Sin's Haven (10 page)

“Hazel,” he
mumbled quietly. The way he was protecting the majority of his face from her
view, she couldn’t tell if the raised eyebrows meant he wanted to cry or had
found something amusing.

She waited, but
he didn’t say anymore.

The quiet time
to think reminded her of how awkward it would likely be once she got him home,
and they were alone, and he was ready to talk. That’s
right,
because the solemn man sitting beside her thought they’d slept together when in
fact she hadn’t been with anyone since Jay.

With two miles
to go, she turned on her favorite indie station. Shaking her head, she considered
the cloudy sky, finding Ben hurt, and now the fact she’d just blared “Out of My
League” by Fitz and the Tantrums over the radio.

Please,
this night has to get better.

In her
peripheral, she saw his throat adjust when he swallowed. Before she knew it,
her right hand left the steering wheel and sought his out in the darkness. She
found it and felt his fingers lace with hers then settle on his knee.

Tiny goose bumps
raced down her neck and arms, across her back and over her breasts, all the way
down her belly to her toes, waking the sleeping woman who had been calling her heart
and body home.

Chapter Eight

“Here, let me
get the door,” Hazel said and slid gently past Ben who towered over her, even
though it was obvious he was in too much pain to stand at his full height. What
in the world had someone done to his back? She fiddled with the key in the
lock, dropping her apron.

He bent over and
groaned again but was able to grab it. “Hazel,” he said, handing it name side
up to her.

“Yes, that’s me.
And that’s mine. Thank you but I could have gotten it. I mean, because you’re
hurt. I could have…”
Stop it, Hazel.
You’re bumbling.

Ben managed a
small smile, but his eyebrows pinched together when he did. “It’s okay. Thank
you for bringing me here. I’m looking forward to seeing how a normal person
lives.” He frowned.

So their
conversation was off to a shaky start. Truth be told, she’d preferred the
silence of their quiet ride here. He might be standing upright and pulling off
small talk, but the guy had to be in serious pain. The gouge at his lower lip
was still bright with his blood and a scratch near his eye drew her attention
to the beautiful, popping green color she remembered from Saturday.

Hazel breathed
through a mind socking reminder of that night.

Finally she
opened her door and ushered Ben inside.

Every step he
took brought his shoulders up and inwards, like he now regretted being at her
place.

“So,” they both
said at the same time.

“I’m sorry, you
go ahead,” he said.

“Okay. So, why don’t
you have a seat and I’ll get something for your face ... and your back.” Hazel
showed him to her couch where he bit his lip as soon as he started to lower his
butt to the cushion. She was at his side in a second. “Here, let me help.” It
took that one touch. Hazel let the ache from wanting him have its way with her
body for a few seconds and then remembered. He wasn’t hers. They were here to
talk.

“Does
web-mastery impress you by any chance? Because I’m pretty spectacular at that,”
he said as she helped lower him down, inch by inch.

She couldn’t
help but smile at his charm as he tried to put as little weight on her as
possible. She knew this was the case because if he had put even a third of his
bulk on her, she would have buckled. He was being so careful with her when he
was the one hurting. Hazel couldn’t help but remember what it felt like to be
close to a man and think of what a considerate lover Ben would make and how
very soon, he might actually be bringing up their supposed night. Unease about the
lie she’d fed him made her stomach queasy. She took a few deep breaths which
might have caused him to think he’d failed and let his weight bear down on her
shoulder. He made a move that dropped him to her couch without her arm, but it
had cost him.

“Man,” he said,
grunting the short syllable out with a flinch.

“Let me see your
back, Ben.” He had to be hiding something worse than a busted lip. “Please? Why
don’t you slide out of your shirt and I’ll go get a warm cloth. Be right back.”
She sensed he was apprehensive about taking his shirt off, which made her feel
even worse about inviting him, someone she might feel a connection to but
barely knew, back here.

On the way to
the sink, she wondered what he must be going through, thinking he’d slept with
her. His gentleness and lack of typical guy moves reminded her that he might be
gay.
Which she had no problem with.
Although it could
have been the motivation behind whoever had done this to him.
Those jerks.
But something about Ben being homosexual just
didn’t sit right. Kind of like how she knew Jay hadn’t been a stereotypical
weak-minded person for taking his life, even though everyone else assumed it.
But if Ben did like men, this was going to be a long night because she found
the lanky, quirky, yet hurting man so incredibly appealing.
Had
since first seeing him at the window.

He sat stiffly
on her couch, looking around now and then when his neck allowed him the
movement. There were about two feet of space between his back and the back of
her couch which meant the area was tender like she’d expected. Her duty now lie
in having a look, patching him up, having this talk he needed to have and then
parting ways, hopefully as friends. She turned the kitchen faucet all the way
to the left and let her dish towel soak up the scalding hot water. Meanwhile,
Hazel watched him and fought the urges she couldn’t have for this man.

****

Hazel.
Ben
had been repeating it off and on since Manny had unknowingly gifted him the
name in the club’s parking lot. Cinnamon red hair that brightened her face even
when she’d looked him over all worried, curls tight and loose and long
depending on where they fell, pretty clear blue eyes, strong shoulders. The
cream colored top she wore was so easy on his throbbing eyes, he should thank
her for it, and her plain blue jeans didn’t distract from her shapely long legs,
just made them look smoking hot. She was simple and he couldn’t help but think
she was also too good to be true. After all that wasted time on a girl he’d
never had a chance with, here was this woman.

