Yours for the Taking (15 page)

“Don’t worry, she’ll be fine. We’ll just feed her small, frequent meals, until she realizes she’s going to eat regularly and stops imitating a power-vac.”

Gina leaned into Ben and blinked away moisture. “Maybe you’re right. We should find her a better home.”

Ben turned to her and bent so he was at eye level, making it impossible to avoid his. “What? Are you kidding? I thought you loved her.”

“I do, but you’re right. I haven’t thought it through. I don’t know why I thought a person like me would be able to take care of an animal. She deserves better than someone who didn’t even think to give her food and water.”

“Whoa, slow down here, Gina. What are you talking about? A person like you? Jasmine is the luckiest dog around. She was not only rescued, but she was rescued by you. I only wanted to make sure you’d given this some thought. It’s hard to consider the cons when you have a cute little puppy in your arms. I never for a second thought you were incapable of caring for her.”

Gina shook her head and crossed her arms. “No, come on, let’s go. We can, I don’t know, put an ad in the paper or something.”

***

Ben didn’t know what was going on with Gina. All he knew was that he hated to see her looking defeated. She’d been so happy when she found the little mutt, and now she looked like Karma did when she was six and the pony she’d been given for Christmas days before had gotten out of the barn and was lost. Ben had scoured the foothills looking for the pony until he’d finally found the damn thing. He’d been Karma’s hero from that day on. He wasn’t sure what he could do for Gina, especially since he didn’t know what was behind her sudden about-face. Then he remembered the conversation they’d had about children and suddenly the picture was becoming clearer.

“Sorry, sweetheart, but we’re not going anywhere. Gramps thinks we’re on our honeymoon. How is it going to look if we come back the same day?”

Gina shook her head. “We’ll just tell him there’s no running water. What are we supposed to do?”

Ben walked her into the cabin, looked over at Jasmine who was still sleeping, and checked the area around the house.

“What are you looking for?”

There was no way he was going to tell her about the occasional mountain lion sightings, not to mention the wolves in the area. He’d definitely have to slowly ease her into mountain life. “Nothing. We still have an old-fashioned pump in the kitchen just in case the power goes out and we can bathe at the country club. As a matter-of-fact, we can take a run down there as soon as Jasmine wakes from her food coma. Then we can give her the bath you promised her.”

“They let you bring pets in?”

Ben shrugged. “Sure, why not? And when we get back to town, if you still want to find a home for Jasmine, then that’s what we’ll do. Okay?”

From the look on her face, the last thing Gina wanted to do was give up that puppy, but for some reason she either didn’t feel as if she deserved her, or perhaps she didn’t trust herself to take care of anyone else. At least Ben had a few weeks to show her how wrong she was. And with a woman as hardheaded and stubborn as Gina, there was no time to waste.

While Gina went into the bedroom to unpack, Ben pumped out a pot of water and started a fire in the stove to heat it. He hadn’t been in the cabin since fall of last year so an inch of dust covered every surface. He swept and dusted the front room, and once the water was warm, scrubbed down the counters and the table. With the water that was left, he mopped the floor. He’d already unpacked the food, so he took the cooler, stashed it in the car, and checked on Jasmine.

She stirred when he let the door slap shut behind him. She looked up at him, tucked her tail beneath her scrawny legs, and drank more of her water before Ben untied her. The two of them walked around the yard so she could do her business. When Gina stepped outside, Jasmine turned into a wiggly, happy puppy. She ran as fast as her little legs could take her and jumped on Gina. The two greeted each other; the puppy’s tail thumped against the ground as Gina gave Jasmine her first lesson in manners.

Ben waited until the girls were through. “Why don’t I run in and get us a few towels and toiletries? We can go to the country club. I think we could all use a nice hot bath. Sound good?”

Gina pulled her tight shirt away from her body to examine the stains. “Yeah, do you want to get me fresh clothes?”

“Sure.”

“I don’t know what the dress code is at the country club. I didn’t bring anything but jeans and the stuff you made me buy.”

Ben was back in the house before he thought to explain. Maybe it was better that way.

