Tangled Beauty (21 page)

Jesse
followed me up to the register where Felicia was ringing her last customer of the day.

“Hey girl,” said Jesse. “You’re looking fabulous.
Hot date tonight?”

Felicia had recently
cut and bleached her hair super short, which flattered her large brown eyes and high cheekbones. Today, she was also wearing a purple form fitting dress that emphasized her voluptuous body in a most sinful way.

“Football player,” she smiled
, proudly. “Grayson Parker Fields.”

“No way!” gasped Jesse. “
That man is so fine, he even gets me interested in football.”

She laughed, boisterously. “I hear that.”

“You’d better watch out in that dress,” said Jesse. “That ‘Tall Drink of Water’ is going to be throwing some passes, tonight.”

She put a hand on her hip. “Tell you the truth, it’s only our second date but I’m
hopin’ he goes for a touchdown. He’s was in field goal range last week and I had to block his punt, but baby, tonight I’m leaving the defense on the sidelines.”

Jesse and I both laughed, although I had to admit, a
ll of this talk was beginning to make my end-zone a little tingly, which made my thoughts drift back to Reed. Although he was a scoundrel, he sure knew his way around a woman’s field.

“Listen, I’ve got to go,” said Jesse. “You two women have great weekends,” he kissed me on the cheek. “And you, dear friend, try to get out and have some fun.
Quit holing yourself up in that damn apartment. Especially with that grouchy old cat of yours.”

“I’ll
think
about it,” I said.

“See you around, Jesse,” said Felicia, as the door opened and our new owner stepped inside of the salon.

“Hi Thane,” said Jesse, raking over him with his eyes. “Love your shirt.”

It was just a simple black polo shirt with the salon Logo on it, but even I had to admit,
on Thane’s firm, muscular body, it looked anything but simple.

“Hey guys,”
said Thane, flashing a rare smile. “Wow, who’s the lucky man you’re going to knock the sox off of tonight, Felicia?”

She smiled. “I told you about Grayson,” she said. “We have
another
date.”

“That’s right,”
he said, walking past us. “Well, have fun, but remember we open early tomorrow. Don’t be late.”

“How can I forget?” she said, dryly. “I have to cut
‘Old Man Henry’ again in the morning.”

I snorted.
“He’s back?”

“Yeah, you want him?” she asked. “He asked for me but you can have the
perv if you’d like. He leaves big tips.”

“Yeah, and slobber marks.
No way, sorry.”

“
So, are you sure Thane is into women?” asked Jesse, still admiring him from afar.

Even I had to admit he was pretty cute. With his shoulder length blond hair, chiseled face, and golden eyes, he reminded me of a
lion, although, I still preferred the dark panther look of Reed, with his darker hair and icy blue eyes. It was too bad his den wasn’t exclusive to just one woman.

“
Oh, Thane is definitely not gay,” said Felicia. “He’s temper-mental, egotistical, and wears steel-toed mountain boots. Plus, have you seen the way he watches Sera?”

I raised my eyebrows.
“Sera, really?”

Sera
, was our new nail technician. She was soft-spoken, skiddish, and reminded me of a librarian with her constant severely knotted bun and thick glasses. She definitely
had
the potential to be drop-dead gorgeous, though, if she cared enough to go that route.

“Oh, yeah,”
said Felicia. “He definitely has a thing for that girl. Problem is, I don’t think she realizes it. Sera quivers in fear every time he approaches her.”

Maybe it wasn’t fear that made her quiver
, I thought, appreciating his firm buns when he bent down to pick something up off the floor.

“Too bad,” sighed Jesse. “He is
freakin’ hawt.”

“Hey, you’re taken now, anyway,”
I scolded.

Jesse held up his hand. “Girl, do you see a ring on this finger?”

I shook my head. “You’re exasperating.”

“But you still love me,”
he laughed, walking towards the door.

“You know it
. Have a great weekend.”

“
You too,” he hollered, walking out.

***

Reed

“Where to?” asked the driver, as I stepped away from the airport and into the dry cab.

I gave him the address and unbuttoned my tie. It was just after nine-o’clock in the evening and it was raining cats and dogs.
My suite was damp and my stomach growled, but it was nothing compared to the hunger I needed to sate this night.

“First time out
here?” asked the cabbie.

I stared out the window. “No,”
I said, not wanting to make conversation. Fortunately he picked up on that because he didn’t say anything for the rest of the trip. When we finally reached our destination, I gave him a healthy tip and stepped out of the cab, staring up at the worn building. The lime stucco-finished apartment building was old and, had probably seen much better days. Fortunately, the neighborhood wasn’t too bad and the entrance was secured.

At least I
’d thought.

“Did you need to get in?” asked a young woman, holding the door open for me. She was
on her way out but from the appraisal in her eyes, she was thinking about following me back inside.

“Thanks,” I said
, surprised that she’d let a total stranger into the building. “Appreciate it.”

“Certainly,” she answered, her eyes staring into mine with a definite invitation.
“So, you new here?”

“No, I’m just visiting a friend.”

“Ah… is
he
new here?”

I laughed. “No, I think
she’s
been here for a while.”

“Oh,” she pouted. “Well,
if she ever moves on, look me up. I’m in apartment twelve.”

She was
pretty but didn’t hold a flame to the woman I’d been obsessing over the last month. “I’ll keep that in mind,” I said.

