Her grin widened into a smile. “Oh, he did. Several times.”
More cheers and laughter reverberated around her room, and Lea had to admit, she felt so much better than she had an hour ago. Leave it to her friends to put things into perspective. Between them, the women had been through enough to clue her in. Make her see that Ben’s avoidance wasn’t going to last.
Good, because she wouldn’t either. They’d been friends for far too long to let sex—great sex—get in the way. Now, she just had to make him see they could enjoy both for a few weeks before she left for NYC.
By ten fifteen Thursday morning, Ben finally gave into his need to go to Gabe’s. He’d skipped breakfast there on Monday, and every morning since, to keep things in perspective with Lea. Surely, a few days of breaking his routine was enough to show his friend he could do without her company if he had to. That they were just friends and required nothing more from one another, as she’d so easily told him in not so many words when she’d walked herself to her damn door Sunday evening.
She could do without him, and he could do without her.
Piece of cake.
Gabe’s had the best breakfast in town. There was no need to flex the proverbial control muscle any longer. He was hungry. No reason to avoid the place any longer. Besides, his friend Ryder and Keiffer were already there waiting for him. He couldn’t very well tell his friend he couldn’t accept his invitation for a free breakfast because he’d slept with the guy’s baby sister and didn’t want her to cling.
Shit.
He’d slept with his best friend’s sister. The man was going to kick his ass.
The man should kick his ass. He deserved a kicked ass. He never should’ve given into his need and had sex with Lea. Although, try as he might, Ben couldn’t bring himself to regret the night.
No. He’d take the ass-whooping he deserved, and hopefully, they’d move on.
He certainly would’ve kicked Ryder’s ass if he’d ever slept with Brandi.
Ben’s footsteps slowed as he walked across the street, shoving a hand in a stop motion at an oncoming car. He didn’t care. He was pissed. Jesus, had those two ever slept together? Brandi had always been comfortable around Ryder, and his friend had been unusually comfortable around her. Sonofabitch. Maybe they had slept together.
He was going to kill Ryder.
Stepping onto the sidewalk, he grabbed the handle, then yanked open the door. The bell above him jangled loud enough to wake the dead. Again, Ben didn’t care. He had some dead memories to pluck from his friend’s brain.
“Way to make an entrance, Serge.” His buddy snickered along with his brother.
Good. They were alone. Almost. Ben glared at a man sipping coffee at the counter, folded newspaper in his hand as he turned toward him. And he continued glaring while the customer set his cup down, coffee sloshing over the side, threw money on the counter and quickly scurried out the door Ben held open for him.
“Wow, someone’s having a bad morning.”
“No, but they’re going to,” he said, striding over to the booth to glare down at Ryder.
“Okay, I’ll bite. Did I do something wrong?”
Trying his best to keep a lid on his temper, Ben dropped into the booth next to Keiffer without losing eye contact with Ryder. Better to have a table between them to keep him from throttling his best friend.
“Depends.”
“On what?”
“On whether or not you’ve slept with Brandi.”
Coffee spewed from Keiffer’s mouth and covered half the table, Ryder’s jaw hit his chest, and the sound of dishes breaking in the kitchen echoed to their table.
“What?” Disbelief shot his friend’s tone up a few octaves as the man stared slack-jawed at him. “Of course not, man. She’s your sister.”
Ah…hell.
Studying the guy’s steady gaze and relaxed body, Ben had to conclude his friend was telling the truth. Jesus, this business with Lea had him nuts. He was off his game. Out of his mind. So far out he’d lost sight of it. Had been all week. He was beginning to think he and his sanity would never be reunited.
Discovering that sexy blue corset mixed with his clothes had held him prisoner all damn week. He couldn’t walk past it without remembering her taste.
“What the hell is this about?”
Keiffer choked on more coffee. He slid him a sideways glance, but his youngest brother had grown immune to Ben’s glares. The asshole just sat back in the booth and smiled, motioning with his hand to proceed.
