Taming Reid

As she brought her spoon to her lips again, she froze, feeling someone come up behind her. Lila straightened her spine, turning on her best thousand-yard stare, which she used whenever men approached her when she traveled alone. She was ready for every cheesy pickup line. She’d heard them all. With her cocktail in hand, Lila turned, took a sip, hoping to look cool and indifferent, but instead her eyes roamed up the man’s body to his face, and she gulped down her drink in one mouthful. He put his hand on the back of the empty stool beside her. She watched, transfixed by his long, strong fingers as they flexed on the wooden frame of the back. “Is anybody sitting here?”

She shook her head, unable to speak. It had been a long, long time since a man’s looks—his presence—had left her so completely dumbfounded.

“Good,” he said with a smile.

“Your usual, sir?” the bartender asked him.

“Please,” he answered, without taking his dark brown eyes from her. “And get another one for the lady.”

Usually, the presumption of a man buying her a drink would have driven Lila insane. She hated overbearing men, and normally, she would have asked him to leave, but there was something about the man next to her that intrigued her. Whether it was his extreme confidence, his impeccable looks, or the scent of his cologne, she was rooted in place. And it had been so, so long since she’d been in the company of a gorgeous man. Amanda looked at her in confirmation and she nodded, willing to get to know the stranger.

He took the seat next to her, and in a short time, the bartender put a tumbler with a couple of fingers of dark liquor next to her new drink.

He picked up his glass with long, confident fingers and used it to gesture to her own glass. “What did I just order for you?”

“Cuba Libre.”

He drank from his glass and nodded. “Good drink.”

“Yeah,” she agreed. “I’m told it’s Rexford Rum, based here in Miami. I have to say, it’s pretty good.”

“Just pretty good?” He smiled. “I’ve heard it’s the best.”

“Well, I don’t know about that,” she teased, sipping from her glass, not taking her eyes from his as he did the same. She felt a spark that sizzled between them and stuck out her hand. “Hi, I’m Lila.”

“Lila,” he repeated, letting the last syllable roll off his tongue. She wanted to keep hearing him say her name. “That’s a pretty name.”

“Thanks, I’ve had it all my life.” He smiled at her joke, and drank from his glass, but said nothing. “Do you have a name there, hun?”

He seemed to hesitate, but then change his mind. “Reid.”

“What can I do for you, Reid?”

“I was just at my table, but then I saw you sitting here. And I’m curious why a gorgeous woman like yourself is sitting here all by herself,” he told her.

She bristled at his comment. “What’s wrong with me sitting alone? We’re well into the twenty-first century.” Reid opened his mouth to speak, but Lila didn’t give him a chance. “Maybe I just like my own company. Maybe I choose to be here alone. Isn’t that a good enough reason?”

He blinked quickly, probably not used to having women speak to him like that. “Do you want me to leave? If you’re enjoying your own company, I don’t want to intrude.”

Lila thought of telling him to leave, thought of leaving herself. Lila didn’t normally like to invite male attention, especially when she was on assignment, because it was hard enough for women traveling alone, without bringing men into the mix. But there was something about Reid—and she couldn’t back away. “No,” she said, putting her fingers on his wrist. “You can stay.”

“Good.”

She wasn’t sure why she’d touched him, but it had proven to be a mistake, as Reid took her hand in his, turned it over, and brought it to his mouth. He placed his lips to the inside of her wrist. His warm, dry lips on her almost caused her to stop breathing. Who was this man—this stranger she’d found in a small South Beach restaurant—lighting a trail of desire from her pulse point all the way to her own South Beach?

It was stupid, risky. This guy was a complete stranger. He could be anyone. But when the tip of his tongue flicked against her skin, she realized that it didn’t matter who he was.

Reid’s lips closed over her skin again and his dark eyes connected with hers. Lila was transfixed by him, as the rest of the small restaurant fell away. Just the two of them existed in that moment—and she didn’t even know his last name. Maybe privacy and anonymity were for the better. She had built up her blog and her reputation to where they were, and she knew that one public misstep could ruin her, especially with everything she had coming up. She had to be on her best behavior. Any rumor or scandal could end her. But none of that seemed to matter when Reid looked at her.

