Fighting for reese, p.1
Fighting for Reese, page 1
Fighting for Reese
Redemption Harbor Security Series
Katie Reus
Copyright © 2024 by Katie Reus®. All rights reserved.
Cover art by Sweet ‘N Spicy Designs
Editor: Julia Ganis
Proofreader: Book Nook Nuts
Author website: www.katiereus.com
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved. With the exception of quotes used in reviews, this book may not be reproduced or used in whole or in part by any means existing without written permission from the author.
Also, thank you for not sharing your copy of this book. This purchase allows you one legal copy for your own personal reading enjoyment on your personal computer or device. You do not have the right to resell, distribute, print or transfer this book, in whole or in part, to anyone, in any format, via methods either currently known or yet to be invented, or upload this book to a file sharing program. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. Thank you for respecting the author’s work.
Contents
About the Book
Dedication
1. Chapter 1
2. Chapter 2
3. Chapter 3
4. Chapter 4
5. Chapter 5
6. Chapter 6
7. Chapter 7
8. Chapter 8
9. Chapter 9
10. Chapter 10
11. Chapter 11
12. Chapter 12
13. Chapter 13
14. Chapter 14
15. Chapter 15
16. Chapter 16
17. Chapter 17
18. Chapter 18
19. Chapter 19
20. Chapter 20
21. Chapter 21
22. Chapter 22
23. Chapter 23
24. Chapter 24
25. Chapter 25
26. Chapter 26
27. Chapter 27
28. Chapter 28
29. Chapter 29
30. Chapter 30
31. Chapter 31
32. Chapter 32
33. Chapter 33
34. Chapter 34
35. Chapter 35
36. Epilogue
37. Acknowledgments
38. About the Author
39. Complete Booklist
About the Book
She’s a grumpy security expert…
Reese doesn’t do relationships. Especially not with tall, sexy men with golden retriever energy. Nope, she prefers her men brooding and silent—with no strings attached. So when she hooks up with her gorgeous coworker after their friends’ wedding, she does what any sane woman would do. She runs.
He’s a sunshine badass…
Unfortunately for her, they’ve got to go undercover at a couples’ retreat which means one room, one bed, and a simmering heat neither of them can deny. Constantine—aka Cash to his friends—has been burned before because of his wealth. But Reese wants nothing to do with his money, which only intrigues him even more. Now that they’re sharing a room, his hot-and-cold vixen isn’t getting away from him again. But he’s got to keep them alive long enough to show that what they shared is more than a one-time thing. Something that proves more difficult when people around them start dying.
Dedication
For my sister, who deserves all the good things.
Chapter 1
I haven’t made any bad decisions lately. Might be time to remedy that.
If Reese had ever been the type of girl to imagine what a dream wedding would look like, it would have been at this gorgeous greenhouse and surrounding botanical gardens. It didn’t matter that it was the beginning of February, everything in this giant greenhouse was lush with color and the atmosphere was perfect thanks to whatever kind of temperature regulation they had going on. The sky and stars were visible above them through the glass ceilings, and as her best friend finished her vows to the man she’d waited years for, Reese wiped away a few stray tears.
She wasn’t a crier, but seeing two people so absolutely right for each other link their lives together… Well, apparently she was a teeny bit of a closet romantic.
When she briefly caught the eye of Constantine Pierce—aka Cash to everyone who knew him—she quickly averted her gaze. But she couldn’t actually avoid him, not when he was the best man and she was the maid of honor. Oh crap, the vows were over and it was time to follow the bride and groom down the aisle. Which meant walking directly next to Mr. smells-so-good-I-want-to-lick-him-all-over. Gah!
Moving quickly, she fell in step with Cash, who gave her a sideways look she couldn’t, or didn’t want to, define. Because of course he was smiling.
The gorgeous man with the electric green eyes was always smiling. It was ridiculous.
“I never took you for a crier,” he murmured as the live quartet played “Moon River” while they walked down the aisle, the rest of the bridal party behind them.
“I have allergies.” She sniffed imperiously but kept a perfect smile in place for the photographer as they passed by. “These aren’t tears.”
“Ah, okay. Well, you look beautiful tonight. In case no one has told you, I wanted to make sure you know.”
She blinked, wondering what his game was. But she simply said, “Thanks. You look very nice too.”
He snickered slightly and murmured something about his ego, but she couldn’t be sure because the entire bridal party had piled out into the courtyard behind the mansion-sized greenhouse. It was chilly now that they were outside and she wrapped her arms around herself—only for Cash to drape his jacket around her.
“Oh… thanks,” she whispered because the wedding planner was shushing all of them. Would it be totally weird if she buried her face in the lapels and smelled it? Hmm. She’d do it later when no one was looking.
