You bet your stubborn ass, it’s time!
After Connie returned to the table, they paid the bill, then made their way out to the sweltering parking lot. Her Toyota had been delivered from the auto shop that morning, and she was thankful for the freedom to get around. Wanting to pick up a few new things for the beach house, she stopped by one of the local garden centers and stocked up on houseplants, as well as some flowers, pots, and four hanging baskets for the patio. Declining any help out to her car, Reese pushed the heavy cart into the afternoon sunshine, and started across the warm asphalt. As she turned down the third row of cars, a strange chill traveled down her spine, making her pause. She stood still, hands gripped around the cart’s handle like claws, trying to pinpoint the source of the uneasy sensation, but none of the other customers loading their vehicles were paying her any attention. Shaking her head, she set off again, her jaw clenched with irritation.
Great. Just what I wanted to turn into: a paranoid head case!
There’d been no further texts on her phone, which meant the one from yesterday had probably been a wrong number. Creepy, but most likely meant for someone else. Or nothing more than a stupid prank. She just needed to pull up her big-girl pants and stop getting spooked by her shadow. Enough was enough!
Still, despite her determination to just chill, Reese couldn’t shake the bizarre feeling that she was being followed as she drove home. She found herself looking repeatedly into her rearview mirror, trying to determine which cars were taking the same route, as if she had a clue what she was doing. The last suspense film she’d watched with Drew flashed through her mind, twisting her stomach into knots. She found herself replaying the scene where the psychotic killer stalked the heroine on her way home from the store, and it hadn’t ended well for the girl.
Oh, honestly! Get a freaking grip!
Jaw set, she cranked up the radio and focused on simply getting home in one piece. Ten minutes later, she was pulling into the small drive that led to the beach houses, and was surprised to see Ben’s truck parked in front of his place. When she’d left that morning, he’d already been gone.
Filled with so much nervous tension she was about to snap, Reese changed her jeans for a pair of cutoffs and started to unload the car. She’d just stepped onto the patio with the last of the hanging baskets, when she caught sight of Ben jogging up the path that led down to the beach.
“Hey,” he called out, looking entirely too edible in a sweaty gray T-shirt and black running shorts.
She looked at his sexy, sculpted mouth, remembered where it’d been the day before, and felt the heat rise in her face like a fever. “Um, hi. Did you have a good run?”
He nodded, looking around at all the colorful flowers. “You went shopping?”
“After I met Connie for lunch. We ate at Casa di Pico.”
“I love that place. Best chips and salsa in town.” He picked up a small towel that he’d left on one of the chairs, using it to wipe his face and neck as he walked over to join her. “I heard from the alarm company. They’re going to be out tomorrow morning at nine.”
“That’s great. Thanks for calling them.”
“Not a problem.” He pushed his damp hair back from his forehead, and she almost gasped at the sight of his biceps bunching under his tight, dark skin. If the man were any more masculine, he’d be freaking lethal. She already felt light-headed. Either the heat was getting to her, or he was so gorgeous it was messing with her equilibrium.
“Reese?”
“Hmm?” she murmured, jerking her attention back to his rugged face.
“I said I need to grab a shower, but do you want to sit out here and have a drink after I’m done?”
“You’re sure you have the time?” she asked, hoping he’d say yes as she set down the basket she’d been holding by the others.
He tossed his towel over a broad, muscular shoulder, and a damp lock of hair fell over his brow as he smiled. “Wouldn’t matter if I didn’t. You’re more important than anything else I could have going on.”
She grinned, trying to remember to keep things light. “I bet you say that to all the girls.”
“The hell I do.” He cocked his head a bit to the side, looking as if he couldn’t decide between kissing her . . . or spanking her backside for doubting him. “And just so we’re clear on this, Reese, while I’m fucking you, I won’t be fucking anyone else. I don’t see the point in sleeping with one woman when I wouldn’t be able to stop thinking about another one.”
