AINSLEY

There are times when you know you're making a monumental mistake, but you can't stop it from happening. It's almost as if the situation suddenly leaves your control and you're just along for the ride. As I watched Reed walk into the kitchen, admiring his well-sculpted ass encased in his worn jeans, I felt that sense of inevitability wash over me. Tonight was going to happen, and all I could do was hold on and hope that the fall out was minimal.

I glanced around Reed's home, really taking it in and was somewhat surprised. It was a bungalow-style home, as were most of them along this section of the island. The use of space had been kept in mind and it was neat, organized and had a distinct homey feel to it, with it's natural colors and personal little touches throughout. I spied the sliding glass door that lead out to the back yard and headed to it, opening it and stepping out. What greeted me took my breath away.

Rather than an overgrown lawn and a beat up grill with some beer bottles like I half-expected, I was surrounded by a mini tropical paradise. Honeysuckle, hibiscus and jasmine grew all around and the smell in the humid night air was divine. A small pond had koi swimming around in it and frogs sounded from amongst the various lilies floating along the top of it. Weeping Willows trailed graceful limbs along the grass and into the water, fireflies blinked here and there and in the distance a limpkin sounded it's lonesome cry for its mate.

Stunned, my feet moved without thought toward the hammock set up under one of the trees. I'd definitely had too much to drink. It was nothing like my early college days, but I could feel the buzzing warmth coursing through me. My head felt light and foggy and the drive back to Reed's was a bit of a blur. In truth, I couldn't tell you a thing about how to get to his house; I'd been too busy playing out various dirty fantasies in my head about how the night would end.

Like I'd told him earlier, I wasn't always a good girl.

The glass door sliding open and shut broke the stillness of the night and I looked to see Reed strolling over to where I stood. No, scratch that; Reed looked like a hungry predator and I his prey. He was prowling toward me. A shiver of feminine awareness flowed over me as my eyes met his. The heat in his eyes ignited the tingling warmth that spread through my veins. My pulse picked up and I had to swallow hard.

He made his way to me and handed me bottle of beer. My lips twitched at the sight. "Classy."

He shrugged and grinned. "Hey, at least it's not PBR," he said and took a long swallow.

"True," I agreed. "Or the old college stand-by, Milwaukee's Beast," I said with a laugh.

He snorted. "You know what Beast tastes like, Ivy League?"

I shot him a look. "Mom wanted me to 'experience' college life," I said with finger quotes while awkwardly holding onto the bottle. "Therefore, I stayed on campus, had a meal plan and an allowance that barely paid for Ramen noodles." I laughed at the memory. "We drank a lot of Beast."

"What about your dad? What'd he want you to experience?" Reed asked as he wandered over to the hammock and sat on it, setting it to swaying slightly.

I watched in silence for a moment, debating my answers. Only a few a people knew that my father owned the company. I'd been using my mom's maiden name for years to separate myself from him and his plans for me. I decided on a half-truth without revealing much. "Dad wanted me to go to Bryn Mawr, get a degree in art history or something equally boring and then marry well."

Reed paused in the middle of lifting his bottle for another drink. He seemed surprised. "Really? Then how'd Stanford happen?"

It was my turn to be surprised. "How did you know I went to Stanford?"

He chuckled. "I wouldn't let just anyone take over the safety factors on my rig, Ainsley. And you weren’t shy about mentioning it the first time I met you."

I blinked, not sure how to take that, but answered the question anyway. "I was close to my mom. She went to Stanford and when I got accepted, she made sure that I went." I lifted a shoulder, and looked far off to the billowy clouds forming in the distant sky. "Mom was like that-a real powerhouse when she wanted to be."

A wave of sadness swept over me as I thought about my mother. I missed her terribly. She'd passed before I could graduate from college, so she didn't know I'd changed things for myself. A sigh escaped and I breathed deep to keep the emotions under control. I needed to change the topic of discussion and get it off me.

"What about you? How'd you end up on the Meridian?"

A tired laugh followed the question. "It wasn't the original plan, that's for sure," Reed replied.

"What do you mean?" I asked, curious about the man sitting in front of me. I walked over and sat down beside him on the hammock. Since he was much bigger and heavier than me, I had no choice but lean on his side.

