Hell Breaks Loose (Devil's Rock #2)(71)

He tugged her hand off him and squeezed out from under her, dumping her on the couch. “I don’t think I’m gonna be up to your standards, Gaby. Kinda rusty.”

“Are you kidding me?” She blinked up at him, waving at herself. “You’re passing this up?”

“I’m sure I’ll regret it later.” He was sure he wouldn’t. “Nice seeing you, Gaby.” And then he’d bailed. Ducked out of her apartment as fast as he could.

It had taught him a valuable lesson. Grace Reeves had in fact ruined him. What he felt for her had been real. Time hadn’t dimmed his feelings. He couldn’t even stomach touching another woman.

He had even stopped watching television. He needed to purge her from his system, and that included avoiding glimpses of her on TV.

Maybe it was the thought of the TV that had his gaze drifting to the box in the corner above the long counter. As though he had summoned her face, she was there. As beautiful as he remembered her. He stood from the table and drifted closer, drawn despite himself.

He shot a quick glance at the waitress behind the counter. “Hey, can you turn that up, please?”

The woman obliged and he heard the crisp voice of a reporter. “First Daughter Grace Reeves arrived yesterday with her family and fiancé . . .” The rest of the words faded away.

Fiancé. She was getting married. The sight of her looking sophisticated in a green skirt and a fitted black coat alongside some good-looking tool flashed on the screen. The guy was polished in a suit, his hair gelled and styled like he stepped off a magazine cover. So that was Charlie.

A panorama of the McDonald Observatory flashed across the screen. He refocused on the rest of the reporter’s words. “. . . the observatory will be the location for the couple’s engagement party tonight. An astronomy major herself, the First Daughter looks forward to witnessing Seraphina’s comet tonight in the arms of her future husband, White House communications director Charles Hubbard.”

She was going to the observatory. She would finally get to see out of her telescopes. He couldn’t help smiling over that. And she’ll be doing it with some other guy. A guy she didn’t love. What the hell was she doing? What the hell was he doing letting her do it?

The waitress behind the counter smacked her gum and winked at him. “Got any New Year’s plans, sugar?”

“Yes,” he answered, turning for the door. “Yes, I do.”





Twenty-Six




It still wasn’t that difficult to slip the Secret Service.

Grace knew she only had moments until they located her. The new special agents appointed to her were especially vigilant these days. She eased out a side door, escaping the din of the party and finding her way outside. Her coat was still inside and she shivered in her gown. She fell in love with the strapless blue satin the moment she saw it, but it wasn’t equipped for outdoors or the winter. The two combined were a straight ticket to hypothermia. Another reason why she wouldn’t be outside long.

She clattered up to the railing in her three-inch heels, wrapped her fingers around the cold steel and stared up at the darkest, clearest night she had ever seen. The stars were infinite. She exhaled, glad for the fresh air and silence even with the cold biting into her. Her eyes teared and she blinked, hoping she didn’t ruin her mascara. Her hand shot out, dashing at her eyes.

She’d seen her comet, but it didn’t matter nearly as much as she had hoped it would. She could only think that Reid should have been with her to see it, too.

“Did you see your comet?”

She spun around with a gasp at the deep voice. Her chest constricted as Reid stepped into the glow of the perimeter light. He looked amazing in dark jeans, the hint of a gray thermal shirt peeping out of his dark pea coat. His hair was a little longer. The winter wind whipped the dark blond strands.

“What are you doing here?”

“It’s your engagement party. Didn’t get an invitation.” He shrugged as he advanced on her, walking slowly. “Figure it must have gotten lost in the mail.”

A short, hard laugh escaped her before she could catch herself. “Don’t,” she whispered, pressing her fingers over her mouth.

“What?”

“Make me laugh.”

“Why not?” He continued coming, stalking toward her with easy strides, his eyes fastened hotly on her face.

Her voice came out strangled. “Because when I look at you I only want to cry.”

He stopped in front of her. “Yeah? Well, when I look at you I only want to do this.”

His mouth crashed over hers and it was everything she remembered and more. His lips were hungry and brutal. His hands dove into her hair, messing the elegant updo. Pins scattered and she felt the heavy mass tumble down her back.

She broke away with a gasp, her heart pounding with a mixture of lust and panic. “Reid, stop! You have to go.” She pushed at his chest and then reached for her hair. How would she explain her appearance?

“I’m not leaving without you.”

She stilled, her eyes fixing on him. “What?”

“I was wrong to stay away.” He motioned to the building. “You don’t want to marry that guy.”

“I have to,” she whispered.

His eyes sparked. “What happened to the girl tired of doing what others wanted? The girl who was going to live for herself?”