Page 23 of Seducing Cinderella

“No, what you picked up last week was great. It’s going to be hard to get used to my pathetic microwave dinners again after you’re gone. Who knew healthy food could be so tasty?”

“Whoa! I need a recess here.”

“This isn’t a courtroom, Nessie.”

“Are youlivinghere?”

Lucie spoke quickly to keep any required damage control to a minimum. “Just for a couple of months until he’s recovered from his torn rotator cuff. I’ve taken my vacation weeks to work with Reid on a vigorous recovery and training program.”

“Wow, Luce, that’s really something else. I’m speechless.”

No, you’re not, but you’re holding your tongue—albeit only temporarily—and I love you for it.“Well, I suppose I’d better get ready then.”

“Yeah, get a move on. You know how I hate getting bad seats in the theater.” Vanessa got up and crossed the room, adding, “I’ll be in the living room thumbing through your latest issue of Boring Medical Magazine hoping there’s a piece on the male gluteus maximus, complete with pictures.”

Once they heard her plop on the couch and set her soda on the table, they looked at each other and quietly laughed in relief.

“She’s a trip,” he said.

Lucie stood, grateful her legs worked again. “You havenoidea.”

“She’s very protective of you. She didn’t like it when you called yourself boring.” He took a step toward her, the playfulness gone. “Neither did I, by the way.”

“It’s the truth, though. I’ve never done anything wild or crazy or, God forbid, illegal.” She shrugged and picked imaginary lint from her new pants. “I’m a rule player.”

Another step. Now he was so close she could feel his breath on her skin. Lucie glanced at the doorway. What if Vanessa decided to walk back in? Fingers to her chin brought her attention up to him. “The only time I follow the rules is in the cage,” he said in a low voice.

“That mentality can get you into a lot of trouble.”

“I happen to like trouble.” His lopsided grin was so wicked. And delectable. Which was a weird way to describe a grin, but there it was. She wanted to lick it from one side to the other. “Go get ready and enjoy your girl outing. I’ll finish my stretches and exercises after I go to the store. Then later…” He dropped his gaze to her mouth and trailed a thumb over her lower lip. “…we’ll finish the other thing we started.”

“You still want to?” Lucie barely prevented herself from clapping a hand over her mouth. Sometimes she swore her ability to keep her internal monologuesinternalwas faulty. It seemed she was forever trying to extract her size nine from her mouth.

His eyes narrowed slightly. “Don’t you?”

Shit. Was he asking because he hoped she still wanted to or because he hoped she didn’t, giving him the opportunity to bow out gracefully? And why did she insist on always overthinking these things?Because you’re in way over your head with this one, girlie.

“Yes?” A single brow arched, challenging her to take the damn question mark off her answer. “Yes. I mean yes.” She sighed in exasperation and wished for the thousandth time for the grace and calm Vanessa had. “I thought maybe you were just caught up in the heat of the moment, but now that you’ve had time to think, maybe you have second thoughts about getting involved.”

When his brows pulled together, she quickly added, “Notinvolvedinvolved. I mean, I know it’s only temporary and solely for instructional purposes.”

Reid moved so fast she didn’t have time to register his intentions before she found herself drowning in the heat of his mouth, his tongue lashing and coaxing. Her body was pressed to his with one hand in the center of her back, and his other hand—holyGod, his other hand—was tucked between her thighs, his fingers pushing between her folds as his thumb worked over her clit. The material of her pants only heightened the friction, and that they couldn’t take things too far for fear of being caught was exciting.

It was a fierce and risky move, but he didn’t hesitate to execute it to the fullest extent, just like the kind of thing he did in his fights. It’s what she loved most about his style in the cage.

The trembling deep in her belly tightened and spread out in ripples. As the sensations mounted, she dug her fingers into his triceps to anchor herself for the coming tidal wave. He broke the kiss causing a whine of protest to fall from her lips, and when his fingers stopped their magical caresses, her pelvis automatically tried following them to beg for more as they retreated.

“Did that put your concerns about me reconsidering to rest?” She nodded. “Good. Then we’ll continue this later.”

Her fingers automatically contracted when she felt him start to pull away. “Please, Reid. I’m so close,” she whispered. Lucie hadn’t climaxed in so long she wondered if she even remembered what it felt like. She used to take care of things herself, but after months of long hours at the office and falling into bed exhausted at night, she lost the energy to even bother. At the ripe, old age of twenty-nine and a quarter.

“I know, but I won’t give it to you right now. And it has nothing to do with Vanessa in the next room, because believe me, if I wanted to, I’d take you up against that wall and not give a damn if she watched while eating popcorn like one of your movie dates.”

“Then why?” Oh, God, was she actuallywhining?

He held the side of her face as he spoke, his intense eyes doing nothing to help cool her down. “Because when I make you come for the first time, I don’t want you holding back. I want to hear every hitch of your breath.” He placed a kiss at her temple. “Every moan.” Another kiss on her cheek. “And I won’t be satisfied until you scream my name.”

She would have groaned in frustration, but the kiss he gave her swallowed any sound that dared escape. After several heady moments he pulled away and gave her a devilish smile. “If it makes you feel better, there’s a lesson in this.”

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