by Liz Peters
To her surprise, he agreed quickly and she closed the folder in front of her.
“Then, you’re hired. Is it fine if you start the day after tomorrow? I have classes at Plains State on Tuesday and Thursday, so I’m only in the office on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and I’d like to be here to show you a few of the ropes and introduce you to Samantha and all the rest.”
“Got it, Debbie. You want to show me around. I’ll be here with bells on.” She wanted to do a hell of a lot more than show him around, but that was going to have to go on the back burner if the two of them were going to work together. She just had no idea how well she was going to be able to keep up the professionalism around here with him looking like that.
“Let me just show you out.” She had no idea what was wrong with her, but here she was falling left and right for guys that she shouldn’t have anything to do with. First, it was her professor, and now, the guy she’d just hired to be her employee. She had a knack for being attracted to all the wrong people.
It was just at that moment that she remembered she’d agreed to have dinner with Professor Brennan that evening. She groaned internally, not wanting to give herself away to the man she was showing out of the office. She was pretty sure he could find his own way, but she wanted to apologize one more time for pushing the wrong buttons during their interview. She stopped in front of the front door to the office and looked up at Jamie.
“Listen, I’m sorry again if I said anything out of line during the interview.”
“It’s fine. You needed to know why I left my last job. I was the one who got my feelings in a twist about it. I’m surprised you hired me after the way I reacted, even if you do clearly need someone who can do the job.”
“You’re obviously good at the job just based on your resume, and I’m the reason you got your hackles up. I can cut you some slack there.”
“Already cutting me slack? You’re going to make a bad lawyer if you don’t toughen up a little there, Miss MacIntyre.”
Debbie shrugged and shook her head.
“I’m pretty sure I’m going to make a terrible lawyer, but I guess we’re going to have to wait and see, aren’t we?”
Jamie frowned, sliding his hands into his pockets.
“Well, now it’s my turn to be sorry. I didn’t mean that the way it sounded. I’m sure you’re going to be a great lawyer.”
“I’ve got to get through my first year of law school in one piece first, so I guess we’ll see. It’s fine. Nothing to apologize for. I’ll see you on Wednesday, okay?”
“See you on Wednesday. Thank you for the job. I’ll be here bright and early at eight if that’s okay?”
“Eight is fine. See you then.” Debbie opened the door and let him out into the still warm afternoon air. That interview hadn’t gone like she’d expected, but then again, nothing had gone as she’d expected since she came here. Now she just had to figure out what she was doing tonight while she was out to dinner with the very last man she shouldn’t have agreed to go out with. Debbie waited until Jamie was in his car and the car pulled around the corner of the street and out of sight to slump her full weight against the door frame with a sigh. She was in for a rough ride.
Chapter Seven
Sam made it a point to get out of the office before sunset today. In fact, she was out of the door about five minutes after the official closing time of the office. Debbie had insisted that she get out of there and head home. There was no work that wasn’t going to keep until tomorrow, and Debbie was taking a few files home with her to work on for the next couple of days.
Sam’s cell phone had been silent all day long, though she’d checked it a couple dozen times through the course of the day for any sign of communication from Reid. She hadn’t gone this long without hearing from him since he’d come to visit her in the city. It made her chest hurt to think about it. She knew she’d screwed up, and she drove up to the house with an apology already on the tip of her tongue. She didn’t know if it was going to make up for the time that she’d wasted between the two of them or if he was even going to accept her apology, but she had to tell him the way she felt.
Sam walked up the front steps, noting the lights were on in the house beyond. That along with the fact that Reid’s truck was already parked in the driveway told her that he was home and waiting for her. She just hoped that he hadn’t been waiting too long. She had a lot of things she wanted to talk about with him, and she wasn’t sure if he was still upset from last night and this morning or if he was just as upset about all of this as she was. There was no way of knowing until she walked through that door and actually tried to talk to him.
She paused at the front door before sliding her key into the lock and opening the door to an empty foyer, but unlike the night before, she could hear the sounds of Reid moving around in the kitchen. At least that was a good sign. He was home, which meant she at least had a chance at saying what it was she needed to say. The fact that he hadn’t answered her text message all day scared her a little, but it was honestly now or never.
Taking another deep breath, Sam headed towards the kitchen but froze in her tracks when she entered the dining room and saw the table set complete with plates and candlesticks. In the same moment, Reid walked into the room carrying a dish filled with chicken, and both of his hands shoved into oven mitts. He was even wearing an apron. It looked silly on him, but it also looked kind of sexy to see him being domestic like that. Sam slid her hands into her pockets and smiled at her husband.
“Hi, Cowboy.” She was still being kind of shy. This was the first time she’d spoken to him since the two of them had fought, but the fact that he was getting dinner ready for the both of them was a good sign.
“Hey there, Legs.” He put the plate down on the table and wiggled his hands out of the oven mitts before he pulled her into his arms, claiming her lips in a long, deep kiss.
