by Taylor Berke
Lizzie had few relationships with men as most had little to offer as far as love and much to give in the form of heartache. She had known Ben most of her life. Being that he was a little older, he was just one of the boys until she was seventeen. He had begun to fill out as a man from all the hard work on the family ranch, Rugged Hill. Lizzie had watched him from afar as armies of big-haired, made-up girls in breast-popping shirts had thrown themselves at him and the other male members of his family with enthusiasm.
There was just always something about him that made her feel so safe, even though he had never considered her as a girl. He was the quiet one of the Powell clan, so tall and so calm all the time. The girls of Stony Creek had gone into a frenzy as the Powell boys had all come of age. Lizzie could appreciate how Jackson, Ben, and Troy, and their first cousins, Brody and Cole, all were works of art. However, it had always been just Ben who touched her in some way. A kind smile, picking up the book she dropped, or the pounding he gave to the bullies that had been picking on a skinny boy. He had an inner confidence and kindness that she wished she could call her own.
She took a deep, fortifying breath and snuggled herself into his protective embrace as she attempted to begin her sorry tale of woe.
“Do you want the long, detailed movie-script version or just the CliffsNotes for now, Ben?” she questioned.
Ben smiled at her obvious return to sanity as she sounded like the Lizzie that he adored and was insanely attracted to.
“How about you give me the abbreviated story first and then we can delve into the details. Okay?”
Momentarily distracted by the intoxicating scent of male musk, leather, and a hint of cologne, it took her a moment to process his request.
“You remember earlier this year when you kicked out Mr. Davis as he was upsetting me that one afternoon?” At his silent nod of understanding she continued. “Well, due to my father’s incredible parenting skills, protective nature, and gambling enthusiasm, it turns out that the building and my house are mortgaged to the hilt at a ridiculously high interest rate that I cannot possibly keep up with. I am now at the proverbial end of my rope with no other options left unless I get struck by lucky lightning or hit with a money stick. I cannot meet the payments for both, Mr. Davis knows it, wants me to work off the interest in a very nauseating way or I will be homeless and out of business in roughly two months.” She began to shake in his arms again as the weight of her troubles, now out in the open, sat on her shoulders again, making her feel like it was a hopeless dead end.
Ben was quiet for moment as he struggled to take all that information in. His brain roared with fury that this little woman was left to shoulder all the responsibility of the mistakes made by the very person in the world who should have cherished and protected her. He was raised better than that. His rage intensified as he thought about the offer Theodore Davis had made her. The banker should be trying to help her find a way to meet her obligations and was instead trying to force her into an intimate relationship! No fucking way, not on his watch was that going to happen. He cared for Lizzie way too much not to get involved. He definitely didn’t do relationships and had no experience with them but even he knew that this was pathetically wrong on so many levels. His protective instincts for this sexy little creature who was currently torturing his cock and his mind rose to the front of his mind. He was going to see what could be done to relieve her of some of her burdens first thing Monday morning. As for now, he was going to go against his very nature and actually get involved, with her pain, for her.
“Listen to me, baby. We can talk about specifics later but I can promise you this, there is no way that you are going to lose this restaurant or be homeless any time in the next century. Take a deep breath for me now, baby. I will not let that happen and that is something you can count on.” Ben spoke firmly but softly against her head while stroking his fingers over her back.
“Ben, if only you could mean that. I so desperately want to believe that, but I have already explored every possibility other than sleeping with that lecherous, revolting excuse for a man. There are no other options left for me.” She smiled sadly up into his eyes.
Ben sat up straight, forcing her to pull away slightly and crane her neck up to look into his eyes. In a move that caused her breath to catch and made the butterflies in her stomach flutter, he cupped both of his hands around her face and leveled his gaze directly into her watery one.
“No one is going to hurt you, no one. Period,” he emphatically stated.
Before she had an opportunity to respond, she was surprised with the arrival of a moment that she had been desperately waiting for years to experience. Having wanted him for so long, he managed to shock her. Without deviating his gaze from hers, he lowered his firm lips to her quivering ones. It was a soft, gentle kiss of promise that had her struggling not to sob in the relief it brought her. Ben slid his lips back and forth over the softness of hers as he indulged in his first taste of her mouth. He let out a soft groan as he slid his lips tenderly up her tear-stained cheek, to her eyes, gently kissing each one closed. His hands that had her head cupped within their embrace pulled her in a bit closer as he rested his lips against her forehead as he inhaled her exotic scent. She was a mixture of sweet baking scents, probably from all the cooking she did combined with a sultry light perfume that never failed to distract and arouse him as she sauntered by.
“Never, Lizzie. I promise you, never. Now let me lock up here for you and take you home. We can talk over the details tomorrow morning when I come over for brunch,” Ben said with a serious tone to his voice.
Lizzie had to give a little giggle. “Who said I was inviting you over for brunch, Mr. Big Strong Hero?”
For the first time that evening, Ben felt a smile cross his face.
“You did, baby, but I had your mouth and brain otherwise occupied, so you didn’t hear it!” He laughed out. Ben realized in that moment that while he had no idea what the hell he was going to do with this firecracker of sensuality sitting contentedly in his arms, he was happy that she was finally there. He would help this little amazing woman and then retreat back into his voyeuristic world of watching her make him hard every time he looked or thought about her.
