her again, and it’ll be the last thing you do,” he warned quietly.
Reider glowered at him and straightened his jacket. He swallowed the snarky reply rising up in him and held his hands up instead as he backed away. “Sorry, won’t happen again.”
“Damn right it won’t, fucking Marquette,” he snapped and turned to steer Johanna towards the door. She muttered angrily to her brother, but whatever she’d said, Reider couldn’t hear though it seemed to piss Frank off even more. He pointed, his face red, and Johanna stomped out the door.
Fredrick and her parents followed a moment later, along with the young woman he’d spotted on the balcony. She glanced at Reider, wringing her hands before someone called.
“Izzy,” Reider whispered. “Her little sister.” His heart pounding in his chest, he wondered if she had told her brothers what she’d seen, or if she’d even seen anything. The rest of the night, all he did was worry about who might have seen their kiss and if there was a chance they would share another one.
***
Johanna seethed the whole way home. The second she was inside, she hiked up her skirts and hurried up the stairs as Frank and Frederick called after her. Their parents had driven separately with Izzy and had stopped by the store on their way home.
“Hey, we’re talking to you,” Frank yelled as he followed her.
“You’re such a jackass—both of you are,” she snapped. “There was no reason to be rude.”
“To the Marquette? That’s what you’re upset about?” Frederick asked suspiciously.
“No, I’m pissed because you expect me to actually want to date one of your friends,” she yelled. “They’re rude and conceited, and it’s not going to happen. Get out of my room so I can change.” She shoved on the door to slam it closed, but Frank put his foot in the way. “I said move.”
“No. Brandon likes you and wants to go on a date. I gave him your number, so expect a call,” he informed her stiffly. “And I expect you to answer it.”
“If I don’t?” she asked, her stomach clenching at the mocking smile he gave her.
“You will, end of discussion,” he said and backed away.
Johanna slammed her door hard enough to rattle the pictures on the walls. She screamed, frustrated she couldn’t just tell them about what happened out in the gardens. She’d found the man she wanted to date. But he was the one man she couldn’t have.
Chapter 6
Johanna barely made it through the weekend without lashing out at her brothers, but she did manage to postpone any dates with Brandon for at least a month. She was swamped with class work, which wasn’t a lie. Because it was her senior year, Ashford wasn’t the only one piling on the assignments and tests.
Sunday night, Izzy knocked on her door. Johanna called, “Come in.”
“So at the charity event…” Izzy said, hopping onto Johanna’s bed.
“What about it?” she asked slowly, spinning around in her desk chair. Izzy grinned and Johanna’s palms sweated. Did her sister see what had happened in the garden? If she knew, maybe someone else had seen it too. “Izzy, what’s going on?”
“Nothing, I was wondering if you saw how handsome Reider Marquette looked,” she murmured innocently and, with a girly sigh, fell backwards onto the bed. “That tux clung to him like a second skin.”
Johanna rolled her chair closer. “He’s a Marquette. Can’t have anything to do with him, and why were you checking him out to begin with?” She waited for her sister to drop the bomb that she saw them together, saw their kiss, but Izzy sat up and shrugged.
“I went outside to grab some air, and he came up from the gardens, all broody,” she muttered. “That only made him even handsomer. Didn’t you notice him when he ran into you?�
��
She pushed away again and rolled to her desk, turning her back on her sister. “I might’ve taken a gander, but he’s a Marquette, so it’s not like anything could happen with him for either of us, so don’t even think it,” she warned and pinned Izzy with a solid stare. “I mean it. It’s not worth the trouble.”
Then why do you keep thinking that it would be? You enjoyed that kiss and you know it!
“Jo? You alright? Your face is all scrunched up,” Izzy asked with a raised brow. “Is something going on you’re not telling me?”
Johanna hunched over the packet of papers on her desk, scanning what she had written down for Reider’s answers before she continued typing up the latest assignment. “Absolutely sure,” she answered her sister, her voice light and fluttery until she coughed. “Wanted to be sure you’re not planning on doing something stupid like try to hit on him. It wouldn’t end well for either of you.”
“Right, and are you telling me that, or yourself, sis?” Before Johanna could reply, Izzy hopped off the bed and walked to the door, a wistful grin on her face. She winked at Johanna. “I’m going to bed. See you in the morning.”
Johanna sighed, leaned back in her chair, and stared at the ceiling fan. Her sister knew nothing. If she had seen the kiss, she would’ve said something and told Johanna to go for it, but instead, she hinted at what could happen with Reider. That, right there, was the question she was dying to ask. “Except your family and his family would explode and the city would erupt in chaos from the fallout.”
She groaned and rested her head on her desk. She hated how twisted up inside she was over one damn kiss. It happened in the garden, and it would stay there—in the garden, where no one else would ever know about it except her and Reider. He would have to keep his mouth shut over it and his hands away from her, even though that was the last thing she wanted. In fact, she had wanted him the second he sat down in the coffeehouse and gave her brief glimpses into his real personality. Wanted him even more when he put his arms around her so easily in the garden to comfort her, how his voice rang with jealousy anytime mention of her dating or marrying someone else came up.