But thankfully, her sanity won out. “Wait,” she said, her words more sighed than spoken.

He backed away immediately, releasing her from his touch. “What is it?”

She took a deep breath and gulped down the rest of her drink. “I don’t even know who you are. Who are you? What’s your last name?” He didn’t say anything. “No last name, Reid? Or do you just go by your first—like Sting or Bono?”

“Oh, I have a last name—I’m just not keen on sharing it.”

Lila shook her head, and then laughed at the seriousness of his voice. The fact that the man wouldn’t give her his last name was a real red flag for her. “You sound so fucking dramatic. What, are you in the mob or witness protection, or a serial killer, or something?”

“That did sound dramatic, didn’t it?” he asked with a lopsided smile. She nodded. “I’m just a private person. I promise, I’m not in the mob or witness protection, or a serial killer.”

“You know, if you were any of those things, wouldn’t you insist that you weren’t?”

“That’s a good point. I guess you’ll have to trust me.” He looked around and waved to the bartender. “Amanda, can you come here for a second?”

She stopped wiping down the counter and joined them.

“Amanda, you can vouch for me, right? I’m a good guy?”

The bartender smiled. “He’s a preferred regular customer, close friends with the boss, and a good tipper.”

“Thanks Amanda.”

“No problem, Mr. Rexford,” she said and went back to her task behind the bar.”

Lila and Reid both shared a laugh at his name having been revealed. “So, I guess you have a name, after all.”

“I guess I do.”

“I always consider service staff to be the best judges of character.” She leaned in closer to him. “And I have to say hearing a guy is a good tipper is a major turn-on for me.”

“That’s the first time a woman has ever told me that.”

“You should date more socially conscious women, I guess.”

“Yeah, I guess so,” he said with a smile.

Amanda came back and nodded at their now-empty glasses. “Another round?”

Reid looked at her. She wasn’t sure what to say. Another round would keep them talking at the bar. But refusing another drink would free up the rest of their evening, whatever they hoped to do with it. Reid took her hand again. “Tell me, beautiful, do you want another drink?” he asked, his thumb tracing light but red-hot circles over the inside of her wrist. There was no way he could miss her thundering pulse beneath her skin. “What do you want?”

Lila tried to find her voice, but it was nearly impossible. What do I want? “I want you to keep touching me.”

“Do you want to get out of here?”

Lila’s mind raced through the lusty fog he’d created in her brain. She felt a connection with the man sitting next to her, but she wasn’t sure if she was ready to go somewhere with a complete stranger—no matter how good of a time she knew they would have together. Never in her life had she had a one-night stand with a strange man. She may have possessed a sense of adventure, but she wasn’t reckless. With as much as she traveled, Lila knew the world could be a dangerous place. As a woman, and a solo traveler, she had to look after herself—another reason she was glad to have the legitimacy of a potential network deal ahead of her. But as the stranger’s deep brown eyes bored into hers, she could barely think straight. The promise that was held in the strange man’s touch, his rich scent and his deep voice, were almost too much to bear. “What do you have in mind?”

Amanda backed away discreetly, giving them some much-needed privacy.

Reid leaned in next to her, pushed her hair away from her ear and got closer so that his lips brushed the outer shell of her ear. She shivered at the contact. “I’m not going to pretend here. You’re gorgeous, and I’m interested,” he whispered. “We have a connection, and I want you underneath me, on top of me, bent over a table. I know we could have fun together, at least for one night. So, yeah, we could put off the inevitable for a couple of hours, get another drink or two, talk, get to know each other, but I don’t see why we should.”

“Especially since we already know enough about each other?” She teased, trying to lighten the mood. Part of her—the reasonable part—wanted to say no to him. Every ounce of self-preservation begged her to refuse him. But instead, she put her hand on his rock-hard thigh.

He put his hand over hers and it was then she saw the way his pants were tented, showing her that he did indeed want her as much as she wanted him.

“I think we know enough about each other,” he told her. “Don’t you?”

She nodded. This was it. She was going to do something she had never done before—a one-night stand with a strange man. “My hotel is near here.”

