Maybe This Time (15 page)

“Yes, now,” I
say urgently, moving my hands and digging them into his muscled
back.

Reid takes
over and slides into me slowly, watching me the entire time.

“Fuck,” he
curses, pulling back once, and then sliding all the way in. “Are
you okay?” he asks, his voice sounding strained.

“Yeah, don’t
stop.”

“Beauty, so
wet for me,” he whispers as he starts to move, grinding his pelvis
against mine, rubbing against my clit with each thrust. The man
knows what he’s doing, that’s for damn sure. He kisses me
passionately, and I revel in his taste, his scent, his body.
Everything about Reid draws me in. He lifts my thighs up, thrusts
again, the penetration deeper. Reid makes a sound deep in his
throat, and my eyes widen when I feel another orgasm cresting. I’ve
never come twice before, and I find myself lifting my hips in
rhythm with his, desperate for more.

“You’re almost
there, beautiful, I want you to come with me,” he says, rubbing my
clit with his finger.

“Reid,” I gasp
as the pleasure hits, consuming me. Reid moans and shudders on top
of me, thrusting harder.

“Fuck, fuck,
fuck,” he says as he finishes inside of me. When we're both spent,
he leans down and tenderly kisses my forehead, my brow, my nose,
and then finally my lips.

“You okay?” he
asks softly. I nod, giving him a sated smile.

“Look at you,
swollen lips, sex hair, naked under me. Fucking perfect, Summer.
How did I get so lucky?” he whispers. I pull his face down, kissing
him on his jaw, over his scar. For once he doesn’t pull away or
flinch.

“It was
perfect,” I tell him, kissing him on the lips.

“We didn’t use
a condom,” he says.

“I’m on the
pill.”

“I’m clean,”
he says.

“Have you had
sex without a condom before?”

“Once,” he
says.

“Oh.”

“Never felt as
good as with you, Summer. I didn’t even know it could be this
good,” he says, leaning his forehead against mine.

“Flattery will
get you everywhere.” I kiss his neck, and gasp when I feel him
getting hard inside me again. “Holy shit.”

“See what you
do to me?” he says, his lip curving.

“I can feel
it.”

“You were made
for me,” he says, rolling his hips.

I push his
shoulders as he rolls onto his back for me. “Let’s test that
theory, shall we?”

“Weren’t you
supposed to go to work?” I ask, laughing.

“Shit,” Reid
says, pulling his phone out of the drawer. “Luckily Tag was
there.”

“Yeah, and the
new girl.”

“Yeah,” he
says, giving me a strange look.

“What?”

“Nothing. I’ll
go talk to Ry, gimme a sec,” he says, kissing me once before
leaving. He walks back in a few moments later with two juice boxes,
putting one down on the table. The other one he opens, shoving the
straw in and then handing it to me.

“Thanks.”

“You staying
the night?” he asks, looking hopeful.

“Sure. I’ll
just text Xander and let him know.” He smiles with his eyes, and a
little quirk of his lips.

“You want
anything?” he asks, tilting his head.

“Just
you.”

After the
perfection that was last night, I expected to wake up to one of a
few different scenarios. Perhaps morning sex, breakfast in bed, or
Reid’s smiling face looming over me. Any of those would have been
acceptable. What I didn’t plan to wake up to, was Reid sitting
there, staring at the wall, a pensive look on his face.

“Morning,” I
tell him, my voice thick. He glances down at me, and gives me a
slight smile that doesn’t reach his eyes.

“What’s
wrong?” I ask, sitting upright.

He rubs his
hand down his face and purses his lips. “Don’t worry about it, I’m
just being stupid.”

“Tell me.”

“Come here,”
he says, moving me closer so I’m resting back on his chest.

“Reid,” I say,
letting my tone let him know that I’m serious.

“You want the
truth?” he asks.

“No, lie to
me, please,” I say dryly, rolling my eyes.

“Fuck me,” he
mutters.

“What’s
wrong?”

“Okay, I’ll
tell you, but don’t throw this in my face just for being honest,”
he says, sounding reluctant.

“Fine.”

“I thought you
were a virgin,” he blurts out, holding my body in place so I can’t
move away.

“I never said
I was a virgin,” I say slowly.

“I know, but
you’re so innocent, and young, and you didn’t say otherwise, so I
just assumed…”

“Young? You
think girls my age haven’t had sex before?” I ask, the pitch of my
voice going higher in disbelief.

