Seduced by a Shifter (11 page)

Wow. Guess Ben had no qualms about putting it all right out in the open. Too bad Willow didn’t have quite the nerve. “I like you too.”

Looking as if he were biting back a smile he asked, “Yeah?”

Who could help not liking him? Certainly not this female. “Yeah.”

Approving her response, he laid a hard, closed-mouth kiss on her lips. “Good. I’ll pick you up tomorrow around five and we’ll head over to Vince’s restaurant for dinner. Sound good?”

It took Willow a few moments to remember why he was picking her up. The man had a way of scrambling her brains.

Swimming.

She nodded, Rome banged on the window again and, yanking her coat out from under her, said, “Sounds good. Thanks for driving me back.”

“Believe me.” Ben’s Cheshire cat grin was hard to miss. “It was my pleasure.”

With her swimsuit, towel, and a pair of shorts tucked in a small ba
g on the bed, Willow moved back to the closet, opened it, frowned at the five items dangling from plastic hangers—yep, nothing else had magically shown up in the past twenty seconds—and closed the hinged door and paced to the dresser.

She frowned at her reflection. What was she thinking? It wasn’t as if she had a huge wardrobe to choose from. Everything she’d owned she’d brought, and it hadn’t amounted to much. Not to mention most of what she did have was suited to an Arizona climate, not a mountainous Colorado one, and other than a pretty sundress or the beautiful blue dress Tess bought for her, neither an appropriate choice for tonight, she was stuck in what she wore.

But it wasn’t like they were going on a date.

Ben was simply taking her to Vince DeNoza’s restaurant. She didn’t remember the name of the place, but did recall the flirty older gentleman at Kaylie’s house from the night she and Rome arrived in Woodcliff.

Then they were going swimming. At a school. Not the most romantic of dates.

“It’s not a date.” The mirror showed a face scrunched up with worry and she stuck a tongue out at it. “Jeans, sweater, boots, move on. No more thinking or wishing about it.”

Nevertheless, she did check her lip gloss, foregoing any other makeup because, hello, swimming. Nothing sexy about makeup smearing down one’s face and leaving a gross film all over the pool. Then she fluffed bangs long past needing a trim and yearned for the time it had been long enough to pull back in a knot, or braid, or ponytail. Or anything. The thin strands just hung there, straight as an arrow. At least all the bland, brown temporary color had washed out, leaving her strawberry blond locks free to shimmer in the sun.

She let out a breath. “Too bad it’s night.”

Shaking her head her nonsensical thoughts, she gasped, hand to her heart, when she heard Ben’s voice in the living room. A startled glance at the radio clock on the nightstand told her it was indeed five o’clock. She’d been thinking so hard she missed hearing his truck pull up or his knock at the door.

She probably would have missed a sonic boom.

Now she only had to face Ben, not having a clue what he might think of her after she’d practically attacked him in wild abandon the night before.

“Agh.” She pressed her hands to her hot cheeks and willed herself to cool down. With a final grimace at her reflection, she slipped the strap of her purse on her shoulder, picked up the bag, and walked casually out to greet Ben.

“Hey.” Ben’s eyes twinkled with pleasure when she stepped in the room. She loved the way his smile started in his eyes, his mouth curving into a slow, soft and—
whew
! Was it hot in here?

Because that look in his eyes, his smile, wasn’t his already devastatingly charming smile. No, this one contained an almost lupine quality to it, like a predator, intent on stalking and plundering its prey until it was beyond sated.

Suddenly she was nervous as hell. Then he blinked and it was gone.

“Hey, yourself,” she said, trying to quell the fluttering of her heart. Tearing her gaze away, she looked expectantly at Rome, waiting for his fatherly admonishment to return at a specific time.

Only he didn’t. Seated at the couch, his laptop on the coffee table in front of him, he gave distracted wave. “Have a good time.”

“Ready?” Confused, she looked stupidly at Ben. “Uh. Yeah.”

“Great, because I’m starving. You do like Italian food, right?”

Willow mumbled something, letting Ben help her on with her coat, and they left.

As if sensing her unease, Ben was light and easy on the way to the restaurant, telling her funny stories about the people at the ski lodge. It worked. By the time they reached Vince’s restaurant she no longer felt like a lamb being led to the slaughter.

Still giggling over his account about two boys flirting with two girls and the resulting ski lift mishap, she allowed him to help her from his truck. Hand in hand, they walked to the front door, only to be stopped by an exiting customer, one whose polite smile brightened when he saw Ben.

“Ben, my man!”

“Hey, Derek.”

Derek placed a hand on Ben’s shoulder. “Thanks again for helping out with the bath remodel. My wife loves it and now I’m the recipient of all her gratitude, if you know what I mean.” He winked at Willow and left.

