Feel the Rush: A Hard Feelings Novel (InterMix) (8 page)

Reed rotated his body, moving her along with him as he firmly pushed her back into the wall. She let out a surprised gasp before he felt her lips tug up into a smile against his mouth. Oh, hell. This woman had no idea what she was getting herself into. If she kept responding to him like that he was bound to have to show her the other ways he would like to make her gasp—but he didn’t think she was ready for that, not yet.

He couldn’t take it anymore; her kiss was like drinking an expensive brandy. It was smooth and rich, slightly sweet—just enough to allow it to go down smoothly, but it had that bite to it that he craved, that little bit of edge that caused him to anticipate its effect. He could easily get drunk on this woman, besotted by the mere taste lingering on his tongue. Fuck, if her mouth had this effect on him, he was dying to taste the rest of her.

He broke their kiss, and Meagan’s head rolled back against the wall as she tried to catch her breath. Her long neck was stretched out and exposed in front of him, the thin skin at the hollow tapping rapidly along with the beat of her heart. Reed slipped a hand up the inside of her tank top, splaying his palm out across her flat stomach as he fastened his mouth on the curve of her neck, sucking gently. It was like sucking on sugarcane.

He released the hold his mouth had on her neck before it left a mark—although he wouldn’t mind seeing proof of his mouth on her skin—and continued his way down her body. He rained easy kisses across her shoulder and down her arm, pulling a slender finger into his mouth when he reached her hand.

His own fingers inched upward until he reached the lace covering her ample breasts. In one quick tug, he freed her tits from the cups of her bra and moaned when her back arched against the wall, begging for his hands to cover her. His thumb brushed across her smooth, taut nipple, rolling it between his fingers before he palmed her full tit in his hand. His mouth retreated back to hers and a deep, gratifying sigh heaved from her chest. Reed smiled again, his lips curving up around hers—there was that little reaction he loved, and it might just get him in trouble.

***

There was no use in trying to stifle the moan that had worked its way up her throat. His fingers were like magic, working her breasts with his rough hands, the sensation brushing across her skin was gentle but eager—and exactly what she wanted.

She lifted her leg and wrapped it around his waist, the evidence of his arousal pressing against her, and she had to force herself not to crumble from the fervor running though her body. His arm almost instantly slid under her thigh and lifted her other leg off the ground so she could wrap it around him. The second her legs locked together above his ass, a groan that sounded more animal than man rumbled deep in his chest—the raw sexual tension that vibrated through his body was almost terrifying. She hadn’t felt this turned on in a long time, and his intensity was overwhelming—terrifying and overwhelming in the best possible way.

Why was she doing this?
Be strong, be strong, tell him to stop,
Meagan thought to herself as she laced her arms around the hard torso that was pressing into her. But as quickly as the thought entered her mind, Reed’s tongue snaked out and traced her bottom lip, causing the thought to melt away with the warmth of his mouth. She felt almost out of control—she couldn’t stop. She didn’t realize how much she was craving sex, craving Reed, until that very moment.

Reed’s weight pressed into her, her spine molding to the wall as his teeth tugged on her lips, his tongue fighting with hers for dominance. His hands crept forward until they skimmed over the material of her shorts, teasing the sensitive ache between her thighs. The soft pressure of his fingers caused the rough denim to rub against her clit, and she involuntarily rolled her hips down to intensify the pressure.

“Fuck,” he groaned, moving his mouth close to her ear. “Drop your legs.”

She did, but only because she was trembling so badly that her legs could no longer hold onto him. She had never been so close to climax from so little stimulation before. Her bare feet hit the floor, and luckily Reed still had his hands wrapped around her waist, or she might have collapsed. He leaned back and looked at her, his gaze taking its time as it navigated down her body. It was as if his stare was burning her skin, leaving a trail of flames.

He crouched down, trailing his hands along the outside of her thighs all the way down to her ankles as he lowered to the ground. “Let’s get these off you,” he said as he raised his fingers to the clasp of her shorts, toying with the button.

