A Little Too Late (Madigan Mountain #1)(55)

AVA

Earlier, Reed had seemed annoyed at my emergency call-out.

But the Reed who steps into the elevator with me back at the hotel isn’t annoyed at all.

He’s just hot.

Before the doors even slide closed, he’s stepped into my personal space and boxed me against the wall. A deep, bossy kiss follows.

Plus, he’s saving me from having a messy argument with myself over whether or not I should stay the night. Apparently, I am. And apparently, I don’t mind having that decision made for me by a guy whose hands are already unzipping my ski jacket so he can drop wet kisses onto my neck.

It feels so good that I fumble for the zipper on his coat and yank it down.

“Get it, girl,” he says as the elevator dings. “I’m going to have you on your back about thirty seconds after we get into that room.”

The promise lights me up like a flare. I grab his wrist as the doors part and tow him toward the suite. Reed opens the door with a sexy chuckle. As soon as we enter the room, he strips off his coat and tosses it on a chair.

But I’m too impatient even for that. Still wearing mine, I drop onto the sofa where I’m in the right position to unzip his fly.

“Fuuuck, honey,” he rasps as I run a hand over the firm ridge of his cock inside his boxer briefs. Then I tug his jeans down his hips.

Smart enough to take the hint, he kicks off his boots, toes off his socks, and sheds his underwear. Meanwhile, I shake off my coat.

But Reed wants more. He pulls my sweater over my head, revealing the red lace bra I’d put on for him.

“Unngh,” he says as I wrap a hand around the base of his cock.

I don’t wait. I just lean in and lick a stripe from base to tip. Then I tease the sensitive underside of his cockhead with my tongue.

He wraps my hair around his hand and groans.

This is how we used to be with each other—wild and free. And I haven’t felt like this ever since.

He and I have some kind of special magic together. It unchains all my hesitations, and it calms all my fears. I don’t understand it. But right this moment I don’t really care. I’m too busy weighing his cock on my tongue, tasting the briny essence of him, and then taking him to the back of my throat.

Reed lets out a string of whispered curses, his fingers cupping the back of my neck. Then he groans, low and guttural, and the sound sends a zap of electricity through my veins.

I’m living for this moment. When I close my eyes, my heart beats to the tune of firelight and snow-flecked kisses.

Above me, Reed curses again. I release him as he begins to haul me upward, lifting me off the floor, tossing me over his shoulder, and striding towards the bedroom.

I land a moment later, bouncing gently on the comforter. Reed’s hands are already unbuttoning my jeans. “Christ,” he whispers, revealing the matching red lace panties. “You’re killing me.”

Kicking off the jeans, I smile up at him. Then I roll, prying the comforter loose. “We have to take this off the bed. I happen to know how much these things cost.”

“I hope you paid up for the sturdy kind of headboard, because it’s about to get a workout.” He hoists his turtleneck over his head, and I get an action-packed view of his chest rippling.

Now he’s magnificently naked and climbing onto the bed. He covers my body with his and kisses me like… Well, like he’s missed me for ten years.

He kisses me deeply, and I arch up into his body. Then I run my hands up and down his back, trying to memorize the slide of his skin against mine. I should try to remember every detail of this time together. Because it won’t last.

But—even as my heart aches—I’m hoping against all odds that it will.





Sometime after midnight, Reed and I collapse into a satisfied heap. I relax against his body, drifting on my own thoughts. My mind turns, for some reason, to Block’s plot of land and what I might build there instead of a monstrosity of hotels.

In my mind’s eye, there’s a modest group of contemporary condos. They’d be constructed of natural materials, terraced to blend into the mountain. And the parking area would need to be camouflaged. Or—even better—underground.

“Food trucks. And an amphitheater,” Reed says sleepily.

I lift my head from his chest. “What?”

“The downtown development in Penny Ridge—it could be a good community space all year round, right? An amphitheater for concerts in the summer. And a drive circle for food trucks.”

I stare into his brown eyes for a long beat. “I was just mentally tunneling underground to hide the parking area.”

Reed smiles slowly. “I find you so attractive right now.”

“Likewise.” I run a finger across his bottom lip. “Tell me more about these food trucks, hunk.”

That’s how we end up staying awake far too long doing something even more dangerous to my heart than sex—we’re dreaming about the future. Ski lifts. Community spaces. A halfpipe. Nothing is too good for our imaginary utopia.

Eventually we pass out in his bed. I sleep like a rock until morning when a ringing phone wakes us both.

The ring tone is “Big Boss Man” by the Grateful Dead.

“That’s yours,” I slur into the pillow.

Reed groans. He doesn’t get up to answer it, though. He waits it out. And when it finally stops ringing, he lets out a sleepy sigh. “You know how I can tell I’m not twenty-two anymore?”