Feel the Rush: A Hard Feelings Novel (InterMix) (11 page)

“It wasn’t that bad, was it?”

Meagan laughed. “Oh, it was.” Becky shot Meagan a smile before she turned and headed toward the cabin. That didn’t go so bad after all.

***

The inside of the cabin was just as amazing as the outside, if not more so. There was a beautiful great room with windows that lined the back wall, overlooking the river. The kitchen was huge, all beautiful wood cabinets and an island large enough to use as a dinner table. It was furnished with a cherry-brown leather sectional and a couple of cream-colored overstuffed chairs that faced the fireplace, which took up nearly half of the wall. The fixtures and the simple accents of the cabin were rustic, but the rest of the sleek and modern décor made for a blend that was astounding.

“Okay, which room is mine? I’m ready to test out the pool.”

Reed bounced his eyebrows up and down, insinuating things Meagan was not wanting to think about. It was going to be hard enough spending an entire two nights under the same roof without wanting to give into every irresponsible desire her body was having for him. She didn’t need any not-so-subtle innuendos to add to the temptation.

“This way.”

Meagan followed him up an open staircase that led to the top level of the cabin. There was an open landing that looked down to the main level with two hallways extending from either side of it.

She followed him down the first hall, past a couple of empty rooms, to the bedroom at the back of the hall. It was simple enough, a large king-size bed, dresser, mirror, closet—oh yeah, and it was also beautiful. Reed had completely outdone himself, this wasn’t a cabin—it was like staying in a five-star resort.

“Seriously, Reed, this is—” Meagan’s phone buzzed in the back pocket of her shorts, cutting her words off short. She pulled the phone out and a wrinkle formed in between her eyes, she didn’t recognize the number.

“Hello?”

“Meagan? Hi, it’s Jason—uh, Dr. Ryan.”

Meagan’s eyes bugged out of her head and her jaw nearly hit the ground as her oh-shit moment slapped her in the face. She had completely forgotten about her dinner date with Jason.

She didn’t wait for him to say anything else, she just jumped on the apology wagon. “Oh my gosh, Jason, I am so sorry. I completely forgot about our dinner date and I let some friends talk me into going away for the Fourth.” The second the words left her lips she saw Reed’s face turn to hers as an array of emotions flitted across his expression—and she instantly felt guilty. She was turning Reed down like he had two heads, waving the white “friends” flag in his face, yet accepting a date from a handsome doctor—a slap in the face, she knew, and she felt like shit that he had to hear her conversation.

She turned her back to Reed and lowered her voice slightly. “I can’t tell you how sorry I am.”

“Hey, it’s not a big deal. How about you make it up to me next Saturday? Dinner
and
a movie.”

“Yeah? That sounds great,” she said, relieved that he was still willing to go out with her after she had completely and unintentionally stood him up.

“Good.” She could hear the smile in his voice and it sent a flutter of pesky butterflies dancing around in her stomach. “How about you give me a call when you get back into town?”

“I can do that.”

“All right, enjoy your trip.”

“Thanks, bye.” She pressed End and slowly turned back around. Reed was leaning against the door frame, his arms folding across his chest, an impassive look covering his scruffy face from eyes that almost looked like worn leather—hard and flat and dark, something she had never seen in them before—boring into her like he was trying to read her thoughts. Like they were written out in the flecks of her eyes. It was terrifying, yet it caused a subtle ache to travel throughout her body, tickling her skin and heating her blood.

“Doesn’t say a lot that you forgot, does it?” His face remained stoic, but he had a hard edge to his voice,one that was so unlike him that it startled her.

She opened her mouth to say something. What, she hadn’t quite figured out yet because she felt slightly guilty, yes. But now she was also a little bit pissed. The problem was, she didn’t know if she was mad that he seemed angry or if she was mad that the little speck of jealousy in his voice excited her.

But she didn’t have a chance to say anything anyway, because in the infinitesimal second she hesitated, he turned around and walked away.

