Frayed (Connections, #4)(89)

“Sure,” I say, blowing on my soup.

“That night I came over and you pulled out a bottle of wine, I saw vodka on your counter too. Are you drinking again?”

I tense up while his eyes study my face. “No, I never drank any of what I bought. I thought about it. I opened the bottles. Even poured a glass or two but never drank a drop.”

His hand moves to tuck a piece of hair behind my ear.

I jerk away, moving to swat his hand. “I’m not like my father. I’m not an alcoholic, you know.”

He catches my wrist and gently closes his fingers around it. “I know that and it doesn’t matter anyway. I just want to make sure you’re okay.”

My heart beats faster, as if it’s reaching for him. “I am.”

The moment suddenly feels too serious.

“Good, because I’m the jackass that got so drunk that night at the bar I couldn’t remember where I parked.”

“You didn’t drive home, I hope?”

“No, Beck drove my bike home, and believe me, he was not happy.”

We finish our soups and talk about fun things we did as kids. When we’re done and heading back, I stare out the windows watching the trees sway side to side. It seems as though so much time has passed since our first dates. But in actuality not that much time has passed; it’s more that much has happened between us.

Before I know it we pull up to my apartment building. He puts the car in PARK and turns to me. “You know, I really missed you.”

I smile. “I know.”

He shakes his head, somewhat amused, I think.

I leave him there pondering my answer and open the door to get out.

He catches up to me just as I’m climbing the steps. Once we hit the top, he grips my hips. “And how do you know that?” he growls in my ear.

I breathe him in—that scent I’ve missed for far too long makes me feel a little dizzy. I stabilize myself and take my keys from my purse. “Because I missed you too.”

Then I turn to face him. He’s staring at me, his eyes gleaming. “That strangely makes sense,” he says, and takes the key from my hand before leaning in to place a soft kiss on my lips.

The heat between us intensifies and he pulls away, caressing my cheek and motioning for the door. When we get to it, he quickly shoves the key in the lock. I stand behind him as close as I can and rest my chin on his shoulder to peer down.

He twists his neck around to see me. “What are you doing?”

I grin, liking the feel of his body so close to mine. “Making sure you know how to unlock the door.”

“You know, I could use a little direction,” he says.

I press closer into him. “You insert the rod into the hole,” I whisper into his ear. My voice is low, raspy with desire.

His body stiffens and his breathing is rough.

I close my eyes and feel a rush of excitement. “Next you turn it and pull it out.”

He twists the key ever so slowly. “Like this?” he asks in that husky voice that makes me throb between my legs.

My own breathing picks up and I’m shamelessly panting. If I never understood kinetic energy before, I do now. He grabs the door handle and quickly pushes it open, ushering me by him at a rapid speed. I take the key from his hands. “Then you—” I start to say as I turn around to lock the door, but I’m silenced when his hard body meets my back.

He grips my hips and his lips find my neck. “Are you sure you’re up to this?”

I try to catch my breath, but all my air is gone. I let my head fall back on his shoulder. “I’m sure. I don’t want to wait any longer.”

He flips me around and runs his hands down the side of my body. “Do you have any idea how badly I want you?”

“Show me just how bad,” I breathe huskily over his lips.

His eyes close and he shudders.

“Ben, stop thinking.”

His eyes open at the sound of my voice, and they have never been bluer. “I’m trying to figure out if we should be doing this after everything that happened tonight.”

I bring my hands to his face. “He didn’t attack me. I wasn’t really afraid, just startled. I’m okay. This is okay,” I reassure him, my body aching for him in a selfish way.

He stares into the depths of my eyes and brings a hand up to stroke my cheek. “We’ll take this slow.”

I slide my lips to his hand and kiss it, nodding.

And again he stares into my eyes. And then as if he can’t take another minute of restraint, he slides his knee between my legs. My chest rises and falls with an intensity I’ve never felt before. He brushes the hair from my forehead and softly kisses above my bandage. I wrap my arms around his neck and throw my head back as he feathers kisses down my neck. He kisses behind my ear, and a hum of some kind escapes my throat. He groans at the sound. My breath is shallow but fast. Finally he moves to my mouth. My lips part and when he presses his to mine, I slide my tongue inside his mouth and across his lower lip. I want to explore every part of his gorgeous mouth and I want him to do the same, but I know my breath must smell really bad right now.

“Ben?” My voice is shaky.

He pulls away to search my eyes.

My palms flatten on his chest and I can feel his heart pounding. “I need to brush my teeth.”