Fall for You (14 page)

The pace increased and she could feel herself getting wetter.
More! Oh, please, yes! More!
Her head arched back and her hips came up in a frenzied dance against his fingers. He switched to her other breast and when she felt the wet heat of his mouth draw her in again, pulses began in the soles of
her feet and shot straight to her core.

Sophie knew she screamed this time.

Reed kissed along her hairline and smoothed the damp strands of hair off her forehead. “You're beautiful when you come. So beautiful that I need to see it again.”

He moved until his lower body rested fully in the cradle of her hips. Sophie was still riding the mini aftershocks after her orgasm. She felt the wide head
of his cock begin to slide home. Reed stopped and rested his forehead on hers. “Son of a bitch. All that shopping and I forgot condoms.”

Sophie rested her hand on his shoulder and nodded to the side of the bed. “I have some in my top drawer.”

A great breath whooshed from him. “Oh, thank God. You were about to see a grown man cry.”

With a minimum of fumbling, they managed to take care of the
condom. Reed reseated himself against her hips and smiled so sexily she couldn't look away.

“
I want you so damn much, Sophie. Not just for tonight either. Let me have you.”

Sophie gazed into his eyes and saw the truth there. After a deep kiss, she whispered in his ear. “Yes.”

Reed didn't need to be told twice. He positioned himself at her entrance and nudged an inch inside of her. She lifted
her knees and did her best to relax around him. He pushed in a little more.

“
Take me, Sophie. Take all of me.” At those words, he drove all the way inside. They both froze at the perfect sensation of their connection. Reed flexed his hips and pulled her leg up around him to get a better angle. He was so hard and deep inside her that she was in ecstasy.

She arched up to meet his thrusts. Nothing
ever felt like this. Nothing ever felt this right. Sophie couldn't get close enough. She couldn't move fast enough. His abs rubbed her stomach with every push of his hips. Sophie felt sensitized to every point where their bodies met. She felt him everywhere.

The pleasure was all-consuming.

Sophie shifted until her other knee was raised and her foot rested flat against the mattress. That was
the angle that sent Reed even deeper and took her over the edge.

Her body seized in such a powerful orgasm that her toes curled and her scream was frozen in her throat.

Reed felt the spasms of her climax and pistoned against her harder and faster. His voice was hoarse when he said, “So good. Never this good. Good God, Sophie.”

Her fingers were in his hair as he rested his face in the crook
of her neck. She continued to pulse around him as he thrust once, twice, and ground into her as he came.

Sophie was so sated she couldn't muster the energy to move.

* * * *

Their bodies finally stilled and he reluctantly slipped out of her.

Reed kissed Sophie on the shoulder and went to the bathroom on shaky legs to get rid of the condom. He also had to let Max in.

When he got back in bed,
Reed slid in next to Sophie, put his arm around her waist, and spooned her into his body. She snuggled up against him with a contented sigh. Her dog, seeing that his place on the bed had been usurped, turned three times on the carpet and with a grumble, flopped down to sleep.

Reed rose up to talk to Sophie, but she was already asleep…with a smile on her face. She looked absolutely ethereal. He
rested his head back on the pillow, pulled her in tighter, and fell into a deep, happy, exhausted slumber.

The next morning, Reed woke up to a completely different bed partner. This one was cute but furry and four-legged. Max was gazing down at him from Sophie's side of the bed. He panted happily in Reed's face. That's when he smelled the peanut butter laced dog breath. Looking closer, he saw smears of melted peanut butter passion on Max's muzzle.

“
You sly dog! You ate Sophie's ice cream!”
Reed remembered that she'd discarded the bowl when he started massaging her shoulders. “Just so you know, that counts as part of the bribe.”

Max stopped panting and looked solemnly at Reed.

“
That's not going to work, pal. I know you don't regret it so there's no use pretending now.”

He looked around then propped himself up on an elbow. “Where's Sophie?” Max laid his head on her pillow. Underneath
all that fur was what looked like a note. Reed slid it out from under him and read it.

Reed,

Left early for work. Help yourself to anything in the fridge.

