REED

Legs…

Her legs caught my eye from the moment she stepped out of the helicopter. Damn fine legs that went on for miles, made to look even toner and longer by a pair of impractical high heels. What the fuck a pair of legs like those were doing on the rig was anyone’s guess. So I stayed put, crossing my arms over my orange suit, keeping my mouth shut and my opinions to myself while I looked over my shoulder and saw the guys hooting and hollering, then I faced forward and took all of her in.

Fuck me any day. The rest of her could keep a man hard as a steel rod for weeks—curves in all the right places, tits that would spill out of my hands, red pouty lips made for kissing and sucking. She kept brushing her fiery red hair flying wildly around her face, while she walked away from the chopper. One of the engineers from HQ who came with her led her down the walkway, shouting over the rotors of the helicopter. Her face pinched, and she nodded. My guess from her tight skirt and high heels—she was another of Martinez’s executive assistants. He couldn’t seem to keep any of them around. Maybe if he stopped groping them, they’d work for him longer.

This one was different though. There was an air of confidence about her. It was in the way she walked—with a purpose, like she was someone important…until one of her heels got stuck in the grates. She twisted around, dropped the bag she was carrying, and bent down, showing me a half-view of her fantastic ass. But the responsible man in me burst out. I brushed a hand over my face in frustration. It had been a long time since we’d had any accidents here. It would piss me off if some chick came and ruined that record. Not on my watch.

I took off in a jog to help her out. Wouldn’t want her to ruin those expensive shoes—from their red soles, I knew they cost more than some of the guys on the island made in a week—or, God forbid, she break a leg trying to pry her shoe out of the grate. As I neared, I nodded at the senior engineer, Steve Jones, who stood awkwardly beside her, just in time for the mystery woman to get herself free, and promptly stumble toward me. My hands flew out to grab hold of her before her ass hit the walkway. One of them splayed over her shapely assets, and the other I used to hold onto her arm. She smelled like flowers and sunshine.

“Fuck,” she muttered under her breath as I helped her straighten.

The single word sent a jolt straight to my crotch, and had me growing hard against her softness. I chuckled, not expecting someone like her to say such a crude word, or for it to have that kind of effect on me since it was part of regular vocabulary on the rig. After hearing her say it though, I bet my entire bank account she talked dirty in bed.

“You can let go of me now.” It took me a moment to realize she was talking to me, her head cocked to one side, a perfectly shaped eyebrow raised at me.

“You sure? Maybe you sprained your ankle,” I said, not moving a muscle except for the grin that spread on my face as I inhaled her intoxicating scent.

“I’m positive you can take your hand off my butt now.” I didn’t particularly like her tone. She might as well have called me ‘pervert’. My hand landing on her ass was pure accident, but since she seemed to think I was, in fact, a sick perv, I kept it there for a second longer, pressing harder before letting her go with a bit more force than I intended.

She stumbled forward, but she didn’t fall. Thank God.

“Ugh!” When she turned around to face me, her blue eyes narrowed. “Thanks,” she gritted out. Her tone flat out told me she didn’t mean it. She bent slightly to slip her foot back in her shoe, but she kept her sneer targeted at me.

I looked down at her, seeing the top of her black lace bra peeking out of her shirt, and letting a dangerous smirk curve at the end of my lips. “Anytime, sugar lips.” Her jaw dropped, but before she could call me all sorts of lovely words that no doubt formed in her mind, I offered my hand to Steve, who was laughing quietly beside us. “How you doin’? Didn’t know you were coming in today.”

He shook my hand. “Well HQ wanted you to meet the new Health and Safety Officer.”

“New?” I asked, continuing to ignore the woman, although I could see her anger rising in the corner of my eye. When she picked up her bag again, I thought she’d fling it at me. “What happened to Martinez?” I threw the chick a curious glance. “He finally got sued for harassment?”

Steve shook his head, sending an uncomfortable look toward her. “Early retirement.”

I scoffed. Lazy ass overpaid fucker. Truth be told, I never liked Martinez. Each time he came in for inspection, he’d poked and prodded at everything on the rig despite an increase in production since I became project manager. My men worked hard, and we had a great camaraderie, but he would always find some nit-picky shit. Here’s hoping the new inspector wouldn’t be as much of an ass as he was.

“When’s the guy coming?” I asked Steve, but immediately turned to the redhead. “You here as fluffer?”

“Excuse me?” Her eyebrow rose again. Steam practically billowed around her ears.

Arms folded over my chest, I turned my body to her, and got the chance to observe her more as she fumed. Shit. The angrier she got, the more beautiful she became. I bet she didn’t know her lips became fuller, redder even, and the sparkles in her eyes brightened. If she kept this up, I’d have to find a way to get her to my room and do whatever was necessary to contain the anaconda in my pants.

“Ah…Reed…” Steve began, but I kept my eyes on Miss Expensive Shoes. She copied my stance and crossed her arms over her chest, making her cleavage spill over her top. To mess with her head, I flicked my gaze down her tits and up again then stuck the tip of my tongue out. “Reed, this is Miss Montgomery. She’s your new Health and Safety Officer.”

Fuck. Tension knotted on my back and shoulders. I was screwed and not in the way I’d wanted. What I’d just done was unacceptable, and I’d never thought of flirting with any woman who stepped on the rig before. Off-rig was a different matter altogether. There was something about her that pushed me to do it. Not knowing how to react, I threw my head back and laughed.

“Mind telling us what exactly is so funny?” she spat.

I wiped a hand over my face and hid my mouth behind it. “You gotta be fucking kidding me.”

“Pardon me?” She pursed her lips then flattened them. Her chin tilted up, and she held her head high. “You must not like your job very much. I could report you for sexual harassment and discrimination.”

“Harassment? Discrimination? Honey, you’re one to talk. You don’t come on an oil rig in your designer clothes and Prada shoes talking about shit you don’t know about. I bet you don’t even know half the things we do here.”

She scoffed. “For your information, I graduated summa cum laude in Chemical Engineering from Stanford.”

“Doesn’t mean shit here, Ivy League.”

“My name is Ainsley Montgomery, not Ivy League or sugar lips or honey. And these are Louboutins, not Prada.” She unfolded her arms and pointed at her shoes.

I looked down at them, then to Steve. If he didn’t look visibly afraid, I would have kept arguing with Miss High and Mighty. One thing I knew, women like her, who most likely didn’t owe student debts, who thought they knew more than a roughneck like me because I didn’t mind getting my hands literally dirty to make a living, served one purpose in my life—a thorn in my side.

Clearing the space between us in one long stride, I ducked my head down, so we were seeing eye to eye, in more ways than one. She wanted equality. Here it was. “For your information,” I started, my voice low and guttural, “a true Health and Safety Officer wouldn’t come in those shoes—whatever overpriced shoes they are—you need a hard hat and steel-toed boots here, hon-ey. Safety is our first and foremost concern. Now, why don’t you turn around, get back on the chopper and come back when you’re properly dressed.”

This close I could almost hear her gritting her teeth as her jaw moved from side to side. She squinted, and her nostrils flared. But for the life of me, I couldn’t stop thinking about how I’d love to bend her over my desk with her skirt pushed up her hips, her ass in the air and my cock deep inside her. Before I lost my mind, I threw my hands up in a silent surrender. She could think whatever she wanted, but for me, this was self-preservation. She was the type of woman who’d cause a man to go insane. For once in my twenty-nine years, I had to walk away from a challenge. And I didn’t like it one bit.