Rushing the Goal (Assassins #8)

by Toni Aleo

  “You don’t know that.”

  “Hush, you,” he demanded, and she snapped her lips shut, her eyes narrowing.

  “Your hands are cold,” she complained, moving closer to him.

  “Someone has my coat,” he said, moving his nose along hers. “Now, tell me something. Did you have fun last night?” Her grin fell, her green gaze blazing as she sucked in a breath. “Don’t lie either,” he admonished, and when her lips fought to curve, Benji’s heart went wild. It was funny how life could change with just a flicker of a smile. Just a little bitty smile had Benji in knots.

  Hell, this girl had had him in knots since the beginning.

  “I did,” she admitted, her hands coming up to rest against his chest.

  “Okay, so we both have fun together, right?”

  She nodded slowly, not liking that he was right. “Right.”

  “Okay, so let’s get to know each other. And, if at any time, it gets to where either of us feels we are wasting each other’s time, we’ll stop. Okay?”

  He was pretty sure that would never happen, but obviously he had to say something to keep this woman from running the other way.

  Like he knew she would be, she was hesitant as she bit into her lip. “I don’t know. I have so much baggage…and I just don’t know.”

  She was preaching to the choir on that one, but it was time to no longer allow that baggage to hold him back from what he wanted. He wanted Lucy and she wanted him; he knew she did. So he just grinned, his hands coming behind her and reaching for her phone he had seen her tuck into her back pocket when they walked outside earlier. Her breath caught as he said, “Fine, let’s start with just your number. Give me that, and we can talk. If you get bored with me, just let me know and we’ll stop.”

  “You think I don’t feel you taking my phone?” she asked as he dialed his number on it. “And that I don’t know you are dialing your number so I have no choice in the matter?”

  He gave her look as his phone sounded. “Oh, baby, don’t act like you don’t have a choice. You could’ve stopped me at any time,” he said roughly against her cheek. He saved his contact info and then tucked her phone back into her pocket. Pulling back, he met her desire-filled gaze. “You just don’t want to.”

  Her lips pursed and everything inside him went hot. “Maybe.”

  He held her gaze, watching her eyes darken as he held her tightly to him. “Maybe you want another kiss?”

  She pushed him away, her lips curving. “Not now. That’s a bad idea.”

  He eyed her. “You sure? I’m going to be gone for a week.”

  “Okay…?” she laughed, rolling her eyes.

  “Now, Lucy, I know it’s going to be so hard remembering how I kiss. Maybe I should give you another taste?”

  She rolled her eyes. “Dork, I’ll survive.”

  “Will you?” he teased and she shook her head.

  “I gotta go,” she said as she went to walk past him, but he stopped her, his hand holding her at her hip.

  “Because I think I need another taste of you to hold me over. Because, while I could never forget the feel of those lips on mine, I just want something to keep me going until I see you again.”

  “Bye, Benji,” she breathed as she tried to walk away, but he took her by the hand, lacing his fingers with hers.

  She looked at his hand holding hers and then back to him, her cheeks reddening as she held his gaze. Bringing her hand up to his mouth, he kissed it softly as she gasped, her lids dropping a bit into a sexy, kitten look. As his lips pressed to her knuckles, a dreamy look appeared in the depths of those green eyes and he smiled against her skin.

  Moving his lips from her hand, he held her gaze, fully expecting her to pull away.

  But she didn’t move.

  And neither did he.

  With their fingers still laced together, he could see her eyes were dark. He was sure his were too from wanting her more than his next breath. He was pretty sure if she didn’t give him a kiss, he was going to fall to his knees and beg. Pitiful, he knew, but he couldn’t let her walk away. Not yet.

  Letting out a long breath, she just looked at him, bewilderment in her eyes as she mumbled, “What the hell is it about you?”

  And then she was moving. He was ready, taking her into his arms as their mouths met in a heated frenzy. Shit, he had missed her kisses. Her mouth. The feel of her. Jesus, it was almost too much to handle as his tongue moved with hers. Holding her close, he deepened the kiss as her fingers moved along the base of his neck, causing chills to run down his spine. His fingers dug into her back as she arched into him, moaning softly against his mouth.

