by Amira Rain
“I appreciate you saving my life, Reed. Thank you.”
Striding south down the trail, he still didn’t even look at me. “You’re welcome, and I’m glad I could. Still, I can’t help but feeling a little angry with you that you put yourself in a position where I had to save your life in the first place. Didn’t you hear the alarm siren that was pealing earlier?”
Confused, I told him of course I had. “But I had no idea what it meant, and I still don’t.”
Reed finally glanced over at me. “Marie didn’t tell you? I thought I heard her say something to you about staying in the house all day if you heard the siren.”
“No, she was telling me about this hiking path then. She said I could take a walk down it if I wanted, instead of ‘staying in the house all day.’ You must have just not heard her right.”
Although still frowning, Reed at least had the decency to look embarrassed, and he didn’t speak again right away. “Well… I apologize about that. I guess I should have made sure you understood about the community alarm siren myself. It’s to warn everyone if any Bloodborn bears are spotted in the area.”
“Well, now I know. Thank you.”
Still looking slightly embarrassed, Reed just grunted in response, adding that he was just glad that the Bloodborn he’d killed hadn’t been a very strong one. “If he had been, we all might have been in some trouble. Ever since their weapon weakened us, we’ve had great difficulty fighting some of them. Sometimes, it even takes ten of us just to take one of them out. Things will continue to be this way for a while, too… until we can restore our power with some sort of injection made from a drop of blood from a baby of yours, anyway.”
Reed fell silent, and I didn’t know what to say in response, so I said nothing, thinking how desperate Reed and I both were for me to get pregnant, although for completely different reasons.
For the rest of the hike home, I just glanced at him periodically without speaking, taking in his powerful form and thinking about what was probably to come that evening. All long, lean muscle in heavy black work boots, battered jeans, and a navy blue t-shirt, Reed glanced at me periodically, too, as if he were having the same thoughts. He still didn’t speak to me again, though, the two of us walked along quietly. Birdsong and the sound of our feet crunching twigs and dry leaves were the only things that filled the silence. Every so often, a stiff breeze rustled the tiny bright green new leaves of the trees around us.
Once we got home, Reed checked in with some of his men by phone, and I checked in with my mom by phone as well, relieved to hear that she was feeling okay and that Irma was taking good care of her. Fortunately, Irma would be staying with her the entire time I was gone, which completely put my mind at ease.
Just as I was telling my mom I’d let her go, she told me to wait, then spoke in a quiet, sad sort of voice. “I just want to tell you that you don’t have to do what you’re doing, Sam… This whole arrangement with sleeping with a virtual stranger to get pregnant just to get the money for my treatment. Even saying it all right now… it just all sounds crazy. It sounds like something no good mother would ever allow her daughter to do.”
Before I’d left Fort Wayne, we’d been over all this. Numerous times. Even still, I calmly repeated what I’d told my mom at least a half-dozen times before.
“I’m a grown woman, Mom, and I’ve made my choice. And besides… I’ve always wanted to become a mother myself, and now I’m getting the chance. And also besides….” Turning slightly, I shifted my gaze to Reed, who was still on his own phone, all the way across the kitchen. “I don’t think I’m going to mind sleeping with Reed very much at all.”
Earlier in the call, I’d told my mom a little bit about him, quietly saying that he was “very good-looking,” which was just about the understatement of the year. Reed was so far beyond “good-looking” that the description was almost laughable. In fact, even on the phone with my own mother right then, just looking at Reed, I couldn’t help but think about just how “good-looking” he might look completely free of clothes.
Sure I was flushing pink, I abruptly pulled my gaze from his form, giving my throat a little clear. “Just trust me, Mom… whenever Reed and I get to work on making our baby, I’m not going to be doing anything I don’t want to.”
Reed and I soon ended our respective phone calls, and he headed upstairs to shower while I made a salad and heated up some rolls and a cheesy ham-and-potato casserole that Marie had left for dinner. While I worked to get everything ready and set the table, I found that I couldn’t keep my thoughts from Reed’s handsome face and his long, hard body, try as I might to shift them away. Even the scent of Marie’s delicious casserole couldn’t divert my thoughts, despite the fact that it smelled absolutely heavenly while it warmed in the oven.
Over dinner, which Reed and I ate in complete silence at first, my thoughts began wandering even further, becoming focused on how Reed had looked in his bear form, so large and strong and fierce. When my cheeks became a little warm, I tried to tell myself it was probably just from the wine I was sipping with the meal, even though I knew that this wasn’t really the case. What was the case, was that my body was seeming to finally come alive after many years of not feeling much of anything. It had certainly been many years since I’d experienced desire on the level that I currently was, if I ever even had. In fact, each time I so much as glanced in Reed’s direction, a distinct ache I’d begun to feel low in my belly seemed to become even a bit more pronounced.
We’d nearly finished our food when he finally spoke, saying that he needed to head out for a while after the meal to help his men dispose of some “carcasses” that I guessed were Bloodborn carcasses. I said that was fine, and we both fell silent until Reed spoke again.
“I expect I’ll be back around eight or so.”
“That’s fine.”