Sam had known that was exactly what she’d needed, and she had needed it since the moment she’d pulled up at the house yesterday and his car wasn’t in the driveway. The way his arms wrapped around her body and crushed her into his chest took her breath away, just like it had the first time he’d pulled her into his arms to take a kiss. Sam felt herself melt into him for the first time in days. This was exactly where she needed to be. The two of them remained wrapped up in each other for a moment, forgetting that the rest of the world existed until Samantha pulled away with her lungs screaming for air. She paused, resting her forehead on his and closing her eyes.
“I’m sorry. I should have come home earlier. I love you, and I hate fighting with you.”
Reid waited until she was finished to press a kiss right between her eyes on her forehead and pull her back into his chest even closer.
“Nah, I’m the one that should be sorry, Baby. I was being stupid and childish. You’re out there working hard, and the least I can do is be supportive. Instead, I was at Matty’s place pouting like a teenaged boy and being an asshole when I got home. You deserve better than that.”
Sam reached up and pulled Reid’s face back down into hers, pressing a kiss to his lips that cut off the end of the last word. She needed this. She needed him close, and it had been far too long since she’d had it. Keeping apart for even a night left her hungry for him.
“Just hush, handsome. We both screwed up, but right now, I just want you.” She felt Reid grin against her lips as his arm tightened its grip around her thin frame, molding her fully into him.
At that moment, Samantha forgot everything that had been running through her mind. All the fears, doubts and worries faded away. She even forgot about the dinner that Reid had just placed down on the dining room table as her hands fisted into knots and pulled his shirt lapels into her hands roughly. She could feel the groan that reverberated in his chest vibrate against her own body and it just made her that much more hungry for him. It had been too long since she’d been in his arms, and she needed all of him.
Sam moved to pull him with her towar
ds the stairs. She wanted him and didn’t give a damn that dinner was sitting on the table. He resisted her just for a moment, making a noise as if to protest the fact that dinner was going to get cold until her hands went to the button on his jeans and she began to work them open. He gave up as soon as her hands found his waist and gathered her into his arms without letting her get to the zipper, guiding her legs around his waist and letting out a low growl.
“Legs, you’re going to be the death of me.” He paused, pressing her back to the wall and letting his hands cup her cheeks and smooth her long dark hair back behind her ears.
Samantha bit down on her lip, dragging it between her teeth as she tightened her legs around her husband’s waist and brought him in as close as she could manage. Her voice was deeper than normal, and her eyes were growing darker as she moved against him. There was no way she was going to let him put her down and focus on dinner right now. Food could wait. This couldn’t.
“Cowboy, if you don’t fuck me right now, I’m never going to forgive you.” She grinned and took another kiss. Her nails dragged lightly across the nape of his neck, threading through his hair as he let out another groan. She knew by the sound of this one that he was entirely giving in to her, and she could tell from the feeling of his cock growing hard against her body that he wanted her just as much as she wanted him.
“We can’t have that, can we?” He grinned against her lips as she shook her head. Reid didn’t even bother with undoing the buttons on her blouse. Instead, he just grabbed it on either side of her chest and pulled it apart with a slight twisting motion that sent all the buttons skittering across the hardwood floor. She was going to be stepping on buttons for the next six months, but she didn’t care. All she needed was his skin against hers.
Samantha let out a soft whimper as he ripped her shirt apart and put her focus on yanking his shirt out of the waistline of his jeans. She needed these clothes off of him as quickly as possible. He appeared to be in just as much of a hurry to get hers off as he tugged at the skirt that was riding up her thighs, finally settling on just pushing it up into a bunch at her waist before he growled and ripped her panties in two at either side of her hips. Reid had never done anything like that before in their time together, but then again, they’d never had a fight before either. Sam didn’t know where this part of him was coming from, but she knew that she liked it. There was something intoxicating about the fact that he wanted her so badly that he wasn’t willing to wait even the few seconds it was going to take to get her clothes off the normal way. Instead, he was aggressively ripping her clothes to shreds. She wasn’t going to be able to wear half of the clothes ever again, but it didn’t matter in the slightest. His hunger for her did nothing but arouse her even further.
Reid’s lips found her throat, kissing a line along the curve of her neck and down to her collarbone. Kisses were alternated with gentle nipping bites that sent a surge of energy through her body every time his teeth scraped across her skin. Each time the slight pain that accompanied his teeth surged through her, it was met with a matching shock of pleasure that rolled up from her core and blossomed through the rest of her body. Her skin felt like it was on fire every place it came into contact with him.
Sam reached between them, struggling with the zipper she’d left in place when he lifted her up off the floor. Her hair fell loose around her shoulders and in a curtain that brushed across her face every time she looked down to try to monitor her progress until she let out an exasperated sigh. Her hands were quickly replaced by Reid’s who made quick work of the jeans as well. They fell into a puddle on the floor around his feet, joining the rest of their clothes as they got lost in each other.
“God, do you know how much I’ve missed you, Baby Girl?” Each word curled across her skin as his warm breath exhaled across her neck and ear. Sam felt her body tense and a soft moan escaped her throat as her head fell back against the wall, giving him better access to her throat.