Chapter Nine

He knew he was out of line. Fuck, he also knew he sounded like a jealous prick, but whatever part of him that seemed to acquire this new and vexatious little emotion was also the same part of him that was finding it hard to keep to the “friends” side of things where Meagan was concerned. It was fucking stupid to be so twisted up over a woman, but dammit, he was. And why? He hadn’t the slightest clue what she had done to inch herself in so deep to cause him to act like a completely different person when it came to her.

No, he didn’t like the thought of her out with another man, but what claim did he have over her to prevent that from happening? Not a fucking one. One thing was for sure: He was balancing on a tightrope, he was no good at it, and it was hard as hell, but unless he wanted to fall off, unless he wanted to possibly lose the friendship he had with this woman, then he needed to keep his head forward, no looking down.

Reed was sitting outside on the back deck with his brother-in-law when Meagan finally came out. She had spent a good twenty minutes up in her room, and Reed knew it was because he had crossed the line.

“Hey,” she said sweetly. Dammit, that soft, sweet side of her was becoming the hardest one to resist.

Reed stood up and gently grabbed onto her elbow, leading her to the far side of the deck next to the pool and away from Conner. She didn’t protest or jerk away from his grasp, she just followed him. He turned around to face her, placing both hands on her arms just below her shoulders. “I’m sorry for being a prick.”

“You’re not a prick, Reed. Maybe an idiot, but not a prick.”

“I shouldn’t have walked away from you.”

“You were mad, I get it.”

“You’re right, I was.” He searched her face, looking for anything that gave her away, but she wasn’t giving in. Her eyes stayed on his, focused and soft, but there was nothing in them that told him anything.

His hand moved to the side of her neck, brushing back the stands of hair that were loose from her ponytail. She gently inhaled a breath. It wasn’t intentional, and it wasn’t exaggerated, but he noticed it nonetheless. Her body had never been able to hide the way it felt from him, even though her eyes were perfectly capable of doing so.

She smiled up at him, the glint in her eyes, the little hint of mischief that he fucking loved, made an appearance, and it eased him in a way he didn’t know was possible.

“Friends?” she asked, with a little too much smirk for his liking.

He cocked an eyebrow at her and frowned. He felt a little trapped by this question, feeling like it was a doubled-edged sword, but also feeling like she needed to hear the words. She needed confirmation, and he wanted to give it to her—for no other reason but to give her a little ease and a little control, because he knew she wanted it.

“Friends.”

“Good,” she said. Her feet rolled up onto her toes. “I was hoping you would say that.”

Reed couldn’t help but smile. That one little word changed her entire demeanor, and her ease was contagious. “Yeah, and why is that?”

A roguish gleam took over her big, round eyes. “Because only a friend could get away with doing this.” She thrust her palms against his side, and in that spilt second, realization struck, and Reed knew he was going in the pool—but in that same split second of realization, his hand wrapped around her wrist. If he was going in, she sure as hell was going in with him.

She let out a delighted scream as they both went crashing into the water.

Reed pushed himself back to the surface and laughed when he saw Meagan’s head emerge. “You didn’t honestly think you were going to get away with that, did you?”

“Well, obviously I did or I wouldn’t have done it,” she said, laughing as she flicked her hand in his direction, splashing water in his face.

“You wanna go there too? Because I’m telling you right now, I. Will. Win.”

“Pretty cocky, aren’t you?”

“You have no idea, sugar.”

Reed started swimming toward her, and she retreated, swimming as fast as she could toward the steps. “Reed Porter, I don’t know what you are about to do, but I suggest you think before you act!”

“What fun would that be?”

She laughed as he gained on her and latched onto her waist. She spun around in his arms. Water trickled down her face, over her lips, and all Reed wanted to do was press his lips to hers and lick the moisture that clung to them. His dick started to harden as his eyes looked down at the tank top that was now clinging to her generous tits. Tits he already knew fit perfectly in his palms with just the right amount of soft flesh spilling over.

Reed tightened the hold he had on her waist as she tried to squirm out of his grasp. The way her wet skin slipped over his as she wiggled in his arms, laughing as she struggled to break free, turned him on, and she didn’t have a damn clue how sexy she was when she wrestled against him, which only made it worse. He started to lift her body out of the water, and she squealed—it was a sweet sound, a playful sound, and he very much liked her reaction that went along with it.

