by Nana Malone
She tasted sweet and hot, and so damn decadent that he automatically slid his hands down her back to tuck her against him.
But then something intruded into their space. Into their little safe haven. It wasn’t her. Her nails dug into his shirt pulling him closer. And hell if he didn’t want to be closer. He’d explore that little tidbit later.
There were words. Not his, not hers, other people’s. Then the fog started to lift from his brain. Right. Carlton’s twin and...oh, yeah, Adriana. He didn’t want to stop kissing her, though. But he wanted to do it when they had more time, because just kissing her was enough to set his whole body on fire.
“Excuse me, Bennett.”
Tearing his lips from Valentine’s, he dragged his eyes open. He acknowledged Adriana’s clipped words, but he couldn’t look away from the neighbor, who up until now he’d always thought of her as the Pain in the Ass. “Yeah, Adriana?”
“Are we going to look at the artwork?”
Artwork? Artwork? What? Oh, yeah. He turned slowly. “Do you mind if I bring them by Voss later this week? I didn’t realize Valentine was going to be home, and with our schedules—I know you understand.” More like no way in hell are you coming into my apartment.
She narrowed her eyes at Valentine and tipped up her chin. “Fine. We’ll talk later.”
“Sure thing,” Bennett said. He held his breath until the elevator doors closed on Adriana. Then he turned his attention back to James. “You’re still here?”
James’s mouth hung open, and Valentine stared. Bennett just kept his arm tucked around Valentine’s waist. She didn’t move away, nor did she say anything.
“Y-you two are together?” James asked.
Bennett held his breath. What was she going to say? Would she go along with the charade?
When she started to speak, her voice was deeper, huskier. “Yeah, James. This is actually why I wanted to go to dinner tonight. When you started to break up with me, I figured I’d let you take the out. This obviously isn’t working. And Bennett and I are a...” Her voice trailed off as she cleared her throat. “...a thing.”
Bennett bit the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing. Sure. Thing worked. “Hit the skids, James.” The guy looked like he was going to argue, but then Bennett tucked her against his side more firmly. How had he never noticed how sexy she was? She was petite, but her body was a dream. And her soft breasts pressed into his side were a hell of a distraction.
James scowled and rolled his eyes, but with a muttered epithet or two under his breath, he headed down the hall for the elevator as well.
The moment the guy was out of earshot, the two of them jumped apart and Valentine rounded on him. “What the hell do you think you are doing?”
“Are you kidding me right now? I just saved you face. No humiliating breakup. Or do you mean to tell me that you wanted that sweater vest–wearing asswipe to dump you?”
“Where do you get off?” she muttered through clenched teeth.
It wasn’t his fault. Honestly, it wasn’t. But his lips twitched. He sometimes had the humor of a twelve-year-old boy. “Isn’t that kind of a personal question, considering we just had our first kiss? But if you must know, the sho—”
Her eyes widened to saucers, and she covered her ears. “Oh. My. God. Do not share. You know what, from now on, you keep you and your thoughts to yourself.”
Bennett grinned at her. “Come on, admit it. That was the hottest kiss you’ve had in months, if ever.” Valentine’s mouth hung open as she blinked at him. Once, then again. Then she snapped her mouth shut, stepped back into her apartment and slammed the door in his face.
Oh, yeah, that went well.
Chapter 2
Bennett Cooper was an arrogant, inconsiderate, rude jerk. He had women in his place all the time, and besides his music, sometimes she could hear...his other activities. Not that she was listening.
Her loft unit and Bennett’s were both on the south side of the building, and they both had wraparound decks that met in the middle. She faced the southwest and he the southeast, and both of them had a stunning view of lower Manhattan. She’d picked this building because it had a doorman, and it was exclusive.
Her foodie app and lifestyle brand had taken off two years ago, and her blog had blown up. Unfortunately that meant unwanted attention, making the doorman a necessity. But instead of exclusivity, she’d ended up with a neighbor from hell.
Val leaned against her door, too afraid to look through the peephole to see if he was still out there. Just the thought was enough to make butterflies dance low in her belly.
Slipping her feet out of the three-inch stunners, she slid her back against the door until she landed on her butt with a soft plop.
Touching her lips tentatively, she went over every distinct flavor and smell of him. The reason she was so good at what she did, the reason her blog and her brand were so popular, was her superior sense of smell and ability to taste all the ingredients and ferret out specific scents. Though her innate ability made her an anomaly, it also made her excellent at her job, and in a controlled environment her hyperosmia didn’t get in the way of her normal life. For the most part.
Growing up had been difficult, though. Every smell assaulting her everywhere she went. And if someone couldn’t cook, God help her. She could practically taste where things went wrong just from the aroma alone. And the bummer of it was she loved food. From burgers and cheesesteaks to filet mignon. But it had to be flavorful and it had to be good, or she couldn’t eat it.
Her current problem was, while she loathed Bennett I’m the Neighbor from Hell Cooper, the man smelled good. Like better than good. Like steal one of his T-shirts and tuck it under her pillow good. In a totally nonstalkery way. He smelled of sandalwood and musk. And that odor set her every nerve ending on high alert in a good way. The scent of him still clung to her, and she just wanted to hug it to her and breathe deep.