“I’ve missed you too, Handsome. Fuck…” She let out a soft curse as he yanked her bra down exposing her breasts in a rough motion. His rough fingers rolled in tight circles around the nubs of her nipples, hardening them under his touch until they were so sensitive it was almost painful, but the pain was just an addition to the surges of energy that were rolling through her entire body. All of it just made her crave more. The anticipation building between the two of them was becoming palpable, and there was nothing left to do but to break it as Reid pushed his hips forward into her body, slowly sinking his full length into her tight heat.
The sound that escaped his gently parted lips was something almost feral as he pushed her back against the wall and began to move inside her at a furious pace. There was no holding back in that moment. She cried out, her eyes closing and head falling back to relax against the wall that scraped across the full width of her back with each forward thrust of his hips.
Sam’s nails scratched across the tops of his shoulders as she held on for dear life. This was exactly what she needed, even if she hadn’t known it until just the moment he pulled her into his arms. She needed her husband, more than anything, and everything else was just a distraction. It was only with her body wrapped around his that she finally felt right.
The two of them came together without speaking, though the quiet of the house was broken by the cries and grunts that came from both of them as he took her more and more roughly with each passing moment. Sam lost track of the number of climaxes that hit her and rolled through her entire body. The first one hit her unexpectedly as he slammed his full length deep inside her and she screamed out his name, digging her nails into his flesh and leaving behind a trail of reddened flesh in their wake.
Reid moaned as her pussy spasmed around his shaft. He clearly took her cries for encouragement. They made him lose even more control until he was pounding her back into the wall harder and faster than she’d even thought was possible. This continued building to a crescendo, his grunts, and groans growing more animalistic until he cried out in a loud yell. Her name was almost unrecognizable on his lips, though she just made it out in the orgasmic haze that washed over her with her final climax. At that moment, he couldn’t hold back, and spilled his seed deep inside her. Their lips met in a deep kiss in that same instant, connecting them together as they rode out the wave that hit them together until their bodies finally relaxed and Samantha went almost limp in her husband’s arms.
He didn’t stop planting soft kisses across her skin until he moved to let her legs back down to the ground. Sam was relieved that he didn’t let her go because she didn’t trust her shaking legs to support her full weight. She leaned against him and the wall to hold her up while she slowly caught her breath until she broke out in a soft laugh at the sight of the set dinner table behind him.
“So, I guess the chicken is cold.”
He laughed and pressed another kiss to the center of her forehead.
“I don’t give a damn about the chicken. I’ve got you. That’s all that matters.”
Samantha stood up on her tiptoes to take a kiss of his lips before she untwined herself from his embrace reluctantly.
“Yeah, but I’m hungry. Why don’t we go get in our pajamas and come back to eat dinner together? I hate that I missed it last night. I wouldn’t want to make that a repeat performance.”
Reid let her go, though he twined his fingers between hers and let himself be pulled off to the bedroom to find some comfortable clothes to spend the rest of his evening in.
Sam sighed happily as she pulled an old t-shirt of Reid’s over her head, enjoying the way his scent wrapped around her. This was exactly what she’d needed, and this was exactly where she’d belonged. She’d been scared about things not working out between them because of a silly little fight, but all it had taken to bring the two of them together again was a simple kiss.
Chapter Eight
Debbie was ready to relax after the day she’d had. At least Jamie was starting work tomorrow. Maybe some of the
workload on her and Sam would be alleviated with a new employee in the office. She was just going to have to get over the way he seemed to push all of her buttons at once.
Debbie’s mind might have been on work and Jamie, but she hadn’t forgotten that she’d agreed to meet Professor Brennan for dinner tonight. She walked out of the office with just enough time left to get home and change clothes before she needed to head out to the restaurant they’d agreed to meet at. Her nerves were already shaken from the way the interview this afternoon had gone, but she had made sure that Samantha got off and went home long before she did. That girl deserved the time off, and she needed to make sure things were all right at home before she was going to be able to focus on what was going on at work.
Home was quiet. Maybe too quiet, and Debbie felt like she needed to get out of there as soon as possible. After this morning when she’d confided in her friend, this afternoon where she’d been thrown off her game by running across a guy who looked like he should be a cover model and the fact that that he was going to be working with her on a regular basis from now on, her nerves were shot. She needed a distraction. Perhaps that was why she had agreed to go out to dinner with Professor Brennan this morning.
It had seemed like a good idea at the time. Now that things were starting to become more imminent, she was beginning to have her doubts. Half of her wanted to stay home, and if she’d had anything to look forward to there, other than crashing in front of the couch with a frozen dinner, she might have canceled. But, a night alone with nothing more than the television running wasn’t what she needed tonight. She needed someone to talk to, at least. There was just something that told her that Professor Brennan wanted to do a whole lot more than just talk.
If he hadn’t been her professor Debbie would have already done more than just talking with him. There was no denying that she found him attractive. She’d known it the moment she laid eyes on him. It was the reason she’d given him her number, but the reason she’d been avoiding him and only replying to his texts when her curiosity got the better of them.
