by Diana Gardin
And with that, he stepped back, leaving a generous gap of distance between them that left her cold and hungry for his closeness again.
“So?” he said, his eyes flashing. “You wanna come?”
Finding her voice was difficult, but she managed it. “Yeah, Reed. I want to come to your family’s party.”
His face broke into a beautiful smile for the first time. “Is that all?”
“And…” she hedged. “I haven’t stopped smiling since I left you and Sharon last night.”
Now his rumbly laugh melted the doubt surrounding her heart, and she smiled at him in return.
“Who?” His blue eyes twinkled as he feigned innocence.
“Don’t play that game with me,” she said. “I heard you refer to her by name, remember?”
He shrugged. “I said I’d call her that until another woman entered my life who made me forget all about Sharon.”
He bent and pressed a lingering kiss to her forehead. She sighed as his lips connected with her skin, and the chaste touch left a burning sensation when he pulled away.
“I’m glad to know you’re as…affected…as I am,” he said, his voice rough. “That’s why I came here. I needed that.”
“Glad to oblige.” She breathed, struggling now in her effort to take in normal breaths through her lungs. Sharing air with Reed took away her ability to be normal. He affected her deep in her center, and she hated it and loved it at the same time. It was both exhilarating and terrifying.
He backed away, holding her gaze, and she was able to clutch her chest and take a breath. She noticed his truck parked on the other side of her car for the first time. As he rounded the corner of it, he winked at her and called over his shoulder as he turned.
“I’ll call you later, gorgeous.”
She nodded, and the truck roared to life. She stood there, staring, until he opened the passenger-side window, leaning over the center console to grin at her.
“Hope,” he called, an eyebrow lifted.
“Yeah?”
“Get your sexy ass in your car. I was raised right. I’m not driving away until you do.”
That broke her spell, and she nodded, a startled giggle breaking free. She got into her car and drove out of the lot, keeping Reed in her rearview mirror as she did so.
After one date with Hope, Reed knew he was standing in the deepest pile of shit possible.
He spent the entire next day thinking of nothing but the way her little red toenails curled into the sand, the way her petite, curvaceous body flowed like liquid in that long dress she wore, and how much he wished he had been able to feel that body pressed against him the way it had been in the past.
She was incredible in so many ways.
Reed felt as though he’d been an underweight boxer in a heavyweight fight, and he’d been knocked out with one perfectly complete punch.
And so the next day there was no way to stop himself from getting into his truck before the workday was even over, and driving over to see her. He’d never even been to the Center; he’d looked up the address online like a stalker and waited in the parking lot until she exited the building.
He felt like a crazy bastard. But after seeing her, he was a satisfied crazy bastard.
Take that back. He was far from satisfied, but seeing her, speaking to her, and knowing that she was in one piece alleviated some of the stress he was feeling at being so far away from her for the entire day.
He was losing his mind.
He loved it.
It scared the life out of him.
Fourteen
He’d never brought a date to the Fourth at the Hopewell ranch. He’d always been single, but he’d never ended up alone once the night was over. It was an occasion everyone in Nelson Island looked forward to every year, and each party went down in history as better than the one the year before.
He’d spent each day between their date and the party on the phone with Hope, or texting her. He couldn’t stop. She was addictive. He’d even surprised her with lunch the day before at the Center, and she hadn’t kicked him out the door.
The year Sam had arrived in town, Aston had fallen into the pool during the big event and ended up needing resuscitation. This year, Reed wouldn’t be surprised if he were the one responsible for sending some poor asshole away in an ambulance. Hope would be in a bathing suit. And she didn’t exactly belong to Reed, but he knew he’d be damned if any other dude there forgot she’d come with him.
When he arrived at her friend Morrow’s to pick up Hope, he cursed under his breath. She and Morrow were sitting out on the front porch of his rental in the city, and she looked…she looked downright dangerous. More delectable than any woman had the right to look, especially when she was supposed to be someone’s date and there would be other men present.