Ben caught Willow’s waiting expression. “Ah. Derek Benson. Helped him with a bathroom remodel for the wife.”

“So I heard. And it sounds as if he’s more pleased than his wife.”

Interestingly enough, Ben blushed, and Willow pressed her lips together to hold in a laugh. “Yeah. Well. There you go.” Clearing his throat, he tugged her inside.

Once seated, they had no problem keeping the conversation flowing. Twice his phone rang, and he ignored both calls.

They were, however, interrupted several times throughout dinner by people who came to the table to greet Ben, a few copying Derek and giving their thanks for some deed Ben had done for them; most just said hi.

At the moment, one particular man was talking about night skiing and while Ben appeared nonplussed, Willow, who found a new and delightful pastime studying his features, noticed his smile wasn’t anywhere close to his eyes, and he seemed uncharacteristically tense.

Smiling to herself, she reached into her purse. Ben might have ignored the earlier phone calls, but maybe he wouldn’t ignore this one. Angling her body, she surreptitiously ran a fingertip over the touchscreen. Luckily her hand was over her mouth when Ben’s phone rang, because she nearly snorted when
Music Box Dancer
began playing.

Ben froze for a fraction of an instant before a spark of laughter lit his eyes. “You’ll have to excuse me, Todd. I need to get this, then Willow and I need to go or we’ll be late.”

“Oh, oh, sure. You bet.”

After Clueless Todd left, Willow smirked at Ben. “
Music Box Dancer
?”

His shoulders lifted in a shrug, drawing her gaze to the way the brown henley stretched over his muscles. “Thought it fit.”

“Hmmm.”

He leaned over the table. “I’m sorry about this, Will. I never thought we’d be mobbed.”

Willow mused that over as they left and headed to the school. Ben was obviously well liked in the town. He did things for people with no expectations. She thought of Rose, and the schoolkids to whom he was going to teach ice skating. How he was part of the search-and-rescue team, and the reluctant admission that he was a tracker.

Ben was a people person, generous and sincere, and everyone loved him. For some strange reason she felt a sense of pride unfurl inside her.

A knock on the girl’s changing room made her gasp. “You ready yet or are you waiting on the full thirty minutes? ‘Cause I can tell you that passed ten minutes ago and we’ve only got the pool to ourselves for another hour and a half.”

“Just a sec.” Pulling gray shorts on over her swim bottoms, Willow paused, because not only had Ben somehow convinced the pool cleaner to hold off until eight, Ben had the code and keys to get into the school. And the keys weren’t just a borrowed set. They’d been on his key chain, right next to his truck and several other keys.

Just what
was
Ben to the people of Woodcliff?

Tucking her towel around her, she opened the door to ask Ben just that, when all the spit dried up in her mouth and she gaped.

Hello, chest.

Ben’s bare, muscled,
delicious
chest greeted her on the other side of the door. “You going swimming in the towel?”

Dragging her dazed eyes from his chest took all her might, yet the male satisfaction in his eyes at her reaction brought her back to sanity. The conceited oaf
knew
what the sight of all that hard yummy flesh was doing to her brain and was supremely pleased. “Ah. Funny.” She walked around him to the shallow end of the pool.

“I’m surprised the school didn’t do more with this area.” Keeping her back to him while speaking was much easier. “You know. Liven it up for the kids.”

Willow felt the heat of his body seep into hers as he came up behind her, his scent, clean, masculine and pure Ben, drugging her senses and making her belly pitch and tremble.

Maybe turning her back on him hadn’t been such a good idea after all.

“What do you suggest?” His voice was soft in her ear, his hands gentle yet sure as he reached around to loosen her towel. Rough fingertips brushed the top swell of her breasts.

A shiver coursed through her, but she forged on, determined not to turn around and jump his bones at the slightest provocation. She looked at the drab wall. “I’d definitely paint the walls, maybe a couple of murals depicting sea creatures or a scene from
The Little Mermaid
.”

There. That didn’t sound too breathy. Did it?

“I like that idea. Why the shorts, Will?” His hands rested lightly on her hips.

She shifted, placing on foot on top of the other. “I’m still a bit self-conscience about my scar. Not much I can do about the one on my knee unless I wear sweats in the pool.”

His hands tightened for just a moment before he murmured against her neck, “It’s just me.” He slipped his fingers under the waistband and started sliding them down her legs.

She let him.

It seemed to take him a
really
long time to divest her of her shorts, his journey back up taking even longer. His hands wrapped around her calves. She felt his warm breath against her skin, then the soft press of his lips at the back of each knee, followed by another kiss at her hip, right over her scar.

