Now and Again (7 page)

“I’m glad you came,” he said. “I’ve been thinking about you a lot.”

“Probably just can’t stop wondering why a woman turned you down for the first time.”

He chuckled lightly and Layla fought her urge to look at him.

“I’m not bluffing,” he said. “Take me home and let me show you. We’ll work out all our frustrations, even if it takes til sunrise.”

Layla wanted to say yes. She wanted to leave the bar with Ben right now, wanted to see and feel all of him. But she had promised herself last year that she was done with casual sex. She had to stay strong.

“There are plenty of women in here you’ll be able to work your frustrations out with,” she said. “And you won’t have to put up with nearly as much crap.”

“I don’t want any of them. I only want you,” Ben said. Layla couldn’t resist meeting his eyes, her heart wishing he meant it.

“You only want me because I said no,” she said. “I’m just another conquest.”

“That’s not true. I’ll admit, I’m surprised how attracted I am to your combative nature. But you’re under my skin now. I don’t want a compliant woman – I want you.”

“Again, it’s all about proving your manhood,” Layla said. “You want to be the man who tames the untamable. We’re too much alike, Ben. Both dominant and controlling. I don’t want to lay in bed passively while you amaze me with your skills. I want to be on top amazing you with mine.”

His gaze darkened and Layla’s pulse raced as Ben leaned in closer.

“So you do want me?” His voice was low and sexy.

“Of course I do,” she said, exasperated. “But I refuse to have casual sex, so what’s the point? We can’t both have what we want.”

Ben shook his head with frustration, gripping the back of his neck with his hand. Doreen met Layla’s eyes from the other end of the bar, seeming reluctant to interrupt them. Layla waved her down.

“Did you want to order?” Doreen asked.

“Sure, I’ll have the salmon and vegetables. And … a glass of white wine, if you have it.”

“We have several,” Doreen said.

“Just pick one. I’ll be happy with anything.”

Doreen walked away and Layla chanced a glance at Ben. He was staring straight ahead, his jaw set tensely. She wondered if she’d made him angry.

“What if we could?” he asked, glancing over at her. She looked at him skeptically. “What if we agreed that for a certain amount of time, like maybe … two weeks, you get to be in control of everything? And then I get to be in control for two weeks? We can evaluate things after those four weeks and if you want us to go separate ways, we can.”

“Of course we can, you’ll be done with me by then,” Layla grumbled. “Once you’ve slept with me, the novelty will be gone.”

“No sex unless you ask for it. The whole four weeks,” he said. She looked at him tentatively. “Worried you won’t be able to resist me?”

His teasing grin caused a flare of annoyance that made Layla sigh deeply. “Not at all. You have a deal, sergeant.” She extended her hand.

“I predict this two weeks will show you that you don’t like being in control as much as you thought,” Ben said, tipping his beer bottle to his lips.

“And I predict you’ll be disappointed when that doesn’t happen,” she said, smiling. “And highly frustrated as well. You can’t sleep with anyone else during this four weeks.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” he said coolly. “And be warned, I’m the jealous type.”

“So we’ll start tomorrow? Friday? I don’t want to get screwed out of part of my day by starting tonight.”

“Tomorrow,” he said, smiling.

Chapter 4

The lunch crowd at O’Malley’s was heavy, but everyone was sitting, rather than standing around chatting as Layla was used to. Her heart skipped as she wondered if Ben would be there. She hoped he wouldn’t, because she wanted to focus on her lunch meeting with Melanie Price.

She spotted Melanie in a dark wood booth, eyeing the menu over the top of the glasses that were perched on the end of her nose. She’d gone back to the short, practical braids that Layla was used to seeing in her hair.

“Hi,” Layla said with a smile.

“Hey, girl,” Melanie said, grinning back at her. They’d met when Layla started doing pro bono legal work for Advocates for Hope, a mental health organization Melanie was the executive director of, but over the past several months, they’d become friends.

They probably seemed an unlikely match; Melanie was a stout, big-bosomed black woman in her late 50’s. But the more time they spent together, the more Layla came to think of Melanie as one of her closest friends.

“How’s everything at work?” she asked. Melanie groaned and rolled her eyes.

“Wondering why the hell I beat my head against a wall every day, so just the usual, I suppose,” she said.

“What’s going on?”

