Page 39 of Bound By Truth (An Island Bound Novel)

“He and I dated for a while, about two years ago. It was nothing special and he went back to the mainland to finish his PhD.” Her eyes became unfocused as she stared at nothing over his shoulder.

“Mmhmm,” he encouraged.

“He wanted to pick up where we left off when he came back recently. But I told him no. And he’s been phoning and texting me ever since. I don’t think he’d want to hurt me. I don’t think he’s capable…But I thought you should probably know,” she finished, taking a large gulp of her wine.

He wanted to tell her to stop being so naïve, that everyone was capable of violence, given the right motive. Could this Blake be responsible for the things that’d happened recently to Sierra? Reed was going to make damn sure he knew the answer to that question before he let Sierra out of his sight again.

It was time to put his foot down. Demand she do as he say. So he could keep her safe.

“I want you to stay here, with me, until I sort this out.”

* * *

Sierra couldn’t say anything at first. Did he realize quite what he was asking of her? This was becoming way too complicated. She couldn’t stay here. With him. Could she? Here he was, telling her she could be in mortal danger, that he wanted her to stay with him so he could keep her safe, and all she could think about was him. Sleeping under the same roof as him. Being alone in his house with him.

Because if she did stay, all this simmering sexual tension would surely boil over. There was no way she could share this small flat with him all night and stop herself from crawling into his bed.

Would that be such a bad thing? It’d been a long time since Blake had left the island. And there had been no one since Blake. A long time to go without a man in her bed. And Sierra wanted Reed in her bed. Wanted desperately to see him naked. The image of him with his shirt off was still etched deeply into her mind. Just the thought of it had her insides squirming with lust. Oh yes, she wanted him. Badly. The ache between her thighs intensified as his grip on her hand tightened. He was still wearing his cop uniform. The color set off his black hair and equally dark eyes. Made his coffee-hued skin stand out so that she wanted to run a finger along the length of his square jaw.

“I think your jus is burning,” Sierra said. He lifted one eyebrow, but he didn’t move right away.

“Will you think about it?” he asked.

“Yes,” she conceded, then watched as he got stiffly to his feet to go and rescue his sauce. Was he limping? It was slight, but she was sure he was favoring his left leg.

At least she was feeling better now, the red wine was doing the job. It added a nice mellow feeling to the pit of her stomach. Should she go and help him with the jus? No, she liked the view from right here. Who cared if the sauce was a little overdone? It was more than nice to have a man cook for her. Even Jake had never done that. He was more of a re-heater of leftovers, if he was ever required to cook. Sierra liked watching Reed’s strong hands and his deft fingers as he put the venison into the pan to fry and then bent down to check the oven. Mmhmm, even better. His butt looked just about perfect in those long pants. A low hum throbbed through Sierra, as her gaze followed his every movement. How could she be so attracted to this guy when the rest of her world was falling apart—the rest of the island was falling apart? But the tension in the room was almost palpable. A thread of connection running between them that couldn’t be broken.

It only took a few minutes for the venison to cook, and then before she knew it, Reed brought two plates to the small dining table in the corner, and was refilling her glass.

“Dinner is served, my lady.” He gave a gallant bow and offered her his hand to help her out of the armchair. He sat down opposite her and they clinked glasses before she cut into her meat. It was good. The table was so small, they bumped knees often. Every time they touched, she felt a jolt race up her thigh, until finally Reed moved his leg and purposefully left it resting against hers. Her palms became sweaty as a thrill of excitement ran through her.

“You’ve done well,” she said raising her glass in his direction. It was delicious; he’d cooked the venison to perfection, still pink and juicy in the middle, but she hardly tasted each mouthful, her nerve-endings were on fire with him so close, her brain perceiving him and nothing else. Finally, she lay down her knife and fork, her meal forgotten, and watched him over the rim of her glass. Normally, she wouldn’t have more than one glass of wine, and the second glass was going to her head, leaving her inhibitions somewhere far, far away.