Yes, she had problems. The other issue was the man tasted incredible. Tonight he’d had scotch. The good stuff. Something smoky and divine. He also tasted a little like mint. Not the kind that had so much sugar added that it obscured the taste of the actual mint. And there was something else there. Something sweet and delicious that she could eat all damn day, with one of those tiny dessert spoons where one bite was so decadent and delicious, you had to savor every bite. Yes, that was how he tasted.
And that was why this was trouble. Because he was the devil. With too much charm and far too much arrogance. And also because she’d never be able to look at him again without thinking about how good he tasted. Like she needed that headache.
And then, of course, there was James. Bennett Cooper kissing her had had one and only one upside...that she was willing to acknowledge, anyway. James hadn’t been able to break up with her properly. She’d been the one to dump him. By way of a kiss. It was juvenile, but it felt good. To not have to hear the implication You’re not good enough for me. I want someone better. Bennett Cooper and his wicked tongue had put her on top. Wouldn’t you love to be on top of him?
Oh. My. God. This was bad. Terrible. She didn’t want him. But now her body had Bennett on the libido and it wasn’t going away. This called for reinforcements.
Dragging out her phone, she video dialed her best friend and started talking as soon as Mel answered. “James tried to dump me and the aggravating neighbor boy kissed me.”
Her best friend waited two whole beats before speaking. “Honey, let me pop some popcorn, then you need to start from the beginning.
The popping popcorn was just a metaphor, so Val launched into the retelling of the second half of her night, down to the tongue teasing from Bennett-you-have-no-business-thinking-about-that-man-naked, sliding his tongue in between her lips and making her forget her name.
When she was done, Mel sat back on her couch. “Okay
, first of all, I want that kiss story one more time at a later date, because that is the hottest thing I have ever heard. Second, good riddance on James.”
“Good riddance? Are you forgetting that I need a date in three weeks? I can’t show up alone again. I can’t take it. And it’s Sol’s wedding. I can’t skip it. But I am not making the trek to Princeton to have my whole family shake their head about how I cannot keep a man.”
“Okay, good point there, but maybe since hot neighbor boy kissed you, you can take him.”
Val stared at her friend. “I think you’ve lost your mind.”
Mel held up her hand. “Hear me out. You keep dating these versions of he who shall not be named.” Marcus, her ex from college. He’d been the perfect guy. Entrepreneur, good-looking. He’d done the whole Jack and Jill cotillion thing. Her parents loved him. But he’d broken up with her just before graduation, because he had political aspirations and he didn’t think she fit the bill of a politician’s wife. She’d been devastated, of course. And her family had blamed her.
“I do not,” Val muttered.
“Let the record show, Alejandro and Tyrell and now James. All essentially carbon copies of each other. Stop trying to re-create the past. I mean, did you even like James?”
“Of course I liked James.”
Mel raised a brow. “Oh, yeah? What did he taste like?”
Only Mel understood how Val categorized the men she dated. “I—”
“Go on, I’m waiting.”
Val sighed. “He tasted like store-brand chocolate. Bland, overly sweetened and waxy.”
“See? Who wants to kiss waxy for the rest of their life? And come on, you couldn’t even bring yourself to sleep with the guy.”
Val’s mouth hung open. “Oh, my God. Would you stop?”
“Or did you mange that and somehow forget to tell me?”
“Okay, fine. But we were taking it slow.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Mel rolled her dark eyes. “So slow you were avoiding sleeping with him. Come on. You should have been done with him in the first week. Him and those sweater vests? He wasn’t even hip enough to pull off that common look. You kept him because you figured it would be better to go home with someone than alone.”
There were times in her life that she hated it when Mel was right. Times like this. “So, what, you suggest I find the nearest guy with a motorcycle, then ask for a ride?”
Mel howled with laughter. “Depends. Does hot neighbor ride a motorcycle?”
Val groaned. Come to think of it, he did have one. But she only ever noticed it in the summertime, when he brought it out of storage. “Yes, but that’s hardly the point. Come on, I need a solution for the wedding.”
“Okay, I’ll come by tomorrow, and we’ll go over all your options. Make you a fancy pro/con list for each available option and we’ll fix this.”
Val hung up with Mel and laid her head back against the door. Absently she played her fingertips along her lips. They still tingled from the remembered kiss, and her body was still far too warm for her liking.
Bennett Cooper wasn’t on the list of potentials. Bad boy was so not her thing. It didn’t matter how well he could kiss.
Chapter 3
Bennett had taken a calculated risk, and right about now he was sure that Adriana Voss was ready to kill him. Or have him fired...or jump his bones. He wasn’t sure which. But none of those options worked for him. This job didn’t just mean he’d get to shoot wildlife. It opened up his whole career. Voss owned more than just the magazine company. His name was all over galleries, museums and documentary exhibitions.
As promised, he’d taken the portfolio in to Voss Magazines’ main offices. Even though her title was basically an empty one, as VP of styling or something like that, Adriana still had an office and still showed up to work. Apparently, Voss wanted his wife close to keep an eye on her.
