Before Ben

by Cynthia Eden

  His fingers slid back down her body, every movement electrifying her. Down, down he went until he was at the top of her panties. “These have got to go,” he muttered.

  He shoved them down. She kicked them away.

  “You are so fucking sexy.” The moonlight fell on them, and his face was savage with need. “I could eat you right up.”

  Please do.

  When Ben stroked her sex, she arched up onto her toes.

  “You’re wet and hot. God, perfect.” He pushed a finger into her. Another, then his hand eased back as his thumb pressed over her clit. Moved faster. Applied more pressure. Had her gasping as her nails raked over his back.

  He pulled his hand away.

  No!

  But then he lifted her up. Locked his hands around her waist even as she curled her legs around his hips. His cock shoved against her.

  They were outside. She should tell him to take her in. She didn’t think anyone could see them from where they were. After all, she was close to the wall, they were up high, they were—

  His cock pushed inside. “You feel like heaven.”

  She rocked against him, wanting more.

  He sank deep. Drove all the way inside. Her head fell back as pleasure ripped through her. Oh, yes, this was—

  “Fuck, condom.”

  Her gaze met his. She’d realized he was bare when he pushed into her. Her inner muscles clamped tightly around him. Savored the feel of him right before he pulled back. Pulled out.

  “I’m sorry, baby. I’m clean, I swear, but…I should always take care of you.”

  “I’m clean.” Her breath came faster. She was on the brink, her body so tense and eager. “And I’m on birth control.”

  She felt him stiffen. Even in the dark, she swore his face became harder. Rougher.

  “Are you saying…” Ben began in a voice that was little more than a growl.

  She’d never gone without a condom with a lover before. But right then, she wanted Ben. Wanted him to drive deep inside and finish what he’d started. “I’m saying do not leave me hanging like this.”

  “Oh, sweetheart.” He pressed a kiss to her lips. One that was oddly tender considering the need that ripped through them both. “I’m not that kind of guy. Count on it.” But he didn’t thrust back in. His head lifted. He stared at her with glittering eyes. “Do you want me this way? With nothing between us?”

  She managed a nod.

  “Say it, Courtney. I want it loud and clear.”

  She was about to go insane. “I want you to fuck me, right now. Nothing between us. Just you. Just me, just—”

  He drove deep. Yes! Her sex clamped greedily around him. There was no holding back. There was only desperate desire. Her nails dug into him. She moaned. She choked out his name. She slammed her hips against him and came on an explosion of release that was amazing.

  And he was with her. He pinned her to the wall, caged her between the bricks and his rock-hard body, and he took her. Plunged deep over and over, making her climax last so long that she couldn’t catch a breath. But she felt Ben when he came in her, a hot eruption that she’d never experienced with another lover. Because she had always used a condom with her other lovers. Ben was the only one…and she’d wanted to be skin-to-skin with him.

  She’d needed this.

  Though she didn’t want to push too hard and figure out why it was so. Don’t look too deeply. Don’t try to find something that isn’t there.

  This was simply sex. Casual. Basic. The act was filling a need. Keeping the monsters in her mind at bay. That was all. This wasn’t forever. This wasn’t some fairy-tale BS ending. She was a divorce attorney, for goodness’ sake. If anyone knew that fairy-tale endings were pure Hollywood fantasy, it was her.

  He withdrew from her, and Courtney couldn’t help but tense. If she’d had her way, she would have instantly gone for another round. But he’d pulled away. So she should unwind her legs from his waist and make some casual comment. Or maybe she should tell him the sex had been awesome, because it truly had been.

  Her legs slid down.

  A shiver rolled over her. Outside. I just had sex outside. Sure, no one could see her, not from this angle, but she was so not an exhibitionist.

  Wait, was she?

  “What are you thinking?” He’d already adjusted his jeans.

  “That I hope no one saw us.” She let her shirt fall back down. Courtney squeezed her thighs together as she glanced around the balcony. Super awkward but…where were her panties?

