LITMIR.BIZ

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to her hands. “I don’t know. You took control, I guess. I didn’t have to make any decisions for a change, and it was kind of a relief.”

      He put a finger under her chin and tilted her face toward him. “So why don’t we try that again? You stop worrying, we’ll order pizza and hang out tonight. You won’t have to decide on anything except meat lovers or vegetarian. Although, if you pick ­vegetarian, I may rethink this whole wanting to be your boyfriend thing.”

      “No, I’m sure you had plans tonight. I don’t need a pity parade.”

      He curled a lock of her hair around his finger. “This isn’t about pity. I want to be with you and it’s you who keeps coming up with excuses to get rid of me. I’m going to develop a complex.”

      “Uh-huh. You look crushed.”

      “I am. Shattered, really. So to help me recover, you’re going to get on that phone and order us a pizza. Then we’re going to relax, forget the previous few hours, and watch some horrible made-for-TV movie.”

      She laughed, unable to maintain her foul mood around him. “So now I’m the pizza wench?”

      He pointed at the phone sitting on the side table. “Yes, woman. I’m wasting away here.”

      She rolled her eyes, but climbed off his lap and grabbed the phone.

      Two hours and an entire pizza later, Brynn curled into the crook of Reid’s arm, feeling more content than she had in a long time. Despite the crazy evening, cuddling with six feet of yummy male made it hard to hold on to stress. And the more time she spent with him, the more her resistance to trying something with him crumbled.

      Yes, they were far apart in the social stratosphere, but did that mean they couldn’t enjoy each other’s company for a little while? She’d hopefully leave for Austin at the end of the summer, he’d return to law school. With all that she had to deal with, a ­summer fling could be the one treat she allowed herself.

      She craned her neck to look up at Reid. “So is this, like, your pitch to date me?”

      He gave a low chuckle. “Only if it’s working.”

      She sniffed. “You’re doing an okay job, I guess. It’s a very extensive interview process, I’m afraid.”

      “Oh, really? What areas do I need to work on?”

      She chewed her lip, then decided if she was going to go for it with Reid, she may as well do it with gusto. She scooted from under his arm and shifted around so she could straddle his lap, earning a raised eyebrow from him. “Well, you haven’t even tried to kiss me tonight.”

      The playful expression on his face dissolved. “I know. I’m trying to make up for the mistakes I made on our first date.”

      She frowned. “What do you mean?”

      He sighed and rubbed her upper arms. “I took things too fast, and I should’ve never talked to you the way I did. I don’t know what I was thinking. I got caught up in the moment.”

      The corner of her mouth tilted up. “I wasn’t exactly stopping you. I think we both lost our heads a bit.”

      He pushed her hair back over her shoulders. “Why don’t we start over? Take things slower?”

      A small twinge of disappointment gnawed at her belly. Yes, she had let things go too far that night, but part of her had enjoyed the rawness of it, the abandon. She nodded. “Sounds like a plan. As long as kissing is still part of the agenda.”

      “Oh, definitely. Item number one, in fact.”

      He curled his palm around the nape of her neck, drawing her closer, then brushed his mouth against hers. The move was sweet, a simple whisper of his lips against hers, but her body shuddered in response. She’d spent so much time the last few weeks keeping a careful distance from him and trying to forget the night in his truck that even the minute contact sent her nerve endings alight.

      His fingers threaded in her hair, gently tugging her head back, allowing him access to her neck. The tender force behind the movement caused an odd thrill to rush through her. They had agreed they both wanted to take things slow, but the tension in his grasp made her think he was fighting the urge to charge forward. He kissed the tender skin behind her ear, then her jawline, leaving goose bumps trailing along her skin. Her eyelids fluttered closed as she relished the delicious decadence of his touch. By the time his mouth found its way back to hers, her whole body had flushed with heat.

      His hands moved down to her waist, then braced against the tops of her legs, his thumbs making circles on her inner thighs while his tongue explored her mouth. His fingers bit into the soft flesh of her legs through the cotton of her pants. Unraveling restraint, that’s what it felt like. Like he was riding the edge of his control and if she made one wrong move, he was going to throw her down on the coffee table and rip off her clothes—an idea that frankly sounded all kinds of enticing at the moment.

      Even though she told herself they were simply going to kiss, her body refused to believe it. Slick moisture flooded her sex and desire, sharp and wicked, clouded her thoughts. Unconsciously, she spread her legs wider, and Reid’s growing erection brushed against her. A low murmur of pleasure escaped her, but was quickly swallowed by his kiss.

      Reid pulled back, his breathing heavy. “God, I can’t even kiss you.”

      She blinked at the sudden break in contact. “What do you mean?”

      He tilted his head back and raked his hands through his hair. “I think you know.”

      She moved her hand to his crotch, his cock as hard as steel against the denim of his jeans. She ran her nails along the scratchy material, loving the fact that she could turn him on so quickly. “It’s okay. Apparently, we’re not so good at slow and easy.”

      He groaned. “I’m trying to be a gentleman.”

      She smiled and moved her fingers under the edge of his dress shirt, walking her fingertips along the ripples of his abdomen. “I just want you to be you—whoever that is.”

      He lifted his head, his eyes darkening. “No, you don’t.”

      He grasped her wrists and gently removed her hands from beneath his shirt, then placed a soft kiss on each one. “You’ve had a long, emotional night. I’m going to leave before we take this too far again.”

      Her jaw fell open. “You’re leaving?”

      He grabbed her shoulders and eased her off his lap, his expression pained. “I’m not going to risk you hating me in the morning. We’ll go out tomorrow night on a real date. If you still want this by then, I’m all yours.”

      She crossed her arms over her chest, anger bubbling in her belly. “Don’t patronize me, Reid. I’m not some flighty chick who is going to jump in bed with someone because I had a bad night. And I’m not some virgin princess either. You don’t have to treat me with kid gloves. Anything I do with you is because I want to.”

      Reid’s eyes turned stormy, the vibe rolling off him almost animalistic. He opened his mouth to respond.

      “Brynn? I need you.” Her mother’s scratchy voice drifted from the hallway and scraped across her ears.

      Fucking hell.

      Reid’s expression smoothed into an unreadable mask, and he leaned over to kiss Brynn on the forehead. “We’ll talk about all of this later, sugar, when we’re both thinking more clearly. See you tomorrow at work.”

      She hauled herself off the couch and stomped down the hallway. The self-righteous bastard could find his own way to the door.

      Reid collapsed onto the couch of his ­darkened ­living room, his head still spinning from his disastrous make-out session with Brynn. Fuck. What was wrong with him? Thank God her mother had interrupted them. He’d been

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