Twin Scandals

by Fiona Brand

  Ben froze in the act of taking a sip of his champagne. “Nick told you?”

  His gaze had cooled perceptibly, which was not the reaction she had expected to what had been a fairly safe conversation opener. Sophie set down her own flute without drinking any champagne. “Nick mentioned that he and you were going into partnership on a resort development on Sail Fish Key. I presumed that was why you were here.”

  “I’m surprised he mentioned it, since we’ve only just signed on the deal tonight.”

  Suddenly Sophie understood why Ben was being terse. Contracts and partnerships were a sensitive business, so naturally he would not want the information to become public until everything was signed and sealed. “As it happens, this afternoon I dropped in to discuss a business venture of my own with Nick. I saw the partnership agreement on his desk so, naturally, I asked him about it.”

  Ben’s brows jerked together. Actually, she’d had to pry the information out of Nick, which had been no easy task.

  “You’re doing business with Nick?”

  Sophie’s chin came up. “Hoping to be.”

  Filled with the sudden conviction that any chance at a relationship with Ben was rapidly evaporating, Sophie decided it was time to dial things up a notch. Relieving Ben of his flute, she boldly rested her palms on his chest. The thud of his heart was disturbingly intimate.

  She took a deep breath, her pulse racing. “I’ve been trying to get Nick to let me establish retail outlets in all of his resorts, but he’s being typically cagey.”

  Ben’s hands came to rest on her waist, the heat of his palms burning through the thin silk of her dress. As pleasurable as it was for Ben to touch her, frustratingly his hold prevented her from closing the last small gap between them.

  “That would be because Nick’s brought in John Atraeus to handle the retail.”

  Sophie’s gaze jerked to Ben’s. Any thought of seduction was abruptly wiped from her mind. “John Atraeus? Why wouldn’t Nick have told me that?”

  “Probably because the partnership deal was only agreed this week and wasn’t official until we signed tonight.”

  Sophie swallowed her disappointment and a strong jolt of annoyance. She had wanted to establish her own chain of stores in Nick’s properties. He hadn’t made her any promises, and she had known she might be biting off more than she could chew since her business was still in its growth-and-development stage, but still...they were family. He should have told her he was planning on getting Atraeus to manage that side of the business.

  Ben’s gaze seemed to drill right through her. “Does that...change things?”

  For a split second Sophie thought he was suggesting that now she knew Atraeus was the one who held all the power over the retail side of the business, she would change her mind about sleeping with Ben. As if she was only sleeping with him to close a deal!

  The instant the thought surfaced, she dismissed it. Aside from being a horrible thought, it made no sense because their chemistry went way back and they had made love before without any hint of a business connection. Besides, how could Ben possibly think financial calculation had anything to do with their relationship now, when just an hour ago she had emptied a glass of water over him?

  Clearly she had jumped to a completely wrong conclusion. Ben was probably just concerned that Nick’s decision had killed the mood completely and that, with her business scheme in tatters, she would no longer feel like making love.

  Relief nixed the crawling tension that had gripped her. With an effort of will, she clamped down on her annoyance that Nick hadn’t seen fit to tell her about his plan and thus save her the embarrassment of finding out secondhand. She forced a smile. “Why would Nick’s deal with John Atraeus change anything? My business proposal is still on the table. All that’s changed is that I now have to deal with John instead of Nick, which could work very well for me.”

  Ben’s gaze was oddly neutral. “Of course. Atraeus has a portfolio of high-end malls.”

  “And designer franchises,” she murmured absently, reaching up to cup the tough line of Ben’s jaw. “A business connection with John could allow me to go global a lot faster.”

  Ben’s hold on her waist loosened. For a disorienting second she thought he was going to step back. Her reaction was kneejerk and fierce, surprising even herself. Her arms coiled around his neck, bringing her in close enough against Ben, that his muscular heat seemed to burn right through her.

