The fact that he could indulge in a bit of humor, even while working, was a pleasant and welcome change from her ex-fiancé’s oppressive personality.
His facial features were lean and defined, as was the rest of his body. Standing, he was much taller than her even when she wore her highest heels. His shoulders were broad and he had a firm, muscular chest that made her wonder, more than once, what he looked like without a shirt on. No doubt, breath-takingly gorgeous. From the waist down, he was just as honed and well built… everywhere.
As an ex-Marine and professional bodyguard, he looked strong and capable of keeping her safe and protected. As a man, he looked just rough and tough enough around the edges to give him a bit of a bad boy image. But that rugged appearance and his lack of pretense was what made him real, solid as a rock, and oh-so-appealing to her. What you saw with Ben was exactly what you got, and it was such a refreshing, welcoming change. Those traits also made him stand out from the pack of polished, self-absorbed men she was used to being around.
No question about it, Ben Cabrera was hot, sinfully sexy, and he was exclusively hers for the next three weeks.
Imagine that, she thought with a small, private smile.
Actually, imagining Ben any number of ways was extremely easy to do, considering how attracted she was to him. With just a slow, dark-eyed look or one of those half-smiles of his that tried to bank his own mutual interest—and failed—she felt as though she was melting inside. He made her pulse race, her skin tingle, and her stomach feel as though someone had released a dozen butterflies inside.
Her intense awareness and reaction to Ben was like nothing she’d ever experienced for another man. Her ex-fiancé included. And that said a lot about just how incompatible she and Jason had been from the beginning, on so many levels. But now, looking back at the entire scope of their relationship, it was easy to see Jason’s hidden agenda as well as her mother’s ulterior motives in pushing them together.
None of that mattered now. She was done living her life for anyone other than herself, and now she was going to do things her way. With her new event planning business taking off faster than she’d anticipated, and living out on her own for the first time in her life, she was in a great place emotionally and mentally. She loved her newfound freedom and independence, and she was going to enjoy both for a good long time before even contemplating settling down again—with the right man, of her choosing.
But in the meantime, there were certain things she was very open to exploring and experiencing. Like the undeniable sexual chemistry between her and Ben. Their situation and forced close proximity couldn’t be a more perfect way to take advantage of all the smoldering heat and awareness they’d both been skirting for months now.
“I’ll be in touch over the next few days,” Ben told the other man on the other end of the line, effectively pulling Christine’s attention back to the present. “And if you need anything from me regarding those cases, just give me a call on my cell. Talk to you later, Kev.”
He snapped the unit closed and glanced at Christine to find her turned his way, since she’d been watching him during the entire phone discussion. After scrutinizing her expression for a quick moment, he returned his gaze back to navigating the road.
“Are you alright?” he asked.
She wasn’t sure why he was asking, and she wasn’t about to give him an answer he might not be expecting. “Why shouldn’t I be?”
Again, he looked at her, searching her features for what, she wasn’t sure. “No reason,” he said vaguely. “Just checking to make sure you’re okay with everything.”
For her, everything encompassed a whole lot after this afternoon’s lunch meeting with her father, then her mother’s theatrical entrance into the dining room. “If you’re asking about our situation, I’m one hundred percent fine with you being my bodyguard, and I’ll try and make your job as easy as possible for you.” Although she wasn’t frightened by the threats her father had received, she did take his concern seriously and would never argue the point of him hiring a security agent for her until the election was over.
“Don’t worry about me,” he said as he gave her a glimpse of one of those sexy, toe-curling smiles of his. “You do what you have to do and go about your life and business as usual, and you won’t even know I’m around.”
Ignoring his existence for the next three weeks was going to be virtually impossible, she knew. Even if he was invisible, everything that made her inherently female would sense whenever he was near, would feel his eyes wandering over her. He’d be close enough at all times, like now for instance, for her to inhale the warm, virile scent that was uniquely his—an arousing blend of heat, sex, and pure male temptation.
Feeling hot and bothered, she shifted in her seat and addressed the other issue Ben had been privy to when her mother had joined them for lunch. “I’m really sorry that you had to witness all that family drama back at the house.”
“Hey, stuff happens.” He shrugged casually as he eased the truck off an exit ramp just outside of the Chicago city limits. “I’ve learned to tune conversations like that out.”
She shook her head, finding that hard to believe. “I don’t know how that’s possible. I mean, you were right there, and it’s not easy to tune someone like my mother out. Believe me, I’ve tried.”
He chuckled, the rich, warm sound sliding over her like a caress. “Okay, I’ll give you that. Let’s just say I hear more than I care to when it comes to my clients, but I don’t judge or make assumptions. At least I try not to, anyway. It’s not my place.”
Which said a lot about his own moral compass. There had been too many instances in her life where people had judged her, based on something as simple as her last name, where she lived, and what her father did for a living. It was a refreshing change to find someone who didn’t give a damn about those things.
“I’m glad to hear that you’re not one to think the worst based on someone else’s opinion, because what my mother had to say wasn’t very flattering, or even very nice for that matter.”