She swallowed, pulling in a deep breath of his scent, and even sweaty the guy smelled incredible. Hot and musky and wonderfully male. It was a scent that called to her on a primitive, visceral level, and before she’d even realized the words were coming out of her mouth, she said, “But you’re not fucking me, Ben.”
“Not yet.” His smirk was unbelievably sexy. “But admit it, I’m making progress. And I just got you to say the f-word.”
She laughed, some of her earlier tension easing. “Actually, I’m glad we ran into each other. There’s something I want to talk to you about.”
Concern knitted his brow. “Did something else happen? Did you get another text?”
“Oh, no. Nothing like that.” She didn’t bother mentioning that strange feeling she’d had in the parking lot at the garden center, knowing it was probably just her imagination. She was wound up too tight, which meant her mind would definitely be playing tricks on her.
“Then what did you want to talk about?”
She took another deep breath, and forced herself to just say it, before she lost her nerve. “I’ve decided that I’m done complicating everything. I’m ready to take you up on your dare and, um, use you for a . . . a fling.”
She could tell she’d taken him by surprise, but he didn’t say a damn thing in response. He just stood there looking all hot and intense, his dark gaze focused on her so sharply she felt like he was trying to get inside her head.
“That’s what you wanted, isn’t it?” She sank her teeth into her bottom lip, heart pounding so hard it hurt.
The heat in his eyes sent chills racing over her body. “I don’t see the point in having to label everything, but you can call it whatever you want,” he finally responded, the quiet words raw and gritty. “All I care about is that I get to fuck you hard and deep and as often as possible.”
“Then . . . okay. That’s what I want, too. Um, I mean to do to you.” Oh, God. If she’d ever blushed this much, she’d blocked it from her memory.
He started prowling toward her. “You plan on fucking me hard, Reese?”
“Y-yes.”
“I think I can handle that.” The smile that curved his wicked mouth could only be described as dangerous. “But I get to fuck you first.”
Laughing low in his throat, he pulled off his damp T-shirt, caught her around the waist, and jerked her against his hot, sweaty chest. His head swooped down, his mouth taking hers in a kiss that was wild and hard and outrageously explicit, his tongue thrusting in a way that nearly melted her bones. When he finally let her take a breath, he nipped her jaw with his teeth, then put his mouth close to her ear. “Can I use your shower?”
“Y-yes.”
He set her back on her feet and grinned. “Don’t move,” he ordered her, and she stood there in a daze, watching him run over to his house. He disappeared inside, then came rushing back out, a clean pair of sweats thrown over his shoulder . . . and an entire freaking box of condoms in his hand!
Reese knew her mouth was hanging open because he tapped it shut, turned her toward the French doors, and gave a playful swat to her bottom. “Lead the way, sweetheart. And be quick.”
She looked over her shoulder, loving the hunger she could see in those heavy-lidded eyes. “In a hurry, are you?”
“Woman, you have no idea,” he said with a playful growl. “Now go!”
She stifled a nervous laugh as she made her way through the French doors, the rooms of the house cool and shadowed. He’d barely even tou
ched her, and already her breaths were coming in sharp, tight bursts, her pulse racing with excitement. She was still scared to death of the risk she was taking, but needed him too badly to turn back now. He was giving her an outlet for all her pent-up emotions and frustration, and by God, she was going to take it. She no longer cared if it was a smart or stupid move. If she was going to end up hurt or heartbroken. All she wanted was to lose herself in this man and give herself over completely to the need. To this blistering, heady urgency thrumming through her veins, shivering across her skin. She wanted to pull him to her and hold him tight, demanding he fuck her harder, faster. Wanted to be wilder, more outrageous and demanding, than she’d ever been before.
And she wanted him to do the same. Wanted him to let go and really have at her. Wanted him to show her just how badly he deserved his reputation as a man who could make a woman scream in pleasure and forget her own name, reducing her to a quivering mass of erotic sensation.
“Get your clothes off,” he said in that low voice, as soon as they entered the bathroom. “I want to see every inch of you.”
