Ben looked away from her and she thought she caught a blush forming on his cheeks. Who knew men could blush? She had never seen Ben blush before. His teammates did not feel the same way. Tiny chuckled and slapped Ben on the back. “Golden boy here? He earned his name because he excelled at everything he did. Any weapon he touched he shot perfectly. Any obstacle course they put in front of him he passed and set records.”
Hannah could see that about him. He was perfect in every way. He was perfectly formed and not a scar marred his perfect features. She recalled all the ‘missions’ he had been on with her the enemy growing up. He had been nothing if not a perfectionist.
“Their exaggerating.” Ben tried to reassure her.
“Yeah, right. We all had to follow behind you. That was no easy task.” Tiny gibed him. “I’m not even going to mention the women. You didn’t even have to do anything and they all came flocking. We never stood a chance.” Tiny chuckled to himself.
Hannah knew he probably had a reputation with the ladies but to hear is spoken out loud made her wince. He was a playboy just like she thought. What had she expected? Him to pine for her? It didn’t matter, she reminded herself. She didn’t want anything to do with him anyway. He gave her a temporary roof over her head and he was taking her home after she gave them information. This just served as a reminder how different they really were. Her parents had been right to forbid a relationship between them. Ben was a career military man and would always put his country first. She couldn’t fault him for his dedication but she wanted a man who would make her a priority too.
Hannah looked up at Ben and saw his jaw clench and a murderous look came in his eye. Was he going to hurt his friend? She hoped not. She had seen enough bloodshed to last her a lifetime.
“Everyone out,” Ben growled and slowly pivoted towards his friends.
“Midas, don’t be embarrassed.” Tiny lost his humor and glared at Ben. “You should be proud of what you have. It’s a god given gift. Most would kill to have it.”
“I said get out.” His tone could cut steel. No one contradicted him and slowly made their way to the exit.
Hannah remained on the couch and rubbed her sweaty palms on her pant legs. She could make a quick escape to her bedroom but she had no idea where it was. She could leave as well but she had no money and no place to go. She was well and truly stuck where she was.
Ben stood up and clenched and unclenched his fists and paced back and forth. He was angry and she didn’t know why. The one called Tiny hadn’t said anything she hadn’t already figured out on her own.
“I’m sorry you had to hear that, Hannah.” Ben kept his back to her but she could see his body was wound up so tight she feared if she touched him he would break. Why was he so tense?
“It’s fine, Ben. We all have a past. Some are more different than others. It must be nice to have so much easy talent.” She tried appeasing his pride hoping that would smooth out his ruffled feathers. If he was angry he could lash out at someone and she didn’t want it to be her.
Ben snorted at her and turned to face her. “Yeah it’s a great talent but to maintain that is a pain in the ass. Everyone expects you to be perfect at everything and if you’re not you’re seen as a failure. Training on the courses and facing real danger are completely different. I’ve made mistakes like everyone else and I have scars to prove them. I’m not perfect, Hannah. Not by a long shot. I thought I was hot shit when I first went through training and I made everything look easy. I got a big ego because of it.”
“And the women?” She didn’t know why she asked. She didn’t want to know about him with other women. She had no rights to him. He made his feelings about her clear when he walked away from her and never looked back.
Ben hung his head in shame. “It was fun in the beginning, I’m not going to lie. Everyone would try to get a certain girl and all would get shot down. I got her with little effort. It lost its flare quickly. There was no challenge in it anymore. None of those girls wanted me for me. They saw a pretty face and wanted to hook up with a military guy. I honestly haven’t been with anyone in a while.” He didn’t know why he admitted that to her, but Hannah had always been special to him. He had tried purging her from his soul more times than he could count and it never worked so he gave up trying.
Hannah looked up at him at the last statement. He hadn’t been with anyone in a while? “Maybe you just need someone to challenge you.” She husked.
Ben shook his head and stepped closer to her. He cupped the side of her face and looked deep into her eyes. “I just lost interest in meaningless sex. I wanted something more but didn’t dare hope. Until…until you came back in my life.” He shouldn’t have admitted that. Hannah was his weakness. Always would be. If she knew it she could use that against him. He was such an idiot.
Hannah felt her knees weaken and collapse at his feet. He knew the right thing to say she would give him that. “I’m just something broken you want to fix.” She was hardly the girl he once knew