“No, it’s not
that…”

“You think I’m
a slut?” I gape.

“For fuck's
sake, I didn’t say that,” he growls.

“You think I’m
a slut for not being a virgin at nineteen?” I can’t believe this
shit. “How old were you when you lost your virginity?” I ask,
scoffing.

“You’re taking
my words and twisting them, Summer,” he says, exasperated.

“So that weird
look on your face, that was because you were upset that you weren’t
my first?”

He lifts both
shoulders in a shrug. “I just thought you were, that’s all I’m
trying to say.”

“And the
caveman in you wanted me to be?” I guess, gritting my teeth.

“Summer…”

“Well, there
goes my morning after glow,” I grumble, jumping out of the bed
naked, and looking around for my clothes.

“And this is
why I don’t have relationships,” I hear him say. I instantly spin
around and stare him down.

“I’m sorry,
what? This doesn’t have to be a relationship, you know,” I tell
him, crossing my arms over my chest. His gaze lowers to my breasts
and stays there.

Suddenly the
door bursts open and Ryan walks in.

I scream.

He yells, and
then puts his hands over his eyes. “Ryan,” I hear Reid growl.

“I... uh...
just wanted to say that I made breakfast,” Ryan rambles, still
standing there.

“Ryan, you can
leave,” I say.

“Yeah... Um...
Okay.” He finally walks out and closes the door behind him. I can
hear his hyena laughter echoing down the hall.

“You didn’t
lock the door?” I ask, gaping.

“Apparently
not.”

Ignoring him,
I wrap a sheet around myself, grab my clothes and walk to the
bathroom. I have a quick, hot shower, brush my teeth with the spare
toothbrush in the cabinet, and run my fingers through my hair so it
doesn’t dry knotty. I put my jeans back on, commando, and my bra
and top from last night. I walk into the kitchen, my face flushing
when I see Ryan standing there, grinning.

“I hate you,”
I grumble, heading for the stove.

“If you hate
me then you don’t get the bacon and eggs,” he says, his tone laced
with amusement.

“I’d like to
see you try and stop me.” I give him a hard look, taking a plate
and serving.

“So you
finally gave Reid a piece, hey,” he says casually, drinking a juice
box. Looks like my addiction is catching on.

“A piece? Who
says that anymore?”

Ryan
laughs.

“And how did
you know we hadn’t already?” I ask, buttering some bread.

“Aren’t you
going to toast that?”

“No.”

“Why?”

“Hungry,” I
say, putting the egg and bacon on the bread and making a tasty
looking sandwich.

“Reid's my
twin, there's little I don’t notice,” he says, watching me take a
bite.

“Who has the
bigger penis?” I ask, wanting to shake him up. Of course Reid
decides to walk out at that moment, scowling. “Well, if it isn’t
Mr. Old Fashioned,” I grumble into my sandwich. Like an olden day
lord pissed off because he found out his wife was a soiled dove on
his wedding night. The thought makes me giggle.
I am so
funny.

“Our cocks are
equally large,” Ryan answers, chuckling.

“Did you think
I was a virgin?” I ask Ryan.

He laughs
harder. “No way, not with the way you move on the dance floor. Hips
don’t lie.”

I blink twice,
and then crack up laughing. Reid shakes his head at our antics, but
I can see the smile on his lips that he can’t stop from
forming.

“Nothing is
sacred in this house,” I muse, finishing off my breakfast. Reid
walks past me, gently tugging at a lock of my hair, before grabbing
a plate and piling it with food.

“If you think
you’re going to get away with that as an apology, you have another
thing coming, Reid Knox,” I tell him, washing my plate and putting
it in the dishwasher. I do the same for the other few plates and
cutlery left in the sink. I spin around to find him leaning against
the table, eating a piece of bacon with a smirk etched on his
face.

“What’s with
the smirk?” I ask. I look around to see Ryan has left the
kitchen.

“You’re
fucking hot when you’re angry,” he says, licking his finger.

“The way you
act sometimes, you better get used to it.”

“Ditto.”

“I’m going
home, I’ll see you later,” I say, walking past him. Before I can
get out of his reach, he pulls me back by the belt loop on my
jeans. My back crushes against his chest, and my heart flutters as
he pushes my hair to one side so my neck is bared and
vulnerable.

