Ruin:Part One(8)

"Ben," I say his name for the first time.

He leans forward to brush his lips over my cheek. "It's great to see you."

I step back out of sheer need. My body aches just from the soft touch of his lips on my skin. "It's nice to see you too."

"Who is this?" The woman attached to his hand nods towards me, her voice shaded with a European accent. "How do you know her?"

"This is Kayla." His hand drops hers. "We met a few weeks ago."

She stares at him. "Where did you meet?"

His eyes don't leave my face. "It was on a flight from Boston."

I instantly see relief wash over her. "You're visiting New York?" Her hand reaches to skim over my arm. "You like it here?"

"I live here now." I don't move even though her touch is making me incredibly uncomfortable. Her reaction to his vague response about us meeting on a flight quieted something within her. She was jealous. I could sense it within her eyes but it's gone now.

"Really?" She claps her hands together as if that's the best news she's heard all day. "Do you need a guide to show you around?"

Great. The girlfriend of the best f*ck I've ever had wants to be my bestie. I shouldn't have gotten out of bed today.

"Kayla has lived here before." His tone is low.

I turn my head to look at him. He's exactly as I remember him save for the stubble that's now covering his jaw. He's dressed differently though. Gone are the designer suits. Tonight he's dressed in a black sweater and jeans. I'm not sure I would have recognized if I spotted him in the crowd.


"I'm Mickey." Her hand darts into mine. "It's nice to meet you."

"Kayla," I say my name even though I know she's well aware of it. "It's good to meet you too."

"You'll come inside for a drink, yes?" She motions towards the entrance of the club.

I glance at it briefly before I shake my head. "No. I'm actually on my way home. I was already inside."

"That's a shame." Her overzealous pout isn't lost on me. There's another wave of relief washing over her. She wants Ben to herself. I can't blame her.

"Have fun," I say without any meaning at all attached to it. She's going to go into that club and dance with him, then she'll get into a bed with him and experience all the pleasure I felt. Damn her. Damn my life right now.

"Another time, yes?" She leans forward before her lips brush against my left cheek, and then the right.

"Sure thing." I look towards the street in search of an available taxi. "I need to be going."

Ben's hand reaches for my elbow just as I turn to leave. "Let me hail you a cab, Kayla."

"That's not necessary," I quip. I don’t want to prolong my internal agony for another moment. It's torturous knowing my moment with him has passed. I don't want to remember the way his body felt as he took me in that bed. I can't think about the way his lips tasted as they pulled my desire to the surface.

"I insist." His breath roams across my shoulder. "I'll find you inside, Mickey."

With an animated sigh she turns to rejoin the group. Her silence is a clear indicator that he'll need to do damage control once he's said goodnight to me.

"You don't need to do this," I say as I walk towards the crowded curb.

He leans into me, his hand circling my waist. "We'll have more luck if we walk a block over."

I study his face, taking in the smooth lines. His dark eyes are warm. His mouth is curved into an easy smile.

"Are you settling into life in New York?" He pushes his hands into the front pockets of his dark jeans as he slows to walk at my pace.

I nod, "I am." I don't see the benefit in adding more details. He's being a gentleman. I knew it was part of the fabric of who he was the moment he held the door of the car open for me at the airport.

"You found a place to stay?" It's a question that isn't grounded in curiosity about my current address. The way his eyes are darting over the faces of the people we pass speaks of how little he's invested in my answer.

I motion towards a cab barrelling down Lexington Avenue. "I'll grab that one."

His hand is on my elbow before I can take a step towards the street. "Not yet."

"Not yet?" My heart quickens in my chest. "Why?"

He stops mid step, leaning in close to me. I feel his lips brush over mine in a lush, intimate kiss. The moan the escapes him flows into my body.

On that crowded street in the center of the city, with people rushing around us, I pull my hand into his hair, and kiss him back. It's everything I remember from my first night back in the city. My sex clenches when his tongue pushes between my lips. My body aches when his hand floats along my back to the curve above my ass and my heart stops when I feel his hard cock press into my stomach.

"Come back to the hotel with me." The words fall from him in a heated rush as his lips trail over my neck. "I need to taste you."

I exhale sharply, my breath flowing out in jagged spurts. "I can't." I shake my head.

"You can." His mouth is on my skin again, grazing along my cheek. "I want to be inside of you."