Reed's Reckoning

He nods and takes a tug of his beer with his eyes boring into me. “Is there a monkey suit in the near future?”

“I have to take baby steps with her. I told her I was done going slow. Need to get her and mom back together before I can move forward with my plan.”

“What are you going to do about Jack?”

“Fuck, I don’t know. I’m still furious with him, but Ari wants me to talk to him. My mom even mentioned having him come to dinner one night. He’s been in my life for twenty-four years.”

“We all make choices when it comes to the people we love. He made a bad one but I agree with Ari, you should talk to him.”

“I’ll give him a call sometime. Now, since the girls are busy, I need to talk to you about some things. I may need your help to pull off my plan.”

“What plan is that?” He raises his eyebrows at me.

“Operation Matthews.”

Chapter 17

Ari

“Tell me again.” Reed whispers against my neck as he slowly glides in and out of me.

In my state of ecstasy, every inch of my body is humming. His slow movements continue to hit me so deep, I whimper against his skin.

“Angel, I need to hear it while I’m buried deep inside you. Don’t make me wait any longer.” He pushes up and braces on his elbows. His eyes capture mine and I reach up and frame his face with my hands.

“I love you Reed Matthews, so much.”

His expression changes and so does his pace. He leans down and kisses me, really kisses me with a sense of possessiveness and love. His movements speed up and I pull away to moan through the orgasm that washes over me. His head drops against me and groans through his own release. He slows down again and breathes heavily.

“Gotta say, there’s nothing I enjoy more than making love to you, but it’s going to take some time learning to be quiet. I like hearing you scream my name.”

“Honey—”

“Right, listen we need to talk about something. That’s the fifth time I’ve come inside you without a condom. I’d like to say I’m sorry, but I’m not. I lose my mind when I get near you.”

“It’s okay.”

“If you want to use condoms, I’ll do it, but I’d like to get you back on birth control.”

“It’s okay.” I say again realizing he isn’t listening to me.

“I’m clean, but I’ll have another test if you want me to. I know you are too.” He keeps talking. For a brief second I think of him with all the women before me, but I push it out of my mind. That’s something we should have discussed before we fell into bed, but now it’s too late.

“Reed, honey, listen to me. It’s OKAY.”

He shuts his mouth and looks at me with confusion.

“After Davis was born, I realized the shot wasn’t a good form of protection for me. I had an IUD inserted. I don’t have to worry about it. When you started to talk about getting serious again, I called my doctor. I am protected.”

“You always were the smart one.”

“Not smart, just prepared.”

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“Forever.” He rolls to the side and pulls me close. I want to mention cleaning up but instead, snuggle closer to his warmth.

I look around the small diner for Reed, hoping he’s already here. I only have an hour for lunch today due to an afternoon of scheduled meetings. When he called and asked me to meet him, I tried to say no until he told me how important it was.

He waves at me from a back table where he is seated with a man that has his back to me. When I join them, Reed gets up to greet me and kisses my cheek softly. I gasp when I recognize the man across the booth. It’s been weeks, but there’s no doubt who he is.

“Ari, this is Trey. Trey this is Arianna Williams.” He introduces us and I shake the man’s hand.

“Reed, why are we meeting with a land inspector?”

Both men smirk but have the decency not to laugh at me. I slant my eyes in annoyance and Reed quickly sobers.

“Baby, Trey’s not a land inspector. He’s a Private Investigator. He’s my PI. I used him to help me find you and Davis.”

My mouth drops and this time both men laugh.

“This is not funny! This man was on my property. He approached Katy alone. What if he was dangerous!”

“Ari, I worked with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office for years as an officer and then worked missing persons as a detective. I left the force because I wanted to work for myself once my pension kicked in. I still have good friends in the department and I promise you I am only dangerous when I need to be.”