Breaking Away (Assassins, #5)(23)

When the door opened, he let out the breath he was holding as Claire walked out, fully clothed, with her bag on her shoulder.

“Are you ready?” he asked, with a smile on his face.

She nodded and started for the door as Reese looked up at him.

“She’s doing great,” she said, crossing her arms under her breasts, pushing them up for him to get a good look. He tried so hard not to look, but it was useless. He loved tits.

“Great,” he muttered, before running his tongue along his bottom lip.

“Phillip, let’s go,” Claire called from the door. He looked over at her before looking back at Reese. She had a little grin on her face, her eyes darker than normal as she held his gaze.

“See ya,” she said softly.

Like before, he was stiff as a board, his hands shaking at his sides, wanting to reach out and pull her against him. Her body was begging his. She might not even have known it was happening, but he felt it. He wanted to tangle his hands in her hair and kiss that pouty mouth, before promptly f*cking her for hours. When she brought her lip in between her teeth, he had to suppress the moan that wanted to escape. It took everything he had to get him to put one foot in front of the other, but he managed. Turning, he said, “Later.”

When he reached the door, he held it open for Claire before glancing back at Reese. She was watching him, a smile playing on her face. Her eyes were dark, lust swirling in them. He knew she wanted him, had to, her eyes were begging him to not go, but surely he was wrong. She never even gave him a second glance before. Shaking his head, he went out the door and started towards the car with Claire.

“Stop trying to have sex with my dance teacher,” she said as she opened her door.

Phillip laughed as he opened his door and got in, looking over at her as he said, “I wasn’t.”

“Whatever, you two were basically eye f*cking.”

“Claire,” he groaned. “Watch your mouth.”

“Whatever,” she muttered again. “Just stop.”

“Stop what? I hardly said anything to her.”

“Yeah, but I saw the way you two were looking at each other. Don’t have sex with her, okay? I kinda like her.”

Phillip raised an eyebrow as he said, “I don’t see how me having sex with her has anything to do with you.”

She set him with a look that made him think he should know why as she said, “Because when you break up with her, she’ll hate me, and I like her.”

Seeing the sadness in her eyes hit Phillip right in the chest and added another reason why Reese was off limits. He knew it was wrong, and knew he had to stay away from her. He only wished that his body would acknowledge the reasons, because he still had the desire to run back into the studio and have his way with her. But when he looked over at the only family he had left, the person he cared most about, his desire fizzled. Claire was coming around, and she actually tried to talk to him now. Plus, she loved dance, and she kind of liked Reese, so there was no way he could mess that up. He loved her and wanted to make a good life for her.

With a smile on his face, he nodded as he pushed all the lust and thoughts of Reese to the back of his head.

“Won’t happen, Claire.”





STAYING AWAY from Reese Allen was going to be harder than Phillip thought.

After leaving the studio, all Phillip did was think of her, and he kept thinking about her for the rest of the week. He didn’t get it. He knew this woman, been around her for at least the last three years, and not once did he ever find himself completely stiff with just one glance at her. Every time he dropped Claire off for dance, his heart would race, his palms would go sweaty, and when he set eyes on her, his body would yearn for the chance to touch her. It took everything out of him not to stare at her, but sometimes he couldn’t help it.

She was gorgeous, and she was always doing things with her body that could honestly make a grown man fall to his knees and cry. She would bend in a way that had Phillip thinking of nothing but sex, which would lead to him taking long, hot showers. In a way, he was convinced she was doing it to drive him crazy. Her eyes would meet his in such a devious way as she pulled her leg up, leaning to the side so that he got the perfect view between her thighs. It had him shifting in his seat and going cross-eyed, but then Claire would come out, setting him with a look, and it was as if she was dousing him with cold water, which in all reality was probably what needed to be done.

For once, he was glad he was going on the road in the next couple of days. He wouldn’t have to take Claire to dance, and it would give him a break from seeing Reese’s gorgeous body. He hated that he thought like that, but it was becoming too much to handle. Even if he and Claire were doing okay, he needed the break. Shaking his head, he couldn’t help but think that Claire was still a problem. She was still a little standoffish and hated therapy. She made sure to let him know that any chance she got. It seemed all she wanted to do was dance, and that scared him because she still wouldn’t talk to him the way he wanted. He wanted her to be open with him, to love him, but it wasn’t happening. All the therapist would say was that he needed to give it time. It was driving him mad. All he wanted was to lose himself with a woman, but the only one he wanted was Reese.

God, he was so f*cked.

Leaning against the bar, he took a swig of his whiskey as the music pulsated around him. Claire was at Harper and Jakob’s watching Alison because they had something to do tonight. Phillip was glad that Claire got along so well with the Titov’s and that she wanted to watch Ally. She said she wanted to start saving money. For what, he didn’t know, but he supported her, even offered to give her an allowance if she cleaned the house. The therapist liked this, and so did he. He just hoped it was progress in the right direction.