Baiting the Maid of Honor (17 page)

“You can’t save the world right now. It’s almost morning—” Reed broke off as a possible reason

for her abrupt attitude change occurred to him. Almost morning. She’d grown upset after noting the

time. Unusually upset. The only other instance he could remember her losing her composure this way

was that night in the forest. When they’d been talking about… “Is today the day? Serena…?”

“Yes,” she snapped. “Yes, and as usual, I was off in my own world. Not sparing her a thought.”

“That’s ridiculous.” He sat forward, plucked the pen from her hand. “You deserve to sleep. You

can resume your candidacy for sainthood at a decent hour.”

“Give it back.”

Her cell phone buzzed in her hand. “Don’t answer that.”

Defiantly, she raised it to her ear. “Kady?”

Reed rolled his eyes when she slipped out of bed. Phone wedged between her ear and her shoulder,

she pulled a thong out of her suitcase and slipped it on, the white material nestling perfectly at the

center of her ass. Just like that, his cock grew hard. The idea of ripping off her lily-white thong and

dragging her underneath him was almost too tempting to deny. He’d banish the memory of her twenty

phone calls or her misplaced sense of responsibility to return them. If he didn’t see the grief written

all over her face, he wouldn’t be hesitating.

“When was the last time someone saw Christine? Wait, Tyler is missing, too? Were they together?”

Reed raised an eyebrow at her, but she held up a finger for silence. He watched as her gaze tracked

down his chest to the erection lying across his belly. Her breath caught, nipples hardening. She

seemed to remember her state of undress then, and hurriedly donned a bra and T-shirt. He felt a flash

of satisfaction that her voice sounded raw when next she spoke. “Of course I’ll help find them. Yes,

of course I understand. We can’t leave them missing. I’ll take the trails…”

“Like hell,” Reed mouthed from the bed.

“Call me if they show up. We’ll all meet in the lobby after they’re safe.” Julie selected a pair of

pants from her chest of drawers and wiggled them up over her hips, setting his teeth on edge. The

longer it took her to get dressed, the more he became convinced she was teasing him on purpose.

“Relax, sweetie. I’m sure they didn’t get eaten by a bear. Christine is smart, you know that. If

anything, she’d just interview him into early hibernation.”

Reed swung his legs over the side of the bed and pulled on his jeans. He added his black T-shirt

just as Julie hung up with Kady. “I gather Christine and Tyler are missing?”

She sat down to lace up her sneakers. “No one has seen them since the scavenger hunt.”

“Did anyone stop to consider they
want
to be missing?”

Julie scoffed. “Tyler wouldn’t…not with Christine. He’s all protective of her, like…oh.”

“Right.” He finished tying his boots and stood. “So we bust in like some kind of vigilante cock

blocks and ruin their night. Sounds like a stellar plan.”

Her eyes narrowed dangerously. “I know I sound like a broken record, but once again, no one is

forcing you to come.”

“Do you actually expect me to let you go bumbling around on a dark mountain by yourself?”

“
Bumbling?
”

“After you.” Reed merely yanked open the door and gestured for her to proceed before him into the

hallway. He knew his attitude bordered on shitty, but he couldn’t summon the ability to care. He’d

been seconds from exposing his feelings,
himself
, to Julie and once again she was worrying about

everyone but herself. Apparently, he was the only one worried about
her
.

Chapter Fourteen

Julie trudged up the path, flashlight clenched tightly in her hand. She hadn’t said a word to Reed since

leaving her room and until now, he’d wisely stayed silent. As they ventured farther from the well-lit

section of the resort, however, he’d moved closer. Began grunting, steadying her with a hand on her

elbow whenever she made a misstep. Frustration radiated from every line of his body, mirroring her

own, she was certain. Not only was her frustration intensified by his refusal to understand the need to

find her missing best friend, Julie had to admit that some of her irritation was of a sexual nature.

Seeing Reed sprawled out in her bed, taking up the majority of it with his painfully masculine body,

fully aroused…it had taken every ounce of her willpower not to climb on top of him and take him

inside of her. Forget everything and everyone a while longer and simply, but powerfully, fulfill their

needs. Needs that were apparently endless and growing in strength by the moment.

Just feeling his concentrated gaze following her from his reclined position on the bed, she’d been

subconsciously putting on a show for him. Bending forward more than necessary to find clothing in

her suitcase, remaining topless longer than needed. Shameless behavior that she hadn’t even been

aware of at the time. She’d practically begged for him to drag her back to bed. And
damn
him, he

hadn’t. It was childish and unlike her in so many ways. Until recently. When he’d awoken some

insatiable part of her that demanded satisfaction.

She didn’t understand what was taking place inside her. Just the knowledge that Reed walked

behind her, had his eyes trained on her, made Julie’s body feel heated, ready, anxious. It wouldn’t

leave her. No matter how hard she tried to focus on the problem at hand. If it were purely physical,

Julie felt confident she could control it. So close on the heels of having him open up to her, granting

her a peek into his past, his abrasive attitude hurt twice as much. It made her want to end the fling

now to save herself heartache later. His lack of understanding over her need to help when people

needed her had only driven home the fact that they would never work.

It also made her want to cling tight and beg him not to let her go. To yell and rail and shake him

until he decided to keep her. What sense did that make? Dread rose in her chest, mingling with self-

disgust. She was being
that
girl. The fix-him girl, the
maybe-he-just-hasn’t-found-the-right-woman

girl. Stupid. He didn’t want to be fixed. He didn’t want
one
girl. He’d never pretended otherwise and

she’d proceeded accordingly, going into this with zero expectations. When had that changed? When

had the prospect of parting ways started to inspire restless anxiety?

