Reid locked the door to the VIP office and turned to face Bella, his expression dark and filled with a simmering anger. He couldn't believe the recklessness he had just witnessed on the dance floor and the danger that she was just in. Bella looked flustered; her cheeks flushed from the alcohol coursing through her veins. She tried to stand her ground, despite the overwhelming intimidation she felt when confronted by Reid's stern gaze.
With a hint of irritation in his voice, Reid demanded, "Bella, what the fuck were you doing down there??"
Bella swallowed hard, the alcohol making her responses less controlled. She tried to assert her independence, even though she knew she was in the wrong, plus that she was still angry and hurt by his rejection that happened several months ago.
"Reid, I appreciate your help, but it's not your business to pry into my personal affairs."
Reid's anger flared, and he couldn't hold back his frustration. He stepped closer to Bella, his voice laced with irritation as he retorted, "Not my business? Bella, when you're out there, putting yourself in dangerous situations, it becomes everyone's business. Do you have any idea how much trouble you could be in tonight?"
Bella felt a mixture of shame and defiance. She knew Reid was right, but her intoxicated state made her act out.
"I can take care of myself, Reid. I don't need you to be my knight in shining armour."
Reid was trembling with anger, struggling to keep his emotions in check. He wanted to make her understand the gravity of her actions.
"This has nothing to do with me being your knight, Bella. It's about you making better choices and taking responsibility for your own well-being. I won't stand by and watch you put yourself in danger. How would your family react if they found out about your behaviour?"
Bella, her pride wounded by Reid's intervention, was still defiant. The alcohol in her system was making her braver than usual, and she was determined not to show weakness. She looked directly into Reid's eyes and said, "I can take care of myself, Reid. I'm a grown woman, capable of making my own decisions. You don't get to tell me how to live my life. I’m an adult woman."
Reid's patience was wearing thin, and his anger simmered just below the surface. He took a deep breath, struggling to maintain control of his temper in the face of Bella's unwavering defiance. He spoke through clenched teeth, "You're right, Bella. You are a grown woman, and you can make your own choices. But tonight, your choices were reckless and stupid. You could have been raped by that prick."
Bella rolled her eyes, a defiant smile on her lips. She was in no mood to back down. "Well, you can't always be my saviour, Reid. Sometimes I have to learn things the hard way, even if it means making mistakes. At least other men find me desirable and don’t laugh at me or my desires, contrary to your reaction from a few months ago.
Bella's words struck a nerve with Reid, leaving him momentarily speechless. He hadn't expected her to bring up their past encounter at the Christmas party. The memory of his actions that night still haunted him sometimes, and hearing Bella taunt him about it felt like a dagger to the heart. He clenched his jaw and took a deep breath, trying to maintain his composure.
Finally, he managed to respond, his voice strained. "Bella, you should forget about what happened at the Christmas party. But that doesn't mean you should put yourself in danger just to feel desired. There are better ways to find that without compromising your safety. I told you before, find a boy your age, fall in love and live your life in a good way. You deserve this."
"Blah Blah Blah, the great Reid Carter speech, I’m so fed up with everyone telling me how to feel or how to act, including you Mr. I will do what I want, when I want, with whom I want. Stop patronizing me.” Bella replied suddenly, furious.
For a moment, Reid was speechless by her aggressivity. Reid's frustration flared, and he couldn't hold back any longer. It was something that he was not tolerating, the attitude and disrespect. He grabbed Bella's arms, not roughly, but with enough force to make her pay attention. "Bella, this isn't about me dictating your life. This is about you staying safe and not putting yourself at risk. I won't apologize for caring about your well-being."
Bella tried to pull away from Reid's grasp but found herself locked between him and the desk in the room.
Bella's gaze bore into his, her expression a blend of defiance and vulnerability. "I get it, Reid. I’m not an idiot. You're right; I shouldn't have done what I did tonight, but I needed to feel something other than the pain and confusion. I wanted to be desirable, to forget... if only for a little while. You can’t understand that sometimes my feelings for you are suffocating me! Despite your rejection, I can’t get over it. I love you, I never stopped loving you and it is killing me every day." She replied, with a broken tone.
Reid's anger softened as he heard the desperation in her voice. He took a step closer, reaching out for her shoulders in a reassuring gesture. "Bella, I understand that you've been through a lot, and I'm sorry for any part I played in adding to your pain. But please, believe me when I say there are better ways to find what you're seeking without putting yourself in harm's way. You don't have to go down this path."
Bella met his eyes, the defiance giving way to a mixture of emotions. "I just don't know what to do anymore, Reid. Everything feels so... broken. You broke me. I'm really that undesirable for you not to want me?"
