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?”
He looked down and away for a second, his expression neutral. “What wouldn’t you do for your family, Becca?”
“I don’t know.”
“There’s almost nothing I wouldn’t do. If I had to go back, I’d do it all over again. I’d do it for you if I had to.”
“But smuggling drugs? That’s serious, Reid.”
“I know it is. Serious jobs for serious money.”
“What about the people you’re involved with? How are you going to get out of it?”
“You weren’t there,” he said, cutting me off. “And I’m glad you weren’t. You didn’t have to see what my mom was like when the cancer was bad. You didn’t have to see your dad struggling to make ends meet.” He reached out and took my shoulders, holding me inches away from him. “I’m happy you stayed away, but you don’t know what it was like. I did what I had to do.”
I nodded slowly. “I’m afraid, Reid.”
“This is my problem and I’ll fix it.”
“Lindsey said something today.”
He cocked his head. “What?”
“She said some guys came to her house and threatened her. Told her not to talk about you and the pill stuff to anyone.”
He frowned. “That happened this morning?”
I nodded. “Yeah, early. What’s going on?”
“I’m not sure yet,” he said slowly.
“Are you going to tell me if you find out?”
He didn’t speak for a minute. “How far into this do you want to get?”
“Reid, I . . . I want to help.”
He reached up and took a handful of my hair. I gasped softly as he pulled me close to him, his lips inches away from mine, our bodies pressed together.
My heart hammered in my chest and I could feel my panties soak through. I’d never seen him so intense, so dominating and in control.
It was the Reid from my dreams.
“You sure that’s what you want, college girl?”
“Yes,” I whispered.
“Even though I’m dangerous?”
“You’re not dangerous to me.”
“You might be wrong.”
When he kissed me, the