“Better not,” she mumbled against his throat.

Then a few minutes later she fell asleep, body draped over his, cock still buried inside her.

Where she belonged.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Over the brim of her coffee cup, Rusty watched Reid dish up the scrambled eggs he’d made for breakfast. She could never have predicted what happened last night. She had been positive that the man standing across from her had every intention of letting her go, had let her go.

But here she sat, almost as if the last week hadn’t happened. Almost. Because although she knew his reasons for what he’d done—good reasons—for pushing her away, it would still take her time to get past the pain he’d caused, for that wound to repair. To build her trust back to what it was. The man had issues, and now she knew what they were. She just hoped that the next time he went to that dark place, he let her be there for him, to help him through, instead of trying to shove her from his life.

She took a sip of her coffee. “Smells good.”

He wore only a pair of jeans, his back bare, displaying the thick slabs of muscle, the smooth skin, all that lickable ink. Looking at her over his shoulder, he grinned. “Don’t get excited. I can’t cook for shit. I can do eggs. I can fry bacon. That’s as far as my skills in the kitchen go.”

She snorted. “I see a lot of takeout in our future. I’m about as handy in the kitchen as a spare tire.” The muscles in his shoulders and arms bunched as he scraped the last of the eggs from the pan, and her mouth went dry when he turned, carrying her plate to her. The top button of his jeans was undone, and she couldn’t help but follow the enticing trail of dark hair that dipped below. She knew what the man hid down there, and it was nothing to sneeze at.

Reid had woken her a short time ago by sliding into her from behind, his sleep-roughened voice skating across her skin, fingers expertly working her clit, and here she was, hungry for another taste of the man.

The bulge in his jeans started to grow before her eyes, and she licked her lips, eyes darting up to his. “Does that thing ever get tired?”

“Baby, you’re staring at my cock like you want to eat it for breakfast. What do you think’s gonna happen?” He put her plate down in front of her. “Eat this first, then we’ll take turns eating each other.”

His voice was doing the growly, raspy thing she loved, and she had to squeeze her thighs together to stop the ache. “I like that idea. A lot.”

“Shit, woman, you’re gonna be the fuckin’ death of me.”

She smirked. “I didn’t know you could die from having a constant boner.”

He returned her smile. It was full-on, completely gorgeous, all straight white teeth, and sent a hit of pleasure from her head all the way down to her toes. “Smart ass.”

“You love it.” She shoved a mouthful of eggs in her mouth and groaned. They had barely come up for air since they left Alex and Deke’s engagement party the night before, and she was starving.

When she looked up from her plate, Reid was watching her, that intense gaze locked on hers. “Yeah, I love it. And don’t forget it.”

She swallowed down her mouthful, heart fluttering madly against her ribs. “I’ll try not to.”

“Good. Now, hurry up and finish your breakfast. I wanna take you back to bed.”

“You’re getting no complaints from me.”

Reid’s phone rang on the counter beside his plate, and he cursed when he saw who it was. “I need to take this.” He put it to his ear. “What?”

He grunted a few times, did some more cursing, then ended the call.

“Everything okay?”

He shook his head. “I need to head into work for a bit.”

“On a Sunday?”

“We have an urgent job, and the client just called with some last-minute changes. I need to go in and sort a few things out, call in a few favors to get the parts we need today.” He walked around to her side of the breakfast bar, moved up behind her, then brushed her hair to the side and kissed her just below her ear. “I won’t be long. You hang out here, watch a movie or something, and I’ll bring lunch home with me.”

“Okay.”

One of his fingers moved over the skin at the back of her neck, tracing the ink there. “Why a rose?”

She leaned against him. “Alex…has a scar on her arm, one that reminds her of a time she’d rather forget. She chose red roses because they were her mother’s favorite flower. She wanted to cover the bad memories with ones that were good, you know? Me and Pipe got them as well, a solidarity kind of thing, I guess. She’s our sister in all the ways that count, and we wanted to show her how much we love her.”

He came around in front of her and pushed her knees apart, filling the space with his hips. “She’s lucky to have found you by the sound of things.” He stared down at her, tenderness and heat in his gaze.

“We were lucky to find each other.” She wanted to get closer, or worse, throw herself at him and beg him to stay. Instead, she cleared her throat. “Okay, so…if you’re getting lunch, I think you should know, I love cream, and I love chocolate.”

He gave her another one of those killer smiles, and the way his eyes glittered with humor, the guy had totally read her mind. Thankfully, he didn’t call her on it. “Noted. I do, too, as a matter of fact, and I’m gonna enjoy licking it off your tits when I get back.”

“Something for us both to look forward to, then.” Wrapping her fingers around the side of his neck, she pulled him down for a kiss. His lips landed on hers, and the kiss he gave her was not a good-bye kiss, it was hard and delicious. His hands moved up under the T-shirt she was wearing, his shirt, over her ribs to her aching breasts. He squeezed and massaged the tender flesh as his tongue slid over hers hungrily. She gave him back the same, rubbing against the bulge in the front of his jeans.

When he finally released her mouth and rested his forehead against hers, he was panting. “Jesus. What did I say? You’re killing me, woman.”

“I know the feeling.” She squirmed on her seat. “I might have to make use of that fancy detachable showerhead while you’re gone.”

He nipped her bottom lip. “Don’t you fuckin’ dare. I want you wet and ready for me when I get home. No touching yourself, do you understand?”

She grabbed his ass. “Maybe.”

“You touch yourself, make yourself come while I’m gone, I’ll know, and you’ll pay the price.” He ran his thumbs over her nipples and heat flooded between her thighs. “I’ll bring you to the brink and pull it back so many times before I finally let you come, you’ll be begging me for it.”

She didn’t doubt he’d do it, too. “Sadist.”

He planted another quick kiss on her lips, then stepped back, all male perfection, cut chest and abs, cock hard and straining. “You haven’t seen anything yet.”

Fifteen minutes later, Reid was gone and Rusty was all by herself in his stunning beach house. Besides the living area downstairs and Reid’s bedroom, she hadn’t really checked out the rest of the place. Pouring herself another coffee, she padded upstairs. The walls were painted in neutral colors. Not a lot of personal items or pictures. It still had a new smell, and she guessed he hadn’t lived here long. She also guessed it was worth some serious bank. The man worked hard, had ambition in spades, had grown one shop into ten thriving businesses across the country. He didn’t live large, but then that wouldn’t suit him. He had what he needed and didn’t flaunt his wealth, his accomplishments.

She admired that about him. Admired a lot of things about him.

Poking her head around the next door down from Reid’s room, she found another bedroom. It had a queen bed in the center, the duvet a dark burgundy. A guest room. She wondered if his mother helped him with that kind of stuff or if he did it himself.