She bit her fingers into his shoulders, holding on tight. “Reed, don’t do it,” she warned, her already big, round eyes widening. Ah, but that only made him want to do it more.

He lifted her a little higher, and just as he was about to toss her across the pool, she wrapped her legs around his waist and locked her ankles above his ass, squeezing his hips with the insides of her thighs. He felt her center nestle against him, and he knew she could feel the way his body was responding to her. She fit so perfectly to him, their bodies molding to each other as she clung onto his waist.

She gave him a little squeeze with her legs. “Now, if I let you go, you promise not to throw me?” She pressed her lips together and lifted her eyebrows, waiting for him to respond.

Reed let go of her waist and lifted his hands in the air. “I’m not promising anything, woman.”

Her mouth fell open and her eyes widened slightly. She was pouting, and it was damn sexy.

He slipped his hands back beneath the water and smoothed them over her small waist again. She rocked her hips downward, more than likely without even realizing it given her body’s track record, but the way she felt pressing against his hardened dick was almost too much to bear. There was only so much willpower and self-control a man could have before falling off the tightrope, and Reed already had one foot dangling over the side.

His fingers trailed south, tracing the curves of her sides, her hips, until they touched the bare flesh of her smooth thighs. He splayed his palms out over her legs, his thumbs bushing gently over the insides of her thighs as he worked his way toward her knees. Her legs relaxed under his touch and her eyes moved over his as she slowly pulled her bottom lip into her mouth, and it was everything Reed had in him not to pull that lip from her mouth and suck on it himself, because he sure as hell knew how good it would taste.

He continued his journey down her legs, moving his fingers over her calves until he found her ankles, still crossed, pressing into the small of his back. His fingers wrapped around her delicate ankles, and in one slow, gentle movement, he pulled them apart and slid out from in between her legs.

Fuck, he deserved some sort of metal.

***

Meagan was sure that her face had turned about fifty shades of red within the matter of a single heartbeat. Her face felt on fire as she stared at Reed, who she knew was just as turned on as she was, because she felt how hard and ready he was for her when her body sunk down onto his. Dammit, it was a thin line, and Reed was doing a hell of a lot better staying on his side of it than she was.

A big splash splattered from the pool as a giant dog jumped in and paddled its way over to Reed, whose expression had went from intense and turned on to happy and excited. “Hey, Tiny!”

“How in the world did you get the name Tiny for that dog?” she asked as she joined Reed, rubbing the giant mop of wet black hair.

Reed just smiled.

“Hey, you two, I thought it was supposed to be more fun to swim with your clothes off, not on.”

Meagan instantly snapped her head to the side when Eva’s voice penetrated through the self-humiliation wall she had stupidly put up when she had to go and wrap her legs around Reed. Ugh . . .

Luke stepped up next to her, a mischievous smirk taking over his face. “Yeah, that’s what I’ve heard too. Wanna try it out?”

“You think that was gonna work on me? Really, big guy? You may be hot as hell, but I’m gonna need a little something extra before I let you talk me into skinny-dipping in a pool with you, just saying.” Eva patted him on the back, which looked hilarious all in itself because he was so much taller than her. “Better luck next time.” She winked.

“I think I may be in love with this women,” Luke said, watching as Eva walked to the edge of the pool and sat down, slipping her feet in. By the look Eva had plastered on her round face, she’d heard Luke’s little joking admission.

“You’re gonna have to do better than that too,” she hollered behind her, gaining a grin from Luke as he walked back into the cabin. Yep, Meagan was right.

Meagan swam to the edge of the pool next to Eva and pulled herself out, her light-pink tank top clinging to her stomach, and her black, high-waisted shorts sticking to her thighs. “What took you so long?”

“Oh, we had to wait for Murano, he was waiting to hear from some woman who has him wrapped around her little finger, tied up on a leash in the backyard, and quite possibly has his balls in her back pocket.”

Meagan clenched her teeth and sucked in a sharp breath between them. “That bad, huh? Did he enlighten you on what was going on?”

“Nope.”

