Baiting the Maid of Honor

The second he referred to Julie as his, the jealous beast within him lay down, relaxed for the first time since she’d left. He didn’t know what that meant, only that if he stayed away from her, the anxious feeling would return. Decision made, he left the room at a brisk pace.

Minutes later, he stood outside her door, impatient to see her. Before he could knock, he heard her muffled voice on the other side, sounding upset. Only her voice, however, suggesting she was alone. On the phone, possibly? Reed glanced down the hallway, knowing he should leave. Let her deal with her problem and return later, pretending he’d never heard the tinge of sadness in her voice.

Instead, he found himself knocking. When she pulled the door open, cell phone pressed to her ear, Reed felt something odd, something foreign move in his chest. Inside a puffy white robe that fairly swallowed her, bare feet poking out at the bottom, she looked so incredibly sweet and defenseless, he could only stare at her. Then he heard the angry voice on the other end of the phone and his body went on alert. He noticed her deflated posture for the first time, the downturned corners of her mouth. Someone was upsetting Julie and that definitely didn’t work for him.

Reed opened his mouth to demand the phone from her, but managed to hold himself back at the last second. Shit. Shit, I really need to get a handle on this. I’m acting like a lunatic.

“You’re right, Daddy, I picked an inconvenient time to leave Atlanta.” Julie dropped her hand from the door, but left it open as she retreated into the room. Reed stepped in and closed the door behind him without taking his eyes off her. She sank down onto the edge of the bed and massaged her forehead. “Have you tried calling Dr. Cybil? She makes house calls.” She listened for a moment. “Good…I just…I didn’t expect this. Last year, when we reached three years, Mom seemed to be coping better. I would never have left if I’d—”

She broke off as Reed sat down next to her on the bed. He hadn’t planned on it, had been walking toward the balcony to get some air and wait for her to wrap up the call. Then her words had started making sense, calling to mind the conversation he’d overhead between Julie and her mother. Three years. Her sister’s death. Hell, he’d been so wrapped up in his own bullshit, his almost-painful attraction to her, he’d let it slip from his mind. She’d opened up to him in the woods and he’d basically disregarded it. Just another way they differed. If Julie knew someone was hurting, she would probably do everything to fix it. He, on the other hand, just expected everyone to bottle it up and move on. Like he did. Funny, he didn’t want Julie to bottle anything up. Not around him. Even as the idea of shouldering someone else’s burdens terrified him, he craved the idea of bearing the brunt of anything upsetting Julie.

With considerable effort, Reed pushed aside the startling realization. Trying for casual, he laid his hand on top of hers, all the while pretending to be engrossed in the muted television. Her hand jerked a little and for a brief, awful moment, he thought she might pull away. After casting him a quick glance, she slowly entwined her fingers with his and continued her conversation, voice a hint more confident than before. Why that made him so goddamn happy, he didn’t have the courage to explore.

“Daddy, we know the cycle by now. She won’t stay in bed forever…just give her time.” Julie cleared her throat, shifting on the bed. “Does she…does she want to talk to me?” She nodded once. “Okay, then. Call me back if she changes her mind.”

Reed watched her hand drop into her lap, the phone call ended. He waited for her to say something, because hell, Julie always had something to say. Frankly, he was counting on it, because he didn’t know the first thing about comforting a woman. He racked his brain for inspiration. None came. So he simply went with his gut. “What was she like?” He swallowed hard. “Serena, I mean.”

Julie was silent a moment. “Quiet. Compassionate. Loving.” She exhaled. “People would mistake it for weakness sometimes but we all knew better. She could cut you off at the knees with a smile on her face.” She reached up and released her hair from the haphazard bun on her head. “Serena loved the rain. I never understood that about her. She sat with me for hours, watching it through the window. We used to play go fish, waiting for it to let up. She was so patient and all I ever did was complain about wanting to go outside. Now…I love the rain. I was too young to understand her then, and now that I do, it’s too late.” A long pause. “She was better than me, Reed. Sometimes, I think it should have been—”

“Stop. Don’t say it.” Reed’s hand tightened reflexively on hers. “Promise me you won’t ever say that out loud.” He glanced away, more than a little unnerved by his reaction. “I didn’t know her, but she wasn’t better than you. Different doesn’t mean better.” He looked back to find those big blue eyes trained on him. “I’m still waiting on that promise.”

“I promise.”