“Hope,” he groaned as he jogged slowly up the porch steps. Both Hope and Morrow stood from their rocking chairs to greet him.
She looked self-consciously down at her outfit, and then back at him with a bewildered expression. “What? Is this not okay? Should I have dressed up more?”
He shook his head, disbelief filling his head. She really was clueless. Her white silky cover-up resembled a Grecian toga, only shorter. Her bronze skin glimmered in the sunlight and contrasted so starkly with the white of her little dress that Reed’s breath caught in his lungs before he could exhale it. Her long hair, flowing gracefully from dark brown to light, hung free in deep waves that hit her hips in the back. A turquoise string snaked out of the top of the one-shouldered cover-up and wound around her neck. Reed’s eyes lingered there as he imagined slowly untying the knot later with his teeth. She wore large brown earrings that jangled when her head turned and a brown cuff to match. He allowed his eyes to travel past the too-short hem of the dress down the smooth curves of her legs to where her brown sandals nervously tapped on the wood of the porch.
“Fuck me.” He breathed.
Morrow laughed outright as he shot Hope an I-told-you-so glance. “She didn’t believe me, man. Thanks for the¸ uh, blatant confirmation.”
Hope glared at Morrow, and then aimed her steady gaze at Reed. “Is that supposed to be a compliment?”
Reed shook his head somewhat numbly to clear it, and then stepped up into Hope’s personal space. He couldn’t give two shits about the fact that her friend was standing right next to them—he needed to share air with her now.
“That’s the best damn compliment I can come up with when I’m blindsided by that kind of view before I’ve even had my first drink of the day. Damn, girl. You just stole my breath from my lungs.” He spoke closely enough to her ear that her shiver vibrated against his chest, and he was instantly hard in his swim trunks. Embarrassingly so. Only he didn’t have the good sense to be the least bit ashamed.
She held her ground; she returned his stare, not backing away like he expected her to. She was reserved, but she wasn’t afraid to go toe-to-toe with him. Turned on wasn’t the right sentiment for how hot she was making him.
“Thanks,” she whispered. “You haven’t even seen me in my suit yet.”
And there it was. The slight bit of rasp to her whisper and the blazing heat that flashed green in her eyes when she spoke those words was like a sledgehammer to the back of his knees, and he had trouble remaining upright. Luckily, Morrow slapped him on the shoulder, forcing him to stand up straighter.
“Morrow Mathis. Nice to meet you, bro.”
Reed tore his eyes from Hope to meet Morrow’s eyes. He held out his hand. “Reed Hopewell. It’s nice to meet you, too.”
Morrow cleared his throat and glanced quickly at Hope, then turned his gaze directly on Reed once more. “That night…the night you met her. In the alley? Thank you. For saving her. I would have murdered the dude if…” His voice trailed off and anger flashed in his eyes.
Reed nodded. He respected the man for caring about Hope enough to want to kick anyone’s ass who hurt her. He understood the sentiment completely.
&nb
sp; “I’d do it again,” he answered honestly.
Morrow nodded solemnly, and a true sense of silent understanding passed between the two of them. Morrow was her friend, and Reed wanted to be so much more than that. But they both cared about Hope, so a bond was solidified.
“Have this girl here home at a decent hour,” he said seriously. “She doesn’t need the shit storm that comes with being late.”
Mutual solidarity could only go so far. Hope’s best friend was a virile, attractive, straight guy. Reed knew that they went way back and that their closeness was something he would have to get used to. But a tingle of irritation stuck him in the neck with Morrow’s warning. Why was he picking her up here in the first place? She had a home. And why was he warning her about a curfew like she was sixteen instead of twenty-two?
“Got it,” he answered. “Ready to go, Hope?”
Morrow chuckled and turned away.
She nodded to Morrow. “I’ll be fine.”
Reed stood at the bottom of the steps and held out his hand to her as she descended. He put her in the truck and climbed behind the wheel.