***

“This is the country club?” Gina looked down from the path she’d traversed which followed the rushing Middle Fork of the Boise River and blinked her eyes. On the river’s edge was a small waterfall flowing down the side of steep cliff into a pool. It looked as if God had taken a spoon and dug out the center of a gigantic boulder. The pool left behind had had to be ten feet around.

“Yeah, isn’t it cool? The waterfall runs at about ninety degrees, though the pool is at a very comfortable eighty-five all year round. Come on, let’s go in.”

Was he absolutely nuts? “I didn’t bring a suit.” Gina stared at the pool.

“You don’t need one. I threw my fresh shirt on the old stump up there. It’s as good as a do not enter sign. It’s like putting a hanger on the outside doorknob of a college dorm room. No one will come down.”

The waterfall and pool were pretty, but really, skinny-dipping? When she turned around Ben had settled on a boulder and was pulling off his pants.

“Come on, I’ve got the soap.” He took Jasmine’s leash from her and watched her expectantly.

“Fine, but I’m not bathing with Jasmine no matter how cute she is.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll take her down to the river where the tub water runs out and get her cleaned up. Hand me your shampoo.”

Gina handed it off to Ben before he took off down the path as naked as the day he was born with Jasmine trotting beside him. She couldn’t complain about the view. Gina did a three hundred sixty-degree turn, checking to make sure no one else was around, before pulling her clothes off and laying them beside Ben’s. She tiptoed over the worn, flat stones that looked like a manmade walk. Once she reached the pool, she climbed to the top of the boulder and dipped a toe in. Sure enough, it was warm. How it was so warm, she wasn’t sure, but Ben was too busy with Jasmine to ask.

Gina sank below the surface, found a spot that served as a seat, and watched Ben try to bathe Jasmine. She wasn’t sure which of them got soapier. When Ben tried to rinse Jasmine off, the puppy thought they were playing as she jumped and splashed. Ben finally dragged her out of the river and Jasmine shook her little body, splashing water all over him. Amazingly, he didn’t seem to mind.

Gina rested her head back against a rolled up towel, closed her eyes, soaked in the sun, and let the water soothe her.

“Jasmine is all clean.”

Gina opened her eyes to see Ben holding Jasmine against his chest. He carried her up and tied her leash to a rock. Jasmine lay in the sun on the edge of the pool watching them as Ben stepped in. He ducked under the water and floated toward Gina. “Your turn.”

Gina felt herself being pulled under the water and dunked. She came up sputtering and wiped her eyes.

“Turn around.” She would have if he had given her half a chance. Instead, he spun her around in his arms and poured shampoo onto her hair. When she tried to wash it, he brushed her hands away and did it himself.

“I’m more than capable of washing my own hair.”

“Sure, but I want to. Come on, Gina, relax. I’ll be gentle.”

He pulled her back against him as he washed her hair, massaging her scalp, before moving down to her neck and shoulders. He did have great hands.

“Okay, rinse.”

She slipped under the water, ran her hands through her hair, and surfaced before slicking her hair out of her eyes.

Ben watched, holding a bar of soap in his hands. “Now we get to the fun part.”

“You’re right.” She took the soap from him and lathered his chest, running her hands through his chest hair, sliding over his nipples, and up to his strong shoulders.

Ben stepped down into the center of the pool. Gina wrapped her arms around his neck and held on. Since he was tall enough to stand in the center and she wasn’t, her legs slipped around his waist. He dunked them and came up kissing her. Gina forgot all about the soap as she explored his mouth.

The man could kiss. He started slowly, nibbling her lips, teasing her with the tip of his agile tongue, and when she couldn’t take it anymore, she sucked his tongue into her mouth. Their tongues tangled, breath mingled, and hearts pounded. Ben set her back on the shelf she’d lounged on earlier as his mouth traveled down her neck to her breasts. One kiss had her pressing her thighs together and wanting to do just the opposite. She rested her head back against the towel, as she floated on the sea of sensation he created with his mouth, hands, and body. His erection rubbed the inside of her thighs as he tortured her. What the man could do with his mouth was worthy of a Tony at the very least. Gina’s breath grew choppy as she pulled him closer with her legs. “Are you sure no one will come down here?”

