Always Amy Read online

  Truth be told, it was a little bit of a turn on that Reid didn’t want me working at that bar. My ex was the one that pushed me into one bartending job, then the next when we moved out to New York. He cared more about the money than me. He didn’t seem too bothered by what I had to do to get it, just that we could afford to fund his extravagant tastes.

  “Ready for your first day on the job?” Reid’s smile from the driver’s side of the truck is contagious, but dangerous. It keeps drawing my eyes to his lips. Such kissable lips. I want to taste them. Tug on that bottom lip with my teeth.

  “I’ve never worked an office job before,” I say, trying to keep my thoughts professional. “I hope you know what you’re getting yourself into.” The silver lining is that I might be able to sneak in some writing if it’s slow. That would never happen in a bar.

  “There’s not much to it.” He opens my door for me and helps me out of his lifted truck. I could do it myself. But it gives me an excuse to let Reid put his hands on me without breaking my rule. I turn too soon, and his hand slips along the side of my boob. I gasp from the contact. It’s been a long time since someone other than myself touched me.

  “Sorry about that.” The way his eyes are slightly hooded and lips are cocked up on one corner tells me he’s definitely not sorry.

  “Don’t be.”

  I’m caged in with his arms leaning on the frame and the door. His chest rises and falls, mesmerizing me. I want to trace the hardened lines of his pecs with my fingers. Before I realize what I’m doing, my hand is flat against his chest, my fingers curled around the hard muscle.

  His mouth crashes against mine. I fist his shirt. His hand is in my hair. Our bodies press up against each other, my back against the seat. Only the door protects us from anyone who might be inside watching. Our tongues collide when I open my mouth and invite him in. I need air, but right now I’d rather pass out.

  Reid pulls back first, but we’re both panting. That kiss… it was electrifying. “Sorry about that, too.” He practically runs to the door before the ability to use my legs for walking returns. Never has a single kiss disoriented me in quite this way.

  I fumble my wobbly legs to the door. Jason certainly never kissed me like that. With such hunger.

  “There’s not much to it really.” Reid waves a hand around his cramped office, but he won’t meet my eyes. I think we’re both afraid if we make eye contact, we’ll end up with pants around our ankles, my bare ass on the only desk. Though it’s tempting, I can hear guys in the warehouse area attached to the office.

  “What is it you need to me to do again?” I ask. Because for the life of me, I can’t remember why I’m here.

  “Answer the phone when someone calls and take messages. Enter some invoices. Things like that.” He spends a little time showing me the software on the computer and how to schedule appointments and order inventory. It’s more intimidating than I want to admit, so I keep my lips sealed. Free rent, I remind myself.

  “If you have any questions, just call me.”

  “Where are you going?” On the drive I’d been eager to be rid of him so I could work on my book. But now that he’s leaving, I don’t want him to go.

  “To my first appointment.”

  “You actually—”

  “There’s just me and two others.” He moves to the door and finally looks at me. His hand is on the knob. “I don’t make any money if I don’t go out and do the work.” He leaves me with a wink that ignites my panties. I suddenly have the urge to turn my murder mystery into a romantic suspense novel.

  REID

  “Do you have Wi-Fi?” Amy stands on my back step, peering through the door. I towel-dry my hands, abandoning the dishes in my sink. I’ve been avoiding her most of the day, afraid of what I would do. My rule is cracking right in half, and I’m not sure I can stop it anymore.

  “Yes.” My eyes sweep over her entire body, starting with those sparkling emerald eyes. I pause at her chest because even in her casual outfit, she’s still wearing a low-cut tank top that makes me want to free those amazing tits from their prison. I spot the laptop she holds against her curvy hip near the waistband of those tight yoga pants. Finally, my gaze drops to her red painted toes showcased in a pair of flip-flops.

  A shiver pulses through me, but not the bad kind. The dangerous kind. The potent kiss we shared earlier this morning replays in mind. “It doesn’t reach out to the apartment, though.”

  “Can I borrow yours for a while?”

