Maybe This Time (Maybe #1)(52)

That one move has me seeing red.

I watch as Reid smiles widely as he sees me, putting River down carefully and practically running to me.

“You’re a sight for sore eyes, beauty,” he whispers in my ear, before he pulls back and kisses me on the lips.

“You’re in front of your son, Reid,” Mia scolds, her face going an unattractive shade of red. Reid ignores her and kisses me once more, soft and sweet.

“We needa talk, baby.”

I nod. He trails his gaze over my face, as if memorizing each individual feature.

“I’m going to go then, Reid,” Mia says sternly, trying to pull the attention back to her. Reid turns towards her, but only has eyes for his son. He picks River up and hugs him close to his chest.

“I’ll come and see him tomorrow, alright,” he says to Mia. “I’ll go walk them out, Summer.”

Ryan chuckles and I look at him, curious. “What?”

“Mia wanted to stay here and cook dinner for Reid tonight. She didn’t expect you to be here.”

I scrunch up my page. “She better get used to it.”

He laughs again, clearly amused. “I should get some popcorn, watch how this plays out.”

“You’re meant to have my back! Some BFFL you are,” I complain.

“What the f*ck is a BFFL?” he asks, looking baffled.

“Best friend for life,” I say. Duh.

“That term is so overdone. I’m more like your pole,” he says after a few thoughtful seconds.

I blink twice. “Did you just call yourself my pole?”

“I did,” he says, looking pleased with himself.

“A pole.”

“Yes, a pole.”

“Are you gonna explain that, or just leave me sitting here with my ‘what the f*ck’ face on?”

“I’m here for you whenever you need to lean on me. Like a pole.”

I look at him for a few full seconds before I start laughing so hard, my stomach starts to hurt.

Ryan actually starts to look offended. “I’m pretty sure a BFFL isn’t meant to laugh at you so much.”

“What’s so funny?” Reid asks as he walks in.

“Your brother is hilarious,” I say, looking at Ryan again, and immediately erupting in another fit of laughter.

Reid loses his patience and lifts me into his arms, bride style. I’m still giggling when he lays me down on the bed.

“God, you're even more beautiful than when I last saw you,” he says reverently, taking my hand in his and kissing my knuckles.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t here for you, Reid. I was scared, and a little jealous, to be honest.”

He instantly looks over and gives me his full attention. “Why would you be jealous?”

“You’re connected to Mia now, for life, and she still wants you. I’m not your priority anymore, and I get that, your son should come first. I just couldn’t help the way I felt, though. I went from being your everything, to you not even having time to come and see me. I know it sounds selfish,” I say in a small voice.

“It’s perfectly understandable, babe, I shouldn’t have done that to you. I don’t want you to feel as though you aren’t important to me, because you are. I f*cking love you, baby, there's nothing more important to me. Things will change, they will get better for us.”

“How do you know?”

“When you love someone as much as I love you, trust me, beauty, it’s gonna work out,” he says, a faint smile on his lips.

I smile back at him. “I love you too, Reid.”

He’s instantly on top of me, his weight pushing me into the mattress. “Say it again.”

“I love you.”

“Fuck,” he says, resting his forehead against mine. “I don’t want Mia. I haven’t even looked at her that way, I guess I'm stuck with her cos of River. I do want to be friends with her, cos that’s what’s best for him. But it’s you I love, you I think about all day long, you I want in my bed every night,” he says, pushing his hips against mine.

I reach up and tangle my hands in his hair, pulling his lips down to mine. I fuse them together, needing to taste him. God, I’ve missed his touch so much. My lips part for him the second his tongue begs for entrance and he kisses me deeply, showing me with his lips just how much he has missed me. After he’s had his fill of my mouth, he moves to my jaw line, and then down my neck, trailing wet kisses. I squirm, feeling a tug in my lower belly with each kiss, loving each sensation. He pulls me up into a sitting position, where he removes my top and my pink bra. He lies me back down flat on my back, where he continues teasing and torturing my neck and collar bone. A rough thumb swipes over my nipple, making my back arch off the bed.

What this man does to me.

His mouth trails lower, until he reaches my breast. One hand plays with one of my nipples, while he sucks the other into his hot mouth.

“Reid,” I pant, when he nibbles softly. I can feel him smile against my breast. When his mouth heads further south, I’m trembling in anticipation.

“Go faster, Reid,” I hiss, as he takes his time licking down my hip. He ignores me, and continues to worship my body everywhere but the place I need him the most. I’m about to lose it when he finally reaches my centre.