One Night of Scandal (13 page)

Darkness instantly enveloped them, but several sliver-thin gaps in the wooden door allowed for shards of light to slice into the cramped space. She glimpsed dust motes dancing over Reed’s head, and wrinkled her nose at the odor of dirt, oil and sawdust. But at least it didn’t smell like rotting fruits and vegetables, so that was a plus.

There was also no lock, but luckily the door did latch, and Darcy knew it would stay latched, because Reed leaned his back against it as he jerked her toward him.

His mouth met hers, and the urgency of his kiss robbed her of breath. His lips devoured hers, his slick tongue entering her mouth in one sensual glide. He cupped her ass and brought her lower body flush to his, rotating his hips so she could feel every tantalizing inch of his arousal. Heart pounding, Darcy rubbed up against him like an attention-starved cat, moaning when his mouth dropped to her neck to kiss her feverish flesh.

Her hands fumbled for the button of her jeans, and she cursed herself for not wearing a skirt. She really, really needed to start wearing more skirts.

And the notion that she was now basing her fashion decisions on how easily she could grant Reed Miller access to her body didn’t even bother her. She wanted him inside her,
now
, and damn her stupid pants for getting in the way.

When Reed released a groan of dismay, she realized that her clothing situation was the least of their concerns. “I don’t have a condom,” he told her.

She groaned too. “Neither do I. We used up the stash in my purse when you came over yesterday after school.” She wasn’t on the pill because it gave her terrible migraines, and no way was she risking having sex without birth control.

But she’d also be damned if they went back outside without at least one of them orgasming first.

“You’re not leaving this shed until you come,” she declared. “Undo your pants so I can suck you off.”

He responded with a smirk. “Undo yours so I can finger you.”

They stared at each other in a sexual standoff, until Reed gave her an innocent look and said, “If I finger you first, I’ll be able to lick your juices off my hand, and trust me, I’ll come so fast if I’m tasting you on my lips when you’re blowing me.”

A strangled moan flew out. Darcy hurriedly unzipped her jeans, and a second later Reed’s warm hand slid inside her panties, his skillful fingers seeking out her clit. He rubbed the sensitive nub with his index finger, steady, circular motions that made her tingle.

She was awed by the look of sheer concentration on his face, the steely determination, as if his entire purpose in life was to make her come.

She was too sexed up, too primed, too excited by the fact that they were doing this in a paper-thin structure in the middle of her favorite farmers market. The muffled voices and carefree laughter coming from behind the door only fueled that excitement, and when Reed pushed two fingers inside her she had to bite her lip to stop from crying out.

“Oh baby, this gets you so hot, doesn’t it? Getting fingered while all those people walk around outside that door, totally oblivious.” His voice was raspy. Mocking. Seductive. “What would they think if they knew what I was doing to you right now? What would they do if they saw you biting your lip like that, if they felt how wet you are? My fingers are soaked, baby.”

With a sinful smile, he curled his hand and stroked her G spot, and Darcy exploded in a hot rush. She cut off her own scream by burying her face in Reed’s chest and using his shirt as a gag. She felt his heart pounding against her cheek and realized he was as excited as she was. That getting her off just now had affected him as much as it had her.

The moment she was coherent enough to function, Darcy dropped to her knees and had his cock out of his pants in record speed. Now it was Reed who was biting his lip to keep from making noise. Reed who was trembling from her touch.

His features stretched tight as she wrapped her lips around the head of his cock and sucked.

“Hell in a hand basket,” he burst out. “I’m gonna come.”

Her muffled laughter echoed in the darkness, and she nearly choked on his cock thanks to the giggles that overtook her.

Darcy had never known true feminine power until this very moment. One teasing suck and she’d utterly destroyed him, turned him into a grunting, shuddering mess as he came inside her mouth. If they were having sex, maybe she wouldn’t have been so pleased with the one-thrust show, but right now, she welcomed the hot pulses that coated her tongue, eagerly drinking in the salty, masculine taste of him. She tightened her suction on his cock so she could suck him dry, swallowing every last drop of his pleasure.

“Christ. Fuck, Darcy. You don’t know how good that feels.”

He groaned softly as he withdrew from her mouth, then hauled her up and kissed her so deeply she swayed on her feet.

When they pulled apart, they were both grinning like idiots.

“That was…fun,” she remarked.

His muffled laughter tickled her forehead. “Uh-huh. Fun.”

She quickly zipped up her pants, then his, because he seemed too dazed to do it himself. But evidently she hadn’t robbed him of
all
his faculties, because when she reached for the door latch, he intercepted her hand with a knowing look.

