Ben hadn’t blushed in a long time, but she was making him do so now. “Oh God, Abby, that was a million years ago…”
She strutted around his office holding her coffee, taking in all of the fine details. Abby marveled, “Your office is different than all the others here at the university; who decorated it – you?”
Ben was trying to ignore her. He was sorting through some files on his computer and printing an outline for his history class. But she was persistent, “Aw, come on, Ben, you certainly didn’t do all of this yourself.”
He finally answered, “No, I hired someone. She did a great job.” He hoped Abby would leave, but she lingered.
Abby was sitting on the edge of his desk facing him as her dress hiked up a few more inches, “Remember that time you took me for the motorcycle ride and we ended up at the river?” She was giggling and pushed her long dark hair away from her face. “Do you remember that night, Ben? Oh God, that was so hot. Neither one of us knew what to do, but we sort of helped one another, didn’t we? I dream about that sometimes and it still turns me on.”
Ben’s eyes were focused on his keyboard but he glanced at Abby’s dress hiked up to her thighs as she sat upon his desk. Her high heeled foot touched the inner part of his leg.
“Happy Monday!” Lucy Adams squealed as she took a photo of Ben and Abby with her phone.
Actually, it seemed she snapped more than one shot before Ben jumped up from the desk and held up his hand in protest. “Come on, ladies. I’m working here, getting ready for my morning class. Out, out, out!”
He waved at them both, and they giggled and drifted into the hallway. Thank God. Ben couldn’t take another description of Abby’s walk down memory lane. He’d heard enough. Sure he remembered those things, but that was then. He was a young man on the threshold of manhood. He remembered everything with Abby that night. But, he had no intention of reliving it with her or even talking about it. He was happily married.
He finished his coffee and dialed the florist nearby. “Peonies, yes, send them to Stone and Associates, to the attention of Lara Keegan. The usual, two dozen, and I want it to be spectacular – in fact, that’s the word I want written on the card just before my name.” He smiled to himself imagining Lara’s smile when she received them. The weekend with her had been spectacular and he was still basking in the glow of the closeness he felt to his wife. After a brief session on-line through the Dark Horse game site with Moshe, and a second cup of coffee, Ben was off to his first class.
~ Abby ~
Abby saw the sleek black Indian motorcycle parked outside near Ben’s office and instantly knew it was his. The bike represented him in every way: sleek, sexy and wild. She wanted more than ever to get on the back of that motorcycle with him and touch him as she did many years ago. Every detail was sketched in her mind as if it was yesterday. She knew it excited him when she wrapped her body around his and he revved the motorcycle. Ben was a sensual man and she knew how to trace her hand over his abdomen to bring out the animal instinct in him.
As she went through her first day at the university, Abby’s mind was not on teaching. Not the students anyway. She was planning on teaching Ben Keegan to do what she wanted him to do with her. Several ideas raced through her mind, but finally she settled on one. It was risky, but she had confidence that she could pull it off. Knowing Ben as she did, she would appeal to his chivalrous side. She knew he couldn’t ignore a damsel in distress, especially one with a tight red dress on.
The day couldn’t end quickly enough for her. She went through her mail and met with two students, then walked to the area where Ben’s motorcycle was parked. She noticed a couple of loose bricks from the sidewalk, picked one up and pounded the heel off one of her $300 designer shoes. Through some careful detective work, Abby discovered that Ben usually left his office by 3:00 to go home to walk his dog if he had the motorcycle. Abby took the brick and smashed it on her knee causing it to ooze blood. She wasn’t wearing panties and if she angled herself on the pavement just right, Ben would get a glimpse of what she imagined he missed. Then she waited.
A student walked by and asked if she needed help. Abby pulled herself up and waved him away, “I’m fine. No, really. I’m fine.” Then she spied Ben coming toward her. She sprawled on the ground and tossed her purse away causing papers to spill out. She messed up her hair, hiked up her dress and moaned.
“Abby? Are you okay? What happened?” Ben’s voice was filled with concern as he ran to her.
