For Your Sake (20 page)

What the hell did he get himself into?

~~~***~~~

              All Eva knew was that she was in her bedroom.

              Flat on her back, she opened sleepy eyes to find that peeling wallpaper border staring back.  For a moment, she sighed with relief.  It had to have been a dream – a crazy, spontaneous, erotic dream.  She was in her own bed, not straddling a biker on the Napoleonic-style easy chair then riding him like a prized stallion.  But moments passed when she fully came out of a deeply, sated sleep to find that she was not only on her back, but stark naked, the sheet and comforter bunched around her waist. 

              Her head twisted to the right, then stifled her urge to gasp.  She wasn’t alone either.  It wasn’t a dream at all. Beside her, Ben lay pretty much in the same position - the bed clothes riding low, grazing the tapered muscles of his hips.  Holy shit.  Holy, fucking shit.  How the hell did they get up here without her remembering……..? 

And then, as if the sight of him jumped her memory, it all came back.  Coming home early from MaryLynn’s……Ben sitting in the dark in her kitchen…….words tossed back and forth.  Somewhere, there was a gun and talk of people getting killed in this equation.  Him wanting to leave, her telling him to stay.  His lips on hers, his hands all over her body, the feel of his own – hard, broad, corded muscle, planed with dusky skin sprinkled with dark-blonde hair, finger digging in, holding on…….sinking inside her, his cock, thick and erect against the palm of her hand, making her bite her lip with pleasurable pain as it slowly stretched her inside, filling her with the most intense lust she’d ever felt.

              When it was over, she collapsed against him, remembering the co-mingled scents which clung to him.  Clean sweat, warm musk, the crispness of the night air and the smoky dust of the road – exactly how she pictured a big, tough biker would smell.

              But then she remembered getting up, a mischievous smile on her face as she grabbed the dress he pulled off her, holding to cover herself and watching him grin over it. 
“Don’t bother darlin’,
” he had told her. 
“Already saw all you got.  No way covering it all up’s gonna make me forget.”

              And then she remembered it was
her
who went upstairs first.  The shock of finding him in her house, the spat of words between them afterwards, the gun he pulled - shit, where the hell was that anyway?  One hot, lustful, fast fuck, one moment of forgetting herself and, more importantly, who he was and what he belonged too, and it all went out the window.  She found herself feeling sexy, playful, flirty in nothing but her polka-dot panties. 

After giving him a wicked look she had turned and dashed up the stairs with him, gloriously naked and hard, chasing her up and catching her at the top.  He had slung her over his shoulder, playfully slapping her ass in the process.  The sharp tingle on her skin sent a throbbing sensation between her legs.  She hung there, over that large expanse of a shoulder, her hands pressed against his broad back, grazing over his
S-K-U-L-L-S
tattoo which ran diagonally down.  He had found her bedroom and the wrought iron head and footboard made it difficult for him to plop themselves down at the bottom.  His sheer size would’ve collapsed the thing – hell, she wasn’t sure her double bed would’ve supported what looked like two hundred and sixty pounds of solid man.

He stirred in his sleep, disrupting her from her trip down sexual-memory lane.  She lay perfectly still, studying his profile, his dark-blonde hair loose, just grazing past his shoulders.  She remembered how it got that way, how he had straddled her after she landed on the bed.  His hands, his mouth had explored every inch of her body.  Rough fingers, scratchy beard, his hair she needed to feel as she yanked the elastic out and tossed it to the floor, her own fingers threading through its silkiness.  He had lowered himself, his facial overgrowth teasing her breasts, her stomach, the crease of her thighs before trying to nuzzle between them. That’s where she pulled him up. 

“What, Eva?”
His eyes, amber and bedroom-smoky, had looked at her as if she’d lost her mind. 
“You don’t want that?”

As crazy as she, or any woman, was to turn that down, Eva just wasn’t ready for such close intimacy.  She went for the quick save, reaching down to take that warm, hard cock in her hand.  “
Want this more,”
she told him.

