Stony Creek Hero [Stony Creek 2] (Siren Publishing Classic) (9 page)

Ben took a seat, not saying a word. He let his stare stay level on the now perspiring bank manager.

“Um, what can I do for you, Ben?” Mr. Davis said without preamble.

Pausing a moment before answering, Ben forced himself to keep his calm mask securely in place. He really just wanted to lean over the desk and punch the pretentious pervert until he was begging for forgiveness. He allowed the nervous banker to sweat it out a moment more to enjoy his intimidation.

“Well, Theo, I think we both have the privilege of claiming the acquaintance of Ms. Lizzie Carmichael. Yes?”

“Um, well, yes. You know that I have spoken with her. What about her?” Mr. Davis replied, trying to sound indignant. If possible, he began to give off an even higher level of anxiety as he pushed his papers around on his desk and slid his glasses higher on his pointy nose. He could practically smell the fear pouring off the smaller man’s body. Ben’s face had a very intense expression on it as he leaned forward with one elbow on the arm of the large wooden chair. The sound of the wooden seat creaking filled the quiet of the room.

“Well, it’s the ‘about her’ part that should just a polite conversation between men. It’s always better that way, don’t you agree Theo?”

With a nervous laugh, Mr. Davis answered, “Well, yes. Women are such sweet creatures. They need someone stronger than themselves to help them in this world, you know. They require assistance and I have been trying to give some assistance to Ms. Carmichael.”

Ben tilted his head, thinking that he would like to shove the banker’s assistance right up his ass with a hot branding iron.

“Well now, Theo, if you feel the need to provide any further assistance to Ms. Carmichael in the future, you are going to have to address it through me. Do you understand me?” he said in a no-nonsense tone.

Seeming to Try to bolster some semblance of his confidence, Mr. Davis said, “How dare you? I have a relationship with Lizzie and I am sure that she would not appreciate you taking it upon yourself to monitor her acquaintances.”

“Let’s put it like this, if you, for any reason, go near her, talk to her, call her, or communicate with her and I find out, you will not enjoy the consequences. If you feel the need to discuss her mortgages, the only reason you should have a relationship with her, then you will discuss them with me from now on. If I find out that you have tried to communicate with her about any other matter, such as, say, personal comforts, I will have nothing to do with the possible beat down that may occur in the alley behind the bank. I think that I have made myself pretty clear, no? I will have the signed papers giving me her authority to handle all her business matters from this point on back to you by the end of business tomorrow,” Ben said, his eyes firm with cold intent while allowing his meaty fists to clench and unclench before Mr. Davis’s frightened expression.

With significantly less bravado, Mr. Davis replied, “Are you threatening me, Ben?”

Ben raised an eyebrow and just delivered a terrifyingly cold smile in the banker’s direction. Threat delivered.

“Well, ah, if she signs the paperwork, then I guess I can talk to you, but you should be aware that she is in real danger of losing not only her house but the café as well, Ben.”

Mr. Davis felt the sweat start to bead at his temples as he squirmed under the dangerous glare that was coming from the man sitting calmly across from him. He could see the narrowing of the gaze that was making his insides coil in dread, recognizing wisely Ben’s increasing loss of patience with the pathetic little man.

Ben abruptly stood, startling Mr. Davis into releasing a loud gasp of fear.

“I think you will find out that you have made an error in your summation. She will have no problem with her payments in the future. As such, I expect that you will heed my warning and deal
only
with me. A word from her as to any unwanted attention or interest from you, well, Theo, you and I are going to have a problem, a very painful and difficult one. Do we have an understanding, man to man?”

“Um, yes. I understand the point that you are trying to convey. Um, yes. I will contact you for any future issues with her accounts.”

From his towering height over the disgusting excuse for a man, Ben extended his hand toward Mr. Davis.

As they shook, Ben looked him directly in the eyes and said, “Good.”

