“You’re not too bad yourself.” Her grin was cheeky. “But as pretty as the picture is, I want to get to the hands-on part.”
He pumped his dick through the ring of his fingers. “I’m already there.”
“I noticed. I’m tempted to make you keep it up, but I’m dying over here.” She tipped her head coquettishly. “I’ll turn on the shower, you grab the condom?”
“You’re on.” He released his erection and reached for his toiletry kit where he’d stashed the new rubbers he’d bought.
The sight of her bending to adjust the spigots, where he got an unobstructed view of her sex, made a rough sound rip from him.
“Shh.” She glanced over her shoulder, waggled her eyebrows, straightened and hopped under the spray. “Coming?”
“God, I hope so,” he answered and she snickered. He donned the condom and followed her in, keeping his back to the water. He slid the glass door closed, crowded her against the rear wall, and bent to cover her mouth with his. She stood on tiptoe, meeting him halfway.
She hummed softly, her tongue twined with his, and she pressed her body into his. The flavor of her was sweet and tart and perfect. He gathered her near, lifting her so she could wrap her legs around his waist while her shoulders remained against the tiles. The kiss was wild, all lips and teeth and tongue. It made him burn from the inside out.
God, he couldn’t wait, he needed her so desperately, but she seemed just as impatient, digging her heels into his ass and her nails into his back. He hitched her a little higher, his hands gripping her hips tight as he positioned her so that the tip of his dick probed at her entrance.
Gravity let him impale her on his cock, and he sank in to the hilt. Her slick walls clasped his shaft and he had to review tort law in his head to keep from coming then and there. The shower created an enveloping cloud of steam that caressed their skin, and the spray pelted across his back. The sensory overload was almost more than he could bear. He held onto his restraint with the very tips of his fingers.
“Hurry,” she gasped, breaking the kiss. “I don’t want to wait.”
“As you wish.” He caught her mouth again, hoping the kiss would smother any noises they might make, and began a pounding rhythm designed to drive them swiftly to the brink of insanity.
It was a race against his own self-discipline.
She threw her head back, sobbing for breath. Her sex fisted around him once, and she whimpered, “Ben.”
Ah, Christ. Just hearing her say his name like that, a breathless, needy plea, was enough to send him spiraling out of control. He gritted his teeth on a groan.
“I’m going to…” The sentence ended in a low moan, and he knew she’d gone over the edge.
Thank God. The last tenuous fetter on his self-restraint snapped. He hammered into her, and the feel of her inner muscles clenching around his dick was so fucking good he thought his skull might explode.
One, two, three more thrusts and he drove deep and froze, come jetting out of him. He shuddered again and again, emptying himself into her. So good. So fucking good. He closed his eyes, rested his forehead on her shoulder, and gulped in air, waiting for his muscles to stop shaking and his heart to stop racing.
She hugged him close and he could hear the ragged rush of her breath in his ear. They stayed that way for several minutes, until he sighed and managed to leverage himself upright.
“We should clean up before the hot water runs out.” She unhooked her legs and slipped down to stand.
“Exactly. I’m not a cold shower kind of guy.” He turned sideways and waved her past. “Ladies first.”
She quickly soaped up, shampooed and conditioned her hair, and rinsed off. It took her no more than three minutes from start to finish before she hopped out of the shower. Then it was his turn to wash, and all the while he could see her through the glass, taking a towel from the cupboard, drying off, grabbing her cosmetic case out of her bag, brushing her hair and teeth. When she went to pull out a new set of clothes, he watched her head cock to the side.
“All of my dirty clothes are clean.”
The neutral note to her tone made him unsure what she thought of that.
“Yeah, I did a load of wash after you crashed in Hazel’s room last night. There’s a laundry room at the top of the stairs on this floor.” He scrubbed shampoo into his hair. “I figured you hadn’t packed more than a day or two at most. I didn’t, anyway. Since the food poisoning put us behind schedule…we needed more outfits. Plus, one of yours was covered in barf.”
“Wow.”
Again, her voice was more bemused than anything else. Was she hiding that she was annoyed he’d gone through her stuff? “I checked the instructions on the tags. Everything was washed in the right temperature. I didn’t mix whites and reds.”
He dunked his head under the water and rinsed. After shutting off the shower, he climbed out and took the folded towel she proffered.
She brushed at the skirt of her flowery dress. “Anything is better than puke-crusted clothes. Thanks, Ben. You’ve been…insanely helpful and nice the last couple of days.”
“I can be nice, you know.” He finished with the terry cloth and hung it over the glass door.
She nodded, her smile a little self-deprecating. “I wouldn’t have put money on that two days ago, and I’d have lost that bet.”
Dear God. Had she really just admitted that she no longer considered him the lowest lifeform on Earth? Some emotion he didn’t want to identify burned in his chest. Since he couldn’t think of a thing to say that wouldn’t ruin the moment, he hauled her into his arms and kissed her hard. The sweet taste of her was so addicting, he’d never get enough.
When he pulled back, his cock had risen in a semi-erection. Of course. “You should go or I’ll bend you over the vanity.”
She closed her eyes. “I’m not sure if that’s a warning or an invitation.”