Ben had straightened his upper body, still kneeling between her legs, his magnificently built body taking her breath away.  And then he smiled.  And thought she would die.  “
What’d I unleash here, darlin’?”
He had slid off the bed, looking for his pile of clothes he had grabbed on the way up.  She heard fumbling, crinkling and ripping – he was getting another condom.  And like last night, she watched what was normally thought to be an awkward moment, but he obviously had mastered rolling it on fluidly.

And then his hands were back on her - gripping the waist of her panties and pulling them down. 
“Jesus, Eva.  You got one sick body.”
Spreading her legs, his hand had slipped between them, and he grinned. 
“Yeah, guess you do want it more.”

He was inside her in a heartbeat, those thick, muscled arms bracing himself by her head, veins straining in his neck, the way his pecs and abs flexed as he thrust
.  “Dammit, Eva!  Fuck, you feel incredible…..so fucking wet and tight.”

              Eva had never had such talk during sex.  Seven months ago was the last time her and William were together, before her dad died and she had said goodbye to both of them.  He was more going-through-the motions whereas Ben was all about the raw lust of the act.  She gave into that, putting what she had in the past behind her.  And, for that moment, putting everything about her past behind her.  All that existed was that very moment.  This intense feeling of pleasure as it was about to tear out of her core.  This man turning her inside out.

              “Mmmm.”  Back to the present, Ben softly grunted in his sleep.  She continued to keep still, wondering if he was the type to stay rather than get dressed and bolt with just a kiss on the forehead.  Slowly turning her head back, she checked the digital on the nightstand – five forty five a.m. – seven hours before she had to meet Elle Connors at the store.  Reaching over, she quietly set the alarm for nine, then snuggled back under the covers.  The early, October chill had seeped in and she took advantage of the large, warm body next to her.  She scooted a bit over towards him, hoping he wasn’t claustrophobic in his sleep.  Hoping he wouldn’t get up and scoot out when she fell back to sleep. 

              Hoping she wouldn’t regret hoping all of this.

Chapter Twelve

 
The first thing which went through Ben’s mind as soon as he woke was that he couldn’t remember the last good sleep he had in bed.

            The second -  was that it wasn’t his bed he was in.

            He wasn’t thinking about possibly disturbing his partner when he bolted up, only to find he was alone.  Sunshine seeping through the curtains indicated morning was fully underway before the digital alarm on Eva’s side showed almost nine thirty.  Shit, shit…..double shit!

            Getting out of bed, he gathered his clothes on the floor.  Eva had to be downstairs somewhere, obviously up and getting ready to meet Elle at noon.  Why the hell didn’t she wake him?  Why did he allow himself to fall asleep not once, but twice in her house?  Yeah, he felt pretty refreshed, but he usually never did mornings-after at a chick’s house – hell, not even at his own place.  He was always careful not to wind up with an overnight guest which led to awkward mornings he didn’t want to deal with.  Yeah, and there was the attachment thing.

            But this was different, or at least that’s what he tried to convince himself.  It was his choice to come here, then, gave Eva a choice of her own and the sexy little brunette chose getting fucked on the living room furniture before they took it upstairs for round two. It had to be almost two a.m. before they dozed off, sated and fatigued.  Now she was somewhere in the house no doubt wondering how to get him out. 

            Tossing on his jeans and t-shirt, he grabbed his cut, hoodie and holster and found the bathroom.  He contemplated a shower, but after taking one look at the circular, shower curtain inside the claw foot tub, he didn’t think he’d fit.  The room still had a bit of steam about it, which streaked that gorgeous, frosted glass window, indicating Eva had already taken a shower.  After taking a much needed piss, he descended the stairs which creeked under his weight.  A house this old would never allow someone to sneak up from behind.  Maybe that was a good thing.