"Well, for starters, I was a football player," he announced. "A damn good one."

"Really?" I asked, surprised. "What happened?"

He huffed a breath. "Life happened. I was All-State out of high school, got a full ride scholarship to Texas A&M on their team. Things were looking good, already had scouts coming to see me play for the pro teams...then bam!-got injured. Lost my scholarship, my…girlfriend and all my plans."

I stared at him in shock. "Wow. I'm sorry."

He shrugged and scratched his jaw. "It happens. I'm not the first one." He titled the bottle back and took another long drag off it before he continued. "Anyway, my buddy Jude told me to pull my head out of my ass and at least get an education. I finished college at a different place and got a job on the Meridian fresh out. Been there since," he finished as he caught and locked my gaze.

Reed had just taken on a new life to me as I listened to his story. He'd become about a hundred times more attractive and that was bad. It was dangerous to me and my plans. But it didn't stop the ache in my chest from forming as I stared into his eyes. There was something there, between us. I could feel it and by the glint in his, it seemed he did too.

"You gonna finish that, Ivy League?" he asked, pointing a finger at my bottle. I grimaced slightly as I realized my beer had started to warm.

"Probably not."

"Good." He reached over, took it from me and placed both of the bottles on the small table beside the hammock. He turned back to me and the heated glint in his stormy eyes took my breath away. Before I could say anything, he reached a hand behind my head and pulled me close. His mouth took mine in a kiss that had me quickly closing my eyes and sinking into him.

My hands reached out and fisted into the fabric of his shirt as I pulled him closer to me. Strong, warm arms wrapped around me, molding our upper halves to each other. The sensations overwhelmed me, and I let out a moan, which Reed used to his advantage and he slipped his tongue in to mingle with mine.

Lost in the kiss, it didn't register he'd shifted us around in position until I felt the supple fabric of the hammock against my back. I opened my eyes as he pulled away and looked up at him.

My heart stuttered and my breathing picked up at the want I saw in his gaze.

I ran my hands from his shoulders, down over his chest, along his abs to reach the hem of his shirt. With a wicked grin on my face, I slipped my hands up and under the edge of fabric, allowing my fingers to tease along the hard lines of his abdominal muscles. Without warning, he reached back behind his head and grabbed a handful of the shirt, ripping it up and over and tossing it to the side. The sight my eyes feasted on would have made the gods weep.

Bronzed skin stretched over glorious, hard muscles, tattoos…my hands twitched and I almost drooled at the vision. Now I was beginning to understand why the other women raved about the Roughneck Anaconda. I smoothed my hand up and over those hard pecs and sighed in delight. Oh yes, I could to see the light.

Reed dipped his head and took my mouth with his again. His hand slid down and played along the line of skin that was displayed between the edge of where my shirt rode up and the waistline of my jeans. He shifted his weight to rest on the hand he placed by my head as he trailed up under my shirt with the other, leaving a wake of fire behind as he made his way to my breast. Everything seemed to slow as he cupped me…

…And then just as quickly turned me upside down.

One moment I was caught by Reed’s eyes as he traced the edge of the lace of my bra. The next moment I was gasping for breath while I lay on the ground, staring up at the branches of the willow tree. The hammock swayed wildly from the unexpected movement and I blinked at it in confusion. Beside me Reed swore loudly as he fought to free his leg from the ropes holding the hammock in place. It was then I realized what had happened and I started to giggle. At Reed’s continued cursing the giggles quickly became full-on laughter.

“What the hell are you laughing at?” he demanded.

“I can honestly say,” I said as I tried to catch my breath, “I have never had that happen before.” I reached out and patted his chest savoring the feel of his smooth skin under my hand. “This was a new one.”

Reed started to chuckle. “Yeah, me too.” He finally got his foot free from the ropes and rolled toward me on the lush verdant grass. “Sorry about that.”

With elbows propped on the ground, I started to sit up and winced at the pain that lanced down through my shoulder. He noticed and sat up, concern written on his face. “You all right?”

