Page 76 of I Choose You
“I’m glad you liked it.” I smiled at him. Making Reid feel good was becoming an addiction for me. He never held anything back, never tried to play it cool, like he was unaffected by me. It was such a turn-on.
He cupped my face in his hands and brought me to him in a searing kiss. It wasn’t urgent or aggressive. It felt different, more raw.
Reid cleaned me up, taking his time and running the facecloth over my skin in a deliciously, tortuously slow speed. He swiped a path through my core, spending only a moment to massage my clit. It was the same with his tongue on my nipples. He worked my body slowly and skillfully, never staying anywhere long enough. By the time we were done in the shower, I was pulled so tight with need I thought I would snap.
We fell into bed together, Reid settling between my thighs. I shot up, needing to feel his mouth on mine like I needed my next breath. It wasn’t a hot and heavy make-out session like it usually was. Reid took his time with everything. The way his hands moved across my body, the way his tongue mingled with mine. It was so much more intimate than anything we had shared.
Reid reached for his nightstand to get a condom, but my words halted him mid-reach.
“I’m on birth control. And I was tested after… I’m clean,” I told him.
His arm was still outstretched when he turned to me, his wide eyes boring into me.
“Are you saying you want to do this bare?”
“Yes, but only if you want to.”
He kissed me again, and it stole my breath away.
“I’m clean too,” he said when he finally pulled back. “You sure?”
“Yes.”
The tip of his cock was already at my entrance, looking forhome. He pushed in slowly, pulling out before he was fully seated. Pushing in again, not quite all the way, and back out. His restraint was pure torture. I loved every second of it. He fused his lips to mine and slammed into me. My back arched as I gasped.
He showered me in kisses, his every thrust telling me the words we hadn’t spoken out loud, or at least not out loud on purpose. But there was no doubt in my mind that Reid meant those softly muttered words. I just hoped he could feel the same love pouring out of me.
* * *
We were late for work, and by the looks on everyone’s faces, they knew why. My phone rang just as we arrived.
“I’m going to take this in my office,” I told him.
Reid leaned in and kissed me chastely before yelling at me to get to work.
I shook my head at him and swayed my hips as I made my way to my office. When I looked over my shoulder, Reid’s eyes were firmly on my ass.
“Hi, Andrew,” I answered, closing the door behind me.
“Claire, how’s the progress coming along? I hope you can tell me you and that contractor have gotten a lot more accomplished since I was on-site.”
“That contractor’sname is Reid,” I said before I could stop myself. If Andrew wanted to be condescending, he could do so with me. I was his employee, and I had been condescended to most of my life—I was used to it. But he could check hisattitude if he thought he could be demeaning toward Reid. “And everything is on track to be completed on time and on budget.”
“And you and… Reid… have been nothing but professional, I should hope,” Andrew said, his tone making his suspicion known.
“You have nothing to worry about,” I said, neither confirming nor denying anything. If he thought I was going to discuss my sex life with my boss, he was dead wrong. It wasn’t any of his business.
“Good. Listen, I’ve got a new designer onboarding in the next few weeks. You’ll need to get to the office to show her some things.”
He wantedmeto show her a few things? He had done nothing but criticize my performance since day one on this project, and now he wanted me to train someone else? I was starting to agree with Reid that maybe Andrew was taking advantage of me. First, I was needed on-site all day, every day, to stay on top of my project, then I was given half of Derrick’s workload, and now I was going to be training the new designer—one who didn’t have to put years into being a research admin before finally getting to manage her own project.
“Not a problem,” I said. “Just let me know when.”
I cringed at myself and my stupid overcompliant attitude. I needed this job. I needed to show my father that my choice to drop out of law school and get a degree in history instead wasn’t a huge mistake. I needed to prove that I could make a real living, doing something I loved, without his money—or his support, as it was.
“I’ll let you know. And while you’re here, we candiscuss what’s next after the Delano Library project is finished. Pending the final results, of course.”
My heart sank at the reminder of what came next. This project wasn’t going to last forever. At some point, sooner rather than later, I was going to be off to the next jobsite. Not sharing coffees and laughs with Richie, Shawn, and Dale. Not waking up in Reid’s arms every morning, working beside him, sharing our days and nights. Sharing our hearts.