Thanks for last night—Sophie

Reed read the note twice and even turned it over to see if there was more to it.
That's it? Thanks for last night?

He set the note aside and went in search of his pants. While Reed slept, Sophie had folded his
clothes and set them on her dresser. There was no sign of the monkey underwear.
Damn shame.
After seeing how sexy Sophie looked in them, he had to know what the Friday set looked like.
Saturday too, for that matter.

Throwing on his jeans, he headed for the kitchen with Max trotting closely behind him. Reed grabbed a leftover slice of pizza and was surprised that it tasted just as good cold. He
took another slice with him, making sure there was still enough remaining for Sophie.

While eating, he got the rest of his clothes on, stuffed his feet into his boots, and went to the front door. Max was waiting there for him.

“
No crust for you. After all that ice cream, you'd puke on Sophie's carpet.” Max gazed up at him with sad puppy dog eyes. “You'll be okay if I leave, right? I know you
stay home while she's at work.”

Max butted Reed's hand with his head. He gave the dog a good two-handed ear scratching then opened the door. The dog went back to the center of the living room and sat on his haunches.
Looked like a goodbye to him.

“
Okay, guard the house for Sophie.” Reed locked the door and headed for his truck. He had a full day ahead of him. After a shower and fresh clothes,
the next thing on his list was making a little visit to his parents' house.

* * * *

“I had hot monkey sex with Reed Sutton last night!”
Sophie wanted to yell it to the world. She wanted to say it to every customer.
“Here's your half a dozen oatmeal raisin cookies and BTW, Reed Sutton looks gorgeous naked,”
or
“Why yes, we do have some chocolate chip left and did you know that Reed Sutton has
a heavenly mouth and knows how to use it?”

As it was, she couldn't keep the smile off her face. A few patrons gave her a double take when Sophie greeted them with a tad too much jubilation. She loved her job but showing this much happiness was probably odd.

The only person Sophie could actually tell already knew about it. Tracy could see the change in her as soon as she came in to work. She'd
looked up from frosting some banana pudding cupcakes and grinned. “Looks like the ice cream worked! Someone got some last night!”

Sophie blushed hotly. “He brought over more than ice cream. He gave me flowers and pizza too.”

Tracy raised her eyebrows at that. “Ooh! He really was out to woo you. Dinner, flowers, dessert and…dessert. I thought he was just going to pick something from the favorites
list I gave him.”

That was something she wanted to ask Tracy. “When did Reed get all of this information from you?”

Her friend went on to decorate the next cupcake before answering. “When you were in the back. He looked so determined that I had to give him a few clues to the seduction of Sophie Brandon.”

Sophie laughed at that. “Did you tell him I could be had by a simple shoulder rub?”

Tracy
set down the frosting bag and rested against the table. “He gave you a shoulder rub? Now, I'm jealous! I didn't tell him to do that. Reed came up with that one on his own.” While leaning over, she whispered, “So, was it good?”

“
The shoulder rub? Hell, yes.” Sophie could actually turn her head without wincing. It felt like a miracle.

Tracy nudged her. “That's not what I meant! After the massage?”
She gave Sophie a once over. “You know what? You don't even have to tell me. It had to be off the charts to give you a morning after glow like you're wearing.”

Sophie beamed with happiness. “Better than anything I ever imagined. It wasn't just the sex either. I don't know how to explain it. There was a connection like I've never felt before.”

Tracy hugged her. “It sounds like someone's in love
and I don't mean only you.”

“
You mean Reed? Really? My feelings were so jumbled up this morning that I rewrote a note to him four times. I didn't want to seem too clingy so I tried to sound casual.”

“
What did you say?”

“
I said that I had to go to work and thanks for last night.”

Tracy groaned. “You thanked him? Like he did you a favor?”

Putting her hand to her forehead, Sophie groaned too.
“No! That was bad? I meant to thank him for the flowers and everything. I didn't want to freak him out by going on and on about the poetic beauty of our lovemaking. Don't guys get weird when you get too mushy too soon? I was trying to play it cool!”

“
Did you say anything else?