“Yes, I will stay with you tonight.” They both knew she wasn’t referring to her own safety.

“That’s good.” He swallowed hard, and she watched his Adam’s apple bounce up and down. “You can have my bed. I’ll sleep on the couch.”

She smiled. “Okay, if that’s what you want. But I had another arrangement in mind.” Leaving her glass on the table, she got up and came around the table, sitting herself in his lap. His eyes widened, then darkened as the irises flared. She knew she was behaving shamelessly, but so be it. Let her forget about her problems tonight. And hopefully he might forget about his. She needed this. Needed him.

“Are you sure?”

She covered his mouth with hers by way of an answer. Oh, yes, she was sure. Without a word, he lifted her off his lap, took her hand and led her into his bedroom, flicking on a small lamp by the bedside. It gave the room a soft light. All concerns about her sore knee and ribs were drowned under her growing desire. She couldn’t feel any of her injuries right now, it was like they didn’t exist.

Even before they’d got all the way into the room, her fingers were fumbling with the buttons of his uniform, desperate to see that wonderful, chiseled chest she knew lay beneath. He helped by undoing his belt buckle and loosening his pants, then kicking off his shoes. She jerked his shirt down over his shoulders and watched as he pulled it the rest of the way off.

Reed was just as spectacular as she remembered. That gorgeous, honey-colored skin, so delicious she wanted to lick it. Dark nipples stood out on his rock-hard chest, and lines of abs rolled down towards the top of his pants. That amazing tattoo that covered all of his left shoulder. It was striking, made him look just a little bit menacing and warrior-like. Her stomach quivered at the sight. She would ask him about it. Later.

His black eyes fixed on her as he tugged on his waistband, shimmying them down over lean hips, revealing…everything. Sierra liked what she saw. He could be model material, he looked so good. Her gaze travelled down the length of his nicely-shaped legs, taking in his muscled thighs and tapered calves. Her stare caught on a litany of scars covering his left calf, reaching all the way up to his knee. She’d noticed him limping slightly a few times before, and now she had an answer as to why. She’d have to ask the how later.

“Your turn,” he said, but made no move to help her off with her clothes. She thought she might be shy when it came to it, but all she wanted was to get naked, so she could press her skin up against him, absorb him into her. This was no sensual striptease, she pulled her clothes off as fast as she could, hungry to get back to him. Her bare feet hit the chilly floor, and now she was as exposed as he was.

It was cool in here, the warmth from the little heater in the living room not permeating this far, and gooseflesh raised up all over Sierra’s body as the cold air brushed over her bare skin. But her thoughts were only of Reed, as he closed the distance between them. His lips came down to meet hers, and one hand traced up the side of her body, starting at her hip bone and finally coming up to cup her breast. A small sound escaped her lips at his touch. It felt so good.

Before Sierra knew what happened, Reed pushed her slowly backwards and her spine came to rest up against the wall, but she didn’t stop kissing him, savoring the taste of his lips, firm and plump, demanding. Her arms locked around his neck and he lifted her so that her legs locked around his hips as he jammed her up against the wall. The solid heat of his erection pushed against her and she felt her bones liquefy. It’d been so long since she’d had a man inside her, her body ached for that feeling. For him to fill her up completely. She lifted her gaze and broke their kiss, looking for the bed. They needed to get to the bed.

He smiled, a hot, sexy smile, as he read her gaze and turned away from the wall, carrying all of her weight towards the middle of the room. But as he took a second step, he stumbled and she grabbed his neck tighter, worried they were going to fall.

“Bloody leg,” he muttered. She flashed back to the scars she’d noticed. “Don’t worry, babe, I won’t drop you.” His hot gaze came back to hers, and she quickly forgot all about his leg as he lowered her gently onto the bedspread and then covered her with his own warm body. All thoughts of missing girls, stalkers hunting her, crashed cars, and newspaper articles disappeared from her head. There was only here and now, with Reed. Nothing else existed.

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