Midnight Encounters (24 page)

“And Maggie, I would like to speak to you afterwards about that permanent position,” Gloria added as she reached for the door handle.

Her heart soared. “Really?”

“You’re going to make a great counselor, kiddo.”

Maggie expected Gloria to enter the gym first, but the woman simply opened the door and gestured for her to go in.

“You’re not coming?” she said in surprise.

“Naah.” Gloria gave a small grin. “I already got his autograph.” His autograph?

Baffled, Maggie walked in, and then stopped in her tracks when she laid eyes on Ben.

Clad in a pair of faded blue jeans, a snug black T-shirt and black combat boots, he stood near one of the long wooden benches in front of the boys’ locker room. “Hey, Red,” he called when he saw her, his deep voice bouncing off the gymnasium walls.

She gulped. God, he looked good. He’d shaved, but his angular face still possessed that hint of bad-boy sexiness, and his perfectly shaped lips looked so damn kissable Maggie shivered. She glanced over her shoulder at Gloria, but the woman had discreetly disappeared, leaving her and Ben alone.

“What are you doing here?” she squeaked.

He crossed the waxed floor with lazy strides, each step he took making her pulse quicken. When he finally stood in front of her, her heart was thudding against her ribs and pounding in her ears.

“I’m going to be teaching a free acting workshop here for the summer,” he replied with a charming smile.

“Why?”

He shrugged. “Because I have the summer off. I figured it would be fun.”

“I mean, why here?” she stammered. “I’m sure thousands of people would pay big bucks to learn acting from you.”

“Haven’t you learned by now that I don’t care about money?” She had no idea how to respond. A hundred questions bit at her tongue but she forced herself not to ask them. Quizzing Ben about his donation or his presence here didn’t matter right now. Not when they had more important things to say. Not when
she
had something important to say.

“I’m sorry I asked you to leave,” she finally whispered.

“You had every right to.”

He reached out and stroked her cheek with the pad of his thumb. She held her breath, waiting for him to pull her toward him, anticipating his kiss, but it didn’t come. Instead, his features creased with remorse and his hand dropped to his side.

“I made a mess of your life, babe, and I don’t blame you for asking me to go.” His Adam’s apple bobbed. “I knew I couldn’t try to get you back until I fixed everything.”

“You didn’t mess up my life, Ben.”

“You lost your job.”

“And I got a new one, here at the center.” She stepped closer and pressed her palm to his chest. “
And
I figured out quite a few things.”

“Like what?”

He covered her hand with his and gently moved it against his heart. She could feel the loud thump-thump of his heartbeat and it brought a smile to her lips, knowing his heart was pounding as hard as hers.

“I figured out it’s okay to allow a few complications into my life, that sometimes complicated is better than being alone. Being lonely.”

“You’re lonely?”

“Ever since you left,” she murmured.

“Me too.”

He gripped her hand and lifted it to his neck, then reached down and encircled her waist. Twining her arms around him, she leaned up on her tip-toes and brushed her lips over his. “I missed you, Ben.”

“I missed you too, Red.”

He covered her mouth with a crushing kiss, one of his trademark rough and greedy kisses that left her absolutely breathless. She pushed her tongue into his mouth, wanting more, needing more.

It was Ben who finally broke the kiss, groaning softly in her ear as his obvious erection poked against her navel. “We’re in the middle of a children’s gymnasium,” he muttered, his warm breath fanning over her forehead.

“Then let’s go somewhere private. I’m sure the Lester Hotel has a few rooms available,” she teased.

Ben shot her his movie star grin. “First we need to get a few things straight.”

“I should’ve known you’d get all demanding on me.”

“I’m making it clear, right here and right now, that I’m not leaving you ever again,” he said in a stern voice. “If you don’t like it, tough.”

“I like it,” she assured him, fighting a smile. “I’m not going anywhere either.”

“Even when the press gets in our faces again?” His cobalt eyes clouded over. “And I do mean
when
, honey. If you choose to stay with me, you’ll need to get used to the vultures.”

“If being with you means getting my picture taken every now and then, it’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make.” She quirked her lips. “Like I said, I’m not going anywhere.” He tossed out another hurdle. “Even if I force you to take some time off work and join me in Prague when shooting starts for Alan Goodrich’s latest film?”

