“C’mon.” He pressed a hand to her back. “Let’s go. I know just the place.”
* * *
Reid drove her to a small Italian restaurant, hoping to get in without a reservation, but the dining room was full. “Do you serve in the bar?” he asked the maître d’.
“Yes. We offer the full menu.”
“Will that suit you?” he asked Haley.
“Yes. I’m easy,” she replied and then colored. “To please, I mean.”
Another Freudian slip? She was edgy as hell, and the tension between them was only growing. She didn’t hide it well. He was happy to see her squirming in her panties and feeling pretty damned smug to know she was thinking the same thoughts he was.
He’d tried to ignore it, to suppress his lingering lust, but he couldn’t deny the semi he’d been sporting almost from the moment he’d seen her. They followed the maître d’ into the bar where he chose a quiet corner table. A waitress appeared almost immediately to take their drink order.
“Jim Beam Black, straight up.” He looked to Haley. “A mojito? Is that still your poison?”
“Yes,” Haley said. “I’m surprised you remember.”
“I never forget details.” He shrugged. “Marine training.” It was true, just not the whole truth. He remembered her. Had memorized every detail over those cumulative four-point-one-six years. He’d wanted her back then, and still wanted her now. He didn’t know why, but he couldn’t help himself.
The waitress left menus behind while she went to fill the drink order.
“You’ve changed. The glasses. The hair,” he remarked. It was still the same pale blonde, but shorter, barely brushing her shoulders.
“I’m not twenty anymore,” she said. “I needed a more sophisticated, less coed look. When you’re as short as I am, it’s hard to be taken seriously to begin with, so I cut my hair and started wearing glasses again.” She slid them off her face and set them on the table. “I really only need them for reading.”
Her eyes were the deep sea green he so vividly recalled. They softened as her gaze met his. She seemed less certain of herself now. More vulnerable. Yeah, she felt it brewing too. It was only a matter of time, but if it happened again, it would have to be on his terms.
“Reid, I wanted to ask you something. Who were those two men this afternoon?”
“The ones who harassed you?” He’d hoped this wouldn’t come up, but supposed it was inevitable.
“Yeah. Can you tell me anything about them?”
“The older one is a founding member of the Outfitters Association, and the younger is his son, the chairman of the Wolf Coalition.”
“The group countersuing the Wolf Recovery Alliance? No wonder they were so hostile,” she remarked dryly. “What are their names? I’d like to know precisely who I’m dealing with.”
He heaved a sigh. “Boyd and Jared Everett.”
“Everett.”
“Yup. My father and my brother.”
“So that’s why they backed off when you intervened.”
“Yes, but it was only a reprieve. They’re going to win this time, Haley. All you activists can continue to fight in the courts, but you’re eventually going to lose in Wyoming. It’s only a matter of time. You’ll never sway public opinion to your side here. Trust me on this, there’s nothing you can do to stop the delisting.”
“But we can certainly delay it. Our lawyers are already seeking another injunction.” Haley jutted her jaw. “You aren’t doing enough to protect the wolves.”
“You’ve got to at least try to understand where the people here are coming from. We’re traditionalists who depend too much on our lands and herds to make our living. We can’t protect your wolves at the cost of feeding our families.”
“You all want to cast all the blame for the herd decline on the wolves when the facts are—”
“Facts?” he repeated. “Let’s just stick to bare facts, shall we? How many wolves are there in Wyoming?”
“It’s hard to estimate. They move around.”
“Then give me your best guess.”
“Our last report stated 320 known wolves in Wyoming.”
“Wasn’t the recovery goal a hundred?”
“That’s the minimum number for recovery,” she insisted.
“Yet you’re telling me we have over three times that number.”
“But if you start killing them—”
He raised a hand. “Hold your rebuttal until you hear me out, Haley. Still sticking to facts, what is their primary food source?”
“Ungulates. Mostly deer, elk, occasionally moose calves.”
“How many kills does a wolf need to make in a year to survive?”
She chewed her lip. “About twenty, I guess. Maybe twenty-five.”
“So a wolf population of one hundred would kill about two thousand, maybe twenty-five hundred elk a year?”
“I suppose so.”
“But we have over three hundred wolves killing twenty to twenty-five elk apiece. That’s close to eight thousand elk in a single year, Haley. I’m no math genius, but it seems to me that accounts for a big chunk of the decline.”
“But there are other predators and other factors than wolves,” she argued.
“I don’t dispute that, but those other factors only contribute further to the decreasing elk numbers, and we haven’t even touched on livestock yet. You see why people are hurting? Why they’re hostile? They’re watching everything they’ve worked for all their lives go down the tubes just to satisfy the conservationists who want to watch wolf pups romp at the national parks. Problem is, the wolves don’t stay in the parks.”
“You’re oversimplifying everything,” she insisted. “The issue is much more complicated than that.”
“Is it? I don’t think so. Why are you really here?” he asked.
She shrugged. “It was a job.”
“You already had one, didn’t you? With one of those conservation groups?”
“I was an assistant professor of wildlife conservation studies at the university, and yes, I also helped fund-raise for a conservation group.”
“So why are you here?” he repeated.
