Finding Home (13 page)

“Conclusions I had no right drawing. I was out of my mind.”

Jessica smiled.

“Sometimes we have to give people we love a chance to make it right.”

Ben cocked his brow at her. “I’m sorry, did you just say—”

She giggled. “Nope. I did not. But I’d like a chance to find out if I someday could. We could start by you coming inside and keeping me company this holiday.”

Ben threw open the door then walked around to her side, letting her out. She cast a glance to the back as she grabbed her purse.

“All the bags,” she said in surprise.

“I was on my way to the airport,” Ben said.

“How did you end up at that pawnshop, anyway?”

Ben smiled as he placed a hand on the small of her back. “I’ll tell you, but it’s a long story.”

Jessica leaned into him. “Well, we’ve got all night now,” she said.

“Hopefully more.”

Chapter Twelve

Jessica let Ben into the house and followed, admiring the way his navy-blue pea coat stretched across his broad back. Turning to shut the door, she gasped when cold fingers covered her eyes.

“I have a surprise for you,” Ben whispered. “When you turn around, don’t open until I tell you to.”

“Um, okay…?” The words came out as more of a question, but it was good enough for Ben, who removed his hands and started rustling something behind her.

“I’m turning around now.”

“Okay, just remember, eyes closed.”

The rummaging continued for a few moments then silence stretched over the room. Straining her ears, she heard the faintest tinkle of metal on metal.

“What are you doing?” she asked, half-raising her lid.

“Aww, you cheated!” Ben said, laughing. “Well, here, then. So much for the presentation.” He thrust the jewelry into her palm.

“The rings…” she breathed as tears welled up. “How did you…where did you…how did this happen?”

Ben smiled broadly, obviously pleased with himself. “I got Mae to sell them to me a few days ago, when I first arrived. I’d meant to give them to you immediately, but then the whole Mike thing happened.” He paused, becoming serious. “I was stopping by the shop to return them, which is why I stumbled upon you.” He shook his head and spoke in a lowered voice, almost to himself. “Thank God, I did.” Brightening, he looked up again at Jessica, still rendered speechless from this massive, heartfelt gift. “But, yes, here they are. Merry belated Christmas and Happy New Year!”

She threw herself at him then, her torso melting into his tall frame. “Ben, thank you. Thank you. Thank you.” The tears broke free and spilled down her cheeks. “I don’t know how you pulled it off, but thank you.”

His arms tightened around her, drawing her impossibly closer. “You’re welcome,” he said into her hair.

Then she stiffened a bit. She wanted to give herself to him entirely, and completely, but the circumstances were so similar to the last time that she couldn’t help but hesitate. She didn’t want them to have a sex life that revolved around drama and mishaps. She wanted to be sure he was with her for her, not releasing the tension they both held from an extreme experience.

Noticing her change in posture, he let her go, shoving his hands in his pockets.

“Well, then,” she said, hastening to take off her jacket to give her hands something to do. “How about a glass of wine to celebrate?”

“Perfect.” Ben smiled as he spoke the words.

* * * *

“Five, four, three, two, one! Happy New Year!” Jessica snuggled into him, lifting her head as Ben captured her mouth in a heady, searing kiss. She meant to break it off, but something about his urgency wiped away any notion of separating their lips. A bottle and a half of wine in, they had watched Anderson Cooper and Kathy Griffen make fools of themselves for the hour before midnight, laughing easily at the jokes and taking in the sights of New York through the television screen.

Ben had made no attempt to touch her again, only putting his arm around her after she’d laid her head on his shoulder about a half hour ago. She’d never felt so happy, so celebratory on New Year’s before, but suddenly all the struggles she’d been through, all the mistakes she had made over the old year, ceased to matter. Suddenly, the only thing that counted was the future. Her past had converged to a single, perfect point, every misstep and stumble leading her here, back to her uncle’s house, leading her here, to Ben.

She broke contact to place her wine glass on the coffee table, stretching over Ben’s taut thigh muscles as she did. Leaning back into him, she craned her arms around his neck and pivoted to face him, sitting on his lap. The hard rod of his erection heated her leg through her jeans, causing a shiver to run up her spine.

