"I'm sorry," he said gently, pulling her back into his embrace. He stroked her back, his hand going in small circles, and she smiled against his shoulder, feeling soothed and safe.
"I just feel so stupid."
"You thought you'd found exactly what you were looking for. And you were too close--and too excited--to see the dark underbelly."
She closed her eyes and nodded against his chest. "Thanks for coming."
"Are you kidding me? I'll always be here for you."
"I didn't even tell them I was leaving." She gestured back toward the warehouse inside which the company was filming. "I just ran out. All I could think about was getting away from here, but then the car wouldn't start, and--"
Tears clogged her throat, and he cupped her chin, looking deep into her eyes. "Hey, none of that. I'm here now. The power of three, remember?" He raised his hand, and she met him with a fist bump the way the three of them had all through high school.
"But only two tonight," she said. "You didn't bring Brent."
"Yeah, well, you didn't call him."
She felt her cheeks heat and hoped he didn't notice. The only one she'd wanted was Reece.
She didn't tell him that, though. Instead, she lifted a shoulder, looked down at the pavement, and said, "Well, you know. I figured you're the one who can fix the car." She lifted her head to look at him. "You can, right?"
"I'll give it a whirl."
She stepped back, giving him room to deal with the car. He popped the hood, then handed her his phone so she could aim the light at the engine. She had no idea what he was doing, but he pulled a small army knife out of his pocket, then fiddled with something, then tweaked something else.
After a few minutes of that, he stepped free of the hood and stood up to look at her. "That should do it."
"Thank you." She swallowed. "I'm--well, I'm meeting Easton in half an hour, and I don't want to be late."
His jaw tightened. "No. Definitely wouldn't want that."
For a moment, they just looked at each other. Then she wiped her palms on her skirt and cleared her throat. "Well. Anyway. I, um, guess I'll see if it starts now."
She took a step toward the driver's door. She didn't make it. Instead, Reece's hand closed around her wrist, and he pulled her back, his arm looping around her waist as his mouth crushed hard against hers. Immediately, she melted, her body going warm and soft and pliable even as she felt him harden against her. She moaned, the sound coming unbidden, and he took advantage, his tongue sweeping inside her mouth. Taking. Tasting.
Demanding.
Something inside her cried out that she should be retreating. That this was a mistake, and she needed to push him away. To back off.
But she didn't. She couldn't. Because this was Reece. This was what--who--she wanted.
And so she did the only thing she could do.
She surrendered.
Reece had imagined this moment hundreds--no, thousands--of times over the last eight months. The heat of her in his arms. The taste of her mouth. The pressure of her lips against his.
He'd spent long hours imagining the pressure of her body against his, her skin hot, her pulse rapid with desire.
Again and again, he'd succumbed to the fantasy of this wild, perfect moment.
And yet his imagination had never come close to the reality of the woman he now held in his arms.
Still, though, it wasn't enough. He craved her. Needed her.
Inside him, a dam had burst, and all of the desire he'd been fighting was spilling out, threatening to steal his reason and overwhelm his senses.
His mouth warred with hers, taking and teasing, the kisses so wild and rough that he tasted blood. His cock ached, and with every low, passionate noise she made he felt himself grow harder, until all he could think about was tossing her into the back of the El Camino and burying himself inside her as the stars shone down on them.