Wyne and Dine (Citizen Soldier Series Book 1) (8 page)

BOOK: Wyne and Dine (Citizen Soldier Series Book 1)
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The colonel drove them to the lake
where they hiked, then a few of the women played a bit of Frisbee while the men
talked more shop, but after watching Lea jump a few times, Ben realized it
wasn’t such a good idea. He couldn’t take the bounces. They rippled through him
with a power punch to his libido.

“Time for the rowing I owe you,” he
said, needing her to stay still so he could calm his mind and regroup.

After helping her into a wooden
dingy, he stepped in and carefully pushed them from the dock. The urge to
distance himself from something had taken over. Problem was, he had no idea
what he was distancing from, but he already felt better. As he rowed them
toward the middle of the lake, he concentrated on the horizon, using
controlled, even strokes, and not paying any attention to the woman lounging in
front of him, with her head tipped back, eyes closed and a look of pure rapture
on her face.

No. He wasn’t paying any attention
to that, just rowing and rowing, and waiting. Jesus, was she really not going
to talk to him unless he started the conversation?

He pulled the oars out of the water
and set them inside the boat. She still didn’t open her eyes. Ben crossed his
arms and waited. Finally, after another minute of silence, she opened them and
lifted her head…and a brow, but said nothing.

Damn, stubborn woman.
“Spill
it. What gives? What’s wrong?”

“You stopped.”

He dropped his arms and expelled a
breath. “That’s not what I meant, and you know it.”

Her shoulder lifted. Was she trying
to get a rise out of him?

It was working, damn it.

“Is this about last night?”

Color rose up her neck and settled
in her cheeks, enhancing the blue of her eyes.

“No. Not really, Ben. I’m just
trying to keep things on an even keel, pretending to be your girlfriend like you
asked, but not hanging all over you.” She stilled, then narrowed her gaze.
“Why, did you want me to hang all over you?”

Yes
. He did.
Damn.
“No.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

 That
was
the problem. “I
just wanted to make sure things were okay between us,” he said, realizing it
was the truth. A truth he didn’t want to delve too deeply into, but knew for
some reason it was important.

“They’re good.” Her gaze dropped to
the hands curled tightly in her lap.

She was lying. But he chose not to
pursue the issue. Mostly because she was right. Things had changed between
them. Not better, not worse, just different.

“But if you want to make up for
last night, then you better get rowing,” she said, smile tugging her lips
upward. “I’m not getting any younger.”

He laughed, adopting her friendly
attitude. “Yes, ma’am.” They were going to be all right. “Let’s put all of that
aside for now and just have fun today, okay?”

“Okay,” she replied with a nod.
“I’d like that.”

Ben picked up the oars and started
to row, shoulders feeling a little lighter after having cleared the air, even
if it was only in a small way.

Things were good until Lea reached
for the buckle on her pants, then the zipper. The sound ripping straight
through him as he sat there, unable to move, or think, or row.

She frowned at him. “What’s wrong?”

“You’re stripping. Why are you
stripping?”

“Because I want to take advantage
of the sun.” She pointed to the cloudless sky above, then turned an almost
wounded gaze on him. “Don’t worry, I’m not making a move on you. I’ve learned
my lesson. Trust me, that will never happen again.” She yanked off her tank top
and pointed to her bikini. “See? I’m wearing a bathing suit. It’s all good.
You’re virtue is safe.”

To hell with his virtue. He was
worried about his sanity. Any shred he’d managed to hold onto landed in a heap
on the bottom of the boat—with her pants.

Damn.

It had been close to a decade since
he’d seen Lea in a bathing suit. She and Brandi had been swimming in the pool
in their back yard, talking about college, excited about life. He’d been
sitting there with her brother and his, and remembered thinking she was going
to be a knockout someday.

As the oars sliced through the
water, and he pumped the paddles back and forth until his shoulders burned, he
realized with a start that someday was now. Her trim curves had filled in…and
out…and she wasn’t the only one bursting at the seam.

With a content sigh rippling
through her, she stretched out her sunscreen coated legs to set her feet
alongside him on the seat, and leaned back, resting her elbows on the sides of
the boat. Closing her eyes, she let out another sigh. “This is the life.”