“Just dealing with the bureaucracy of state agencies. I’m trying to help someone get approved for disability benefits and get a family into subsidized housing. I don’t know how average people can navigate these things without help.” Melanie shook her head with frustration.

“Anything I can do?”

“No, I don’t need my big gun yet.” Melanie grinned. “But I’ll call you if I do. You’ve done so much work for us that Cole’s volunteering for another organization, but he said we can always call if we need him.”

“Oh, shit, I didn’t mean for that to happen.”

“It’s just easier to work with you since we get together so often. Plus you’ve got that extra something that just gets things done faster.”

“The bitch factor,” Layla said with a smirk. “It opens doors.”

“So what’s new in your world?”

“Oh, not much. I started doing Bikram yoga, bought a new TV … oh, and I have a 6’5” sex slave for the next two weeks. You know, same old, same old.”

Melanie’s brows shot up and her mouth dropped open.

“Hey there,” a young brunette waitress said as she approached the table. “I’m Alexa, and I’ll be helping you out today. Are you ready to order?”

“I want a bacon cheeseburger with fries and a root beer,” Melanie said, handing over her menu.

Layla scanned the menu quickly. “Um … I’ll take the grilled chicken salad with—”

Melanie cut her off mid-sentence. “Girl, get a damn cheeseburger! You don’t need to play starving Cosmo girl in front of me.”

“I am really hungry,” Layla admitted, meeting Melanie’s dark eyes across the booth. “Okay, screw it. I’ll have a cheeseburger and fries, too. No bacon. And iced tea.”

The waitress retreated, and Melanie gave Layla an eye-bulging glare. “More on the sex slave! You know my love life’s been DOA for a while now.”

“I don’t know, it may be the stupidest thing I’ve ever done, but … remember when I was helping out with Brandon Larson’s arrest?” Layla said. Melanie had asked her to help on the case.

“Mmm-hmm.”

“Well, I met this police sergeant, Ben. We kind of … I don’t know, Mel. There’s major chemistry. He’s all man, you know? All huge muscles and deep voice and … he throws me off guard. We’ve gotten together a couple times, and—”

Melanie held up a hand. “
Please
tell me you haven’t slept with him. I will smack you upside the head if you slept with him.”

“I haven’t,” Layla said quickly. “But with the length of my dry spell, it’s torture to say no to him. I told him we’re both too controlling for anything to work between us, so he agreed to let me be in control of things for two weeks, and then he gets two weeks. And no sex unless I want it.”

Melanie nodded, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. “You know my thoughts, Layla. No jumping into bed with men just for sex. And you’re not. So I think this is okay. When we talked about this after Christmas and you decided to stop sleeping around, it was never supposed to be forever. You just need to be more thoughtful about it. Recognize that you’re a prize.”

“But this is crazy!” Layla palmed her forehead with frustration. “It’s just another in a long string of bad choices regarding men. If he really liked me, he’d ask me out on a date.”

“You said you’ve had a few dinners, though, that’s like dating,” Melanie said.

“I’m too horny to think straight.” Layla tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

“Well, it sounds like you’ve got two weeks to do something about that.” Melanie grinned and arched her brows.

“Yeah,” Layla said, smiling. “I just don’t--” She stopped talking when she looked at the door to the restaurant and saw Ben walking in with another man.

“What?” Melanie asked, turning.

“No, don’t look! Holy shit, it’s him!” Layla whispered.

“What? What are the chances of that?”

“Well, this is the place I eat with him. He comes here a lot.”

Melanie curled her lips into a knowing smile.

“Okay. Let’s just be cool.” Layla blew out a breath. “How do I look?”

“Beautiful, as always. This guy really has an effect on you, huh? I need to see him.”

“Don’t turn around,” Layla pleaded.

“Alright.”

“How are your kids? Is Derek ready to start college?” Layla asked.

“Oh, yeah. Just a few more weeks til we move him in. Hard to believe.” Melanie shook her head.

“Layla.” The deep voice made the hair on her neck stand up. She turned to see Ben approaching, his sexy grin making her warm all over. “I’ve really turned you on to this place, haven’t I?”

“Oh, I’m turned on, alright,” she said, trying to sound more confident than she felt. Ben’s blue eyes glimmered as they held hers.

“Hi, I’m Casey,” the man with Ben said, extending his hand. He was several inches shorter than Ben, with a pretty face and short, styled dark brown hair. Ben gave Casey a quick glare as Layla shook his hand.

