When they both had gone silent and their breathing had slowed, he pressed his lips to the spot between her shoulder blades and eased out. Her legs collapsed beneath her, and she sank fully into the bed, too exhausted to even lift her head. She had no idea what Reid was doing, but at the moment she didn’t care. Her eyelids fluttered closed behind the blindfold.
“Hey, wake up, sugar,” Reid said, putting a hand on her shoulder.
Brynn blinked, the lamplight of the room burning her eyes. “Did I fall asleep?”
He brushed the dampened hair off her forehead, his expression guarded. “Just for a few minutes. I tried to let you rest for a little while, but we should probably get out of here. Jace’s sister will be home in a few hours.”
She lifted herself on her elbows and saw that she was no longer bound and that Reid had thrown a blanket over her. “Can you get my clothes?”
He stood and grabbed her things from the floor. “Here, do you need me to help you?”
She smiled. “I think I can handle it.”
She pushed the blanket off her and rose to her feet, shivering from the sudden chill. Reid shoved his hands in his pockets, looking like he’d rather be anywhere else in the world but here. She slipped her panties on and the material brushed against her the tender skin on her bottom. “Ouch.”
Reid cringed and dragged a hand through his already disheveled hair. “Hell, Brynn, I’m sorry. I can’t believe I did this. I don’t know what I was thinking.”
She moved closer to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. “It’s fine. I asked for it. I wanted you to.”
He sat his chin on top of her head and rubbed her bare back. “I promise I won’t ever let it happen again. I’m done with this.”
She put her hands on his chest and stepped back. “Bullshit.”
His eyebrows scrunched. “What?”
She grabbed her bra off the floor and put it on, then hauled her dress over her head, anger tainting the mellow afterglow she’d been enjoying. “You’re saying you didn’t enjoy yourself?”
He blew out a breath and leaned against the windowsill. “I hit you, Brynn. Used you. Talked to you like I owned you. You don’t deserve that.”
She zipped up the back of her dress and narrowed her eyes. “You loved it.”
His frown lines dipped deeper, and he turned his back to her, looking out the window toward the swimming pool outside. “I don’t want to be like this. I want a normal relationship with you.”
She crossed her arms over her chest as she toed on her shoes. “And I don’t want to be with someone who’s lying to me. If you want to date me, you either come into it as you are—quirks and all—or go find someone else to play pretend with.”
He raised his head, staring at her in the reflection in the window. “What are you saying?”
“If you want to explore this, I’m game. It’s not like we’re signing up to get married. We have a summer. I like you, you like me. And tonight was… pretty incredible. So, you decide.”
His jaw tightened. “And if I just want to go back to a normal relationship?”
She shrugged. “It won’t be with me. I don’t want to spend my time wondering if you’re satisfying this need with some other girl while playing Mr. Perfect around me.”
His shoulders slumped. “Be careful on your drive home, Brynn.”
Fury boiled low in her belly and her cheeks burned. “You’re not even going to walk me out?”
He didn’t turn to look at her. “It’s for the best.”
NINE
now
Soft classical music wrapped around Brynn as she inhaled deeply through her nose, counted to five, then blew the breath out through her mouth.
“Relax your hands, sweetie. You’ve got them clenched so hard, you’re going to make your palms bleed,” Melody said in a quiet voice.
Brynn sighed and sat up from her reclined position on the couch. “This isn’t working.”