  “No one saw. I wouldn’t let anyone watch, baby. You’re for me alone.”

  A rough, possessive edge had entered his voice. Her gaze flew to him just as he bent down and picked up—yep, her panties.

  His fingers curled around them. “I get that you think I’m a playboy.”

  “Um, aren’t you?”

  His head tilted back. “Let’s be very clear. I am not playing with you.”

  The heartbeat that had just calmed down suddenly sped right back up. “Then what are you doing?”

  “Wanting you more than I’ve ever wanted another woman.”

  He was so smooth. Always seemed to have the perfect response. That was why judges loved him. The guy was killer in court.

  And in bed. She had to admit that. Totally killer in bed. “Can I, um, have those back?” With a wave of her hand, she motioned to her panties.

  He didn’t give them back. “Why? I thought the night was just getting started.”

  Her breath caught.

  “Not one and done, remember? Not us. Enemies in court. Lovers when we’re alone. That first round took the edge off for the night. Made it so I can go slower next time.”

  Courtney swallowed.

  “I was out here, drinking so that I could try to stop obsessing over you, stop remembering how good your felt beneath my hands and my mouth, but the whiskey wasn’t helping.”

  She didn’t speak.

  “Then you came to me, and, sweetheart, there was no way I could keep my hands off you.”

  It was her time to confess. Courtney took a step forward. “Just so we’re clear, I like your hands on me. I like your hands, your mouth, your body.”

  He advanced. They stood barely a breath apart.

  Another confession. “You’re the first lover that I’ve ever been with…without a condom.”

  She saw his jaw clench.

  After a moment, he rumbled, “You’re my first, too, sweetheart.”

  Her tongue swiped over her lower lip. “The other men, with them, I just didn’t want—”

  “No.” The word emerged as a growl.

  “Ben?”

  He lifted her into his arms, moving quickly and surprising her. She grabbed for him, holding on tightly. He kissed her as he carried her back into the apartment. Kissed her with a stark possession that she could feel in every cell of her body.

  “Don’t like hearing about others. Not the bastards who’ve had you,” he rasped against her lips. “Let’s not talk about them right now.”

  Courtney considered that. She didn’t want to think about the other women who’d had Ben. Because if she thought of them, she might just want to hurt someone. She wrapped her arm behind his neck. “No one else is here. It’s you and me. And that’s it.” No ghosts from the past. This time, she was the one to kiss him, and she felt her own possessive edge.

  He eased her down so he could shut and lock the balcony doors. Did he still have her panties? Did she even care? Did she—

  A long ringing pierced the quiet of his home.

  Ben swore at the sound. A knot of dread formed in her stomach. It was after midnight. A call at this hour was never a good sign.

  “Stay right here,” he ordered.

  He stalked away. Grabbed his phone from a nearby table and put it to his ear. “Yeah, bro, do you have any idea what time—”

  He stopped.

  Tension and fear snaked through Courtney’s body.

  “Is he going to make it?”
Ben asked flatly.

  Courtney inched forward. Who?

  “Yeah, yeah, don’t worry. I’ll be down there. Meet you as fast as I can.” He dropped the phone.

  Her arms wrapped around her stomach. “Ben?”

  He exhaled. “Cole Trevor was just the victim of a hit and run. SUV slammed into him right outside of your building. He’s in the ER now, in critical condition.”

  “OhmyGod.”

  “Eric wants me at the hospital. He’s not sure that Cole is going to make it. The driver—shit, a witness said the driver reversed and deliberately hit Cole twice.”

  Shock held her rooted to the spot.

  “If he survives, we have to make Cole talk to us. And if he doesn’t…”

  If he doesn’t survive? Her hand covered her mouth.

  “Then we have to find out who the hell ran him down. Because whoever went after him…it’s possible that SOB is also after you.”

  Chapter Nine

  “We are not supposed to be here,” Courtney announced as she clutched his arm in a wee bit of a death grip. Her voice was prim and proper, but shaking a bit with nerves.