“This is Layla,” Ben said.

“Very nice to meet you,” Casey said, smiling.

“And this is my friend Melanie,” Layla said, looking across the table.

“Nice to meet you, Ben,” Melanie said. Layla cringed as Ben glanced at her with a raised brow. He’d apparently noticed that Melanie knew who he was without being introduced.

“So Layla, how do you know Ben?” Casey asked.

“Why don’t you go get us a table?” Ben said to him with a pointed look. Casey walked away with a small shake of his head, and Ben looked back at Layla.

“Can we meet up here after work and make plans? Or do you already have something in mind?” he asked.

“No, meeting up here sounds good,” she said. Their waitress approached with their food and drinks, and Ben moved aside.

“Hey, Ben,” she said, smiling brightly at him. “I hope you’re sitting in my section.”

“Uh, we’re wherever Casey sat,” he said, still looking at Layla. “So I’ll see you tonight?”

“Yes. See you then.”

“Nice meeting you, Melanie,” he said, smiling over at her.

“You, too.” Melanie’s gaze followed Ben across the pub until he sat down, when she blew out a breath and looked at Layla.

“Damn, girl, that man is
hot.
I see what you mean about him being all man. Did you see the way the women in the next booth were staring at him?”

“No, were they?” Layla said through a bite of her cheeseburger.

“You didn’t notice because you were too busy looking at him,” Melanie said. “And he was looking right back at you. What are you gonna do with him tonight? I’d tie him up and ride him til dawn -- just sayin.”

Layla laughed as she snuck a glance across the pub at Ben, who was talking to Casey. “I don’t know what I’ll do,” she said. “But something tells me I’ll like it.”

Taking a deep breath, Layla walked into O’Malley’s. The work day had been long, and she wondered if being with Ben tonight would wind her down or up.

She spotted him near the pool tables, laughing with several other men. They all turned toward her as she walked over.

“Hey, boss,” Ben said, grinning.

“Hi.” Layla felt a thrill at the way his eyes sparkled when he looked at her.

“We can eat dinner, go out somewhere new, play some pool … what do you feel like?” he asked.

“Um … hanging out here sounds good,” she said, sighing.

“You okay?”

“I’m good. Just had a crazy day at work.”

“Let’s eat,” he said, leaning his pool cue against the pub’s brick wall. “We can talk if you want.”

“Is that what you think you’re in for? Two weeks of talking?” She laughed.

“If that’s what you want.”

What do I want? I don’t even know. It’s hard to think straight around him.

She relayed the details of the draining three hour pretrial conference she’d spent the afternoon in, wishing she’d ordered a hamburger while she watched Ben eating his. It was the third night this week she’d eaten salad for dinner.

“Let’s play darts,” she said after they finished eating.

“You play darts?” He raised his brows with surprise.

“I learned in law school.”

“Well, this won’t be interesting at all,” he said, smirking. “You don’t seem like the competitive type, and I’m not, either.”

“Are you saying you play, too?” She smiled up at him.

“I played a lot of darts when I was stationed overseas. It’s a good way to pass the down time.”

“What did you do in the Marines?” Layla followed him across the bar to an open dart board. Ben took a long swig of the bottled beer he’d started during dinner before answering.

“My official duty was explosive ordnance disposal,” he said, setting the empty bottle on a tall table.

“Wow. Bomb disposal? That sounds dangerous.”

“It can be.” He picked up the darts and sat them down by his empty bottle. “Cricket? Round the clock? Assassin?”

“Round the clock,” Layla said, since she remembered the darts game’s rules. She wanted to know more about his time in the Marines, but sensed he didn’t want to discuss it.

“You can go first,” he offered. “Want a drink?”

“I’ll stick with soda.” She cringed inside at the memory of him carrying her out of the pub drunk.

They started the game after Ben returned from the bar with another beer, and Layla tried to clear her mind and focus. It was hard with him standing so near. She was just glad to get the darts on the board, given how much he frazzled her.

The pub had filled up, and they were surrounded by loud voices and the music of a live band’s guitarist warming up to play. When she returned with the darts, Layla sat them in his hand and felt his fingers close over hers. His pale blue eyes studied her, and she felt a flutter in her chest that told her this was the moment he would lean down and kiss her.