His eyes looked expectantly at her, and she knew he was waiting for permission to undress her, but . . . she couldn’t give it to him. She wanted to, god, she wanted to. But as he lowered himself in front of her, his lips no longer causing her to lose focus of her self-control, she was finally able to form a logical thought—one that wasn’t compromised by the addictive taste of his lips moving over hers. If she allowed his hands to unbutton her shorts and slide down her legs—she would be a goner. She would sleep with him, there was no doubt about it. She wanted him, and he clearly wanted her too, but then what? They have yet another one-night-stand? She’d been down this path with him before, and dammit, it would be worth every ounce of pleasure she knew he would give her, but would it be worth it tomorrow? She wanted safe, and this wasn’t safe. This was everything she was trying to get away from. It was spontaneous, and reckless, and . . . damn . . .

“Reed, stop.” His hands halted instantly, his mouth went slack, and his eyes went blank before they squinted behind his thick lashes.

Meagan stepped to the side and lifted her bra back in place as she watched Reed slowly stand back up. He just looked at her and she felt this rush of guilt sweep through her at rejecting him after she so obviously wanted him—she knew he could tell, it was written clear as day on his confused face. She wished like hell she could go back in time five minutes. She would have never said a damn thing. The last thing she wanted was for things to get awkward, because, let’s face it, not only did he remember her now, but she had to go all moan-y and come close to orgasm—
great
. Friends, she could do friends. She needed to do friends, because whatever the hell just happened, she couldn’t do that again.

Her face and neck heated up as she looked at Reed, who had gone from confused to cocky in about two seconds flat. His eyes flitted over hers and he stepped to the side so he was standing in front of her again.

“You sure you want me to do that, sugar?” His voice was low, deep, and that subtle arch in his words—that sexy hint of an accent—slithered across her skin as they left his mouth, that damn perfect mouth. On the plus side, she no longer felt guilty.

Meagan cleared her throat, unfortunately sounding just as unsure about his question as she felt. “Yes.”

Reed’s lips pursed together, the jackass was trying not to laugh.

“What?” she said, furrowing her brows and making a conscious note to stand up straight and look him dead in the eyes, when all she wanted to do was grab onto him again.

“Nothing.” He chuckled.

Meagan sighed. “Reed, we both know that whatever that was . . . was . . . fun, but I don’t really think it was a good idea. Just because we slept together one night eight long years ago doesn’t give us a pass to do it again.”

“You don’t want to do it again?”

“No,” she responded, a little too quickly to be believable.

Reed laughed, and Meagan’s eyes about came out of her head.

“What the hell is so damn funny?” She went from turned on, to guilty, to annoyed.

“You are, sugar.” He winked at her. “Okay, we won’t do it again.”

Meagan cocked her brows up and her head bobbed downward.

Reed threw his hands in the air in surrender, his playfulness in full swing. “I swear not to make your body quiver and shake,” he said slowly, deep, like he was using his words to touch her body as he stepped closer, “and I promise not to kiss the smooth skin below your ear—”

“Reed,” Meagan admonished, cutting him off before he could do any more damage to her . . . willpower, hormones . . . hell, pride. She pushed her hands against his chest causing him to stumble back. Now that was self-control in its finest, right there.

Reed laughed. “I’m kidding, damn, woman.” His lips curved upward, and that megawatt smile beamed at her.

“Look, we live next door to each other, and I don’t know a lot of people here. Can’t we just be friends?”

Reed cocked his head to the side as Meagan held out her hand in front of her, and yes, she knew she looked like an idiot. “Friends?” she asked, her hand still dangling from her outstretched arm.

Fortunately Reed let her off the hook and took her hand in his and gave it one quick shake. Just as she was about to let go, he jerked on her hand and pulled her flush against him again, moving his hand to the small of her back, pinning her to him. She gasped, suddenly feeling like all the air was knocked out of her lungs.

His head leaned to the side, his nose pressed against the damp hair that clung to the side of her face, and he inhaled deeply before he pulled back around to look at her. Her heart had picked up the twelve-year-old-at-a-Bieber-concert pace again, and she couldn’t do anything but look into his liquid gold eyes that had gone intense—tempting.

“We can be friends, only because you’re too sweet and funny to not want to be around you all the damn time, and we won’t fuck again—not if you don’t want to, but that doesn’t mean that
I
won’t want to”—he leaned down and ran his mouth along her jaw, nipping her chin then swiping his tongue lightly over the gentle bite—“but I’ll respect what you want.”

He released his hold on her and stepped in front of the door. “See ya around, friend.” He winked and opened the door, and Meagan just stared after him as he walked out, closing the door behind him.
Friends.
That’s what they were going to be. From now on he was hands-off, completely hands-off. He was definitely not Mr. Safe—Mr. All-Of-The-Above, yes, but Mr. Safe, no.
He’s definitely not part of the plan,
Meagan said to herself as she ran her finger over the luscious tingling sensation he left on her chin.