  But it was too much.

  Way too much.

  He pulled away because if he didn’t, he was going to take her into the back of his truck and do the naughtiest things in the world to her. He was pretty sure the neighbors wouldn’t appreciate that, or hell, Jayden. So he sucked in a deep breath, sliding his nose along her cheek. Begging himself to control his desire as her lips moved against his, he opened his eyes to find that her eyes were closed ever so sweetly.

  “So beautiful. So fucking beautiful,” he whispered against her lips and she grinned, leaning her forehead against his nose.

  “I needed that,” she admitted softly.

  “Well, I’m your guy whenever you need to hear it,” he whispered against her eyes. Closing his eyes, he took in her sexy smell as his grip on her tightened. “And just in case you forget, I’m a phone call away.”

  “Okay.”

  “And don’t try to be all ‘I don’t want to call him ’cause it will make him think I want him’ and not call me, okay?” he said, impersonating her. He was answered with laughter as she pulled back, looking at him. “I know you want me. It’s cool, ’cause I want you. Okay?”

  “I don’t know what in the world you are talking about,” she laughed and he grinned, loving the angelic sound that came out of her sweet mouth.

  And because he couldn’t handle it, he kissed said mouth once more, and then a second time for good measure before pulling away.

  Tracing his cheekbone with her finger, she looked deep into his eyes. “This really shouldn’t happen. That’s why I ran.”

  “What’s happening?” he asked. “I just wanted to kiss you.”

  She scoffed. “Sure, and kisses lead to sex, which leads to feelings, which leads to heartbreak.”

  He kissed her nose once more, his eyes searching hers. It was obvious that douche had hurt her, but Benji wasn’t that guy and he wasn’t going to do that. “Since I don’t like heartache, let’s skip that part.”

  She paused before slowly shaking her head. “It’s not that easy.”

  “Before it wasn’t, but maybe now it can be,” he said with another wink that made her lips curve.

  But as fast as they curved, they went back into a straight line as she looked away. “I don’t know if I’ve got it in me to try. I’ve been hurt, Benji. I’ve got so much—”

  Letting her go because he knew if he didn’t now, he wasn’t going to, he leaned toward her, kissing the side of her mouth before whispering against her lips, “Then I’ll help you try.”

  As he pulled back, she watched him and then looked away. “You make it really hard to argue with you.”

  “Oh, thank God. I don’t like fighting, but I love making up,” he said with a wink, which made her giggle. Moving toward his truck, very slowly because he didn’t want to leave, he smiled. “Good thing I have your number so we can see how much fighting and making up we’ll do.”

  Her lips turned up as she shook her head, watching him. “You stole it and I’m still not sure how I feel about that.”

  He laughed. “Hey, what’s the worst that can happen?”

  Her eyes said it all.

  She could fall for him.

  While he really didn’t see a problem with that, it was damn apparent it was a huge deal for her, and that worried him.

  Was he, in fact, setting himself up f
or heartache?

  He wasn’t sure. But one thing was for sure.

  He wasn’t turning back.

  What’s the worst that can happen?

  Really?

  Easy!

  Lucy could like him.

  She could miss him.

  She could fucking fall for him.

  There was so much that could go wrong, but she’d be lying if she said she wasn’t giddy walking back to the house, cuddled in Benji’s jacket.

  “Shit,” she said, pulling out her phone to call him. When she went to her call list, the last number she had dialed was listed as “My Sexy Dork.”

  Seriously?

  This guy.

  She hit the number, and Benji answered, laughing. “That was quick. I was convinced you wouldn’t text or call till Wednesday.”

  “Shut up. You forgot your jacket.”

  “Eh, keep it. Looks better on you.”

  She made a face. “It’s huge on me.”

  “Yeah, but I like seeing you in it. I feel you should have to wear it all the time.”

  “You’re insane,” she laughed, reaching for the door.

  “Yeah, but maybe it will inspire you to do something crazy and text me later. When you’re lying in bed, naked—”

  “I don’t sleep naked,” she said dryly, a grin pulling at her lips.