“Truth?” she asked.
“Yeah.” He sat back. “Truth.”
She sighed. “I was getting tired of all the politics and wanted to get back to fieldwork. All the money I’ve helped raise seems to be going into lawyers’ pockets instead of toward what really matters. I thought this job would allow me to get back to what I love.”
“But it’s also landed you right smack in the middle of a minefield.”
She met his eyes with a smile. “Then it’s a good thing there was a marine on hand to rescue me. Why did you do it, Reid?”
“Told you. The odds were stacked against you.”
“I can hold my own,” she argued.
“You didn’t stand a chance, sweetheart. They would have eaten you alive. When I intervened, they were barely getting warmed up.”
The waitress delivered their drinks. “Ready to order?”
“I’m sorry,” Haley answered. “We haven’t had a chance to look at the menu yet.”
“No problem. Take your time. I’ll check back with you in a few.”
His gaze never leaving Haley’s, Reid took a long swallow, relishing the smooth bourbon burn. He wondered again why he had intervened. He’d felt compelled to protect her, and he didn’t understand why. Or why he’d asked her to dinner when his instinct of self-preservation told him to steer clear of her.
She stared down into her glass, idly stirring her drink. “I don’t want to talk about wolves anymore.”
“All right by me,” he said. “I’m game for any topic that doesn’t include politics, religion, or wolves.”
“You’ve changed, Reid.”
“Yeah
.” He snorted and took another swig. “I’ve changed all right.”
“How long have you been home?”
“Only a few months.”
“Are you adapting all right? I mean, it’s got to be hard, given how long you were over there.”
“It’s been an adjustment,” he answered tersely.
“What are your plans?”
“Don’t have any. My life pretty much sucks right now, since I don’t know what the hell I want to do with it. For now I’ll just keep doing what I’ve always done.” He gave her a narrow look. “And try to stay out of the politics.”
“So you guide hunters?” she asked.
“It’s a bit more than that. Outfitting is playing babysitter, game warden, and pack mule to people who think they want a wilderness adventure. Most of them are pretty damn clueless, hence the babysitting part. I keep them from getting lost or shooting themselves. Now that game’s scarcer, we’re having to trek a whole lot deeper into the backcountry, so Jared’s put me in charge of Everett’s Extreme Expeditions.”
“Sounds right up your alley,” she laughed.
“Yeah.” He gave a dry laugh. “But the ‘extreme’ living is getting old too. I fantasize about getting away from it all. Just going someplace I can kick back without having to pack a mule, a tent, or a weapon.”
“Like some desert island?”
“Hell no.” He grimaced. “No islands. No place with sand. I’ve had as much of that shit as I can take.”
“So where would you go?”
“Dunno. Maybe when I figure it out, I’ll just go.”
“Just disappear?”
“Mebbe.”
She toyed with her straw again. Slanting a look through her lashes, she asked, “Are you involved with anyone, Reid?”
“No. If I was, I wouldn’t be here with you.”
“But it’s only dinner.”
“Is it?” He glanced down at her naked left hand. “What happened with your professor?”
“Work got in the way.”
“He wasn’t right for you. He wasn’t what you need.”
She gave a derisive snort. “And you think you’re some kind of expert on what I need?”
“Yeah, when you look at me like that.”
She wet her lips. “Like what?”
“Like you want me to fuck you senseless.”
Her jaw dropped and her hands hit the table. “You arrogant, presumptuous son of a—”
He’d offended her with his bluntness, but he didn’t care. He pushed back in his chair and eyed her levelly. It was time to cut through the bullshit. “I’m too old for games, Haley.”
Her green eyes widened. “You think I’m playing games?”
“Don’t be coy with me. I don’t have the patience or temperament for it anymore. Time has become a priceless commodity to me. I’ve already wasted too damned much of it. If you want me, just say it.”
Her mouth closed. Her gaze dropped to her hands. She looked nervous as hell. For a moment he thought she’d bolt, but she didn’t.
He waited. And watched.
At last she looked up, her gaze searching his. “All right,” she whispered. “I’ll say it. I want you.”
Chapter 16
It had required all her nerve to voice it, but the words were out and not to be taken back.
Reid’s pupils flared, but he said nothing. Just reached for his wallet, threw a wad of bills on the table, and grabbed her by the arm.
Her body thrummed with anticipation as he guided her to his truck. She was breathless and slightly giddy, but had hardly even touched her mojito. Just the thought of being with him again did this to her.
He still didn’t speak until a few minutes later, when he pulled into a shopping mart with a twenty-four-hour pharmacy. “Just need to make one quick stop.”
Her gaze fixed on his ass, so perfectly defined in snug denim, as he walked into the drugstore. She wanted to feel it in her hands while he pumped into her. She chided herself for being so shallow, but Reid had always brought out her baser, animalistic side.
She waited impatiently, her pulse speeding as he walked out the door toward the truck. He couldn’t move fast enough for her. He laid a small plastic bag on the seat and then started the truck. Five minutes later, they were in the lodge parking lot.
“Got an extra room key?” he asked, his entire body tense. She could see it in the hard line of his mouth, in the stiffness of his movements.
