“This is a nice place,” she said, running her fingers along the back edge of the suede couch.

“Thanks, it works for me. Gives me a little privacy from everything.” He tossed his keys on the kitchen counter. “Sit wherever you’d like.”

She maneuvered around the front of the couch, but before she could sit, the purr of an engine outside made them both turn their heads. Reid stepped toward the window next to the door and peeked through the blinds. “Shit. Aunt Roslyn’s here.”

“I thought she was supposed to be at a luncheon today.”

“Yeah, me, too,” he said, still peering through the window. “Dammit, she noticed my car and is headed this way.”

Her heart picked up speed. “Crap. She can’t see me here.”

“Hurry. Go in the bedroom and lock the door. I’ll get rid of her.”

Brynn hustled through the small living area and into the bedroom, clicking the door shut behind her. She held her breath when she heard Roslyn’s voice. The last thing Brynn needed was for the senator’s wife to know she was… Well, she didn’t know exactly what she was doing with Reid, but she doubted the woman would approve regardless.

Unable to resist, she pressed her ear against the door.

“What are you doing home? You didn’t cut out early did you? I told you no special privileges at the office,” Roslyn said, her words clipped.

“I’m on my lunch break, Aunt Ros. Calm down.”

“I called the office to talk to you and Molly said you left with the receptionist.”

Brynn cringed on the other side of the door. Fucking Molly.

“Brynn needed a ride to pick up her car. It’s been in the shop. It was on my way here, so I offered.”

“Is she here now?”

“No, I dropped her off already.”

There was a pause, and Brynn imagined Roslyn was deciding whether she believed her nephew or not. “Is that all there is to it—a friendly favor? Don’t lie to me, Reid. I’ve noticed how chummy you’ve gotten with her.”

“With all due respect, how is that your business? I’m not sixteen anymore.”

“I don’t care how old you are. I know you probably don’t know a lot about that girl. Brynn’s a decent worker, but we’ve done background checks. Her family is… less than desirable.” Roslyn had lowered her voice to where Brynn could barely decipher the words. “And the press would have a field day if they found out you were… cavorting with her.”

He snorted. “Cavorting? Come on. Nothing is going on, all right? We’re friends. She needed a ride. End of story.”

Another pause. “You better not be lying to me. I know she’s probably a lot looser with her morals than the girls you’re used to, but don’t fall into the trap. Women like her have one thing on their mind when it comes to boys like you—a paycheck. Touch her and she’ll either be filing sexual harassment or getting pregnant and petitioning for support faster than you can say ‘good-bye future.’”

“We’re not together. And anyway, she’s not like that.”

Roslyn’s tone turned icy. “They’re all like that. You need to get your head out of your pants and get things back on track with Vanessa. You’re going to end up ruining your chance with her.”

Reid made a frustrated sound, and Brynn stopped listening. She stepped away from the door and sank onto the edge of Reid’s unmade bed, deflated. Was she ever going to escape her family background? Even a woman who treated her with the upmost politeness to her face secretly believed Brynn was a whore-in-training. Tears lined her lids, and she swiped at her eyes. She knew she should be used to the judgment by now, but hearing it from the lips of someone she respected wrenched her gut.

The door cracked open and Reid peeked in, quickly noticing her tears. “Sugar, what’s wrong?”

Brynn shook her head and tried to smile. “Nothing, I’m fine.”

He strode over to her and put an arm around her. “You heard what she said.”

She shrugged. “I’m okay.”

“Look, Vanessa is just a girl I was seeing at the beginning of summer. I’m not with her anymore.”

She shook her head. “No, it’s not that. It’s just hard to hear what people really think of me.”

“That’s not what everyone thinks of you,” he soothed, rubbing her arm.

“Isn’t it though? The girls at work know I don’t have money, so they think I’m trash. Your aunt thinks I’m trying to tempt you with my wanton ways. And you think something’s wrong with me because I enjoyed the other night. Hell, maybe I do have warped morals.”

“Enough,” he said, his voice soft but firm. “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with you.”

“Right, I’m not screwed up, yet you believe there’s something the matter with you because of what happened between us. Your logic sucks, Reid.”

He groaned. “Listen, that’s why I brought you here. Maybe I can help you understand. You’re not the only one who wishes they could change their family background.”

He rose from the bed and crossed over to a small desk stacked with textbooks and papers in the corner of the room. He yanked open a drawer, rifled through it, and pulled out a manila envelope. “Here.”

He tossed it onto the bed and shoved his hands in his pockets, his posture turning rigid. She eyed him warily and picked it up. “What is this?”

“My father’s claim to fame.”

She slid her fingers beneath the flap to pull out the contents. A yellowed newspaper clipping. The picture on the article was of an older man with Reid’s features, but none of his warmth. Cold, gray eyes stared from the page, sending a ripple of uneasiness through her. The headline read Serial Rapist Caught. Her stomach flipped over. “Oh, my God.”

