Bennett (On the Line Book 2)(20)

“I was.”

We ate in silence for a minute before I spoke again. “Have you ever not gotten with a woman you wanted?”

The corners of his mouth turned up with amusement. “Sure.”

“Why not?”

“Ah, you know,” he said, shrugging. “I’d find out they were married or involved.”

“Do you and my brother ever share women?” I blurted. “Wait, don’t tell me. I don’t want to know. That’s too much grossness.”

“No. I’m not having you wonder about that. Never. I’m not into that.”

“Do you hope we have a boy or a girl?”

He shook his head and laughed. “You’re the most random subject-changer ever.”

“That’s true.”

“I don’t care. Honestly, I’ll be happy with either one. I’m gonna have a little hockey stick in my hand for the baby when it comes out, boy or girl.”

I laughed at the image.

“Will it be okay if I’m in the delivery room with you?” he asked. “Whether you’re seeing someone else or not?”

His brow was creased with worry. I’d gotten lucky with my choice in one-night stands. This was a man who was doing right by our child in every way so far.

“Of course. And I’d never let a man I was dating who wasn’t the father of the kid be in there.” I went to take a bite of food but then put my fork down and continued. “Also, I’m not up for dating right now, so it’s not even an issue. It doesn’t feel right. I just want to concentrate on the baby.”

“Good. Me too.”

We finished dinner and he helped me clear the dishes. I went to the spot where the cake was perched on the kitchen counter and took the lid off. The sweet smell of frosting had my full attention until I felt Bennett’s warm presence behind me.

I could chatter about how good the cake looked and smelled and ask him to grab some plates for us. Or . . .

I turned around slowly and looked up at him. His eyes were locked on mine. My heart was doing its fast-paced dance again, making me a little light-headed. I leaned back against the counter just as Bennett put his palms on it, trapping me in his closeness.

He leaned in and my breath caught in my throat.

“Um . . . I’ve got onion breath,” I whispered.

“So do I,” he said with a half smirk. “It cancels out if we’ve both got it.”

“Okay . . . I’ll buy that.”

He brushed his knuckles across my cheek and leaned a little closer. I put my hand on the back of his neck, its solid feel making my knees slightly unsteady.

“So the no-dating thing . . . that applies to me, too?” he asked in a low tone.

“It . . . does,” I said, not sounding remotely convincing.

“Damn. I think about you, Charlotte,” he said softly. “All the time. I think about that night. Your body, and the way you sounded and felt and tasted.”

My inner thighs tingled and I warmed all over. “I do, too,” I admitted.

“Yeah? Just remember I’m here for you. In every way.”

Holy hell. Every nerve ending in my body was aware of his closeness. He dipped his face down and brushed his lips across my neck. I shuddered and let out a breath, and he kissed my neck all the way this time, his mouth finding all the spots that made me shiver.

“How exactly do you define dating?” he said in my ear.

I hummed my amusement and wrapped my arms around his neck, pressing my curves against his large, rock-hard frame. Just like the night of our first encounter, I couldn’t think about anything but him. Judgment wasn’t even a thing right now. All I wanted was more of him.

“We could take that cake into the bedroom,” I said.

“Hell yeah, we could,” he answered against my neck.

He leaned back and looked at me, a fire burning in his eyes. We wanted each other just as much as we had that first night, and we were both stone cold sober right now.

The sound of the front door opening made my mouth drop open in horror.

“I’m home, guys!” James called. “Cover up your junk!”

Bennett groaned with disgust.

“Fuck,” he muttered.

“Hey,” James said, grinning at us as he walked into the kitchen. “You guys want to hang out? My blind date had to cut the evening short because her cat had a panic attack.”

“Wow,” I said. “That’s . . . unfortunate.”

“Yeah. She pretty much ran from the restaurant when she got the text. Hadn’t even finished her food yet.”

“Huh,” Bennett said, meeting my eyes. “Imagine that.”

“Yeah. So I was thinking we could play Monopoly. Or Call of Duty.” He leaned to the side and looked behind me. “Cake? Hellz yeah, let’s break that mother out.”

I sighed deeply and cursed James. Yet again.





Bennett

Spit flew against my face as Kevin Walker grunted and slammed into me. Fucking overeager rookie. It was practice, not the Olympics.

He wanted to establish himself as an asset to the team; I’d felt that way too when I first made the team. But I wasn’t having this.

I shoved my way out from under him and slammed my stick against his as we fought for the puck. He rammed me again, kneeing me close to the balls.