Reid signaled Amanda, and before she could stop him, he’d taken out his wallet and laid down several bills to pay for her meal and drinks. More than enough to cover the total and still have enough left over for a sizable tip—just as she’d expected. Soon they were out the door, and in the alley where the restaurant entrance was located.

They walked up the street and she inhaled. There was normally something so sweet and sensual about the smell of Miami—the scent of midnight jasmine, the sand, the sea, the smell of the food and coffee. Glamorous people wearing expensive perfume and cologne. Even at night, this close to the beach, she could almost smell the suntan lotion, coconut and shea, and the fruit-flavored cocktails. Citrus. Rum. Reid. It might have all been in her head, but walking next to Reid, his hand at her lower back, his fingertips curling over the skin exposed by the risqué cut of her backless dress, she knew she wasn’t imagining it—there was something else in the air. The night, the city itself, breathed sex. It filled the air and covered them like a blanket.

She looked up at Reid. He hadn’t said a word since leaving the restaurant.

“Where are you staying?” he asked.

When the small white stone boutique hotel came into view, she said a quick prayer to the nookie gods, thanking them for the short walk. “Right here,” she told him.

“Thank God,” Reid murmured in a little prayer of his own. It shocked her when his arm snaked around hers and he whipped her around and pushed her against the outer wall of the building. His head lowered, and before she could catch her breath, his lips crashed onto hers. Reid’s kiss was hard, demanding, and it was exactly what she wanted. Correction: what she needed. Her lips parted and he took full advantage, his tongue was warm, wet and searching, stroking against her own.

Her arms encircled Reid’s neck and she pulled him closer. He moaned and pressed her into the exterior wall of the hotel. One of his thighs found its way between her legs, and he pressed it against her already wet panties. His touch was almost enough to make her fall to the sidewalk, but thankfully, he was the one holding her up.

With a groan, he pulled away from her, his eyes smoldered. “I’d better get you inside, before I fuck you right here.” He took her hand, and all but dragged her through the hotel lobby to the elevator. When the doors closed on them, he pulled her to him. Kissing her again. The man had a devilish mouth. And she had no choice but to submit to his sinful lips. He smoothed his hands down her arms, and found her breasts, squeezing them. She thrust her chest toward him, leaning into his touch, willing Reid’s fingers to go further. His fingertips curled underneath the thin material of the low neckline of her dress. She wanted Reid to never stop touching her. But the elevator came to a halt, and she barely noticed when the doors slid open in front of them.

“Lead the way.” His whisper was gruff in her ear, and she pulled him down the hall. At her door, her hands trembled so that she could barely use her key card. He chuckled, took the card from her fingers, and slid it easily into the door. It was slightly embarrassing that she was far more aroused than he was. Men rarely affected her in such a way. But there was something about Reid. He made her brain so foggy with need that she couldn’t think straight.

They walked into her room. But instead of stripping the clothes from her body like she wanted Reid to, he took a step back, deliberately putting several feet between them. “Do you want this?”

“I wouldn’t have brought you here if I didn’t.”

He took a step forward. Closer, but still out of her reach. “Lila, I want to hear you say the words. That you want this.”

Lila looked over the man in front of her. She didn’t have to look at the large bulge of his cock to see how much he wanted her. His strong body was rigid, tense. His shoulders heaved with heavy, desperate breaths. His whole body demonstrated his desire. But he still stood before her, seeking explicit consent from her, and she smiled, charmed by it.

It was her call. Despite his powerful presence, and the effect he had on her, she was in complete control. Lila took a step toward him, bringing her breasts flush with his broad chest. She wasn’t wearing a bra—as if the low cut of the back of her dress would have allowed it—and her sensitized nipples sent shocks of electricity throughout her body, as they brushed against his chest. He reached down and grazed her fingertips along the ridge of the bulge. He shuddered underneath her touch, and she grinned.

Lifting up on her toes, she leaned over and brought her lips to the edge of his ear. She snaked her tongue out and traced the outside. “Reid, I want you. And I want this.” She paused. “I want you to fuck me.”

