Better with Ben (How to Tame a Heartbreaker Book 3) (10 page)

"But you wouldn't have?"

"No."

She could hear that he was smiling as he said it. His calmness about the incident that she had worked up to be such a huge deal was comforting.

Chapter 10

They didn't talk about his job or dead bodies at all after that. They talked about everything from four-wheelers to ice cream, but no death, or dying, or otherwise depressing stuff. By the time the votive candles burned down halfway, they'd talked and laughed so much that Taylor felt more like herself than she had since before the incident occurred.

Without warning, the lights flickered a few times before staying on. She had every light the house turned on before the electricity went out, so when it came back on, it was extremely bright. That, coupled with the microwave beeping to life startled her into sitting up straight.

She looked back at Ben as if the new atmosphere might have changed him somehow. His face broke into an easy smile. He was so rugged and handsome. She reached up and ran a few fingers over the short hair above his ears. She wasn't sure why she did it. She hadn't planned on touching him, but her hand sort of did it involuntarily.

"Molly gets the clippers out once a week," he said. He ran a hand over the closely cropped hair she'd just been touching. "She touches it up like every four days," he said. "She's mastering the fade—actually, she tells me it's called a taper now, but I can't get used to that."

"It's really handsome on you," Taylor said.

He smiled at her, but she still felt awkward for saying it. Awkward enough that she stood and made her way into the kitchen. She went to the microwave and pushed the appropriate buttons to make it stop blinking 12:00. She didn’t set it for the
actual
time, but at least it stopped blinking, and really it was just an excuse to stand up. Staying in there any longer might result in some more random hair touching or compliment giving.

"I really appreciate you coming over," she said.

"Are you kicking me out?" he asked, rising to his feet and stretching.

She laughed nervously. "No, oh, no, I really appreciate you coming over. I think it worked. I'm not feeling Passout Kings anymore."

You would know that right when she said that she felt a wave of lightheadedness wash over her. Her smile stayed in place while she had a quick internal battle where she tried to convince herself she was fine.

"What's
pass out kings
?"

"Huh? Oh, that's the name of a punk band I used to like. And every time I feel like I'm about to pass out, I call it Passout Kings in my head."

"Well don't be too shy to call me again if pass out kings comes back." He crossed to the kitchen with what looked like the intention to say goodbye. "You wanna come to my apartment for a little bit?"

"Oh, I shouldn't," she said. "I have to work in the morning, and Molly and Nick are there hanging out. I think I'll just stay here now that the lights are back on. Gina should be here soon anyway."

As if on cue, they saw headlights pull into the driveway. Taylor wasn't sure whether it was Gina or Kent, but it still seemed as if it were on cue.

"You sure you're good?" Knowing they had very little time remaining with privacy, he crossed to her and took her in his arms without hesitation. She opened her arms and fell thankfully onto his chest. Her skin tingled with pleasure in the places they touched, and she couldn't stop a smile from spreading across her face.

"I love it that you're affected by what you saw," he said. "And I want you to know it's not as bad as you might be thinking with me. I'm not just some heartless kille—"

"I know that," she interrupted. "You don't have to explain that. I feel bad for saying all that earlier."

"Saying what?"

The headlights that had been coming through the window turned off and they knew they only had a few more seconds. He squeezed her tightly.

"Nothing," she said. If he was going to act like she never said
she wondered what type of person it took to take another person's life
then she wasn't going to remind him about it.

"I'm not going to really be much help when I'm out of town, but Molly has an email address I check when I can."

"Oh no, I'm good. I'm fine. I know you're busy. I appreciate you coming over tonight." She smiled. "I blame the storm for making me such a baby."

"You're tougher than most," he said. "Most people don't even consider going without meds if they think they'll take away what you're going through."

"Don't give me too much credit. I still might go get them."

"And that's okay too," he said. The door was in the middle of opening when Taylor pulled back far enough where they were no longer touching. She looked at him with a sincere, sweet expression and mouthed the words, "Thank you," and his mouth rose in a devastatingly handsome smile.

"Hey, Ben. I heard about your fancy new ride," Gina said. "I'm surprised you left the windows down, though."

Ben didn't even flinch.

He wasn't the type to react to something like that because he wasn't the type to forget things. "Nice try," he said. "But I'm way too OCD for that."

"You're OCD?" Taylor asked, cutting him a surprised look.

He laughed. "I'm OCD enough to not leave my windows down in the middle of a storm."

"I would have totally bought it if she would have tried that on me," Taylor said, laughing and shaking her head.

He smiled and held a fist out for Taylor to bump. It seemed sort of distant after they'd just been holding onto each other for dear life, but Taylor smiled and brought her fist up to meet his.

"Have fun on your trip," she said.

"You're not leaving because
I'm
here, are you? Because I'm going to shower and go to my room. I have more studying to do."

"No, I was leaving anyway."

"The electricity was off," Taylor explained. "It just came back on."

Gina didn't ask how Ben ended up being the one keeping her company. She just smiled as she crossed the room to get a bottled water out of the fridge.

"Tell Molly I said hi," Taylor said.

"Yeah, tell her for me while you're at it… and I guess this is
hi and bye
to you too." Gina walked by Ben with her fist out imitating the bump she'd seen them do a second before. Ben returned it and gave her a big grin.

"Hi yourself," he said.

Hi yourself?
Was he flirting? His handsome smile was directed at Gina, and Taylor felt herself being gripped by the green-eyed monster.

"Thanks again for coming," she said, drawing his gaze from Gina's.