  She was breathlessly aware that for the first time in a year—since the last time she had been in Ben’s arms—she was feeling too much, revealing too much. But the fact was she couldn’t bear it if Ben cooled off and walked away now. Despite all of the distance and issues, the confusion and the hurt, despite the fact that she couldn’t quite trust him, Ben mattered.

  Her forehead grazed his jaw. The roughness of it against her tender skin sent a sharp pang through her. His arms closed around her, steadying her, pulling her in even tighter against him, and the closeness of the contact, the knowledge that he did want her after all, made her almost giddy with relief.

  In that moment she realized how much she had missed Ben despite her efforts to move on from that one night together, despite how annoyed and hurt she had been. She realized how much she wanted him despite everything that had gone wrong. She breathed in, her nostrils filling with the clean, masculine scent of his skin. “Why are we talking business?”

  “Damned if I know,” he muttered, and then his mouth came down on hers.

  Heat and excitement poured through her as they kissed, making the blood rush through her veins, making her skin seem tight and unbearably sensitive.

  Her fingers curled into the hard muscle of his shoulders as she lifted up, angling her jaw to deepen the kiss. Long seconds later, he broke the kiss, only to close his teeth over the lobe of her ear.

  She fumbled with the buttons of his shirt, baring an enticing strip of muscled torso. Simultaneously, she felt the zipper of her dress glide down her spine. The delicate silk of her dress loosened and slid from her shoulders to puddle around her feet. Ben shrugged out of his shirt, drew her close for another kiss and then, shivering seconds later, deftly dispensed with her bra.

  Her breath came in sharply at the intimate heat of skin on skin. Then Ben bent and took one breast into her mouth. Time seemed to slow, stop as heat gathered and coiled...

  “Oh, no, you don’t,” Ben muttered. “Not yet.” The world went sideways as he swung her into his arms. She wound her arms around his neck, dimly aware of her shoes sliding off her feet and dropping onto the gorgeous hardwood floor as Ben strode toward the bedroom.

  The dazzling light of the sitting room chandelier changed to the muted shadows of the bedroom as he deposited her on the king-size bed. As she sank into the soft mattress, the crisp coolness of the linen coverlet was faintly shocking against her overheated skin, making her feel suddenly vulnerable and exposed despite the fact that she wasn’t quite naked. Dragging a corner of the coverlet over herself, she watched as Ben stepped out of his trousers. The lights from the pool area directly below her balcony glowed through gauzy drapes, flowing over his broad shoulders, muscled biceps and washboard abs. Sophie was abruptly riveted. In a business suit Ben was formidable, but naked he possessed a primitive beauty that was breathtaking.

  As he sheathed himself with a condom, she suppressed an odd pang of regret. Ben was behaving responsibly; she wanted him to wear a condom. But a crazy, impulsive part of her—the part she usually kept tightly under wraps—noted his easy control, as if he was not quite as affected as she.

  The instant the thought surfaced, she dismissed it as wild and idiotic. She should be happy that Ben was so controlled and pragmatic. Making love without protection went with trust and commitment, marriage and babies. They hadn’t reached that point yet.

  And the last thing she wanted was for Ben to discover how inexperienced she was.
If he found out that this would only be the second time she had made love, that he had been her only partner, and that she had instigated lovemaking both times, it could make her appear needy and overly committed. Given his problem with commitment, it might even scare him off.

  A sudden flash of how she had felt a year ago when she had awoken to find herself alone in a rumpled bed stiffened her resolve. Taking a deep breath, she dismissed memories that were still stark and vivid and which, irritatingly, had refused to fade. She had turned a corner in her thinking and was looking to establish a fresh start, a new beginning, for them both. This sudden attack of jitters was just her type A, control freak personality reminding her that she hated taking risks.

  The bed shifted under Ben’s weight as he joined her. His gaze traveled the length of her body, which was now enshrouded by the stifling but gorgeous white coverlet. He frowned. “Did I miss something here?”