Chapter Six

“You have big plans this weekend?”

Meagan was standing in front of the elevator waiting to go up to the med surg unit before she headed home for the evening when she heard Doctor Ryan sneak up behind her. “No, nothing,” she said, turning around to look at him. She completely planned on hiding out in her apartment the rest of the weekend until she had to crawl out and head back to work on Thursday. Working three twelve-hour shifts a week definitely had its perks.

“Really? No big fireworks bash or party?” he asked, stepping up beside her. He was attractive, and Meagan always seemed to get those fluttery butterflies in her stomach whenever he was around.

Meagan smiled at him and wrinkled her nose. “Nope, and considering it’s Saturday, I will probably just lie around all day tomorrow, and I don’t plan on leaving the house on Monday either,” she admitted.

“Aw, that just won’t do. How about you come out to dinner with me on Sunday and we can plot your Monday Fourth of July plans while we eat sushi?” The elevator doors opened, and Meagan stepped inside, and Dr. Ryan held his arm against the door, preventing it from closing.

“You want to plot?” she asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

Doctor Ryan—Jason—lowered his head and smiled. It wasn’t that same cocky, lopsided grin that she loved to see pulled on Reed’s face. No, Jason’s was sweet, almost shy—she liked it.

He raised his eyes back to her, and she dropped her arms to her side and smiled. “No, I actually just want to spend some time with you, alone, outside of the hospital.”

His little bashful admittance was cute, and it gave her another wave of flutters. “Sushi sounds great,” she said.

Jason pulled his phone out of his pocket, and Meagan rattled off her phone number to him. “I’ll call you tomorrow and we can work out the details?”

“Sounds good.”

He pulled his arm away from the elevator, and the door almost immediately started shutting. “Have a good night,” he said, flashing that sweet smile her way again, just as the elevator door closed completely.

Jason was definitely one she could see working the “safe” angle. He was a doctor in the army, he was sexy and handsome and sweet all bundled into one. And from what little she knew about him, she got the impression that he had his shit together. So he was a little shy. That’s okay, she could work with that—it was cute. She just typically went for the assertive type, the slightly cocky I-know-what-I-want-and-I-want-you type of men, but look where that has gotten her—nowhere. So the bashful, sweet, I’m-nervous-to-ask-you-out type might be exactly what she needed.

The elevator smelled of hospital food and antiseptic cleaner, which you’d think Meagan would be used to by now, but it still made her hold her breath. As soon as the door opened she stepped off, inhaling deeply only to breathe in another gust of sterile hospital air. She made her way down the narrow hall that led to Brewer’s room, passing room after room of patients, all there for different reasons, of course, but she couldn’t keep her mind from wandering back to Kale. Knowing that at one point not too long ago, he was one of the soldiers who was sitting in a cold, empty hospital room, with no one to visit him while he was recovering from an injury—from an attack on him and his men—was heartbreaking. It was one reason she loved working in a military hospital. Not only did she get to help military families, but she got to be there for the soldiers—especially the ones who didn’t have anyone, like Brewer. His parents lived clear across the country and couldn’t afford to make a trip down here while he was recovering. It damn near broke her heart. Here was this young soldier that would never again be able to do what he loved, never again be able to jump, possibly never be able to return to combat, and he was alone. Day in, day out, sitting in a hospital room with no one or nothing but his thoughts. But that was why she was there, that was what made her love her job—she could make sure he wasn’t alone.

Meagan tapped on the hospital room door that was slightly ajar and pushed it open when she heard Brewer’s voice telling her to come in. The room was dark, only the dim light creeping in through the open blinds was illuminating the room.

“Hey, how are you feeling today?” she asked, plopping down in the chair next to the bed.

“Much better now that you’re here.”

Meagan laughed. She liked this kid, and she gathered that the drugs he was heavily on yesterday didn’t bring out his flirty side like she had originally thought—this was just him. Another cocky, flirty bad boy with a big heart who could easily rope her in. She could already see herself getting attached to him, only in the little brother sense.

“Well, good. Did you eat yet?”

