Baiting the Maid of Honor (8 page)

obviously having witnessed his thievery.

He winked at her.

…

Julie steadied a tipsy Mr. Wilcox on his feet and waved him out the door. “Now you get back to your

room safe, understand? No getting fresh with Mrs. Wilcox in any dark stairwells. There are cameras

everywhere now, you know. Eyes in the sky. It’s not just the good Lord you have to worry about

judging you anymore. These resort folks will call the police faster than you can spit. They don’t

realize we grow our men friskier in the South, do they, Mrs. Wilcox? No ma’am, they don’t. There

you go, one foot in front of the other. You’ve got the agility of a cougar. Not that kind of cougar, Mrs.

Wilcox. Now who’s getting fresh?”

The jolly couple disappeared at the end of the hallway, marking the last guests to leave. As soon as

they left her field of vision, Julie slumped back against the wall, already reaching down to slip off her

high heels. She gave in to the urge to sit right down on the carpeted floor and she ran her thumb up the

arch of her foot, moaning at the sheer pleasure.

“Careful, pixie. You keep making those sounds, I might have to join you on that floor.”

Julie jolted to her feet as Reed strode through the double doors of the kitchen holding a tray of

covered dishes. She hadn’t seen him in half an hour and had assumed he left. Had been simultaneously

glad and disappointed when she didn’t see him reclaim his seat in the darkest corner of the restaurant.

Glad, because the heat of his constant regard made it difficult to concentrate. On anything.

Disappointed, because the heat felt so darn good. It wrapped itself around her, sliding up and down

her thighs, belly, and breasts like a living, breathing thing. Throughout the night, she’d found herself

positioning herself where he could see her, lest she lose the heady buzz of his attention for one

second. At one point, she’d found herself wishing the room was empty, save herself and Reed, so she

could join him where he sat in the dark, straddle his lap and…dance for him. Put those secret lessons

she’d been taking to good use in a way he’d probably never see coming. Let him look at her up close

while she moved. Feel his penetrating stare trace a path up her writhing midsection. She wanted to

open his shirt and look at his tattoos while she performed for him. Since starting the classes, she’d

had fantasies about dancing for a man, but he’d never had an identity before. Now, in her mind’s eye,

Reed looked up at her in awe, lust a living thing on his face.

When Julie realized she hadn’t spoken once since Reed’s entrance, she shook herself from her

fevered thoughts, ignoring the look of amusement on Reed’s face. “What are you carrying?”

“Your dinner.”

“Pardon?” She slipped her heels back on. “I already ate dinner.” Hadn’t she?

“No. You didn’t. Believe me.” He kicked out a chair with his foot, indicating that she should sit.

“How can you eat when you never stop talking?”

Julie shoved the chair back under the table. “As opposed to you, who wouldn’t say two words if

somebody was on fire.”

“I’m talking to
you
right now.”

“It must be my lucky day.”

“All right, fine. You leave me no choice but to play hardball.” He kicked the chair out once more.

“Back home, when someone goes to the trouble of making you a meal, what is the polite thing to do?”

She gasped.

Reed shook his head. “Where are your manners, pixie?”

Julie sat with a scowl. “Probably poisoned it,” she grumbled.

He set the tray down on the table in front of her and lifted lids off three dishes, aromatic steam

curling from braised short ribs, honey-glazed salmon, and a side of julienned carrots. Julie’s head

spun as hunger assailed her, her stomach growling as if it suddenly realized she hadn’t eaten since

breakfast. She watched as Reed grabbed the fork and took one bite from each plate, raising an

eyebrow at her as he chewed. “If it’s poisoned, we’re both doomed.”

“You can’t kill the devil.”

He smirked. “Eat.”

When she took the first bite of perfectly cooked meat, her eyes closed and she stopped caring that

Reed sat across from her, watching her every move. The food simply tasted too good on her tongue.

Before she could get too full, she set the fork down and leaned back in her chair. “No more. If eat too

much, I fall asleep, and I still have to clean this place up.

His face transformed with disbelief. “You’ve got to be joking.”

Sneaking one last carrot off the plate, she shook her head. “No, I really do fall asleep. Right where

I stand. Ever since I was a kid.”

“I mean, you’ve got to be joking about cleaning this damn place.” He crossed his arms over his

chest. “It’s after midnight and you’re ready to fall on your ass.”

“Anyone ever tell you that you’ve got a way with words?”

He sighed loudly. Julie watched in curiosity as a battle took place on his face. As if he wanted to

wash his hands of the whole situation, but couldn’t bring himself to do it.
How odd
. “No.”

She straightened. “
No?
”

“Someone else is going to clean this shit up. And it ain’t you.” Reed took her hand and pulled Julie

to her feet. “Come on. We’re going for a walk. I’m tired of being cooped up indoors.”

“Why do you have to drag me along with you?”

“If I leave you here, you’ll clean,” he explained, then came to a stop, glancing down at her feet.

“You bring some decent sneakers along, or just those medieval torture devices disguised as shoes?”

Chapter Eight

Julie followed Reed on the dark path leading up the side of the mountain. He’d brought a flashlight

with him, but so far it had proved unnecessary¸ the full moon providing more than enough illumination

to see where they walked through the trees. He’d run this path that very morning and had memorized it

easily. He knew exactly where he wanted to take her. Did she know what his intentions were? He’d

made no secret about wanting her. The possibility that she’d come with him in the middle of the night,

hoping for the same outcome, heated his blood.