“And then we can… We can do what we need to do in regards to our business arrangement then.”
Once again, his words had hit me the wrong way. “Our business arrangement.” I wanted our “arrangement” to be all “business,” too, but I just wasn’t sure why Reed had to be so damned cold about it. It was as if he had a heart made of stone. No wonder he’s in his early thirties and not married yet, I thought. He may be hot as all hell, but his heart is as cold as ice.
When I didn’t respond to what he’d said about “our business arrangement,” and instead just picked at the last bite or two of my casserole, Reed cleared his throat and spoke again, taking his tan cotton napkin from his lap and setting it on the table.
“Look, if you’re in some way not ready to go through with our arrangement, you certainly don’t have to. I’m not in the business of forcing anyone to do anything.”
Suddenly setting my fork down with a clatter, I finally looked up to meet his gaze. “I’m more than ready to ‘go through with’ our arrangement. I just don’t know why you have to be so cold about it by continually calling it an arrangement. Can’t we at least try for friendship or something like that? I mean… we’re possibly going to share a child together, so can’t we at least-”
“No.” Raking a hand through his hair, Reed was now on his feet, not even looking at me. “It’s better if this is entirely business between us, Samantha. I’ll love our child; I promise you that, but as far as you and me…” He paused to rake a hand through his thick, dark hair again. “I want this all to be purely business. In fact, until we’re both fully on board with that idea, I don’t think we should share a bed to conduct that business. I’ll go move your things to a spare bedroom right now. It’s a master bedroom, so you’ll still have your own shower and all that.”
“But, wait, Reed. Can’t you at least just tell me-”
“No. And I’m done talking about this.”
He was already nearly out of the dining room, heading toward the stairs.
While clearing the table, I fumed, thinking that at the very least he owed me an explanation as to why he wanted our “business arrangement” t
o be so strictly business. At the same time, though, I fumed at myself, wondering why I even cared. As long as I earned the money that I needed to possibly save my mom’s life, nothing else mattered. Or so I told myself.
I’d just finished loading the dishwasher when Reed left the house without a word, again leaving me to simply fume. However, after finishing a second glass of wine, I found that my mood had mellowed a little and that a nice, long, luxurious bubble bath sounded heavenly.
Once I’d found the room where Reed had moved my stuff, I once again unpacked and then investigated the master bathroom, delighted to discover that not only did it have a bathtub, but a bathtub with whirlpool jets. Within ten minutes or so, those jets were massaging my body, which had become incredibly tense from my long drive, my interactions with Reed, and my terrifying interaction with the Bloodborn bear earlier.
I soaked in the tub for a very long while before finally getting out when my skin began to wrinkle. Wrapped in a towel, I rummaged through my dresser for a few minutes, trying to find my pajamas, and I still hadn’t found them when I thought I heard a knock on my bedroom door. If one had actually sounded, though, it had been quiet, and I questioned whether I’d really heard anything.
A minute or so later, having found my pajamas, I’d just taken my towel off to put them on when the knocking sounded again, this time clear as a bell. My first thought was that it was probably Marie. Earlier, she’d said she was going to come over to the house again to clean up after dinner, but I told her to please not even dream of it, because I could easily clean up myself. Now I figured she’d decided not to listen to me. So, wrapping my towel around myself again, I called out to her that I’d be right there. However, when I answered the door seconds later, it wasn’t Marie standing outside. It was Reed, and his eyes instantly got a bit wide when he raked his gaze over me from head to toe, from my dripping wet hair to my body just covered by a towel.
CHAPTER FIVE
If Reed had been startled by my attire, or lack of it, he recovered quickly, clearing his throat.
With his strong jaw clenched, he then lifted his gaze to my face and kept it there. “I just wanted to tell you I’m sorry... for earlier. I still mean what I said, but I should have just...”
He paused to heave a sigh, and I could tell he was just itching to rake his fingers through his hair, but he didn’t.
“I should have just handled this whole thing differently from the start. Before you even came here, I should have made it crystal clear to you that I want things to be all business between us. Then, you could have made a choice to still come here or not. In fact, I even had a chance to make things crystal clear to you the moment you arrived here today, but I didn’t take it, because the moment I saw you...when I saw how utterly gorgeous you are with that cupid's-bow mouth of yours, and your sparkling green eyes, and...” Clearly frustrated, Reed gave into the urge and raked a hand through his hair, twice actually, frowning so hard he was nearly scowling. “You have every right to be a little confused and angry with me, Samantha, if you are. I just hope you can get past this, and I hope you ultimately decide to stay here, even though unfortunately, the fact remains that I still want things between us to be strictly-”
Reed’s words had been abruptly cut off by me kissing him, having to stand on my tiptoes to do it. I hadn’t really even meant to do it, or at least I hadn’t put much conscious thought into the action. I’d just been looking at his full, delectable lips, feeling somehow teased by them, and then I’d felt myself rising on my tiptoes, and then my mouth had been on his. Currently, my mouth was still on his, kissing him hungrily. And although I fully realized what I was doing at this point, was fully aware that I should pull away and think things through a little, I didn’t. A major part of that was because Reed was kissing me in return, and with enthusiasm. He was also moving his large, strong hands to the small of my back, pulling me closer to the front of his body with a soft groan of clear pleasure.
