Remembering You: Pushing the Boundaries, Prequel (7 page)

Chapter Nine

Nina tapped her pencil on her desk and tried to resist the urge to use the sharp point to gouge out her eyes. After a morning of making phone calls to connections in Paris and New York, conducting two interviews and researching the past ten years of fashion, she was reading a celebrity news site to find out if any of the stars pictured were wearing bright colors.

She wanted to be done with this bullshit, already. But she was determined, not to merely take on this assignment, but to blow it out of the water.

If Jerry wants me to do a story on fashion, he’d damned well better be ready for an
actual
fashion exposé.

If only thoughts of last night with Ben didn’t keep intruding, she’d be much more focused. She’d fled his apartment almost blindly, jumping into her car as though he were chasing after her, and speeding home. When she’d arrived there, it had barely been eleven o’clock and Dad had been awake, sitting at the table next to the caretaker Nina had hired as they played a card game.

Well, the woman played the game, anyway, while Dad sort of stared off into space.

She had stayed up for another hour after the helper had left and talked to her father. The doctor said it might help, and she should touch him as often as possible—hold his hand, rub his shoulders. But it was hard to do. After a lifetime of hugging him only a few days every year, it felt so foreign to even think about him being in one place for longer than a week.

By the time Dad had started drowsing in his chair, and Nina roused him enough to get him upstairs and tuck him into bed, it was past midnight and she was exhausted.

It was as though the whole thing with Ben hadn’t happened.

Except for the wild dreams she’d had of him after she’d finally fallen into her own bed. In those dreams, he’d had her again, in every position, in every mood. Ben, his mouth on hers. Ben, telling her she wasn’t alone.

That one had been the best dream of all.

And when she’d awoken this morning, she was sore between her legs and all she could think of was how much she wanted to see him again.

She sighed and glanced at the clock on her computer. At least she could leave soon, go home to check on Dad and torture herself with thoughts of Ben in private.

Footsteps approached her desk and the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end.
What the fuck?
Her head shot up as Rob walked up. But it wasn’t the older reporter who’d caused the tingle in her spine. Her eyes shifted to the person walking behind Rob.

Ben. Walking toward her, his eyes intent on her face. Ben. In uniform. Ben in uniform. Ben in fucking uniform.

She almost fainted from the swift, intense arousal flooding her body at the sight of him. Her breasts swelled, her nipples hardened and her knees felt wobbly.

Fuck.

But before she could even whimper, Rob stopped in front of her desk, Ben coming up right next to him.

Someone save me.

“Nina, the SWAT officer who led the Rosen Ring bust is here and I wanted to introduce you.” Rob gestured to Ben.

We’ve already fucked
, she wanted to say.
And I want to do it again
. But she managed to rise gracefully enough, smoothing her gray pencil skirt over her thighs as she stood. She could feel the straps of the garter belt holding up her stockings as she ran her hands over the wool. She hated wearing pantyhose for the sheer fact that pulling them down to go to the bathroom was a pain in the ass, but having the tops of her thighs bare right now, in such close proximity to Ben, wasn’t helping her libido.

The three-inch heels she was wearing today brought her almost to eye level with him as she walked around her desk to greet him, hand outstretched.

“Actually, Rob, I already know Miss Lang,” Ben said smoothly, grabbing her hand and catching her to him in a quick, friendly hug, and she reeled at the unexpected contact. For the brief span of time their bodies met, she felt secure, happy and wildly aroused.

But then he released her and they both stepped back, breathing heavily. If her lips weren’t exploding with the need to kiss him, she’d be laughing at how ridiculously hot for one another they were.

Rob looked curious. “I didn’t realize you’d met before. Nina hasn’t been around much. Do you know each other from your childhood?”

Leave it to a fellow journalist to be annoyingly nosy
.

Ben shook his head. “I am an admirer of Miss Lang’s work, actually, and when I ran across her recently in the city, I recognized her right away from the photo next to her byline.”

