Cowboy Casanova (Rough Riders #12)(89)

Then he grabbed a flat sheet from the guest bedroom, a couple of condoms and a bottle

of lube.


In the few minutes he’d been gone, a mutinous look had settled on Ainsley’s face.

“Something wrong?”


“What’s the sheet for?”


He tossed it to her. “So your knees don’t get skinned up from the felt covering the

pool table. Spread it out.” He grabbed a cylinder-shaped pillow and said, “Crawl up

and lay on your back.”


That’s when everything went completely dark.


“Bennett?”


“I’m here. The power just went out.”


“You won’t leave me here to go and check on it, will you?”


“Nah. Power outages happen all the time.” He ditched his clothes, put on a condom and

dropped the lube in the closest corner pocket. “You wanna tell me why you have such a

fear that I’ll tie you up and leave you alone?”


Her voice was so soft he strained to hear her. “He did it once.”


“Who did it?”


“Dean. My ex. I was shocked when he told me he wanted to try some…stuff I’d

suggested. He had me strip and then he tied my wrists together around the banister with

some kind of electrical cord.”


Ben fought his surge of fury and calmly asked, “Then what happened?”


“He left me tied there. For hours. In full view of anyone who walked up to the front

door. It was his way of trying to cure me. To show me what I’d wanted him to do with

me was sick and dangerous.”


“How long after that did you leave him?”


“I kicked him out the next week.”


“Good girl.” It was one of the hardest things Ben had done, ignoring the anger raging

through him to concentrate on being what Ainsley needed now. Comfort her, but not

coddle her. Return her focus to them. To this moment. To who they were to each other.

Proving he’d never ever be that kind of man and she could trust him without

hesitation.


Ainsley twitched when he hopped up on the table and crawled over her body on all fours.

Strobe-like effects flashed throughout the room, distorting the shadows, which

increased her look of fright. Needing to soothe her, Ben’s lips captured hers as a

shard of lightning and thunder boomed above them.


She jerked so hard their teeth knocked together.


“Easy.”


“Sorry.”


Ben reclaimed her mouth in a passionate kiss, a duel of tongues, the constant glide of

wet lips as they kept changing the angle of the kiss. Taking it deeper. Making it

hotter. Kissing her for a good long time until she squirmed beneath him.


“The storm sets me on edge too.” He nuzzled her cheek. “There’s something raw about

that power. Something that makes me wild.” Ben nipped her neck. “Do you feel it?”


“Your wildness? Yes. Your whole body vibrates with it.”


“Does it scare you?” He pulled back to look into her eyes.


“No.” Ainsley didn’t bother to hide her lust. “It excites me. You excite me.” Her

hands moved over his shoulders and she scraped her fingernails down his back to his