There could have
been ten jerks with boots and fists and a gang load of more pain tonight, but
even that couldn’t have stopped him from feeling happy inside. Music had already
been playing quietly when they’d entered her apartment. Maybe she left it on
all the time like him. But of course, of all the Chili Pepper songs that could
have conceivably played right now, “Give it Away” wrapped her small apartment
in a cloud of blood, sugar, sex and
magik
.

He guessed the
universe had a
kickin
’ sense of humor that way.

A sharp pain
shot through his back like he’d been whacked with a pole and he bit his bottom
lip right as she came over with a wet looking towel and a bag of ice. “Thanks,
Hazel.”

“You’re
welcome…Ben. Um, I wasn’t sure which might be better, depending on how your
back looks, so we’ll try both.”

She held up her
towel and her ice pack.

“You still have
your shirt on,” she said quietly.

“Sorry. Chili
Peppers,” he said as he unbuttoned his vest.
“Got me thinking
of home.”

“Oh
yeah?
Where’s that?”

He watched her
eyes not leaving his as he went to shrug off his vest. As soon as the pain
scrunched up his face, she tensed and leaned closer. The vest fell and then he
tried pulling his tee up and over his head but had to stop halfway. Since when
did Hazel have little hell demons with red hot pokers torturing her guests?
That’s what his back felt like just then where he’d been kicked with that dang
relentless boot heel.

“Here, Ben,
stop. Let me help.”

He didn’t have
to say okay. Hazel took over and the pain was still there but now so were her
hands, tugging his shirt up.

But at the point
when she needed him to lift his arms all the way up, he couldn’t do it. Dammit.

“Sit tight,” she
said and returned from her kitchen with scissors. “Are you very attached to
this t-shirt? Because I think we might need to snip it.”

He wasn’t
attached to anything right now except for her warm cherry vanilla scent and his
desire to man up before she couldn’t see him for anything but a big old wimp.
Although, being at her mercy had its perks.

“Nope, don’t
need this one.
Got plenty at home.”

“Home, you’ve
mentioned one you miss and one where you apparently have plenty of spare white
tees. Care to share where either of those are? I’m guessing California for the
first.”

He’d tell her
anything she wanted if she came any closer. Ben started talking just to keep
from staring at her chest. Without the cover of the apron, her gorgeous creamy
flesh had nowhere to hide. His body was going to respond to this woman no
matter how serious the conversation they needed to have. This much was obvious
and something he couldn’t control as his mouth watered, skin heated and bulge
throbbed. “Yeah, um, I’m from southern California. How did you know?”

As she snipped
carefully over his shoulder, up the line of the sleeve toward the neck band,
she answered, “The Chili Peppers always remind me of California. So what brings
you out here?”

“Work.”
This
was killing him.

“Cool. Work is
good,” she said as the sleeve she’d just cut fell off his shoulder. Her mouth
pressed into what he thought was going to be another one of her knock-out,
gorgeous smiles but it faded quickly.

The cold metal
of the scissors pressed against his bare shoulder where she rested it, sending
competing sensations over his entire body. How had he kept his hands off of her
for any amount of time Saturday night? Obviously he hadn’t for very long and
was finding it difficult now. She was so inviting, so easy to be around. And
the way she talked to him, she was a flirt.
Erby
had
been a flirt too, with him, with everyone. Yeah, that was true but Hazel had
already let him in, to her most private place. He didn’t know how or why she’d
done that, but she had. He just prayed he hadn’t hurt her in anyway. Again the
three days it had taken him to catch a break from band business ate at him.

This time she
pushed his hair aside and said, “Tilt your head,
hun
.”

He did as she
asked, anticipating her next touch.

His neck began
to stiffen and he was sure she’d finished that side as he heard the snip of the
scissors so close to his skin. Ben had seen plenty of girls stare at the Sin
Pointe guys like a last meal, but he’d never been on the receiving end. With
the shoulders and sleeves of his shirt now hanging over his chest, Hazel was
checking out his neck in the sexiest way.
Like he looked good
to her.
Oh yeah, that felt nice. Her hands were more than welcome on his
skin. But something must have happened because her look changed and her hands
went from the warm palms to just the tips of her fingers. She blinked a few
times, crinkled up her brow and then went back to the no-frills task of
deciding where to cut next to free him of his shirt.

What had
happened in that second?

Ben remembered
her phone message.

She hadn’t wanted
to meet him like he’d suggested. She’d made it a point to call him and make
that clear. If he hadn’t shown up at her club tonight, and then proceeded to
get assaulted, he may have never heard from her again.

A chill swept
through her apartment, reminding him of this.

As much as it
sucked, he had to be realistic. No way did he want to fool himself again like
he had with
Erby
. It could be that their one night
together was all Hazel had wanted. That this, right now, was just her feeling
bad about what had happened to him tonight.
Pity attention.
He cleared his throat, hoping when she looked at him, it was as a woman looking
at a man and not someone she felt sorry for.

She was staring
down at the scissors in her hands.

“Ben,
your back.
I, I need to take a look at it.” She set the
scissors down. “Turn around and I’ll just pull the back of your shirt up.”

Her eyes turned
sad. She was on the verge of tears.

Chapter Nine

Hazel couldn’t
believe the horrible things that had happened to this man since he’d crossed
her path. Her warm towel was now cool because of the time she’d taken ruining
his shirt. The rag sat on her lap, making a soggy spot on her jeans and the
sleeveless shirt hugged his chest, making it look like he was wearing a tattered
tube top. And yet he was the sexiest man she’d laid eyes on in so long.