“Hmmm?” He kissed her neck before nibbling on her earlobe. “Positive.”

His erection slid between her legs and over her folds as she grabbed a hold of him. “Do you have a condom?”

“Right behind you.”

“I love a man who’s always prepared.”

She slipped off the shelf and grabbed the condom. “Here, let me.” Ripping open the packet, she pushed Ben back against the seat, and rolled the condom down.

Ben pulled her onto his lap, straddling him.

“Have you ever done this before?”

“Made love? Yeah, just last night, remember?”

“No. I mean, here.”

Ben shook his head before he kissed her. She slid over him, breathing in his breath as she sank down, taking him in. She bit her lip and slid down farther. God she felt so good.

Ben tried to stay still, fighting the urge to grab her and bury himself to the hilt. She was so tiny, he was almost afraid he’d hurt her. She was so tight, he almost lost it right there. “Are you okay?”

Gina smiled “Oh yeah, I’m just great.” She grabbed his shoulders, her nails digging in as she lifted herself off him and slid back down, sending water rushing up between their bodies. She slowly drove him mad. He took her hips in his hands, hoping to speed things up, but she kept up the torturous pace, teasing, keeping him right on the edge. Her body tightened around his, pulling him in. Her moans filled his head; her breasts brushed his chest with every stroke, her breath quickened, but her pace never varied.

Ben couldn’t take it anymore. He held her tight and slid off, turned, and set her down on the edge of the bench, cushioning her butt with his hands. He slid his mouth over hers, sucking in her air and ravished her mouth. Her legs spread, opening herself to him as he slammed into her, taking her up and sending her over. Her body milked his, driving him past the point of sanity. God, he just couldn’t get enough of her. He slowed, teasing her orgasm, making it last before picking up the pace again. When she screamed and bit his shoulder he lost whatever control he’d held and thrust his hips, pulling her down farther onto him, and pressed in deep. Her climax sent him over the edge and he came, sinking into the water, unable to do much more then hold both their heads above the surface.

Ben wasn’t sure how long they’d floated in each other’s arms, listening to the soothing waterfall, and enjoying the warmth of the sun and the heat of the water before he was able to get the two of them back to the bench. He set her on the ledge before pulling out of her. He kissed her and smiled.

“You are such a liar. Don’t tell me you never made love in here before.”

“I haven’t until today. I’ve never brought any girl to the ranch, well, except Kate and Karma, and I definitely never made love to them.”

“So you just instinctively knew this bench was the perfect height for making love?”

“I tried it and it worked. I guess we’re just lucky that way.”

“Sure, that was just dumb luck.”

“If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were jealous.”

Her eyes went wide. “I am sooo not jealous.”

“Right.”

She slipped from between his body and the bench and went to the other side of the pool, grabbed the soap and set to finishing her bath.

Ben wasn’t going to let her get out of this one so easily. He went over and helped wash her back, her front, and just about everything in between. “Except for the gay thing, I’ve never lied to you.”

She crossed her arms over her chest. “You told me there was a country club here.”

Ben rolled his eyes. “This is the country club. That’s what everyone calls it. It never occurred to me to redefine it. That was a mistake, not a lie.”

Gina rinsed off. “You say tomato, I say tomato.”

Ben grabbed her around the waist and hauled her into his arms before wading out of the pool. “You always have to have the last word.” He tugged on Jasmine’s leash and the puppy trotted behind as he carried Gina over to their clothes, kissing her before setting her down. He dried off and pulled on his clothes before running back to clean up the mess they’d left at the pool. By the time he picked up, the water had circulated and was crystal clear again. He couldn’t help but smile, one trip to the country club with Gina had beat all his memories of playing there the entire time growing up, even with her picking a fight. Things were definitely looking up.

Gina walked Jasmine outside the cabin. The puppy obviously hadn’t been potty trained before she was rescued, but Ben had been great and helped Gina clean up the mess. She told Jasmine no, and Jasmine shook in fright. Gina ended up sitting with her on the floor and pulling her into her arms to calm the poor thing.

