Wild for Him

polished men she'd dated in the past. But there was no denying that with his thick brown hair tousled in a no-fuss style, those dark, seductive brown eyes, and a hard, gorgeous body made for sin, he was sexier than most of the men in the place in an earthy, rugged way.

And Ronnie was definitely taking notice of all those little details that made Ben so uniquely male, while Madison was much more reserved in her speculation of who Ben really was.

'We didn't know you were bringing someone,' Ronnie said, still checking out Ben. 'So, we only grabbed one extra chair.'

Christine shifted on her feet. Ronnie and Mark had claimed the love seat, Madison was sitting in one of the plush armchairs, and there was one left free, obviously for her. She glanced around for a vacant seat for Ben, but there wasn't one to be found in the lounge.

'That's not a problem,' Ben said, taking matters into his own hands. 'There's plenty of room for two in this chair right here.'

Before Christine realized what Ben meant to do, he sat down in the plush armchair, then grabbed her hand and pulled her toward him, until she was draped across his lap with her hip pressed against the gun he'd holstered just inside the waistband of his jeans-which he'd told her he had a license to carry in public. She gasped in surprise and caught the wicked glint in Ben's gaze that told her he was taking his role as her boyfriend very seriously.

'My, my, my. Such a resourceful kind of guy,' Ronnie said, seemingly impressed with Ben's take-charge approach. 'I like that in a man.' She took a sip of her cosmopolitan.

Ben slid one arm around Christine's waist, and rested the palm of his other hand on the bare skin of her thigh right below where the hem of her miniskirt ended, his touch undeniably possessive. And hot. Very hot.

'I'd rather keep Christy nice and close, anyways,' he replied with a grin.

From across the way, Madison was sending her a What the hell is going on? look, and all Christine could do was smile at her best friend for now and keep up the charade that was of her own making.

One of the bar's cocktail waitresses came up to their group. Since Christine frequented Envy, she immediately recognized the pretty auburn-haired woman as Jodie.

'What can I get you two to drink?' she asked, eyeing Ben with too much interest.

'I'll take an apple martini,' Christine said, needing something with a bit of a kick to help her get through the next few hours.

'Sam Adams for me,' Ben told the other woman, once again establishing himself as someone who didn't give a damn about social pretenses. In an upscale club where most men ordered hard liquor over cheap beer, he was an anomaly.

Once the cocktail waitress headed back to the bar, Ronnie snuggled up to Mark's side and turned her green- eyed sights back on Ben. 'So, Christy, where have you been hiding this fine specimen of a man?'

Forcing herself to relax against the hard, muscular thighs beneath her bottom, she slipped an arm around his broad shoulders and leaned into his chest. 'We've been dating quietly for the past few weeks, and I thought it was time to take things to the next level and introduce Ben to my closest friends.'

'He's definitely your best-kept secret,' Madison murmured wryly, and followed that comment with a sip of her strawberry margarita.

'Well, I, for one, am glad to see you back on the market after you-know-who did you-know-what.' Ronnie lifted her cosmopolitan in a mock toast, then finished off the rest of the drink.

As much as Christine adored Ronnie, her friend didn't know the meaning of subtlety. She was bold and brazen, and usually said whatever was on her mind. She'd never liked Jason, and couldn't have been happier when Christine had ended their engagement.

At least Ben knew what she was talking about, and it wasn't something she'd have to explain later.

Jodie arrived with their drinks and set them both on the table. 'By the way, the bartender just told me that Craig is picking up your tab tonight.'

Before Christine could issue a reply, Ben beat her to it. 'Thank you, but I'll pay for the drinks,' he said firmly, playing his role with a believable amount of authority.

Taken aback by his firm tone, Jodie's eyes widened. 'Oh. Okay. I'll let Craig know.'

Well, that was certainly one way to bring Craig's attention to the fact that she had a boyfriend, Christine thought.

'So, what do you do for a living, Ben?' Ronnie, the inquisitive one, asked.

'I work for a security firm,' he said smoothly. Before Ronnie could drill him about what, exactly, his work entailed, he added, 'Prior to that, I was in the military.'

That bit of information caught Mark's attention. 'Which branch?'

'The Marine Corps.' Ben handed Christine her apple martini, but didn't touch his bottle of beer.

Mark's gaze lit up with interest. 'My younger brother, Tim, is in the Marines. He was just recently deployed to Iraq. He says the conditions there are pretty deplorable.'

Ben nodded in agreement. 'It can be a tough assignment.'

Christine knew that Ben spoke that statement from the heart. Having lost someone he cared deeply for as a direct result of the combat zone in Iraq, he had firsthand experience of just how harsh and unforgiving the war could be.

The two men continued to talk about the military, and discuss their opinions on the war. Ronnie rolled her eyes in boredom, and signaled Jodie for another cocktail, then launched into a more girl-appropriate discussion about an incident that happened at the exclusive boutique she managed. While Christine listened to Ronnie's animated story about a woman who'd attempted to shoplift a designer purse by stuffing it down her stretch pants and concealing the bulge with a loose blouse, she sipped her drink and tried to keep her mind off the way Ben's deep, husky voice was so close to her ear as he talked, and the sensual feel of those hands still on her body.

She failed miserably. Sitting on his lap, she was so keenly aware of him, in every way. His thumb absently stroked the inside of her knee as he continued his conversation with Mark, and at some point the hand at her back had glided up her spine and slid beneath the fall of her hair. His strong fingers gently kneaded the nape of her neck, and she had to swallow back a moan of pure pleasure.

Everything about the man, about his touch, was so seductively mesmerizing. So arousing and exciting, made more so by the fact that everything he did seemed so natural and unrehearsed. And while he appeared to be completely relaxed and unaffected by her close-enough-to-kiss presence, she on the other hand couldn't stop her long deprived body from reacting to each and every sensation. Her pulse quickened, something deep in her stomach fluttered, and her breasts felt tight and sensitive against her lacy bra.

Inhaling a slow, even breath, she shifted her gaze from Ronnie to Madison as they continued to chat and laugh about something her friend said, and Christine smiled and pretended to join in on the amusement. She took another long drink of her martini and was grateful when the liquid slid down her throat much more smoothly than the first few sips had.

Over the next hour and a half, the five of them talked about inconsequential things and laughed like old friends. One drink turned into two, then a third that she didn't quite finish, and Christine decided it was just what she needed to relax, enjoy herself, and have a good time.

'Uh-oh,' Ronnie said, her suddenly narrowed gaze honing in on something beyond Christine's shoulder. 'You'll never guess whose working the room behind you.'

Christine didn't turn around to look. She didn't have to. Craig had warned her that her nemesis would be at Envy tonight, and that's the only person she knew that could shift Ronnie's easygoing personality into protective mode on Christine's behalf.

'It's Leanne, I'm sure,' Christine said.

Madison, who'd taken a peek at the people mingling behind them as soon as Ronnie made her comment, now stared at Christine in surprise. 'How did you know?'

'I have great radar when it comes to her.' Feeling carefree and lighter than air, Christine grinned. 'Maybe if I hide she won't notice I'm here.'

Without thinking her actions through, not that she was thinking all that logically at the moment, Christine buried her face against Ben's neck to shield herself from Leanne's predatory gaze that always seemed to pick her out in a crowd. One deep breath later, she realized her mistake. The warm, heady male scent of him curled through