  And, yes, as usual, Courtney was right. Technically, it was wrong to slip inside Cole Trevor’s apartment. But Cole had been in surgery when Ben and Courtney had rushed to the hospital. The nurses at the hospital had been adamant that no one would see the man until he was in recovery.

  Ben thought the attack on Cole was coincidental as hell, and he wasn’t just going to return home with his tail between his legs. He was also not going to wait on Wilde agents to play by the rules as they dug into Cole’s life. Especially not when he had a key to Cole’s front door.

  “No big deal,” Ben assured her easily. “I’m the owner of the building. If the cops ask, I can say I needed to do some maintenance work in here.”

  “Or there was a gas leak,” Simon Forrest offered with a shrug as he paced nearby. “That usually works when I’m, ahem, interrupted at the wrong time.”

  Courtney gaped at them. “Please tell me you two don’t do this a lot.”

  Ben shrugged. He really didn’t do this a lot. But as for Simon—he had no idea. Simon’s idea of fun could be…different.

  “Let’s hurry this up,” Simon urged as he glanced around. Ben had brought Simon to disable any security system that Cole might have in place, and Simon had done his job perfectly. Within about thirty seconds, the security system had been taken off line. “I don’t want to be here too long,” Simon added as he rubbed a hand over his jaw. “The longer we’re here, the more attention we risk attracting. And Gwen is waiting at home for me. Trust me, she is not a woman who needs to be kept waiting.”

  Ben rolled his eyes. Simon was a lucky bastard to be with Gwen Soloman, and the guy knew it. Gwen was the celebrity of the moment, in every blockbuster flick, and Ben still couldn’t believe Simon—quiet, intense, often scary Simon—had gotten the star to fall for him.

  The world was full of wonder. And insanity.

  The guy has way more game than I suspected.

  “We need to start searching. If he’s got a computer, we can take it to Eric. He’ll have every secret off that thing in moments.” Simon headed for a nearby desk.

  “You’re planning to steal?” Courtney sounded horrified.

  Simon cast a glance back at her. “Is this your first B and E?”

  Her eyes doubled.

  That would be a yes.

  “Stop teasing her,” Ben muttered. Simon’s sense of humor could leave much to be desired, but Ben knew the man would have his back to hell and beyond. That was how Simon was made. He gave all for his friends. Ben offered a quick, reassuring smile to Courtney. “It’s not a B and E. I have a key, remember?”

  “Oh, yeah,” Simon said, voice encouraging. “Use the dimples on her. That usually works, right?”

  Such an ass.

  Courtney crept forward. “I don’t want to get arrested.”

  He tried a wink. “It’s okay. I know a good lawyer.”

  Her lips parted.

  “No laptop here. Let’s check the bedroom.” Simon had pulled on gloves. He’d tossed Ben a pair, too.

  Because, obviously, it was not his first B and E.

  “Don’t touch anything, Courtney,” Simon directed her. “No gloves for you, and we don’t want you getting your prints—”

  “I’ve been here before,” Courtney cut in as she squared her shoulders. “I’m sure my prints are all over the place.”

  They’d better not be in the bedroom. Unbidden, jealousy stirred within Ben. A very unusual feeling because he didn’t usually get jealous of anyone. Didn’t get possessive. But…

  Even back in law school, she was different.

  Thus, the punch to Gavin Donally’s jaw.

  “Let’s try to leave things undisturbed.” Simon was opening the bedroom door. “Things are easier that way. And…uh, this isn’t the bedroom.”

  Ben hurried toward him. There was something about the tone of Simon’s voice—

  “That’s his work room,” Courtney called out from behind them. “He’s an artist, and he told me that he liked to keep his work private.”

  Simon hadn’t moved into the room, but he had turned on the lights. “Private.” No emotion in his voice now. “So that means you never saw what was in here?”

  “No, he didn’t want me to go inside when I came by to—”

  “I can see why.” Simon stepped over the threshold. “Yeah, you’re both gonna want to get your asses in here.”