With big sad eyes, she looked at him as if she was going to cry, “Oh Ben, I don’t know – I think the darned heel of my shoe got caught in the brick sidewalk…”
He immediately scooped her up with his strong arms and she inhaled the sandalwood aroma and a shiver ran down her spine. He was examining her knee and rummaging around for a tissue. She knew he got a glimpse of her female anatomy as he gallantly tugged her dress down around her.
Good, he was blushing as he offered her help, “Abby, come inside and let me clean this up.” She walked with an exaggerated limp. Ben helped her inside to his office and found a towel and soap. Gently, and ever so properly, he cleaned her fresh wound and put a band aid on it carefully averting his eyes from the place she imagined he really wanted to look.
He held her broken high heel shoe and said, “These are toast. You can’t walk home with a broken shoe. Do you have any other shoes?”
Abby shook her head, with her lower lip trembling as if she was about to cry. “I’m sorry. It’s my first day on the job and this happens. I’m an idiot.”
She sensed Ben hesitate, but then he said what she wanted to hear, “I’ll take you home. That’s if you don’t mind the motorcycle.”
She limped barefoot to the bike with his brawny arm around her waist. With great pleasure she slid on behind him as he revved the motorcycle. As her arms encircled Ben’s hardened chest and she thought she was going to have stimulation overload. Ben remained gallant, “It’s just a short ride.” Within five minutes they were in front of the pink Victorian. Abby wished the ride could have lasted much longer. She was enjoying the feeling of Ben’s muscular body against hers and running her hands beneath his shirt to feel his perfect chest.
~ Ben ~
He didn’t want to give Abby a ride home on the motorcycle, but felt he had no choice. Finding her sprawled on the ground and bleeding he knew there was no way she could walk home barefoot. Why was he justifying his actions? Probably because he felt uncomfortable with her hands on his chest and once or twice they moved beneath his shirt. That worked when he was seventeen years old but now he was a grown man, happily married. What the hell was she doing touching him like that?
He was already wishing he had called her a cab. He parked the bike and put his arm around her as she limped onto the porch of the pink Victorian. It was at that moment something unexpected occurred. Abby threw her other arm around Ben and placed her mouth on his. And, she didn’t do it in a shy way. She was kissing him and her tongue brushed against his lips.
It took him a moment to realize what was happening. “Hey, look, I’m married.” Ben uttered in shock as he pulled away.
Abby tilted her head, “I just wanted to thank you for coming to my rescue.”
Ben moved from the porch and hopped onto the motorcycle. No, he wasn’t going to wave goodbye or anything even close to that. He wiped the lipstick off his mouth with the back of his hand and sped away feeling as if he’d been played by Abby. No, he knew he had been played by her. He hoped she wasn’t capable of doing something as devious as pretending she hurt herself, but after that kiss he wouldn’t put anything past her.
Suddenly he realized he was in big trouble. It was obvious that Abby still had feelings for him and now he’d be seeing her at the university. He had to think of a way to keep her out of his business and fast.
~ Lara ~
Lara was still thinking of the incredible weekend at Prince Edward Island with Ben at the cottage, so much so, she found it difficult to conc
entrate on her appointment with Hawk. She met him as scheduled and he was clean and neat, thank God. As they walked through the appointment with the homeowner, Lara hung back and Hawk took the lead.
Afterwards, Lara winked at Hawk in the driveway, “You did a great job. I’ll see you back at my office.”
She knew her desk at the firm would be overflowing with work as she pulled into her parking space. But the time with Hawk was well spent because she felt he needed the confidence to go forward on his own. She hurried up the staircase and opened the door to her office to find a huge vase filled with fresh peonies. The sweet aroma filled her office. The note said, Spectacular, Ben…and it made her laugh. That was his final word to describe the wonderful hours they spent on the sofa in the cottage. And she smiled with the secret knowledge he was still thinking about it, too. She had never experienced anything quite like that weekend and couldn’t wait to get home to see her handsome husband tonight.
Hawk walked through the open doorway while Lara was touching the blossoms and inhaling their scent. “Wow!” he uttered with genuine surprise, “Those are beautiful!”