Lost in her turbulent thoughts, Julie’s sneaker slipped off the edge of the path and she stumbled.

Reed grasped her biceps and hauled her up against his chest before she could fall.

“Slow down and watch where you’re going. You’re going to break your goddamn ankle.”

“Let go of me.” With the heels of her hands, Julie pushed at his unyielding chest, but even she

acknowledged her halfhearted attempt to get away. As if magnetized, her lower body pressed

intimately against his, writhing closer under the pretense of freeing herself. Reed’s eyes narrowed

suspiciously in the near-darkness. He wrenched the flashlight out of her hands and dropped it on the

path.

“I can’t tell if you’re struggling because you want me to let you go, or if you want to be

overpowered. Explain yourself, Julie.”

Her panting breaths were her only answer. She curled a leg around his waist and gave another hard

push against his solid wall of muscle. Contradicting herself once more. Between her thighs, she felt

Reed harden in reaction to whatever he perceived on her face. He made a desperate sound. “Answer

me. Let you go? Or drag you down to the ground and fuck you on your hands and knees? I need an

answer now.”

Her pulse raced. She could hear it roaring in her ears. Using his shoulders for support, she hitched

herself higher and wrapped both legs around his waist. “Fuck me.”

“
Thank Christ
.” Reed’s hands gripped her bottom tight. His mouth devoured hers with a groan as

he leaned back and let her feel the full force of his need. They kissed frantically, Julie digging her

fingers into his hair, meeting his potent kiss head-on. He twisted her hair in his fist and pulled her

head back. His mouth raced over her neck, biting and sucking as she moaned.

The rough treatment, while exactly what she needed, craved…it jostled something inside of her.

Shook it loose. Her uncertainty. The inevitability of losing him. Losing
this
.

She buried her face in his neck, heard herself sob once, loudly. “I don’t know who I am with you. I

don’t understand who I turn into.”

Reed stilled. She knew from his unsteady breaths the effort it cost him to stop, so her arms tightened

around him automatically in a comforting gesture. When he flinched at the action, horrible, jagged

pain sliced through her chest. After everything, the way they’d opened up to each other, it felt almost

like a betrayal. Out of self-preservation, she scrambled out of his arms.

He tried to tighten his hold, but it was too late. His irritated curse echoed through the woods. “You

want to know who you are with me? Maybe you’re finally being
yourself.
You stop worrying about

pleasing everyone else and finally focus on pleasing Julie.” He swiped an impatient hand through his

hair. “Maybe you stop trying to be your sister for a goddamn minute.”

The words had barely left his mouth before Julie started backing away, gulping air into her lungs. It

felt as though she’d been hit in the stomach with a two-by-four. She backed away, holding up a hand

when he came toward her. “H-how dare…you? Who do you think you are?”

“I didn’t mean it to come out like that.”

“But you meant it,” she sputtered. “About me trying to be Serena.”

His next words were low and punctuated. “This people-pleasing bullshit…it’s going to take a toll

on you, Julie. It’ll never be enough. You can’t live up to a memory. No one can.”

Her insides shook at his words. She refused to recognize the possible truth behind them. A truth that

had never occurred to her. It hurt to think about it, so she struck back the only way she could to keep

the thoughts at bay. “You don’t get to diagnose
me
. Not when you’re such a mess yourself. You flinch

when I hug you. You hide in your dark corner, scaring everyone off who might actually talk to you.”

“You’re right.” He shrugged stiffly. “I’m fucked up. At least I admit it.”

“And that makes it okay?” Needing to occupy her hands, she snatched the flashlight off the ground.

“I’d rather make people happy. I’d rather people feel comfortable coming to me for help than alienate

everyone. Keeping everyone at arm’s length because I’m terrified to be happy.”

He crossed his arms over his chest. “I guess that’s where we differ.”

“Oh, I can think of at least a thousand ways we differ.” She felt the pressing need to lash out at him.

To make him hurt as badly as she did in that moment. Not only had he taken the trust she’d shown him

and used it to expose her as a fraud, but now he couldn’t be acting more coldhearted if he tried. Right

when she needed him most, she could see him turning to stone in front of her eyes, and she wanted to

watch that wall crumble to the ground. “Looks like I really did walk into the wrong room that first

night, huh?”

His whole body jerked. “
Take it back
.”

“Don’t hold your breath.”

Voices approached, shattering the strained silence. Loud, arguing voices. One of which Julie

immediately recognized as Christine. Relief and disappointment warred within her. Relief that her

friend was safe and unharmed. Disappointment that this scene between them still felt unfinished. What

would he have said next? What would he have done to convince her to take the statement back?

Ridiculous, pointless thoughts that wouldn’t matter now that he’d painted the forest with her

insecurities. Told her how he really saw her. This bitter, unsatisfying ending had been inevitable.

She’d just had a ton of bricks dropped on her head, having Serena’s ghost thrown in her face on today

of all days. Perhaps it was best if they left the ending unspoken. She simply couldn’t suffer one more

blow.

Julie turned in the direction of the voices and started walking. “I’m done talking about this.”

He laughed darkly. “We’re not done until you take back what you said.”

She scoffed. “I think your ego is large enough to survive one tiny blow.” Hearing him closing in on

her, she picked up her pace. “This has been a god-awful waste of time.”

“Walked into the wrong room, Julie?” His arm snaked around her belly, stopping her in her tracks.

When he pulled her back against his wall of strength, she felt herself begin to melt, but somehow kept

her posture rigid. He only held her tighter, molding himself to her back. His breath fanned over her

neck as he spoke. “How fast do you think I can prove you wrong?”

“Let me go,” she said through clenched teeth, struggling with enough effort that he had no choice but