A familiar frustration reared its ugly head, and she sighed in an attempt to keep all that bottled up resentment from spilling out of her right here and now. Instead, she kept her voice calm and steady as she said, “I’m truly beginning to wonder if my mother is ever going to forgive me for calling off my engagement to Jason only months before the wedding.”
Ben cast her a brief but incredulous look. “Are you kidding me? From what I’ve heard, the man is an ass and deserved what he had coming to him.”
She lifted a brow and teased blithely, “Isn’t that a bit… judgmental?”
“You and I are participating in a conversation, and in that case I’m entitled to express my opinion.” His gaze scanned the area, then his rearview and side mirrors, an action he’d done routinely on the drive to his place. “I’m certain you saved yourself a boat load of future heartache by ending your relationship with him.”
She silently agreed. Surprisingly, there had been no regrets when she’d broken up with Jason, just an immense, profound relief that she hadn’t ended up marrying a man she didn’t love. She’d known the truth deep inside even as he’d slipped a huge diamond solitaire on her finger, but her own feelings had been eclipsed by the overwhelming pressure from her mother to accept Jason’s proposal. And once the word yes had slipped from her lips, she’d been swept into a maelstrom of engagement parties, bridal showers, and wedding plans.
She had Jason’s careless actions to thank for stopping her from making the biggest mistake of her life.
“I just wish my mother would swallow her pride and let the whole entire fiasco die, instead of continually punishing me for something that was more awkward for me than it was for her.”
“What’s her problem?” he asked with a slight frown. “The guy cheated on you, and not just once. You had every right to call off the wedding.”
She assumed Ben had learned all about Jason’s trysts with a number of call girls fr
om her father, along with the subsequent restraining order she’d had to issue against him shortly thereafter. “According to my mother, it was a few minor indiscretions and I should have looked the other way.”
Just as Audrey had with her own husband’s infidelity.
Ben made a sound of disgust. “Yeah, well, your father obviously felt differently.”
True. Her father had gone so far as to not only fire Jason from his staff, but had dealt a huge blow to his political career in Chicago—and rightly so since Jason had been siphoning campaign funds.
Unfortunately, the whole entire scenario with Jason had planted a few doubts and insecurities about her own desirability, and made her question what was lacking in her that Jason had turned to paid escorts to fulfill. Oh, sure, there had been the obvious differences between herself and the upscale prostitute she’d caught him with—such as the other woman’s voluptuous breasts and centerfold curves and the provocative way she always dressed—but the things he’d been doing to and with that woman before Christine had interrupted them had been not only shocking, but so opposite of the tame, missionary-only style of sex Jason insisted on with her. There had been no passion between them, no burning desire, or even a whole lot of pleasure for her. A few quick touches, a couple of hard thrusts, and he was done.
Since she’d only had one other sexual experience to compare Jason’s technique to—and that encounter had been as exciting as a gynecologist appointment, and just as memorable—she couldn’t help but wonder, and fear, that maybe she shared her mother’s dislike for sex and just didn’t, and couldn’t, enjoy the act. That like her mother, sex would always be more of a marital chore or duty rather than an unrelenting and provocative need to take and be taken in return—without hesitation or reserve.
She’d worried about those things a whole lot… until Ben. The lust and desire she experienced when she was around him was proof enough that she wasn’t frigid, and she was more than ready to shed any and all inhibitions for a taste of what hot, demanding, explosive sex was like.
Minutes later, Ben made a left into a quiet middle-income neighborhood, drove down the street, then turned into a driveway leading to an apartment complex. The two story structure looked as though it had been recently painted, and the landscaping around the building was well kept. The place was modest and simple, just like the man.
He parked his truck beneath a carport, cut the engine, and they both got out of the vehicle. He came around to her side and they headed toward a pathway leading to the complex. “It should only take me a few minutes to pack up what I need,” he said, glancing at her.
“It’s not a problem,” she assured him, enjoying the way the afternoon sun glinted off his dark brown hair, streaking it with warm strands of gold. “I’m not in any hurry, so don’t rush on my account.”
A slow smile eased across his lips, and his eyes glimmered with animated concern. “What about your plans tonight? Don’t you need to get back home so you can start getting ready?”
She rolled her eyes. “I’m not meeting my friends at Envy for another three and a half hours. Contrary to what you might think, I’m not that high maintenance.”
He laughed. “I’ll believe it when I see it.”
They passed a chain linked area where a small group of boys were playing basketball on a concrete court. As soon as they saw Ben, they ran for the open gate to greet him, then formed a semi-circle around the two of them.
“Can you play a game of hoops with us, Ben?” One of the kids asked hopefully. He looked about twelve, as did the three other boys who’d joined him, and it was obvious by the bright expressions on all four of their faces that they were very fond of Ben.
Ben reached out and affectionately ruffled the boy’s unruly brown hair. “Sorry, guys, not today.”
“Awww, man.” Clearly disappointed, he hung his head and scuffed the ground with the toe of his well-worn Nike’s.
“Whose’s your girlfriend?” one of the other boys asked as he tucked the basketball beneath his arm.
