Now and Again

by Rothert, Brenda

  “Tomorrow,” he said, smiling.

  Chapter 4

  The lunch crowd at O’Malley’s was heavy, but everyone was sitting, rather than standing around chatting as Layla was used to. Her heart skipped as she wondered if Ben would be there. She hoped he wouldn’t, because she wanted to focus on her lunch meeting with Melanie Price.

  She spotted Melanie in a dark wood booth, eyeing the menu over the top of the glasses that were perched on the end of her nose. She’d gone back to the short, practical braids that Layla was used to seeing in her hair.

  “Hi,” Layla said with a smile.

  “Hey, girl,” Melanie said, grinning back at her. They’d met when Layla started doing pro bono legal work for Advocates for Hope, a mental health organization Melanie was the executive director of, but over the past several months, they’d become friends.

  They probably seemed an unlikely match; Melanie was a stout, big-bosomed black woman in her late 50’s. But the more time they spent together, the more Layla came to think of Melanie as one of her closest friends.

  “How’s everything at work?” she asked. Melanie groaned and rolled her eyes.

  “Wondering why the hell I beat my head against a wall every day, so just the usual, I suppose,” she said.

  “What’s going on?”

  “Just dealing with the bureaucracy of state agencies. I’m trying to help someone get approved for disability benefits and get a family into subsidized housing. I don’t know how average people can navigate these things without help.” Melanie shook her head with frustration.

  “Anything I can do?”

  “No, I don’t need my big gun yet.” Melanie grinned. “But I’ll call you if I do. You’ve done so much work for us that Cole’s volunteering for another organization, but he said we can always call if we need him.”

  “Oh, shit, I didn’t mean for that to happen.”

  “It’s just easier to work with you since we get together so often. Plus you’ve got that extra something that just gets things done faster.”

  “The bitch factor,” Layla said with a smirk. “It opens doors.”

  “So what’s new in your world?”

  “Oh, not much. I started doing Bikram yoga, bought a new TV … oh, and I have a 6’5” sex slave for the next two weeks. You know, same old, same old.”

  Melanie’s brows shot up and her mouth dropped open.

  “Hey there,” a young brunette waitress said as she approached the table. “I’m Alexa, and I’ll be helping you out today. Are you ready to order?”

  “I want a bacon cheeseburger with fries and a root beer,” Melanie said, handing over her menu.

  Layla scanned the menu quickly. “Um … I’ll take the grilled chicken salad with—”

  Melanie cut her off mid-sentence. “Girl, get a damn cheeseburger! You don’t need to play starving Cosmo girl in front of me.”

  “I am really hungry,” Layla admitted, meeting Melanie’s dark eyes across the booth. “Okay, screw it. I’ll have a cheeseburger and fries, too. No bacon. And iced tea.”

  The waitress retreated, and Melanie gave Layla an eye-bulging glare. “More on the sex slave! You know my love life’s been DOA for a while now.”

  “I don’t know, it may be the stupidest thing I’ve ever done, but … remember when I was helping out with Brandon Larson’s arrest?” Layla said. Melanie had asked her to help on the case.

  “Mmm-hmm.”

  “Well, I met this police sergeant, Ben. We kind of … I don’t know, Mel. There’s major chemistry. He’s all man, you know? All huge muscles and deep voice and … he throws me off guard. We’ve gotten together a couple times, and—”

  Melanie held up a hand. “Please tell me you haven’t slept with him. I will smack you upside the head if you slept with him.”

  “I haven’t,” Layla said quickly. “But with the length of my dry spell, it’s torture to say no to him. I told him we’re both too controlling for anything to work between us, so he agreed to let me be in control of things for two weeks, and then he gets two weeks. And no sex unless I want it.”

  Melanie nodded, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. “You know my thoughts, Layla. No jumping into bed with men just for sex. And you’re not. So I think this is okay. When we talked about this after Christmas and you decided to stop sleeping around, it was never supposed to be forever. You just need to be more thoughtful about it. Recognize that you’re a prize.”

