An Act of Persuasion(63)

“And what did I do to you? What did I make you do to me?”

She blushed and it thrilled him. He liked knowing she thought about him this way when he’d done the same. It used to take sick effort to suppress those thoughts when she was around. He had to work to smother any sexual thought that might enter his mind. But some days...some days either when he was tired or feeling particularly stifled and he would let them come.

Anna sitting on the desk just like this, her arms around his neck holding on to him. Her legs spread around his hips. Her panties torn from her body while he worked his erection deep inside of her all the while knowing anyone could come in and see them entangled. See that Ben Tyler was screwing Anna Summers and she was liking it.

Only this wasn’t a fantasy. This was real and she was pregnant with his child. She needed to be cherished, not screwed on a desk.

“I’m sorry,” he said moving away.

But she was still sitting on the desk panting a little. “I’m not. That was hot.”

Hot was where he wanted to take it. But not here. Not with Joyce sitting on the other side of the door.

“We shouldn’t do this...here.”

“I know,” she said. “This is crazy.”

She hopped off the desk and smoothed down her dress and Ben had to work to stem the disappointment. Before he could offer another apology, she cupped his face in her hand. Her small palm brushing against his skin seemed to soothe him, as though he was some lustful beast needing to be calmed.

“I used to make you do wicked things to me in my fantasies. And I did them back to you.”

He smiled and ducked his head. “I don’t suppose I could convince you to come home with me and demonstrate.”

Her lips were turned up and he knew she was thinking about it. She had been the one to suggest that they take the sexual side of their relationship slowly. With good reason. She was right that, in many ways, they were only starting to truly know each other. But that didn’t make him want her any less.

It seemed he was waiting for trust. She was like a girl who had gotten pushed into the deep end of a pool once and, having had that experience, she was now more cautious. Dipping her toe in first, then perhaps wading in a bit farther. It was agonizing to wait for her to get over the caution, but until she swam into his arms he had to be patient.

“I’m...considering it.”

“Consideration is an excellent thing.”

She laughed. “You’ve been good about not pouncing.”

“Not going to lie. What just happened there was a little bit of pounce.”

“It was. But you pulled back before taking it too far. You’re thinking about me, not only about sex and that means a lot to me.”

“Would you have let me?”

She didn’t answer, but the faint blush on her cheeks was still there and he cursed his noble self.

“Okay, we need to stop talking about this,” he said, sitting slowly in his chair even as he adjusted his pants over his not-fading-fast-enough erection.

“Am I frustrating you?”

“Immensely.”

She moved around to the opposite side of the desk and sat across from him—a safe distance away—a thoughtful expression on her face. “I don’t mean to be a tease, you know.”

“I know.”

“I want to make sure this is...right between us before we start doing it. I mean, the last time it happened without either of us thinking about it, or talking about it. It changed everything and I’m afraid—”

“Anna, you don’t need to explain. I get it. I don’t like it because I do want you. Badly. But I do get that you want it to be more than sex the next time it happens.”

“Right.”

“But so we’re clear...it will happen.”

She didn’t say anything but she wore an expectant expression, like a cat that had been offered a pint of ice cream. Another excellent sign.

“Now, did you come for a visit or was there something else?”

She opened the large straw bag she’d set aside. “Two things. Here are the color samples for each of the rooms. I’ve labeled the room on each sample so the painters know what goes where.”

Ben had already hired the contractors to paint the house to her liking, ensuring she was nowhere near an open can of paint. Once the house was finished and completely dry, she planned to start moving in her things, having already given notice to her landlord.