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He caught her at the door.
His much larger hand covers hers on the doorknob. His other hand captured her shoulder. Dusty dragged in a deep breath. His front pressed against her back.
He was just the right height—she could feel him. Perfectly.
“You don’t have to run,” he said in that gravelly Ben voice that she had always thought secretly gave a woman shivers in all the right places but she would never tell his sister that. Even when she wasn’t certain she liked Ben—and she still wasn’t—his voice had givenherthe shivers. “We can figure this out together.”
“There is nothis.” She looked over her shoulder at him. His mouth was right there. She forced herself to meet his eyes. “This shouldn’t have happened.”
“Why not? We’re both free right now. We both trust each other, care about each other. And, even though it just hit me like a bolt of lightning almost completely out of nowhere last week, I’m seriously attracted to you. And I think you could say the same. I wasn’t the only one doing the kissing.”
No, he hadn’t been. And that was what terrified her. She was already so confused about her entireliferight now. To add a sudden attraction to Ben, it just didn’t make sense. It wasn’t practical. Or logical.
Or very smart, for that matter. It was almost a guaranteed path to even more confusion.
“Ben, I just can’t dothisright now. And with you… if… when… things went wrong… I just can’t.”
Hard, hot, strong hands went around her waist. Dusty found herself turned around so neatly she just blinked at him. His hands rose, cupped her cheeks. “Who says things would go wrong?”
“I…” Well. That was an answer she didn’t have.
“I’m not ready to give up before the game has even started, Destiny Marie. You can count on that.” He pressed a deliberate kiss to her lips, then pulled back, quickly. “But run, my favorite little green-eyed mouse. I’m eventually going to catch you. I know all your hidey-holes, after all. I know you—you won’t escape me for long. I’m looking forward to catching you. I willalwaysfind you. Remember that.”
He shot her that grin that always toasted her insides, and not in a good way. The one that had always made her want to clobber him every chance she could. Then he reached around her, grabbed the doorknob and opened it. Trapping her between him and the wooden panel.
“Youmost certainly are the kind of womanmade for romance.I’m going to prove it to you. Get ready.” He kissed her again, this time on her temple. “Run, sweetheart. So that I can catch you. Go. You’ve accomplished your mission, you little witch. You’ve captured my soul. It’s yours forever now. No giving it back. I am yours. Better get ready.”
The man had gone insane. No denying that.
Dusty just escaped while she could.
She didn’t stop until she was back at the end of the third-floor hallway. Where the entrance to the family wing was. She keyed in the code as she looked over her shoulder. At the end of the main hallway.
Ben was in the hall. Watching her, arms crossed over that perfectly muscled chest. Dusty felt hunted then. Flat out hunted. Like a warrior had set his eyes on her, and she was defenseless to stop him. Which was just ridiculous. She didn’t think about things like that. Not her.
He was the imaginative one. Him and his sister.
She swung open the door to the family wing and stepped through. She shut it quickly, then took the stairs to the first floor. Her room was right there. Off the kitchen.
She stopped short, seeing her cousin Meyra right there in the center of the kitchen. Just sort of standing there. A confused look on her own face.
Meyra stared at her for a moment. “Your lips are all red. Have you been kissing someone?”
Dusty almost shrieked. “Meyra, that’s none of your business.”
Meyra put her own fingers to her lips. “Well, areminered, then?”
Dusty’s gaze narrowed. Meyra’s lipswereswollen. “Yes. Why? What have you been doing?”
Meyra’s cheeks turned flame red. “Nothing. Nothing at all. I’m going to my room.”
But she started toward the kitchen instead. Opposite of the stairs. “Mey, your room’s upstairs.”
“Oh yeah. I forgot. Well, I’m going to my room now. Good night.”
Dusty thought that sounded like an excellent idea. She practically ran into her room and closed the door behind her.
Her entire world had gone mad. Dusty was completely convinced of it. Meyra had.Shehad. Ben definitely had.