Bastard knew. His brother’s dark eyes were brimming with realization, and a whole hell of a lot of mirth.
He turned back to face his friend and tried to figure out how to come clean.
“Ben slept with your sister.” Keiffer apparently decided to help.
Ryder shrugged. “Gwen? That’s old news, pal.”
This time Ben twisted in his seat and stared directly at his deadmeat brother. “Can it.”
His glare must be broken because his brother just smiled and returned his attention to their friend.
“No, your other sister.”
The crashing of more dishes sounded from the kitchen.
“Shit.” His friend straightened in the booth and narrowed his gaze.
Ben held up his hand and nodded. “I think we should take this outside so you can kick my ass like I deserve.”
Whatever the man had been about to say remained a secret as the kitchen pass-through door flung open and a fuming Lea stomped close.
“I’m so glad to see the three of you think so little of me you have to discuss my sex life in the middle of the damn restaurant.”
Keiffer held up his hands and stared up at the furious female. “If it means anything, Ben made sure to clear everyone else out first.”
“Well, thank you for small favors.” She twisted on her heel and marched back into the kitchen, her ponytail swishing in her haste.
Ben’s chest had never felt so tight. He had trouble breathing. Another first. He glanced from Keiffer to Ryder then jumped to his feet. “Excuse me,” he said, then rushed after the seething woman.
If he’d stopped to think, he probably would’ve realized his actions gave away a clue he totally missed. All he knew was he never wanted to see the pure hurt and disappointment clouding Lea’s beautiful blue eyes ever again. The fact he was the reason it was there in the first place twisted the knot in his stomach and made him pick up his pace.
He entered the kitchen to find it empty except for a cowering cook and pieces of broken dishes strewn across the floor. The cook pointed to the open door leading to the parking lot out back. Ben rushed outside and found her leaning against a tree, watching ducks swim in the nearby creek.
“Lea. I’m sorry.”
She turned around and watched him approach through narrowed eyes. “Who are you and what have you done to Ben? He doesn’t know those words.”
The invisible vice squeezing his chest increased its hold. She was right. He’d never uttered those words. Didn’t believe in those words.
Gwen. His mother. Mason’s fiancée. They’d all used them. Even Brandi’s mother had apologized to his dad on her death bed for not sticking around longer.
Sorry?
No, he didn’t believe in the damn word.
Until now.
Because he was sorry he hurt her. Remorse soured his stomach and cancelled his appetite. “You’re right. I don’t know a lot of things, like how to mesh what we’ve done with our normal lives. It’s got me acting out of character. I’m sorry.”
She turned to face him, and waited until he stopped to palm the tree and stare down at her.
“What we’ve done, Ben, was give into a basic need. People do it every day. It’s been going on since the dawn of time. There was no reason to act—” She paused to wave a hand at him and then the building. “—Neanderthal or whatever the hell it was you did in there.”
“You’re right,” he repeated quietly. “I should never have�
�”
She slapped a palm onto his chest and cocked her head. “Don’t you dare tell me you regret what we did, because it was the best darn night of my life.”
He blinked as satisfaction and male ego increased his height by two inches. “It was?”
“Yes.” She slapped him again. “You know it. So don’t you dare say you regret it. Lie to me, I don’t care. Just don’t say you regret it.”
He clamped a hand over her thudding palm and held it to his chest. “I would never lie to you, Lea. And I wasn’t going to say I regretted it. I was going to say I should never have accused your brother like that. Let alone out in public. My only excuse is lack of sleep has clouded my judgment.”
“You’re not sleeping?”
No. She’d been invading his dreams, making him hot and hard all damn week.
“Why?” She removed her hand to palm his head then forehead. “Are you sick?”
Yes, he was. He had a fever, for her, and only just now realized it. Shit. What the hell did he do now? There was no way he was going to act on this newfound information. She deserved better than someone who waltzed around in public announcing they’ve been having sex.