When Bennett asked her assistant to see her, Adriana had come out with a saccharine smile and a suit that said nothing about this is work appropriate. It was one of those couture thingies that looked good on a model walking down the runway, but in real life, on a woman with curves, it was too low cut and too tight for the office.
But he’d gone in with a smile. “I’m so sorry we didn’t get a chance to go over these the other day, but Val and I hadn’t seen each other in a while, and, well, you know how it is. I saw her ex sniffing around her and had to lay claim to my girl.” Did he sound as much like an idiot as he thought he did?
Adriana pinned him with a shrewd glare. “And how long have you two been seeing each other?”
Damn. Bennett swallowed hard. He made a good chameleon. He’d learned early to be all things to all people. Sweet and sensitive one minute. Aggro hard-ass the next. He was good at reading people and showing them the facets of his personality they needed to see.
What he was not good at, however, was outright lying. It never worked out in his favor, and he preferred not to do it. But he’d started this mess the other night, so there was no backing out now. “It’s been on and off for a few months—with our schedules, you know. But we’ve recently decided to make it exclusive.”
She crossed her arms. “Oh, really? How recently? Because I remember Carmela Alvos bragging about how intimate your photo session was.”
He held back a groan. Carmela was a bald-faced liar. She’d tried, but he hadn’t been interested. Not that he was going to quibble. Because, he had to face it, he had a type. “Nothing happened with Carmela. Val and I just needed some space. Time to work things out.”
“Well, that’s just...lovely. And you’re serious?” Her brow lifted.
Bennett didn’t know where this conversation was going, exactly, but it seemed to be headed down Nowhere Good Road and he wasn’t having it. “To be honest, I proposed to her last night.”
He would have laughed at Adriana’s slack-jawed, pinched-nose expression if it didn’t mean his future would be in jeopardy.
“Wow. Then I guess congratulations are in order.”
“Thank you. She’s a great girl.” The way he figured it, he’d start traveling soon for Voss and give Adriana a wide berth. She’d never find out the truth.
“That’s great. I’d love to get to know her better. Why don’t you bring her to the house this weekend for a dinner party we’re having?”
Oh, hell. “I’m not sure she’s free.”
Adriana’s eyes narrowed. “Well, you can just come.”
Not on your life, barracuda. “We’ll see what we have going on.”
“You do that.”
By the time he made his escape, Bennett felt on edge, his skin tight. He needed to get out and shoot. Then he’d feel better. He could take all this shit off-line and breathe for a minute. Thanks to Val, who was a surprisingly good kisser, he’d had a sleepless night on Sunday. And yesterday hadn’t been much better. He’d had a catalog shoot in the park, but he hadn’t been into it at all. He needed to get his headspace back and away from the two women who were occupying far too much of it.
After a quick subway hop home, he jogged inside just in time to catch the elevator doors as they were closing. “Hey, hold that a second.”
The person inside fumbled with something, but Bennett got to the door and held it open just before it closed. Only to find Valentine on the phone and carrying two large grocery bags from the Fresh and Ready on the corner.
She blinked dark eyes up at him, and for a moment, all he could do was stare. How had he never noticed how cute she was before? She was a tiny little thing. Nearly a foot smaller than he was. That put her maybe around five feet three inches, give or take. Her skin was luminescent. Dark and smooth, it reminded him of liquid milk chocolate. Another woman’s voice rang in the elevator. “I swear, Valentine, you have to go to these events. You can’t just turn up for the wedding. You
’re needed for the shower, and the rehearsal.”
She was talking on speaker, the phone on top of the groceries.
“Mom, I’ll call you back, okay?”
“No, not okay. And can you please tell me if James is coming for sure so I can do the place settings? You have been dodging me for months with this. They are going to the engravers tomorrow and I need to know. And while we’re at it...”
As the other woman droned on, Valentine’s gaze pinned to his and the current of electricity nearly poleaxed him. Hell. He needed to get it together. He pushed their floor number again and scooted in next to her.
“Mom, please, let me just—”
“I swear, Valentine, it’s like you don’t want to spend any time with your family. Let’s not forget that you agreed to be part of this wedding, and you living on your own like a recluse in the city, it’s just—”
“Mom, please. I will call you back.”
“You always say that, then I have to chase you down. I mean, that vagabond life you live. Why can’t you just use your economics degree and get a job in finance? Or even better, find a man in finance so that you don’t have to work. Not like being a blogger is work, mind you.”
Bennett shouldn’t have been listening. Really. He should have been paying attention to the numbers on the elevator as they went floor by floor. But he was riveted. He watched her face, dying to know how she’d shut down her mother. To be fair, her gaze never left his, either.
“Mom. I love you. I have to go.” She tried to use her chin to end the call, but that just sent the bag of groceries tipping over.
With a curse, she tried to recover and the sound of the tearing bag echoed over the walls. Bennett dived for the falling phone and milk. Valentine wobbled in her heels. He saved the milk but not the phone. And not the other bag that followed as Val grabbed for her phone.
Oranges and other fruit rolled onto the floor as a bottle of wine skidded out of her hold.