“I will if you will.”
His mouth quirked up at the corner, his dark gaze smoldering and hot as he tossed the condoms and his sweats on the counter, then reached for the waistband of his running shorts and shoved them down. At that moment, Reese was pretty sure her jaw hit the floor, watching him take off his clothes one of the most exciting experiences of her life.
She’d seen pictures of muscular models and athletes. She knew what a powerful male body could look like. But, wow. Just wow. Nothing she’d ever seen in print had prepared her for the sight of a tall, deliciously naked Ben Hudson. The guy was un-freaking-believable. Rugged and hard and tough, but heart-stoppingly beautiful. Lean, but packed with strong, sleek muscles. Broad shoulders, narrow waist, powerful thighs. Ripped abs, perfect pecs. And if she followed that sexy whorl of dark hair around his navel, she got a mouthwatering eyeful. She’d known he was big, had felt him pressed against her, even felt him against her palm, but the visual in her mind hadn’t been anything like this. He was longer . . . broader . . . the dark skin ridged with a thick mapping of veins. He looked . . . well, fairly intimidating, but she refused to cower like a trembling virgin. She knew it was probably going to hurt a bit when he shoved that massive thing inside her, but it would be worth it. She didn’t doubt it for a second.
He jerked his chin toward her frilly tank top and she finally shook herself out of her daze. Wishing she could do this without blushing, she pulled off the tank top, then quickly unhooked her strapless bra before she lost her nerve.
He stared at her breasts, then slowly lifted his gaze. “Now the rest.”
“Okay,” she whispered, watching as he reached into the shower and blindly started the water, his eyes never once leaving her. Her hands shook as she worked her shorts and underwear down her legs, kicking off her sandals before stepping out of the soft-washed denim cutoffs and panties. Slipping the silver hoops from her ears, she set them on the counter then turned to face him, her hands fidgeting at her sides.
His jaw worked as he pushed the shower door open wider, nostrils flaring as he sucked in a sharp breath. “Get in.”
She brushed past him, stepping into the shower, her back pressed against the wall as he followed her in and pulled the frosted door shut.
“It was hell staying away from you last night.” His voice was deep and rough, thick with things she’d never even heard before. But she liked them. A lot.
“It was hell for me, too,” she admitted.
Satisfaction burned like a molten flame in his eyes. “Good.”
She took a quick breath of the damp air, steam rising up around them like a sensual cloud. It felt as if she’d stepped into some kind of provocative dream world, and she hoped to God she didn’t wake up before the finish. “This is probably a good time to tell you that I’ve only ever been with my husband.”
“Ex-husband.”
“Right.” She could feel the erotic weight of his gaze like a physical touch as it moved over every inch of her flushed skin, but couldn’t manage to take her own eyes off his stunning erection. “I just wanted you to know . . . I’m not very . . . I mean, you’ll, uh, probably have to teach me . . . some stuff.”
His laugh was low and wicked as he crowded her against the tiled wall. “Christ, you’re trying to kill me, aren’t you?”
She smirked as she tilted her head back, staring up into his gorgeous face. “You look tough enough. I don’t think you’re in any danger of expiring.”
“And that just shows how little you know,” Ben murmured, bracing one forearm beside her head. With his other hand, he grabbed her wrist and lifted, pressing her palm against the center of his chest. “My heart’s beating like a jackhammer, Reese.”
A shy smile bloomed across her mouth, her big eyes dazzling and bright. She was so damn beautiful. So fucking perfect and sweet and soft. He just wanted to fall on her like a madman, but knew the more comfortable she could get with him, the better it would be for her. And, God, did he want it to be good. He wanted her addicted to it, to him, so that he could have her whenever he wanted. He needed that constant access, because who knew how long it would take before this knot of need in his gut finally eased. Before he’d finally have his fill. If he never did . . .
No. He didn’t want to think about that. Not now, when she was staring up at him with those big blue eyes, her cheeks flushed, lips rosy and slick.