Okay, technically it hadn’t been him, but his actions had caused the knowledge to come out. So he was just as guilty.
Actually, he was the only one who was guilty.
“No, I’m not sick. But I have been stupid. I’m sorry. It won’t happen again, Lea.” He removed her hand from his face to kiss her knuckles.
“We’ve both been blindsided by our reactions to one another,” she said, expression softening. “I certainly didn’t expect our connection to knock me for a loop.”
It had knocked him on his ass, and he was still trying to right himself.
“So don’t try to figure this one out, Ben. I think it might be better to just agree it is what it is.”
The huskiness of her voice upped his pulse without his authorization. “Which is?” Damn. He hadn’t given his voice consent to reply, either.
“Which is—great chemistry—pure and simple.”
There wasn’t anything pure or simple about the way he felt when it came to Lea Gablonski, especially when she tapped his face before spinning around to walk back into the restaurant.
She hadn’t asked for anything more.
Hadn’t demanded anything more.
Hell, he didn’t even know if she wanted anything more.
God, he was so damn confused.
As he watched her wiggle and the sexy sway of her hips, that great chemistry heated him from the inside out and left him hard. And hanging.
Was this going to be the new normal for him?
He needed to get laid. Thank God Charisse had texted him on his way in to work that morning to say she was returning tomorrow night.
If ever he needed a mindless coupling, it was now. His gaze continued to fixate on one hell of a beautiful ass as Lea stepped over the threshold into her restaurant and away from his view.
Yes, a few hours with Charisse should put his sex life back into perspective. And get his head out of…Lea’s pants.
Friday night, Lea left work and headed to the Confection Connection on the next block to talk to Jill about placing an order for specially shaped chocolates for Brandi’s bachelorette party next weekend.
Joy swelled in her chest.
She could hardly believe her friend was going to be here soon, and getting married. Excitement picked up her pace and sent her right into Ben. He’d rounded the corner when she’d collided with him.
Two strong hands clamped around her shoulders and steadied her. “You okay?”
“Yeah. Sorry,” she stammered, instructing her pulse to settle down. It didn’t listen. She glanced up into his concerned gaze and ordered her heart not to catch. It didn’t listen either. Dammit.
They stared at each other a few beats. Heat began to spread throughout her body and her nipples hardened.
Great. She got perky for the guy. Right in front of…his date. Only now did she notice Charisse stood beside him. Lovely. Who does that?
Two people with great chemistry, apparently. Her gaze darted to the blonde at his side. The one whose gaze narrowed as she glanced from Lea to Ben then back again.
Yeah, this chemistry was definitely going to cause issues.
Ignoring her body and its unreasonable needs, she stepped out of his hold and straightened her shoulders. “My bad. I was on my way to—”
Clark waved from in front of her destination. “Hi, Lea.”
She waved back, relief eating her tension as Ben and his date turned around to stare at her old school buddy. She suddenly didn’t feel like such a loser. “Hi, Clark.” Even though she’d had no idea the guy was going to be there tonight, she took advantage of the situation and stepped around the couple. “You ready to take advantage of tonight’s special?”
“Something like that.” He smiled as he stood in front of the store.
With a nod to Ben and Charisse, she said, “Have a good night,” and could feel a gaze burning her back like a blow torch. She suspected it was Ben’s, but didn’t turn around to confirm as she crossed the street to meet her friend.
The man was on a date. No doubt moving on, and about to have sex with his groupie.
So much for suggesting a friends-with-benefits thing.
Shayla had been wrong. Charisse was not in Ben’s past.
Lea was.
Ben needed a beer.
Two beers. Hell, a hole damn keg.
He’d just left Charisse’s apartment…without doing the deed. Never in all his years had he had a performance problem. And although they hadn’t gotten naked, yet, he knew there was an issue. No amount of kissing and heavy petting could start a spark in his jeans tonight.
What the hell?
He’d certainly enjoyed Charisse’s body many, many times in the past.