“No. I’ve only got one, but I can get another.” Her hands were trembling as she fished inside her purse. “Here. Number two nineteen.” She handed him her card. “I’ll just tell them I left mine in the room.”
His hand came over hers, warm and firm as if meant to reassure, but the contact was like an electric jolt. “You okay?” He didn’t make a move beyond touching her hand.
She looked up into his eyes with a hard swallow. “No,” she murmured. “I’m not. But I will be.” Although she quivered with trepidation, it wasn’t enough to stop the train.
He gave a nod and released her hand, then unbuckled and came around to open her door. “You’d best go in alone. It’s a small community. People talk.”
Her legs felt like jelly as she walked to the front desk for a replacement key. She’d never been so aware of her body before. Her anticipation ratcheted up another notch with every step as she approached her room. Would he be there already or would he wait a while? She hadn’t thought to ask.
She held her breath as she slid the key into the slot and opened the door, releasing a long hiss of relief when she found the room empty. She closed the door and leaned against it. She wanted this, didn’t she?
Yes. She did.
She ached with physical need. She’d kept it caged far too long and was almost ready to climb out of her skin with want. But it scared the hell out of her. She didn’t just want him. She needed him.
But why was it only Reid who’d ever made her feel this way? Jeffrey had felt safe and comfortable, like a favorite pair of jeans. She’d never experience the same passion with Jeffrey that she’d known with Reid. He’d never remotely compared, though she’d tried very hard not to. Compare, that is.
The two men were nothing alike, either philosophically or physically. If they were trees, Jeffrey would be a birch and Reid would be an oak, an analogy that suited their anatomical differences equally well, she thought dryly. Although she’d tried to convince herself for the longest time that she loved Jeffrey, she knew better now. If she had, she would have long forgotten Reid. But she hadn’t. Would it be the same between them as it was before?
You’re thinking too much. Just relax and go with it. You’re a grown woman and have every right to enjoy yourself with a man. With Reid.
Should she undress? She hated to appear too eager. Then again, who was she kidding? Not Reid. He’d seen right through her, had read her every lurid thought in the bar.
With her heart racing, she kicked off her shoes but hesitated with her hands on the zipper of her skirt. Maybe he’d want to undress her? Then again, he’d probably be more than happy to get straight to the main event. Four-point-one-six years.
He’d done the math.
She nervously shed her skirt and blouse, but left her bra and panties on. She wished she’d worn something racier than sensible white cotton with just a bit of lace trim, but the plain packaging would have to do.
The door clicked. She inhaled a tiny gasp.
“You should use the dead bolt.”
“I was expecting you,” she said.
“I was afraid you might change your mind.”
“No, Reid. I haven’t changed my mind. No games, right?”
His hot gaze raked slowly up and down her body. He doffed his hat and tossed it on the chair. “You’re a sight for sore eyes, Haley Cooper.” His voice was low and
husky, inciting tiny ripples deep inside her sex. He was in tight control, but his desire was palpable, like some powerful force that was about to unleash. He extended his hand.
She approached with an intentional slow and seductive sway of her hips, shivering again as their gazes met and held. Oh dear God. All the foreplay she needed was right there, reflected in his blue eyes.
* * *
She’d surprised him, meeting him in her bra and panties, but at least her actions stated clear intent. Thank God.
“Take it off. All of it.” Though his balls ached with anticipation, he didn’t trust himself to touch her. Not yet.
She bit her lip, looking suddenly shy. All the confidence she’d greeted him with a moment ago had evaporated. He pulled her close. Locking eyes with hers, he ran his index finger slowly down the valley between her breasts. The bra had a front hook. He managed it with one hand. She trembled as it dropped to the floor.
Her breasts weren’t overly full, but nicely shaped and pert as hell with pretty pink nipples standing at attention, reminding him of ripe raspberries. His mouth watered with the desire to suck them. But not yet.
His fingers tracked down the midline of her belly, over pale, smooth, satiny skin. He traced the band of her bikini panties, then hooked one side of them. Her eyes widened and breath audibly hitched as he peeled them down.
“Aren’t you at least going to kiss me first?”
“Yeah,” he replied with a dark laugh. “I’m going to kiss you, all right.” She gave another little gasp as his knees hit the floor. “I’m going to kiss and tongue you until you scream. I’m going to brand every inch of you with my mouth, Haley, so that this time you won’t forget.”
“I never forgot the last time,” she whispered.
The scent of her arousal washed over him in a dizzying wave, nearly knocking him on his ass. Holy shit! He’d never been so turned on. Grasping her hips with both hands, he made the first long, slow swipe with his tongue.
She cried out, her body quaking. She was so ready, so ripe, and he’d hardly begun.
Reid plunged his face into her mound with a moan, licking, sucking, and exploring every sweet and tangy inch of her with his hungry mouth. Her fingers clenched in his hair. He delved deeper with greedy sweeps of his tongue. She bucked her hips against his face with a whimper, urging him further into her sex. But he eased up instead, just enough to keep her on edge, sucking and swirling, teasing with flicks and darts until she rocked and moaned. He wanted to torture her with pleasure, crank her need until she couldn’t take anymore.
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