“Viv! Don’t you dare get behind that wheel,” Sami threatened as Viv reached for the car door. “I mean it! I don’t even know anything about this town! You can’t just strand me here,” she shouted as Vivian laughed.
“I’m not. I’m leaving you with an old friend,” she said with a smile toward Ben. “One that I’m confident can still take care of all your needs.”
“An old friend,” Sami echoed incredulously, unable to believe the words coming out of Vivian’s mouth. The other woman knew everything about her past relationship with Ben. The good. The bad. And the very, very ugly. And Vivian knew damn good and well how much seeing the only man she’d ever loved would rock her. How could she abandon Sami now? “Viv, have you suffered some kind of brain injury?” she asked through clenched teeth as her anxiety level took another spike.
“What?” Viv returned innocently with a shrug. “I believe Ben is more than capable of looking after you,” she claimed breezily.
“And I believe that you’re a suffering from Stockholm Syndrome,” Sami returned sharply while her heart pounded in her chest as she watched Vivian and Ben have some kind of silent conversation with only their eyes. Christ, this was insane and she couldn’t believe Vivian would set her up this way. She just wanted to escape… to run away as far and as fast as she could go.
Unfortunately, that didn’t seem to be in the cards for her. It shouldn’t have surprised her. Lately, fate seemed to love fucking with her. Furious, Sami could only stand and watch as one of her oldest and dearest friends abandoned her. “Are you freaking kidding me?” she yelled as Vivian pulled away from the curb. “You are sooooo off my Christmas list, you traitor!” she screamed at the departing car. Breathing hard as she whirled to find her old lover staring at her with an odd blend of humor and compassion shining in his eyes, Sami fought the urge to stomp her feet and cry. Ben was the last man she wanted to watch her fall apart, but there wasn’t any doubt that she was on the verge of emotionally imploding. “Don’t you have a wife and kids to hurry home to?” she asked waspishly as she scanned the street for a way out of her current situation. She needed a taxi. Or a bus. Hell, she’d settle for a bicycle at this point. Peddling her way out of Paradise sounded a hell of a lot better than standing here calmly conversing with the man who’d broken her heart. “Please don’t let me hold you up, Ben,” she snapped.
Ignoring her rudeness, Ben ambled toward her as he shook his head. “You’re not keeping me from anything, Vixen. There’s no wife. No kids. No girlfriend,” he clarified evenly.
Shocked, Sami stilled. “What?”
“You heard me. Nobody’s waiting on me, Samantha. I’m still very single,” he informed her with a crooked smile.
“But you always said you wanted to settle down and have a family. I just assumed that you’d be involved with someone,” she returned before she could stop herself. She wasn’t sure what possessed her to say that. It wasn’t like she wanted him to tell her about all the women that had surely come after her. But hearing that he wasn’t involved with anyone had astonished her. Ben had always been a catch, both then and now. She couldn’t imagined why a woman hadn’t snatched him up and put a ring on him.
“I did want all those things. Still do. Very much so,” he informed her simply. “I just haven’t found the right woman to share my life with yet, but I’m looking for her every single day.”
She wasn’t sure why that hurt so much to hear, but it did. And because it did, she struck out. “Well, don’t let me keep you from continuing the search. Have a nice life, Ben,” she retorted, turning on her sky high heels and randomly choosing a direction to walk. It only took a moment to realize he was following her. Turning her head to find his eyes firmly glued to her ass, she couldn’t help the small thrill it gave her. Ben had always been enamored by a woman’s ass, particularly hers. Waiting until he lifted his glittering gaze to meet hers, she frowned. “Why are you following me?” she bit out, glaring at him. “And why the hell are you staring at my ass?”
Ben shrugged negligently. “Can’t help it. It’s a really great ass. Always has been,” he complimented her easily as he eyed her body appreciatively.
It ought to be, Sami thought wryly as her body heated under the weight of his stare. She’d certainly worked hard enough to maintain it over the years. For all the good it had done her, she thought bitterly. Even after all the dieting and exercising, she’d still lost her modeling contract to a younger, shinier version of herself. Of course, that wasn’t Ben’s fault and being a bitch to him now wouldn’t get her job back. “Thanks,” she muttered, “It’s not quite as perky as it once was, but I try to keep it in shape.