Her eyes brushed over me one more time and she shook her head. “Lucky.”

“I hope so,” I answered under my breath as I walked up the steps towards my destination. When I stood outside of her apartment, I raised my hand to knock when the door opened from inside.

“Reed,” she gasped.

“Sinclair,” I said, looking into the eyes that had been haunting my dreams.

Sinclair

While part of me was furious that he’d just showed up at my doorstep without being invited, another part of me was so giddy that I could hardly stand it. Yes, he’d pissed me off and I’d been trying to avoid him, but it didn’t mean that I hadn’t been obsessing about him almost every single day and night, this last month. He was handsome, sexy, and a scoundrel, but I couldn’t help but crave his touch.

“What are you doing here?” I asked, unable to stop staring. I wanted to memorize every inch of his perfectly chiseled face and drink in those icy blue liquid eyes before I kicked him back out to the curb.

His eyes skimmed my short black dress and heels, then his lips lifted into a seductive grin. “To see you and I have to say, I really like what I see.”

I ignored the butterflies in my stomach and folded my arms under my chest.
“To see me? Well, I’m just about to go out.”

His smile fell. “You are?”

“Yes, so you should probably leave. My date will be arriving in a minute.”

My date
was actually a guy I’d dated a couple of times before my last boyfriend- Shawn, one of my mother’s friend’s sons. He was kind of boring and always smelled faintly of peanut butter and cigarettes, but my mom had called me earlier this evening, begging me to go out with him, one last time. He’d just gotten dumped by his girlfriend and was depressed. I’d called him right after and talked him into meeting some of the girls from
Tangled
at a nearby nightclub for a few drinks, but that was all. The thought of him touching me made my skin crawl.

 
“Well, I took a cab,” he said. “Can I come in and make a phone call?”

Raised my eyebrows. “Don’t you have a cell phone?”

“Yes, but the battery died.”

“Oh,” I sighed. “Yeah, sure…come on in.”

I turned away and he followed me into my apartment.

“Nice place,” he said. “Your apartment is quite a surprise compared to the outside of the building. I like it.”

Most of the
money I earned went towards my eclectically-furnished apartment, from my Italian leather furniture and large plasma television to the hand-carved dining set that I’d purchased from the Amish. Recently, I’d also acquired a couple of abstract paintings from a nearby gallery, which reminded me of my trip to Huntington
Beach. I was rather proud of my diverse decor, so his complement put a smile on my face.

“Thanks,” I said, pointing towards the phone.
“I have to finish getting ready.”

Just then my cat, Felix, strutted
out of my bedroom to check out my guest.

“Here kitty,” said Reed, holding out his hand.

Felix stared at him but didn’t move any closer.

“He’s a little moody,” I said. “I’d just leave him alone.”

“Oh, usually cats love me,” said Reed as he took a step closer to Felix.

T
he cat hissed at him.

“
Sorry. He’s old and doesn’t like other men invading his space,” I said.

“
I see that. How long have you had him?”

“For almost fifteen years. My parents gave him to me when I turned nine.”

Felix let out a low growl as Reed tried to pet him.

“I’d just let him go on his
way,” I said. “He’s a grumpy old man.”

“No kidding
.”

“Go back to bed if you’re going to be crabby,” I said to the cat.

Ignoring me, he walked into the kitchen to check on his food dish, which I’d filled before Reed had knocked.

“So, who is the lucky man
?” he asked, sitting down on my sofa.

I grabbed a brush out of
my purse and began running it through my hair. “This guy I dated before my ‘ex.”

“So, he obviously wasn’
t the one then, why would you waste your time with him now?”

“It’s just a date,” I said. “I
’m not looking for anything long-term.”

He watched me brush my hair, his expression unreadable. “
Sinclair, why wouldn’t you return any of my calls?"

 
I stopped brushing. “I’ve been really busy.”

He stood up and walked towards me. “Is that so?”

I took a step back. “Uh, yeah.”

His lip twitched.
“It’s funny but I have this crazy notion that you’ve been avoiding me.”

“Oh?”

“But that wouldn’t make sense, would it?”

I opened my mouth to say something, but then recognized the look in his eyes.

Determination.

He licked his lips. “Because we never finished what we started and I’m pretty sure both of us wanted to.”

I thought about the way his tongue had felt on my inner thighs and my pulse sped up. “Reed…”

He pulled me into his arms and crushed his lips to mine, invoking a small moan
, deep in my throat. Before I knew it, he was forcing his tongue inside, his strokes hot and demanding, creating a hot tingly sensation between my legs.

I moaned again and h
is lips moved to my earlobe. “Tell me to stop.”

“Stop,” I whispered.

Reed grabbed the back of my hair and wound it around his hand. He nipped the tender skin under my ear and then stroked it with his tongue. “You sure?” he asked, pulling me closer to his hips.

The only thing I was sure of was the power he had over my body. Every time he touched me, heat slid sinuously through my veins, there was an ache between my legs, and I couldn’
t breathe properly; the fact that I hadn’t had sex in so long and my panties were drenched, didn’t help matters.

“I can’t stop thinking about you,” he murmured, sliding his h
ands around the curve of my ass. “You haunt my dreams…your eyes, your mouth, your…smell. You smell unbelievable, did you know that?”