“Not that shit they tried to bring me from the cafeteria,” he said, attempting to scoot up in his bed a little. Meagan wanted to help him, but she knew firsthand that injured soldiers had more pride than anyone else, so she just sat there, twisting the handle of her purse as he struggled to sit up.

“Do you want me to run and grab you something?” she asked as he situated himself in the bed.

“I’ll gladly have you for dessert, but Captain Porter already brought me dinner.”

The single mention of Reed’s name caused mini heart palpitations to take off in her chest. She was trying hard not to think of him, what with everything that went on between them last night, but it was a near impossible task. Her mind drifted to the way he pinned her against the wall, and the way his fingers felt brushing across her bare breasts, nearly every other minute of the damn day.

“Oh,” she said, unable to find anything else to say now that Reed was clouding her mind again.

Brewer sighed heavily then smiled. “Well, fuck.”

She lifted her brows. “What are you well-fucking about?”

“Ah, that pretty mouth saying dirty words, mm, mm, mm.”

Meagan rolled her eyes and reached over and slapped him on the arm. “Spill it.”

“You have a thing for CO.” It wasn’t a question, just a simple statement.

“You think I like Reed?” she asked, making sure to keep her voice even as the words left her mouth. She didn’t like him—not in that way—she knew better than to like him. It just so happened that her body didn’t give a shit what she thought.

“Oh, my sweet and beautifully sexy nurse Meagan, I don’t think, I unfortunately know. And don’t think for one second that it doesn’t piss me off knowing that my chance with you is pretty much shot now.”

She pressed her lips together to keep from laughing. “Brewer, you never had a shot to begin with. You may be incredibly good-looking,” she said to soften the blow, although it was completely true, “but, you’re what, twenty? Twenty-one?” What was with these young guys hitting on her lately anyway? Well, hell, she might as well take it as a compliment considering she was about to enter cougar territory—okay, not really.

Brewer threw his head back against the pillow and blew out a long breath from his mouth, causing his lips to pucker. “I’m not gonna lie, that stung a little. I’m twenty-three.” He lifted his head from the pillow and looked her dead in the eyes. His were a hard gray—bursts of blue shooting throughout, like gunmetal, like the freshly polished and oiled barrel of a revolver. They were still light, silly almost, but there was an intense sincerity ringing them that made him instantly appear much older than twenty-three, and if Meagan didn’t already have him set to the little-brother burner, she may had easily gotten sucked in by that stare. “Age has never been an issue with women, and I don’t play with girls,” he said, his words sure and firm and . . . hell . . . sexy. Then, just like that, he dropped his stare and the air surrounding them returned to its pre-sexy state.

“He told me to tell you ‘hi’ by the way.”

Meagan blinked. “Who?”

“Who do you think? Captain Porter.”

“What do you mean he told you to tell me ‘hi’? He didn’t know I was going to come see you.”

“Ah, but you see, he knew you wouldn’t be able to stay away from me long—surprising, I know, considering he’s got his balls all twisted in a knot over you, but yeah, he knew you would come.”

“And he just said, ‘Tell Meagan hi’?”

“No, he said ‘When that sexy-ass nurse from yesterday comes back to check on you tonight, you tell her I say ‘Hi, friend.’ And you also tell her to get her cute butt to my apartment to see me when she gets home.’”

Meagan laughed. Reed was using one of his soldiers as a messenger boy?

“See, I wasn’t going to tell you to go see him tonight. Fuck, if he wants to see you than he can tell you himself. But seeing as you are just as twisted up for him as he is for you, I thought I would tell you—and seeing that I have no chance in hell left with you.”

Meagan laughed again. If she kept this up she was going to start getting side cramps. She wanted to wrap Brewer up and take him home with her. But she didn’t want to let Eva loose on him, she would tear him to shreds—actually she didn’t want to let Brewer loose on Eva, he would probably be all over her. Hell, mental note—never let those two near each other.

“What are you grinning about?” Brewer asked when she didn’t respond. “Trying to figure out a way to let CO down easy, huh? Tell him I’m the one you really want?”

She shook her head and rolled her eyes. “No, I was actually thinking how you and my roommate can absolutely never meet each other.”

“Oh, yeah? Tell me about this roommate,” he said, his eyes gleaming with a mischief that gave her another glance into the sexier Sergeant Brewer. “Tell me she’s a redhead.”

Meagan’s eyes widened, and he laughed. “Ah, hell, she is, isn’t she? I love me a feisty redhead, almost as much as I love me a sexy blond nurse.” He winked.