She gasped. “He gave you a role?”

“Yep. With lines and everything, not just car chases.”

“That’s great.” Her eyes lit up. “I’ve never been to Prague.”

“Well, you can’t stay too long,” he warned. “My mom is anxious to start all the wedding plans.” Her heart stopped. “Wedding plans?”

“Oh right.” He grinned sheepishly. “I forgot, we’re getting married.”

“That was the worst proposal ever,” she complained.

He squeezed her butt and laughed again. “And there it is, that infamous Maggie honesty.”

“Get used to it, pal, because I don’t sugarcoat anything and you know it.”

“That’s precisely why I love you.”

She slid one hand down his back and gave his butt a squeeze of her own. “I love you too.” He chuckled arrogantly. “Of course you do. I’m Ben Barrett, remember?” Epilogue

“Ohhh. Oh God. Oh, Ben…”

“Quit acting like a baby,” Ben ordered as he clutched Maggie’s right hand and squeezed it.

“But it hurts,” she shot back.

Greg, the tattoo artist, a man with the build of a pro wrestler and the buzz cut of a Navy SEAL, cast her an apologetic look. “I’m trying to be gentle.”

He lowered the needle back to her skin and she could swear she heard her tailbone crack. God, this was awful. She wanted to throttle her husband, but it really wasn’t Ben’s fault. It had been her brainchild to get a tattoo to celebrate their one-year wedding anniversary.

Husband. Anniversary. It amazed her even thinking the words. Who could have foreseen that one?

“You wanted to do this,” Ben reminded her after she let out another soft whimper of pain.

“You could have tried to stop me.”

He grinned. “Why would I do that? I think you’re going to look hot with a tattoo.”

“Your mother is going to kill me.”

“She’ll get over it.”

Maggie hoped so, because the last thing she wanted to do was upset Miranda Barrett after everything she’d done for them. Ben’s mom had single-handedly planned their entire wedding, which they’d held last winter in Ben’s hometown, Cobb Valley. It had been a small but elegant affair. Maggie had never felt more loved and wanted as she’d walked down the aisle toward Ben, the high-pitched jingles of Summer’s steel drum accompanying her steps.

They’d honeymooned in Prague, a city Maggie had fallen in love with after visiting Ben on his movie set.

They were planning on going back when Maggie took advantage of her vacation time from the community center, but she was in no rush. She loved living in Manhattan, with Ben, in their gorgeous brownstone.

Besides, they couldn’t miss the Golden Globes award ceremony, not when Ben was a first-time nominee in the best supporting actor category.

“All done,” Greg announced, patting her lower back with a warm cloth to wipe off the excess ink.

She stood up and craned her head, trying to get a glimpse of her back. Both men chuckled, and Greg finally put her out of her misery and ushered her toward the full-length mirror in the main room of the tattoo shop. She examined the tribal design, the soft lines and curved accents making it more feminine than the one on Ben’s biceps.

“I love it,” she finally announced.

Both men released relieved sighs, which made her realize what a bitch she must have acted like during the hour they’d been here. Too bad. She didn’t care what anyone said, tattoos
hurt
.

She and Ben thanked and paid the tattoo artist, then slipped into their winter coats and stepped outside onto the icy city sidewalk. Thanks to the adrenaline coursing through her body after getting inked, Maggie barely felt the frigid wind as it hit her. She gripped Ben’s hand and shot him a smile.

“I feel like a bad girl, now that I have a tattoo and all,” she said with a grin.

“You
feel
like a bad girl? Uh-uh, you
are
one,” he corrected. “Or don’t you remember what you did to me after the Golden Globe nomination brunch, on the flight home last week?”

“That was pretty bad, wasn’t it?”

“Oh yeah.”

They stopped at a crosswalk and waited for the stoplight to change. Maggie wanted to rip off her coat and examine her tattoo again, but she stopped herself. She couldn’t believe how her life had changed for the better during the past year. Sure, the press still hounded them every now and then, and lately it was the former, seeing as Ben was up for an award. But aside from that, everything was incredible. Ben made her breakfast every day before she left for work, and at night, she cooked him dinner, then made up for the awful flavorless meal in the bedroom.