  Letting her inside my house is the worst idea. I don’t know how long I’ll be able to keep my hands to myself. It’s not even a matter of if anymore. “Sure, c’mon in.”

  “Mind if I set up here?” She nods toward the island.

  I should tell her to find a spot in the living room where she’ll be out of sight and out of temptation range. But who am I kidding? Her perfume fills the room, and it’ll linger long after she leaves. There’s no amount of distance that’ll keep either one of us safe from each other. “Go for it. I’m just finishing up the dishes.”

  She settles onto a stool. That curvy ass wiggles in the cushion until she’s comfortable. I’d like it to wiggle against something else.

  “You like to cook?” she asks.

  I return to the sink, my back to her, mostly to hide my growing erection. “Used to.” Honestly, until she moved in that apartment, I hadn’t cooked much at all in two years or more. I’ve been living on frozen pizzas and things I can grill.

  “When someone else lived here?”

  I clench the rag in my hand, hovering it over the sink. Water spills out of it like a waterfall. She’s smart. Perceptive. It’s damn sexy. But my ex isn’t my favorite topic of conversation. “It’s in the past. Doesn’t matter anymore.”

  “She must’ve done a number on you.” She types something into her computer, then waits. I’m not about to encourage this conversation I don’t want to have. “Mine did too.”

  I perk up at that. It’s the first clue about her arrival she’s given me. It also stirs something in the pit of my stomach. Any man who’d dare hurt this woman… I’d like to break his jaw. He would have to be an idiot to let Amy go.

  “New York,” she says.

  “What’s that?”

  “I came from New York. Didn’t grow up there. Grew up here, actually.” Her ramble is adorable, and it helps me breathe a little easier. The tension in the air is dissipating. “I moved to New York with him three years ago. Back then, it sounded like a dream. I know better now.”

  She’s typing again, and it makes me curious. “Writing a book?” I ask it as a joke, but she looks up with a serious expression—outside of that cute little smile.

  “I am, actually.”

  I don’t think, I just move around the island and stand behind her, pressing her back into my chest. There’s heat between us that can’t be denied. I reach my arms around her toward the computer. “Can I read some of it?”

  She slams the laptop closed. Turning her head over one shoulder brings our lips in dangerously close contact again. “It’s not ready yet.” Her voice is quiet. Small. I’m willing to bet her ex wasn’t supportive of her dream if she’s this protective of her words.

  “Will you at least tell me what it’s about?”

  Amy rests her turned head against my chest. “I thought I knew, but now…”

  I tuck her hair behind an ear and feel her shiver against me. My dick’s already hard from being this close to her. I step closer until my length rubs against her curvy ass cheeks and wait to see how she’ll react. “What kind of story is it?”

  “It was supposed to be a murder mystery.” The way she says that is so stinkin’ adorable.

  “What happened?”

  Her head lifts until our gaze locks. “You.”

  I spin her around on the stool until she’s facing me. Fuck the rules. My hands on her neck, I bring her lips to mine. She spreads her legs and anchors them around my own, inviting me closer. My hard cock rubs against he
r hot center. Even the layers of fabric between us can’t hide how ready she is for me.

  My lips move to her neck. She gasps when I bite her softly beneath her ear. I need to claim this woman. I need to claim her tonight. “Honey,” I say cupping my hands around her ass and lifting her into my arms. “What do you say we move this to the bedroom?”

  “I thought you’d never ask.”

  4

  AMY

  No man has ever carried me to bed before, let alone up a flight of stairs to a bedroom. I’m not exactly the light-as-a-feather type. Reid tosses me onto the bed. His eyes are drenched with desire. For me. Fuck it’s hot. I’ve never felt so wanted in my life.

  Lifting onto my elbows, I watch him slip his shirt over his head and almost laugh. Of course the man is ripped like a bodybuilder. “I don’t think you have enough abs,” I tease. He rewards me with a smirk, but I can tell there are much different things on his mind than us talking about his hard muscles.

  He crawls over me possessively, forcing me flat on my back. My arms go around his neck. Kissing Reid is one of my new favorite things. It’s a high I’ll always chase, someday when I decide to let a man back in my life for real.