More like the death…of him.

He spent the next hour rowing her
around, talking about their fathers, Brandi’s upcoming wedding, his job, her
supposed job pursuit in the Big Apple, everything but the noticeable current
flowing between them whenever they accidentally brushed.

The connection was not welcomed. He
didn’t want, nor need it in his life, especially with his sister’s friend. She
had plans and dreams, and he did not fit into them, just as she didn’t fit into
his agenda. He was a companion only type guy, and Lea deserved a relationship
type guy. The two of them simply did not mesh.

Damn her, and her talk about banana
splits last week, because that was when everything changed. Something had
happened. She’d woken up his body, and he’d been trying to get the damn thing
to go back to sleep ever since.

By the time they returned to the
dock, Ben was more than ready to jump into the lake fully clothed. Luckily,
he’d had the foresight to bring his board shorts, and after a quick change in
the public restroom, he sought solace in the cool water.

Then she joined him.

As did the others, all except the
colonel and his wife, who headed back to their estate to pick up the lunch
their staff prepared.

If the morning was a test of his
control, he hoped he passed, because after lunch, they got dressed and joined a
few locals in a game of baseball. Despite the attraction flowing between them
and the danger of such a lure, he was having a hard time not enjoying himself
in Lea’s company. He always did like her company, but this time, it
was…different.

Despite calling herself a book
nerd, the beauty was very athletic. A natural. And her competitive side, he
discovered, was a turn on. Big time.

With their team down by two, he was
on third when she came up to bat. “Come on, baby,” he called to her. “Hit me
home.”

She blew him a kiss, then pointed
to left field before settling into her stance. A stance he’d taught her when
she was eleven. Feet shoulder-width apart, she held the bat, elbows out and
wiggled her butt.

Catcalls and whistles filled the
air and an unexpected heat spread across his shoulders and tightened his chest.
The feeling was unpleasant, reminding him of when he’d hear one of the
guardsmen talking about sampling her
cooking
. The more the local guys
vocally admired her, the more irritated Ben became, to the point where he
almost missed her swing. But the crack of the bat regained his attention, and
as the ball sailed far into right field, he took off for home plate.

Thata
girl
, he
thought to himself, pleased she’d retained what he’d taught her well over a
decade ago, the stance
and
faking where she’d intended to hit the ball.
After he scored, Ben turned around and watched Lea running to third base while
the centerfielder finally reached the ball.

“Come on,” he cheered, alongside
the rest of the crew. Even Mrs. Dankirk was on her feet yelling. She was the
tying run.

Positioning himself in line with
home plate, but keeping far enough away so as not to interfere with the play,
he opened his arms and cheered again, “Come on, baby! Come home.”

And she did, right into his arms.
She was safe, but he wasn’t. Deep down, Ben knew he was in trouble, but at the
moment, he didn’t care. Using her momentum, he twisted the laughing woman
around, and when he set her feet on the ground, he grabbed her face and kissed
her square on the lips.

“Great job,” he told her when he
pulled back, chest tight with some emotion he knew better than to analyze.
Today was about fun, and that was all he would concentrate on. He told her that
earlier, and he never gave an order he didn’t follow himself.

Color entered her face as pride and
satisfaction deepened the blue of her eyes. “I had a great teacher.”

For the next half-hour, Ben rode
the high her words and gaze created, and after they won the game, he found
himself sitting with her on a blanket, sharing some incredible homemade
sangria. The combination of strawberries, lemon and wine were surprisingly
refreshing.

“Where did you learn to make this?
And when did you have time?”

She laughed. “Kerri McCall sent me
the recipe last year.”

“Kerri who?” The name was familiar,
but his mind was a bit too fogged by the woman in front of him to place the
face.

“McCall. From Harland County.”

“Oh.” The light bulb went off in
his brain. “Jordan’s sister. The chef.”

“Yes.”

He hadn’t realized Lea knew anyone
else from Texas. “How long have you all been friends?”

“Since Brandi introduced them last
Christmas on Skype. I Skype with all the bridesmaids now.”