“All right everyone.” Jasmine, the wedding planner who’d whipped together a wedding in a single month, held up an elegant hand for the big wedding party. “The ceremony was beautiful, and huge congrats to the two of you,” she said, smiling warmly at Hailey and Jesse. “But if you’re going to do the dance at the reception, we need to hustle so you can avoid getting stopped by guests.”
“Everyone listen to Jasmine,” Hailey called out to the group but didn’t take her eyes off Jesse. Nope, her bestie was looking up at her new husband with actual stars in her eyes.
And everyone else was standing around, not quite listening, while Reese could see the guests starting to move toward the exit. Uh oh, their window was closing.
Reese looked up at Cash who nodded at her, as if he read her mind.
“Come on Rowan, Easton, let’s go.” Cash started herding them while Reese motioned to three others.
“Let’s go, let’s go,” she snapped, using her “work” voice.
Everyone lined up neatly and followed as she continued ordering them.
Jasmine fell in next to Reese as they brought up the tail end, quite literally herding them toward the giant garden maze like tipsy cats. “It’s like everyone has had a glass of champagne and just forgets to listen.”
“More like three glasses each,” Reese murmured, snickering. “Not that I’ve had any.” She’d been drinking only water, wanting to be the best maid of honor ever tonight. But as soon as Jesse and Hailey took off on their honeymoon, she was letting loose.
Jasmine laughed lightly as the whole group stepped into the first entrance of the maze.
Sure, this whole thing was a little over-the-top but these two were only getting married once. And why the hell not go over-the-top for your wedding? It was Hailey’s day and she was going to get what she wanted.
Jasmine let out a short whistle that got everyone quiet—except Hailey and Jesse, who were currently making out.
Reese fell in step with Cash because they’d be entering the maze together in just a few moments. She slid off his jacket, only subtly smelling it before she handed it over.
“Everyone, we’ve practiced this half a dozen times but I’ve got little lights and arrows pointing you in the right direction. You all have eight minutes to make it to your places. Can I trust everyone to do that?”
“Yes! And we’re going to beat all of you!” Skye, who was one of their bosses, and super competitive, grabbed Rowan’s arm and dragged him past one of the hedges.
Reese looked up at Cash and shook her head. “It’s not like it matters who gets there first. We all enter at the same time.”
“So what? Let’s kick her ass.” Now he linked his arm through hers, and despite her desire to keep her distance from the annoyingly cheerful and gorgeous man, she found herself laughing as she raced along with him.
With no heating lamps in the maze, their breath was visible in front of them as they ran, but she barely felt the chill anymore. And sure enough, there were arrows and cute little signs pointing them in the right direction until they reached the end of their portion of the maze.
In the center of the maze was a stunning garden where the actual reception would be taking place. Hailey had got it into her head—thanks to a suggestion from Cash—that they should all dance into the reception from different parts of the maze, kicking off the reception in style.
And okay, the idea was kick-ass and so much fun that Reese had fallen in love wi
“We totally beat them,” she gasped out as they reached their waiting spot. Then she pulled her cell phone out of her flowers. “With time to spare.” She texted Skye quickly with an emoji of a woman running.
“Yeah we did.” Cash peeked around the hedge. “Man, Jasmine has this thing under control. I feel like she’d be a great drill sergeant. Just hotter.”
Reese narrowed her gaze at his back, annoyed at the small spike of jealousy that punched through her. But she quickly shelved it. She didn’t care if he thought Jasmine was hot—the woman was. Tall, with gorgeous, Disney princess style thick hair that fell down her back in waves and a Jessica Rabbit type body, yep, the woman was beyond stunning. It just annoyed her that Cash had noticed.
“Hey, I have a weird request,” Reese said as he ducked back behind the hedge. They still had three minutes before the music was supposed to start.
“Anything.”
She blinked as he looked down at her with those startling green eyes she still wasn’t used to. Because when he pinned her with his stare, it was as if the world fell away to only the two of them. “You don’t even know what I’m going to ask. It could be something really weird.”
He lifted a big shoulder, and oh god, he looked good enough to eat in that tux. Which had to be custom-made given his big arms. Ugh. She hated that she found his biceps so mouthwatering. No wonder his jacket had been so big on her.
“I’m open to weird.”
Of course he is. She laughed and held out her phone. “I want to take a selfie with you and send it to my mom to get her off my back. She heard you were my date at that gala back in December and has been asking about you ever since.” In fact, her mother had been texting her nonstop about Cash, and that wasn’t like her mom. Both her parents were limited on the communication. Until recently. “She knows you’re the best man tonight too.” Because it was all over social media that billionaire Jesse Lennox was marrying his childhood sweetheart.
Jesse’s PR team had been leaking select information about the upcoming nuptials and an “inside source” had let it leak that the two of them had known each other since they were teens and had kept in touch while Hailey was in Afghanistan. Considering all the shit in the news the last few years, their getting married was small potatoes, but Jesse had been insistent on controlling the narrative. He never wanted Hailey’s privacy breached so he’d done what he did best—taken control.