“This is Christine, and she’s a friend,” Ben clarified, then went on to introduce her to the boys, who also lived in the apartment building.
“Well, she should be your girlfriend, because she’s hot,” the one named Jimmy said, eyeing her much too boldly for someone so young.
Ben cringed at the unexpected and very suggestive comment.
Unoffended, Christine laughed. It had been a very long time since someone had referred to her as hot, and she wasn’t about to turn it down. “Why, thank you, Jimmy. That’s a lovely compliment.”
Another boy looked pointedly at her outfit, her bangle bracelets, then her high heeled shoes before meeting her gaze. “We’d ask you to play hoops, but you look way too girly for us.”
There was an edge of sarcasm to the kid’s voice, and she arched a brow at him. “Just because I look like a girl doesn’t mean I play like a girl.”
“Yes, it does,” Samuel chimed in, backing his friend with a succinct nod.
Smiling, she held her hand out to Andrew, the one who was holding the basketball. “Let me have the ball,” she said in a friendly, easy-going tone.
Andrew frowned and took a small step back, unwilling to give her the coveted ball that clearly defined them as “men” in their minds. “You’re a girl.”
“Why yes, I am,” she agreed, and kept her hand stretched toward him.
Beside her, Ben sighed. “Christine—”
Ignoring her bodyguard, she kept her gaze locked with the boy’s. “Come on, give me the ball, please? I’d like to show you something real quick, and then you can have it back. I promise.”
Still skeptical, Andrew glanced toward Jimmy, establishing the other kid as the leader of their pack and the one who made all the crucial decisions in their circle of friendship. After a few seconds, Jimmy gave him a nod and said, “Go ahead and give it to her, Andrew. Let’s see what she can do.”
Reluctantly, Andrew shot the ball her way, fast and hard, and she caught it with both hands without flinching, as he no doubt expected. She walked onto the basketball court and up to the three point line, and her audience followed behind to watch.
She calculated the distance to the basketball hoop, bounced the ball a few times to get a feel for it, then glanced back at the small group of boys waiting with varying degrees of feigned boredom and subtle curiosity etching their expressions. Ben stood off to the side as well, his arms crossed casually over his chest and amusement flickering in his gaze.
“Okay, boys, and that includes you, too, Ben,” she said, winking at him. “Pay close attention, because I’m about to show you what this girl can do.”
She dribbled the ball a few more times, positioned herself, then concentrated on all the important elements of making a basket that her high school basketball couch had taught her. Visualizing the shot, she sent the ball sailing through the air, watching as it arched toward her target. The ball hit low on the backboard, and instead of bouncing back onto the court, it circled the rim of the basket before dropping through the net.
Yes, she thought in exhilaration as she suppressed the urge to do a victory dance of some sort. It wasn’t the cleanest shot she’d ever made, but it was enough to prove that she was a girl with a few hoop skills of her own.
One of the boys ran out to fetch the ball as the other three stared at her in shock and blatant disbelief.
“Whoa,” Samuel breathed in awe.
“That was awesome,” Jimmy added, his eyes wide.
“Not bad for a girl,” Andrew muttered beneath his breath.
“Nice shot,” Ben said, the bland tone of his voice belying just how amazed she knew he really was beneath that indifferent facade of his.
Feeling a little cocky after mastering her shot, she strolled back toward the boys, her gaze on the biggest, sexiest one of the bunch. “Awww, come on, Ben. You were impressed. Admit it.”
The corner of his mouth twitched with a smile, but he managed to keep his humor under wr
aps. “Maybe that was just beginner’s luck.”
“Hardly.” She stopped in front of him and gave him a smug look. “I’ll have you know that I was a guard on my high school varsity team.”
That bit of news finally shook a surprised reaction out of him. “You played basketball in high school?”
He sounded as stunned as her mother had been when Christine had announced her choice of extra-curricular activity at the all-girls boarding school she’d attended. Audrey had been pushing for ballet or something equally feminine and had been less than pleased to discover her daughter had chosen what she considered a boy’s sport.
“I know it might be hard to believe, but it’s true,” she said to Ben, as well as the boys who were still gathered close by. “Of course it’s been a while since I’ve actually played a game, but I’m sure I can hold my own. How about a quick ten-point game with the boys?”
“Yeah!” the foursome cheered enthusiastically in response.
Ben’s gaze narrowed. “You’re kidding, right?”
She spread her hands wide. “Do I look like I’m kidding?”
His gaze took her in, all the way down to the red painted toe-nails peeking from her open-toed shoes. Then he gave her a private, teasing smirk. “You’ll break your neck in those stilts you’re wearing.”
Which was easily remedied. She kicked off her Jimmy Choo’s, pushed up the sleeves on her top, and glanced back up at Ben, now four inches shorter than him—and much closer to the boys’ height now. “I’ll go barefoot.”
He shook his head, not the least bit moved by her efforts to sway him. “I don’t think so.”
He was in full bodyguard mode, obviously trying to protect her from something as simple as a game of basketball, which she found ridiculous. Sure, she was smaller than most girls, but she was far from being a delicate debutante, and she wasn’t about to let him treat her like one.
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