Reed nodded once. “Good.” She merely watched him silently, and he cursed. “I don’t get it, pixie. With everyone else, you talk a mile a minute. But you get around me and you go quiet. For once, I wouldn’t mind it if you ran your mouth for a while.”

She laughed. Not a regular laugh, but that loud, cracking laugh that he’d only heard once before. The one that made his throat feel uncomfortably tight. When it died down, she shook her head. “What are you doing here, Reed?”

“You know why I’m here.”

With a sigh, Julie stood up and walked through the balcony doors. Reed followed, joining her where she leaned against the wooden rail. Late afternoon had fallen over the mountains in the distance, casting shadows and light patterns over the vast resort. A light breeze lifted the blond hair off Julie’s shoulder. Reed shook himself, wondering when the hell he’d started noticing such details. “I suppose I do.”

“You suppose nothing.” He took a step closer, pressed his mouth to the skin beneath her ear. “I’m already hard and aching again, baby. Shouldn’t have let you leave my room.”

“Let me?” She tipped her head to the side and exposed her neck for his mouth, teeth sinking into the plump flesh of her bottom lip when he grazed her with his stubbled chin. “You couldn’t get me out the door fast enough.”

Reed frowned, pulled back. He opened his mouth to deny it, but the lie wouldn’t come. Only the truth. At least as he saw it. “You already know I don’t do the romantic afterglow. If that’s what you want…” He broke off. If that’s what you want—what? Let’s part ways? Go find someone else? Fuck, no. But he didn’t know how to finish the damn sentence. Julie watched him, patiently waiting. He swallowed heavily and went to sit on the white wicker chair near the wall. “What can I say? I’m an emotionless son of a bitch. It’s why I’m good at what I do. Everything is black and white. No gray areas to get lost in.”

Surprise written on her features, she lowered herself into the chair opposite him. She seemed to be choosing her words. “I have to say, I envy that. Working with family…it’s a lot of softening your opinion to save people’s feelings. Half the time, you end up offending them anyway. Your job might be more dangerous, but at least it’s all about bagging and tagging the bad guy. No questions asked.”

A laugh escaped him, sounding odd to his ears. “Bagging and tagging? Pretty ruthless, pixie. Maybe you’re in the wrong line of work.”

Amusement playing around her mouth, she shrugged daintily. “I think I’d make a fine policewoman. Anyone gets unruly and I’ll just talk them to death.”

“That’s my line.”

“Thought I’d beat you to it.”

&nbs

p; Reed rubbed a hand along his chin, trying to get rid of the damn smile. “Nah, you might look hot as hell in the uniform, but you’re too soft, baby. You’d want to give everyone the benefit of the doubt. Sometimes it’s just not possible.”

“I’m not soft. Not always,” she murmured.

The change in her tone kicked up his heart rate. “Come over here and prove it.”

A flush spread up her neck. “What did you have in mind?”

Reed knew what he was doing. The conversation, the mood between them, had turned too comfortable, too damn perfect, and this was his way of putting them back on a playing field with which he felt familiar. Even knowing his reasons didn’t stop him. It only encouraged the change. He didn’t know any other way. “Get over here. Don’t make me ask again.”

For long seconds, she looked thrown off by the change in him. No, he decided. She looked excited by it. She wet her lips, palms running the length of her thighs. Finally, she rose and came toward him. When she paused a few feet away, he narrowed his eyes to draw her closer.

“You asked for my fingers earlier in exchange for a punishment later. Time’s up, pixie.”

With a shuddering exhale, she stepped in between his legs, gasping as he reached up to undo the tie of her robe. “Reed…someone might see…”

“I told you once before I would never allow someone to see you like this.” He yanked the tie hard. The robe fell open. “Are you doubting me?”

“No,” she whispered.

He parted the sides of her robe, swallowing a groan when he found her naked beneath the fluffy material. Her smooth skin looked flushed, soft and pink from her shower. Simultaneously, he leaned forward and pulled her toward him so he could bury his nose in her belly button, inhaling the peach scent he would forever associate with her. Fingers slipped into his hair hesitantly, holding him there. He wanted to stay there indefinitely, but it felt too good, so he pulled back. “Straddle my thighs.”

Julie’s body jolted a little at the steel in his voice, but using his shoulders for balance, she did as he asked. Opening herself to him. Naked, save the robe draped on either side of his legs, core exposed by her spread position, she embodied temptation. Reed was forced to unzip his jeans to accommodate his surging erection. Her willingness to trust him, to let him bring her pleasure in ways she was unfamiliar with, wreaked havoc on his mind. His body.