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“Bennet, I…”
She yelps as she slips on the wet grass, her arms flailing at her sides, falling face first toward the water.
Chapter Seven
Rory
Bennet darts forward and loops his arms around me, squeezing me tightly as he drags me away from the water’s edge. His touch is firm, setting my whole body ablaze as he squeezes, his hands pressing into my hips.
“Careful, Lorelei,” he grits in my ear, his hot breath whispering over me.
I’m panting heavily, but I think it’s more from being pushed up close against his hard body than nearly falling. I can feel his firm body through his light jacket, his muscles pushing through the fabric of my coat.
His hands sink deeper into my hips, sending sizzling sensations up and down my body. My sex aches and my clit gives an urgent pulse and deep inside of me, something flutters, a crazy feeling telling me to jump on him and wrap my legs around him.
My thoughts are suddenly deluged with images of our future, of a house filled with happy children, everyone smiling and filled with joy. Even mom and dad are in the fantasy – a completely ridiculous fantasy – and they approve of our relationship, not caring that dad’s best friend is also my husband, the father of their grandchildren…
“What is it, Lorelei?” he demands as he spins me around, staring intensely into my eyes.
His hair streaked with silver, making him look even more handsome, as his startling blues gaze into me as though no one else matters, as though all he needs is me, just me, forever.
Stupid, stupid, stupid, I chant in my head.
“Just… Thank you for catching me.”
A smirk touches his lips, but it’s not mocking. It’s like he’s silently saying he’ll always catch me.
He’ll never let me fall.
“You feel so fucking perfect,” he growls, his hands still on my hips, squeezing down like he can’t let go.
“Bennet…”
“I know.” He breathes huskily. “I need to stop. But you’re so. Damn. Perfect.”
“So why didn’t you kiss me when you had the chance?”
Anger quivers in my voice, unfair because I know why he didn’t kiss me. Surely it had something to do with dad. And yet I need to do something to break the magic of this moment unless I completely lose it and end up kissing him.
And once we kiss… what then?
Will I be able to give him what he wants, all that lust filled stuff he said in his letter?
He steps back, letting his hands drop. “Thanks for that.”
“For what?”
“For getting angry. For reminding me we’re in public and this is the last place I should be giving in to my desires.”
I giggle. “Okay, so that was spooky. It’s like you were reading my mind.”
He shrugs. “Maybe I can read you, Lorelei. Is that such a bad thing?”
“How? It’s not like we were close. When I was a kid, I mean.”
He frowns softly. “I don’t want to offend you, but I never noticed you when you were a kid. Sure, I wanted the best for Rick’s daughter, and I was happy when you found writing as your passion. But I was happy for Rick, happy to see my best friend so content in his life. You were invisible to me until you turned eighteen.”
“And then?” I whimper.
“And then I saw you at that party, and everything changed. It’s like you were someone completely new. In that dress… you looked like a gift, ready for me to unwrap, even if it was your birthday.”
My skin burns despite the cold, my cheeks warm, my sex on fire.
“But you walked away.”
“Are you surprised?” he growls. “Imagine what would’ve happened if Rick had caught us kissing. Imagine how it would’ve broken him. And it’s like you said. I knew I wouldn’t be able to stop. But Lorelei… fuck, Lorelei, I think about it every day.”
“Me too,” I whisper.
He groans and throws his hands up, causing his jacket to hug tightly around his bulging biceps. “What are we going to do? I’ve tried forgetting about you. I’ve tried pretending you don’t exist. Daisy Delilah…”
“What?” I say when he trails off.
“No, it doesn’t matter.”
“It does.” I’m surprised by my forwardness when I reach up and dig my fingernails in through the thin fabric of his jacket over his heart. “It matters to me. So tell me.”
He reaches up, presses down on my hand. Suddenly I’m enveloped by heat on all sides, and I can feel his heartbeat hammering against my palm. It’s thundering like crazy.
“Daisy Delilah hit on me,” he says.
“The pop star?”
She’s one of the hottest celebrities… well, ever, according to… well, everyone. She’s glamorous and beautiful and sexy and confident. She’s the exact opposite of me, and my belly churns thinking about how tempted Bennet must’ve been.
“Yeah,” he says. “And all I could think about was you. You’re the only woman I could ever think about.”