“
Yes, I told him to help himself to the fridge. You know, in case he was hungry when he woke up.”

Sighing, Tracy told
her, “Well, he definitely won't think you're too clingy. At any rate, I guarantee he'll drop by today so he can see the shmoopy look on your face for himself.”

“
Shmoopy?”

Tracy grinned. “The shmoopiest.”

* * * *

Sophie continued to fill orders in an insanely blissful mood. This level of cheerfulness had to be scaring the hell out of people. Add that to the fact that she'd actually gotten a
full night's rest and she was full of energy too.

A tall ginger-haired girl took her turn at the counter.

“
Hi! Welcome to The Cookie Jar! May I help you?”

The teen frowned and took a step back as if dodging Sophie's giddy spiel. Her voice was low as she mumbled, “Um, yeah. I'm Meg Malone. I'm supposed to tell you that Reed sent me.”

Dialing the exuberance down a notch, Sophie asked, “Sent
you for what?”

Meg's look of confusion made Sophie think she was supposed to already know why she was there.

“
You're hiring, right? Because that's what he said.” The girl looked around the shop, confirming that it was indeed a bakery.

Sophie had no idea where Reed found Meg Malone but if the girl knew her stuff, it would make training her that much easier. There was a lull in customers so Sophie
took the opportunity to ask her a few questions. “Do you have any experience working in a bakery?”

At the question, Meg met her gaze. She had sky blue eyes and a cute smattering of golden freckles across her nose. They went perfectly with her cinnamon colored, curly ponytail.

“
Yes.”

“
Yes?” Sophie raised her eyebrows, encouraging her to continue. “Where and when?”

Meg finally opened up. “Okay,
I worked in the bakery at the Madison Falls Market. It was this past year. I did everything from frosting cakes in the back to taking orders and stuff up front.”

Sophie remembered her now! Meg was the one at the bakery counter when Reed picked up that cake for his mom. She recognized that mumble from her short stint as a bread dodging ninja stalker.

“
You were there quite a while. Why are you
leaving?”

Meg inhaled and in one breath said, “My mom's job went from part-time to full-time. She can't drive me all the way across town and I don't have my license yet. If I worked here, I could ride my bike.”

“
How far away do you live?” Sophie didn't want the girl to have to ride too far.

Pointing out the window in reference to the direction of her house, Meg said, “I'm six blocks over on
Roosevelt Avenue. I could get here really easy. You know, like ten minutes, tops.”

Sophie could see the reluctant hope breaking through the bored facade. Meg wanted the job. “Okay. I need someone to work the counter part-time. Some mornings and some afternoons. We'll see about other duties later. How does that sound?”

A beautiful smile bloomed on her face. The transformation was astounding.
Her whole face lit up. “You mean you want to hire me? For real?”

While Tracy's side continued to have a steady line of customers, Sophie's half of the shop was starting to pick up again. A tired-looking mother and her rambunctious toddler walked in and stood behind Meg.

“
Here's what we'll do for now.” Sophie tore a piece of paper off a notepad. “Why don't you write down your phone number, birthday,
and address? I'll call you so we can have a more formal interview and settle the paperwork.”

Meg looked like she was trying not to show how relieved she was. Sophie smiled at her and handed her a pen. “Go on and sit over there at an empty table. You can put your info on the counter when you're done.” Meg took the paper and Sophie took her next order.

* * * *

“
Mom, I'm not taking sides. I just
want to know what happened.”

Reed had been sitting at his mother's kitchen table for the last fifteen minutes, trying to get a straight story when Dot announced that he'd turned against her.

She put some inedible cookies on a plate and gave him a cup of coffee. He choked down a bite to be polite. Keith was right. Reed's body didn't recognize it as food either. He couldn't eat a whole cookie
or she would add another one to his collection.

“
Tell me that you didn't mix up that huge order on purpose.”

Dot went to take a bite of her cookie then thought better of it.
Even she knew they were bad.
His mom gave an indignant huff. “I told you, Reed. That Sophie of yours must have mixed up the order. She's the one who wrote it down! Why do you keep blaming me?”