  “No? Hm, you should. It would be hot.”

  “Noted.”

  “Okay, but text me tonight when you’re wanting someone to wrap their arms around you. Just a hug, of course.”

  “Of course.”

  “But then, maybe when you want someone between your—”

  “Goodbye, Benji,” she said, hanging up to his laughter.

  Sucking in a deep breath, she closed her eyes.

  Be still, heart.

  And behave, vagina.

  But, good Lord, that man was a big ball of hotness and he drove her absolutely senseless. She would never let anyone talk to her like that, but when he did it, it was playful, silly. He was a dork. A big sexy one, but he had her number, which meant he’d call her or text her and then she’d have to talk to him, and then… Shit, were they dating?

  No.

  No…

  “Fuck,” she complained as she pushed the door open and went inside. She found the living room was empty, that was until Baylor came limping through, a plate in her hand. Lucy went to her, taking it despite her protest.

  “Just go sit down,” Lucy said with more force, and Baylor took notice.

  “Jesus, for someone who just got the stuffing kissed out of her, you’d think you would be a little nicer,” she teased in a whisper as she sat down.

  Lucy glared and almost threw the plate at her. “I want to throw this at you.”

  “Yeah, I know,” she said, taking it and winking. “But I’m hurt. You can’t.”

  Lucy rolled her eyes and then fell into the other chair beside her. Slouching down in it, she glared over at her sister-in-law. “You saw it all?”

  Baylor scoffed as she grinned around the bite of sandwich she had just taken. “You mean Benji almost doing you against his truck? Yeah, I saw it, and I put two and two together.”

  “Hellfire,” she cried out, covering her face with her hands as her cheeks turned deep red.

  “I didn’t think it was like you to leave a whole bag over there, but if you were doing a walk of shame, you just might.”

  Peeking through her hands at her grinning sister-in-law, she said, “Have I told you lately I don’t like you?”

  Baylor feigned hurt. “Me? I thought I was your favorite.”

  Lucy covered her face back up and then shook her head. “What am I doing?”

  She said it more to herself, but Baylor took it upon herself to answer. “I think you should go with it. He had those sex eyes and it was kind of hot. Usually, I look at him like he’s kinda goofy, but with those sex eyes… Rawr.”

  Sliding her hands down her face, she set Baylor with a look. “Please don’t ever say that about him again.”

  Baylor giggled as she shrugged. “Aw, how sweet, you’re jealous.”

  Lucy glared because there was no way in hell she would give that sentence life. Ignoring it because it was silly to even think about it, she said, “I’m a mom.”

  Baylor shrugged. “Yeah, who needs a hot dude to spice up her life. I say go for it.”

  Closing her eyes, she let out a long breath. “Where are Jayden and Angie?”

  Baylor took another bite. “Upstairs.”

  “Okay,” she said, standing up. “I hope you choke on that sandwich.”

  Baylor sputtered with laughter, and Lucy grinned back at her as she headed for the stairs. “They didn’t see anything,” she called back at her and Lucy’s grin disappeared.

  Should she tell them?

  Tell them what?

  They weren’t even, really, kind of dating.

  Like, kind of. But not really.

  She did sleep with him, though, and he did hang out with Angie, but that didn’t matter. It was nothing. Nothing to even speak about.

  Yeah, she’d wait.

  For what, she wasn’t sure, because this was going nowhere.

  He probably wouldn’t even call her.

  Or text her.

  Yeah, he was just being nice.

  …or she was a big idiot.

  It was a toss-up.

  “Hey, Coach!”

  Shea Adler turned around just as Lucy and Angie made their way to him. With a big grin on his face, he waved happily. “Hey, Hart. How’s it going?”

  Looking exhausted, which was a complete sham since the girl slept more than Lucy did, she slapped her leg. “Well, funny story.”

  Jesus.

  Angie had told everyone she saw they were homeless, and no matter how many times Lucy told her to stop, she still proceeded to tell the world. Lucy had just finished writing a very lengthy email to Angie’s teacher, guaranteeing her that they were not, in fact, homeless.