“I know what you’re doing,” he said mockingly.

She furrowed her brow. “Huh?”

“You’ve been doing it all morning. You’re trying to keep me at a distance. Avoiding important topics, distracting me with sex when the conversation gets too serious for your liking.”

Darcy’s cheeks grew warm as he called her out on it. Reed had never come off as very perceptive, so either she’d been wrong about that, or she was way more transparent than she’d thought.

Either way, she felt like a total ass. “I’m sorry,” she said softly. “You’re right, that’s what I’ve been doing. It’s just…I meant what I said when we started this. I don’t want anything more than a fling.”

“Don’t worry, Darce. It’s still a fling.” The hint of a smile crossed his face. “For now.”

Then he opened the door and strode out of the shed, leaving her staring after him in dismay.

For now
? Crap. What did he mean by that? What the heck was that stubborn man up to?

And why did she get the most unsettling feeling she wasn’t going to like it?

Or…an even scarier thought…that maybe she’d like it
too much
.

Chapter Thirteen

“Did you see that?” Devon was grinning from ear to ear as he turned to check if Reed had witnessed the perfect spiral the kid had just thrown.

Granted, the football hadn’t sailed more than fifteen feet in the air—and landed nowhere close to the target they’d set up—but Reed wasn’t about to point that out. Or complain. Because damn, the kid really
had
mastered the art of the spiral. And after only two tries, no less.

“That was awesome,” he called out. “A few more throws and you’ll be giving Tom Brady a run for his money.”

The eleven-year-old boy bounded across the grassy field toward Reed, sidling up to him as he went to retrieve the football. This was their second official “outing,” after Darcy’s school had gotten in contact with Reed two weeks ago.

Apparently Devon hadn’t stopped raving to his mother about Reed’s defense workshop, so much so that Monique Pearson had asked the school for Reed’s number and called him up out of the blue.

Devon’s mother had revealed she’d recently enrolled her son in the Big Brother program, but that he’d yet to find anyone he really connected with. When she’d asked Reed if he would consider joining the program and being paired up with Devon, he hadn’t had the heart to say no.

And now he was glad he’d agreed. He absolutely adored the kid and found himself looking forward to these Sunday afternoon outings. Their allotted two hours had flown by today, and Devon looked disappointed as they left the football field behind the high school and walked to the parking lot.

“Are you sure you can’t come for dinner?” Devon asked, his bottom lip sticking out.

Reed shook his head regretfully. “Sorry, kiddo, I really can’t. I start work at seven, and I have a few things to take care of before that.”

Devon sighed loudly. “
Fine
.”

He ruffled the kid’s curly hair and smiled. “How about next week? If it’s okay with your mom, maybe I’ll stop by for an early dinner before work.”

The boy’s face lit up. “Yes! I’ll ask her the second we get home!”

Chuckling at the kid’s enthusiasm, Reed unlocked the car and opened the passenger door for Devon. Once they’d both settled in and buckled up, he drove in the direction of Devon’s apartment building in Dorchester.

Ten minutes later, Reed walked the boy up to his fifth floor apartment, greeting Devon’s mother with a smile after she’d opened the door.

“Did you boys have fun?” Monique asked.

As usual, the woman looked incredibly frazzled. Reed had learned that she worked two jobs—full-time hours during the week for the first one, and a weekend graveyard shift for the second, which meant that Devon’s grandmother stayed with them when Monique worked the overnighters. Reed didn’t envy the woman, but he sure as hell respected her work ethic, not to mention her determination to provide a good life for her son.

“Reed is gonna come over for dinner next weekend!” Devon told his mother. “Is that okay?”

An indulgent smile lifted her lips. Reed got the feeling that she rarely said no to her son, not if she could help it.

“Sounds good to me.” Her grateful gaze shifted to Reed. “Thank you. You’ve been wonderful with him.”

His cheeks warmed up from the praise. “My pleasure. He’s a great kid.” Reed ruffled Devon’s hair again. “I’ll see you next Sunday, kiddo.”

There was a spring to his step as he left the building. Man, he truly loved spending time with that kid.

And he also loved spending time with Darcy, which he was also about to do.

It had been two weeks since their illicit visit to the farmers market, and in those two weeks, Reed had steadily been making headway with her. All those pesky rules she’d initially tried to enforce were crumbling away one by one.

No sleepovers? They crashed at each other’s places all the time.

No dinners? They’d gone for Italian just the other night.

No heavy conversation? Last week they’d stayed up all night talking about their families.

Oh yeah, he was definitely wearing her down.