He cast a look over his shoulder, sighing inwardly when he glimpsed her expression. Too bad she

looked scared half to death. She might want him, but the situation clearly made her more than a little

nervous. Hell,
he
obviously made her a little nervous. Not a good thing. And entirely his fault. He’d

never been one to hold back in the bedroom, physically or verbally, but he’d laid it on extra thick

with Julie, playing a game of “shock the snooty rich girl.” To show her that he was nothing like the

old-money, loafer-wearing pretty boys he suspected she usually dated.

Now it had backfired. After all the ways he’d provoked and taunted her, she’d placed her trust in

him and gone out with him into the woods, the expectation being that they would finally slake this

insane attraction between them. Only now it didn’t feel right. He didn’t want her nervous or

questioning her judgment. He wanted her to feel…confident in him. Instead, she appeared seconds

from turning tail and booking it back to the resort. It bothered him. A lot more than it should.

Hell. It wasn’t going to happen between them tonight.

Reed practically growled into the darkness. When the hell had he ever cared about being noble?

She was a big girl, capable of making her own decisions. Yet he suspected if they slept together

tonight, she would regret it in the morning. They barely knew each other. Their only association so far

had been him making passes at her at every opportunity and arguing. She’d wake up tomorrow, a little

sore and a lot sorry. For some reason, he couldn’t stand the thought of it. Gratification tonight

wouldn’t be worth having her look back on him with regret. As the stranger she’d had a hot, sweaty

one-night stand with, the one who had nothing in common with her. She would feel cheap and she

would associate that feeling with him. No. He couldn’t do it.

Decision made, he figured it wouldn’t hurt to find out just a little more about her. They might part

ways at the end of the week, but small talk had never actually
killed
anyone, right? Besides, he’d been

curious about something since he first laid eyes on her. “Last night, when we met outside the

restaurant, you looked stressed. Mind telling me what about?”

She moved beside him on the path, flashing him a look. “When you made your gentlemanly hair-

pulling offer? I nearly fainted dead away at the sweeping romance of it all.”

“I would have caught you. By the hair, of course.” He circled his hand around her wrist, then fit

their hands together as if it were natural for him to do so. It wasn’t, but he felt the ridiculous urge to

put her at ease. “Still waiting on an answer.”

Julie merely sighed. “A work meeting that morning had made me late for my flight. There was a

big”—she waved her free hand around as she searched for the right word—“
hullabaloo
over whether

or not we should offer One-Eyed Jack at the New Orleans Saints stadium. You know, in those fancy

air-conditioned suites? I’m sure you know the Saints are the biggest rivals of our dearly beloved

Falcons, and Daddy doesn’t want our whiskey anywhere near them. No, sir. Thinks it’ll put a jinx on

the Falcons.”

Reed hid his shock. He’d known Julie came from money, but the heir to One-Eyed Jack Whiskey?

Holy shit. He’d had no idea. Not that it changed a damn thing. “And how did you manage to straighten

out this little
hullabaloo
?”

She smirked at him. “I told Daddy I’d have him committed if he fought me on it. Can you imagine?

Superstition has no place in the business world.”

“I thought all Southern girls were superstitious.”

“Oh, I am. Within reason. I would never invite thirteen guests to a dinner party. Or eat chicken on

New Year’s Day. It’s just plain silly to tempt fate.”

“I see.” Reed realized he was smiling and shook his head to clear it. “So who is Serena?”

When her hand went stiff in his, he wanted to kick himself. Based on the phone call he’d overheard,

he knew the subject was likely a touchy one.
This
is why he never made small talk. They walked in

silence for a moment, then she turned to him with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “Serena was my

older sister. She passed a few years back.”

“I’m sorry.”

She nodded in acknowledgment as if she’d heard the words so many times they no longer held any

meaning. He understood that too well. Growing up, he’d heard the same words countless times in

reference to his own mother. After she’d died, he couldn’t go anywhere without having pity leveled at

him from every direction, from people who’d never given him the time of day before. When the

appropriate time limit for grief over her death had passed, they’d begun issuing “sorrys” for different

things, as if the pity were transferable. They were sorry about his shabby lifestyle, living in a trailer

on the outskirts of town. Sorry about his father’s gambling habit. Everything under the sun.
Sorry, boy.

Again, he recalled Julie’s words to her mother. The way she’d sounded so dejected as she’d spoken

them, as if it were far from the first time. “If Serena was the perfect one, what does that make you?”

Julie kept walking, but the action looked involuntary. As if her legs were moving without her

permission. “I think you’re aware I didn’t come out here with you for a heart-to-heart. Stop trying to

make this personal. We’re not friends.”

Maybe that’s the problem
. Reed banished the unbidden thought as quickly as it appeared. This

desire to peel back her layers, to figure out what made her run like the Energizer Bunny, unnerved and

confused him. “You came out here with me knowing how badly I want to be inside you. There’s

nothing more personal than that.”
Jesus.
Since when?

She came to a stop, studied him. Her mask slipped just a little and he felt an answering tug in his

chest. “Fine. Tell me how you got that horrible scar on your back and I’ll tell you why Serena was the

perfect one. The one who never let my parents down. The one who was supposed to take over the

business when Daddy retired. The one who died while I was off at college planning Hawaiian-

themed dances and ice cream socials.”

Julie’s mouth snapped shut when she finished, as if she couldn’t believe what she’d revealed.

When she turned and stomped off ahead of him, Reed quickly followed. Part of him wished for all the

world he hadn’t pushed her. The other part, the greedy half, felt satisfaction over being privy to this

hidden part of her. She didn’t put on her Princess of Hospitality act around him, didn’t hide her true

self. Later, he’d try to figure out why, but right now all he could think of was taking the haunted

expression off of her face. Unfortunately, in order to do that, he would have to reveal a part of himself