“A little of both.”
“Okay, I’m going.” She picked up her bag. “Hopefully, the coast is clear.”
“I’ll give you a couple minutes before I follow, just in case.” He waved her off, knowing his dick wouldn’t calm down until she was outside of his reach. “I can brush my teeth really slowly or something.”
She winked and slipped away silently. He took his time getting ready, putting on jeans and the black dress shirt he’d worn the day he’d jumped in her car. It took little time to drag a comb through his hair and brush his teeth. Not that he ever needed much more grooming than that—he preferred a low maintenance style. Though he usually shaved before he showered because his electric razor did best on dry hair and skin. Ah, well. He could skip a day. There was no way in hell he’d have paused the sexiness in the name of scruffy facial hair.
After stuffing his discarded clothes and toiletry kit into his duffel, he was ready to exit. He hoped that was a long enough window for Nora, but he had no idea if anyone else was even awake. Slinging his bag over his shoulder, he stepped into the hall.
“Hey.”
He froze in place, turning only his head to look at Hazel, who stood framed by her bedroom doorway. “Yeah?”
“I’ve always liked you, so I’ll give you fair warning.” She jammed her fists on her hips, managing to look fierce and a little mean, even in a ratty robe and bunny slippers. “You hurt my sister and I will damage you in ways you’ll still be feeling in the afterlife. Is that clear?”
Since he had a healthy respect for the creative evil the Kirby sisters could wreak, he decided a question was his safest response to her threat. “Do you give a warning to everyone she sleeps with?”
She sniffed. “Only the ones I think could break her heart.”
Oh. An unnamable emotion punched through him, and his pulse tripped. Nora’s sister thought he’d have the power to wound her. As in, doing more than irritate her. As in, making her love him. Jesus.
“I won’t. Break her heart. Not on purpose.” He offered a smile that felt more like a grimace. “She might break mine, though.”
“You’re a lawyer.” She arched a supercilious brow. “I’m sure you can talk her out of it.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence.” On more than one count. He’d been hoping that he could make Nora not hate him. Having the power to break her heart was a much more significant emotional involvement than not-hate.
“Do you love her?” She crossed her arms, her expression daring him to admit it.
“Yes.”
There, his deepest secret was out. The unnamable had a name. It wasn’t just lust, it wasn’t just that she reacted so beautifully to his needling, it wasn’t just that he hadn’t yet found a woman who ranked higher in his estimation. No woman ever would. He’d been fooling himself if he ever thought otherwise. Nora was it for him. Anyone else would be a poor substitute.
Considering she’d only just this morning allowed that he might occasionally be a nice man, he doubted even his lawyering skills would help him talk her into reciprocating his feelings.
“You should tell her,” Hazel insisted. “And say you’re sorry for being an ass all these years. She needs to hear things like that and know you mean them. We’ve had too many years of Dinah apologizing for her bullshit and then doing the same thing the next day. Too many years of not saying the controversial thing for fear of setting the drama llama mama off.”
A grin kicked up the corner of his mouth. “Nora prefers when people are sensitive about what they say.”
Hazel shook her head. “You can be forthright without being mean or rude. Never confuse sensitivity with dishonesty. Trust me, Nora doesn’t. If she feels something needs to be said, she will. She’ll be kind about it, but she won’t hold back with the truth.”
“I know.” He forked his fingers through his hair. “Though she’s less gentle with me than others. I’ve earned that, I guess.”
“Yep.” She appeared unsympathetic. “She’d be nicer to you if she knew you wouldn’t verbally attack her.”
“Yeah.” How the hell had he gotten himself into this mess? It had started so many years ago, and he’d been getting deeper and deeper into the mire ever since. This was insane.
“Apologize. I think she’d be willing to forgive you.”
He met her gaze squarely, speaking with all the bluntness Nora hated about him. “The problem is, I’m not sure I’m entirely sorry.”
Hazel’s eyes narrowed. “Hurt her and—”
“I heard you the first time. That’s not what I meant.” He held up a hand to ward off more threats. “I regret some of my behavior, but not all of it. Some of the stuff she’d think I should be sorry for, I’m not.”
She seemed to consider that for a moment before she nodded slowly. “Tell her. Have an honest conversation. Unless you don’t want a future with her, because I’m guessing she thinks this is a fluke and you’ll go back to the status quo when you return to HMB.”
“No.” God, that was the last thing he wanted. It would kill a part of his soul to ever have her hate him again.
“Then you know what you need to do.” She tucked her hands into the pockets of her robe.
Nora appeared at the other end of the hallway. “What’s up?”
“Just saying my goodbyes to Ben.” Hazel gave him a sunny smile that belied the psychological wringer she’d just put him through. “Come give me a hug and then go away.”
“Love you too.” Nora walked by him and embraced her sister. They whispered a few things he didn’t catch, but he was fairly sure his name was in there somewhere.
Yeah, that didn’t freak him out.
Priya’s door flew open and she braced herself against the jamb, her hair standing up straight in places. “Are you leaving?”
“Yep, we’re getting on the road.” He tipped his chin in the direction of the front of the apartment. “I stocked your kitchen with bland food. No shopping for you for at least a week. Just focus on getting better.”