            Through the dining room, he avoided the mess on the floor.  Plastic tarp, brand new paint brushes, rollers, edging tape, several gallons of a muted shade of green paint sat under where the mural was taken down, the blank wall sporting five different color swatches brushed on it before Eva eventually settled on one color.  The aroma of coffee pulled him into the kitchen with the same mess still scattered about, but no sign of Eva.  Until he saw the slider open.  He put his stuff on the chair then looked outside.  There she was, outside on the deck, a cup of coffee in hand, in nothing but a short robe, wet hair trickling down her back.  He didn’t know whether to wonder how good she smelled or if she had anything on underneath.  Either way, he was going to find out both.  “Morning.”

            She spun around, eyes looking as bright as the crisp morning.  Of course they did – little minx got it good and proper the night before. “Hi.”  She raised her cup.  “There’s coffee made if you want some.”

            She was playing it cool and polite, regardless that he most likely had several scratch marks on his back saying otherwise.  He slid open the door and joined her.  “How come you didn’t wake me?”

            “For what?”

            The angle of the sun highlighted her face which didn’t have a stitch of makeup on.  Clear skin, rosy lips, a few freckles on the bridge of her nose and those vivid blues were all she needed.  He concentrated on her face to keep from untying that robe.  “Don’t want to overstay my welcome, darlin’.” Her head dipped as she grinned, the pink of her cheeks indicating she was trying to hide a blush.  There was none of that coy shit last night from her.  “Hey,” he said, lifting her chin.  “Don’t put on a shy act after last night.”

            She lifted her head, pushing a wet strand of hair away from her forehead.  “I’m not.  It’s just…….”

            “Been a while?”

            “I don’t usually do this…….I mean, I don’t with men I barely…..”

            He held up his hand.  “No explanation needed.”  Really, she was the last women he’d label a slut.  She looked pleased not to have to, clasping the neck of her robe with a shiver.  “What’re you doing out here all wet with practically nothing on?”  That admission began to harden him as he ushered her inside.  “C’mom.”

            Ben stepped inside first, then heard a voice across the yard.  “Good morning, Eva.”

            “Good morning, Mrs. Bachman,” Eva replied.

            What the hell, he probably already subjected the woman to a medical malfunction as Ben stepped in front of the slider, extending his hand for Eva to come in.  His eyes were fixed across the yard and on Mrs. Bachman who literally slapped a hand to her chest.  Pushing him inside, Eva followed, closing the door and blinds shut.  “Great, now she thinks I’m nailing the help.”

            “You kinda did, darlin’.”  He leaned down close to her ear.  “And a damn good job.”

            Her entire face flushed pink as she veiled her eyes shut.  Damn, with women being way too giving over the years, he’d forgotten what it was like to do this dance.  The chase, the hunt and the capture.  He may’ve caught her last night, but she’s making him work all over again. “So, um,” she put her cup down on the table, “coffee?”

            “Sure.” Pulling out a chair, he sat while she poured. 

“How?”

            “Milk….two sugars.”

            Preparing the coffee, Eva walked it over and placed it in front of him then picked up her own to take a sip.   Knowing an awkward gap of ‘what-the-hell-do-we-talk-about-now’ would ensue, Ben decided to fill it in – and throw her for a loop.  “Hear you gotta meeting with Elle today.”

            Oh, she just didn’t loop.  Her mind obviously cart-wheeled while she choked on her coffee.  “Wow, either this ‘guy’ of yours is really good or he must be in cahoots with that psychic.”

            Ben found his first smile of the day as he sipped his own coffee, digging that sharp wit of hers.  “Neither.” He hooked his foot to the base of the other chair and pushed it out.  “Sit.  I’ll explain.”

            She did and……he did, and saw it registering on her face.  “Gotta love this small town.”

            “That’s how I knew you weren’t here last night.  By the way, where 
were
 you coming from dressed like that?”  Wow, he sounded a little too possessive there.  “Curious.”

            He listened to her explanation and reason for coming home early.  “Just a little antsy about the meeting.  Now that I’ve got a business here, I want to make a good impression.  I hear she’s pretty important at town hall.”