“Yes, they’re from Ben.” Lara peeked over the blossoms at him smiling.
“It must’ve been a spectacular weekend.” He murmured softly.
She stared at him for a long moment before asking, “How did you know?”
Hawk looked bemused, “Know what?”
Lara handed him the card and Hawk’s laughter was unrestrained as he handed the card back to her. “I really had no idea. It was a word that just came to mind. Really.”
Hawk blushed a little and Lara put the flowers on the side table and she sat across from him in the chair. His deep voice was soft, “So, do you think I’m ready for prime time?”
Smiling, she whispered, “Yes, in fact, I think you were ready from day one.”
He stood to leave and his eyes met hers briefly, “I’ll see you in the morning at your place. I’m checking up on the landscape installation. Would you like me to bring you breakfast? There’s a little place that makes homemade blueberry muffins on the way…”
Lara nodded, “Sure, Hawk, I’ll see you tomorrow. In the meantime, get plenty of sleep because I think you are going to be a very busy man.”
Lara walked him toward the door.
Before he left, Hawk gazed into her eyes and whispered, “I’m sorry about the spectacular thing.”
Lara giggled, “Oh, don’t be sorry about that. It was spectacular.” Hawk made his way through the doorway but not without turning back to smile.
~ Hawk ~
Hawk’s smile dissipated as he left the building. He could only imagine what her weekend consisted of…and didn’t want to allow the thoughts to preoccupy his mind, but they did. He hoped her husband knew how lucky he was to have a beautiful wife who adored him. He saw the way Lara looked at Ben and wished someday he’d have a woman love him like that.
Hawk was comfortable enough to talk to Lara about his love life, or lack of one. She had suggested he get out once in a while. He had a few friends, but they were mostly into sports. He even got so far as to go to the sports bar on ladies night. But the women there were not his type. They were nice enough, but didn’t seem to have anything in common with him. Although beauty was eye-catching, it was intellect and values he was searching for.
Lara had suggested he look elsewhere for female companionship ~ perhaps a library or a grocery store. He vowed to be more outgoing and open to females who approached him. Lara was good for him. She wasn’t pushy but had lots of ideas. She was always upbeat and she genuinely cared about him as a person; sometimes he wondered if he was even worthy of her time and effort.
He stopped by the grocery store for milk and felt the eyes of a woman upon him. He wondered for a moment if hoping to be picked up was written all over him. She was tall and beautiful with long dark hair wearing a sexy red dress. He wondered how to go about picking up a woman in a grocery store; he had never done anything like that before.
But he was pleasantly surprised. He didn’t have to do anything. The sultry beauty stood behind him in the checkout line and spoke to him, “Beautiful weather. I’m new to Maine.”
“Yes, it is beautiful. I love autumn. So, where are you from?” Hawk replied.
Her dark eyes met his and he felt something primal stir inside. His eyes focused on her lips as she said, “I’m from Boston. Just moved here. I teach at the university.”
~ Lara ~
The next morning Lara arrived at Stone and Associates early. Only Eleanor, the receptionist, was there before her. It was quiet today as she slipped off her shoes and padded up the grand staircase to her office. Unlocking the door, she switched on her computer and started the coffee brewing. As she waited, she brought up the local newspaper on-line and scanned through the first few national stories.
Next she scanned the local stories and there was a piece introducing the new staff members at the university. She almost scrolled past a photograph of Abigail Roth, the new freshman mathematics professor. Lara zoomed the photo and studied Abby’s face. She was beautiful, there was no denying that fact. Her big dark eyes and lovely features would melt any man’s heart. Lara just wished Abby wasn’t working so closely to Ben; her office was a few doors away from him. And, she still wondered how and why Abby ended up in Portland Maine of all places.
She quickly switched her attention to business. There were multiple reports to prepare for a lengthy meeting and she ran interference for Finn Murphy. The entire morning was spent on the phone with one client after another. Many of them were newcomers to Stone and Associates and Lara wanted to make a good first impression. She was compiling a list of potential clients who hadn’t committed yet to a contract, hoping to come up with an idea to bring them to the point of putting their money and trust into the coffers of the firm.
