Page 118 of Dirty Rival

“Carrie,” he whispers, cupping my face. “Baby, I need to tell you something.”

“Don’t tell me now. Don’t ruin this.”

“I need to tell you before we wake up in the morning to a call.”

That jerks me back to reality. “What does that mean?”

“I went to see your father. I tried to get some sort of truce. I wanted him to tell you that I didn’t do this to you or him, but he wouldn’t. He said I’d never be with his daughter.”

“You went—that’s where you were?”

“There’s more, but—”

“To try and convince me to trust you?”

“Yes.”

“To Montana?”

“Yes. I can tell you all I found out there. Do you want to hear now?”

“No. No, I want you to kiss me again.”

“You’re not mad?”

“You went for me. You flew back for me. That doesn’t make the kitchen scene with your father go away, but it comes really close.”

“I didn’t know how you would react. I was—”

“Reid, kiss me already.”

His mouth closes down on mine, and I swear I breathe him in, my hands pressing to his back, my body molded to his. He went to Montana for me. I don’t even consider this to be business. I taste the emotion on his tongue. I taste the relief, the need, the passion. This isn’t about sex. This isn’t about money. His hand, his warm, big, perfect hand slips under my T-shirt and cups my naked breast. I moan into his mouth and he tears his lips from mine. “If I can’t have you in my bed, we need yours. And before you warn me, I don’t care about your damn period.”

“It ended. It was early and nerves—it’s not an issue.”

His mouth closes down on mine, a quick lick of tongue against tongue before he scoops me up and starts walking. I cling to him, and right now, in his arms, I feel one of those shifts in our relationship. We are not as we were. We are not broken.

The light is on in my bedroom, and Reid carries me to the bed and lays me down on the mattress. “I’d give up everything for you, Carrie.” He brushes his lips over mine. “I need you to know that.”

“I wouldn’t ever ask you to do that. I wouldn’t want that.”

“I know because you are good and pure in ways I will never be, but I’m a better man with you and because of you. I need you to know that, too. I’m not after money. I don’t want anything from this but you.”

My hand presses to his cheek. “I believe you. I have questions, but I believe you.”

He kisses me, his lips brushing mine and then trailing down my jaw and over my neck before he presses his cheek to mine and whispers, “I’m not going to fuck you this time. We can fuck later. I’m going to make love to you.”

Chapter fifty-eight

Reid

Inhaling the sweet floral scent of Carrie, my lips linger at her ear. Never in my life has a woman affected me like Carrie. I find myself having this thought yet again with this woman. I could savor her forever in every way. My mouth settles above hers, our breaths mingling, as she whispers, “Reid,” and damn it, I should not be this affected by a woman saying my name, but I am.

I kiss her again, and just drink her in, in no rush to fuck anything out of my system. She’s under my skin, in my mind, in my damn heart when I didn’t think I could feel such things. My hand presses under her T-shirt, palm caressing her ribcage, and up to cup her breast, my fingers teasing her nipple. She arches into my touch, and I nip her bottom lip before dragging the shirt over her head. Her hands press under my shirt as well, her tongue stroking against my tongue, igniting a fire in me. I want her hands and her mouth all over my body.

I drag my shirt over my head and Carrie shoves against me. I roll to my side at her obvious request, and her hand settles on my zipper, fingers closing over my erection. “I owe you something.”

I tangle fingers in her hair. “We’ve talked about that. You owe me nothing, Carrie.”

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