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Or was this what he had been hiding all along?

Reid’s eyes flew to me, his pupils dilating. His jaw hardened, knuckles turning white around his beer bottle as if ready to throttle it, or me. A moment later, his normal, chilled expression replaced his frosty one. Then he smirked. “Kidding.”

A beat of silence. Then, everyone in the room began to chatter once more.

Out of the corner of my eye, I watched him. Because something about his simple dismissal didn’t sit right with me. The way he had said it felt like he was speaking the truth. Suddenly, warmth pooled between my thighs, and I barely held back the moan threatening to leave me. What the hell? I was enjoying Seb’s attention, but was not turned on. The feeling grew hotter, and I clenched my thighs together to ease the feeling. But the motion intensified everything. I didn’t know what was going on. It was as if my body had a mind of its own, or… No, surely not. My attention shot back to Reid, where he remained sitting against the far wall opposite me. He chuckled at something Tyler said, his gaze drifting to me momentarily.

Still speaking to Tyler, I overheard his words. “Yeah, it was pretty intense.” He stared directly at me as he said it, and the look in his eye made my breath catch. It held a weight about it that dared me to question the feeling currently melting the most intimate parts of me.

Was he…? I slammed my eyes closed, pushing the thought away. He’d said he was kidding. Surely this wasn’t him doing this to me. But, as the warmth suddenly changed, feeling more like pressure, I couldn’t fight the way my body sank into the couch further, almost succumbing to it. My lips parted, eyes widening again to find him immersed in his conversation once more.

What the actual fuck was going on?

“Hey, are you okay? You don’t look so good.” Seb’s voice crashed into my senses, and I gripped his thigh without thinking.

“Yeah, I just, um.” I couldn’t speak, my mind blurred by the grappling need between my thighs that had morphed from an ache into more.

He slid closer, closing the space between us. “You reconsidering my offer?”

To make me come.

At this rate, I wouldn’t need his help.

I lifted my hand off Seb, feeling the prickle of eyes on me again. Reid arched a brow, taking a long drink from his beer. This time, he didn’t look away. The warmth continued to compound, zoning in on my clit, as if every ounce of blood in my veins had centered there. The look in his eye told me everything I’d questioned was true.

It was him doing this to me. Holy fuck.

I had to get out of here before I lost control and climaxed in the middle of the room, surrounded by everyone.

“Need some fresh air,” I said before lifting from the couch. I beelined for the front door, hoping to slip outside discretely. As I stumbled onto the veranda, the feeling didn’t let up. Veering around the side of the manor, I fell against the wall. The hit of cold timber against my back did nothing to temper the heat radiating into every part of me. I was torn between ‘fuck him for doing this to me,’ and ‘gods, it felt so good.’

I tried to fight it, tried to calm my breathing, but it was no use. When I finally gave in to the sensation, I surrendered to the darkness behind my eyelids, not realizing I had company until warmth hit the side of my neck. I gasped, my eyes flying wide to find Reid in my space. He stared down at me, a hand on either side of my shoulders against the wall, eyes burning.

“Something the matter, Red?”

“Fuck you,” I whined, willing the sensation away. I wanted to come so badly I could scream.

The chuckle that came from him caused a shiver to shake my bones. A chill climbed my spine, my breathing becoming uneven with every second that passed.

His lips moved within inches of my ear, his breath warming my lobe. “You trying to make me jealous, Red?” He lowered his forearms to the wall, effectively caging me in. “I could make you come without even touching you if I wanted. Doubt wolf boy could do that.”

A moan escaped me, and the forest captured it in its fist, throwing it to the wind. I cursed. “Why are you doing this to me?” I gasped, steering my gaze to the side, anywhere to avoid looking at him. “One minute you’re hot, the next cold. I can’t keep up.”

His finger landed on the side of my jaw, nudging me back into his orbit, where chocolate-drizzled irises melted as they hooked my attention. The intensity radiating off him was like nothing I’d felt before. I couldn’t look away. His voice lowered to a husky rasp. “When I saw you with him…” He didn’t finish his sentence. Words, it seemed, were not coming easily. His head dipped momentarily before a newfound determination poured into his heated gaze. “I felt sick to my stomach thinking of him getting his hands on you. Gods, this is so fucked up.”

No shit.

The feeling in my sex subsided to a natural ache, and a sigh of relief left my chest. My hands landed on his arms, fingers wrapping around his biceps. “Then why run? Every. Single. Time?” My chest heaved, every inhale bringing me closer to him.

He cursed, pushing off the wall, and my hands left him. I felt his absence deep inside my chest, a wretched ache I didn’t know I’d been missing until now. He paused, stalling, his hands clasped behind his head.

“Talk to me,” I demanded, sinking my hands into my hips. “I can take it.”

He mirrored my action, but his head dipped to the ground. He squeezed the bridge of his nose, his silence compounding with every second until eventually, finally, he broke. “Because if I don’t run, then you become collateral, Red.”

I screwed up my nose. “Collateral? What the hell are you talking about?”

He finally looked at me again, took a step closer. “I’ve told no one this,” he whispered.