Rob huffed a bit, not liking the reminder that, despite her much younger years, Nina had had more success than he. But he recovered quickly and clapped Ben on the shoulder. “Care for something to drink while we talk, Officer Crewes? Coffee, water?”

Ben held her gaze as he answered. “Water would be great, please.”

Rob nodded. “Sure thing. Nina, would you mind getting some water for him, please?”

Seriously?

She glared at Rob, who raised his eyebrows as though she were an impertinent child and he was some sort of omnipotent king of the newsroom.

Fine. At least going to get some water would put some distance between her and Ben. Being this close to him was making her head swim and her body go all soft. So she swallowed back her refusal and nodded.

“Sure. Let me go fetch you a cup, Officer Crewes,” she said as politely as she could, then turned to head to the kitchen.

But Ben followed her, catching her up in a few strides. “I’ll accompany you, Miss Lang,” he said, all smiles and jovial steps. He called over his shoulder to Rob, who stood looking after them in surprise. “Be right back, Rob.”

They headed out into the long hallway alongside the newsroom and Nina turned toward the kitchen. It was quiet at this time of day, and they had the kitchen to themselves. She didn’t waste any of their precious time alone, but whipped around and demanded, “What are you doing here?”

But Ben didn’t seem to understand her discomfort, because he merely chuckled. “Rob is interviewing me about the bust last week.”

She frowned. “Couldn’t he have done that at the station?” She didn’t like having Ben so close. It was tempting her to touch him again, to start something she knew would go nowhere.

She grabbed a cup from on top of the water cooler. He stopped her before she could bend to fill it, though, gently taking the cup from her hands. “I can get my own water, Nina. You don’t have to do this. You’re not a servant, for God’s sake.”

She shrugged. “I figured it wasn’t worth it to argue with Rob.”

He finished filling the cup and took a deep swallow of the water. She watched his throat muscles work, wanting to run her fingers over the light beard already showing on his jaw.

“Rob is an ass,” he said quietly. “But he covers most of the crime stories and doesn’t make too much of a nuisance of himself, so we’re cool with him.”

Her eyes moved to Ben’s lips as he talked, tracking the sexy, plump flesh as it moved around the words. She could almost feel his tongue stroking over her private skin. But he caught her staring at his mouth and smiled, slow and sexy.

“Are you thinking about last night?”

She blushed hotly, but shook her head.

Liar!
He must have known she was lying too, because he took a small step closer. “Because I haven’t thought of anything else all day except for you. I almost let a guy get away with shoplifting because I was distracted by the image of you beneath me. I’m hard right now just thinking about it. If I weren’t on the clock for another hour, I’d push your skirt up and take you here, against the counter, and make you come all over my cock.”

He said it so casually, as though they were discussing the weather or some equally mundane topic, but her blood ran hotter than ever at the words. She stepped closer to him too, without thinking, until her body brushed against his. “I’d let you,” she whispered, unable to tear her eyes from his as his head bent lower, lower—

“Nina?” Rob’s voice called out from the hallway, and they sprang apart a second before his lips met hers.

God, he made her forget herself so easily.

They stared at each other for a moment until Rob’s voice called again, closer now.

“In here,” she replied weakly.

Ben took a sip of water, looking unruffled, but she could feel the desire pouring off of him.

Rob walked in, oblivious to the tension in the room. “Officer Crewes, if you’re ready, would you like to head to one of the conference rooms for the interview?”

Ben was still staring at her. But he nodded. “Sure. I’ll refill my cup first. I was surprisingly thirsty.”

Rob nodded. “Yep. Happens to me too. I go so long without a drink sometimes, without realizing, but the second I have even a sip of water, it’s like I can’t get enough.”

Ben shot a sidelong glance at Nina as he stepped away from the water cooler. “I couldn’t have said it better myself.” He gestured to the door. “Lead on. See you around, Miss Lang,” he threw over his shoulder as he exited the kitchen.

She watched him walk away and waited a couple of minutes before returning to the newsroom.

Two of the new staff were giggling when she entered again, and one of them—Katie, a pretty young blonde reporter who looked like she should still be in pigtails—motioned to Nina. “Who was that hot guy?” she asked in an excited whisper.