  Hands slide the straps of my tank top down my shoulders, exposing my white lace bra. Reid growls at the sight. “Fuck, you’re beautiful Amy.” His lips kiss a hungry trail down my cleavage as his hands work the clasp of my bra until I feel the tension loosen. Before I can blink, he tosses my bra onto the floor.

  I arch my hips into his pelvis, grinding myself against his arousal. He’s huge. I’m a little afraid I won’t be able to fit him in, but I’m willing to give it my best shot. I reach for the zipper on his jeans, but his hand clasps my wrist. “Not yet, honey. We’ll get to that.”

  His mouth claims one of my nipples, his teeth teasing the hardened nub. Then he moves onto the other. His large hands fondle my breasts. I’m lost in a sea of pleasure, and the man has hardly touched me yet.

  “Please, Reid,” I gasp. “I want you inside of me.”

  He growls again, and I swear it makes my panties even wetter. As if that were even possible. “Patience, Amy.” Reid slips my shirt over my head and returns to worshiping my breasts with his hands. His mouth travels lower, leaving a trail with his tongue to my belly button.

  “I bet you taste so sweet, Amy.”

  When I decided to come over earlier, seeking Wi-Fi, I didn’t plan on this happening. But I’d fantasized enough about it to pick out a cute thong. One Reid gets a full view of when he gets my pants off.

  “I think I’m going to leave this on for now.” His head drops down to the most intimate part of me. I hook my legs over his shoulders as he kisses the inside of my thighs. Teeth drag my thong to one side, and a tongue ever so lightly teases my swollen nub. I buck into his face.

  “Fuck, Reid. More,” I pant.

  “You do taste sweet, Amy.”

  I’m under a spell as his tongue works some form of strong magic on my wet cunt. I thread my hands through his hair, holding his face against me. My hips rock in rhythm to his mouth. I fight the urge to let my eyes close as my body begins to ignite. Watching him between my legs if the fucking hottest thing I’ve ever seen.

  I scream out his name as my world explodes around me. The tips of my fingers tingle from the power of that orgasm. It’s like nothing I’ve ever experienced before. “Oh, you’re dangerous alright,” I say with a satisfied laugh to Reid.

  “Just you wait, honey. I’m not even close to through with you.”

  REID

  I’ve broken my number one rule with Amy, but I don’t care. She’s meant to be with me. I know it in the depths of my being. I know I just met her, and if I were anyone else, I’d tell me I was crazy.

  “I really like that thong,” I say to her. She’s still sprawled out on the bed, recovering from her first orgasm. I wonder if she has any idea that it’ll just be the first in a long line of many tonight. “But it has to go now.” I peel away the silk fabric, unable to resist the urge to sniff her scent when they’re bunched up in my hand.

  “I need you, Reid.”

  Not one to disappoint, I toss her panties to the floor. My cock stands to attention the second it’s free of the jeans that have been holding it back.

  “You don’t wear—”

  “No, honey, I don’t.”

  Her hand wraps around my thick length and squeezes. Fuck my dick feels good in her hand. “I want you inside me, Reid.”

  I want to feel the walls of her tight pussy against my bare cock, but I’ll only do it if she tells me it’s okay. “I’m clean, honey.”

  “I haven’t…” She looks away, and I can tell there’s a bad memory there. Something that asshole did—or didn’t—do. “It’s been a while.”

  “I have a condom.”

  “No.” Her head snaps back in my direction. “I’m clean, Reid. I want you inside me with nothing in between us. I want to feel all of you. I need to.”

  It’s the only invitation I need before I lower my dick to her entrance. I tease her cunt with the tip until she’s panting and begging me. I thrust inside her halfway, allowing her body to stretch to my size. I pull back out and thrust again, this time a little further.

  “Fuck, Reid. I’m ready. I’m ready for you.”

  I fill her up with my cock until my balls touch her skin. She feels so fucking good I can hardly stand it. “Mine,” I growl. I don’t know how it’s possible, but somehow it was always Amy. She was always supposed to be a permanent part of my life. “You’re mine, Amy. Only mine.”