  “Nothing’s wrong.” Sophie dismissed the attack of nerves, forced a smooth smile and dispensed with the cover. “You took too long.”

  With deliberate movements, she pushed Ben flat on his back and straddled him. Bending down, she kissed him slowly and thoroughly on the mouth.

  Taking the initiative felt exhilaratingly bold and empowering. The last time they had made love she had felt swept along, swamped by the sensations that had assaulted her and the intensity of her own emotions.

  Excitement zinged through her as she registered that, this time, things would be different.

  This time she was in control.

  Five

  Ben’s hands settled on her waist, holding her in place as the kiss deepened. Relief spiraled through Sophie. They seemed to be back on track. Now she just needed to stay focused on reminding him of the powerful chemistry that had bound them together from the first and which had endured despite his walking out on her a year ago. She needed him to wake up and see her as precious, to value her and want a relationship; to do what he did in business and ruthlessly pursue her until she finally said yes.

  The thought that she might actually say yes to a proposal of marriage from Ben startled her enough that she froze in place. Somehow her thoughts had raced ahead, possibly because she was used to “visioning” for her company and had seen the potential in Ben. The plain fact was that Ben had a lot of catching up to do before she would ever consider him for the role.

  Ben’s gaze was wary. “What have I done?”

  “Nothing...yet.” She ran a hand down his chest, then lower, her confidence building at his reaction to her lightest touch. “I’m hoping that’s about to change.”

  A split second later, he rolled, his weight pressing her down into the mattress. Feeling his fingers hook through the waistband of her panties, she lifted her hips so he could draw them down her legs. Her breath came in as she felt him lodge between her thighs.

  “Is this fast enough for you?” he muttered, his gaze locked with hers as he slowly slid home.

  She reached for breath as she adjusted to the shape of him. “I’d say it’s...just about right.”

  Sophie grasped his shoulders and tried to breathe, tried to control the exquisite sensations that poured through her as he withdrew and pushed deep again. But breathing was difficult as pleasure, heated and unbearable, gripped her. The aching sensation low in her belly coiled and tightened, then splintered, spinning her into the night.

  Long minutes later Sophie roused to the slow stroke of Ben’s fingers on her back. The sensations that had been so overwhelming stirred through her again, tightening every muscle, every cell of her body. Ben, who was propped on one elbow, bent and kissed her on the mouth, taking his time. This time the lovemaking was slower, languorous, the pleasure so intense and prolonged that when she finally climaxed, tears squeezed from beneath her lids. She knew it was dangerous to feel too much, and dangerous to let Ben see how much he affected her. But she couldn’t help herself because in a curious, inexplicable way, making love with Ben felt like coming home.

  * * *

  Bright moonlight beamed through the curtains, rousing Ben.

  He noted the time on the digital clock on the bedside table. It was a little after four. Sophie was half-sprawled against him, her head on his shoulder, one slim arm flung across his chest as if even in sleep she wanted to hold on to him.

  But he knew that the desire Sophie was feeling was ephemeral and would soon be displaced by the reality of her wealthy, privileged and high-powered life. The Messenas were old money, and with his rough military and construction background, he had no place in their world despite his recent inheritance.

  It was a reality he knew well, because he had seen the dynamic play out with his parents. Despite the passion that had driven them together, they had been a mismatch, the brash cowboy who had struck oil on his dustbowl of a ranch, and the cool, sophisticated heiress who had left when Ben’s father had gone broke. The fact that his own engagement had followed the same pattern had only burned the truth in deeper. As gorgeous as Sophie was, as much as he wanted her, he was once bitten, twice shy. They were the kind of mismatch he could not afford in his life, again.

  Plus, as beautiful and feminine as Sophie was, he knew she possessed the same kind of ruthless, entrepreneurial qualities her brothers possessed. The fact that she had initiated a seduction tonight and then started talking business in the middle of it more or less proved the fact that she had ulterior motives. The only honest thing they had shared was the sex, and that had been spectacular.