Before I knew it, I was making a few noises of obvious pleasure myself, mostly quiet sighs and whimpers when he parted my lips and began kissing me with what felt like a few hours of pent-up passion and frustration. However, even though his kisses were intense and hungry, there was still a sweetness and tenderness about them that made me curl my toes into the hardwood floor beneath my feet.
A short while later, and I knew we were both quickly hurtling to the point of no return. I didn’t want to stop, though. I couldn’t even recall or remember the reason why we should, if there had ever even been one in the first place.
It wasn’t long before my towel fell to the floor, leaving me completely naked, skin still damp from my bath and my still-wet hair, which had been dripping onto my shoulders. I didn’t even know if Reed had pulled my towel loose, or if I’d one it myself, or if the end I’d tucked into the top of it had just come undone, but I didn’t even care. All I knew was that the feeling of my bare skin pressed against the length of Reed’s hard body and his already-hard manhood was absolutely heavenly. I didn’t want it to end, and I would have wildly fought anyone who tried to make it so.
With his hands on my rear, gripping it and kneading it, Reed began walking both of us into my bedroom, then shut the door behind him. Now I knew for sure that our “business arrangement” was happening, and I didn’t have any sense that we should wait. I knew that might have been simply because I wanted Reed’s body so badly, but my gut told me this wasn't the only reason. My gut told me that what we were about to do was somehow right, on some deeper level. And when Reed finally broke our kiss and began all but tearing his clothes off, I wanted to tell him my thoughts, wanted to see if he felt the same way.
“We shouldn’t wait. Right, Reed? This is right, isn’t it? Tell me you agree with me that this isn’t a mistake.”
He’d undressed faster than I'd ever seen anyone undress in my life, and he now pulled me back into his arms. “I agree with you. This isn’t a mistake. It’s perfect, and you’re perfect yourself.”
His voice was incredibly low and husky, a primal masculine growl that sent a little current of something electric racing through me.
He soon began kissing me again, and I felt his hardness pressing against the soft curve of my lower stomach. It was a sensation that was so exquisite that it made me moan into his mouth, becoming desperate to feel his hardness inside of me. While he’d been ripping his clothes off, I’d gotten a quick glimpse of it, and that quick glimpse had almost made me stop talking mid-word. Thick, straight, and long, his male member was just how I’d imagined it would be, and had hoped it would be. His degree of hardness, which was the hardest I’d ever felt a man in my entire life, was an extremely nice bonus, to say the least.
Soon we tumbled into my king-sized bed, with neither of us even bothering to turn my fairly bright desk lamp off. I realized I actually wanted it on. I wanted to be able to look at Reed’s face and eyes while we had sex. This was a bit surprising, because this was something I’d never really desired much with any of my previous boyfriends. But then again, none of my boyfriends had ever looked like Reed, or even anywhere close.
With me on my back and Reed more or less hovering above me, allowing a little space between our bodies to let one of his hands roam, he continued kissing me, twining my tongue with his in slow, rhythmic motions that had me panting and whimpering with desire. At the same time that he was kissing me, he began caressing my stiffened nipples, paying a little attention to each one in turn. This served to stoke my desire, not that it could be stoked very much further. As it was, I was already drenched in slickness anyway, with the most sensitive spot of my anatomy positively throbbing, all but crying out for release. And when Reed’s fingers wandered a little lower, connecting with this intimate spot, and then began stroking it with firm-but-not-too-firm movements, I felt my passion nearly soar to a peak right then.
Having felt compelled to break our kiss, I cried out, digging my fingers into the muscular ridges of his back. “Reed, please. I want you. I need you. Ple
ase just-”
What I’d been going to say had been cut off by another cry of near-ecstasy exploding from my mouth. It was a sound that tapered off into an anguished-sounding whimper.
“Reed, please just give me your body… all of it. Please. I need to feel your hardness inside of me.”
With his beautiful sky-blue eyes glassy and his breath coming in a series of ragged gasps, he seemed all too happy to comply with my request. However, he gave my sensitive little bud a few more firm-but-gentle strokes before spreading my legs wider and positioning the head of his thick shaft at my slick entrance. Then, without so much as a brief pause, he slid his length into me fast and fairly hard, filling me completely in one swift movement. With my most sensitive spot still throbbing and tingling, that one movement was enough to send me right over the edge of pleasure, faster than I'd ever tipped over it in my life. Faster by a stunning five or ten minutes or so, actually.
With my entire body quaking with pleasure, I ground my head back into the down pillow behind me, unable to even make a sound for a few seconds. The best I could do was gasp, again and again, and those gasps became a prolonged moan when Reed began moving inside of me with a guttural growl, intensifying the intense pleasure that was rolling over me in waves more powerful than I’d ever felt before.
Once my ecstasy finally began to ebb, I struggled to find my voice, managing something like a throaty whisper. “I want to have a climax like that again… but next time I do, I want you to be feeling it with me.”