Someone had not treated the puppy nicely. Maybe Jasmine hadn’t gotten lost after all, maybe she’d just escaped a bad situation. How many times had Gina contemplated doing the exact same thing? If it hadn’t been for Tina, she would have escaped much sooner than she had. As it was, she had to wait until she was eighteen to break out of her prison so she could take Tina with her.

She and Jasmine made their way over to a clearing and she held up her cell phone trying to get a signal. Nothing. She was completely cut off from civilization. She couldn’t call Tina and check in, she couldn’t call Rosalie to bitch her out, and she couldn’t even contact the detective she’d hired to find Rafael. She wouldn’t hear a word about their progress, if there was any, until she got back to Boise. She knew it was a long shot, but if all the stars aligned, there was at least a miniscule chance Rafael had been found. And right now, a miniscule chance beat the hell out of any chance she’d had for the last twenty-one years.

If that wasn’t bad enough, she’d checked every room in the cabin and found no TV. There would be no episodes of
NCIS
, no
Dancing With the Stars
, no reality TV. What the hell were they supposed to do up here with nothing but time on their hands? Okay, there was one thing they did well together, but how many times a day could they have sex? From the look on Ben’s face earlier, she had a feeling she was about to find out.

Ben stuck his head out the door. “Dinner’s ready.”

She supposed they could eat, but she wondered what Ben was cooking on that weird stove of his. She’d offered help only to be shooed away. It wasn’t as if she couldn’t cook. Granted, she was no gourmet like Ben. She’d never in her life had a spinach and goat cheese whatever until he’d fed it to her. Mac and Cheese, even homemade, was definitely something she could get behind, and even pull off on occasion. “Come on, Jasmine. It looks as if your daddy wants to feed us.”

She headed into the cabin and saw a bottle of wine set on the counter to breathe. It probably cost more than her prized Coach bag. He’d set the table with big, round wine glasses and candles. Normally she’d think he was trying to be romantic. Here, she wondered if the candles were a necessity. She hadn’t tried to plug anything in yet. She looked around to see if there were electrical outlets.

“What do you need, Gina?”

She spun around and smiled. “Oh nothing. I was just wondering if there was electricity. I mean, with the candles, I gotta wonder. The stove runs on wood, right?”

Ben crossed his arms and nodded as if she’d just asked the stupidest question known to man. “My mom liked it, so Dad never bought an electric stove. But yes, we have electricity. We built a hydro-electric generator years ago and it works fine.”

“You built it?”

“My dad and I did, yeah. I was only five at the time so I handed him tools, but I learned enough to keep it up and running all this time.”

“What can’t you do?”

Ben went back to the stove and lifted the lid on a pot, stirred it, and fanned the lid toward him so he could smell its contents. Why, she hadn’t a clue. “I don’t sew. I tried in Boy Scouts, but all the patches were crooked and Kate had to re-do them. I heard so much bellyaching about how hard it was to rip off all the patches, I never had the guts to try it again. After that I’d just ask her really nicely to sew them for me.”

He bent down to get something from the oven while Gina admired his ass. He really had a nice one. She turned her back to him. No use becoming attached to something she couldn’t have… for much longer. “You’d be SOL with me. I don’t sew. It’s a good thing this marriage is only temporary.” The last thing she wanted to do was forget that. Having a man cook and clean for her was fun—especially when that man was Ben. He had crap taste in women’s clothes, but it wasn’t as if she
had
to take him shopping, and he sure as heck knew what he looked good in. “After we’re divorced, you can find yourself a little Sally Homemaker and I can go back to the mean streets of the city where I belong. All this space makes me nervous. It’s just not natural.”

Ben placed what looked like a rib roast surrounded by root vegetables on the table. Her mouth watered. “You’ll get used to it. In a week, you’ll never want to leave.”

Gina peeked into one of the pots. She wasn’t sure what she was looking at but it smelled heavenly. “A week? We can’t stay here for a week. There’s no cell phone service. No TV.”

He picked up the pot and emptied the contents into a serving bowl. “It’s polenta with porcini mushrooms and parmesan cheese, in case you’re interested. If you need to make calls, I have a satellite phone you can use, and as for the TV, you don’t need one here. Half the fun of coming to the ranch is that you can get away completely. There’s plenty to do. You’ll love it, just wait.”

