Page 124 of Forget Me Not

“So, why is he at your house every night?”

“Because I cook him dinner.” It’s a bold-faced lie. They both know it. I know it. I refuse to admit it.

“Is that the only reason?”

Well, shit.

“So we’ve slept together. It doesn’t mean anything.”

“Sure . . .” Tara jokes.

I slam the pan down that I’ve been angry drying for the past five minutes, so hard that the stack of plates next to me rattles.

“Sorry,” I murmur as soon as I’ve done it. I’m not an angry person. I never lash out, but now, in the cold, harsh clarity that I’ve brought to my life, I’m angry and I kicked the only person I want to see right now out of my house and I haven’t seen him since. It’s been less than two days and I feel like I’m going through withdrawals. What will it be like when he leaves?

“Nova?” Beth cautions, but I look at the clock on the wall.

“I’m sorry,” I repeat. “I have something to do.”

Both of them are silent as I stride from the kitchen and out into the back hallways of the inn toward the stairs.

This is technically illegal, but right now, I have something I need to get off my chest.

And I have my own set of master keys.

Room B-4

Stepping into Reid’s room, I’m overwhelmed by his scent. The woodsy scent that seems to follow him and that has become a source of comfort in recent weeks seems to hang in the air. The bed is made neatly, his boots in the corner of the room and the clothes tucked away in the dresser, exactly as they should be.

I pass it all and head to the bathroom where the shower is running.

Steam fills the air and through the glass door, I can see a naked Reid in all his glory, washing away the day’s work and looking every bit of the sex god he’s shown me he is in recent weeks.

My body thrums for him, aligned with the ache in my chest from missing him the last forty-eight hours. It’s been a day and a half, but yet, it feels like a lifetime since I shoved him out of my house after what had to be the best night of my life.

After he set me free.

He sees me the same time my eyes meet his face. He pauses, watching me through the foggy glass with a guarded expression.

Neither of us says a word, but we don’t have to. He knows why I’m here. I know why I’m here.

So, holding his gaze, I reach down and pull my shirt over my head.

Reid’s nostrils flare and his gaze travels over my body, searing my skin when I reach back and undo the clasp of my bra and let it fall to the ground. Then I remove my shorts and underwear, all the while holding his gaze.

He doesn’t kick me out, but he also doesn’t beckon me forward.

Still, he watches me, not bothering to hide that he’s staring at my body like he owns it. Right now, it feels like he does. Like I gave him the key and he’s been guarding it with his life.

Slowly, like I’m approaching a wild animal, I step up to the shower and open the door. He doesn’t move out of the way as I step in, so our bodies brush as I join him in the heat.

“You were right,” I whisper, so quiet, I’m not sure he heard me, except for the feathering of his jaw.

Before I can lose my nerve, I shut the door behind me.

Then I drop to my knees in front of him.

My heart is racing so hard, I worry he might be able to see it beating the inside of my chest like a battering ram and my hands feel sweaty, even though I’m in a shower.

---