inside her. How in the hell was that possible?
He squeezed his eyes shut, unable to believe what he'd just done. Unable to believe he'd let things go this far when he knew better. His body was drained, depleted of every ounce of energy and months worth of all the sexual tension that had been building between them. His explosive orgasm had nearly slayed him, and the very worst of it was, he wasn't done wanting her. Not by a long shot.
And he had a feeling she was going to use every bit of that knowledge to her advantage.
WITH a whole lot to do before the elaborate charity ball that evening, Christine was up early Saturday morning and working in her office at home. She spent a couple of hours printing out bidding sheets and item descriptions for the silent auction, as well as organizing gold-embossed place cards to coincide with each donation. She checked and double-checked her master list against all the goods she had on hand to make sure everything matched and nothing was missing, then polished up her speech and made sure she had a copy of that, too.
By the time she was done, it was nearly noon and her stomach growled hungrily. She'd eaten breakfast hours before and had been running on pure caffeine since. She needed protein to keep her going for the rest of the afternoon.
Shutting down her computer, she picked up her empty coffee mug and headed down the hall toward the kitchen. She passed the guest bedroom, and for the first time that morning the door was open and no one was inside. It appeared that Ben had decided he could no longer avoid her after their hot and heavy make-out session the evening before, and had finally ventured out.
Smiling, she continued on, and when she walked into the kitchen she found him sitting at her small dinette table eating a big bowl of the Froot Loops he'd bought when they'd gone grocery shopping together earlier that week. He must have recently taken a shower because his hair was still damp. He didn't look up at her, and he didn't say a word.
Refusing to cater to his mood swing, she acted as though nothing was different between them. 'Good morning,' she greeted cheerfully.
'Morning,' he muttered, and shoveled another spoonful of cereal into his mouth.
She retrieved sliced turkey breast, Dijon mustard, tomato, and lettuce from the refrigerator and set the items on the counter, along with a loaf of fresh honey wheat bread. 'Did you sleep well last night?'
'Just fine.'
She started putting together her sandwich, waiting for him to return the polite question. When he said nothing more, she took it upon herself to reply. 'I slept great, too. Thanks for asking.' She cast a grin over her shoulder, but it was lost on Ben, who was still concentrating on inhaling his Froot Loops.
Wanting to get some kind of reaction from him, she poured herself a glass of iced tea and went on. 'In fact, I can't remember the last time I had such a good night's rest. It's incredible how a good orgasm can make a person relax, unwind, and sleep like a baby, huh?'
He merely grunted in response.
She carried her sandwich and drink to the table and sat across from him. Frustrated beyond reason by his cool composure and his refusal to acknowledge their hot, sexual encounter the evening before, she decided to shake things up a bit. 'Do you think we can do it again sometime? Because I'd really like to.' She picked up half of her sandwich and took a bite.
That snagged his attention and his head jerked up. His dark gaze, filled with stunned disbelief, met hers. She'd asked the shameless question purely for shock value, and she had to admit her ploy had worked in terms of snapping Ben out of his aloof attitude, but she couldn't deny that the idea of being with him again held immense appeal.
His gaze bore into hers, clearly trying to gauge if she was serious or not.
She exhaled an impatient sigh and opted for the direct approach. 'Are we ever going to talk about what happened last night?'
'I would prefer not to.' Reaching for the box of Froot Loops, he refilled his bowl with the colorful cereal and added more milk.
'That's what I figured,' she said, and summoned the confidence and determination to get through this conversation with Ben-and hopefully come out the other end with exactly what she wanted. 'So, I'm just going to put it all out there and get everything out in the open.'
Needing more food in her stomach, she ate another bite of her turkey sandwich, and washed it down with a drink of cold tea. 'First of all, last night was not a fluke or something that happened in the heat of the moment. The attraction has been building between us for months, and I
He didn't argue or try to stop her, and that gave her an added boost of fortitude to continue.
'Last night, with you, was the first time a guy has ever given me an orgasm of any kind,' she admitted, finding it much easier to open up to Ben the more she talked to him, and the more he listened. 'And it was much better than any orgasm I've given myself.'
'That's the way it should be,' he replied gruffly.
'Yeah, well, tell that to my two exes,' she said wryly, and finished off the first half of her sandwich.
He lifted a brow, silently prompting her to tell him more. Last night she'd given him some insight into her relationship with Jason, but now she was about to reveal a part of her past that not even Madison knew about.
'Besides Jason, I only had one other boyfriend that I slept with. I think I told you that I attended an all-girls' boarding school, and there wasn't a whole lot of opportunity to date or interact with guys. So, by the time I was in college, having a guy interested in me was new and exciting, and especially the hot quarterback on the football team.'
She felt her face grow hot, because even now she could remember how infatuated she'd been with Brian, and how all his flirting and attention had made her feel special-only to realize much too late that it was all a ploy to get into her pants. Just like every other girl he'd dated before her.
Pushing her embarrassment aside, she forged ahead with her story. 'The first time he took me out, we went to dinner and a movie, and afterward he walked me to my dorm and gave me my first French kiss. The second time we picked up fast food, ate it in the car, then he parked in a place that was dark and secluded and we made out. One thing led to another, and before long we were in the backseat of his Honda Accord doing the deed and it was over before I could get used to having a guy inside of me for the first time. He never called me again after that last night, so ultimately I'd given my virginity to a guy who didn't care about anything but getting laid.'
'Jesus.' Ben shook his head, his expression irate on her behalf as he pushed his empty bowl aside. 'The guy was a prick, Christine.'
She gave him a half-smile. 'I can't argue with that, but at the time I couldn't help but wonder what
He stared at her incredulously. '
She cringed, realizing she'd unintentionally opened a can of worms. 'That's a whole other story that we don't have time for right now,' she said, dismissing her comment with a wave of her hand. 'Suffice it to say, I had plenty of reason to believe that I just didn't have what it took to be sexy and seductive and arouse a man's interest sexually. Not to mention have an orgasm when I was with him.'
He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest, which was covered in a screen print T-shirt. 'I think we dispelled that notion last night.'
'Twice,' she corrected him, and shivered when she thought about how hot and erotic their tryst had been, and how she'd love a repeat performance. 'And it was great.
He groaned and scrubbed a hand along his jaw. 'I really don't think we should be having this conversation.'
She knew he'd eventually start resisting, especially when the subject became more intimate and personal