He let go of the breath he was holding. He put his fingers on her jaw and drew her face upward to his. The hunger in his eyes was unmistakable. “This can only be one night. You know that, right?”

“Sounds good to me.” She was in Miami for a little over a week, and she already had a full itinerary. Where would she fit in more time with Reid, even if she wanted to? And plus, if she already felt like falling completely apart at his touch after only a few minutes, how would she survive another encounter? “I know. That’s what’s best for both of us. I don’t expect anything else from you, as long as you do the same.”

His smile was easy and charming. And she was struck again with how attractive he was. The chiseled jaw, high cheek bones, straight nose and dark brown eyes all joined forces to create one irresistible man. And while she knew nothing about him except his name, he was everything she would have asked for in a one-night stand. “It’s a deal,” he said, putting out his hand.

Lila let out a laugh that was more like a breath at his formal gesture, and she took his hand in hers. When their palms clasped together, Lila felt as if they shared one pulse as electricity traveled between them, strong enough to power the entire city.

In the quiet room, they looked at each other, neither’s eyes wavering. But Reid’s friendly smile then turned wolfish, as if he knew that she was his, and he would spend his night feasting on her.

Without releasing her, he pulled on her hand, causing her to crash against his firm chest.

“Now, where were we?” he murmured.

“I think, outside the hotel, you promised to fuck me,” she reminded him.

“Oh yeah, that’s right,” he said, his fingers curling over her waist and venturing lower. He kissed her, and just the feeling of his lips against her made her moan.

Already she was growing accustomed to Reid’s touch, and she knew that until her dying day, she would crave his fingers and lips. Through the anticipation that clouded her brain as his hands roamed underneath her dress, she reminded herself of their agreement.

Just for one night.

CHAPTER TWO

REID DROPPED TO his knees in front of Lila, and with his hands on her round, lush ass, he pressed his face to the lower part of her abdomen and inhaled her scent, opening his mouth against her, and the silky material of her dress, pulling her essence more deeply into his lungs. He wasn’t sure what had possessed him to go home with her. He didn’t even know why he approached her or why he came on so strong. It wasn’t like him; he normally didn’t lose control over women. But despite himself, something about Lila had drawn him in. She was vivacious, gorgeous, and when he kissed her—tasting his own rum on her tongue—it did something to him. He didn’t have a chance when it came to her. He was a goner.

He should be at home, or at the office, making sure the last-minute things for the party were finalized and that no crises were about to occur, but that didn’t seem to matter to him when he was about to bury himself fully within a woman he needed more than he did his next breath. He looked up at her and saw she was watching him, her green eyes not leaving his, her chest heaving. “What are you waiting for?” she breathed, pushing her fingers through his hair.

“Just taking a moment to enjoy it,” he told her.

“There will be lots of moments to enjoy tonight, won’t there?”

“You know there will.”

“Well, get to it then,” she told him.

“Yes, ma’am.” He smoothed his hands up her thighs, underneath her dress, his palms gliding over some of the smoothest, silkiest skin he’d ever touched. His journey paused when his reached the lace edge of her panties. Stopping just short of ripping the delicate undergarment in two pieces, he instead hooked his fingers underneath the fabric and pulled the peach lace down her thighs, dropping it to the floor. She stepped out of her panties gingerly and he pushed up her dress so that the tight skirt sat above her hips, exposing her center to him fully.

Lila was delectable, a masterpiece, a treat to be admired and enjoyed by every sense. His mouth watered with a hunger for her, his appetite voracious like he’d never experienced before, and he needed to taste her.

He slid his hand down the entire length of her leg, exploring, lightly tickling the back of her knee, squeezing her well-formed calf, wrapping his fingers around her ankle and draping her leg over his shoulder. He leaned forward, burying his face between her creamy thighs. He gripped her ass, bringing her closer to him. His fingers dug into the firm flesh of her behind, as his tongue spread her lips and he flicked the sweet little bud of her clit with the tip. She moaned, arching into his mouth, and twisted her fingers in his hair, and pulled. Hard. But with Lila surrounding him, unable to hear or feel anything but her, the pain barely registered.