Stunned, throat thick at the sensual caress, she watched wide-eyed as he stepped around her and into the pool. “Phase Two of Pleasing Willow.” He lifted a hand, one brow arched invitingly over smiling eyes that matched the curve of his lips. “Join me, won’t you?”

She didn’t even hesitate. She simply took his hand and stepped in.

Swimming came easily to Willow, and when Ben didn’t press her about her injuries or try to kiss her, she began to relax.

Okay. That was a lie. She couldn’t completely relax, not while painfully aware
as she was of Ben’s long, muscled arms and thighs flashing in and out of the water as he swam next to her. She was glad to be in the pool, if for no other reason than the water hid the drool that was no doubt falling from her lips whenever she glanced his way.

Stupid drool.

She swam back toward the shallow end, making her way to the edge where Ben had dropped his towel. She wiped her face with one corner then turned back to watch Ben glide effortlessly through the water.

He must have sensed her focus because he stopped mid-stride, treading water. Their eyes met.

“Come here.”

She resisted the demand.

“It’s too deep for me to stand.”

He smiled, and she wouldn’t have been surprised to see steam rise from the pool. “Then I’ll come to you.”

Muscled arms swept wide, propelling his body through the water until he stood, droplets running in tantalizing rivulets down his sculpted body. By the flare of heat in his eyes, she felt he was stalking her, in slow, steady steps, the water no obstacle to his determined advance.

Some female part of her screamed to retreat and she took a step back, her heart beating heavily against her ribs, her blood turning molten.

Cool tile hit her back. A very satisfied, very male smile tugged his lips. “You’re not afraid of me, are you, Willow?”

She swallowed. “No.” Instinct kept her eyes glued to his.

He cocked his head. “I think you should take your top off.”

“I—what?”

“It’s only fair, seeing as I don’t have one on.”

The statement, of course, drew her gaze to the muscles roping his very fine chest. His nipples were flat, a dark brown that had her hands closing into fists under the water to keep from touching. “That’s because I have breasts.”
Well, duh.

He growled, eying said breasts and her own nipples that were currently poking a hole through her swim tank. “Beautiful breasts. Soft and smooth like rich cream.”

“II—” Her IQ plummeted.

One callused hand wrapped around her nape, the other at her back, protecting her from the hard tiled edge of the pool. He moved in, close, closer, still until her breasts were flattened on his hard, bare chest and she had to crane her head up to meet the fierce gleam unmistakable between his heavy lids.

Sexy bedroom eyes
, Willow thought just before Ben dipped his head to kiss her, and her mind went blank.

As before, the kiss started slow and sweet. Lips pressing gently to one side of her mouth, then the other before his tongue ran along her lower lip until it trembled open. Those firm lips tasted hers with a playful gentleness, licking and nipping. The sensations, raw and primal, flooded her, causing her breasts to swell, and melting the place between her thighs. Desperate for an anchor, she clenched his hard shoulders and moaned into his mouth, daring to reach out with her own tongue.

The low, deep sound in his throat was her reward and the kiss changed into something harder, hotter. Angling her head to his satisfaction, Ben opened his mouth over her own, thrusting his tongue into the wet cavern, their tongues dancing, dueling, exploring.

His hands were also exploring, no longer holding her but moving with firm, sure strokes along her back, edging ever lower until she felt his hand open wide on her bottom, squeezing and kneading, holding her tight against the thick ridge of his erection. The hand at her nape shifted to hold her throat in a possessive grip for a long beat before he let go, his fingers trailing oh-so-slowly over her collarbone, and down to whisper over the exposed upper slope of her breast. Wanting more, remembering how it felt to have his hands, his mouth, on her, she arched into the caress.

As if sensing what she needed, Ben grazed a knuckle over one pebbled nipple.

She whimpered in need and he did it again, just a quick swipe of his fingers that were gone much too soon. Blinking her eyes open she looked up at Ben, her eyes narrowing at the mix of desire and mischief that sparkled in his.

The bastard was playing with her.

With a frustrated growl, Willow nipped his bottom lip.

“Hey.”

“Stop teasing me,” she grumbled.

“Hmm.” He kissed her collarbone, outlining the shape of her breast with one too-gentle finger. “Something hurt, sweetheart?”

He
was going to hurt in a second. “Just kiss me.”

He gave her what she wanted, taking her mouth with hungry petition. Closing a hand over the proud thrust of her breast, he squeezed, catching her cry in his mouth.

Breaking the kiss, he made his way down her throat, nipping at the throbbing beat of her pulse, flicking his thumb over the taut bead of her nipple.

Her entire body jerked in response.

A low groan left his lips. “I want to taste you, Will.”

She shivered, thinking he was tasting her with his mouth moving over throat, his tongue a moist caress against the heated skin. “You are,” she whispered, all but lost to the pleasure coursing through her veins.