He smiled as he started toward the door. "Walk with me out to my truck," he said, looking back at Taylor. "I have to show you something."

She had no idea what he could possibly have to show her, but she felt an explosion of sheer joy in her gut at the thought of being invited to go out there with him. Taylor didn't say anything. She just crossed to the door where she slipped on a pair of fur-lined boots she didn't mind getting wet.

Gina went on into her bedroom, and Taylor followed Ben outside. The rain had slowed considerably, but it was still coming down in earnest. He glanced back into the house through the window as if he was contemplating something.

"Do you mind coming to the truck, or are you trying not to get wet?"

"I'm okay with a little rain," Taylor said. She didn't ask him why he wanted to go out there. She was afraid he'd change his mind if she drew attention to it.

"I'd normally open the door for you, but—"

"I got this," she said. She looked into the rain and assumed the stance of a racer at the starting line.

"Go," he said. They took off at the same time and made it into the truck within a few seconds. He may have beaten her by a second, but it was close enough to be called a tie. They looked over the console at each other, laughing at the silliness of running through the pouring rain and making a crash landing in their respective spots.

Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail and she smoothed back the pieces that had fallen out as she ran. She even dared to open the mirror and glance at her face just to make sure she didn't have mascara running down her cheeks. All clear.

"All clear," she said, looking at him with a smile as she closed the mirror and visor. She adjusted in her seat and regarded him over the console. He started the ignition, pressed a few buttons on the dash, and turned to face her.

"I'm sorry to drag you all the way out here, but your roommate came home and I didn't have time to do something I wanted to do."

Please say kiss me, please say kiss me, please say kiss me.

"What?" she said, hoping she looked curious and casual. "Kiss me?" She meant for it to come out as a joke, but she wanted it to really happen so badly that she probably didn't deliver it how she intended.

"How'd you know? Am I that obvious?" She laughed as if she assumed they were both just joking.

"I seriously brought you out here to kiss you," he said. Her giggling trailed off and she looked over the console at him. The console looked like it could fit into the seatback, making the front seat into a bench seat of sorts, but for now it was in it's down position, and it might as well have been a
mountain
in between them. Taylor looked across it at him, wondering how in the world they'd ever be able to meet in the middle without an awkward approach. She'd been laughing but wanted so badly to take him seriously.  Not knowing what to say, she gave him a smile.

"Are you okay with that? Because your mouth's asking for it, and I hate to disappoint."

Taylor touched a hand to her mouth and looked at him with mock confusion. "My mouth didn't say anything about you kissing me," she said.

"Sure it did," he said. "I mean, the
words
didn't come out of your mouth necessarily but the
mouth itself
—it's been begging me to kiss it."

Taylor gave him an expression of deadpan confusion. "It has? For how long?"

"Oh, since we met, for sure."

"Really?"

"Really." He stared at her from across the grand canyon of a console. Without further deliberation, he reached out and lifted the console into its seatback position. Taylor didn't even wait for him to invite her. She instantly scooted into the seat next to him, nestling in with a wiggle before looking up.

"I'm gonna kiss you now if that's okay with you."

She bit her lip shyly and nodded. Ben put a hand onto her jaw and lifted it slightly. Their mouths were only inches apart, but he just held her there looking into her eyes with only the lights of the dash. He knew her eyes were blue, but it was so dark, he couldn't see the color that well. It didn't matter. His gaze drifted to her lips. He studied the indention beneath her nose and followed the curve of her upper lip. Again, he looked into her eyes, this time with his own deadpan expression.

"Yeah, it's definitely begging."

He glanced down at her smile before deciding he couldn't take it anymore. He caught her mouth in his, and Taylor experienced a gut-wrenching wave of desire the instant she felt his warm lips on hers.

An almost imperceptible moan escaped her lips—at least she
hoped
it was imperceptible. Ben put kiss after tender kiss on her mouth. She could tell he was trying to be gentle, so she took it upon herself to deepen it just a little. Considering the fact that she initially called him to help her with the anxiety attack, she was a little hesitant to go at it. At the same time though, she was desperate for more than a peck on the lips. That's not to say that they weren't glorious pecks, because they were. She just had to have a little more.

The next time he put his mouth to hers, she opened slightly, taking a little of his lower lip into hers. He returned the favor by sucking on her lip gently. He used his tongue to ever so gently part her lips, and she opened to him willingly. Their tongues worked in slow, gentle strokes for a few seconds. It was amazingly erotic for such a gentle kiss.

Even as he pulled back, he placed a few final kisses on her lips as if he was ending reluctantly. He rubbed a hand over his face in a frustrated gesture.

"Shit Taylor, it wasn't supposed to be that good."

She laughed. "What'd you expect, chop liver?"

"No, but I didn't think I'd like it
that
much," he said, laughing and adjusting the way he was sitting. "You might have just gotten yourself stuck into doing that again sometime."

"Oh, I'm
totally
open to that," she said, smirking at him. "Just call whenever you're wanting to do it again, and I'll see what I have on the books."

"Oh, you'll check your books?"

"Yeah, but Mondays are generally pretty good for me."

He smiled. He was just gorgeous enough to make her do something she might not normally think was a good idea. She wanted to leave him wanting more, and thought she'd just take off for the house. Without warning, she reached up to put one last chaste kiss on his mouth. It was quick and unplanned, and she sort of just settled for the corner of his mouth since it was easy to reach. She felt him kiss her back, but it was too short to enjoy. No turning back now. She reminded herself of the benefits of leaving him wanting more as she made her move to get out of the truck.