Lila was so responsive, so delicious, and with every stroke of his tongue, pinch of his lips, every slide of his fingers, her moans grew louder, and he could feel the tension build in her body. Her thigh muscles clenched against the side of his head, muffling her cries. She was perfect and he could listen to her desperate sounds forever. His own body ached with the need to be inside her. But he stayed his course. Even though his dick threatened to burst through the material of his pants, he wouldn’t stop until he made her come first.

When he hit the right spot, the tremor of her body became a full-fledged earthquake that made her shake. With his lips surrounding her clit, he sucked, prodded with his tongue, bringing her down from her climax, and riding out every aftershock of pleasure with her.

When her grip on his head loosened, Reid stood while unbuckling his pants. But her own fingers joined his, and she beat him in withdrawing his dick. She stroked his length. But he was so goddamn close to erupting that even though he hated to, he had to push her away.

He was so far gone that he almost forgot his golden rule. “Condoms?” he asked her, his tongue thick with passion. Of course, he didn’t carry one with him. He wasn’t his brother. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had the need, as he wasn’t usually one for spontaneous encounters.

“Right.” On wobbly legs she walked over to the bed and dug into the cosmetic case that sat at the foot. She pulled out a small foil square and he nearly shuddered with relief.

He crossed the room in a matter of seconds and instead of laying her on the bed, he picked her up and sat her on the small desk next to her laptop. He stood between her parted thighs as she ripped open the packet and rolled the condom over him. Her touch was torture, but he would soon find his sweet relief. He didn’t even have time for either of them to undress. He needed to be buried deep inside her. He lifted Lila, tilting her hips to the right angle. When she wrapped her legs around his ass, he held her against the wall as he entered her.

She was hot, wet. Heaven. And as he pumped his hips, thrusting into her, he brought both of them higher and higher. If he thought eating from her was amazing, being buried deep inside of her sweet heat was pure bliss.

Lila, her arms wrapped tightly around his shoulders, sought out his mouth with her own. He kissed her lips, and the flavor of her that coated his tongue mingled with the taste of her mouth. He swallowed the moan that came from her throat as it met his own.

Sliding against her slickness, Reid knew he wouldn’t last much longer. He broke away from her mouth, and trailed his lips in a line across her jaw and down her throat. And judging by her moans and sighs in his ear, he knew she wouldn’t either. Reid gritted his teeth and vowed to hang on until she came again. Her body tightened against him, and her breaths became pants. He increased the speed of his thrusts, and she clenched around him. That was all he needed. He let go, his toes curled in his shoes, and he came with a groan and buried his face in the crook of her neck. The comedown was blissful, and as his balls emptied, she milked him of everything he had.

Taking a breath, he released her, helping her get her footing on the floor. As she straightened her dress, Reid pulled off the condom and tossed it in a nearby trash can. He caught his breath as she reached into the small fridge in the bar area, pulling out two bottles of water. He finally looked around and saw that they were in a huge, luxuriously appointed hotel room. Large windows with panoramic views of the famed South Beach and Atlantic Ocean.

“Sparkling or still?” she asked, holding the two bottles aloft.

“Still’s good.” He took the bottle from her. “Nice room.”

“Yeah.” She took a swallow of the water. The red flush still colored her cheeks. “I travel a lot for work. I normally stay at more modest places, but what the hell? I’m in Miami. I got a great deal. I might as well treat myself, right?”

He didn’t know a lot about treating himself lately, but he nodded. “What do you do?”

Her lips pursed. “I thought we weren’t exchanging information?”

“You’re right,” he said, taking another drink. He needed to hydrate but with every swallow, her taste vanished from his mouth, and he craved it, wanting nothing more than to get it back. Asking her the question had been a mistake, since they’d agreed on anonymity. If he asked her about who she was, then it would lead to her asking about him. No matter what, his privacy was the most important thing to him, and he was committed to not putting himself out there ever again.

“You know, I don’t ever do this,” she said, her back to him, as she used her fingers to brush through her red hair, checking out her reflection in the mirror. He could see the small red marks he’d made on her neck, and the rash from his five o’clock shadow marred her creamy skin.