Rushing the Goal (Assassins #8)(36)

Hm. It was spectacular and she was excited.

Her design skills were tingling.

Getting out of the car, she grabbed her bag from the back and then locked up before heading up the walkway. The house was gorgeous, with big windows and incredible stonework. The door was massive, and Lucy had always loved big doors. She wanted one on her house when she finally was able to buy. Reaching up, she used the old-fashioned doorknocker she was sure was just for looks. But she had to. It was too awesome not to use.

The door opened and the homeowner said, “Yes! You used the doorknocker. Awesome, right?”

But she missed all that.

Because standing in front of her was the man who had been starring in all her dirty daydreams.

Benji.





If Benji thought Lucy was hot in that red dress the night before, nothing could prepare him for the forest-green dress she wore as she stood in front of him on his porch. It hugged every single inch of her, stopping right at her calves. It clung to her breasts something insane, and he didn’t even need a peek of them for his mouth to water. Nope. She was completely covered and still completely lethal. Her hair was cascading down her shoulders, a braid along the crown of her head tucked behind her ear. Her eyes were wide with surprise, and he assumed she hadn’t known it would be him she was designing for.

He liked the O her mouth made, and he especially like the red lips she had.

“Benji?” she finally gasped and he grinned.

“The one and only. Wanna come in?”

“This is your house?”

He laughed. “Yup. Nice, right?”

“Uh, yeah,” she said, her eyes still locked with his. “You called for me to design your house?”

“Yeah, Jayden told me I had to.” That made her snap her mouth shut, her eyes narrowing a bit, and he thought he may have offended her. “I looked you up first and checked out their house and then some of the other guys, and I was impressed. I need someone because—don’t judge me, okay?—my house is not adultish at all.”

He was rambling, and his hands were shaking. Probably because she was standing on his porch. Looking at him. She was on his turf, and he should have the advantage. But he didn’t feel as though he did. “Aren’t you supposed to come in?”

She didn’t move, her eyes looking away as she pulled in a breath. “Are you sure?”

He looked at her, confused. “Um, well, yeah. It’s chilly out and I think your legs could get cold, so maybe you should come in. Just so you don’t get hypothermia and die.”

Her lips quirked into a grin as she looked up at him. “Was this a ploy to get me to go out with you?”

“I mean, that’s actually a wonderful idea. And if I had that kind of game, I might have set up a dinner for you. But sadly, I didn’t, and I really do need someone to decorate my house,” he said with a grin and she smiled back. “So will you come in?”

“Okay,” she said simply as she walked past him, her perfume making him dizzy. Jesus, what was that scent and could he bathe in it? “I really don’t think you can un-adult this house. I mean, it’s gorgeous.”

“Right?” he said, shutting the door behind her. “I thought so too, but then I moved in, and, yeah…”

As she walked into the living room where a gamer chair and a mini-table for his drinks sat, he looked at her as her eyes widened. “I take back my previous statement. This is a bachelor pad. My brothers would kill for a TV like that.”

Benji nodded as he closed the distance between him and his TV. “Most guys do. It’s my pride and joy,” he said, gently caressing his eighty-inch, LG baby.

“Wow,” she said, looking around. “This place is bare.”

“Yeah. My stuff’s all still in boxes in the shed, but before I unpack any of it, I need help.”

“I’d say so,” she said, setting down her bag and getting her notepad.

“How’d Angie’s recital go this morning?”

She looked up and smiled. “The girl is as graceful as a herd of buffalo.”

He laughed. “Yeah, she skates hard. I couldn’t see her as a dancer.”

“Exactly,” she said, exhaling a breath. “She wants to quit, which is gonna be hell when I tell her dad.”

That made him pause. He wanted to offer to be there. He also wanted to offer to smash the dude’s face in, but it wasn’t his place, so he just nodded. Unsure what to say next.

Thankfully, she beat him to it. “Well, show me the rest of the house.”

So he did. They walked through the kitchen, and she made little sounds of pleasure that shot straight to his groin. “This kitchen is immaculate,” she gasped, running her fingers first along the marble countertops and then the white cabinets. “It’s naked in here.”

It would be nice if she were naked in there, but he couldn’t say that. “Yeah, I don’t know what to put in here.”

“Oh, wow, it has a reading nook,” she said, going into the little den that had a fireplace. “You could sit here and read while the fire burned.”

“Good idea.”

She looked up at him. “You read?”

“Yeah, I do,” he admitted and she smiled. “I even have geeky reading glasses.”