“I won’t live that long.” She carried the salad to the table and sat while Ben brought over that porridge stuff with the mushrooms and cheese. She hoped it tasted as good as it smelled because it looked really strange.

“What? Don’t you like polenta?”

“I didn’t say anything.”

Ben sat beside her. “With that look on your face, you didn’t need to. Try it, you’ll like it.”

“You keep saying that, but so far, nothing you’ve promised has panned out.”

Ben gave her a look that was hot enough to make her panties damp. Damn him. “Fine, you got me, the sex was okay.”

Ben stopped with a fork piled with meat hanging in the air. “Excuse me, did you just say the sex was okay?”

Gina dipped her fork into the creamy looking stuff and lifted it to her lips, stuck the tines in her mouth, and sucked the contents off. She nodded and stifled a moan. This stuff, whatever it was, was fabulous. Oh God. The man was better in the kitchen than he was in bed, and that was saying something, especially since he was cooking on a wood stove and he was a virtual god in bed and hillbilly hot tubs. When she opened her eyes, he was staring at her.

“You have about five seconds to take that back.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Gina cut into the meat; it was done to perfection, nice and rare. She dipped it into the creamy stuff and slid it between her lips. Yup, definitely better in the kitchen. And she’d die before she’d admit he was the best lover she’d ever had. Lord, it would so suck if he was the best she’d ever have. The thought made her pause. Her life might very well be downhill from here—at least when it came to food and sex.

Ben sat back in his chair and rocked it on two legs cradling his wine glass in his hand. “You haven’t taken it back.”

Gina took a bite of a carrot and chewed slowly while she stared at him. “I don’t plan to. Lord only knows what would happen if your head got any bigger. Besides, it’s not as if I said you were a bad lover.”

“Yeah? Well, from the way you screamed at the country club, me and everyone in Three Whores Bend knows you’re a liar.”

Gina was just yanking his chain so he yanked back. Gina’s face turned a lovely shade of red that matched the wine she gulped after she choked. He knew no one heard her, but she didn’t. Still, it didn’t affect her appetite. At the rate she was eating, they’d never last the two weeks he’d planned to stay without going down for more supplies.

When Ben finished the food on his plate, he sat back to enjoy watching Gina. The puppy nudged his leg. He picked her up and held her against his chest. Her puppy breath fanned his neck as he rubbed her back. A moment later, Jasmine was asleep.

Jasmine was growing on him, just like Gina. It was a good thing she’d reminded him this was temporary. As difficult as the woman was, she was a lot of fun to fuck with—literally and figuratively—and he planned to take full advantage until it was over. He was sure he’d have her out of his system by then, and have no problem moving on. After all, most women were fun to have around for a week or two; it was at about the one-month anniversary he’d lose all interest. Since he and Gina had really only been together three days, there was still plenty of time to enjoy her. By the time they tired of each other, she’d be back in New York and he’d be back to doing the same thing he always did. He slid Jasmine down off his chest, held her like a baby in his arms, and ignored the fact his happily ever after didn’t seem so attractive.

“Why are you staring at me like that?”

Ben blinked. “Sorry, I was just thinking, I wasn’t staring on purpose.”

“Yeah?” She took his plate and piled it on her empty one. “You look like my sister did the first Christmas my parents didn’t bother to buy presents. I had to tell Tina there was no Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny and Tooth Fairy were all lies too.” She tilted her head and kept up the pressure. “What were you thinking about?”

“How old were you?”

Gina shrugged, looked him square in the chest, and stuck her hands in her pants pockets. “I don’t remember. But you didn’t answer my question.”

Gina rarely brought up her parents. The few things she did say left him wondering about all the things she didn’t mention. He hoped she’d told him the worst of it, but he had a very strong feeling she hadn’t. “Nothing so tragic. Jasmine is asleep and I don’t know where to put her. I have dishes to do.”

Gina hauled the plates to the counter and returned to take the serving plates. “I’m more than capable of doing dishes, especially since you wouldn’t let me help cook. Stay with the puppy and let me handle it.”