Even though the phone was ringing off the hook all morning, she told Betty she’d be going to the university for lunch today. Betty arrived late morning with the deli lunch and Lara drove across town to the university. Several professors smiled and waved at her as she parked the car and walked toward Ben’s office. It seemed as if they were laughing, but maybe it was her imagination.
When she entered the main entrance she faced an electronic bulletin board running a photo loop. She froze as she saw a photo of Ben with Abby sitting on his desk with her skirt hiked up to the top of her thighs. A sick feeling swept over her. She stood and watched the photo loop on the sixty-inch screen again, to make sure she wasn’t hallucinating. And, sure enough, there were several photos of Ben with Abby in his office in high definition.
Definition was exactly what she wanted at this point. The definition of dignity for one thing. As she walked down the hallway to Ben’s office, she heard a dog barking, but it wasn’t Einstein. As Lara rounded the corner and poked her head in the doorway, there was Einstein and another English Bull Terrier playing on Ben’s office floor. The two canines were having a tug-of-war over a dog toy made of rope. Ben and Abby were laughing so hard they hadn’t noticed Lara standing there. A feeling of Deja vu came over Lara.
She noticed the look of surprise on Ben’s face as he ran to the doorway. “Lara, I didn’t expect you. Abby brought Lola to play with Einstein and, well, as you can see – they are having a great time!”
Lara forced a smile, “Oh, that’s great! I’ll watch, too. I brought lunch for you, Ben, darlin.” Lara felt Abby’s eyes burning through her. “Oh, hi Abby. How old is Lola?”
“She’s four now.” Abby flatly replied.
“She’s just a year older than Einstein.” Lara forced the smile again. She put the lunch on Ben’s desk and pulled up a chair and proceeded to eat.
Abby seemed uncomfortable and pulled Lola away. “I think it’s time for us to leave. I have a class to teach in a few minutes. See you later, Ben.” Lara watched as Abby pranced out of the room with Lola on the leash.
The moment Abby’s footsteps receded down the hallway, Lara’s eyes were on B
en. She smiled, “Lola is adorable, isn’t she?” She had promised herself she wouldn’t ask about Abby, but arriving to view that cozy scene was just too much.
Trying to appear poised, Lara blurted out what was on her mind and instantly regretted it, “Nice photos on the campus electronic screen…you know, of Abby sitting on your desk.” She felt her face flush with anger and hated the feeling she was getting in the pit of her stomach. Feeling the fury building inside of her was frightening, but she couldn’t seem to stop it. She stuffed food into her mouth so she couldn’t say something she would regret.
~ Ben ~
Abby had arrived with Lola two minutes before Lara walked into his office, but Lara would never believe that judging by the look on her face. She was asking questions and Ben did not know what to say.
He stuttered and stammered, “Ah, it isn’t what you’re thinking…I mean really…she just walked in here a minute ago…” He felt like a drowning man and couldn’t seem to pull himself out of the whirlpool.
“The photos are….um… amazing!” Lara remained calm but seemed serious.
He gazed at her for a moment and back-pedaled, “I haven’t even seen the electronic bulletin board. I’ve been in class and meeting with new students.” Immediately, Ben remembered Lucy Adams and explained the situation to Lara. “It was the first day of classes. Lucy Adams took those photos. I waved the two of them out of here.” His case didn’t seem to be convincing her. Lara’s green eyes were focused on his face at the moment and he felt perspiration forming on his forehead.
“Aren’t you going to eat, Ben? Lara motioned to the lunch on his desk.
He paused for a moment and said, “I’ll be right back.” He strode through the hallway quickly to the main entrance of the campus. There on the sixty-inch screen were pictures of him with Abby on his desk. It appeared he was looking at her red dress which was revealing way too much of her leg. Not good. When he got back to his office, he didn’t know what he was going to say to Lara.
Flawlessly Executed (Dark Horse Guardians Book 3) Page 9