Page 96 of Last Chance Love

From across the table, Dane snorted. “Tell me about it. I’m always getting kicked and nudged. They really should make these tables bigger.”

“Yeah,” I said dryly, face going stiff as I felt Reed move again.

I almost wished it was a case of Reed accidentally stepping on my foot or kicking my shin. We were pressed up against one another so tightly his shoulder had to be slightly under my arm, freeing up only one of our arms to eat while the other hand rested wherever it could, much like everyone else who was crammed into the hall to celebrate the graduation of one of the Tier Ones out of the program.

Instead of simply putting up with it, Reed took advantage of the situation. Because of how everyone was positioned, no one would notice his hand was not awkwardly bent to rest on his lap. Instead, it was between my legs, unmoving except for his fingers, which were steadily stroking me.

At first, I had almost been able to ignore it since it was only my inner thighs, and he wasn’t being too persistent. As the meal went on, though, I had become much more aware of what he was doing. With awareness came arousal, and with arousal, his fingers found something else to play with, which encouraged him further. For the past twenty minutes, he had been stroking up and down my shaft, which was giving me more mental and emotional pleasure than physical, which made it worse.

I leaned in close. “You are beyond the worst. I hope you know that.”

“I know,” he said with a laugh. “But you know, there are ways to take care of things.”

“Sure, just let me get it out right here, right now.”

“Now, that would be interesting.”

“Quit it!”

“There are other places.”

“I’m not getting up with a hard-on, and we’re not able to do what I want to do…after all this.”

“Really?” he asked lightly, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a familiar tube.

My eyes wanted to widen, but I kept them narrow as I grunted. I knew damn well he was trying to coerce me to leave the table and find somewhere we could be alone. It wouldn’t be hard to find a private place nearby, as the entire collection of convicts and staff was in the dining hall for the celebration. And the evil bastard had made sure we wouldn’t have to go out of our way for supplies by bringing some with him.

I desperately didn’t want him to know he was tempting me beyond the point of reason because, well, I knew Reed. If he thought he had more hooks in me, he would keep tugging until I was unable to resist. And a Reed who knew he was irresistible was an incorrigible, difficult man. The smugness alone could fill the entire dining hall, and worst of all, I’d find it hot.

“What are you two gossiping about over there?” Dane asked, a note of suspicion in his voice. “Or plotting for later.”

“Boy, I wonder,” the guy on his immediate right snorted, leaning over to grab a drink.

“Shut it, Dillon,” Dane told him with a sidelong glance and a frown. “Better to get your feet wet before you start making jokes about people who’ve been here longer than you.”

The conversation made me want to sigh, mostly at how badly Reed and I had kept things quiet. If someone like Dillon, fresh to the ranch two weeks ago, had picked up that something was going on between us, then we were doomed to keep our privacy. That only meant plenty of other people had also picked up on what was happening. The upside was everyone was keeping their mouth shut, which was odd.

“I don’t plot,” Reed said, tossing his napkin onto his plate. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to dump this off and see how Rip’s doing.”

“Something wrong with Rip?” Dane asked in confusion.

“Just the product of being on his feet in an enclosed space for hours,” Reed said, and I knew that was as much as he was going to tell.

“That was vague,” Dillon grunted, clearly not taking the hint Dane had given him as Reed disappeared from the table.

“He’s a doctor,” I said with a raised brow. “Doctor-patient confidentiality is a thing.”

“Yeah, but he’s, like, one of us, so he’s notreallya doctor.”

“Yes, thank you for pointing out that sore spot after he left.”

“Uh, is it a secret?”

“God, it’s like having another Elliot,” I muttered, glancing at Dane. “Glad he’s with you.”

Dane glared at Dillon. “Just because he’s no longer a practicing medical doctor doesn’t mean he wasn’t. And he sure as shit didn’t go through all those years of training, school, and working his ass off to have someone wave it away just because he’s here. He’s still got principles, and he sticks to them.”

“Alright, alright,” Dillon said, holding up his hands. “I was just asking.”

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