this
moment.
Heat flared inside of her, burning through her body,
making her weak. She felt uncomfortable in her clothes and in her
skin. She wanted him touching her everywhere and she wanted to touch
him back. She wanted to know what his perfect body would feel like,
naked and straining. She wanted him inside of her.
The image
of them together in that way was so vivid, her body clenched in
anticipation. He deepened the kiss and she met him stroke for stroke,
following him back to his mouth to tease and explore and
excite.
Then, as suddenly as the kiss had begun, it was
over.
He stepped back. "You're trembling."
Was
she? She felt the tremors race through her body. Okay, so maybe she
was.
"Low blood sugar," she told him in a foolish
attempt to protect herself. "I didn't have enough protein at
breakfast."
Reid stared at her for a long moment, then he
began to smile. It was a slow, self-satisfied, male smile. One
that spoke of his superior ability to bring a woman to her knees with
just a kiss.
He was still smiling when he walked out of the
kitchen. Lori stared after him, not sure who she was mad at more. Him
for turning her on and then leaving, or herself for responding in the
first place.
* * *
TWO DAYS LATER Reid let Walker and Elissa into Gloria's house.
Walker's expression was as unreadable as usual, but Elissa looked
ready to jump out of her skin.
"Command performance,"
Walker explained by way of greeting. "Gloria called and asked us
both to come by."
Elissa bit her lower lip. "You're
sure about the both of us part? I'm sure she just meant you. She
doesn't like me and I find her really, really scary."
Walker
smiled down at the woman standing next to him. "You can wait
here with Reid, if you want. I'm not going to force you."
She
sighed. "Of course you're not, because that's the kind of guy
you are. But because you're being so nice, I'll feel guilty for being
afraid, so I'm just going to come in with you and be polite. I can do
that. I was raised by very nice people."
Reid thought
about reassuring Elissa, telling her that Gloria had been through
something of a change. But as he wasn't completely sure the change
was going to last, he decided to keep quiet.
"I can come
in with you, if you want," he offered. "If it gets ugly,
I'll take Elissa out so you're not forced to kill your
grandmother."
"Sounds like a plan," Walker
said. "How's your life going?"
Reid led the way down
the hall. "I'm still doing damage control. Every day some other
woman comes forward and says the earth didn't move for her. It's grim
and humiliating, but at least it's a distraction. I fired my manager
and I'm going through all the boxes he sent over. There are so many
requests and letters that went unanswered. I hate knowing there are
kids out there assuming I'm an ass."
"What are you
going to do to fix it?" Walker asked.
"I'm still
trying to figure that out."
Reid wasn't so sure what to
do. The job was daunting.
* * *
LORI SMOOTHED the sheet on Gloria's bed, then tucked in the
end, all the while wishing she weren't so on edge.
She'd spent
the last couple of days trying to ignore Reid. After that kiss they'd
shared, she didn't know what to say to him. Just as annoying, she
hadn't run into him, which made her miss him, which really bugged
her. She hated that with a simple brush of mouths she'd gone from a
completely capable in-charge woman to a sighing, mooning giggler
desperate to see the man of her dreams.
Yesterday she'd taken
both a morning and evening run, in an effort to tire herself out
enough to let her sleep. It hadn't worked. The second she'd closed
her eyes, she'd seen his face and felt the damp heat of his kiss.
Reliving the sensations over and over had kept her up half the
night.
"Ladies," Reid said as he entered the room.
"We have company," he told his grandmother, who sat reading
in a chair, then gave her, Lori, a wink. "My brother. Two for
the price of one. Of course, he's taken."
Lori
straightened and tried to
moment.
Heat flared inside of her, burning through her body,
making her weak. She felt uncomfortable in her clothes and in her
skin. She wanted him touching her everywhere and she wanted to touch
him back. She wanted to know what his perfect body would feel like,
naked and straining. She wanted him inside of her.
The image
of them together in that way was so vivid, her body clenched in
anticipation. He deepened the kiss and she met him stroke for stroke,
following him back to his mouth to tease and explore and
excite.
Then, as suddenly as the kiss had begun, it was
over.
He stepped back. "You're trembling."
Was
she? She felt the tremors race through her body. Okay, so maybe she
was.
"Low blood sugar," she told him in a foolish
attempt to protect herself. "I didn't have enough protein at
breakfast."
Reid stared at her for a long moment, then he
began to smile. It was a slow, self-satisfied, male smile. One
that spoke of his superior ability to bring a woman to her knees with
just a kiss.
He was still smiling when he walked out of the
kitchen. Lori stared after him, not sure who she was mad at more. Him
for turning her on and then leaving, or herself for responding in the
first place.
* * *
TWO DAYS LATER Reid let Walker and Elissa into Gloria's house.
Walker's expression was as unreadable as usual, but Elissa looked
ready to jump out of her skin.
"Command performance,"
Walker explained by way of greeting. "Gloria called and asked us
both to come by."
Elissa bit her lower lip. "You're
sure about the both of us part? I'm sure she just meant you. She
doesn't like me and I find her really, really scary."
Walker
smiled down at the woman standing next to him. "You can wait
here with Reid, if you want. I'm not going to force you."
She
sighed. "Of course you're not, because that's the kind of guy
you are. But because you're being so nice, I'll feel guilty for being
afraid, so I'm just going to come in with you and be polite. I can do
that. I was raised by very nice people."
Reid thought
about reassuring Elissa, telling her that Gloria had been through
something of a change. But as he wasn't completely sure the change
was going to last, he decided to keep quiet.
"I can come
in with you, if you want," he offered. "If it gets ugly,
I'll take Elissa out so you're not forced to kill your
grandmother."
"Sounds like a plan," Walker
said. "How's your life going?"
Reid led the way down
the hall. "I'm still doing damage control. Every day some other
woman comes forward and says the earth didn't move for her. It's grim
and humiliating, but at least it's a distraction. I fired my manager
and I'm going through all the boxes he sent over. There are so many
requests and letters that went unanswered. I hate knowing there are
kids out there assuming I'm an ass."
"What are you
going to do to fix it?" Walker asked.
"I'm still
trying to figure that out."
Reid wasn't so sure what to
do. The job was daunting.
* * *
LORI SMOOTHED the sheet on Gloria's bed, then tucked in the
end, all the while wishing she weren't so on edge.
She'd spent
the last couple of days trying to ignore Reid. After that kiss they'd
shared, she didn't know what to say to him. Just as annoying, she
hadn't run into him, which made her miss him, which really bugged
her. She hated that with a simple brush of mouths she'd gone from a
completely capable in-charge woman to a sighing, mooning giggler
desperate to see the man of her dreams.
Yesterday she'd taken
both a morning and evening run, in an effort to tire herself out
enough to let her sleep. It hadn't worked. The second she'd closed
her eyes, she'd seen his face and felt the damp heat of his kiss.
Reliving the sensations over and over had kept her up half the
night.
"Ladies," Reid said as he entered the room.
"We have company," he told his grandmother, who sat reading
in a chair, then gave her, Lori, a wink. "My brother. Two for
the price of one. Of course, he's taken."
Lori
straightened and tried to
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