Would it be just as hot to see her again?He’d enjoyed pleasuring her. Fuck, she turned him on. He was hard and hot for her each night with no sign of slowing down. But a lot can change in a year. People walk in and out of your life too easily. He’d learned that personally when his dad died from a stroke. He was seventy-five. Another reason why he was so nervous this year. A lot was riding on this show. Not just in memory of his dad, but also the hard work his dad had put into the bloodline of the alpacas. Ben wanted to do well. More than that, he wanted to win the major prizes. His chest constricted, and he expertly pushed the grief away. His mom stayed on the farm, but she’d gone downhill since his dad passed. At least his sister, Anne, was home looking after their mom and keeping an eye on the farm while he was away. As a family, they stuck together. They got along, well, most of the time, but what family was harmonious all the time?
Ben turned the beer around in his hands. He glanced at the clock behind the bar. Eight o’clock. It was time. He took a long, deep breath which did nothing to settle his nerves. He kept looking out the corner of his eye to see if she was coming. The door opened. It wasn’t her. He was a mix of nerves and excitement. The door opened half a dozen more times, and it was nearly half past eight. I should give up on her. It was fun while it lasted. He was about to drain his beer and grab another and find his mates when a flicker of movement near him caused him to turn.
It was her. Raven. And she looked fucking better than he remembered.
“Hey, stranger.” She smiled, relieved that Ben was at the bar and that he was looking so damn hot she could take him between her thighs right now. Fuck, she wanted to.
The smile he returned to her only flamed her desires, a grin that was full of promise of a release that had been building all year. He got up from the stool to greet her. She was expecting maybe a peck on the cheek, but his lips met hers in a breath of urgency that sent her body on fire. She grabbed hold of his waist to stop herself from falling into him.
“I was beginning to think you’d changed your mind,” he finally said when he broke the kiss.
“Held up a bit at work, then I wanted to make sure I was ready for you.” She knew why she bothered. The look on his face was one that made her efforts doing her hair, the new clothing, and preening and plucking worth it. A quick glance down confirmed his delight with the tightness at the front of his denim jeans.
“I’ll make sure you’re ready,” he whispered in her ear, his breath delightfully warm on her skin.
Her breath caught in her throat, and she couldn’t respond, only rolling her lips tasting him once more, knowing that she wanted more. Right now. She tilted her head so he could kiss her. He teased her instead, brushing his lips along the skin of her neck causing it to prickle and send a shiver straight between her legs.Yeah, I’m ready now. She could feel her moisture pooling on her panties.
“A New Zealand sav blanc from memory.”
“Thank you.” She caught his dig at her wanting a New Zealand wine but chose to ignore it.
“There’s plenty Aussie wines which are much better.”
“I know what I like.” She raised an eyebrow at him as she sat on the stool next to him. They were close. She could feel his body heat meeting hers and swore there were sparks flying. She wasn’t sure she’d last even a sip before she would have to insist that they go up to his room. A year was long enough to wait. She wanted him now.
“Besides, there’s only one Aussie I want to drink tonight.”
“Is that right?”
She smiled seductively at him. “Unless…”
He stopped her from finishing with a kiss. “Don’t you dare think of any alternatives. You being here means you’re mine tonight.” He brushed his lips over hers. “And I hope for the rest of the week.”
“Likewise.”
He let out a soft groan as he pulled away. She could see he was struggling to control himself. It made her body temperature spike even higher.
Ben ordered her drink and another beer for himself, then moved his stool even closer so that he could rest his hand on her thigh just below where her short skirt ended. The roughness of farm work a pleasure on her skin. Her nerves were burning into a deep passion, and she realized she slipped easily into the emotion that she’d been hungry for since she last saw him.Is this why I stayed single?No, this was lust, pure and simple, and she pushed the thought away. There was only one thing she wanted to concentrate on tonight. And that was getting and giving as much pleasure as possible with him.
It took all his self-control not to grab her hand and go straight up to his room. He’d made sure it was clean before coming down, his clothes packed away, work boots neatly lined up, and importantly, condoms on the side table and near the television and a couple in the bathroom. Hopefully, in places easy to reach for in the moment.
Tonight was about pleasure, and part of that was taking his time. He wanted this to last. Hell, he’d been fantasizing what he’d do to her if her saw her, and now he was going to do just that. He was going to take his time. He needed this not just to get him through the year ahead but to help forget about the year that was.
Her legs were crossed, and she sat perched upright, but there was nothing stressed about her posture, more a ‘here I am, come and get me.’ Her lacy navy dress showed off her curvy body. It was low-cut at the front giving him a tease of cleavage. Her hair was styled in soft curls, and delicate silver earrings hung from her ears. He wanted to nibble on her ears, tangle his fingers in her hair, and rub his naked body against hers.
“Your drinks.” The barman brought an abrupt end to his fantasy as he put the wine and beer down in front of them.
“Thanks, mate,” he managed to say but didn’t pick up the beer. He kept his hand on her leg enjoying the buzz of her body warmth filtering into him
Raven placed her black clutch purse on the counter and then picked up her wine.
Was that a little tremor in her hand?The anticipation was getting harder to delay.
“I wasn’t sure if you’d come.” She looked at him over the top of her wine glass before taking a small sip. Her brown eyes smoked of a lusty desire.
“I wouldn’t miss my chance with you.” He paused. That didn’t come how he wanted. Things were hot between them, but it was a little different this time.How honest should he be?They didn’t know much about each other, a deliberate part of their agreement. This wasn’t meant to be anything more, but suddenly, he realized he wanted to know more about her. “I thought you might’ve met someone this last year?”
She shook her head.Was that a hint of sadness in her eyes?“You didn’t either?”