Nina shrugged. “The SWAT team leader assigned to the Rosen operation.”

The other girl, Beatrice, who was an up-and-coming photojournalist and at least looked old enough to order a drink in a bar, hummed. “Is he single?”

A quick flare of jealousy rose, but Nina pushed it away. Ben was attractive, she couldn’t deny it. Any woman with eyes could see it—and was free to comment on it. Besides, he didn’t belong to her. She wasn’t interested in anything long-term. That little incident in the kitchen was simply the product of residual lust.

By tomorrow, she’d be over him, and he was free to do whatever—and whomever—he pleased.

“I don’t really know much about his personal life,” she replied, trying to end the conversation without acting like a bitch. If she had learned one thing in her career, it was collaboration was always better than competition when it came to dealing with younger journalists. Being seen as a mentor usually helped keep resentment out of the way of everyone doing their job.

“He’s in an interview right now with Rob,” said Katie. “But maybe he’ll be off duty soon, and we can invite them both out for a drink.”

Over my dead body.

Nina pushed the thought away and forced a friendly smile. “Well, good luck with it, ladies. I’ve got to finish up some work.”

She headed back to her desk and tried to focus, to get through the painfully boring “news” articles on fashion, but all she could think about was Ben. He’d dismantled Rob’s sexism so subtly she’d nearly thrown herself into his arms before they’d even gotten into the hallway. And he looked delicious in his dark uniform, holding his cap under one arm…

He’d been sweet to her. Even after last night, she couldn’t believe he was still talking to her.

Focus. Get it done and get out of here, before you run into him again.

But for the life of her, she couldn’t remember why that was such a bad thing.

* * * * *

An hour later, Ben sighed as he rose and shook Rob’s hand. The guy was kind of insensitive, but he did his best, and always wrote stories that gave as balanced an account as possible. As journalists went, he was actually okay.

Ben couldn’t fault him for the quality of his work, but his treatment of Nina had grated. Ben had tried to defuse the situation without causing more problems between him and Nina, but he wished he could do a better job of protecting her. Though he had been glad for the excuse to be alone with her, even for a short while.

It was weird, actively wanting to be around a journalist. But she was a woman who got him. Who knew enough things about him already that there was no more story to be had, no more secrets to uncover.

He wanted her, not just because she was sexy and smart, but because she was the one person who had ever wanted to know so many things about him that no one else seemed to see.

“Thank you again for coming to Excelsior, Officer Crewes,” Rob told him. “It certainly is an honor.”

Ben barely stopped himself from rolling his eyes. He was a police officer, not the fucking president.

He knew Rob meant well, though.

“No problem. Anytime.”

Rob motioned to the door. “Shall I walk you out?”

Ben shook his head. “Actually, I need to stop by and see Miss Lang again. Thanks, though.”

He didn’t offer any explanation. Rob looked at him strangely for a moment and then, as the silence stretched between them, Rob finally nodded. “Sure, I’m headed back to the newsroom too. I’ll walk with you.”

The two men walked from the conference room and back down the hall to the newsroom, the floor-to-ceiling windows along the large space allowing Ben to see several reporters still hunched over their desks. But he didn’t see Nina.

Damn it. She must have left while he was in the conference room with Rob.

He huffed in frustration, then said a quick goodbye to Rob before turning to head out of the building. He wanted to see Nina again, but he had avoided calling her because the only reason he had her phone number was that she’d given it to him as part of her contact information when he’d hit her car. It seemed like ill-gotten gains.

He bypassed the elevator and headed for the stairwell in time to see the door to the stairs swing shut, the back of a brunette’s head disappearing through the small window in the fire door.

Nina.

He strode fast to the door, yanked it open and practically sprinted down a flight of steps before he caught up to her. She’d already stopped and turned on the landing, and he didn’t even hesitate, just took her in his arms and put his mouth on hers, pulling her body flush against his. She didn’t fight him at all, but came to him as though she’d wanted this to happen all along.