She took his face into her hands, noticing the day’s stubble for the first time as she rubbed her thumbs over his cheeks and jaw line.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Ben asked. He took pains not to move beneath her, ensuring that anything that happened was entirely her decision.

“I can’t think of a better way to start a new year,” she said, dipping her head to kiss his eyelids. He groaned at her touch and surged up beneath her, closing the space between their bodies.

Jessica kissed a trail from his temple to his earlobe, nipping at it when he moaned his pleasure. One by one, she undid the buttons of his white shirt, exposing the muscled chest and soft, dark curls that spread over it. She flicked a finger over one hardened nipple experimentally and lowered her mouth to it when he responded with lust. Running her teeth gently over the exposed skin, she allowed her hands to wander over his tight abdomen and graze the area just underneath his waistband.

Ben sprung to life then, lifting her shirt over her head and running his fingers over the lace of her bra. His soft touch drove her to madness, and she shifted on him, wanting to feel his length between her thighs. Pushing her back slightly, he looked deep into her eyes as he undid his belt buckle and zip then raised his hips to slip the pants to the floor around his ankles. Free from its constraints, his erection sprung up toward the ceiling, and Jessica wrapped her hand around it, pumping slowly, marveling at the hard heat under his boxers. Ben leaned into the motion, a wet spot appearing on the fabric beneath her fingers. Stifling another groan, he inched her up, undoing her jeans and sliding them off.

She edged up onto her feet to free her long legs from the clothing then bent over him, placing her hands on either side of him for balance. She lowered her head and nuzzled him there, breathing in the scent of clean laundry, pine and man. Without removing his boxers, she clamped her mouth over his straining length, and Ben gasped, grabbing at her wrists. He reached up and kissed the hollow of her neck, trailing his lips over her collarbone then down to her breasts.

“Do you have anything?” Jessica asked on a breath.

Ben nodded. “In my pants’ pocket.”

She knelt on the floor and found the condom. Smiling, she held up the package then yanked down his boxer shorts. She tossed him the foil square then slipped off her panties. Ben sheathed himself, without taking his eyes off her.

Straddling him on the couch, she sunk down slowly, allowing his thick cock to fill her, inch by inch, the sensations washing over her in waves with each movement, until she had to shut her eyes and cling to him, her hands fisting his dark hair. Ben angled his hip up to her, then withdrew in a slow rebuttal to her thrusts.

He undid her bra, tossing it to the side and taking her aching nipple into his hot mouth. He suckled her, his tongue twirling over her naked skin, flicking over her sensitive peak and driving her to the brink.

Before she’d even realized the signs, orgasm grabbed her in a shock to the base of her spine, reaching its tendrils to the tips of her fingers and toes. She shivered and tingled, the enormity of the feelings coursing through her bringing her to the brink of tears.

Ben placed his hands on her hips, pulling and pushing her as the last vestiges of pleasure wrapped around her. He buried his face in her hair, grunting as he came. She trembled in his arms as he whispered her name.

She melted into him for glorious moments…until a sound at the front door jerked her to her feet.

“Shit!” she whispered, tossing Ben his clothing as she found it piece by piece on the floor. “My aunt and uncle are back!”

“Where do I go?” he asked, his eyes wide.

“The bathroom, quick, quick!”

He shut the door behind him as Jessica struggled to put her underwear and clothes on before her family crashed in to find her half-dressed on their sofa.

She fumbled over her bra strap, but managed to pull on most of her stuff in time, appearing only slightly disheveled when she greeted Travis and his wife.

“Happy New Year,” she said with a big smile.

“Happy New Year to you, kiddo,” her uncle smiled, tousling her curls in a gesture of familiarity he hadn’t used before. Stella must have talked to him, eased the way. He stepped inside, her aunt trailing him by just a few feet. They hung their coats and headed upstairs.

Jessica breathed a sigh of relief.

“Hey, Jessica.” Travis turned around mid-step.

Her heart caught in her throat.

“You and Ben can sleep on Sadie’s bed if you want. It’s the only double we’ve got.” He smiled at her dismay. “No sex though. I think the couch has already seen enough, don’t you?” He pointed at the furniture, and Jessica followed his finger to see a plaid pair of boxers slung over the back. Ben must have missed them when she tossed his stuff at him.