* * * *

Lizzie found that the rest of day was a blur of activity. After the girls mostly cleared out, all going back to their respective jobs, Lizzie sat at a table with Billie who definitely looked worse for wear. Lizzie was so distracted by the sensual haze caused by reliving the strength in his arms, the feel of his rock-hard body against hers, and taste of his kiss on her tongue.

“Earth to Lizzie! Can you please focus for just a minute? I am sick over here and I have to go back to see my afternoon patients!” Billie laughed out at her very preoccupied friend.

“Oh, sorry, Billie! That man just has me tied up in knots. He just makes me forget to even breathe and then by dragging me off during our girl lunch… Am I a sick woman for loving that? I sure hope I am not just a charity project for him or something.

“I know I have the flu because it sounded like you were just doubting the affections of the very man who practically lives at that table over there. That was the same man who walked out of here at lunch without eating and had an erection almost the size of Jackson’s after he was through with you!” Billie then smirked in Lizzie’s direction. “Just so we understand each other, we both know how big those Powell men are, yes?”

Feeling another blush coming on, she admitted to Billie, “Um, yes, now I have an inkling, yes. Okay, I must confess, I haven’t seen the thing but must admit I was just intimately acquainted with that monster and if he doesn’t do something to me soon, I am going to die over here!”

Billie looked at her with humor. “Don’t worry, I’ll resuscitate you. That’s what friends are for.”

Two days went by and not a word from Ben. Two frustrating days. Lizzie sat at her kitchen table on her day off, trying to decide if she was thrilled or about to hunt him down and spear him with a chopstick. He made her smile, he rescued her from the pit of never-ending despair, he found a way to protect her from the world, and he made her orgasm like she had never orgasmed before. Oh, what pleasure that man could give and he hadn’t even used anything other than his belly and buckle. Damn, if that was the case, maybe she should make out a will leaving everything to Billie because she was sure to die from an explosion if he ever got around to making love to her with some of the better stuff.

What was up with that? Billie and the girls were right. He definitely wanted her, badly if his awkward new walk had anything to do with it. It wasn’t like she was calling him twenty times a day since he gave her a tour of her office, so what was wrong?
Maybe I had better cook for him.
The way to a man’s heart was through his stomach and that man sure could eat.

A small giggle escaped her mouth as she remembered what the older yenta brigade had suggestively offered as advice. Feed the man. Well, she would start with food and then move to… well, there were so many parts of her for him to feast upon. She felt her thighs slide against one another as her juices dripped from her at the image she conjured up of his head kissing his way down her belly, softly licking and tasting her navel, the curve of her hips, and the dip of her pelvis until he got to her pleasure nub. She could practically feel the rough texture of his tongue as his hands slid under her to cup her cheeks, forcing her against the probing of his mouth. Lizzie would wind her legs up over his shoulders as her hands gripped the counter behind her that she was leaning against. Heated moans of pleasure would escape her lips as he sucked the little nub into the warmth of his mouth.

Lizzie leaned back in her chair and slid her fingers into her yoga pants as the vision danced in her head. The tips slid easily through the wetness that coated her plump nether lips. Over and over she ran two fingers around her clit, causing shudders of deliciousness to shoot through her body. Lizzie licked her lips imagining Ben’s own arousal pressing insistently against her leg, practically begging to slide into her waiting body. Suddenly, she stiffened involuntarily as she felt that edge where her orgasm began to rip through her, making her quiver and cry out in pleasure. Lightening her touch slightly and slowing her circular motions, she allowed herself to drift back to earth feeling a satisfying languor.

She opened her eyes slightly to lean over the table as she heard her cell phone vibrate against the wood.

Coming by around five. Can I take you out for dinner, partner?