  “So our apartment got flooded and they are tearing it up. They called Mom and told her we couldn’t go back for a while. It’s a mess. I would say we’re homeless, but I don’t want to lose my iPad and Mom has already threatened me with that if I tell one more person we’re homeless. So we’re not homeless, but we don’t have a home.”

  This kid.

  Letting out a long breath, Lucy ran her fingers through her hair before meeting Shea’s stunned gaze. “Wow, okay.”

  Lucy shrugged. “Ladies and gentlemen, Angela Lynn Hart.”

  Shea laughed as he bumped fists with her and smiled over at Lucy. “You guys are good, though, right? We have a house y’all can stay at, but it’s an hour from here.”

  She appreciated his worry. He was such a good guy, and she knew what house he was speaking of. It was Elli’s old house. A lot of people had rented it from her, but like he said, it was an hour from here, and that wouldn’t cut it for her. “Yeah, we are staying with Jayden until we get things figured out. They aren’t sure if the building is even safe anymore. There was way more damage when they got farther into it. We’ve had to move my office into my brother’s den while he’s gone. So I’ve got until Friday to figure out what I’m going to do. It’s a mess.”

  “Man, that blows. Let me know if you need anything, okay? I can help, Elli will help too, you know that. Even if it’s just to keep Angie. She can come hang with us.”

  Lucy smiled. “Thanks, Shea. Really, that means a lot. I’ve got this, though.”

  Shea nodded. “Oh, I know. Just wanted to let you know we’re here for you,” he said with a grin before turning to Angie. “Ready to hit the ice?”

  “Yes, sir!” she cheered before taking her bag from Lucy. She said a quick bye, and as Lucy was walking away, she heard Angie telling Shea about quitting dance, which made Lucy roll her eyes.

  Angie was telling everyone, and because of that, Lucy knew she had to have everything figured out before Angie went back to her dad’s. She wasn’t sure if Ang
ie would tell him about their housing issues, but to be sure, she wanted to have a plan. No reason to give him anything he could use to get custody of Angie. Things were good the way they had it, and she wasn’t using Angie’s diagnosis as any kind of excuse. She needed consistency and she needed stability. Rick was not that. He never had been. So what made him think he was now? It made no sense. But thankfully, they were staying with family, so that was normal for Angie. But she worried what would happen when they needed to move.

  If they had to move.

  Shit, she didn’t know.

  Such a mess. That was her life, though, a jumble of mess.

  Going up the bleachers, Lucy sat in what she had decided was her normal spot and leaned back, waiting for Angie to take the ice. Going through some emails, she answered back her vendors, set up appointments for the following day, and looked through some possible offices that Rayne had sent her. But she didn’t want to move. She wanted to stay where she was. It was so perfect for her. Home on top, office on bottom. It worked.

  But nothing ever seemed to work for her for long.

  Letting out a sad sigh, she noticed that each office was way out of her price range. She knew if she picked one of them, there would be no way she could hire another designer. What a clusterfuck. Maybe she could set up an office in her warehouse? But as soon as she thought it, she knew she couldn’t. It wasn’t an office setting, and it was cold in there during the winter and hot as hell in the summer. No, that wouldn’t work.

  Damn it.

  When the girls hit the ice, Lucy smiled as Angie did her usual laps. She wondered if Angie missed Benji because she looked a little sad as she made her laps. When she came to a stop, she looked up at Lucy and shrugged. Lucy could tell she was a little unsure of herself, so she held up two thumbs and Angie smiled at that as Shea gave direction. At least she had Shea. He was good to her.

  But even Lucy missed seeing Benji out there.

  When her phone sounded, she looked down to see a text from the very man she was thinking about. Well, she thought about him all the time, but no one needed to know that.

  Benji: I know what you’re thinking.

  Her brow rose as she typed him back. To her surprise, and proving her to be an idiot, he had texted her last night. It was only a “Good night, beautiful” text, but still, he took the time. And it was easy to say that Lucy slept with a grin on her face. It also made her think maybe she should give this relationship a try. She was still on the fence about the whole thing.