Pulling up outside his brothers’ resort, he blew out a breath and jammed his truck into park. It wasn’t as if he was completely broken, because the spark had definitely been there when he’d run into Lea earlier in town. As soon as he’d grabbed her slight shoulders and inhaled her sweet perfume, a shaft of heat had shot down his body and his groin had twitched to life.
The longer he’d stood there holding her, the stronger the throb, until he was fully hard. In the middle of the sidewalk. In front of his date.
Who does that?
Apparently two people with great chemistry.
Muttering a curse, he made his way to The Knotty Pine, the bar on the main floor of the resort, relieved to see none of his brothers were around. He wasn’t exactly in the mood for company. Just a drink. Or two.
Ben slid onto a stool at the far end and ordered a beer.
“Hey, Sergeant Wyne.” Lieutenant Barton appeared out of nowhere and slapped him on the back before slipping onto a stool. “You here alone, too?”
He was. Damn.
“Yes.”
“Same here.” The man nodded. “Mason and I are going rock climbing tomorrow.”
He wished he could climb his way out of whatever the hell kind of funk he was in.
“Why don’t you join us?”
Ben immediately shook his head. “I promised my nephew I’d take him fishing.” Besides, rock climbing required intense concentration. Something he lacked at the moment. He couldn’t concentrate enough to walk a straight line.
“Well, maybe we’ll run into each other tomorrow night. My wife’s enjoying a spa day tomorrow with her sister and your girlfriend. I like Lea. She’s a keeper.”
Why did they keep telling him that? She wasn’t his.
But what about the banana split guy? His gut twisted into a tight knot. The thought of her licking chocolate off the slick D’s banana made him sick.
But it was none of his damn business. Last Sunday, he’d had every opportunity to ask to see her again.
His loss.
No. It had been smart. A safeguard. The two of them had no future, he rem
inded himself, sucking down his beer.
She was free to see whoever she wanted. City dude. Local dude. Guardsman. Who-the-hell-ever. He motioned to the bartender for another round.
It hadn’t taken her long to hook back up with the city slicker.
Yeah, judging by the three-piece suit, Italian loafers and not a hair out of place, the guy worked in the city. Clark was of her people.
Ben was not. No way in hell would he ever be a city dweller. He loved the outdoors. Lakes. Pines. Open spaces. They could have New York City. He hated it. Ever since…
Swallowing unwanted thoughts of the past with a swig of beer, he concentrated on now. He’d take the Poconos any day.
He and Lea may have chemistry, but they had no future. No sense in going down that road.
Since the lieutenant had just given him advance notice about tomorrow, he’d make a wide berth on the way to the lake in order to avoid the spa area. Ben had thought he’d gotten past the avoidance thing, but until he regained control of his mind and body, distance was his new best friend.
Lea had passed on the body massage, but opted for the facial. Her body would get enough of a workout on Wednesday during her spa appointment with Brandi and the bridesmaids. She could hardly believe they were all arriving in a few short days. And that a week from today, her best friend was getting married. Even though she was immensely thrilled for her friend, Lea couldn’t find her own happy.
Hopefully, today’s exfoliation would peel away her blues, too.
It was silly. She knew it, but her mind wouldn’t let go of the fact Ben had so easily moved on. It hadn’t even been a week, and he was in another woman’s bed.
Was I that unforgettable?
Her throat constricted, but she swallowed past the tightening and forced herself to relax. She doubted tears mixed well with whatever concoction was on her face. Time to suck it up. Ben had never promised her anything more. In fact, he’d told her straight out he wasn’t long term.
Still, she couldn’t stop her mind from rewinding to last weekend and how great it had been to spend time with him. To be the center of his attention for once. Warmth began to overtake the chill in her body. She sat there for a few minutes and basked in the memories while the technician peeled and buffed her face. When the woman finished, she smiled at Lea and gave her a thumbs up.
Wyne and Dine (Citizen Soldier Series Book 1) Page 10