Reid sighed and gently brushed a strand of hair from her face. "Oh Bella, you have no idea what you’re doing to me, you silly girl."
Their emotions erupted in a fiery kiss, a fusion of anger and frustration. Reid held Bella close, as if he wanted to convey through the kiss all the things he couldn't express with words alone.
Bella responded in kind, letting go of her defiance and surrendering to the overwhelming tide of feelings that had been bottled up for so long.
It was a raw and intense moment, a tumultuous clash of their emotions, their lips moving with a fervour that spoke of a deep, unspoken connection. In that kiss, they shared their regrets, their pain, and their yearning for something that was still undefined.
As they finally pulled away, their breaths ragged, Bella looked into Reid's eyes, no longer defiant but vulnerable. Reid, too, appeared vulnerable, as if the walls he had built around himself were crumbling.
Reid cupped her face gently and whispered, "I'm so sorry, Bella. For everything."
Bella nodded, her voice a mere whisper as well, "I'm sorry too, Reid. But please, don’t stop, not tonight. I want you; I need you, you and only you. You're the only one for me."
In the dimly lit room, with their emotions and desires laid bare, Bella's whispered words sent a shiver down Reid's spine. Her vulnerability touched something deep within him, breaking the last threads of his restraint. He needed her just as much, if not more.
Without hesitation, their lips crashed together once more. This time, their kisses were fueled by an overwhelming need for each other. There was no stopping them now. Reid's arms held her tightly, and Bella clung to him, her fingers running through his hair, pulling him closer.
He suddenly pulled her dress above her waist, lifted her on the desk and spread her legs, while looking at her with a hungry and wild look on his face. For a few seconds she felt shy, but the remaining alcohol in her system gave her the necessary courage not to collapse into her shyness.
She grabbed him by the belt and with trembling hands unfastened it. Reid let her take the lead for a few moments, but when she squeezed his hardness with her hand, he felt that he was about to lose it and spill himself like a teenager in his trousers. He was hard as steel, and Bella was the object of his desire.
He took a step closer between her legs, with his predatory eyes on her. She was dishevelled and absolutely delicious in her abandon, totally at his mercy. Grabbing her by her hair from behind, he kissed her rough and dominating, pouring in that kiss all his accumulated frustration and desire for this forbidden fruit, while his second hand touched her to feel her arousal.
"Dear God" he cursed, she was soaked, his head was spinning, while with one strong move he ripped her underwear, after he unzipped his trousers and let his pulsing member free from any constraints.
Bella was like in a trance, barely believing that this was happening for real. She was close to losing her V card with freaking Reid Carter, the man she loved, on a desk in a nightclub. Shivers crossed her body when she felt him touching her, and her breath stopped when she felt one of his fingers probing her entrance.
When he finally revealed himself, she could not help herself from being slightly scared, as he was huge and, despite understanding the mechanisms, she could not comprehend how she would be able to take him.
He pulled from his wallet a pack and ripped with his teeth the condom wrapped, before rolling it.
Reid took her again in his arms, stepping closer to her, while positioning himself at her entrance. He started kissing her again, this time more passionate and deeper, leaving bite marks on her neck and ear lobes.
When Bella felt that she remained without air from his kisses, she suddenly felt a sharp pain that made her lose her breathing and uncontrolled tears came from her eyes.
“What the hell!!!” Reid shouted, while remaining deep buried inside her. “Bella”, he groaned while trying to keep himself in check.
After a moment of pause, he cupped her face with one of his hands and kissed her tears, while starting to move slowly.
Bella felt like a trance. After the sharp pain, after a few moments, the initial discomfort caused by his intrusion started to diminish and after he kissed her cheek in a caring gesture, he started moving, initially slower but after a while increasing his tempo.
Their passion ignited like a wildfire, consuming all doubt and resistance. Every lingering memory, every moment of heartache, was replaced by the intense connection they felt at that very moment.
Their breathing grew heavy, and their kisses deepened, filled with longing and a hunger for more. In the midst of the chaos, they found an anchor in each other's arms, a sanctuary where past and present converged.
She felt how Reid became unhinged, hitting her with powerful strokes, which each time were released inside her small electric shocks. Bella jumped in surprise when she felt one of his hands between their bodies, touching her. His fingers, along with his strong movements, were driving her crazy, and she felt something becoming tighter and tighter inside her stomach, ready to be spilled.
She felt like everything was rotating with her, and suddenly she heard Reid commanding her “Come for me Bella, let it go.”, while feeling him become still with a strong movement, anchoring himself inside her. His strong tone, along with his last hit and her body stimulation, brought her to the brink of collapse, and when she let it go, it felt like her reality was rotating and her only anchor was Reid, who kept her in place.