Chapter 20
Leo
I steel my spine as I tap at her back door the next evening.
I’ve been dreading this moment all day. I’ve also been looking forward to it. Because I want to see Reese’s big, brown eyes. I want to smell the sweetness rising off of her skin. But I’m so pissed at myself about what I did last night.
Last night, I went too far.
I let my emotions consume me. The solitude and helplessness that I’d been feeling since Mara walked away collided with the anger and shock that blossomed inside of me when I opened that letter. My marriage is over. Officially. My wife has really abandoned our family, she cut all ties with her own son. I’ve got a pretty high tolerance for pain but that shit hurt.
I’m not going to lie and pretend that my marriage was perfect. Or that Mara and I said those vows for any reason other than the fact that she was carrying my baby. But despite all that, I was willing to grit my teeth and make our relationship work for the sake of our child. She had different priorities.
The wounds were still too fresh when Reese showed up my house last night. There she was, more beautiful and forbidden than ever.
And like a savage, I pinned her to the grimy kitchen floor and I fucked her like a deranged sledgehammer trying to demolish a sidewalk. She’s my best friend’s sister. My neighbor. My kid’s babysitter. The poor girl just came over to drop off some tomatoes. What the hell is wrong with me?
I need to start with an apology.
I knock the door again and she slides it open. The clenching in my gut is instant. One look at her lips and the memory of how they taste comes flooding back. They actually do taste like watermelons. Her eyes are shy and her cheeks are pink tonight, her mind is forever stained by the vile things I did to her.
“Hi…” She sucks her bottom lip into her mouth. Probably to keep from saying anything more.
“Hi…”
Her hair hangs loose around her face like waves of chocolate that I want to drown in. My fingers twitch to touch it. Instead, I shove my hands into my pockets and rock back on my heels. “I’m sorry I’m a bit late tonight. Charlie wants to make sure we finish Sophia’s project on time so I worked a few minutes over.”
“No problem,” she says with a shrug. “Sophia’s completely melodramatic about the remodeling. I’m not surprised that she’s pressuring Charlie.”
We share an awkward laugh as we linger clumsily in the doorway.
She glances over her shoulder to the couch in the living room. “Brenton’s asleep, actually. He crashed right after dinner. I think he may be coming down with a cold or something.” Again, she bites down on her lip.
Concern tackles me immediately. “Shit—I hope it’s nothing serious. Preschool is a damn petri dish for viruses.”
“I know,” she whispers with a little smile as she glances at him again. He looks so peaceful, deep in sleep on the couch. She meets me with a shy gaze again. “Do you want to come in? You can eat your dinner while Brent sleeps.”
Do I want to come in? Hell, yeah, I want to come in. I want to kick off my shoes and take a seat at the table. But I’m not interested in the leftover tuna casserole I see sitting on the counter. It’s her pussy I want spread out on the place mat in front of me.
I can’t be trusted around her for any extended period of time, that’s for sure. So, I decline her offer as I’m kicking off my shoes. “Nah, I’m not hungry. I’ll just grab Brent and get going.”
As I walk past her to grab my son from the couch, I feel her fingers lock around my wrist and lust overpowers my carefully-laid plan of resistance. “Wait…” she pleads softly.
I spin toward her. We stand there frozen, looking at each other. A million conflicting thoughts roar through my head even after her hand falls away.
Kiss her. Shove her against the wall and kiss her…
Slide your hand under the hem of her skirt and touch her pussy…
Hoist her up on the kitchen table and fuck her as all fuck…
…Grab your kid and get the hell out of here!
“About last night…” I hear myself saying.
“About last night…” A deep flush crawls up her neck and I watch the increased rise and fall of her chest as those lurid events replay in her mind.
I rake my fingers roughly through my hair. “I’m sorry about that, Reese. I crossed a line. I lost control—”
Her eyes drop to the floor. “Please. Don’t apologize.” She pulls nervously on the edge of her shirt.
“No, let me say this.” I put a hand out appeasingly. “I was having a really bad night...”
She looks me straight in the eyes as she inches closer, seemingly undeterred by what I’m saying to her. She lays her hands on my biceps and my chest goes taut.
Forcing the words through my tightening throat, I continue. “…and you showed up…”
She presses her lips to my jaw and fire roars across my skin. I keep rambling on.
“…and I just was feeling so many…things…”
“Uh-huh,” she mutters as her lips travel down my throat.
“…and the way you looked at me…”
My brain begins to go fuzzy as her fingers crawl under the short sleeves of my shirt and up over my trapezoids. “Sure…” She sucks my bottom lip into her mouth and nibbles just a little.
My knees wobble. “Reese, what are you doing?”
She tips her head back to look up into my eyes. “Stop apologizing to me,” she whispers, “because then I’ll feel obligated to apologize to you. And I’m not sorry. Not one little bit. I wanted everything that happened last night. I’ve wanted it since the first time that I saw you.”
I close my eyes against the onslaught of arousal pulsing through me. “Reese…” I groan as she traps my lip between her teeth again.
She bites me tenderly. “I really, really, really want last night to happen again, Leo.” She sounds breathless, her face is flushed.
My heart pounds. This is so wrong. So wrong. I’m betraying Charlie’s trust. Desecrating his little sister. I’m a fucking bastard.
“Reese, please…”
She’s still not listening to me. “I want it. Again. I want you, Leo…”
I wish she’d stop saying those things. I wish I could just walk away.
But I needed her last night. I needed to hear her moaning my name. I needed to feel her pussy sucking on my cock. I needed to touch her on the inside and watch her beautiful face as she came because of it. It was selfish.
And I need her again.
Her eyes shine up at me. So eager. So willing. My mind scrambles to find excuses. Maybe I’m grieving. Maybe I’m depressed about the end of my marriage. Maybe that’s why I can’t get enough of her. Maybe that’s why I want her so bad. Maybe this is a healthy attraction…
Maybe not.
Fuck it.
I lean down and take her lips, groaning with relief as her taste invades my tongue. I’ve been dreaming about this all day. I kiss her hard.
She fists my shirt, walking backward toward the stairs. Brent shifts on the couch as we approach and Reese’s shoulders hunch all the way up to her ears. She purses her lips with a mischievous glint on her features. She presses her pointer to her mouth, telling me to be quiet. Stifling a giggle, she spins around and pulls me up the stairs.