“Trust me, babe, your ass is as gorgeous as it ever was,” Ben assured her with a playful wink.
God, was she imagining things or was he actually flirting with her? Mentally giving herself a sound slap on the back of her head, Sami knew she couldn’t let her thoughts wander in that direction. She needed to cut this painfully familiar banter off now. “That doesn’t answer my other question, Ben . Why are you following me?” she questioned impatiently as she stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and turned to face him.
“I’m following you because I think you and I have some things to discuss,” he answered evenly. “In fact, we’re long overdue on having a chat, don’t you? It’s time we hash some things out between us.”
Automatically shaking her head, Sami backed up a step, wholly unprepared to go down that road with Ben. “Uh, I don’t think that’s a good idea, Ben. I think we said everything we had to say to each other three years ago, didn’t we?” she asked before turning and resuming her walk down the street.
Choosing to ignore her snide comment, Ben merely grinned and continued to trail after her. “You know,” he remarked after a few minutes of silent walking, “If we keep heading in this direction, eventually you’re gonna find yourself in the town graveyard.”
Snorting, Sami smirked. “Fitting, I guess, since that’s where my career is headed. But, I guess you already knew that, huh?” She was willing to bet the entirety of her bank account that Vivian had blabbed all the juicy little tidbits of her life to this man.
“Vivian mentioned that your agency was letting you go,” Ben commented blandly, easily keeping pace with her. “I told you years ago that you were too good for the Cordova Agency. They’re a bunch of crooks, Samantha. Always have been.”
Shoulders sagging at the brutal truth of his words, Sami swallowed painfully. “I guess you must think I’m getting what I deserve. Too old to work anymore and out on my ass. They treated me just the way you predicted they would. Does it feel good to know you were right?” She asked softly, turning down a side street that she hoped would take her back toward the café. She nearly groaned when she realized that she didn’t even have her cell phone with her. She’d left that in the Land Rover, too. And since Mannie had already driven their repaired ride over to the hunting lodge to claim their rooms for the night, she had to pray some kind soul would give her a ride. Either that or beg a favor from Ben… and there was no way her already savaged pride could handle that.
“Vixen, you don’t have the first damn idea about what I think of the situation you’re in or how I feel about what happened, but I will say this. Even when I thought I hated you… when I fought to convince myself that I loathed everything about you, I would never have taken delight in your pain. That hasn’t changed.”
Stopping in the middle of the sidewalk, Sami turned sharply to face the man she’d once loved with every fiber of her being. The man she still loved if she was honest with herself. “Why are you being so freaking nice to me? We both know that I don’t deserve your kindness. So what’s your deal?” she questioned sharply.
Ben’s eyes softened as they took in her confused face. “Babe, it’s been a long time. We both made some mistakes when we went our separate ways…”
“You say that like it was an amiable breakup, and we both know it was anything but friendly¸” Sami laughed hol
lowly. “It was awful. No, strike that. I was awful.”
“Neither one of us was at our best that day,” Ben pointed out gently.
“Oh, please. Let’s not sugarcoat the past. It was nasty. Remember? Things were said. Ugly things. Vile things. You called me names that still make me cringe when I remember them,” she recalled grimly, the hurt still as fresh now as it had been then.
“Yeah, I did,” Ben agreed softly. “I can’t deny it. I’m ashamed of some of the stuff that came out of my mouth that night. I’ve thought about it a lot over the years, and there’s no excuse for some of what I said, babe. I wanted to hurt you as badly as you were hurting me and I struck out. In fairness, though, you said your fair share of hurtful shit, too.”
“I did. I own that!” Sami proclaimed readily with a jerky nod. “But I’m not the one standing here trying to act like I’m fine with you! I’m not acting like I’ve just seen a long lost old friend. My God, Ben, you’re acting like we parted on good terms when we just didn’t!”