  “But this is crazy!” Layla palmed her forehead with frustration. “It’s just another in a long string of bad choices regarding men. If he really liked me, he’d ask me out on a date.”

  “You said you’ve had a few dinners, though, that’s like dating,” Melanie said.

  “I’m too horny to think straight.” Layla tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

  “Well, it sounds like you’ve got two weeks to do something about that.” Melanie grinned and arched her brows.

  “Yeah,” Layla said, smiling. “I just don’t--” She stopped talking when she looked at the door to the restaurant and saw Ben walking in with another man.

  “What?” Melanie asked, turning.

  “No, don’t look! Holy shit, it’s him!” Layla whispered.

  “What? What are the chances of that?”

  “Well, this is the place I eat with him. He comes here a lot.”

  Melanie curled her lips into a knowing smile.

  “Okay. Let’s just be cool.” Layla blew out a breath. “How do I look?”

  “Beautiful, as always. This guy really has an effect on you, huh? I need to see him.”

  “Don’t turn around,” Layla pleaded.

  “Alright.”

  “How are your kids? Is Derek ready to start college?” Layla asked.

  “Oh, yeah. Just a few more weeks til we move him in. Hard to believe.” Melanie shook her head.

  “Layla.” The deep voice made the hair on her neck stand up. She turned to see Ben approaching, his sexy grin making her warm all over. “I’ve really turned you on to this place, haven’t I?”

  “Oh, I’m turned on, alright,” she said, trying to sound more confident than she felt. Ben’s blue eyes glimmered as they held hers.

  “Hi, I’m Casey,” the man with Ben said, extending his hand. He was several inches shorter than Ben, with a pretty face and short, styled dark brown hair. Ben gave Casey a quick glare as Layla shook his hand.

  “This is Layla,” Ben said.

  “Very nice to meet you,” Casey said, smiling.

  “And this is my friend Melanie,” Layla said, looking across the table.

  “Nice to meet you, Ben,” Melanie said. Layla cringed as Ben glanced at her with a raised brow. He’d apparently noticed that Melanie knew who he was without being introduced.

  “So Layla, how do you know Ben?” Casey asked.

  “Why don’t you go get us a table?” Ben said to him with a pointed look. Casey walked away with a small shake of his head, and Ben looked back at Layla.

  “Can we meet up here after work and make plans? Or do you already have something in mind?” he asked.

  “No, meeting up here sounds good,” she said. Their waitress approached with their food and drinks, and Ben moved aside.

  “Hey, Ben,” she said, smiling brightly at him. “I hope you’re sitting in my section.”

  “Uh, we’re wherever Casey sat,” he said, still looking at Layla. “So I’ll see you tonight?”

  “Yes. See you then.”

  “Nice meeting you, Melanie,” he said, smiling over at her.

  “You, too.” Melanie’s gaze followed Ben across the pub until he sat down, when she blew out a breath and looked at Layla.

  “Damn, girl, that man is hot. I see what you mean about him being all man. Did you see the way the women in the next booth were staring at him?”

  “No, were they?” Layla said through a bite of her cheeseburger.

  “You didn’t notice because you were too busy looking at him,” Melanie said. “An
d he was looking right back at you. What are you gonna do with him tonight? I’d tie him up and ride him til dawn -- just sayin.”

  Layla laughed as she snuck a glance across the pub at Ben, who was talking to Casey. “I don’t know what I’ll do,” she said. “But something tells me I’ll like it.”

  Taking a deep breath, Layla walked into O’Malley’s. The work day had been long, and she wondered if being with Ben tonight would wind her down or up.

  She spotted him near the pool tables, laughing with several other men. They all turned toward her as she walked over.

  “Hey, boss,” Ben said, grinning.

  “Hi.” Layla felt a thrill at the way his eyes sparkled when he looked at her.

  “We can eat dinner, go out somewhere new, play some pool … what do you feel like?” he asked.

  “Um … hanging out here sounds good,” she said, sighing.

  “You okay?”

  “I’m good. Just had a crazy day at work.”