“Shoot!” Lizzie sat up in a startled rush. She pulled her wet fingers out of her now-damp pants and had to start laughing herself stupid. Running to the sink, she washed her hands quickly as she realized that she couldn’t respond to his text with her hands in their current condition! Perhaps the next time her fingers were wet from her self-pleasuring sessions, he would be there to watch and use his mouth for cleanup duties. Damn, she was getting naughty, but that was simply what that huge hunk of a man was turning her into while she waited for him to figure out that she wasn’t going to bite him, much. Perhaps if she told him what just occurred with her inability to return the text immediately, maybe he would find it rather erotic. Or maybe his big, fat, cocky head of his would think that he had that effect on her just like all women and it was no big deal. She stopped to smile. No, that wasn’t Ben. He had been nothing but gentle and kind with her and probably every woman he knew.

She texted him back.

Sounds lovely but I would love to make you dinner. After all, you need to be assured of the quality of the product you just invested in. Is that okay with you?

Like there was even the smallest chance in the world that he was going to say no to her food. It was one of the few things about Ben that Lizzie was sure about. Vera Sykes was her rock and cooking goddess in the restaurant, but Lizzie was the one who supplied every single recipe used, every one. Ben was a sucker for her comfort food. Most men that she knew were the meat-and-potatoes kind of guys but not her Ben. If Billie would chastise him for it, then it was on his favorites list. Her Ben? She stopped herself. She had to stop thinking like that or she was the one who was going to get hurt. She had been alone in this world for a long time, family wise, and might be forever. He wasn’t hers yet and perhaps would never be. She had to make herself content in the moment now that she could now relax, all due to that delicious man, and she appreciated it.

Sounds like a plan. See you at five, baby.

Baby. She just loved it when he called her that. It gave her little tingles at the affection and slightly possessive edge it carried as she knew he didn’t call anyone else that name. Well, she had better get cracking. There was a table to set, meal to prepare, and a seduction to plan. Phew, it was going to be a seriously busy day.

* * * *

Ben looked down at his phone and couldn’t help the shit-eating grin that was now across his face from ear to ear. He just stood there in a daze staring at the screen of his cell while sitting astride his horse, Cuff. He was going to have dinner with Lizzie. The thought of knowing that he was going to be able to spend the evening with her was causing his heart to do its own version of the Macarena dance. Some of his other parts decided that seeing Lizzie later might be a good idea, too, as his groin began to tighten at the thought of her silken skin displayed above the shirt she wore on Monday. Humm, maybe he should stop and get her some flowers.

“What the hell has you grinning like an idiot?” Jackson called over from his horse, Lachlan.

“Stop calling your brothers idiots, Jackson, or I am going to give you a whack. You aren’t too old for your daddy to remind you to mind your manners, son,” his father yelled in Jackson’s direction.

“Thank you, Dada,” Ben said humorously with the same grin on his handsome face that he had had before.

“Then he should stop acting like one, Dad. Look at his face. I bet that he just got a booty text and is planning on getting laid later! Ask him,” Jackson answered back to their father with great authority in his tone.

“Shut the fuck up, Jackson.” Ben looked fiercely in his older brother’s direction. “I am having dinner with Lizzie and there is no way in hell I am going to allow you to refer to her like that, asshole!”

Both Jackson’s and their father, Bill’s, eyebrows shot up in surprise. Ben was always the calm, cool, and collected one. It was a rare moment indeed if he was displaying ruffled feathers.

With a knowing eye, Bill looked at his middle son. “Benjamin, is there something you would care to share with me?”

“No, Dad, I am not freaking five years old. I can have dinner with anyone I want to,” Ben grumbled back.

“Uh-huh.” It was Jackson’s only further input into their conversation.

Shit, his father and brother knew him way too well. He never could play poker well and this was why he always lost money. His face was an open book sometimes and he was damned frustrated that he was never able to hide a thing. Now Jackson would tell Billie about his stupid grinning, Billie would tell Lizzie, and Lizzie would…what the hell would Lizzie do? Like it? Was that so bad really? She hadn’t bitten his head off for taking a little time to process what had occurred between them in her office. So maybe she would be the rare woman and actually just be happy about it, not start planning a wedding or something. Humm, he began to formulate an image of marrying Lizzie. A white dress, her breast pressed up intentionally to distract him as he was supposed to vow to love, honor, and protect her.