“I know, Samantha. Believe me, I know. But what happened was a long time ago. I’ve let it go,” he explained gently.
Sami scoffed. “You’ve let it go,” she echoed disbelievingly. “Are you seriously expecting me to believe that you’ve turned into some kind of mellow, forgiving pod person?”
“Not all of us enjoy holding grudges while going ninety to nothin’ down the highway of life. Life’s too short for that kind of bullshit.”
“What does that even mean?” Sami groaned, throwing her hands up in the air. “Honest to God, is this entire town stoned? How the hell can everybody be so frickin’ nice all the time?” Staring at him, Sami wasn’t sure what she expected from Ben, but it certainly wasn’t forgiveness.
“Everybody isn’t nice all the time, Sami. Bad things happen here, too, but the good outweighs the bad by a lot. The thing is that you’ve gotten so used to the ugly in life that you think that’s what’s normal. And, baby, that doesn’t make me wanna get angry with you. It just makes me sad for you.”
“Don’t you dare pity me,” Sami hissed, her eyes narrowing to slits as she glared at the man facing her. “I might be having a hard time right now, but I am not out of the game yet. I’m smart. I’m rich! I have skills,” she spat, uncertain if she was trying to convince Ben or herself.
“I know,” Ben replied simply. “You were always talented in more ways than even you realized. I knew that then and I know it now!”
“Gah!” Sami sputtered angrily. “There you go again!”
“What?” Ben asked curiously, cocking his head as he watched her rage.
“You’re being nice! Can’t you be normal? Call me a bitch or a whore or God… I don’t know! I was horrible when I broke up with you. You can’t just forgive that,” she argued.
“I think it’s up to me what I can and can’t forgive, Sami, and I’ve made my decision,” he declared stubbornly.
“Just stop being so blasted nice to me,” she growled as she stomped toward him, thumping his chest with both her hands, hating herself for the tears that burned her eyes. She would NOT cry here, dammit! Not now. Not in front of him of all people. “Just stop it! Because this mind game you’re playing with me right now…. It’s beyond cruel and I can’t take it right now. So stop it,” she begged, smacking his chest again. “Please,” she begged, her voice breaking as the first tear escaped the corner of her eye.
Catching her wrists when she would have slammed her fists against his sternum again, Sami’s breath caught when he jerked her to him, pulling her even further off balance. Stumbling into him, she tilted her head back to stare up into his blue-gray eyes. Seeing her own torment reflected back at her, Sami choked back a sob.
“Samantha, stop,” Ben ordered, his deep voice stern as he wrapped his arms around her, ignoring the way she tried to buck out of his arms. “Settle, Vixen.”
“Fuck you,” Sami cursed viciously. She was mad at him for the way he could rigidly control his emotions, giving away nothing more than he wanted to share. She was angry at herself for being unable to hold her uncaring mask in place. She was furious at her friends for putting her in this position with this man. She was angry at the universe for denying her the ability to have Ben’s children. And most of all, she was pissed at the unfairness of it all. She’d wanted everything Ben had wanted. Marriage. Babies. A life together. But knowing she’d only ever be able to give him pieces of his dream hadn’t been good enough for her. She’d wanted him to have it all, dammit. But had he found it all? Had he moved on from her and found a woman to give him the perfect life he craved? No. No, the idiot was still alone.
And so was she.
How was that for fair?
And the more she thought about it, the more irate she grew.
“Let me go!” she shouted, uncaring who heard her as she looked around for help. Realizing too late that she’d turned down an alleyway instead of a street, she found the area deserted. Which meant no one was coming to intervene on her behalf. It was just her and him and the violent emotion coursing through her. “I mean it, Ben. Let me go!” she bit out, trying to wrestle her way out of his grip before deciding if she couldn’t break his hold on her, she’d make him want to let her go. Clamping her teeth down on his right pectoral muscle, she heard him hiss in an audible breath at her attack.
“Like hell I will! Damn it, Vixen, I said to settle down,” he growled a split second before the brick wall of one of the buildings met her back and his mouth covered hers.