Ben stood and shoved the puppy at her. “I have a pot of water heating for the dishes. That thing is as big as you are. Let me take care of it and the dishes, you take baby duty.” He picked up the meat and what little was left of the polenta. Damn, the woman could definitely pack the food away. He was surprised she could move. “I’ll let you make it up to me later. We’ll see if we can improve on the sex. I’m a man who won’t settle for just being okay.”

***

Ben did the dishes while Gina sat on the couch holding the puppy and staring off into space. There was something going through that amazing mind of hers, something she was nervous about. She set the puppy down to sleep on the couch, and paced back and forth across the front room.

“Want to talk about whatever it is that’s bothering you?”

She shoved her hands in the pockets of her too tight jeans. “No, nothing’s bothering me.”

She was lying. He’d spent the last three days glued to her, on top of her, or inside her, and he’d learned a few things. Whenever she out-and-out lied, she couldn’t look him in the eye and she always tried to find something to do with her hands—like shove them in her pockets. Still, there wasn’t much he could do to help if she wasn’t willing to talk to him. “If you change your mind, I’m here.”

She threw herself on the couch. “I just need to make a phone call.”

“So use my phone.”

She dug a business card out of her pocket. “It’s two hours later on the East Coast, after business hours.”

“If something is worrying you, call tomorrow.”

“I’m not worried.”

Yeah, right. “I’m sure Rosalie has everything under control at the office.”

“I know. Look, it’s nothing. I guess I’ll just call tomorrow and check in.”

“Good.” He folded the towel he’d used to dry the dishes, and tossed it on the counter. “Come on, let’s take Jasmine for a walk and check out the stars; they’re amazing here.”

Gina allowed him to pull her off the couch. “Hate to disappoint you, but I’ve seen stars before. We do have them in New York too, you know.”

“Not like this you don’t.”

Gina rolled her eyes as she slid the rope around Jasmine’s neck. “Right, everything’s bigger out West.”

Ben just smiled, “Pretty much.” He got one of her new jackets off the coat rack. “Here, put this on.”

She looked at him as if he was nuts. “Why?”

Ben let out a slow breath, wondering why she insisted on questioning everything he said. “Because once the sun sets, it gets really cold at this elevation.”

She shrugged the jacket on and took Jasmine’s leash back from him. He grabbed his coat and followed her out.

“Wow!” Gina stood in front of the cabin with her mouth hanging open. The moon was full and the stars were about the size of dimes sparkling overhead.

“Told ya, everything’s bigger out West.”

Looking him up and down, she stopped at his fly. “Not everything.”

“Very funny, I didn’t hear you complaining earlier. You were too busy screaming in ecstasy.”

She walked away laughing. “Yeah, keep telling yourself that if it makes you feel better.”

Ben wrapped his arm around her as they strolled toward the back meadow. “Sweetheart, if I were any bigger it wouldn’t fit. I think our sizes are damn near perfect.” He chose to ignore the fact that she’d yet to stop cutting him down and instead be thankful that sex was never far from Gina’s mind. It was comforting because whenever she was around, it was never far from his either. He had the perfect evening planned—a good meal, a moonlit stroll, making out in front of the fire, and then off to bed.

Jasmine did her thing, not that Gina noticed. She was too busy staring at the stars. She looked beautiful in candlelight; in moon and starlight, she was simply breathtaking. She was also shivering.

“Come on, let’s put the baby to bed and curl up by the fire.”

A picture of Rafael popped into Gina’s mind. For the few days her parents had kept him, Gina would take him to bed with Tina and her so that she could care for him when he needed to be fed and changed. She’d heard her father complaining about having another mouth to feed and Rafael’s crying. Gina thought as long as Rafael didn’t bother him, he’d be safe, but she’d been too young and naive to ever see it coming.

Ben wiped a tear from her cheek she hadn’t known was there. “Gina, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing. When I get cold, my eyes water.” She needed to get herself back under control. Ever since she hired that detective to find Rafael, memories she’d long since locked away came back full force. It had been ages since she’d allowed herself to revisit them. Still, she couldn’t help but wonder if by doing so, she’d remember something else that would help in the search. Lord knows, a name wasn’t much to go by.