“Question,” he said as they began the drive toward the island.
“Yes?”
“Why Morrow’s? What’s the deal with me picking you up at home?”
She shrugged, looking uncomfortable. She didn’t meet his eyes, which bothered him more than he wanted to admit.
“My parents are the last thing I want to subject you to,” she finally answered.
“Why don’t you just move out?”
She sighed. “I won’t leave Violet.”
He nodded, mulling it over. It seemed like an impossible situation. But he was sure that once they put their heads together about it, they could figure it out. If her parents bothered her that much, she shouldn’t have to stay with them.
When he pulled onto Hopewell property and began the long drive up the paved path that led to the estate, Hope blew out a breath. Awe dawned across her face.
“What?” he said with a smirk, glancing at her. “Your stepdad’s house is a mansion in its own right.”
“I didn’t grow up there,” she said quietly. She gazed rapturously out the window as they continued. The property was lush; magnolia trees lined the driveway, and there was brightly colored greenery for acres beyond the driveway and the house. The stables and the horses weren’t visible from here, but the estate was impressive enough without them.
“Where did you grow up?”
“In Charleston,” she said vaguely.
He didn’t want to push her, but he could hear that melancholy edge to her voice that appeared when she hinted about her past or the life she shared with her mother and her sister. It grated against his heart, and a coiled tightness pressed down hard on his chest when he glanced at the somber expression gracing her flawless face. Her profile nearly snapped his chest cavity in two open pieces, and then she turned quietly anguished eyes on him. His foot came down hard on the brake involuntarily, and he slammed the truck into park.
“Talk to me, Hope,” he said, turning to face her. “I want to know.”
“Want to know what?” she asked, her voice barely reaching his eardrums.
“What’s making your face do that? I can’t take it. You’re too beautiful to be that sad.”
“I’m not sad,” she said bravely. “I swear I’m not. I just didn’t grow up like you, that’s all. You should feel lucky. Do you?”
He didn’t miss the fact that she’d turned a question onto him, but he contemplated it anyway. He supposed he felt lucky for all the opportunities he’d been allowed because of his parents’ prosperity. He knew he was lucky to have a sister who’d looked out for him and taken the brunt of the emotional baggage his parents’ difficult marriage had inflicted on them both. But he didn’t always feel lucky that his life’s choices had never really been his own.
“Sure,” he answered. “I feel lucky, most of the time, for what I’ve got. But that doesn’t mean I can’t empathize with someone who didn’t have the same things.”
“It’s not just that I grew up poor, or that we didn’t always know when our next meal was coming, or whether we’d make rent that month, or whatever. The poor part, I could handle. It was everything else my mother subjected me to, what she still subjects my sister to, that was the hard pill to swallow.”
She gulped, as if she were still trying to swallow it, and then shot him another sad smile. “You know what? That’s a story for another day. Today is a celebration, right? Independence and all that? Let’s go.”
He stared at her another minute before throwing the truck back into drive. He had a feeling, with her “independence” statement, that she wasn’t feeling very free at all in her life. And he was going to find out why if it damn near killed him.
Because he could tell from the time he’d spent with her she was worth the work it would take to figure her out.
When they finally rounded the large house, walking hand in hand up the slate-stone walkway that led to the perfectly manicured backyard pool area, she gasped in surprise.
The place was decorated festively to the max. His mother surpassed herself every year, and the pool area was immaculate. There was smooth, gray stone surrounding the area beside the kidney-shaped pool, and a tent stood off to one side, sweeping white curtains held open with large red cloth fashioned into bows. A tiki bar had been set up inside, and guests were filing in and out of it with red and blue drinks in their hands. A row of loungers surrounded each side of the pool, and Reed pointed out Aston and Sam to his date.
“This is sick,” she murmured. “I mean, in the best possible way.”
“Yeah.” He smiled. “It always is. Drink?”
She nodded, and he walked her over to the chair next to Aston. “A, you remember Hope. Hope, this is my sister, Aston. And her fiancé, Sam.”
