I knew I was carrying a huge knot of worry in my chest. I was worried about Reid and about these gangsters he was involved with. Talking to Lindsey had only made that worse; she was clearly freaked out.
I should have been freaked out, too. Instead, I was afraid of how I felt about Reid, the desire rolling through my body and the fear of what he was doing.
I wanted him, but he scared me.
As I walked, the area around me began to look pretty familiar. Most of it always looked familiar, since I had grown up in the area, but there was something specific about the trees I was looking at. Suddenly, it hit me: just a few feet ahead was the exact tree Reid had taken me to not long ago.
I stopped in front of the bark and ran my hand down the smooth front, stopping to trace the lines of our initials. I couldn’t help but smile. Reid may be a drug smuggler, but he couldn’t be a bad person. I wouldn’t believe for a second that the man I knew could possibly be in it for just money and didn’t care about anything else.
I sat down and leaned my back against the tree and closed my eyes, smiling softly. I remembered Reid’s skin against my skin, the rough way he took me, the control he had over my body. I remembered the calluses of his hands and the strength he had in everything he did. I was soaking wet by the time I realized I was beginning to nod off.
I didn’t stop myself. The sun was warm, and plus I was exhausted from work. I smiled softly to myself, dreaming about Reid.
The crack of a breaking twig yanked me from my sleep.
I’d been dreaming about the woods. I dreamed that Reid and I were lost, but I didn’t care. I liked that we were lost. I felt like I didn’t have to be plain old Rebecca anymore, that I didn’t have to be the good college girl anymore.
Out in the woods, I could be someone else. I could be the kind of girl that lets Reid do whatever he wants to me, because that was what I wanted too.
It took a few seconds for the lingering dream to fully go away before I realized that I was slumped over against the tree. I had no clue how long I had been sleeping, but the sun was lower on the horizon than I remembered. It must have been a few hours.
I heard another twig snap and it pulled me fully awake. I sat up straight and looked around but couldn’t see anything.
How could I have been so stupid? I fell asleep right there in the woods where anybody could find me. A bear could have come up and mauled me, and I would have been too busy napping to notice.
There was another noise, somewhere off to my right.
“Hello?” I called out, standing up.
“I thought I’d find you here.”
I nearly jumped out of my boots. Just as I was getting ready to run, Reid stepped out from behind some bushes.
My heart was hammering in my chest. “Reid!” I said. “You scared the shit out of me.”
He laughed. “Sorry about that, college girl.”
“What are you doing out here?”
“Better question is, what are you doing?”
“I was . . .” I trailed off, not exactly sure what I was doing. “I was taking a nap.”
“In the middle of the forest?”
“Yeah, right here. I thought it was a good spot.”
He grinned. “For obvious reasons.”
“No, asshole. Because the ground looked dry.”
“I’m sure that’s why. You were probably having a wet dream about how hard I got you off.”
“Can girls even have a wet dream?”
“Probably. But if not, I’m sure I can find a way to give you one.”
I ignored that. “Okay, now what are you doing out here?”
“Looking for you.”
“Why?”
“Mom was worried. You’ve been gone for a few hours.”
“Oh. I lost track of time,” I said lamely.
“Clearly.” He walked a few steps closer to me. I looked back at him and noticed the dark bags under his eyes, almost like he hadn’t slept the night before. I looked down his body and realized that he was wearing the same outfit.
“Did you sleep last night?” I asked.
“No.”
“And I guess that means you haven’t showered or changed.”
“Been busy.” He stopped near me. “I’ve been thinking about you.”
“I’ve been thinking, too.”
“Been thinking about what happened here.” He paused, his eyes serious. “I can’t get your pussy out of my mind, Becca. Fuck, it’s like a virus that keeps getting my dick hard.”
“How romantic.”
“I’m not trying to be romantic. I’m trying to get you to understand how badly I fucking want you.”
“We need to talk about last night.”
“I told you everything.”
“How could you do it?”