by Taylor Berke
He leaned down and for the second time that night tempted himself beyond reason. Her eyes closed as her lips touched his, looking like she was basking in his attention. He allowed her to brush her lips over his as he tightened his arms around her lush body, feeling the slight tremble as she gave herself up to his kiss. He took control from her as he slipped his tongue into the caverns of her mouth, tasting her sweetness while deepening the kiss. He let out a growl as he allowed one hand to thread into her hair, pulling her head to the side while he started to plunder her mouth with an almost uncontrollable hunger.
Ben tried desperately to gather his senses together. This was Lizzie. Beautiful, gentle, and funny Lizzie, and he felt like he was taking advantage of her inebriated sorrows. Damn, if only she weren’t silk clad. If only she didn’t feel like perfection with curves and swells pressing against him in exactly the way a woman should. If only she didn’t taste like the most addictive thing he had ever indulged in. Damn. With no warning, he swept her up into his arms and carried her to what he assumed was her bedroom. It was quite the surprise. The white everywhere was to be expected but the gauzy drapes and huge downy bed made him itch to slide under the covers with her in the seductive cocoon. Humm, he could fit…
Nope, couldn’t do it. Not today, not yet.
Chapter Three
How the hell did he end up in this position? He was the guy who would be taking off his clothes and preparing for a night of debauchery right about now. His body practically screamed out in protest as he slid Lizzie under her soft, feminine sheets and blankets. She looked up at him dreamily and held out her arms to him, as though for a good-night kiss. He sighed, loudly.
“You don’t want me to give you a kiss, Ben? I am not so drunk that my lips won’t work, you know,” Lizzie slurred out with her eyes half closed.
Ben thought he would burn in hell as he knew a way to test out her theory that her lips were fully functional. He could just unzip his jeans and slip out his…Shit, he had to get out of this bedroom, now. He felt a trickle of sweat run down his temple as he fought for control.
“Good night, baby. Sleep well, I will watch over you. Everything will be better in the morning.” With that, he quickly kissed her gently on the lips, pausing to press a second kiss lightly to her forehead. He meant it. He would stay on her couch, breathe in her luscious scent, and not sleep a wink so he could be assured of her safety. He felt his heart do some sort of tumble-pounding thing. Must be indigestion. He didn’t get all sensitive over anything except seeing one of the animals sick, although not as badly as his younger brother, Troy. Nope, couldn’t be anything other than he was worried about her.
He focused back down on her now-sleeping form. She looked like a fallen angel, her red silk robe slashing a small bit of color against the purity of her white bedding and room. He gently smoothed her damp hair off her cheek and abruptly turned and got his ass out of her room. What should he do now? It was too early for him to go to bed on a Saturday night. He decided to make a list of problems in her home. He could definitely start with small repairs. That would make her happy.
“What the hell is that sound?” Ben said aloud.
A persistent and rhythmic sound had caught his attention. He walked into the living room and figured it out by looking up. A huge drop of water hit him smack in the eye. Damn, the roof not only looked pathetic but was leaking, too. He rummaged around her cabinets until he found a pot big enough to last the night. He was amazed at what he found while he searched. Her cabinets were impressive in how she had them organized. Everything had a place and was easily accessible. It told him a lot about Lizzie. No wonder as she ran such a great café, he figured. Upon closer inspection, however, even his untrained eye could see how old the cookware was. Sure it was meticulously cared for but still, he could see that it was probably never the best quality even when new. Little secrets of Lizzie kept being thrown at him and instead of running for the hills as usual, for some reason, he became more and more intrigued. Ben couldn’t believe that the sexiest woman he had ever held in his arms was encased in silk and sleeping contentedly down the hall while he roamed her house, determined to distract his body from the thought of hers. Cursing silently at her broken door lock, he jotted down on a pad for that to be the first thing he fixed in the morning.
The dripping of the leak was punctuated by the sound of a high-end engine and headlights outside Lizzie’s house. Who the hell would be out on her deserted, dark road at this time of night? He didn’t like the implications and opened the front door to see a Cadillac turning around at breakneck speed to retreat away from her home. Fuck, did that piece of shit really just show up at her house? He shuddered to think of what might have happened had she been here alone, drunk and unlockable with Theodore Davis stalking her. This wasn’t going to be pretty for that man and things were about to change.
Better make himself comfortable, he figured. Ben sent off a text to his brothers, Jackson and Troy, as well as to his cousins, also partners on their ranch, Brody and Cole, that he would be unable to make it for morning chores. Damn, they would be thinking he was getting fucked but good. Ben let out a groan as he heard a swish of silky materials rubbing as Lizzie must have rolled over. He wished. He was fucked all right but not in the way that his body begged to be. He closed his eyes and prayed for sleep to take him. It was going to be a long damn night.
* * * *
Lizzie sat up in bed way too quickly, startled awake by the banging coming from the front of the house. She fell backward back down into her soft pillows with a moan.
“I will never drink that much alcohol again. Never,” she said aloud.
