Page 22 of Unforgettable

Reed stepped back, Adam lifted the dresser slightly higher, and when he attempted to step onto the landing, the dresser again pinned Adam against the wall.

“Fuck!” Reed snapped. “You didn’t lift it high enough. We have to get it over the stupid spindle thing here. Do it again.”

And they did it again. Reed stepped back, and Adam lifted the dresser even higher and was nearly pinned against the wall.

“Okay, now, turn. Turn more. More!” Reed instructed as Adam heaved it onto the second—and last—set of stairs.

Unable to resist any longer, I hollered, “Pivot!” from the bottom of the stairs and behind Reed.

I heard Josh laughing from the floor above, but neither of the guys actually carrying the dresser thought I was funny.

Finally at the top, Reed dropped his side in front of Josh. “It’s your fucking turn.”

Josh rolled his eyes but picked up the dresser and shuffled it through the apartment door.

“Please be careful of the floors!” I warned.

I started to walk toward them but was abruptly stopped by Reed’s hand on my shoulder. “Pivot? Really?”

I bit my lower lip to suppress my laugh. “It’s from—”

He held up his hand while he took the bottom of his T-shirt in the other and wiped the sweat from his brow. As he lifted his shirt, I caught a glimpse of his perfectly toned abs and his tanned skin. His stomach was lightly dusted with dark hair that disappeared below his waistband in a neat line. I wanted to run my nails over each indentation of his abs, tracing the distinct muscles before doing the same thing with my tongue. I hoped he hadn’t heard my sharp intake of breath at the sight of him.

“I know where it’s from,” Reed said as he lowered his shirt and cut off the good view. “But you had to make the joke while I was carrying a solid wood dresser all by myself?”

I scoffed. “First, look at you. That dresser should be nothing for you with the amount of time you spend in the gym, and second, Josh thought it was funny. Did your sense of humor get left in the moving truck or something?”

He chuckled and stepped toward me. Even with the small box still in my arms, he was close. His eyes darted from mine to my lips, lingering there long enough that I knew he was likely remembering what they felt like against his. I was thinking about it, too, as his tongue darted out and wet his lips.

He reached out, a mischievous smile playing on his lips, and pushed a piece of hair that had fallen loose from my ponytail behind my ear. “What do you mean, ‘look at me’? I don’t think I understand what you mean by that.”

I rolled my eyes and hardened my expression. His featherlight touch was enough to undo me, but like hell was I going to let him know he had that kind of power over me. I wanted to retain at least a semblance of my dignity.

Like I was looking for something, I narrowed my eyes and peered around him and on the ground near us. “Hmm, yeah, looks like you forgot your rod and reel. You’ll need them if you’re going to go fishing for compliments.”

He smiled but didn’t respond, so I continued. “And probably some better bait because smiling and touching me won’t do the trick.”

“Is that so?” he said in a low voice, taking another step toward me. The fabric of his T-shirt brushed against the backs of my hands as I held on to the box for dear life, hoping that it would keep him at least a foot away.

“Yes, that’s so.” My voice was not nearly as confident as I hoped it would be, but I kept my chin high. With another step forward, I reflexively took one back and pressed my back against the concrete wall behind me. Sadly, the box did little to take up space between us, but I continued to grip it tightly, praying my expression didn’t give me away.

Reed leaned in, planting one hand on the rough wall behind me next to my head while the other smoothed down the skin of my bare upper arm. The temperature was in the midfifties, but after hauling Adam’s shit up and down the stairs for the better part of an hour, I quickly found I didn’t need my jacket. I regretted the decision, though, because Reed’s hand on my bare arm was enough to send goose bumps over all my exposed skin.

I hadn’t pulled my eyes from his—although he continued to trace each feature of my face—and I recognized the moment he felt the goose bumps. His warm-brown eyes danced with humor and victory as his smile widened, showing off his perfectly straight white teeth.

He leaned in closer, placing his mouth so close to my ear I could feel the heat of his breath against my neck. “See, your mouth says one thing while your body tells a different story. I think with or without the rod and reel, my bait works just fine for you.”

Then, as if he hadn’t proven his point enough with my breath catching at each of his words, my heart pounding and the goose bumps, the asshole kissed my neck, darting his tongue out between his lips just enough that I felt its smoothness and was reminded of how it felt on other parts of my body.

When he lingered for more than a second, I stopped breathing altogether. My previously clear thoughts were muddled and confused by his intoxicating scent and proximity. And like nothing had happened at all, he grabbed the box from my hands and turned on his heels toward my apartment while I stood stunned, turned on, and mildly fuming in the middle of the hallway.

“Wait, where are you going?” I asked Adam for the fourth time, hoping it was the last time and I’d actually receive a clear answer.

He sighed. “Is this how it’s going to be? You’re going to turn into my mother since I’m living with you now? Do you want to track my location, maybe? Or,” he said, sarcasm dripping from his every word. “That’s probably not invasive enough, is it? Do you want to implant a dental tracker?”

I returned his eye roll with one of my own and blocked his exit. “Dude, I’m doing you a huge favor by letting you crash here rent-free while you look for a job. Not to mention it being so last minute, so cut me some fucking slack. I just want to know where you’re going because I thought you might want to help us move my furniture to Hazel and Luke’s house. You know, seeing as how the three of us helped you move your shit.”

Thankfully, he stepped back, so I didn’t have to crane my neck to maintain eye contact. I’m not sure why he received all of the height and size in the family, but I became increasingly frustrated when he used it against me.

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