“Brutalized thirteen women before he was arrested. Tied them up, beat them, raped them.” His voice caught on the last part. “My mother was his sixth victim.”

The breath left her lungs. Reid was born out of rape? Growing up, she’d thought nothing could be worse than her situation—not knowing who her father was. But man, she’d been wrong. She glanced up and found Reid staring at his shoes, his shame and embarrassment palpable.

She set the article down on the bed and went to him, sliding her arms around his waist, though he kept his hands in his pockets. “I’m so sorry. I don’t even know what to say.”

He sighed and put his arms around her. “Now do you see why we need to be careful?”

“What do you mean?” She pulled back so she could look at his face.

He threw his hands out to his sides. “I came from a monster, Brynn. Half of me is from him. What if all these urges I have to dominate you are an early version of what he became? What if he started by just wanting to tie a girl up and spank her a little?”

“Oh, Reid, no,” she said, shaking her head, her heart breaking for him. “You have as much in common with that man as Molly has with a brain surgeon. You can see it in the photo, that man has no heart, no soul.” She cupped his face and met his eyes. “And you—you’re all heart and soul.”

He stared down at her, his eyes swirling with an amalgam of emotions. “Why do you keep putting your trust in me? I don’t know if I trust myself.”

She wound her arms around his neck and held his gaze. “My mom has dated abusive men. When guys like that walk into the room, it’s like the air stops moving. My skin crawls and all I want to do is leave. But when you walk into the room, the opposite happens—I’m not scared. All I want to do is get closer to you. And get naked.”

A laugh broke through his pained expression. “Is that right?”

She shrugged and stepped back. “But if you’re not into me…”

He hooked her waistband with one of his fingers and yanked her against him. “Now hold up right there, sugar. I never said I wasn’t into you.”

“So what are you going to do about it, then?” she asked, her tone challenging.

His gaze met hers. “I’m in.”

“What do you mean?”

He sank into his desk chair and pulled her down onto his lap. “I mean, I’m in. I’m tired of struggling against my instincts when I’m with you. So, let’s try it your way. You want me to be myself, well, here I am.”

Her heart did a little twirl in her chest. “Really?”

He cupped her chin and ran his thumb along her cheek. His eyes pleaded with her. “You just have to swear that if I ever do anything you don’t want me to, you’ll make me stop. We’ll come up with a code word that means quit, but even with that, you have to promise you’ll do whatever you need to get your point across. Don’t let me push you too far.”

She leaned forward and brushed her lips across his. “I promise. I will totally kick your ass if you step out of line.”

He grinned, the tension lines in his face softening and the heaviness in the air seeming to lift. His hand curled around her hip, and he put his forehead to hers. “Thank you. I’ve never told anyone about my dad besides Jace. I thought for sure you would run for the hills.”

She lifted her head and shrugged. “I refuse to believe that we’re doomed to our parents’ fate. If I bought into that logic, I may as well slit my wrists now.”

“Your outlook on life is such a ball of sunshine,” he teased.

She tapped her temple. “Yep, like I told you, it’s all rainbows and unicorns in here.”

He gave her a wry smile and closed the space between them to claim her mouth in a heated kiss. Her lips parted, and she could feel the tension draining from both of their bodies as they gave themselves over to the simple pleasure of tasting each other—an acceptance of each other’s ugly histories and a promise to move forward despite it all.

He pulled away from the kiss, his cheeks flushed. “You know we still have a half hour before we’re due back to the office? Maybe we should practice our new arrangement.”

She shifted on his lap so that she could straddle him, and adjusted her skirt. Her panties brushed directly against the hardening erection in his pants, sending a dart of warmth through her. “That isn’t very much time.”

He shoved her skirt farther up her hips and with a yank, ripped off her panties.

“Hey! I’m supposed to go back to work in those,” she protested.

He pulled the swath of material from under her and tossed the panties onto the floor. “I’ll buy you some new ones. But for the rest of the day, I want to look across that office and know that there’s only this thin skirt between me and what’s mine.”

His fingers found her heat and glossed her clit with her juices. She tilted her head back, and his other hand unbuttoned her blouse and freed her breasts. His hot tongue sucked a needy nipple through the lacy material of her bra, then he bit hard enough for her to gasp. She moaned and rocked against his hand.

“That’s right, sugar. I love how responsive you are for me. I can’t wait to take you somewhere tonight, tie you up, and taste every delicious part of you. Make you beg for release.”

She shuddered. God, just his words could set her off.

“But right now”—he leaned back, undid his fly, and released his cock—“just hold on.”

“My pleasure, sir.”

ELEVEN

now

Brynn swayed on her knees, the shock of seeing Reid in front of her hitting her like a bullet to the chest. She stared at him, a hundred questions coloring her thoughts. Why was he here? How had he even gotten in? And what the hell was he expecting—that she was just going to jump at the chance to be with him after she’d explicitly told him she never wanted him to touch her again?