“Yeah,” I said with a nod. “Not quite how I envisioned this would go, though.” I struggled to my feet and dusted myself off as the reality of the situation made itself known. This was a bad idea and I needed to leave while I still could. “I should probably go. Do you think you could give me a ride back to the hotel?” I asked with more than a little regret.

He shook his head. “I’ve been drinking, sweetheart. You can stay the night, I’ll take you back in the morning. Okay?”

I eyed him warily. It was true, he’d drank more since we got back. “Maybe I could call a cab?” I really needed to leave before I gave into temptation.

“Not at this hour,” he said with a snort. “You’ve lost your mind.”

I sighed. “Okay. Looks like you have a roommate for the night then. Shit.”

“I promise to behave.”

I shot him a look. “I don’t think you know how to do that.”

He laughed. “You’re probably right. But I promise to try.”

It was better than nothing. I’d take what I could get at this point. I waved toward the house and said, “Where can I sleep?” At his evil grin, I narrowed my eyes. “You know what I mean.”

He held up his hands in surrender. “I get it. You’re right. You can sleep in the spare room, alone.”

I nodded. “Lead the way.”

* * *

I woke up the next morning with a pounding head and a mouth that felt like the Ringling Brothers had led their circus through it. With a groan, I rolled out of bed and staggered out into the hallway. The scent of coffee and food flooded my senses and I followed my nose to the source. I hadn’t slept well, being kept up with thoughts that whirled in my head, yet never settled into any sort of sense. Part of me was pissed I’d let things go as far as they had. Another part of me was pissed I hadn’t gone further. Obviously my sex drive was a shameless hussy that didn’t understand it needed to be kept in check right now.

I stumbled into the eating area of the kitchen and paused when I saw Reed standing at the counter, shirtless, the ink on his body on full display, and placing food on a plate. The man was gorgeous…and dangerous. More dangerous now in the light of day. When he looked up and saw me standing there, he flashed me a grin. 

“Morning! You sleep all right?”

I shook my head. “Not really.”

Worry appeared in his eyes. “Your shoulder?”

I latched onto that explanation. “Yeah. Couldn’t get comfortable.”

“You should have said something. I could have given you something for it,” he chastised. At my sneer, he laughed. “I meant ibuprofen or something, Ivy League.”

I rolled my eyes at the nickname. “I’m sure that’s exactly what you meant.” I reached out and took the cup of coffee he offered me. “At any rate, do you think you can take me to the hotel soon?  I have work I need to finish up.”

He nodded. “Sure. Just let me eat and get dressed.” He turned and grabbed his own coffee and plate and sat at the bar where I stood. “So…I wanted to ask you something.”

I raised an eyebrow in question.

He took a breath and spread his lips into a panty-wetting smile. “I wanted to know if you’d have dinner with me tonight.”

My heart stopped and then started pounding wildly. Yes! Yes! I internally screamed. But instead I shook my head. “I’m sorry, but no. I can’t, Reed.”

He frowned. “Why not? Are you seeing someone or something?”

I would be if my father had any say in it. “No. But you really don’t fit into my plans right now.”

“What?” His voice thundered in the open space.

I sighed, scrunching my face into a frown. “Reed, I have to make this job work. All of my plans rest on me proving I can do it. You’re a distraction from that,” I said, with regret that gripped at my heart. “If things were different…”

“I don’t understand.” He sat his cup down and stared at me in confusion. “I thought we had something last night.”

“Last night shouldn’t have happened, okay?” I said firmly, lifting my chin up, assuring him this was a better idea. “It’s best we just forget about it.”

“I’m not likely to forget that, Ainsley.”

“It was a kiss. I don’t see what the big deal is.”

He stood and in a flash he was right in front of me, with storm brewing in his eyes. No, not a storm, a hurricane. “It was more than a kiss and you know it,” his deep tone felt like it reverberated into my own chest.

I shook my head in denial. “No, it wasn’t,” I lied. “Look, now isn’t a  good time for me. I have a plan and I’m going to see it through. I’m sorry, but that’s just how it is.” I took a deep breath, convincing myself that I believed what I was saying. “Now, can you please take me back to my hotel?”

He glared at me. “Fine. But this isn’t over, Ivy League.”

Unfortunately, he didn’t realize I had no choice but for it to be over.