What the heck was that banging sound? Knowing she needed to investigate the sound but having serious difficulty drumming up the courage to leave her bed, she allowed her brain to win the war. She grabbed a pillow, a silly choice of weapon really, and silently tiptoed down the hallway. Her eyes protested at the light that was evilly streaming in through her open front door. She heard her own gasp as she dropped the pillow and tried to protect her poor eyes from the harsh, painful after-drunk glare.
Her confusion grew as she heard a chuckle, a very masculine one. Lizzie squinted her eyes open just enough to make her think that she was hallucinating or still drunk. Standing at her door was a god. It was the one that haunted her restaurant almost daily, always showing up but barely speaking a word. It was the only man who she had ever permitted and secretly enjoyed having her butt spanked by and now he stood there in all his deliciousness. Yup, that was the only way to describe her vision. His hair was tousled and his bare, muscled chest was on proud bare display. He sported a chiseled six pack that made her knees weak while her mouth salivated at the sight of his jeans molded to his hard body with the top button undone. Trying to gather her thoughts, she shook her head as though to clear it, only causing herself more discomfort.
“Ben?” she squeaked out. “What are you doing?”
He didn’t answer her at first. His gaze was directed at something below her chin, and his face bore the look of pain as though he too had been intoxicated.
“Uh, good morning, Lizzie. Were you able to sleep well?” Ben asked her without raising his gaze to meet hers. He looked even more uncomfortable as she watched him turn away slightly and try to adjust his jeans. She then saw the source of his discomfort which then subsequently increased her own. Having her own newfound problem, she realized that she couldn’t tear her own gaze from the very obvious and huge evidence of his arousal.
Silently smiling to herself, she prayed that someday soon she would see his body without the teasing material that shielded it from her eyes. She shifted her gaze down to her own body and let out an ear-piercing shriek.
“Ben! How could you not say something?” She thought she might faint from embarrassment as she pulled the edges of her robe together with one hand and sought out the tie with the other. Ben had obviously gotten an eyeful of her naked body as she just oh so casually stood there like an idiot ogling
him in his own barely there clothing. She figured that he probably had earned the look for all the naughty thoughts she was having about him at this moment. Hastily tying the ends, she prayed that she would melt away into the floor. How humiliating really! Nope, never going to drink again.
“Well, I didn’t want to embarrass you any more than you were going to be, baby, and I can now confirm that you haven’t got one single part of your gorgeous body to be embarrassed about! Besides, it’s not every day that a man gets to be witness to perfection so early in the morning,” Ben said with a charming smile.
He didn’t think he could get anymore aroused than he was at this moment, but he was wrong. There was something that made him feel very cocky about being the reason for the incredible blush staining her cheeks and chest. He wondered if he undid the ties to her robe, would it be anywhere else. He was just as startled as she was actually. He was just starting on his list when the woman who haunted his dreams last night stole down the hall armed only with a down pillow and naked body that could bring a man to his knees. She had stood there before him, startled into dropping the pillow, and allowed him to take in the most perfect breasts that were the crown above her narrow waist and gorgeous, soft hips. His eyes had seemed to be glued to her soft mound devoid of hair except for a small, neat strip above her clit. His entire body had been slammed with an overpowering lust as his cock pounded to awareness. He had to look away momentarily to catch his breath and make some room before the thing ripped a hole, trying to get itself free. Ben realized that he had a death grip on the hammer he had retrieved from his toolbox in an effort not to throw her up against the nearest wall and fuck her senseless.
Yup, senseless. That is exactly what he thought she must be walking out here like that. What the hell did she think he was made of anyway?
“Ben, really! I know for sure I have never qualified for anything remotely considered perfect especially after last night. Did you sleep over last night?” she asked the question that had an obvious answer. Duh.
He raised one eyebrow in amusement. “You needed someone to watch over you while you recovered from your visit to the distillery. I volunteered for the job. Sorry I woke you. I was just fixing the lock on the door for you. Now I will be able to sleep better knowing that you are locked in all safe at night.”
“You did?” she asked him in a mix of shock and pleasure. It made her feel all warm inside knowing he cared if she was safe.
“I did. I also managed to make us some coffee without burning down your kitchen. Would you care for some and perhaps an ibuprofen or two?” he asked with a twinkle in his eyes.
Lizzie again looked shyly up at him nodding her head, pleased that a man, especially this man, could be so thoughtful. It wasn’t what she was accustomed to.
They walked into her little cozy kitchen together where he encouraged her to sit while he poured her a cup and retrieved the medicine from the cabinet that she indicated. He sat across from her, trying hard to forget the gorgeous, tempting package that he had briefly had the pleasure of seeing. He inwardly sighed as his body again reacted to his wayward thoughts.
“I appreciate it so much that you would try to fix my lock, Ben, but you don’t have to, you know. I will eventually get it fixed,” Lizzie said.
“I know you will because it is fixed at this moment. I couldn’t in good conscience let you spend another night in here if I didn’t, Lizzie. It was nothing at all, baby. In fact I am rather angry at you for not asking me to fix it before today.”
Lizzie sent him a soft smile which encouraged him to continue.
“So that brings me to my next early-morning topic. I was doing a little thinking last night about your, ah, situation and I think I may have a solution to benefit us both,” Ben said gently, taking care not to broach the very sensitive topic without some sort of finesse.