  “Let’s eat,” he said, leaning his pool cue against the pub’s brick wall. “We can talk if you want.”

  “Is that what you think you’re in for? Two weeks of talking?” She laughed.

  “If that’s what you want.”

  What do I want? I don’t even know. It’s hard to think straight around him.

  She relayed the details of the draining three hour pretrial conference she’d spent the afternoon in, wishing she’d ordered a hamburger while she watched Ben eating his. It was the third night this week she’d eaten salad for dinner.

  “Let’s play darts,” she said after they finished eating.

  “You play darts?” He raised his brows with surprise.

  “I learned in law school.”

  “Well, this won’t be interesting at all,” he said, smirking. “You don’t seem like the competitive type, and I’m not, either.”

  “Are you saying you play, too?” She smiled up at him.

  “I played a lot of darts when I was stationed overseas. It’s a good way to pass the down time.”

  “What did you do in the Marines?” Layla followed him across the bar to an open dart board. Ben took a long swig of the bottled beer he’d started during dinner before answering.

  “My official duty was explosive ordnance disposal,” he said, setting the empty bottle on a tall table.

  “Wow. Bomb disposal? That sounds dangerous.”

  “It can be.” He picked up the darts and sat them down by his empty bottle. “Cricket? Round the clock? Assassin?”

  “Round the clock,” Layla said, since she remembered the darts game’s rules. She wanted to know more about his time in the Marines, but sensed he didn’t want to discuss it.

  “You can go first,” he offered. “Want a drink?”

  “I’ll stick with soda.” She cringed inside at the memory of him carrying her out of the pub drunk.

  They started the game after Ben returned from the bar with another beer, and Layla tried to clear her mind and focus. It was hard with him standing so near. She was just glad to get the darts on the board, given how much he frazzled her.

  The pub had filled up, and they were surrounded by loud voices and the music of a live band’s guitarist warming up to play. When she returned with the darts, Layla sat them in his hand and felt his fingers close over hers. His pale blue eyes studied her, and she felt a flutter in her chest that told her this was the moment he would lean down and kiss her.

  But he just held her gaze, his large thumb stroking across her knuckles gently.

  “Is there anything you want, boss?” he asked, close to smiling.

  Layla swallowed, gathering her courage. Just when she didn’t think she could get the words out, she inhaled a hint of sandalwood from Ben’s cologne, and she took a small fortifying breath.

  “I want you to kiss me,” she said softly, surprised by the waver in her voice. The corners of Ben’s mouth quirked up, and Layla worried for a split second that this was all a tease, and he’d say no.

  “I thought you’d never ask,” he said in a low tone meant only for her. He leaned his face down to hers and Layla’s insides quivered with anticipation. She’d never been so nervous or expectant with any man, even before sex.

  Her lips parted slightly and she wet them, glad she’d popped that breath mint after dinner. She could feel Ben’s warm breath on her lips as long seconds ticked past.

  “How do you want me to kiss you?” he asked. Layla pulled her face back an inch, giving him a puzzled expression.

  “You know, with your mouth … right now,” she said, a smile in her voice.

  “But you’re in charge so you have to tell me … hard or soft? Fast, or slow? Do you want me to bite your lip? Tongue, or no tongue? Hands, or no hands?” His voice was charged with amusement and arousal, and Layla decided he was enjoying this way too much.

  As she considered the options, a hot wave of desire ran though her, and she fought to maintain contact with those sensual blue eyes.

  “Hard. Slow. Tongue … and hands,” she said.

  “Where would you like my hands?”

  Layla glared at him. “You’re playing games with me,” she said, looking away. “If you don’t want to—”

  “Oh, I want to, Layla. I’ve wanted to for a very long time. But remember, you like being in charge. So … would you like my hands in your hair … against your back … on your ass?”

  “Yes,” she breathed. She wanted his hands everywhere all at once. Ben lowered his face to hers again, and she pressed her palms to his chest, stopping him just as she felt the warmth of his mouth nearing hers. “I, uh … I’m not sure if I answered you on biting my lip, and I just wanted to say -- yes.”