He lifted his glass. “Well, I’m
glad, because this is delicious.”

“I’ll be sure to tell Kerri.” She
nodded, sipping her drink.

“I know you didn’t bring this with
you yesterday, so when did you make it?”

She smoothed out the blanket and
glanced at her hand. “Last night. I snuck down to the kitchen and made a
batch.”

“Last night?” He reeled back.
“When? I didn’t hear you leave.”

“You were in the shower.”

“Oh.” He had hoped she hadn’t heard
him.

She glanced down at her glass.
“I…ah, found myself in your boots, so to speak.”

“You did?”

“Yeah, either leave or do something
I might regret.”

He dipped his head to catch her
gaze. “What in the world would you have regretted?”

“Me? Nothing,” she replied, blush creeping
into her face. “But I’m not sure how you would’ve felt about me climbing in the
shower with you.”

His heart dropped to his feet. The
shower?
Shit
. He swallowed to relieve his suddenly dried throat. The
thought of soaping up that incredible body he’d drooled over while rowing made
his jeans painfully tight. He shifted to relieve the ache.

She bit her lower lip and stared at
him, waiting for him to respond.

He needed to stay the course. But
he didn’t know which course to stay. The one where they
stayed
friends
and ignored their needs, or the one where they maybe
stayed
friends and
relieved each others’ needs.

“Um, Ben.” She glanced over his
shoulder. “Mrs. Dankirk is watching. Do we need to do anything, or is it enough
that we’re sitting close on the blanket?”

Relief washed through his body in a
warm, welcomed wave. A legitimate reason to kiss her. Had all his brain cells
been firing, Ben would’ve realized his libido had compromised his logic. Too
bad he wasn’t thinking with his northern head.

He cupped her face and brushed his
thumb over her trembling, lower lip. “I’m going to do what I’ve been wanting to
do. All. Damn. Day.”

She nodded, and stopped his heart
when her tongue snaked out to touch his thumb. With a groan rumbling in his
throat, he captured her lips in a kiss that was too long overdue to be tender.
His hunger for Lea was fierce. There was no taking it slow. Not even close. He
jumped right to intense, demanding, taking as he plundered all she had to give.
Kid gloves were off. No playing around. No pretending. No thinking of her as
his younger sister’s friend.

She was a woman. A very desirable
woman who matched his hunger, meeting his tongue’s demands, taking what she
wanted right alongside him.

He told himself his need was born
from not being with a woman for the past few weeks. No Charisse. No casual
hookups as of late. It was as if he was getting bored. But there was no denying
his increasing hunger for the woman in his arms.

Pressing her into the blanket, he
ran a hand down her side, brushing her breast, sweet curve of her waist, down
to her thigh, then slowly back up, slipping under her shirt to stroke her skin
just under her bra.

So damn soft...

He rocked against her in a show of
need and half-expected her to put a halt to his advances, but she had a hand
clamped to the back of his head, holding him in place while the other snuck
under his shirt to trail heat up and down his back from her roaming fingers.

If his brain hadn’t registered the
giggling from some nearby teenagers, Ben had no idea how far he would’ve gone.

The thought scared the hell out of
him.

He stilled. He’d never lost control
like that. Ever. Slowly drawing back, Ben recognized the same confusion he felt
flashing through Lea’s eyes as breath rasped in and out of her lungs. Rolling
to the side, he removed his hands from her soft, warm flesh and inhaled long
and deep in a show of solidarity. She wasn’t the only one knocked on her ass.

“I should apologize for letting
things get out of hand,” he said, voice a little hoarse because he was still a
lot hard.

She sat up and stared straight at
him, gaze clear and open and unpolluted. The woman was too damn sweet for
someone like him.

“Don’t you dare apologize.”

Surprised by her reply, he was now
faced with the challenge. The question. The unspoken invitation in her words
and direct gaze.

He was too damn jaded and set in
his ways for someone so fresh and open and giving. She could do so much better.
She shouldn’t waste her time on the likes of him.

BOOK: Wyne and Dine (Citizen Soldier Series Book 1)
7Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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