Frayed (Connections, #4)(13)

Once everyone took off, the house was practically empty. Claire had disappeared with one of the guys and so had the other girls I had seen earlier at her table. I had only consumed a few beers, but since I really never drank I was feeling a little tipsy and quite bold. I stared across the room at Ben. He looked insanely gorgeous with one foot propped against the paneling, lazily leaning against the wall while talking on his phone. He flipped it shut and slid it in his pocket and then stared into his red Solo cup. It was then that I made my move because I knew it was now or never. My legs were trembling, so I approached him slowly. I stood in front of him and took his cup again. He glanced up and I swear his eyes were bluer than any ocean I’d ever seen.

“I’m good,” he said. His languid eyes stared into the depths of mine.

The trembling made its way up my body and my fingers started shaking. But when I looked up at him and his hand covered mine, I felt it all over again—the electricity that passed between us. I batted my eyelashes even though I felt ridiculous. “Are you sure?”

He chuckled. “Yeah, I’m sure.”

My cheeks flamed because I was pretty sure he was laughing at my attempt to be a dream girl and I decided to drop that act before it even started. He could obviously see through it.

“Did you have fun tonight?”

“What’s not fun about naive college freshmen?” He laughed. “What about you?” he asked, low and slow, with a huskiness to his voice that made my nipples harden.

“I’ve had more fun,” I answered, reaching inside myself to find a flirtiness that I never knew I had.

He raised an eyebrow. “Oh yeah? Do tell.”

He caught me off guard. I wasn’t expecting him to ask me that. I sucked in a breath and reeled for what to say. My eyes darted around the room and landed on a poster on the wall that read LA C?TE D’AZUR and I made something up quickly about the place that I knew would turn any guy on. Of course, it was something I had never actually done.

I summoned all my courage and said, “I spent my freshman year in France, and the French Riviera had so many nude beaches that were always fun.” I made sure to say it in a sultry seductive tone. And technically what I told him wasn’t a lie. I was sure they were fun.

His eyes may have been unfocused, but he straightened his stance and stared at me.

I moved even closer, trying to remember how to breathe.

His mouth quirked and he asked, “When you went to the beach did you do the American thing and wear your bathing suit?”

Something came over me and I became someone else entirely. I wasn’t someone made up, but rather someone that knew what she wanted, and suddenly any apprehension or nervousness I had slipped away. I leaned in and whispered, “No, I didn’t even bring one to France.” My voice sounded saucy.

His eyes widened and I couldn’t believe what I had just said. But I wanted him. I wanted him as I’d never wanted anyone else before. I felt different with him and I liked who I was. I was pretty sure he liked it too because when I glanced down at his jeans, there was no mistaking he was turned on. Needing to keep his attention, I bit my lip and averted my gaze, trying to summon the confidence to seduce him. I took a deep breath.

“Everyone was completely nude. There were a lot of beady-eyed older men conspicuously peering over the top of their newspaper.”

“And you?” he asked.

“I stripped it all off,” I answered confidently.

He swallowed. “You weren’t alone, I hope.”

Shoot, who was I with? “No. My friend brought me. She was obsessed with staring at naked men.” What?

“Were there more men or women?”

“Oh, many more women.” I had no idea.

The more detail I described, the more his gaze shifted from my eyes to my body. When I noticed he was interested, that he was paying attention, I became S’belle. I let my inner vixen reign and continued to paint the picture—making it as hot as I could.

Suddenly he cleared his throat. “Excuse me, I forgot I have something I have to do.” He turned and walked away without even glancing back.

I couldn’t let him go, so I followed him. He went into one of the downstairs suites, but no one answered when I knocked, so I turned the knob. It was unlocked. He wasn’t in there, but a light from a corner room told me where he was. I heard the water running and knocked again. I didn’t hear any protest, so I walked in and there he was, leaning over the sink, looking at me in the mirror. I quickly closed the door behind me and locked it. I was his dream girl and I wasn’t going to give him a chance to ask me to leave. I summoned all my inner strength and went for it, tugging my skirt down and standing before him in my black lace panties. The way he looked at me gave me all the strength I needed to proceed. I had never stood in front of a guy with the confidence I felt with him that day. It was because of the way he looked at me.

His lips parted and he watched me with a reckless abandon that made me yearn for him. I slowly unbuttoned my low-cut blouse that was already partially undone anyway. When I finished with the buttons, I glided my palms down my stomach. I was so nervous that when I slid my fingers in the waistband of my panties, I scratched myself. But the way he watched me in the mirror made excitement surge through me.

“They aren’t pink, but will they do?” I asked, finding that same flirty voice I had used earlier.