Page 27 of Seducing Cinderella

Gently, he caressed her soft skin, drawing a path down the dip of her spine, trailing the rough pad of his thumb across her waistline. Then, just when she’d completely relaxed into his touch, he upped the ante.

His hand dipped low, tucking his middle finger between her thighs before dragging it back along the seam of her jeans between her cheeks. This was no accidental touch, and it sure as hell wasn’t friendly affection. It was meant to fan her desire and give her something to anticipate.

Without missing a beat, he participated in the conversation as Vanessa returned and Eric now left. Lucie was trying her damnedest to look engrossed in the dart game, but he’d bet she couldn’t even say who was shooting right now. Every part of her, mind and body, was focused on where he touched her and where she ached for him the most. And knowing that was one of the biggest turn-ons he’d ever felt.

Hooking his thumb into the back of her waistband, he slid the side of his forefinger back down the center of her ass. When his finger was tucked back into the apex of her legs, Reid moved it back and forth to cause friction over her folds and send blood rushing to her sex, plumping her lips and preparing them for his bare touch later.

Lucie turned her head to peer at him over her shoulder, pupils blown and mouth parted. “Reid,” she gasped.

He spoke into her ear. “You have no idea how fucking hard I am right now, knowing I made you wet in the middle of a crowded bar with no one the wiser.”

She bit her lower lip and below the bar, her hand that rested on his knee now clenched, digging her short nails into the stiff denim, making him grin in satisfaction.

Speaking of stiff. It was a damn good thing his untucked button-down would hide the affect she had on him when he eventually got off this stool because no amount of reciting sports stats was going to help at this point. Holding her hips, he discreetly pulled her back the last few inches so she could feel his erection straining against his fly. A shiver went through her body when they made contact, and it sure as hell wasn’t because it was cold in the stuffy bar. Fuck, he loved how she reacted to him. The thrill it gave him was more addicting than the adrenaline rush from a win in the octagon.

“Come on, Eric, you can do this!” Vanessa shouted. “Just one more to go. All you need is a triple eighteen and we’re in the playoffs, baby!”

Reid bent his head to talk to her again. “Do you usually stay and celebrate after the games are over?” She nodded. “Tonight, I want you to tell them you’re tired, sick, getting abducted by aliens, whatever you want. You’re coming back with me. I have plans for you that involve being very, very naked.”

She turned in his arms and leaned in to answer. “Vanessa will know something’s up if I don’t get a ride back with her, and she won’t let this whole thing go with us enough as it is. But I can convince her that I’m not up for staying out long.”

He inclined his head and stood. “I’ll be waiting for you. Don’t be long, Lucie. I find I’m not a very patient man at the moment.”

Reid said his good-byes, gave Lucie one last meaningful look, and strode out of the bar into the heavy night air. He’d give her thirty minutes. Tops.

Chapter Eleven

Lucie facedthe door of her apartment, studying every nuance of the tarnished brass 3C and the peephole below it. She’d been stalling like a virgin on prom night for going on five minutes now.

She didn’t know why she was so nervous in the first place. She certainly had no nerves when Reid was touching her. Not even in public, apparently. No, then it was pure fire, unbridled desire like she’d never known. So, all she had to do was make it into Reid’s arms, and she’d be fine. Piece of cake.

Pep talk over, she used her key and let herself inside. The small lamp with a burgundy shade on the console table cast warmth and sensuality into the small living area to the right. He must have synced his iPhone to her Bluetooth speaker; a slow and sultry song filled the air like the background music to a sex scene from a movie. The kind where the heroine saunters into the room, her hips swinging as she approaches the hero with confidence and lust-filled eyes. Definitelynotthe kind where the woman felt like her heart was about to beat right out of her chest and she was on the verge of hyperventilating from nerves, which was the scene currently playing out.

Get a grip. It’s just Reid and it’s just sex. Sex. With Reid. Oh, God.

Okay, so that pep talk was worth shit. Maybe she could sneak off to the bathroom and claim food poisoning.

“In here, Lu. Stop overthinking and get your cute ass in here.”

Her spine stiffened. She didn’t like that he knew she was second guessing things. Even worse, she hated that she was second guessing to begin with. This is the exact reason she couldn’t get men—especially one in particular—to notice her. This was her chance to learn how to be confident and bold, and Reid was the best person to help her with that. Bonus: she got to fulfill her teenage fantasy and feed her starved libido while she was at it. It’s a win-win-win.

Sliding her feet from her sandals, Lucie padded farther into the room, looking for Reid. His voice, even lower than normal, came from the direction of the living room, but she didn’t see him anywhere. Her stomach tightened into that knot, which was probably suffocating the things fluttering around in there. Screw butterflies. Those had to be hummingbirds. On speed.

Rounding the couch, she found Reid sitting on the floor in nothing but a pair of white athletic shorts, one leg stretched in front of him and the other bent with his forearm resting on his knee. He’d laid out the big floor pillows usually stacked in the corner and then complemented them with the decorative pillows from the couch and each of the beds. It looked like the floor of a sheikh with terrible taste in interior design, and yet, it was also the sexiest setup ever.

In one fluid motion he stood and held out his hand. Lucie swallowed hard and wiped her hands on her thighs in case they were grotesquely sweaty, and then placed her fingers in his. He pulled her into the center with him but didn’t pull her into his arms. There couldn’t have been more than two inches between them, but it felt like the Grand Canyon.

She tilted her head up to meet his stare, and he angled his down to meet hers. It was then she realized he might be waiting for her to make the first move like in the workout room.Okay, no problem. All you need to do is start things.She closed her eyes and tipped her face even more, waiting for the moment her lips would meet his, anticipation coursing through her veins like a drug…

But nothing happened.

Opening her eyes, she realized Reid was oddly still, to the point she wondered if time had somehow frozen. Then his nostrils flared the slightest bit as his jaw muscles jumped. God, that was sexy. Why was that so sexy? She wondered what it meant when he did that. Jackson always did it when he was aggravated. Oh, God, was he aggravated?

“Reid?”

He said nothing at first, but lightly tapped the length of his finger over her lips once, as if to say he didn’t want her to speak, then took it away. She had no idea what he was doing, but the silent command in his hazel eyes scrambled her brain until she didn’t care to think about it anymore. All she wanted to do was whatever got him to touch her again, so she waited.

Reid walked around to stand behind her, again so close without actually bringing their bodies into contact. She felt his breaths on the side of her face as he leaned in. And when he trailed a single finger down her arm, an electric current burned in its wake, lighting her up and making her ache with need.

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