And Reese respected the hell out of that.
To her surprise, Cash leaned in easily next to her as she held her phone out, not even questioning the selfie. She snapped one, then said, “Okay, one more just in case.” And as she snapped the picture, he turned and kissed her cheek.
Despite herself, she felt her cheeks warm at the small intimacy, but she laughed it off. “Do you care if I send both to her? This should get her off my back for a few months about who I’m dating.” And Reese would definitely not be making that adorable picture her screen saver. Nope.
“Don’t care at all. If you want, I’ll show up to a family dinner and propose in front of your parents.”
She stared up at him in horror right as the music started.
“That’s our cue!” He hustled her out with him, and as they danced out into the reception where the rest of the two hundred guests waited, and she knew she’d remember this night forever.
Surrounded by her favorite people in the world, and directly next to a man she was totally not harboring an inappropriate crush on, this was one of her favorite nights ever.
Chapter 2
Welcome to Pound Town. Population sixty-nine.
Cash tossed his cards onto the table, grinning across it at Reese, who simply scrunched her nose, made annoyed sounds, then threw her cards facedown.
“Apparently poker is not my game,” she grumbled.
“Or more likely, Cash is cheating.” Easton grinned at Reese as he leaned back in his chair.
Hailey and Jesse, two of his childhood best friends, had left half an hour ago on their honeymoon—to be spent in Paris and other parts of France and Europe for the next month. So the majority of the bridal party had reconvened back in the greenhouse where the actual ceremony had taken place. There were string lights everywhere, the mood of the lighting romantic and almost magical. A couple fountains offered a soothing bubbling background in addition to the light classical music being pumped in from somewhere.
“Hey.” He tossed a cashew at Easton’s face. “Not cool!”
“Wait, are you really cheating?” Reese, all gorgeous indignation, stood up sans heels—which she’d lost about twenty minutes ago. She was petite, but curvy and all attitude. And in a crimson dress that wrapped around her like a second skin, her jet-black hair falling over her shoulders in waves since she’d pulled all the pins out earlier, she was his walking fantasy come to life. He hadn’t even known he’d had one until she’d rolled into his life after driving his car as if she’d stolen it. She was occasionally surly, which he found ridiculously hot. Though everything she did he found hot. He’d been trying to needle her earlier by calling Jasmine attractive and he’d seen a small reaction from her.
“No, of course not,” he said.
Easton snorted loudly.
And even Rowan, the traitor, shrugged. “Could be, he’s a sneaky one.”
“I’m not cheating!”
“Hmmm.” Reese moved over next to him, pushing Rowan aside and stealing his chair as she looked at Cash intently. Then she burst out giggling and leaned in, her dark hair falling on him. “I’m cheating too. I’m just bad at it.”
Jesus, this woman had him wrapped around her finger and didn’t even realize it. He wanted to lean in and bury his face against her neck, simply inhale her, but was pretty sure he’d get a well-deserved palm across the face for it.
She snagged his glass of champagne, crossed her legs, and leaned back in her new chair as if she owned the place. “I think I’m done with poker anyway. Who wants to get in a few more dances before the night is over? Easton, that hot bartender was eyeing you earlier. Maybe you should get his number?”
Easton’s cheeks tinged pink at Reese’s abrupt change in subject, but he simply shook his head.
“Fine, I’ll get it for you. Then I’m dancing.”
“I’ll dance with you…if you can keep up.” Cash slung an arm around her shoulders, and to his surprise she leaned into him, still giggling. Normally she was so serious and a little grumpy with him, but tonight she’d let her hair down. Literally and figuratively. And he was so here for it. There were a hell of a lot of facets to this woman and he wanted to know all of them.
“This is the best champagne I’ve ever had,” she said as they headed out of the greenhouse.
“Same.” He scooped up her discarded heels by one of the fountains and crouched down to help her slide them on.
“You really are the nicest.” The way she said it was almost accusing as she looked down at him.
And he wondered what it would be like for her to look down at him under very different circumstances. Naked ones. “Is that supposed to be a bad thing?”
“No, of course not. Just giving you a compliment, butthead.”
“Butthead, really? We’re back to that?”
“I’ve had a few glasses of champagne, so yes.” She sniffed imperiously, sticking that pert little nose in the air before laughing again.
The sound was infectious, wrapping around him, making him lightheaded. He plucked his glass back from her, downed it before she could protest, then scooped her up in his arms as they headed to the dance floor.
To his surprise, she just laughed, the sound deep and throaty as he pulled her into his arms and held her close, moving to the fast-paced beat. Just as quickly, the song slowed, and even though he was very aware of all the guests on the dance floor around him, he could pretend it was just the two of them.
