“Reese, give me just a minute. I’ll be right back,” I told her.

“Oh, OK,” she replied.

I hated that I was this fucking weak, but I had to get control of myself now if I was going to keep her on the phone until she went to sleep. I had to either jump into a cold shower or finish this fantasy in the privacy of my bathroom. I was in a hurry, and the image of Reese in my bed with her juicy round ass in the air was teasing me.

I closed the bathroom door, walked over to the wall, and leaned against it, then took my throbbing dick in my hand again. Slowly, I stroked it, as I licked Reese’s ass and freckle, then shoved her legs apart and felt her hot pussy slick to my touch. My other hand would caress her ass, then slide up until it felt the hard nipples and heaviness of her breasts hanging down toward the mattress.

She would cry out as I slipped my tongue over her tender flesh, and her breasts would sway and bounce in my hand. Fuck, that was all it took. I cried out as my release pumped out of me and covered my hand, still fisted tightly around it.

Since meeting Reese, I had been doing this more and more. I had tried a few cold showers, but I fucking hated them. This was the easier solution. And the less painful one. Plus, my fantasies about Reese were getting better and better.

Reese

Jimmy came by the next morning to tell me he had called in sick for the rest of the week and was going on a mini-vacation to get away from everything. He hadn’t slept last night, and he was weepy today. His main concern had been me getting to work. Although I had assured him that I could walk, he said he wouldn’t be able to relax and get his mind off everything if he was worried about me walking. So he had a guy he trusted come pick me up and take me home on the days I worked. He assured me that he’d known this guy forever, and he was a close friend of Mr. Kerrington. I had to promise him that I would ride with his friend, Thad, before he would leave. Because I was worried about him, I said OK. But this wasn’t something I wanted to do at all. I would have much rather taken a cab. But Jimmy refused to accept that.

So now I stood outside my apartment waiting for a “black BMW with shiny silver wheels you can’t miss” to drive up. Jimmy had also said that Thad had long blond hair and looked like he belonged on a surfboard.

Yellow crime-scene tape surrounded the door and sidewalk three doors down. I cringed at the thought of the horror that had happened. Jimmy had seen it all. I worried about him, too. How could he get that out of his head and move on?

Last night, I had drifted off to sleep while Mase had put me on hold. It surprised me, really. Just knowing that he was there and wasn’t leaving me had been enough to relax me. Then there had been the strange conversation we’d had about what we were sleeping in. He slept naked. The image of that man naked excited me. Which was going to be awkward when I had to see his face again.

The slick black BMW was hard to miss as it pulled into the parking lot. Even without seeing the wheels or the blond guy in the driver’s seat, I knew it was him. No one in this apartment complex drove a car like that. I pulled my backpack up onto my shoulder and took a deep breath. Jimmy wouldn’t send someone to get me who was dangerous. I could do this. I could.

The driver’s-side door opened, and a tall guy with blond hair that curled just below his ears smiled at me. He had dark sunglasses on, so I couldn’t see his eyes. However, he seemed safe. His smile was friendly, and again, Jimmy trusted him.

“Are you Reese?” he asked.

I nodded and stepped off the sidewalk and toward his car.

“Only Jimmy,” Thad said, shaking his head and chuckling.

I didn’t ask him what that meant. “Thanks for driving me. I’ll pay for your gas,” I told him as I got into the car.

Thad frowned. “Uh, no, you won’t. I can give a beautiful girl a ride to work and back.”

I didn’t tense when he called me beautiful. That was a positive sign. I was progressing. Not all men were bad. Jimmy, Mase, and Dr. Munroe had taught me that. Then there was the way Grant Carter adored his wife and child. My thoughts about men were changing. The longer I stayed in Rosemary Beach, the more I saw the good side of humanity.

“Did Jimmy tell you to take me to the Kerrington Club? I can walk to work from there.” Lately, Jimmy had been taking me to the houses I worked at instead of letting me walk. It was something I knew Mase had mentioned to him.

“I was told you needed to be taken to Nan’s today. I hear she’s coming back in the next two weeks. Oh, joy,” Thad said, looking at me like I understood what he was talking about.

I had never met Nan, but from what everyone, including her brother, said about her, I wasn’t sure I wanted to. I liked cleaning her house. I needed that job. But she was beginning to terrify me. I would have to tell her about the mirror when she returned. I dreaded that. “I don’t think I’m looking forward to meeting her,” I admitted to Thad. “No one seems to like her very much.”

Thad let out a bark of laughter. “Understatement of the year.”

Oh, wow. I wished she could just stay in Paris.

“You heard those shots last night?” Thad asked, changing the subject. “Seeing the crime-scene tape is freaky shit.”

I nodded and pushed the memory of last night out of my head. “Yeah,” was my only response. Then I focused my attention out the window. I didn’t want to talk about the shooting.

“Sorry. If she was your friend or something. I didn’t mean to be disrespectful.”