  His lips met hers immediately, and she reached around his neck, melting against his solid chest. As he wrapped his powerful arms around her tightly, he threaded one of his hands into her hair and moved the other one smoothly down her lower back.

  Though she was breathless, she couldn’t force herself to break away. The sensations of his rough stubble against her mouth and his demanding tongue tangling with hers were overwhelming, and so good. Layla wove her fingers into his thick hair, giving a startled moan when Ben’s teeth pulled against her bottom lip just enough to make her want more.

  She broke away from him, taking in a deep breath. Her fingers were still in his hair, and she gripped it with surprise as Ben’s arms locked her into him more closely. Layla wondered if she was shaky because she hadn’t kissed anyone in so long or because Ben was just that intense.

  “Hey, you guys playing or not?” a round man holding a pool cue asked, raising his eyebrows as he glared. Ben glanced over at him.

  “Uh, no, we’re done,” he said, relaxing his hold on Layla.

  “I should go,” she said, pushing herself away from his chest. Ben’s face twisted in confusion for a second before he ran a hand down his face.

  “Yeah, okay. I’ll take you home,” he said.

  “I have my car.”

  “I’ll have someone follow us.”

  “There’s no need,” she said. “I’m very capable of getting myself home.”

  “I know that.” He glared at her. “But with that letter, I just want you to be extra careful. It’s late. I’ll take you.”

  “I’ll text you when I get there. Don’t worry about me. Do you have plans tomorrow?”

  “I don’t know, do I?” His smile made Layla want to change her mind about him taking her home.

  “Let’s hang out at my place,” she said. “We’ll watch movies.”

  She slung her purse over her shoulder and gave Ben a puzzled look as he followed her toward the door.

  “Are you leaving, too?” she asked.

  “Yeah.”

  “Are you going home?”

  He considered, then nodded. Realization dawned on Layla.

  “Ben, you don’t need to take me home,” she said, raising her brows. “I’m fine.”

  “I know you’re just worried you won’t be ab
le to control your desire for me,” he said, grinning.

  “Please … You’re so cocky.”

  “Bet you can’t wait to find out just how cocky I am,” he said, winking. Layla looked away and laughed, but felt her cheeks warming.

  “Just come over at six,” she said.

  “I’m following you home,” Ben said, raising a hand to stop her from arguing with him. “You drive your car, I’ll follow in mine, and you can text me when you get inside.”

  Layla sighed and shook her head. “I don’t need a big, strong man to take care of me.”

  “Will you not bitch about it, just this once? You want me worrying about you all night long?” Ben’s deep voice and serious gaze made her melt a little.

  “Okay,” she said. “You can follow me. But what if I discover an ice cream shortage emergency when I get there? Will you go get me some?”

  Ben laughed, his eyes glimmering as he looked down at her.

  “I don’t have any choice, do I? You’re the boss for now. But I’ll get my chance.”

  Layla considered his words as they left the pub. She wanted to feel annoyed by the idea of Ben soon being in control of her, but instead, a shot of desire pooled between her thighs. There was something about knowing he wanted her that made her wonder how long her resolve would last.

  ***

  Her eyes flew open and Layla sucked in a breath, her heart pounding in her chest. She sat up in bed, looking around her darkened bedroom. The familiar silhouettes of her dresser, armchair and the open doorway comforted her. She’d probably just been woken by a bad dream, she told herself as her heart rate slowly returned to normal.

  Prince was curled up on his cushion in the corner of the bedroom, obliviously sleeping. Calling him to jump into bed with her would help. She considered it, but stayed frozen. She was afraid to move.

  Leaning back against the padded headboard of her bed, she decided to relax her body back into sleep mode. She closed her eyes and remembered the feel of Ben’s lips on hers, and the way his powerful arms had enclosed her. Had the kiss had shaken him like it had her? Not likely. Nothing ever seemed to rattle him.

  He’ll be here with me tomorrow night. Well, not here in the bed, but in the apartment. But he’d look so good in my bed… Maybe some innocent making out would be okay. I think I’ve earned it with my saintly abstinence.