A rough chuckle that caused the warm air of his breath to dance over her wet flesh. A sharp shiver nearly brought her to her knees. The hand on her bottom shifted, edged further down, bringing the tips of his long fingers into alignment with the swollen entrance to her body. His hips moved at the same time, the steel of his erection gliding over her mound. “Here, Will. I want to taste you here.”

Her thighs muscles quivered and a soft whimper escaped. God, she was so pathetic. Whimpering and moaning and—“‘K.”

Good Lord! Had she really said that? She was such a slut.

But the single syllable was still echoing as he disappeared beneath the water. Willow felt his hands at her hips, easing the bottoms of her swimsuit down her legs. Large hands spread her and she felt the soft kiss of his cheek on her thigh. Excitement and uncertainty swept through her, to be replaced by unmitigated shock as he rose—and she rose!—from the pool. Water streamed from his hair. She knew because she had fistfuls of it in her hands.

Dear God! He’d come up right between her legs!

She squeezed her thighs in a death grip, mirroring the one she had on his head, his tongue doing wild and wicked things deep in the folds of her sex. He bent down and sat her on the edge of the pool, raising one hand to the middle of her chest to gently push her back.

She lay down, only because she didn’t think she had the strength to keep her body upright. And looky there! He’d positioned her right on the towel he’d lain out earlier.

Sneaky man!

“Oh, yeah.” He licked his lips, his eyes half closed with pleasure. “Fucking ambrosia.”

He set her feet on the pool edge, sliding his hands up her calves to her knees, spreading them out with careful intent. “Phase Three of Pleasuring Willow.”

She gasped as he bent down to spread her lower lips open with his thumbs, and felt her face turn beet-red when he only stared at what he uncovered. Self-conscious and totally at his mercy, she tried to press her knees back together.

He wasn’t having any of that.

He dipped his head and conducted a very thorough oral investigation. His tongue stroked her quivering flesh, testing and exploring every succulent fold. She felt the tip of his tongue trace the swollen entrance of her body and tiny muscles trembled at the gentle probing. Her legs dropped back to the sides of her body and he delved his stiffened tongue deep, an erotic invasion that had her hips lifting for more. A fiery inferno began to build as he swirled that clever tongue, licking at suckling her with long, hard pulls.

“That’s it,” Ben praised, replacing his tongue with a finger that barely dipped inside the swollen flesh. Her breathing came in hard pants, rough and raspy-sounding in the cavernous room.

She felt his mouth at her thigh, then his teeth, as he not-so-gently bit her flesh. “Do you need this, baby?” He teased her more, not quite giving her what she needed.

“I’m going to kill you,” she said, rocking her hips against his hand. Another love bite, then he slid his finger through her thick juices, lodging inside her where no man had gone before. “Oh, God.” Her eyes crossed at the sensation, the glorious friction as he pistoned his finger, pushing her harder then she ever thought possible.

Then he flicked his tongue over her clit and she swore she saw stars.

A second digit joined in the erotic invasion and her hips bucked against his hand. “You’re so hot and wet, Will.” He flattened his tongue and ground it in a slow circle against the hard knot of nerves and mewling sound escaped her lips.

Ben groaned, as if he were in severe pain. “I can almost feel you squeezing around my cock like you’re squeezing my fingers. Milking me dry.”

Undone, she wrapped her arms over her face, but Ben never let up, plunging his fingers in her pulsing sheath, his tongue so fast it seemed to vibrate on her clit. He was tireless, as if he could happily feast on her forever.

Her head twisted under the weight of her arms. She couldn’t handle forever, much less another minute. She was on the edge, on the very edge, and she just might scream from the tension coiling in her belly.

“Let go, Will.” Ben’s voice was so rough, it was unrecognizable. “Let go and come for me. You’re so close. I can feel your pussy clamping around my fingers like a vise. So slick and hot.”

“Yes.” Her inner muscles spasmed and she heard him growl. Adding a third finger, he twisted his wrist, the friction becoming a dark sinful abyss that she craved. His knuckles rasped against tissue so sensitive she gasped out.

She panted, tightening around his fingers, her hips kicking up in complete abandon as she sought release from the ravenous need spiraling deep inside her.

He licked her throbbing clit. “Yes? Yes you can feel my cock inside you, Willow? Taking you with hard thrusts, so fucking deep that neither of us will walk for a week?”

Taking the pearled nub into his mouth once again, she felt the rough graze of teeth. Then he gently bit down. Willow exploded. Her body bowed, her muscles locked as pleasure shattered her from within. A strange keening sound echoed from the room, but she ignored it, riding the waves of such ecstasy she’d never known its equal.