A Little Too Late (Madigan Mountain #1)(41)

“You do that.”





Ten minutes later I climb into bed.

Reed climbs in on the other side. He’s shirtless, that rascal. If I ask him why, he’ll claim he runs hot. But I think it’s a tactic.

Or maybe I’m giving myself too much credit. After all, I’m the one who couldn’t stop grinding on his lap in the hot tub earlier tonight, kissing his face off until I actually…

Eep. I can’t believe that happened. In fact, I’m going to pretend it didn’t.

I shut off the light and flop onto my back, my head smack in the center of the pillow, my arms carefully down at my sides.

There is a moment of silence from the other side of the bed. And then two hands slide underneath my body like a forklift and roll me toward Reed. I land on my side, with my head tucked onto his bare shoulder.

This is how we used to sleep in the too-small college dormitory beds. Exactly like this. He smells good, too. Like warmth, with top notes of chlorine and bad decisions.

Reed follows this maneuver by gently rubbing my back and smoothing my hair away from my face. “Goodnight, Ava.”

“Goodnight,” I whisper.

I close my eyes. My body is exhausted, but my mind is still racing. This is the second night in a row I’m sharing a bed with Reed. This is really stupid, right? I should roll over and pretend he’s not here.

Yet, I can’t make myself do it. Drowning myself in memories like this can’t be healthy. But here I am, listening to his steady breathing. I’ve missed this, damn it.

I suppose it’s healthy to finally realize how lonely I am.

Eventually, my eyelids get so heavy that I nod off. That’s when the dreams begin. Reed in his Middlebury sweatshirt. Reed in his racing suit. Reed smiling at me in the pottery studio.

Reed in bed, holding my heated body.

In my dream, we’re making out in a dormitory bed, our clothes magically gone. His hands are everywhere. He groans my name, and I lean in and lick the column of his neck, feeling stubble against my cheek…

My eyes fly open in the dark, and I find myself pressed hotly up against him, my face buried in his strong neck, his skin wet from my kisses.

I roll quickly off him, hoping he won’t wake up.

“Ava,” he mumbles from a foot away. “Were you just licking my neck?”

“Maybe,” I say as my heart gallops. I’m trying to decide whether or not to admit it. Licking his neck in my sleep is awfully weird. But if I say no, he’ll think I was drooling on him.

That’s worse. Isn’t it?

Reed turns toward me, his hand squeezing my hip under the sheets. And that simple touch is enough to make my body flare with heat. “Well, fuck. Don’t stop. Is it tomorrow already?”

“Close enough,” I say as my nipples harden against my nightgown.

With a chuckle, Reed rolls onto my body, settling his arousal between my legs. Suddenly, I’m twenty-one again and letting out a shameless moan.

Reed Madigan is going to wreck me all over again. And I’m going to let him.

Propped up on muscular forearms, he looks down at me. Moonlight shows off his strong body, as well as the gleam in his eye. “It’s always been you for me,” he whispers.

“Reed.” That’s dangerous talk. So dangerous.

“I know,” he says, as if he can read my thoughts. “I know.”





CHAPTER 20




I’VE GOT BIGGER PLANS





REED

Ava doesn’t want me to make any promises I can’t keep. And she’s right—this is a dicey game we’re playing.

It’s also inevitable. Ava is the only one allowed to break my heart. Fuck, it’s already broken. How much worse could it even get?

I drop my head and kiss the corner of her upturned mouth. Her smooth skin is a balm on my soul. I drop a dozen more kisses on her face. It’s too dark to see the faint spray of freckles across the bridge of her nose, but I kiss them anyway.

Impatient hands lift to my face. Then she pulls me in for a real kiss. She’s done with sweetness and sentiment. She knows it will hurt more later if I go slow and make it last.

I take her mouth in a kiss, but not in the hungry way she’s asking for. I slide her top lip between mine and slowly run my tongue along it.

Ava moans, and I feel her thighs clench against mine. My cock is a hard length against her stomach. My inner twenty-two-year-old is raring to go.

Still, I force myself to slow down. I may be emotionally stunted, but I still know enough to savor this miracle. I never thought I’d see her again. I knew I didn’t have the right.

But here we are, and I’m going to make it count. I kiss her deeply, and she opens hungrily for me. Our kiss is wet and slow.

Some people say I’m sorry with roses or chocolates. I’ve got bigger plans. And they begin with tugging Ava’s nightgown up and off her body.

“Reed,” she gasps, and it sounds like a prayer, not a protest.

“I need your skin on mine,” I whisper. “All of it.”

She lifts her arms.

The sheets whisper against our skin as I peel my clothing off. Ava shivers, but not from the cold. She’s propped herself on her elbows, watching everything I do with a bright gaze.

That’s the Ava I remember. She’d always let me take charge, but not out of fearfulness. There’s no hesitation in her eyes as I settle my forearms onto the sheet again, hovering over her body.