Wyne and Dine (Citizen Soldier Series Book 1) (7 page)

BOOK: Wyne and Dine (Citizen Soldier Series Book 1)
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Lea smiled, then twisted completely
around, giving him a glimpse of her perfect, spankable cheeks, nearly sending
him into cardiac arrest. He rubbed his chest, fighting the heat and fog
overtaking his body. God, she was stunning.

The urge to press her against the
wall and sink into her lush, hourglass curves shook through him. And because he
wanted to, with every hard, throbbing muscle in his over-heated body, Ben did
the only honorable thing he could.

He turned around and walked out.

Chapter Four

 

H
e left.

Lea stumbled to the bed on shaky
legs and sank onto the mattress. He walked out. Why? Had she misread his
kisses? Did he really only see her as a kid sister? Her jumbled mind tried to
latch onto an explanation, but none were forthcoming.

Oh God, what have I done?

Before mortification set in, she
got up and changed into a T-shirt and shorts, resisting the urge to trash the
nightie. She fingered the silky material. It had been a sweet gesture from
Jordan and the girls, and didn’t belong at the bottom of the dump. The floor
maybe, after great sex, but not the dump. She shoved it back in her suitcase,
then turned out the light and crawled into bed.

So much for
up-against-the-wall-sex.

Why did she have to get the broken
negligee?

Turning her face, she laughed into
her pillow because it beat crying.
Idiot.
She swallowed past her swollen
throat. Leave it to her to scare the guy silly. Geez, he couldn’t get away fast
enough. Hot tears filled her eyes and slid down her cheek without her
permission.
Dammit
. She didn’t want to cry.

It wasn’t as if he hadn’t found her
attractive because, although Ben hadn’t said a word, a fierce hunger had blazed
in his green eyes, turning them a delicious emerald. Her good parts were still
tingling over that. Thank goodness he hadn’t been repulsed.

Otherwise, yeah, she’d really be
mortified.

Right now, Lea lingered somewhere
between embarrassed and humiliated. She hiccupped a laugh. The nightie wasn’t
exactly broken. He found her attractive, just not enough to overlook their
past.

She rolled over and buried her head
under the pillow. Now, if she could just pretend to be his girlfriend without
seeing him for the next twenty-four hours…that would be great.

How in the world was she going to
face him now?

The sound of the door opening and
closing made it to her ears despite the pillow. Crap. She wasn’t ready. Not
yet. The shuffle of boots on the hardwood floor signaled he’d drawn near. She
could feel him watching her. The urge to burrow deep was strong, but she didn’t
move. Not one muscle.

“Lea, are you awake? We need to
talk.”

Yeah, she’d get right on that.

“Come on.”

The click of the lamp echoed in the
silent room while light cast away the shadows she could see from the edges of
her sanctuary.

“I know you’re not sleeping.”

“Yes, I am. Go away.”

He didn’t, but the pillow did as he
lifted it up and set it aside. “Can’t.” He knelt beside the bed to stare into
her heated face. Compassion and remorse mixed to cloud his gaze and soften his
tone. “I’m really sorry, Lea.”

“For what?” She snorted. “Not
wanting to have sex with me? It’s fine. Really. I just have to get through the
mortification process. I’ll see you in about ten years.” She made to roll away,
but a large, firm hand pressed into her shoulder and held her in place.

“That’s not what happened.”

“Really, Ben? Because it sure
seemed like it from where I was standing—in a damn sexy negligee, I might add.
With practically everything on display.”  She fought hard to resist the urge to
pull the sheet up over her head. “But you walked out uninterested.”

“That’s not what happened,” he
repeated, then released her, troubled gaze boring deep. “I walked out because I
was
interested, Lea. So damn interested I couldn’t see straight. Still
can’t.”

Her heart rocked hard in her chest,
dislodging a startled gasp. “Really?”

“Yes.” He straightened from the
floor and sat on the edge of the bed. “You’re beautiful, Lea, and damn sexy.
Don’t think for one minute it was easy to walk away from you, because I wanted
nothing more than to take you up against that damn wall.”

She smacked his nearest shoulder.
“Dammit, Ben. I
wanted
up-against-the-wall sex.”

“Jesus.” He vaulted to his feet as
if the mattress had caught fire, then stumbled toward the wall. “You can’t just
say things like that. What are you trying to do, kill me?”

