Benjamin seemed more worried than usual. He was quiet all afternoon, working silently on his laptop while I buzzed around the house. With the rain falling steadily outside, I couldn't do much else but package soap and prep vials of venom for Dr. Wells. I had to assume that this plan of Remington's and Ghost's had him rattled.
I couldn't blame him. I felt uneasy about it, myself. It sounded easy enough, and I got a strong, trustworthy vibe from Ghost and Remington. If it meant that this threat wasn't looming over my family anymore, I would have done anything.
By the time the heavy skies darkened to gloomy dusk, I found myself leaning against the open window frame, staring out at the downpour that hadn't let up all day. My poor bees would be soaked, and right during their prime gathering time. That was Washington, though, and I hadn't expected much else for early spring.
Against my will, my thoughts drifted to the rain this afternoon. To running through the field soaking wet and laughing with Benjamin, and then the feel of his warm hand around mine as he led me to the sheltered copse. The thing Icouldn't seem to forget was the way he'dfelt. The strength of his grip on my hips and then the softness of his mouth between my thighs. I shivered, my face hot. I had to stop thinking about that, even if it had been life-alteringly blissful.
I wanted more—I wanted to give him pleasure the way he'd given it to me, and I wanted to know what it felt like to enjoy a man inside of me. He wanted me to beg for sex but what did that even look like?
I kind of wanted to find out. No, Idefinitelywanted to find out. I looked over my shoulder at where Benjamin sat on the couch with his laptop, his legs stretched out and crossed at the ankles. He had one arm cocked behind his head while he read, and it made his bicep bulge. I had the sudden urge to take an enormous bite of something soft and sweet, like an apple fritter. He always lookeddelicious. I chewed on the inside of my cheek. Maybe this wasn't the time to come on to him, though. He'd been so quiet after our discussion with Remington and Ghost. No, it would be better to leave him alone, as much as I was drawn to him.
It was strange, my attraction to Benjamin. He was a mystery of physics, an inexorable force on my attention. I found my eyes wandering to him, my body drifting closer to his when he was near, and my ears attuned to the tenor of his voice. There was something magnetic about him, even when he was simply sitting, simply reading something on a computer screen and completely unaware of my presence.
It was difficult to pretend like I didn't want to sit next to him all the time. I had to feign disinterest because something about social strictures seemed to hint that I should, that boundaries were important, especially when we'd agreed that thisthingbetween us was only physical. But I didn't want to ignore him. I wanted to crawl onto his lap like a cat and luxuriate in his warm, firm body. Was that really so pathetic?
I only had a handful of days left with him, and I wasn't willing to accidentally cause him discomfort by literally jumping on him when he might not be into that. I had to stay busy.
I moved away from the window and went into the kitchen. I stopped in front of the blue oven when I realized that if I made dinner, then we'd sit down to eat together, and then I'd have to look at him, and then I'd start to daydream about what "begging" would look like. I did an about-face. Maybe I should do a load of laundry instead. I headed for the loft, but then I stopped again when I realized that it was raining harder than a tropical monsoon and the washer and dryer were in Nan's cottage, which meant I'd have to run through the rain to get there. I turned in a circle, unsure of where to go.
Benjamin looked up from his computer, his brows drifting up. "Is your GPS glitching?"
"Uh." I searched for something I should be doing other than curling up next to him and reading the new mystery book I'd downloaded. "I was thinking of… showering."
One bright blue eye squinted. "Is that a complicated process? Because you've stopped and started three times now."
Why on earth was he watching me that closely, anyway? I swallowed, suddenly embarrassed. "I just kept changing my mind about what I'd need."
He nodded sagely, closing his laptop and settling his elbow on the back of the couch. "I also dither in the kitchen about whether or not to take eggs into the shower."
I rolled my lips between my teeth and then popped them back out again loudly. "Ah, eggs. I've been showering wrong this whole time."
Benjamin's lips slanted to one side roguishly. "Should I show you how to shower correctly?"
My pulse jumped, fluttering with nervous anticipation. "This wouldn't be a lesson, would it?"
"No, it's adiversion," he grinned, standing up slowly and coming around the couch. "Because I believe we're both a bit tightly wound after that conversation this afternoon."
"A bit," I admitted reluctantly. "You seemed worried about it. Unhappy."
"You're worried about me?" he asked incredulously, coming to stand close to me. He tugged playfully on the ends of my long hair which hung around my shoulders. "I'm not the one who got my nose broken."
"Thank you for reminding me of one of my most inelegant moments," I smiled wryly.
"Evelyn, I'm saying this with a heaping dose of affection." Benjamin tilted my chin up, bending down so his words feathered across my lips. "You are confoundingly inelegant." I started to laugh, and he whispered a kiss on my lips. "And distractingly beautiful."
My entire body reacted to his kiss, filling with electrifying energy and sighing in relief. When he was touching me, kissing me, teasing me, I didn't have to think about how to act. I just did. I pushed onto my tiptoes, deepening the kiss and hooking an arm around the back of his neck. Our bodies pressed together, and he stabilized me against him with a hand on my lower back. His other cupped my head, and he slanted a hungry kiss against my mouth, flicking his tongue along the sensitive places in my mouth, playful and seductive in equal measures.
He backed us up, and I followed, kissing him slowly, and when he nipped my bottom lip and then licked where it stung, I had to catch myself before I moaned into his mouth. Benjamin made a growl, like he was impatient, and then he lifted me against him. I gasped, startled, but then he was cupping my ass, holding me against his hard body and backing us up toward the bathroom. I blinked away some of the haze. "You're actually taking me to the shower?"
He coasted his lips over the delicate bruise he'd created earlier. Inhaling against my skin, he murmured, "You, wet, soaped up, naked… give me one reason Ishouldn'ttake you to the shower."
"Well, when you put it that way," I mused.
He levered the door to the bathroom open, flicking on the light. The vanity lights over the sink and counter blinked on, and although the space was more than adequate with double sinks, a full garden tub, and the toilet and a set of shelves behind us, the room suddenly felt confined. He filled the space, large and hot, and then I was sliding down his body again. He stole my thoughts with another delirious kiss, and I melted into him. Benjamin was warm and solid, and his slow, coaxing kiss was like hot fudge, sweet and rich and entirely too satiating. What had I been worried about three minutes ago? I couldn't remember anymore.
Benjamin's fingers lifted the hem of my sweatshirt, and his fingertips brushed against my stomach. I sucked in a breath, and he dropped soft kisses along my jawline. "I should ask if you have any objections to me stripping you down and doing unholy things to your body in the shower."
A thrill swirled low in my stomach. "None," I gusted out.