“I’m sorry.
Last night was perfect, okay? I didn’t mean to ruin it,” he
whispers, nuzzling my neck.

“Hmm,” I
sigh.

“Do you
forgive me, beauty?” he says, his stubble tickling my neck.

“I suppose,” I
say ungracefully.

“I’ll make it
up to you,” he says, and then proceeds to whisper exactly what he
will do to me in my ear.

“Forgiven!”

Reid laughs at
my eagerness. “Okay, drive safe and text me when you get home. I’ll
pick you up before the fight.” Shit, how did I almost forget about
that?

“Okay,” I say,
not sure how I feel about the fight.

“You don’t
have faith in your man?” he asks in disbelief.

“I do. I’ll
see you tonight,” I say, kissing him on the cheek. He slaps my butt
as I pass.

Men.

I walk into
the house to find an unhappy looking Xander standing in the
kitchen, his arms crossed against his head.

“What’s
wrong?” I ask, putting my bag down on the table.

“You weren’t
here so I haven’t eaten any breakfast,” he says, sulking.

I purse my
lips. “What did you do before I moved in?”

“Well, there
were usually girls lying about so one of them…”

“You guys are
disgusting!"

“Or we had
leftover pizza, or something,” he says, shrugging.

“Fine, I’ll
cook you breakfast but you’re washing up.” I point my finger at him
and pull out some eggs.

Xander hugs
me. “Thank you.”

My heart
melts. I love my baby brother. “You’re welcome.”

“I need to
talk to you about something.” The hesitance in his voice has me
glancing at him.

“What is
it?”

“I was
thinking about getting in the ring sometime,” he says.

“You wanna
fight?” I say, enunciating each word.

“Yeah, I don’t
want you to get all upset, but I’m a pretty good fighter, and I
wanna do this,” he explains.

“Okay. Why are
you telling me this?”

“Dad said I
needed to...” he clears his throat. “Run it by you.”

I can’t help
it when laughter bubbles out of my mouth. “Dad said you needed my
permission?” I say through bouts of laughter.

“You done?”
Xander growls, not looking impressed.

“Baby bro. Do
I wish you wouldn’t fight? Yes. But it’s your life and I’ll be
there for you no matter what.”

He looks at me
with a softness in his eyes that makes me believe in the saying
‘everything happens for a reason’.

“Right back at
ya, Summer,” he says. I smile and face the stove, cracking eggs
into the frying pan.

After I finish
Xander’s breakfast, I get changed, tidy up the house and then drive
to the library. Grabbing my assignment file, I walk inside and take
my usual table.

“You’re back,”
a deep voice says. I lift my head and stare into the eyes of the
mysterious guy who sat next to me the last time I was here.

“You stalking
me?” I tease. His lip curves as he sits opposite me, same as last
time. He pulls out a thick text book, and I read it upside
down.

“You’re
studying law?”

“Guilty.”

I wince.
“Looks painful.”

“Trust me, it
is. How about you?” he asks, gesturing to my folder.

“Nursing at
Tafe.” He tilts his head and smiles. I return to my assignment,
wanting to get at least a quarter of it finished today. My phone
vibrates and I pull it out of my pocket to see a text from Reid. I
realize I never texted him saying I was home safe, so I send a
quick reply saying I’m studying at the library.

“Boyfriend?”
the stranger asks.

“You ever
going to tell me your name?” I counter.

He grins
cheekily. “Silas.”

“Nice to meet
you, Silas, I’m Summer, and yes, that was my boyfriend.”

“All the good
ones really are taken,” he answers, but he doesn’t look let down in
the slightest, so I know he’s just teasing. We spend the rest of
the time in silence, until it’s time for me to leave.

“Bye, Silas,”
I say as I pick up my folder.

“Bye, Summer,”
he says, not looking up.

By the time I
get home I have an hour until Reid comes to pick me up. I jump into
the shower, and then walk to my room with dripping wet hair.
Wrapping a towel over my head, I stand naked in the corner of my
room, staring at my wardrobe. What am I meant to wear? I settle for
a pair of low riding skinny jeans and a tight black sweater. I put
on my favourite pair of battered combat boots, because they're
comfortable and flat, and they look pretty badass too. I blow-dry
my hair and iron it so it’s dead straight. A little mascara, powder
and bronzer and I’m done.