Moaning as she wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist, Samantha wanted to cry at the beauty of the moment. His tongue slid between her parted lips to twine around hers, the familiar flavor of his kiss flooding her taste buds. A sinful combination of melted caramel and coffee, his unique flavor was both heady and addictive and she felt her pulse quicken as his hands dove into her hair, tilting her head so that he could kiss her deeper. Sucking at his lower lip, a primitive need built inside her as she pressed her body closer to his. It didn’t matter that they were on a public street. It didn’t matter that it had been years since they’d last seen each other. It didn’t matter that they’d broken each other’s hearts and were no longer together.
She wanted him.
Desperately.
Utterly.
Completely.
Feeling his body press hers against the unforgiving wall behind her, the uneven bricks digging roughly into her back, Sami gasped as she felt the hard ridge of Ben’s cock grinding against her belly. Catching her breath as Ben finally released her mouth to rest his warm lips against hers, she wondered what the hell had just happened.
“Fuck, I needed that,” Ben rumbled, his humid breath warm against her skin.
Eyes wide as they met his, Sami didn’t know what to say. Her body hummed with a violent kind of need as he leaned against her, but her mind was a mess. “Ben…”
“Shhhh…” he whispered, nipping at her full lower lip. “Just be in this moment with me. Just let us have this time for us,” he urged deeply before claiming her mouth again.
Eagerly meeting his lips, Sami clutched at Ben’s broad shoulders, arching her back and rubbing her hardened nipples against his chest. She moaned as Ben palmed one swollen breast in his hand, rubbing her pebbled nipple through the silk of her blouse. “Mmmm,” she moaned against his mouth as he quickly unfastened the first few buttons on her shirt and flipped open the front clasp of her bra. “Oh, God,” she whimpered when his warm hand found the bare flesh of her breast, squeezing the firm globe with one hand.
“God, I’ve missed touching you,” he growled between deep, probing kisses. “I’ve been dreaming of these breasts for the past three years.” Lowering his head to lick one dusky peak, he slowly pulled the tip between his lips, biting gently. “
“Yes!” she gasped as his tongue circled her nipple, drawing out the sensations as he wrapped his hand around her other breast. “Don’t stop, Ben,” she begged when he lifted his head to stare into her arou
sed eyes.
“Tell me you’ve missed me,” he urged, plucking at her swollen nipple. “Tell me, vixen,” he demanded, bending his head to suck gently at the throbbing pulse in her neck.
“I’ve missed you,” she confessed readily as her body ached for fulfillment. “I’ve missed you so much, Ben.”
“Are you still mine, Samantha?” he rasped against her cheek. “Do these sweet lips still belong to me?” he asked roughly, lifting a hand to run the pad of his thumb along the seam of her lips before dropping a lingering kiss against her mouth.
Nodding urgently, Sami clutched at Ben’s waist. “Yes,” she whispered, her body trembling with excitement.
“What about these gorgeous tits?” he asked, curling one hand possessively around a heavy globe. “Are those still mine, too?”
“Always,” Sami confided huskily, shuddering slightly as his hands stroked the sensitized flesh before dropping to palm her between her legs through her lightweight trousers, the heat of his palm nearly searing her.
“What about here?” he questioned against her lips as his hand contracted. “Is this tight pussy still mine, Samantha?”
“Oh, god, Ben!” Sami cried softly as the heel of his hand rubbed against her throbbing core.
“Answer me, dammit,” he bit out, nipping her earlobe in warning. “Do I still own this pussy?” he asked, steadily applying pressure to where she needed it most.
“Yes! It’s yours, damn you! It’s always been yours,” she sobbed out as her hips bucked against his hand, her body searching for the release it so desperately craved.
“That’s my girl,” Ben praised as someone cleared a throat loudly behind them.
“Pleased as I am to see that you’ve convinced Miss Dixon that our town is a friendly place, Ben, I’m going to have to ask you and the lovely lady to take your date behind closed doors,” Sheriff Zeke Monroe requested dryly as he peered over Ben’s shoulder at a disheveled Sami.
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