“You called out to me,” he stated simply.
“How would you even know with the radio so loud?”
“I had to turn it up because your, uh, your moans were distracting me while I drove.”
Tara gasped, drawing her hand over her mouth, “I’m sorry, Ben. I apologize. I, uh, I didn’t think you heard that much.”
“Now, it’s your turn,” he smirked and turned toward her. “I told you what I heard and now tell me about your dream.”
“You pulled the car over and…”
“And?”
Tara's chest tightened with hesitation. Her assertiveness was wearing off. Anxiety rippled through her, and she decided to blurt it out, "You gave me the best orgasm I've ever had."
“I didn’t think you’d say that or say it out loud for that matter.” Ben laughed gleefully at Tara’a admission. It gave him more satisfaction than he would ever want to admit.
Tara let out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding, "It is a dream, right? It could be a build-up of everything that's happened since we've picked up these artifacts. Have I thanked you, Ben?"
“For the orgasm?” he chuckled, “No.”
She shoved him playfully, “Of course not! I meant for getting me through this. I know that you’re meant to protect the artifacts, but-”
"You may not be directly under my care by contract, Tara, but I'll protect you as fiercely as I would anyone I'm paid to." He touched the top of her hand, making her blush with warmth rushing to her cheeks.
6
Ben drove through the night until they neared the Utah-Colorado border. They were three days into it, and Ben had already grown weary of the road. He didn't feel like driving anymore. As he pulled into another hotel parking lot, he made sure to escort Tara and the artifacts through the lobby and to their adjoining rooms. He hated being on the move like this with an unknown assailant on their trail. He hadn't seen anyone following them, but he didn't know what kind of car to look for either.
He secured the room before letting her inside. Tara eyed the room with both of her hands gripping the single handle of the artifacts case in front of her. A hefty gust of exhaustion blew from between her lips, “More beige. Why don’t they design these rooms with some more vivid colors? This white and beige palette is really depressing.”
“It’s fine, Tara.” He gave her half of a grin, “We’re not going to be on the road much longer. Maybe one of these stops will have a wacky theme or something to break up the monotony.”
“What should we eat?” she asked him, setting down the case and picking up the room service menu.
“You know I’m easy.”
That boyish grin drew out a mischievous expression from Tara as she tapped the corner of the menu on the nightstand. “Are you really or are you just teasing me?”
Ben stepped close to Tara, so close that he could see the steady pulse of her heart beating softly in her neck. The smoothness of her skin called to him like a whisper over a breeze. He leaned down so close that his lips practically touched hers and spoke so that she could feel the breath of his words. She could feel his body without it even touching hers. “This is me teasing you, Tara.”
Without giving her the kiss they both intensely desired, he pulled away from her. Tara’s face flushed red with passion, anger, and frustration. In a move swifter that Ben anticipated, Tara grabbed the pillow off of the bed and clocked him with it.
They both erupted into laughter while Ben ducked and dodged the next blows she delivered out of frustration and then in fun. Over his head. One to his side. Then another at his knee. He let her swat him a few more times before yanking the pillow from her hand and wrapping his arm around her waist to pull her in close.
The kiss they shared in this moment held the promise of unbridled passion. Ben claimed her mouth for all of the dreams she'd had of him and refused to tell him about, along with all of the times he wished he could make them come true. His tongue slipped between her lips and chased hers for seconds that seemed like an eternity.
Tara let herself fall back onto the bed without breaking their embrace. Ben held her arched back into his frame while an erection fought against his cargo pants. He wanted to feel the warmth of the orgasm, begging to be released from the most bottomless chasms of her pleasure. Ben's mouth moved from hers down to the hollow of her neck, gliding along the outline of her shoulder while one hand found the bottom of her shirt, but something jabbed in his side.
The hardened steel from the butt of his gun, safely holstered against his rib cage felt like a hard punch in the jaw. Reality crashed over them both as they parted ways with lust laden in their eyes. The silence screamed between them, with Tara pressing her fingers against her freshly kissed lips.
“I think we should get something to eat,” Tara finally said.
"How about you order, and I'll do a sweep of the property? Any kind of beef with veg and potatoes. When we're done eating, we can talk about this."
He noticed her swallow silently like he wanted to devour her. That wasn’t far from the truth, but he’d devour her another time when they didn’t need to be vigilant about their surroundings. Ben left the room confidently, but as soon as he stepped into the hall, he planted his back against the door to calm his throbbing erection.
"Football, kickoffs, three-point shots, target practice, boxing, hitting the bag, sparring with Tate. That did it," Ben laughed to himself. The image of him sparring with Tate left him completely flaccid. He let his eyes