Hope smiled tentatively. “It’s nice to see you again. We didn’t really get to meet that night at the banquet.”
“No, we didn’t,” said Aston, sticking out her hand. “I’m Reed’s attack dog of an older sister. Nice to meet you.”
“Easy, A,” warned Reed.
“Oh, I’m just messing with her,” said Aston, wafting one hand breezily in the air. “I’ll be nice. Promise.”
Reed looked unsure. Sam clasped Aston’s hand in his and nodded to Reed. “Go get your girl a drink. I got this.”
Reed was more comfortable with that. He trusted Sam implicitly, but Aston really was somewhat of a pit bull with other women. It could be that Reed usually only brought women he’d slept with on the first night, or was planning on sleeping with that night, around his sister while they were out at Sunny’s.
But Hope was different, and Aston should already be able to see that.
He squeezed Hope’s hand and leaned down to kiss her cheek. Her sweet scent practically begged him to stay. Swallowing, he went off in search of drinks in the tent. That was where, not surprisingly, he found the rest of his friends.
“Dammit, Reed,” cursed Tate. “Why’d you make us get here so damn early this year? This shit is beyond boring until the sun goes down.”
“Dude,” Reed said with a laugh. “It’s six o’clock. The sun will be down soon.”
Tate grumbled, taking a swig of Corona. “Whatever. There’s no women here yet.”
Blaze’s booming laugh filled the tent. “You need to get some glasses, Oliver. There’re plenty of women. Just none that don’t already know your game.”
Tate looked extremely put out. Reed hadn’t taken inventory of the female population of the party when he’d arrived like he normally would have. There was just no need to look at other women when Hope was around. It was an alien concept for him, but he wore it well.
“So, Reed,” Tamara cut in, speaking for the first time.
Reed turned his attention on the redhead. She looked gorgeous, as usual. She was the girl next door with her coppery hair and light dusting of freckles, and her fair skin shone in the dim
light of the tent. She was sipping a Corona just like her twin, and her lime-green bikini and matching sarong complemented her hair and skin perfectly.
“You brought Hope?”
He nodded, and Tate looked at him in surprise. He hadn’t told Tate he was bringing her; he didn’t want to deal with his shit about not bringing a date and all of that.
“You’re fucking kidding me, right?” was Tate’s flabbergasted response.
Reed held up a hand, and continued to look at Tamara. “Yeah. Getting her a drink. You okay?”
She nodded. Reed had a fleeting thought that he really needed to introduce her to some good guys. Then he realized that he didn’t know any, other than the ones she already knew on the island.
Reed grabbed two rum and Cokes and turned to head out of the tent. “Y’all come on out here and hang out with us after you get a buzz going. Or before, in your case, Tate.”
He headed back out of the tent, immediately searching for Hope’s stunning form across the pool.
He found it all right, and she was staring up into the eyes of a guy he’d seen around the office but didn’t know very well. Reed’s eyes zeroed in on the man in question. He thought his name was Brent, maybe. He took in the hand that was resting lightly on Hope’s knee from the lounge chair next to hers. Brent was leaning forward, and she was now looking down at his hand and frowning.
Reed’s vision changed from perfectly clear and normal to a sharp, focused red, and the background noise of the party died down with the loud rush of blood pulsing in his ears.
His reaction was immediate, and primal. And definitely a little psychotic.
I’m gonna fuck Brent up.
Fifteen
Aston was actually being cordial. Hope had a completely different expectation of her than what she was getting. The girl could be the perfect definition of the phrase “Ice Queen.” Her long, dark hair never had a strand out of place, and her tall, thin body was the same size and shape as a supermodel. Her skin was blemish free, and she rocked a tiny red bikini harder than anyone Hope had ever seen in her life. Her blue eyes were a shade darker than Reed’s, and where his were warm and inviting with a hint of mischief, hers were icy and gave nothing away.