“So my mom called yesterday when you were at work,” Ben mentioned as they crossed the street.

“Yeah, what’d she want?”

“She wanted to know when she’ll be getting a grandchild.”

Maggie nearly slipped on the snow covered sidewalk under her boots. “What’d you tell her?”

“That we’re working on it.”

“Oh are we?”

“Of course we are.” He flashed a magnetic smile. “Aren’t you looking forward to it, having a tiny little Ben Barrett running around the house?”

She let out a groan. “Oh God. Two Ben Barretts? The world had better watch out.”

“We both know you love me.”

He squeezed her hand and she shivered from the familiar tingles his touch evoked in her body. “Yeah, you’re right. I guess I do love you.”

“You guess?” he said with mock insult.

She grinned. “Fine. I
know
I love you.”

And when they got home, she ushered him into the master bedroom and showed him exactly how much.

About the Author

To learn more about Elle, please visitwww.ellekennedy.com . Send an email to Elle at [email protected]
or visit her blog, the Sizzling Pens, athttp://sizzlingpens.blogspot.com .

Look for these titles by Elle Kennedy

Now Available:

Bad Moon Rising

Dance of Seduction

Heat of the Moment

Can passion be found in a bottle?

The Passion-Minded Professor

© 2008 Natasha Moore

Roxy Morgan is finally in control of her life. After working in the family diner to put her now ex-husband through law school, she’s getting her own chance at a college education. She doesn’t need any distractions in her life right now, especially men. The strong magnetic pull she feels toward chemistry professor Dr. Daniel Jennings is more than just an annoyance—it’s threatening her GPA. Yet she can’t seem to keep mind on her studies, or her hands off him.

Driven, lonely Daniel has been working to perfect an attraction elixir so he can finally find what’s been missing in his life: Passion. Sassy, outgoing Roxy wasn’t supposed to be part of his experiment. It was purely an accident. Now his elixir has given him an unexpected side effect—he’s fallen in love. But his sense of honor nags him to tell her the truth about the “love potion.” Even if it means risking the best thing that’s ever happened to him.

Enjoy the following excerpt for
The Passion-Minded Professor: He laughed and before she realized what he was doing, he leaned over and scooped her up in his arms.

He carried her easily across the living room and down the hall. He pushed open a door that was ajar and flipped on the light switch with his shoulder.

“Hey, you do have a bed,” Roxy said. It looked extra wide and extra long, or maybe it just seemed that way from her vantage point up here in Daniel’s arms. The walls were beige. The black comforter on the bed stood out in sharp contrast. The bed seemed to take up most of the room. In only two steps, they’d reached it. But she remained in Daniel’s arms.

She squirmed a little. “You can put me down now.”

He held her a bit closer and nibbled on her ear. “I don’t know if I will,” he said, the warmth of his breath washing over her neck. “I like holding you.”

“I’m too heavy.”

“Stop worrying about it. You’re not too heavy,” he replied, but he set her gently down onto the bed. He knelt down and untied her sneakers. Then he stripped her socks from her feet. He caressed her feet with his hands. Oh God, that felt wonderful. “You have very pretty feet.”

“No one has pretty feet,” she said. She tried to pull her feet away, but he held on.

“Why do you want to argue with me tonight?” He rubbed the balls of her feet with his thumbs and she thought she might melt, it felt so good. “You have pretty feet.”

“Thank you,” she said because she didn’t know what else to say. She wasn’t used to compliments, especially about her weight and feet.

“Stand up,” he said. “Let’s get these jeans off you.”

“Okay.”

She stood and reached for the snap, but his fingers beat her to it. After the snap, he lowered the zipper and pushed the denim over her hips. He hooked her damp panties with his thumbs and they ended up on the floor along with the jeans. She held onto his shoulders as she stepped out of them.

“Beautiful,” he murmured as he ran his gaze over her. And before she had a chance to respond, he placed a finger on her lips. “Beautiful,” he repeated.

She couldn’t help smiling. If nothing else, Daniel had given her a feeling of worth. He made her feel beautiful. Desirable.

But she wanted so much more.

She swept her hands down his sides, skimming his ribs, catching the waistband of his boxer briefs with her fingers. She caught his amused gaze. “It’s only fair.” He spread his arms wide. “Be my guest.”