At her startled look, he tried to forge on. “Now, we have known each other for a long time, Lizzie, no?”
She looked at him with a mixture of hesitancy and suspicion. Ben’s concerns were immediately confirmed that this amazing woman hadn’t known much gentleness from men.
“Yes, Ben, we have. Why do you ask?”
“Well, being sort of like neighbors and with me eating at the café most days, well, I figure we have some trust between us built up.”
Lizzie looked at Ben like she couldn’t figure out if he had grown another head or was sitting on his brain with that huge body of his.
“Ben, I live twenty minutes from your ranch. Hunter and Billie qualify as your neighbors. I am merely your dinner maker, sir.”
Ben tried to ignore the connotations running through his head from hearing her call him sir and rubbed his hand impatiently over his face. “Baby, try to focus and be serious. I understand the financial situation that you are in and would like to be of assistance.” No sooner did he get those words out, than she jumped up from her chair and glared at him.
“There is no way in hell I am going to take money from you, Mr. Overgrown Walking Wall of Muscle. I am a hard worker who is quite capable of figuring my way out of this mess without taking a handout from anyone. I thought you knew me better than that, Ben,” she spat out.
Ben could feel the anger and indignation pouring off her. He took a deep breath and decided to forge on even a bit more lightly.
“I didn’t suggest, honey, that you just take money from me. That is your exhaustion talking. There is another way to allow you your pride and give me an opportunity that I might not have otherwise. Are you willing to listen or are you going to start jumping up and down again? If you are going to jump, then fine. I am just going to sit back, have my coffee, and watch your gorgeous breasts bounce around in that little scrap of nothing.”
Lizzie opened her mouth but shocked them both as nothing would come out for once. The blush that had finally settled down returned with a vengeance as she cast her gaze downward and sat.
“Okay,” she said quietly, suddenly seeming very submissive as a result of his overtly sexual interest.
Not sure if he should be pleased or not now that he knew jumping would not be part of conversation, Ben soldiered on.
“I have worked hard for a long time like you, Lizzie. I know you. I know how hard you have always worked, even before your father passed. If I thought you would actually just take money from me, well, then I would push the issue. However, I have no desire to have some hundreds shoved down my throat for my next delectable meal from the café. Instead, I have had a need for a while to do something with my money as an investment. I practically live at your restaurant and know firsthand how amazingly you cook and run the place. There is no reason to even question whether it will be open in twenty years from now, providing you aren’t too stubborn and proud to make a good choice.”
Lizzie sat silently trying to control her need to yell out at him that she didn’t need anyone’s help. Billie had tried to offer her a loan last month only to have their first fight of their friendship even though Lizzie knew it was offered out of love. She just didn’t want to feel like she couldn’t handle things, like she was failing regardless of that it was her father’s mistakes and not hers. Lizzie knew that Billie had a rather large inheritance from when her husband had passed and she was the also the town’s physician but that didn’t matter. She couldn’t accept the help regardless of the love behind it. She would figure it out somehow by herself.
“Okay, Ben. I am trying to listen. I cannot promise I won’t bite your head off but I will try not to jump on you yet.”
Ben’s look of concern momentarily changed into an impish grin as he murmured, “Jump on me all you like. It won’t bother me one bite. In fact, I can promise I will probably like it. A lot.”
With a laugh, Lizzie retorted, “That’s not what I meant and you know it. I am going to try to actually listen, Ben.”
“Well, thank you for not ignoring me completely ahead of time, baby.” He laughed out. She looked at him again and had to laugh herself. He was right. Maybe h
e did know her better than even she realized. All those days that he sat in the café all quiet-like, he must have been observing her quite a bit, she mused.
“So this is what I suggest. I am going to be your silent investor. I would like to be your partner in the business aspect. Let’s say twenty-five percent so you could still have a very large majority. I would buy in and give you one quarter of a year’s profits in cash to pad the business while taking twenty-five percent of the bills away from you. It would ease your burden and allow you to continue to own both the business and your home. My money would be in a solid investment that we could pay out quarterly and with little stress to you or the restaurant. We would both win.”
Lizzie sat there speechless for a moment. “Why? Why would you do this for me, Ben? It makes no sense. You could just as easily, if not more, invest in something through the bank and Mr. Davis. I don’t understand.”
Ben eased his big body back in her delicate kitchen chair, which groaned under his weight. He cocked his head to the side and appeared deep in thought for a moment before he answered.
“First of all, there is no way I am going to do anything with Mr. Davis except to have a talk with him tomorrow. I am going to deal with him from now on, a non-negotiable part of my twenty-five percent control. If he so much as lays a finger on you, he is going to have it broken off and shoved down his throat.” Ben raised his voice in barely contained anger.
“How do you know about that, Ben?” Lizzie nervously asked.
With a cocky smile, he returned, “You told me last night, in great detail, baby. I see I am going to have to ply you with booze when I need to get some naughty secrets from you. You told me everything from your dealings with the less-than-reputable Mr. Davis to your father and his, um, transgressions. You even confessed your eternal desire for me to make endless love to you while being tied to this very chair. Don’t you remember?” he asked mischievously.