Even though Darcy still insisted it was a fling, he knew damn well that it wasn’t. At least not for him. He loved every second he spent with her, and not just the sex part. He loved sending her those cheesy text messages that he knew made her smile. He loved her silly jokes. Her laughter. Snuggling in bed together after they’d rocked each other’s worlds.

Christ, he liked her so damn much.

No, it was more than like. He was falling for her, and he was helpless to stop it.

He
didn’t
want to stop it.

And he was confident that sooner or later Darcy would admit she was falling for him, too. She
had
to. He was trying so damn hard to show her that she could count on him, but he’d also promised himself not to push her—he wanted her to reach that conclusion all by herself.

Reed had two hours before he needed to head over to Sin, which gave him and Darcy plenty of time to get into all sorts of wicked trouble, but when he knocked on her door twenty minutes later, his anticipation was instantly snuffed out.

“Oh, crap,” she blurted when she saw him. “Didn’t you get my message? I can’t hang out today.”

He furrowed his brow, then reached into his pocket for his phone. When a black screen greeted him, he cursed under his breath. “It’s dead. I guess I forgot to charge it this morning.” Reed studied her flustered expression. “What’s going on?”

Darcy raked a hand through her hair. She’d worn it loose and it fell over one shoulder, the wavy strands hovering over the V neckline of her white T-shirt. Her dark-blue skinny jeans hugged her shapely legs, and when Reed glanced at her feet, her yellow flip-flops and bright red toenails made him smile. She was so fucking pretty his heart squeezed.

“My dad’s in town.” Her flat tone revealed her precise thoughts on the matter.

During one of their many no-longer-forbidden conversations, Darcy had told him all about her father and how he swept into town a few times a year before disappearing again for months. In Reed’s opinion, the man sounded like a total jackass. A selfish jerk who’d run out on his wife and daughter.

But he hadn’t voiced his opinion to Darcy. No matter how unreliable her old man was, he was still her old man.

“Did you know he was coming?” Reed asked.

She shook her head, her jaw tighter than a drum. “Of course not. I
never
know when he’s coming.” A buzzing drew her gaze to the phone in her hand. She looked at the screen, then groaned in annoyance. “God, this is insane. He says he wants to see me, but he keeps changing the plans. We were supposed to have lunch at the harbor, but now he wants to meet at the Starbucks around the corner from here.”

“I guess I’ll head out then.” Reed leaned in to brush a kiss over her lips. He was tempted to turn it into a hot make-out session, but he knew now wasn’t the time.

When he pulled back, he found Darcy eyeing him miserably. “What’s wrong?” he asked.

Her next words startled him. “Do you… Will you come with me?”

Reed tried not to gape at her. She was inviting him to meet her father?

Granted, that hadn’t been one of the items on her
no
list, but that was probably because it hadn’t even occurred to her that it could happen.

“I just think…” She shrugged. “Maybe if I bring someone along it won’t be as awkward as it usually is.”

Or it would be a hundred times
more
awkward, Reed almost pointed out.

When he hesitated, Darcy’s blue eyes grew resigned. “Sorry, forget it. I guess it’s a stupid idea—”

“Sure,” he interrupted. “I’ll come.”

“You will?”

Reed nodded.

The next thing he knew, Darcy threw her arms around him, stood up on her tiptoes, and kissed him. No tongue, but he tasted the overpowering relief on her lips as their mouths met. His heart clenched again, a wave of emotion floating through him. He was entirely touched that she trusted him enough to introduce him to her dad, to expose him to what he knew was a painful relationship in her life.

Reed stroked her cheek with his thumb, then smiled. “When do we have to go?”

“Now,” she said glumly.

His index finger teased her bottom lip. “Aw, quit being a brat. I’m sure it won’t be as bad as you think.”

“Yeah, maybe you’re right.”

But Reed was wrong.

It ended up being even
worse
.

The moment they strode into the coffee shop, he felt like a tornado had swept through the room. Stuart Grant’s presence was
that
ferocious.

“Darcy! Honey!” A tall, burly man with dirty-blond hair and sparkling blue eyes flew out of his chair at a table in the back and dashed across the room to pull Darcy into a huge bear hug.

“Hey, Dad.” She laughed as he lifted her off her feet, then leaned in to give him a quick kiss on the cheek. Her father had the leathery skin of a man who spent a lot of time in the sun, though Reed wasn’t sure how that was possible considering Stuart sat in the cab of a truck ten hours a day.

“This is my friend Reed,” she introduced.

Friend?

Oh
hell
no.

