“Oh.” Studying her reflection all she saw was a woman in a girl’s body trying like hell to pull off a look far beyond the realm of possibilities. “Um. I see…” What did he expect her to say? “This is stupid, Reid. I don’t want to do this anymore.”
As she turned to walk away he gripped her hips and held her in place. “I’ll tell you what I see. I see a beautiful woman who hides behind insecurities that have no business living in her head.” She lowered her head to gaze at the floor, but strong fingers guided her chin back up. “I see a body with flawless olive skin and subtle curves that tempt a man to close his eyes as he traces each of them like a sculptor traces his subject.”
“You do?” she squeaked.
“Absolutely.” Reid closed his eyes and placed his hands on her outer thighs, then slid them up in a painfully slow motion. The callouses on his palms softly abraded her skin, infusing each tiny nerve with a jolt of energy she’d never known the likes of before. “Before a sculptor can duplicate the elegance of his subject, he has to memorize her with the power of touch, instead of depending on the laziness of sight.”
Lucie’s lips parted as her breathing came faster and her heart pounded twice as fast. Maybe more. Reid’s hands continued their exploration, spanning her waist and traveling up her sides with a firm touch that spoke of a man in control. A man who knew what he wanted, and took it without remorse.
“As his hands move over every dip, every curve, every valley…the woman’s body is formed in his mind, embedded in his muscle memory, so he can recreate her even if he were to go blind.”
She thought the barrier of her suit was a reprieve from the sensory overload of the skin-on-skin contact…but then they slid around to her belly and any sense of relief she’d had was shot straight to hell. Hands as large as his, when placed down the center of her body, easily spanned her entire torso.
She wasn’t sure if it was the wine or the fact that Reid Andrews, superhot friend of her brother and the guy she’d crushed on as a teenager, was touching her so intimately that was causing the surreal out-of-body experience. From a distance she watched as the pinky on his left hand grazed the top of her mound, just high enough to be considered innocent, but low enough to cause a clenching in her womb that had her squeezing her thighs together and biting her lip to prevent the moans that wanted to be heard. And if that wasn’t enough, his right thumb was caressing a path between her breasts.
Burying his face in her hair, he inhaled deeply and let out a mix between a moan and a growl, which was quite possibly the most erotic sound she’d ever heard. “Goddamn you smell good.”
Her knees trembled. The strength to stand was waning. A thick fog had blown through her mind, making clear thoughts impossible. Letting go of the last thread she had on her inhibitions, she let her head fall back and to the side as his hot breath fanned over the shell of her ear.
His hands began to clench, his fingers digging into the softness of her body. She spoke his name on a moan…
And everything stopped.
With a muttered curse Reid took hold of her arms to steady her as he stepped away. Once assured she wasn’t about to face-plant into the mirror, he scrubbed his palms down his face, then winced and held his bad shoulder. “I’m really sorry, Lucie. I— Shit, I don’t know what came over me. I didn’t mean for any of that to happen.”
Bam! Oh, goodie. Reality was back. She waved a hand in the air and gave him a carefree pshh that sounded more like a horse blowing air through loose lips since she couldn’t feel hers worth a damn. “Don’t even give it a second thought. I’m more than tipsy so my judgment is shot, and you had your eyes closed, so you can’t be faulted for your libido imagining I was someone else.” Willing herself not to fall and make a further ass of herself, she walked over to retrieve her pajamas from where she’d left them on the floor.
“Lu…”
Plastering on a smile, she finally turned. There was a brief moment where she may or may not have threatened her eyeballs with a painful gouging from their sockets if they so much as strayed from his face to take in the hard-body scenery below. She may be drunk and seriously lacking in shame, but there was only so much her pride could take. “Honestly, Reid, it’s no big deal. I’m just really tired. It’s been a long week.”
Again with the forward palm-brushing thing before he placed both hands on his hips and studied her for what felt like an eternity. “Okay, yeah, I guess we should both hit the sack. I mean go to bed. Sleep! Shit.”
Yep. He sucked at this word-choice game thing. She’d have to remember never to be partners with him when playing Taboo! or Catch Phrase. “Good night, Reid.”
“Night, Luce.”
As soon as her door was shut, she beat the land-speed record for changing clothes while intoxicated and slid under the covers. Thankfully she’d brushed her teeth after her shower earlier because leaving her room to use the only bathroom in the apartment and taking the chance of continuing their Awkward Tango was so out of the question.
…