Tiny climbed the steps of the pool and got out, shaking his long black fur, spraying water drops everywhere. It reminded her of that scene from
Beethoven
when the dog shook his wet, dirty body, getting drool and water and mud all over the walls of the room.

Reed swam over to Meagan and Eva, Tiny making his way to Eva as well, and leaned his forearms over the side of the pool, resting his chin. “There was this woman that used to live at Benning, she’s married.”

“S-she’s . . . what?” Eva stuttered.

“Yeah, her husband was stationed at Benning, but he came down on orders to Fort Campbell, I think. Murano’s dumb ass met her at the gym one day and had her in his bed later on that same night. They made it a thing, and in his defense, he didn’t know she was married at first, and the stupid fucker got attached. He waits around for her now. They meet up every now and again whenever she can get away, but she’s got kids, too.”

“What the hell is he thinking?” Eva spat, discord spilling over the sides of her words.

Reed shook his head, and it relieved Meagan to see the same emotions cross over his face—he wasn’t happy about the affair either. “Fuck if I know.”

“So, what, she’s in love with him?”

He shrugged. “I don’t think so, but I don’t know.”

“Well, if not, he’s gotta be fucking amazing in bed.”

“Eva!” Meagan admonished.

“What? Oh, don’t act like you weren’t thinking the same exact thing.”

She was.

“Murano’s a good guy, just a little bit sappy, and unfortunately he’s in love with a married woman.” Reed pulled himself out of the pool, dripping water all over Eva as he climbed out next to her.

Eva shook her head like she was thoroughly disappointed. “I would have never pictured Murano to be a sucker for love. Could I picture him with some whips, maybe some rope and a blindfold, yes—”

Meagan just rolled her eyes.

“Don’t you roll your eyes at me. I had the pleasure of seeing him half naked in nothing but his boxer briefs today when we picked him up, and, babe, that man with that body—which was cover in ink, by the way—was made to be naughty. Like I said before, he’s got to be amazing in bed.”

“I think that’s my cue to go. You girls getting hungry?”

Meagan laughed. “You cooking?”

“Yep.”

“Then yes.” Meagan stood up and lifted her soaking wet tank top over her head, peeling it from her skin. Reed’s lips curved up as he watched her and it sent a thrill through her body knowing that she was getting to him. She unbuttoned her shorts and stepped out of them, standing in her black polka-dot bikini.

Reed clucked his tongue and shook his head, unashamed as he allowed his gaze to skim over every inch of Meagan’s near-naked body. Okay, so this probably wasn’t smart. She was already torturing herself with the “no sleeping with Reed” rule she had given herself while she was on her self-proclaimed hunt for Mr. Safe, and stripping down in front of him, knowing good and well that he would watch and enjoy every moment of it, was going to add a notch to the difficulty meter on her temptation chart.

His greenish-gold eyes melted and took over the dark hues of brown as his expression shifted. He was no longer looking at her, enjoying the view. Now he was looking at her as if his eyes could physically touch her body. The intimate way it made her feel not only had the blood rushing to the surface of her cheeks but it also caused her to shift her gaze to the two people around them. She hoped like hell they weren’t privy to the little moment that seemed to be hanging in the small space between her and Reed.

“That’s just evil,” he said. And just like that his buoyant demeanor smothered the intensity that he had just thrown at Meagan. She was learning to have a love-hate relationship with his apparent split personality. She loved both the playful, silly, lighthearted Reed who was present 99.9 percent of the time, but she also unfortunately loved seeing the side of Reed that was intense and powerful and raw. It made her feel wanton and sexy and needed—all feelings she had been lacking as of late. But that was why she hated it too. Because she didn’t want to feel those things from Reed. He was a wild card. Not safe.

Reed headed back toward the cabin and Eva stood up, stepping closer to Meagan. “Nice moves, babe. You basically have him eating out of the palm of your hand. But I’m going to give you a little piece of advice, and I suggest you take it. Either get over yourself and your ridiculous so-called plan to find your Mr. Safe, your forever, and let that sexy-ass man fuck you senseless, or stop playing these stupid little games with him.”