“Come on, baby, let’s get you home and out of these damp clothes. Sorry, that’s what happens when you hold on to a wet cowboy.” Not realizing his innuendo and the raise of her eyebrows at his comment, he began to stutter. “Warm, I mean warm and dry. Ugh, ignore me. Let’s go, baby.” With that he lifted her into the cradle of his arms and locked up as he carried her out into the pouring rain.
Lizzie, still feeling the heavenly buzz from the tequila and Ben’s body, smiled into his chest. Tomorrow was very scary and uncertain but today, well, today one of her dreams had come true. She was in Ben’s arms and if she had her way, she would never leave.
Chapter Two
Ben heard Lizzie sigh as he placed her into the passenger side of his dually and watched as she slightly turned as though to doze off into sleep. Even though the rain continued to fall, he couldn’t help himself from indulging himself in the pleasure of seeing to her comfort and safety as he buckled her in. Gently pushing a strand of wet hair from the smooth skin of her face, he tried to remember one of the countless women that he had enjoyed over the last several years of casual indulgences. Funny how none of their faces came into detail as he tenderly looked into hers. Shit, what sort of pheromones did this woman give off that affected him so much? Maybe she put something in her cooking? Perhaps it was MSG, or oysters, or Viagra? Not Viagra though. Who the hell needed that when she was within two miles of him? Maybe he should talk to Billie about an erection antidote so he could give his cock a rest. Nah, he knew how to get himself to settle and it was a tried and true home remedy that involved being inside of her body as often as possible. She mumbled something softly in her sleep as he realized that she might be getting cold.
He jumped up into his side of the enormous midnight blue truck and turned it
toward her home. It was a good thing that it was so high up as the heavy rains that they had been having lately caused minor flooding of the roadways issuing several flash-flood warnings in the last month. His little Lizzie drove an old piece of crap with more rust than not. Leave it to Lizzie to find a way to consider it charming.
He had heard the Saunders crew, Joe, Preston, and Gabe, several times try to convince her that she needed something with less, well, holes. The Saunders men, along with their sister Beth, ran the Wild Mustang Ranch. Horses, who the hell would want to raise only horses? However, Ben would grind his teeth when they started in flirting with Lizzie because they probably were attempting to give her another type of mustang. As the Saunders men liked to share, Ben kept a close eye on that situation. He had laughed every time they tried because he thought she was just emotionally attached to the piece of junk but now he knew the unpleasant truth. She didn’t have the funds to invest in a new car much less save her home. His hands tightened on the steering wheel in anger, again at the thought that this woman was in such dire straits. Ben was old fashioned, like the rest of the men in his family. He didn’t like the idea of a woman suffering and dealing with heavy stresses all alone. Oh, he knew full well that this little spitfire could handle herself and then some, without a man, but why should she? He would see to it that she didn’t have to struggle so much.
He had money to spare. He had been living ridiculously and frugally in a nice trailer on his family’s place, Rugged Hill Ranch. He lived so simply in fact, his mother, Lillian, teased him every Sunday dinner that perhaps he was saving up for when he finally met the “one.” It had never failed, however, for his father, Bill, brothers, cousins, and their friend and neighbor, Hunter Lang, to rib him that in order to find the “one,” he would have to first stay with a woman long enough to find out her last name. Maybe at thirty-three years old it was time to spend a bit on a good cause. Maybe.
He figured a man-to-man conversation with Mr. Davis was the least that was in order as soon as the bank opened on Monday. He slowed his speed as the rain again increased its intensity, while he spared a glance over to his sleeping beauty. Nope, probably not ever going to be his but still he couldn’t stand to see such a precious woman suffer in such obvious pain, not when he could prevent it. Humm, this was going to take some planning and thought. Maybe he could be like Lancelot, just lusting and caring for her from afar? His thick cock throbbed as though in protest of the thought, never to ever receive its satisfaction, but then again, there were many women out there for that sort of relief. Lizzie could just be his charge, concern, and dream woman. He could leave it there so neither of them could get hurt with his oh-so-obvious handicap when it came to relationships. Maybe.
He stopped in front of her little white gate at her front walkway. The one-story small cottage was surrounded by a charming wooden picket fence that looked as though she must whitewash it every year. There were climbing roses dangling over the top edges with colorful lilies interspersed everywhere. The house itself, a soft butter color, was framed with big windows and wooden shutters which were accented by intricate carved wood details. Someone had loved this cottage once but sadly, he could see several places where the shingles needed replacing, paint needed to be replaced, and a general sense of disrepair. He let out a sigh and felt an even greater need to protect this sweet woman. Since he met her, he had felt a need to be near her, watch over her, all while sporting a huge hard-on more often than not. He had driven by her cottage so many times before but had never taken in the details that made it Lizzie before. Maybe she would let him do some little things like a fresh coat of paint, or re-shingle it with the guys. Maybe.
