Five Ways to Fall (Ten Tiny Breaths #4)(44)
“Are you f**king kidding me . . .” Laughing as he tries to grab it from me, I quickly shove it back into my pocket. “Really? Have you not figured me out yet?” As if to prove a point, Ben has me on my back in the truck bed, both of my arms easily pinned above my head by one of his in seconds. “Oh, wait. Just in case . . .” He shifts his body, forcing my thighs around his hips. “Wouldn’t want you injuring the goods for a second time today. Not before you get full use of them.”
“I would never stoop to that level,” I exclaim with mock insult.
“Really?” His blond brow arches severely.
I offer a sweet smile. Truthfully, I was just getting my knee ready.
Feeling confident—I know because he’s staring down at me with a grin that could charm the pants off half the women in the office, married or not—he reaches down with his free hand. I feel a tug as his fingers dig into my pocket and begin rooting around. I could try to buck him off me but, well, given my position, I honestly think he’s hoping for that. And so I remain still as he takes his time, until he’s got the old silver thing dangling off one finger in front of me.
“You can get off of me any time now, you know,” I remind him.
With a sigh, he shifts his weight slightly as his free arm comes up to slide beneath my head, providing a cushion against the hard metal. “I could,” he agrees, those brilliant blue eyes searching my eyes, my nose, my mouth, as if evaluating me.
And then he leans down and kisses me. No hesitation at all, as if there’s no way I couldn’t possibly want Ben Morris’s tongue in my mouth, sliding its way around mine in a smooth, practiced dance. The problem is that in this moment, out here in the middle of nowhere, with reality so far away and the tranquility of the grove, I do want it. Now I can see why Ben was so eager to give me a “tour” rather than head back to work.
He pulls away to peer down at me with a knowing smile.
“You do realize that normal friends and work colleagues don’t do this sort of thing, right?”
“I like to bend the rules.” He releases my wrists, freeing his to snake up the front of my shirt, lifting the material as he goes. The guy clearly has a goal in mind because his fingers have unfastened my bra without any stalling and pushed it away within seconds. “Oh, thank God,” he says through a groan, his head dipping down to grasp onto the ring with his mouth.
As I reach up under that soft T-shirt of his to feel the tightness in his back, as I feel Ben’s tongue coil around the ring and tickle me, I echo his words in my head. Yes, thank God.
He lifts his body ever so slightly, his hand reaching down to undo the top button and zipper of my jeans with a casual flick. “I never did take full inventory of your piercings.”
When I make no indications of an answer, that wide grin takes over his face and I know what he’s planning even before I feel the first tug on my jeans. They’re too tight for him to squeeze a hand in. He wastes no time sliding off the tailgate to stand in front of me with intent written all over his face. Reaching down, he gets a good hold of my jeans and begins shimmying them down.
And that’s when the sudden rumble of an engine and the squeak of brakes sounds.
“Who is it?” I ask as Ben’s attention whips to his left. I can’t ignore the disappointment flooding me, a dull ache in my lower belly forming.
His head tips back as he looks up to the sky. “Who do you think?” With a deep groan, his eyes rake over my exposed chest. He bends down for one last chaste kiss on my lips and then steps away, leaving me to button my pants and affix my bra and shirt just as a red pickup truck with a thick white stripe around the center pulls up.
Wilma hops out of the high cab quite easily for someone her age. “Benjamin James Morris, did you bring this young lady out here in the hot sun without anything to drink?”
Scratching the back of his head lazily, he mutters, “I guess I did. Sorry.”
I purse my lips tightly. Considering what Ben brought me out here in the hot sun to do, I think a cold drink was definitely not on his mind.
“It’s like I didn’t raise you at all, sometimes.” Coming around the other side, she opens the passenger door and pulls a cooler off the bench. Ben’s at her side in seconds, relieving her of the weight. “Mama, you know you shouldn’t be lifting heavy things.”
“Oh, hush. I’m not an invalid. One tiny heart attack isn’t going to kill me.” Ben’s stern glare of disapproval only makes her smile wider at him. I can see where he got his impish charm from. But I can also feel the weight of his fear at Wilma’s words. In just one afternoon, I can see how this woman might leave a sizeable hole in many people’s lives when she’s gone.
“I wasn’t sure what you’d like, Reese, so there’s some water, sweet tea, and Coke in there. I also packed a light snack. Some scones and homemade marmalade. Ben’s favorite.”
“Of course it is,” I tease, reaching up to pinch Ben’s cheek playfully as he sets the cooler down on the tailgate. “Thank you so much.”
“How’d you know where to find us?” Ben asks as he fishes through the selection.
A knowing smirk curls Wilma’s lips. “Because this is your favorite spot in the grove. Did you honestly think I didn’t know it was you and Jake leaving beer cans out here?” She looks at me and shakes her head. “You know, Ben and his brother would sneak out here at night—thinking I had no idea—and then try to convince me that the grove workers were drinking on the job. Oh, but I wasn’t ever allowed to confront or fire them without better evidence. My little future football-player-slash-lawyer was so worried about potential lawsuits for doing that.”