“No, I’m trying to make sense of
this.” She sat up and waved a hand between them. “If you’re attracted to me,
and I’m attracted to you, what’s the problem?”

 “I watched you grow up,” he
replied in a solemn tone. “You’re Brandi’s best friend.”

“Who do you think sent the
negligee?”

His head snapped back. “What?”

“Well, her and Jordan and the other
bridesmaids.”

“Thanks. Now I know whose necks to
ring when I see them,” he stated, while leaning his long frame against the
Victorian dresser.

Her inner historian screamed in
protest, but she refrained from warning him to be careful. At the moment,
discussing her sex-appeal was a damn sight more important than the antique.

She lifted her chin. “So…you really
were turned on?”

“Yes.”

“But not enough to stay.”

Expelling a breath, he walked back
to sit on the bed and reached for her hand. “As great as the sex promises to
be, you’re a good friend, Lea, and I don’t want to ruin that friendship with
great sex. Would you?”

Yes, please. Take me now!
But because that sounded wanton in her mind, she swallowed the words and shook
her head. “No.” He was right. She wouldn’t want any awkwardness between them.

He dipped his head, a ghost of a
smile tugging his lips. “So…we’re good?”

No. She wanted him to want her as
much as she wanted him. And because that barely made sense in her fogged up
brain, she lied. “Yes.”

As long as he only saw her as a
friend, they’d never be okay.

“Let’s get some sleep. Tomorrow’s
going to be a long day,” he said, rising from the bed. “Breakfast is at O-eight
hundred, followed by a full day of outdoor activities, including the lake.
Thanks for that, by the way. Seems I’m supposed to row you around.”

She smiled big. “Don’t mention it.”
Bugger was going to row her twice around. He owed her at least that for walking
out earlier.

“Yeah, I thought you’d be pleased.”

She watched him grab a pillow from
the bed and toss it onto the floor. “What are you doing?”

“Going to bed.”

“On the floor?”

“Yep.” He pulled a camouflage liner
from his duffle bag and threw it next to the pillow before sitting on the
chaise to remove his boots.

“This is a queen size bed, Ben.
There’s plenty of room for us both.”

He grunted. “I’m barely hanging on
by a thread here, Lea. I don’t think I’ll ever get the image of you in that
damn corset thing out of my head. No way in hell are we sharing anything.”

Funny how his discomfort made her
feel better. Even though she knew it wouldn’t take much persuasion to get him
to break his resolve tonight, she stayed put. His body may want her, but his
heart and mind did not, and they were actually more important. Their lack of
participation would dampen her pleasure.

Until Ben came to terms with his
wants and needs—
if
Ben came to terms with them—she would not be making
any more advances. Sure, she’d continue to play the dutiful girlfriend thing
tomorrow, and enjoy every damn second, but if he wanted in her bed, he was
going to have to make the next move.

 

B
en had never taken a
cold shower before. Ever. Not even during his adolescent years. But last night,
after images of Lea battered his mind in that damn sexy blue getup with a
sultry, inviting expression on her beautiful face, he’d lost the battle and
used the cold water as a deterrent to crawling into her bed to seek relief to
the heat and need throbbing his body. The bed had been closer than the
bathroom, and a hell of a lot more appealing, but he couldn’t get past the fact
it was Brandi’s friend in that bed. His friend. The little girl from down the
street. Those were the thoughts that helped him turn on his heel and march into
the bathroom.

But those thoughts were eventually
going to fade. Heaven help him then. And
now
. He entered the dining
room, holding Lea’s hand for appearance sake, and did his best to ignore how
right it felt. Time to get his mind back on work, and socializing with his
peers. That was the reason he was here this weekend.

“Good morning, Colonel. Mrs.
Dankirk.” He nodded to their hosts already seated. With any luck, by the time
they filled their plates from the buffet style breakfast set up along the far
wall, they’d be able to sit on the other side of the table. “Smells almost as
good as your cooking,” he said to Lea.

“Then we’d better hurry,” she said,
tugging him to the food. “We don’t need them running out of bacon. I don’t want
to have to put up with Mr. Crankypuss all morning.”

He stopped, and when she turned to
face him, he frowned at her. “I don’t get cranky in the morning.”

She laughed.

The lieutenant and his wife ahead
of them looked up from the buffet. “Sure you do, Serge, but you always come
back in a better mood after eating at Gabe’s. I thought it was the food, but
now I know better.”