“I must be waterlogged,” he mused, thinking that he was thinking about her too much, too deeply. Any second he was going to be the subject of an Oprah episode. As quietly as possible, he shifted himself off of his seat and out of the truck. Thank heaven, he thought as he was able to adjust the monster erection that had reared up from being trapped in the cab of the truck with her, intoxicating him with her sweet scent. As though she weighed nothing at all, he swiftly plucked her from her seat and hurried her to her front door. The overhang leaked onto his hat, adding another repair to his mental calculations. What were the chances her keys were at the top of her purse?
“It’s unlocked, Ben,” he heard her murmur. Her eyes were still closed and he could feel her soft breasts burning into his chest.
In shock, he looked at her, not taking any care in controlling the tone of his voice. “What the hell do you mean it’s unlocked?”
“Well, the lock broke two months ago, and well, add it to the list of expenses that I don’t exactly have the money to pay for. You want me to get a new lock in gold or platinum, tough guy?” Lizzie laughed out.
With a snide look, he opened the door and slowly entered her house for the first time. His body reacted instantly with another surge of familiar arousal. This was the reason that he had never dared to step foot in her space. The whole house smelled like her scent, fucking delicious. At this rate he was going to have to invest in a cup to prevent the bruising on his cock as it kept banging up against his wet jeans. It was becoming damned uncomfortable. She stumbled toward the bedroom, telling him to make himself at home. He glanced in her direction, unsure of whether or not she could actually walk well. What he saw was a blessing for all the good deeds he had done while he had been on this earth so far. Lizzie, either unaware or uncaring of his presence, had peeled off her wet shirt, leaving her in a cream lace bra and her brown short shorts. As though he willed it, she continued to disrobe by bending at the waist and pulling her shorts, allowing them to drop to the floor with her still bent in half, her luscious ass beckoning him in a matching lace thong. Her skin appeared as smooth as silk, creamy and white, and he longed to be able to run his hands over it. He stood there spellbound at his good fortune, mouth slightly agape as he took in her retreating form. She was unbelievably perfect. It almost made him nervous. How could a woman stimulate him in so many ways, intellectually and physically? He was going to have to start looking for some flaws. There must be some that would cool him down. Otherwise he might be doomed like his elder brother, Jackson. Jackson and Billie, now engaged, made his mother and father giddy with joy at their impending union and made Ben want to run for the hills to escape their ghastly fate. Then why the hell was his mouth suddenly salivating to run his tongue down the center of her spine until it hit the top of the crack of her ass? It must be confused, like his cock. Dumbass organs. Lizzie would probably say male organs, which was why they were dumbass.
Ben took several deep breaths as she paused to turn over her shoulder to gaze at him with a scorching look. He figured that this wasn’t a blessing for something good but a punishment for being bad. She allowed her eyes to sensuously slide from the top of his great height, to meet his smoldering eyes and then shift slowly down his body, taking it all in with her hungry observation. He felt like his erection was made of molten steel as her gaze lingered on its length that was pressing against his wet denim. He swore it felt like she was gently caressing him. He let out a small groan as she turned away and stumbled forward again toward what he assumed was her bedroom.
“Breathe, man, just breathe,” he told himself out loud. He figured if he spoke the words aloud, it would help him gain some semblance of control over himself and his body. Nope, not working. Hard as a rock and having a difficult argument with his legs which wanted to run their way right after her into the bedroom to see what other kinds of treats she had hidden under her lingerie.
Instead he did allow himself to glance around her home. Definitely filled with character and elements that had to be all Lizzie. He tried to walk off his arousal while looking at her personal space. He actually liked it as it felt like a home. Small little pieces of femininity were placed here and there that a rancher like him would never have thought of. His own space was simple, functional, and more often than not, messy. Her furniture was obviously worn but made the sp
ace cozy and comfortable. That is until he hit the kitchen. He felt his shoulders sag as he took in her small serviceable fridge, obviously leaking, dishes in the sink indicating that the dishwasher obviously was broken, and very few of the luxury appliances that a woman like her who cooks should have. It was wrong.
He didn’t have much time to dwell on the kitchen situation when he heard a sultry voice from behind him.
“Can I offer you a drink, Ben? It’s the least I can do for you listening to me and taking me home on a Saturday night. I am so sorry. It is one of the few days you have to just chill out and relax. Instead, you spent part of it being my babysitter.”
He turned abruptly to counter her summation that he somehow minded spending a few hours with her much less a lifetime but was waylaid by his inability to breathe as he took in her attire. She was wearing a deep ruby-red silk robe that only reached to her midthigh. His mouth watered and he struggled to remember how to speak English. He was going to need a pain med for the bruising his cock was taking. His palms itched to run themselves over the undersides of her plump breasts that were barely covered by her scrap of a robe. Ugh. He had to get out of here or do something that he wasn’t really ready to do.
“Ben?” she whispered softly. He didn’t know how much liquor was still in her system and didn’t care. He gathered her into his arms and pulled her against his tall, damp frame, ignoring his previous reservations. He groaned at the full-body contact, including the sensation of his cock pressing against her upper belly covered in the silk. Ben took a deep breath and willed himself not to throw her onto the nearest surface and lean her over, licking her nether lips from clit to perineum.