  Brooding, he took in the way the silvery moonlight, diffused by gauzy drapes, flowed over her cheekbones, highlighting her faintly imperious nose and finely cut mouth, and investing the silken lashes that feathered her cheeks with an added, fascinating sense of mystery. Lying naked in tangled linen sheets, Sophie had a timeless beauty that tugged at him as if in some indefinable way she was his.

  Ben rebuffed the romantic notion; it had no place in his practical, pragmatic life. And there was his problem, he thought. He had come to the party tonight with the express intention of putting an end to his obsession with Sophie Messena. A part of him had hoped that when he saw her he wouldn’t want her, that he could put the stubborn attraction behind him and move on.

  That notion had evaporated in the first moment. One turn of her head, a glimpse of her level dark gaze and gorgeous cheekbones, and he had been gone.

  When she had tipped the glass of water over him, his fate had been sealed. Sophie’s jealousy had hit him like a kick in the chest, igniting an instant response. Her seeming hurt had fooled him...until she had started talking business. The second she had begun probing into his business affairs, reality had reasserted itself. He had hoped that spending another night with Sophie would be enough to get her out of his system, but the grim fact was that nothing had changed. Somehow, he had once again gotten caught in an obsession with the type of woman he had sworn off.

  It was a mistake, but at least now he knew it had to end.

  He fought the urge to draw her close, which would be fatal. Considering his track record with Sophie Messena, he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from making love to her again. Instead, he gently disentangled himself, eased from the bed and padded through the suite retrieving his clothes. He dressed then let himself out and made his way to the room he had booked for the night.

  After a quick shower, he called the concierge and arranged for his Jeep to be delivered to the front entrance of the hotel. As he strode across the foyer, he found he couldn’t walk away cold this time. On impulse, he paused at the concierge desk. The instant he arranged for two dozen deep red roses to be delivered to Sophie in the morning, he sensed he was making a mistake. A mistake he had made once before, when he had sent flowers to a business partner’s daughter as a simple thank-you for being his date at a work dinner.

  Since then, Buffy Holt had pushed the social agenda, inserting herself into Ben’s meetings with her father and making i
t clear she wanted a relationship. She treated every social event Ben had attended with her father as a date, and had repeatedly contacted him online and through his business numbers and email addresses. She had even gotten hold of his cell phone number and kept messaging him. He believed the term was stalking.

  Not that Sophie would stalk him, he thought; she had too much class for that. She would ditch him,, like she had a year ago.

  That fact should please him Once he could forget how good it had felt to have Sophie back in his arms.

  * * *

  Sophie turned over in bed and burrowed into the softness of a down pillow. She was caught in a dream, a delicious, tender dream where Ben was smiling and relaxed and holding her, pulling her close for another kiss.

  Automatically, half dreaming, half awake, she reached for him, and found...nothing. Her eyes flickered open. The soft light of dawn flooded the room, illuminating tumbled sheets and a lone shoe on the floor. She drew a breath, but even before she turned her head on the pillow, she knew she was alone.

  Her heart began to pound. She drew another deep breath and attempted to calm down. Just because Ben wasn’t in the bed didn’t mean he had gone, as in gone. He could be in the bathroom or the sitting room. Maybe he was even out on the terrace, taking one of his business calls and being careful not to wake her. Dragging the sheets back, she retrieved the robe from the back of the bedroom door and shrugged into it. Her stomach tensed as she surveyed the room. Ben’s clothes were gone. But if he was outside, of course he would be dressed.

  She checked the bathroom, which was empty. The towels looked fresh and undisturbed, which meant Ben hadn’t showered. Feeling suddenly sick to her stomach, she turned to leave. As she did so the huge mirror over the double vanity threw her reflection back at her, momentarily riveting her in place. Her hair was tousled, her mouth soft, the robe gaped to show a faint abrasion on her collarbone where Ben’s roughened jaw must have scraped across her skin.