Page 32 of Love From the Ashes

Sofie giggled and headed toward the staircase, stopping to wipe the inside of her thigh with Reid’s tee shirt. She peeked at him over her shoulder, her face blushing when he burst out laughing.

Amused with Sofie’s antics, Reid leaned against the counter and watched her disappear up the stairs. Intrigued, he couldn’t wait to unravel the mysteries surrounding her.

CHAPTER 12

The Forbidden Word

Tired after thehorrible incident at the dance club and hours of physically exhilarating sex with Reid with little sleep, I grabbed my pillow and curled up on my air mattress. Reid had just left, bringing me home a while ago after he’d made us breakfast and changed the dressings on my forehead and arm. I traced my bottom lip with my finger where he’d nibbled it before telling me goodbye. He lit my body on fire, his strength, masculinity, self-assurance, and unexpected tenderness arousing me in a way I’d never felt before. I couldn’t recall ever being this happy and physically satisfied.

Wanting an hour or so of rest before Reid picked me up later for dinner and a show, I relaxed and closed my eyes. Then my cell phone rang. Scrambling across the carpet on my hands and knees, I snatched my purse from the floor and retrieved the noisy device. I looked at the screen. It was Della. “Hello?”

“Where are you?”

“Home.”

“It’s about time. Now you can fill me in on what happened to you last night. Adam and I freaked out when you ran from the dance floor, and when neither you nor Reid came back, we assumed you were together. It would have been nice if you had told me you were okay last night instead of this morning.”

“Sorry, I got sidetracked. A lot of stuff happened.”

“Like what?” Della’s tone sounded suggestive, her words hanging in the air.

“I fell on the sidewalk and scraped up my arm and cut my head. Reid took me home and had his doctor look at me on a video call.”

“Oh, shit. That’s rough and not what I expected you to say. Are you okay?”

“I am. It’ll heal.”

“What happened after that?”

“I stayed at his house and went to sleep.”

“Alone?”

“Yes.”

“All night?”

There was silence on my end. I grasped for a way to answer her that wasn’t a lie and would stop her questions.

“Oh my God, you’re not answering! You slept with Reid Morgan! Okay, okay. You have to tell me. Was he mediocre, good, or blow-your-socks-off excellent in bed?”

“I’m not telling you. That’s personal,” I said, shocked by Della’s bluntness.

“Come on. Tell me something about him. I’m dying here.”

“Dammit, Della. I’ll answer that one question and nothing else. Agreed?”

“Agreed.”

“He was several notches above blow-your-socks-off excellent.”

“Serious? Oh my God. You have to tell me more.”

“Nope, we agreed.” Besides being unwilling to give her the intimate details, I didn’t know how to describe Reid without sounding odd. He was like a valiant, daring, and dashing knight, a man who was dripping in masculinity but happened to be playful and have a hidden tender side, in addition to a player facade that he used to fool everyone. And then there was the intimate side of him. He was so sensual and erotic he could write a bedroom manual that was, as Della put it, blow-your-socks-off excellent. Even to me, my description sounded weird.

“Now you’re killing me,” Della wailed. “How about if you come to my place or Adam’s tonight? We can have something to drink and watch a movie. What do you think?”

“You are so pathetically obvious. No, I’m not going to let you loosen my tongue. Besides, I’m going to dinner and a show with Reid tonight.”

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