“Oh, hey,” she said, shifting her gaze between the two of them, looking as unsure of herself as he’d ever seen her. “I was just telling Jace that Roslyn found your wallet on the floor in the office. She, uh, knew where you were and asked if I would drop it by on my way home. She didn’t want you driving home without your license.”
He automatically grabbed for his back pocket—of course, nothing was in there. “Damn, how did I lose that?”
She shrugged, and then stuck out her hand, giving him the wallet.
“Thanks.” His fingers brushed hers as he took it from her, and his dick—which hadn’t twitched all night despite the upcoming threesome—instantly stirred to life.
God, what was it about this girl? Seeing her there, feeling the heat her presence alone fired within him, slapped him with hard reality. He was so screwed. He could fuck his way through sorority row and then hit every whorehouse on the way home afterward, but it wouldn’t matter. Nothing was going to slake the dark desire Brynn inspired.
The realization burned an aching hole in his chest. Maybe he’d never be able to trust himself around her.
She pushed her hair behind her ears. “So, yeah, I guess I’ll get going. Y’all enjoy your boys’ night.”
“You can stay and have a beer if you want,” Jace offered. “The Rangers game is on.”
He whipped his head in Jace’s direction. Had the idiot lost his goddamned mind?
Brynn snuck a tentative peek at Reid. His horror must’ve been obvious on his face because she quickly waved a dismissive hand. “No, I’m not going to interrupt. Far be it from me to interfere on dude time.”
Headlights flashed through the darkened street, and she glanced back as another car pulled into the driveway.
Reid’s heart leapt into his throat. Oh, shit.
“Right,” he said, stepping forward, his words tumbling out. “You’re probably not a baseball fan anyway. And the game’s a blowout so far. Why don’t I walk you to your car?”
Her brow furrowed as he took her elbow. “Yeah, okay.”
But as they turned to head down the sidewalk, Leah exited her car and sashayed into their path, looking like a teenage boy’s wet dream. Shorts hugging her ass, legs up to her ears, and non-God-given tits spilling out her top. Definitely not a baseball-watching outfit. Definitely not a dude. Facts not lost on Brynn.
She stiffened in his grasp and halted her step.
Goddammit. And goddamn his aunt for sending Brynn here. Even without trying, Ros had managed to meddle like she had some sixth sense on how exactly to fuck with his life.
Leah’s glossed lips pulled into a seductive smile as she approached. “Jace didn’t tell me we were bringing in a fourth, but…” She gave Brynn an up-and-down perusal. “I guess I’m open to new things.”
Reid closed his eyes, wishing the sidewalk would crack open and swallow him up. Fan-fucking-tastic.
Brynn’s fingers curled into fists, her nails digging into her palms, but she forced herself to choke down the rest of her reaction. She would not give Reid the satisfaction.
She eased her elbow from his grip and gave the supermodel-like girl a polite smile. “Thanks, but I was just leaving. I think I may be exactly one too many. Have a good night.”
Brynn hiked her purse strap further up her shoulder and traipsed past the woman.
“Brynn, wait—”
But she pretended she didn’t hear Reid and kept walking, her steps picking up speed. She just needed to get in her car, lock all of this out before she embarrassed herself. She had no claim on Reid. Had no right to feel so possessive. No logical reason to want to yank that bitch down by her ponytail and scratch her eyes out.
Two steps more.
A hand clamped over her forearm and spun her around. “I said wait, goddammit.”
“No, Reid,” she said, her voice losing its calm edge. “Let me go. I want to go home.”
“Look, just let me explain.”
She snorted and glanced back toward the house. Jace and Barbie had gone inside and shut the door. “I think I can figure it out. I don’t need a diagram. Thanks.”
“No, it’s not like that.” But the guilty shift of his eyes said otherwise.
She sighed. “Reid, it’s fine, okay? It’s none of my business. But I think it’s a good idea if we just end whatever has been going on with us right now.”
“Brynn—”
“No, seriously. It’s not like I was expecting exclusivity or whatever, but I think I’ll have a hard time scraping the image of the three of you from my brain.” A flash of the beautiful girl wrapped around Reid’s naked body went through her mind, making her want to heave.
He latched his other hand on her opposite arm, squaring her to face him, his blue eyes fierce. “But I don’t want her, I want you.”
She jerked her arms from his grip, no longer able to keep the lid on her boiling anger. “Oh, right. Because cancelling a date with me to go tag-team fuck some other girl is exactly the way to show me you care. You should write goddamned Hallmark cards.”
He ran a hand over his face, his expression stricken. “No, it’s just… complicated.”
She smirked. “No, I think it’s pretty simple. Now you know why I didn’t want you to come inside my house. My life is ugly. I wouldn’t want to get involved with me either. Good-bye, Reid.”
She turned her back to him and stuck her key in her car door.
“Screw it. You want to talk about secrets?” he asked, his volume rising. “Let’s do that, then.”
She turned the lock and reached for the door handle.
“You know why that girl is here? Because I’m screwed up, Brynn. When I look at you, I don’t just want to play nice and date you. I don’t just want to fuck you. I want to own you. Tie you to my bed and do whatever the hell I want to you. Use you.”
Every muscle in her body stilled and some foreign emotion stirred low and deep in her belly. She couldn’t turn around; she just stared back at her own wide-eyed reflection in her car window.
“And it scares the hell out of me because I can’t keep that desire in control when I’m with you. I don’t trust myself not to hurt you, to take it too far.”
The sad current of his words made her chest ache. She swallowed past the dryness in her throat, hoping her voice would still function. “I don’t understand. Why that girl?”
He sighed, and she could picture his chest heaving with the weight of what he had revealed. “I asked Jace to help me find a way to get rid of this insane need so that I could be with you. Have a normal relationship. That’s what tonight was about. Brynn, I’m so sorry. I just—I didn’t know what else to do.”
She should get in her car and go. Not look back. Her mother had always told her that when people told you who they were, you should believe them. If Reid thought he was dangerous, maybe he was. But the anguish in his voice tugged at her. This man wasn’t violent—every ounce of her God-given instincts told her that.
She took a deep breath, turned around, and met his stormy eyes. “What if I tried to help you?”
“What?” The shame on his face turned to confusion. “What do you mean?”
“You said tonight was about getting this out of your system. Maybe you’re right, maybe that