Forcing himself to take a step back, he grabbed her shampoo bottle. “Turn around. I’ll do your hair.”
Reese blinked at the unexpected command, but did as he said. She let her head fall back on her shoulders as he started up a rich lather, the coconut scent of the shampoo drifting to her nose. She’d expected things to be hot and fast, but he was obviously trying to ease her into the encounter. She almost thought about lodging a protest, her body so needy she felt like she might combust at any moment, but then he started massaging her scalp with those strong fingers, and she forgot all about complaining. And when he murmured for her to turn around and reached for the body wash, she was more than ready for what came next.
Oh, yeah. This was heavenly. His deliciously hard, hot body vibing with need before her, while his big, skilled hands lathered her up.
But it was the look on his face that really undid her. That hard, thrilling, I-want-to-shove-you-up-against-the-wall-and-fuck-your-brains-out look.
Needing to touch him, she started to reach for the body wash, but he caught her wrist. “What?” she asked. “Don’t I get a turn?”
He blew out a ragged breath, letting her wrist go as he shook his head. “It’ll take too long, and I’m nearly at the breaking point already.”
She would have found that difficult to believe, given his experience and the hoards of beautiful women she knew he’d been with, but the hard cast of lust on his face was proof of just how on edge he was. So she simply stood under the water and rinsed off as she watched him quickly lather up that breathtaking body. When he was done, he didn’t bother switching places. He simply stepped under the spray of water with her, lifted her up with his hands around her waist, and pressed his hot face between her breasts.
“Ben?” she breathed out, feeling the tremor that ran through him.
“I’ve waited so damn long to get my hands on you,” he groaned, turning his head to lick one nipple, before shifting his attention to the other. Then he pulled his head back and watched as they pulled tighter, his voice little more than a guttural croak. “You’re so fucking beautiful, Reese.”
She gasped as he suddenly pushed her against the tiled side of the shower, lowered his head, and greedily took one of those sensitive nipples into the blistering heat of his mouth. “My, um, breasts could be bigger,” she whispered, her eyes closing as she turned her head to the side and bit her lip.
“They’re perfect,” he growled, hating the insecurity he could hear in those quiet words. Didn’t the woman know he was fucking
starved for her? That he was terrified he would never get enough? That he’d never get his fill?
Keeping her pinned against the wall, Ben licked and sucked and teased until sharp, pleasure-thick cries were climbing up her throat, her hard little nipples throbbing against his tongue. Her hands dug into his hair, pulling him closer, body trembling against him. But she still kept her head turned away, damp strands of hair sticking to her rosy cheek.
“Look at me,” he ground out, his deep voice rough with command. “Look at me, Reese. Right this fucking second.”
She took a shuddering breath, turned her head, and opened eyes that were burning with a need as desperate and urgent and violent as his—and Ben’s control snapped.
8
WITH ROUGH, HURRIED MOVEMENTS, BEN TURNED OFF THE WATER AND pulled Reese out of the shower, quickly snagging a fluffy white towel from the shelf and using it to dry them off. It took no more than a handful of seconds before he was carrying her into the bedroom and tossing her into the center of her mattress, along with a couple of foil packets from the box of condoms.
With the late afternoon sunlight filtering in through the slanted shutters and spilling across the bed, Ben crawled over her, his heart pounding in his chest like a drum. Shoving her legs apart with his knee, he knelt between her sprawled thighs, the sight of her under him, where he’d wanted her for so damn long, making him ache. Holding her heavy-lidded gaze, he reached down and stroked his fingertips over the plump folds of her sex, wanting her to know exactly how juicy and slick she was. Then he pushed two big fingers inside that pink little hole, loving the way she held him. The way her breath hitched and her eyes went wide, that lush lower lip caught in her teeth. She looked like a pagan goddess with all that creamy, freckled skin and silky hair spread out around her head, and all he could think was now. He had to get inside her now, damn it, before he fucking lost it.
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