She blushed. “Okay, Uncle Travis. Thank you.”

Chapter Thirteen

“Well, it’s nice to formally meet you, Ben,” Aunt Stella said, pushing her eggs around her plate. “I should have had Jessica cook breakfast. I ruined these beyond repair.”

Jessica smiled tightly, trying not to feel awkward. Ben’s arrival made her feel as if they were imposing upon her formerly estranged family’s goodwill. She hoped she wasn’t putting them out. Still, her family was chipper and happy, inviting Ben into conversation and giving no indication they were in any way annoyed. She tried to quash the feelings of unease. This meeting over breakfast was going as smoothly as it could go.

“Oh, no, Stella,” Ben said brightly. “These are delicious.”

“You’re not a good liar, son,” Travis said, laughing. “It’s okay, though. Stella makes up for her lack of skill in the kitchen with her amazing talent for mothering.”

The older woman blushed and pushed her husband playfully. “You say that because the brood isn’t here making noise today.”

“Exactly,” Travis said with a contented sigh. “What better mothering is there than to get the damn kids out of the house?”

Even Jessica giggled at that. The kids were great, very well behaved, but they were loud and rowdy and…kids. She had to admit it was nice to eat in peace.

“Oh, hey!” Travis said, looking at her. “You’ve got your rings back!”

“Yes! I can’t believe I haven’t told you yet. Ben bought them back for me.”

“You didn’t have to do that, son.” Travis looked somber.

“I wanted to,” Ben said. “They belong in the family.”

Her aunt and uncle exchanged nervous looks, and Jessica took the chain off her neck. “Actually, they’re for you,” she said, giving the jewelry to her uncle. “Happy belated Christmas.”

“I can’t accept this, Jessica,” her uncle said quietly. “You know that.”

“You’d better accept it,” Jessica replied. “Otherwise, I’ll go sell them for five-thousand dollars again. And you know I will.”

Silence met her statement as her uncle conversed with her aunt, using only his eyes.

“I’m sure you could get a much better price for them than that,” Jessica added, her tone soft. “I know Mom would have wanted the family to survive more than a couple shoddy old rings.”

She kept her hand extended until Travis grudgingly took the rings from her. “Well, thank you, honey,” he said. “This means so much.”

Her aunt welled up with tears. “We love you so much. Please don’t do this if you feel uncomfortable about it at all.”

Jessica shook her head. “At this point,” she said, “it’s the only thing I actually feel comfortable with.”

“Misunderstandings happen,” Travis said, “Even grave ones. Ones you think you can never get over. Then sometimes, you catch a break, and suddenly, it’s all under the bridge. Right, Ben?”

She looked to the dark-haired man sitting next to her and reached her hand over to squeeze his thigh.

“Absolutely, sir,” Ben answered, covering her hand with his own.

* * * *

Standing next to Travis, who washed dishes, Ben took a drying towel and went to work on the stacks. The two men worked in amiable silence for a while, until Ben finally got up the nerve to ask what he’d been wanting to ask since Jessica had handed Travis the rings.

“Sir?”

“You can call me Travis.” The older man smiled, looking at him. “She really likes you.”

Ben felt a blush creep around his ears and hoped it wasn’t noticeable. “I hope so,” he said. “And, actually, that kind of ties in with what I was about to ask you.”

“Ask away.”

“I’d like to buy the rings back from you, sir—Travis, I mean.”

Travis sighed. “I figured as much. Does she know about this?”

“Oh, no. She gave them to you for real. She has no idea.”

Travis rubbed his chin, lost in thought, then said, “Well, of course, I will. She shouldn’t have given them to me in the first place. It’s not her fault, and it’s not her mama’s fault that work is slack.”

“Oh, I’d make it worth your while,” Ben said.

“No need,” said Travis, handing them over.

“I think there is,” Ben argued. “She gave those rings to you, for you to be able to help the family. Even if I wanted a freebie, there’s no way she’d take them from me if she knew you’d just given them to me. In fact, if I know Jessica, that would really tick her off.”

Travis chuckled. “You’re right, there. Guess you do know her fairly well.” He paused. “Well, how about the five thousand that’s been tossed around all over the place. Is that acceptable?”