Before Reed could correct her, Stuart distracted him with a dazzling smile that could have lit up Times Square. The laugh lines around the older man’s mouth told Reed that smiles were readily available when it came to Darcy’s dad, but Reed couldn’t help but feel there was something very superficial about that gleaming, white-toothed grin.

“So nice to meet you!” Stuart heartily pumped Reed’s hand before clapping him on the shoulder.

He was taken aback by the overwhelming enthusiasm. “Uh, nice to meet you too.”

Darcy gestured to the counter. “Why don’t we order some coffees and then—”

“Oh, I can’t stay,” her father interrupted.

She blinked. “What?”

“I need to get back on the road. I thought I’d have more time, but the shipment’s delivery date was pushed up. I just wanted to see my best girl and give her a hug before I took off.”

Reed swallowed his disbelief. Was this a fucking joke? What kind of father couldn’t spare even five minutes for his only kid?

What kind of father couldn’t sit down and have one measly coffee with the daughter he hadn’t seen in six months?

“Are you doing okay for money?” Stuart asked cheerfully, oblivious to the fact that Darcy was gawking at him as if he’d grown horns.

She blinked again, rapidly, as if trying to make sense of the nonsensical situation. “I, ah, I’m fine. I—“

“Here, take this just in case.” In a blur of motion, her father whipped out his wallet and extracted several hundred-dollar bills, then tucked them in Darcy’s limp hand.

She kept shaking her head, mumbled something incoherent, but her smiling, ignorant father just wrapped his arms around her in another big hug.

“I promise I’ll have more time to spend with you on my next visit.” Stuart grasped her chin, then smacked a loud kiss on her cheek. “You look beautiful. Teaching must agree with you.”

“I…” Darcy blinked at least twenty more times.

“Okay, honey, time to head out.” He aimed a brilliant smile at her, clapped Reed’s shoulder again, and then he was gone, dashing out of the coffee house in another tornado of energy.

Reed stared at the door, unable to fathom what had just happened. He was tempted to run after him and beat him senseless for his sheer insensitivity, his utter obliviousness, but the soft noise that tore out of Darcy’s throat rendered that course of action impossible.

When he shifted his head and saw her expression, his heart cracked in two. Tears clung to her thick eyelashes, her face was paler than the white wall behind her, and her hand had curled into a fist, crumpling the bills her father had shoved into it.

Since they were standing in the middle of Starbucks, nearly all the patrons were watching them curiously, and Reed’s protective instincts swiftly kicked in. Not wanting a bunch of strangers to witness Darcy’s tears, he wasted no time taking her hand and leading her out of the coffee shop.

The moment they stepped onto the sidewalk, Darcy’s face collapsed and the tears streamed out.

“Oh, baby, c’mere.” He pulled her into his arms and held her tight, stroking her hair as she shook against him.

Several pedestrians shot them curious looks, but Reed was too focused on Darcy to care. He ran his fingers through her hair in a soothing motion, wishing like hell that Stuart Grant were there so he could kick that bastard’s ass.

“I don’t know why I’m even surprised,” she mumbled between sobs. “I don’t know why I’m upset.”

“Because he’s your father, and he let you down,” Reed said roughly.

She wrenched out of his embrace, anger burning in her eyes. “Ten fucking minutes. He couldn’t spare
ten fucking minutes
for me?” Her incensed gaze dropped to the money she was still holding. “What kind of man does this?”

Pain and sympathy squeezed Reed’s chest. “I’m so sorry, Darce. You deserve so much better than that.”

“I do!” she burst out. “I
do
deserve better!” She furiously swiped at her cheeks with the sleeve of her thin cardigan. “I am
not
going to cry over that jerk. He doesn’t
deserve
my tears.”

When her arm came down and he saw her face, Reed’s lips twitched.

“What?” she demanded. “Why are you smiling?”

He swallowed a chuckle. “Because…” The laugh slipped out. “You must’ve brushed up against some grease or something when we were walking over, because your face is covered with it.”

Her cheeks turned bright red. “It is?”

He nodded.

“Is it bad?”

He nodded again.

“Crap.”

Fighting to keep from laughing again, Reed licked the pads of two fingers and brought them to the black marks streaking across her face. As he quickly wiped them away, he noticed Darcy staring at him in awe.

“What?” he said thickly.

“You’re a really good guy, Reed.” Her voice wobbled. “Like, a
really
good guy.”

He couldn’t fight the rush of pleasure that flooded his chest. He’d been waiting for weeks to see that shift of emotion in her eyes, for her to realize that he was more than a good lay.