“Oh, no, you two will definitely not be meeting each other now.” Meagan stood up. “Can I do anything for you before I leave—and keep that mind out of the gutter, please. Soda, snack, movie?”

His eyes shifted downward, dropping his chin to his chest. She knew the look; she had come across more proud men in her lifetime than she could possibly count. A soldier asking for help when they were hurt was like pulling teeth. She knew he was in pain, she could tell the second she walked into the room, but the light way he held himself made it easy for her to forget.

Meagan leaned over the side of the bed and lightly pressed her lips to his cheek. “All right, Casanova, I’m going to send your real nurse in here to give you some meds so you can sleep. And don’t argue with me, I know what’s best. Also”—she grabbed an old receipt out of her purse and wrote down her phone number on the back, slipping it into his hand—“call me if you need anything. Seriously, even if you want me to come here and watch stupid old movies with you in the middle of the night, I’ll do it.”

He grabbed her hand and looked up at her, and the young guy who was hurt and alone was staring back at her. “Thanks, Meg.”

“No problem.”

***

Reed was waiting outside Meagan’s front door when he saw her pull up in her ridiculous Volkswagen Beetle, but if anyone could make that car look good it was her. It was five till eight, and if Meagan had the same schedule she did yesterday, she would have gotten off work at seven, which meant that she had probably gone to see Brewer, just like he assumed she would. Hopefully the little shit gave her his message.

She stepped out of her car, grabbing her purse before she shut the door. When she turned toward the apartment building she spotted him instantly and a sweet smile tugged on her face.

“Hi, friend,” she said to him as she walked up to her door.

“Good, I see Brewer gave you my little message.”

Meagan put her key in the door and unlocked it, pushing it open and stepping inside. “Yes. Well, I’m home and I see you, what’d ya want?” She turned around and stepped to the side, giving him the nonverbal invitation to come in—so he did.

“I want to take you somewhere,” he said, stepping into the empty apartment.

“And where would that be?”

“What fun would it be if I told you? Go change into something comfortable and then grab a extra clothes, I’ll stick them in my bag.”

Her lips parted like she was about to say something but changed her mind instead. She turned around and headed down her hallway without saying another word.

A few minutes later she was walking back into the living room wearing a pair of skintight black cotton pants that hit just below her knees and a red tank top. This woman sure knew how to make comfortable look sexy.

“You ready?” he asked, taking a pair of shorts and a sheer top out of her hands and stuffing them into his bag along with a pair of sandals before he threw it over his shoulder.

Meagan cocked up a blond eyebrow. “For what exactly?”

Reed winked at her before he made his way toward the back door. He wasn’t going to indulge his information that easily. She might have had a way of crawling under his skin, but he was still holding on strong. “Ah, you’ll have to wait and see.”

They walked through the courtyard toward the parking lot. It was eight o’clock, but the summer night allowed the hazy sun to sneak over the horizon and the mix of colors it created played against the color of Meagan’s hair, and her blue eyes seemed to reflect the pink and yellow hues. Seeing her in this lighting was picture worthy, hell, any lighting this woman was in was picture worthy—but seeing her now, it seemed as if she was encased in a warm glow, and it was fucking beautiful.

A slight shade of pink rose on Meagan’s cheeks when she noticed him staring, but he wasn’t going to pretend he wasn’t. He told her yesterday that he would respect what she wanted, but he also told her that it didn’t mean he wouldn’t want her—she better just get used to it now because he was sure staring at her was going to be a common occurrence when they were together. He just needed to learn to get his dick under control. He wasn’t keen on being miserable all the time.

“You’re really not going to tell me?” she asked from behind him.

“Nope.”

“Well, as long as I’m not jumping out of any airplanes, I think I’ll be fine.”

Reed stopped abruptly and spun around to face her and she damn near ran straight into him. Her feet shuffled a step back, only causing him to take another step toward her. He was much taller than her, and his shoulders rolled forward as he hovered over her, trying to get closer. He fixed his strong gaze on her and lowered his head so he was mere inches from her face. The close proximity did nothing but intensify the need he had to pull this woman hard against his body. He took in a steady breath. “Sometimes, the things we’re afraid of”—his words dropped off as he took the time to move a stray strand of hair that had fallen loose over her face—“the things that scare us the most, are the things that give us the biggest rush,” he said slowly, his words low and thick.