“Oh, you’re the best, mate.” She stumbled over and hugged him. “I’m so sorry I tossed a pavement pizza after you came all that way to get us.”
“Several pizzas.” He patted her back. “And thanks, I’ll never look at pizza the same way again.”
She snorted, let him go, and turned to Nora, who gave her a quick squeeze. “Don’t worry, Priya, you’re not the first person to toss pavement pizza on me.”
Priya pulled back, flabbergasted. “Fuck, I was hoping that part was a delusional bad dream.”
Ben hitched his duffel higher on his shoulder. “I washed out the barf—I refuse to call it pizza—so, no, not a dream, just bad.”
She closed her eyes. “For the second time in two days, I really want to crawl in a hole and die.”
Nora smoothed her wild hair. “Don’t even give it another thought. No harm done. I’m just glad you’re both on your feet this morning. Did you eat all your breakfast?”
Hazel and Priya nodded dutifully. Hazel said, “We’ll go to the campus clinic if we relapse in any way, we swear.”
“You have a lot more driving to do.” Priya made a shooing motion. “Get going.”
“We’ll call to check on you in a few hours.” Nora pinned them both with a serious stare. “You’d better answer.”
“She’ll turn the car around and come spank us,” Hazel whispered loudly to Priya.
“Oooh, do you promise?” Priya whispered back.
“And that’s our cue to leave.” Ben took Nora’s elbow and tugged her toward the living room. “Bye, ladies. It’s been…an experience.”
Chapter Seven
Nora blinked and pushed herself upright in the passenger seat, feeling groggy and not quite coherent. She was looking out at a wide expanse of ocean, but that didn’t make any sense. They were supposed to be somewhere in the Central Valley, which was endless miles of dry dirt, tumble weeds, cows and the occasional orchard.
She blinked twice before she concluded that, no, this wasn’t a dream. “Wha—? Where are we?”
Instead of answering the question, Ben replied, “I decided to take the scenic route home.”
“The scenic route?” She stared at him, still waiting for all the pieces to click into place.
He glanced at her, his fingers starting to tap across the steering wheel. “Highway 101, up the coast instead of inland.”
“But that’ll take longer.” Why on earth would he want to spend more time in the car? They were supposed to be racing home.
Then again…this meant they could continue with whatever it was they were doing. More kissing, more naked fun in the shower, more strip tease shows, more having him stroke his—okay, if she kept thinking about that she was going to have hot flashes. Returning home meant returning to reality, and in reality, they often didn’t get along that well, and he was almost never sweet, helpful, or kind to her.
Reality was an ugly bitch.
“True, it is longer this way.” He flipped on his blinker and started slowing down. “But I thought we could extend the trip for a bit and actually do something fun.”
“Fun?” Her mouth dried because the only fun she really had with Ben involved no clothes and lots of condoms.
He grinned, but his thoughts clearly didn’t follow hers because he said, “I know it seems like a foreign word after the traffic, barfing and Tweedle Dumb and Dumber, but I think we can figure it out. We’re smart people.”
Yeah, she’d rather not have been reminded about any of those details. She craned her neck as he took the next exit ramp. “So…where are we? Other than some town off the 101?”
“Carpinteria.” He turned left at the light, weaving his way along quaint tree-lined roads. “A little south of Santa Barbara.”
She lifted her eyebrows. “And you want to stop for lunch?”
“I want to stop for the night,” he corrected, turning on to a street with little restaurants and kitschy shops. “And then do some sightseeing tomorrow on the way home.”
“So by a bit you meant a whole extra day.” She pursed her lips and tried to calculate what time she needed to be back to be reasonably rested before she had to report for duty. “I do have to be home tomorrow. My hospital shift starts the next day.”
“No problem.” He blew out a breath, slowed the car, and then neatly parallel parked. “Were you desperate to get home?”
She tucked her hair behind her ear. “No…the only thing I’d have to do at home is maybe explain the road trip to Mom, and you know how much I’d like to avoid that.”
Shaking his head, he pulled the keys from the ignition and handed them to her. “Someday, you’re going to find a way to put me in a desirable category that doesn’t just barely edge out a session with the drama llama.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“Isn’t it?” He slanted a doubtful glance her way, hit the button to pop the trunk, and stepped out of the car.
“No.” She met him at the rear of the vehicle, stuffing the keys into her purse. “I find you desirable in ways that have no reference—thank God—to my mother.”
He made a face, handed her bag to her, and then led the way to a charming gray-green cottage with a white picket fence and discreet sign that read Linden House.
The garden and yard were lush and manicured, with two loungers on one side.
“Is this a B&B?”
“Not exactly. You rent the whole house.” He knocked on the door before twisting the unlocked knob and stepping in. A woman came out of the back of the house and Ben went to have a quiet chat. They went into the next room, and Nora assumed she wasn’t invited so she stood in the entry looking around. The decor was beautifully beach-inspired, all white beadboard, wicker furniture, and pops of blue, teal and turquoise. The living room had a quirky chandelier hanging over the coffee table.
Ensenada Escapade: Destination: Desire, Book 6 Page 9