Lea blushed. “Nah. He’s addicted to
my coffee.”

“True.” He smiled and received a smack
from her on the arm.

“That’s because I know what you
like.” Her gaze was open and friendly with just a hint of mischief darkening
her baby blues to steal his breath. “You like bacon with your bacon with maybe
a side of eggs.”

The other couple laughed as they
continued down the buffet.

“True,” he told Lea again, handing
her a plate before falling in behind her.

He had to admit, the view was
great. His gaze traveled down her white tank top with blue anchors, exposing a
neckline that haunted his dreams, and his body tightened at the way her navy
pants hugged those sweet cheeks he’d glimpsed…and walked away from.

Idiot.

He was beginning to regret his
decision last night.

“You can get your revenge on him
today, Lea,” the colonel stated from across the room. “Because, after horseback
riding this morning, we’re all heading to the lake for a picnic, and he can
finally own up to that rowing.”

“Perfect,” she said, then loaded
scrambled eggs and some delicious smelling bacon onto the plate in his hand.
“You need to keep up your strength, Benny. I’m going to give you a workout.”

The others laughed, even Mrs.
Dankirk, so he forced his lips to curve upward. But he wondered if she was
serious or just acting her part. It shouldn’t matter.

So, why did it?

An hour later, Ben was still
contemplating the answer as they all walked to the stables. Breakfast had been
smooth and uneventful, and once again, he was blown away at how well Lea
handled the wide range of topics from politics to fashion to celebrities. The
pretty woman at his side was eloquent and intelligent, and he was ashamed to
admit he hadn’t realized just how intelligent. Made him wonder what else he’d
taken for granted about his sister’s friend.

Like conversation. Today, he
noticed she wasn’t initiating dialogue with him, only speaking when spoken to.
Which should make things easier. Keep them off personal subjects. So, why did
he feel as if something was missing?

“As you can see, we don’t have
enough horses for everyone, so a few of you will have to double up,” the
colonel announced when they reached the stable where the horses were already
saddled and ready to go. “I’m sure Ben and the lieutenant won’t mind sharing
their mounts with their women.”

“Of course, sir.” The way the
weekend was going, Ben wasn’t surprised by the turn of event, but he was
surprised by the look of reluctance that flashed fleetingly through Lea’s gaze.
Why wouldn’t she want to ride with him?

Normally, he enjoyed a ride through
the country side. The area was spectacular with pine, oak, maple and birch
trees standing tall and majestic, with only an occasional creaking branch
breaking the silence in the wind. And the slight rocking of the horse and soft
thud of hoof beats on the forest floor usually soothed away his troubles.

Not today. Negative. Today, he
experienced a different side to riding. A very enjoyable side. With a woman
sitting behind him, but not just any woman—Lea, with her soft, supple body
pressed against his back, hitched breaths hitting his neck when the horse
rocked them together. Damn, he could feel her nipples and her heat, and heaven
help him, he loved every minute. Even guided the horse into a trot just to feel
those beauties poking, raking, testing his control, and down a few hills so
she’d cling tighter and longer. By the time their ride ended back at the
stables, he wasn’t sure he could walk, but his extra ministrations had been
worth it.

Anticipation upped his pulse when
he slid off the horse and turned to help Lea dismount. It wouldn’t be
inappropriate to steal a kiss from his girlfriend, and he was more than ready
to feel those delectable curves brushing the front of him this time.

Those thoughts were wrong, and the
fact he knew it and didn’t care was a testament to the amount of fog in his
brain.

But when he helped her down, she
placed her hands on his shoulders, then slid them to pat his chest while she
lifted on tip-toe to kiss his check. “Thanks, Benny,” she said, then walked
over to the other women and was soon laughing at something one had said.

What the hell just happened?

No kiss? No curves? No Lea melting
into him?

Yeah, her display of affection was
still girlfriend-ish, so he couldn’t very well remind her he needed her help.
But at the moment, he wanted…

Ah hell
, he didn’t know what
he wanted.

Two hours later, he was more than a
little frustrated and confused as hell. A walking contradiction of need. On one
hand, he needed to keep her at arm’s length; on the other hand, he wanted his
hands on her. He was all mixed up, but one thing was clear, he couldn’t do both.

BOOK: Wyne and Dine (Citizen Soldier Series Book 1)
2.13Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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