  Ben went in first, and fury burned through him. “What in the actual fuck?”

  Behind him, Courtney sucked in a sharp breath.

  One wall was like a freaking murder board—one of those boards that you’d see on an episode of Castle or Criminal Minds. Photos were taped to the big, bulletin-like board. At least a dozen photos, and most of them were images of Courtney.

  “If he’s an artist,” Simon drawled, “then the man has one very specific muse.”

  Courtney pushed past Ben and rushed toward the pictures. “That’s me going into the courthouse.” She pointed. “At work.” A deep inhale. “Jogging in the park. And that coat—I wore that in January. That was before he moved in here. He was watching me…” She spun to face Ben, with her eyes huge. “Back then?”

  Before Ben could respond, Simon noted, “I’d wager the bastard moved in here because he wanted to be closer to you. This apartment is right under yours. For all we know, he could have surveillance set up in your place that allowed him to watch you.”

  Fuck, fuck, fuck. “I let him in.” Rage and guilt twisted in Ben. “I’m so damn sorry, Courtney. I let that bastard move right in with you.” He should have checked the guy’s background more. Should have made absolutely certain that Courtney was safe. She was too important to risk this kind of shit.

  If you weren’t in the friggin’ hospital, Cole Trevor, I’d be putting you there right now.

  “You’re in some of the photos, too,” Simon noted quietly.

  Ben saw his image staring back at him. His eyes narrowed because that photo—“Shit, that was from Friday night.” It was at the bar. He stood beside Courtney, his body leaning toward hers, his gaze on hers.

  “Who are the other guys?” Simon asked.

  Courtney didn’t answer. She’d turned back to stare at the photos.

  “Courtney?” Simon prompted carefully.

  She gave a little flinch. “This guy…” She pointed to a tall, African American man who stood with her as they entered a diner. “That’s Cedric Davis. He’s a new attorney at my firm.” Her hand moved toward a man who stood close to her height—in the picture—a guy with bright, red hair and pale skin. “Kevin Haddix. He’s an old friend from high school. He moved here a few weeks back, and I was just trying to make him feel welcome in the city. And the last man—that’s one of my clients, Hayden Laslow.”

  Cole had been watching her. Stalking her…and the guys she’d been with? There were no pictures of her wit
h women. Just the men.

  “Why would he take these pictures? Why print them up? I mean…” She threw a glance over her shoulder at Ben. “Who does this?”

  Someone who was obsessed.

  Simon lifted up a notebook from the table. “He has your schedule here. When you leave in the mornings, how long you go for your runs, how long it takes you to get to work.” He flipped through the notebook. Whistled. “Uh, yeah, this shit is personal.”

  Courtney grabbed for the notebook.

  Simon held it just out of her reach. “You don’t have on gloves, remember, and—”

  “Screw the gloves.” She snatched the notebook. Her eyes widened as she peered down at one of the pages. “He has the date and time that he saw us in the elevator.” Her wild stare came back to Ben. “Like, he wrote that shit down.” She flipped through the notebook. “He wrote down any time I went out with a man. How long I was with him. When I came home.”

  In case there was any question…Ben planned to rip apart the sonofabitch.

  “Why?” Courtney asked, voice choked. “Why the hell is he doing this to me?”

  Ben’s phone beeped. He yanked out the phone and narrowed his eyes as he read the text from Eric. “Cole is in ICU. A nurse said he could have visitors soon.” He looked back up at Courtney. Her face was too pale. Her lower lip trembled, and she still clutched the notebook.

  Cole Trevor had been stalking her. The bastard had been watching Courtney for months. That shit was ending. She would not be put at risk again.

  Oh, hell, no.

  Cole would tell him everything. And then they’d make sure the bastard never got near Courtney again.

  ***

  “I get that you’re furious,” Eric stated as they hurried down the hospital corridor. “But try to show some restraint. I had to bribe the head nurse to get us access back here, and if you cause a scene—if you attack the dude who is in ICU—security will be called on us.”