  “Yes,” she gasps. Her eyes close and her head rolls back as she rocks against me begging me to move.

  “Say it,” I demand. “Say you’re mine.”

  “I’m yours, Reid.”

  I don’t hold back. I thrust my cock in and out, quickening my pace each time. Her pussy is tightening around me, and I don’t know how much longer I’ll last. “Come for me, honey.”

  She cries out my name as her pussy convulses around my cock. In the next second, I’m over the edge too. I release my seed deep inside her, claiming her as my own.

  5

  AMY

  I tiptoe around the dark room to gather my clothes. It was a struggle freeing myself from Reid’s vise grip hold, but I managed to wiggle out without waking him. As much as I yearn to stay all night in his arms, I can’t. I’m not ready.

  My apartment feels empty without Reid, and the pullout couch even emptier. The stiff sheets are ice cold to the touch.

  I never knew sex could make me feel so alive, but last night Reid proved that to me over and over. My favorite time—of I don’t know how many because I lost count—was when he bent me over the edge of the bed and took me from behind. There’s slickness between my legs again that can testify to that.

  It took all my strength to leave that warm bed. But I’ve only been back in town a few days. I can’t afford to fall into another trap like I did with Jason. He swooped in when I thought I needed him most, and at first, he was everything he said he was. But over time, I learned that he never did anything that didn’t benefit him in some way.

  I need to know I can stand on my own two feet before I let someone get that close to me again. I’m terrified of losing my identity again to fit into someone else’s life.

  It’s a fitful sleep, and before I know it the sun is peaking in through my windows. Reid is probably waking up now to find me gone. Will he be pissed, or will he understand that this is just a little fun? We’ve both been hurt. I can’t be the only one not willing to risk letting emotions tangle into things.

  I guess the only way to find out is to show up on time for my ride to work.

  “You left.” He’s leaning against the front bumper of his truck when I come around the side of the house. Yep, he’s pissed.

  I walk to the passenger door, prepared to let myself in this time. I might need a pole-vault stick, but I’ll figure it out. Before I can attempt it, however, Reid beats me to it. His hand
covers the handle, but instead of opening it, he blocks my path. “What, are you firing me already?”

  I’m in his arms before I even know what happened. Pushed up against the truck, Reid kisses the daylights clean out of me. He’s handsy today. More than he was yesterday when we kissed for the first time. One hand is squeezing my boob, and the other is sliding between my legs. Dammit, I’m helpless to do anything but moan his name.

  “You’re mine,” he growls against my ear. “Don’t even try to deny it.”

  I practically slide to the ground like a limp noodle when he steps back. I catch myself on the side mirror. “Reid—”

  “Let’s go. I have a special assignment for you today.”

  He helps me into the truck, his hands slipping and groping. He could take me right here in his driveway for the neighborhood to see and I wouldn’t have the ability to stop him. Dammit, I want him to fuck me right here.

  Once he’s in the driver’s side seat, he lifts the center console and tells me to slide over. “I want to keep you close, Amy. You’re not getting away from me again.”

  I don’t try to argue. I don’t want to.

  He backs out of the driveway. “Unzip your pants.”

  I’ve never been one to let a man boss me around, but fuck, it’s hot when Reid does it. And for reasons beyond my comprehension, I trust him. The thrill of not knowing what comes next keeps me on edge.

  Without taking his eyes off the road, Reid slips a hand inside my jeans. A finger pushes aside my thong and rubs circles around my clit. “You’re so wet, Amy.” He growls the words to me, and it makes me melt that much more.

  “It’s what you do to me.” I claw at his jeans with one hand and fist the edge of the seat with my other. My entire body tingles as two fingers rub my cunt, the pace increasing. “Reid!” I pant. “Fuck, I’m coming.” My body trembles as waves of pleasure take over.

  When I open my eyes, Reid’s wearing a smile. We’re in the parking lot outside his landscaping building, and he turns to me. Eyes latch onto mine as he sucks the fingers coated in my juices. “You taste so fucking delicious, Amy.”