Accidental Sex Goddess (18 page)

His eyes were on her mouth. Was he thinking about where he wanted it? What she would do with it she got him alone and naked? Because she was and the sooner—

“Not tonight then.”

What?
“You’re going to make me wait?”

The side of his mouth tilted up in a grin. “Oh, yeah. I’m going to make you wait, and I’m going to make you think about it. Familiar with delayed gratification?” He leaned close so he spoke against her ear. “I want you to need me so badly you beg.”

She sunk her teeth into her bottom lip to keep herself from doing just that. “Tomorrow?”

He groaned against her neck. “I promised my mom I’d come over for dinner.” He trailed kisses along the side of her neck, and his hand slipped under her skirt, cupping her bare, swollen sex. When he slid his fingers inside her, the movement was sudden and thick and deep.

She gasped. “After?” The word came out more a whimper than a question.

At the front of the house, two men we talking in low tones, and one of them laughed. She heard the slamming of doors, the muffled sound of someone giving orders.

“Not enough time,” Ben said. “When I get you naked, I’m going to need
hours.
”

Inside her, he crooked his fingers and found a spot that—“Oh my, God.” She clung to him, rocked her hips. He pressed closer until she was pinned between him and the wall, his hand between them, his fingers working inside her.

She drew a leg up around him, bunching her skirt at her hips and sending his fingers deeper.

Outside, more doors slammed as the crew returned, more low chuckling.

“Do you have any idea what you look like right now?” The words came out a low rumble against her ear. “Your eyes dark and wild, your leg wrapped around me? You have any idea how sexy you are when you’re turned on?”

“Where are you heading with those?” a voice called from out front.

“We have to stop,” Reese said weakly, but she couldn’t bring herself to push him away. “We should—”

“Nah, just the porch for now.” Another deep voice. Closer now.

“You like it,” Ben growled against her ear. “You like knowing someone could walk in here any minute.” He shifted his hand and found her clit with his thumb.

“Ben.” She wanted and she didn’t want. But his fingers, and his voice, and she couldn’t—

“You like the idea of someone seeing you like this—hot, and needy, and ready to be fucked.”

“God,” she breathed.

“Another time, baby, after I’ve had you to myself, long and slow, I’ll bring you back here.” His hand moved faster, his fingers moved harder, touching something deeper and tender and— “I’ll put you on the counter while we have the place to ourselves. I’ll spread your legs and lick you.”

Another slam of a car door. “Boss is in there?”

“Then when they start coming back from lunch, I’ll take you against this wall.”

She didn’t want that, did she? But his fingers, and the fantasy, and his voice, and this was
so good
.

Outside, more boots on gravel.

“You’ll wonder if we’ll be caught, if someone will find out this secret side of you. This is you, Reese. Hot and sexy and a little bit wild. It’s always been you.”

“Ben—” She felt it coming, clung to him as the pleasure climbed and her muscles contracted around his fingers.

“Don’t fight it.” He breathed the words, his voice sounding as tense as she felt. “Let yourself go. Let yourself be that sexy, amazing woman you are, the woman who doesn’t care if someone sees, the woman who’s going to let me fuck her against this wall.”

The front door squeaked. “Boss? You ready for us?”

She bit his shoulder and let go. Her whole body quaked and shuddered as the orgasm tore through her.

“Boss?”

“Man, back the fuck off,” someone called from the front.

Ben groaned against her neck. “I don’t know whether to kill them or thank them,” he grumbled. His hand was still between her legs and as he withdrew it, she whimpered a little. He might have too.

“I can’t believe I just did that,” she whispered.

His lip twitched up in a lopsided grin. “Which part?”

Her cheeks burned. “All of it.”

“You’re a natural.” He tucked her hair behind her ear and settled her to the ground. “Come with me tomorrow. Mom would like to see you.”

“You want me to be in the same room with your mom next time I see you?”

“Delayed gratification. You’ll thank me.”

She licked her lips. “Can I trust you to be on good behavior?”

He dropped his eyes to her body, to the hem of her skirt, which had fallen to her knees. “I guess that depends on what you wear under your skirt.”

***

Masey looked like someone had run over her dog, and she was flicking through the racks of Nordstrom like the clothes were personally responsible for her loss.

At first, Reese had been worried. Since Reese had met her their freshman year of college, she’d known Masey to be positive and upbeat. If she was upset, there was a good reason.

But after an hour of shopping with Miss Grumpy Pants, Reese had no more information about the source of the woman’s misery and was beginning to grow irritated.

Masey huffed. “There’s nothing I want here. Let’s go somewhere else.” Without waiting for a response, she turned on her heel and headed out of the store.

Crossing her arms, Reese followed her friend.

This
was what she was doing instead of going to Ben’s and letting him strip her bare?
This
was how she was spending her evening when Ben could be using his hands and his mouth and— “Spill it.”

Masey snapped her head up, her eyes less woman scorned and more lost puppy. “What?”

Reese softened. “What’s wrong?”

She shook her head. “It’s nothing.” She pointed to a little boutique. “Want to go in there?”

Normally, Reese steered clear of places that catered to the Halie McCormacks of the world. If the price tags didn’t make her feel inferior enough, her fashion cluelessness finished the job. But thanks to Halie, her bank account was a little healthier and her fashion sense a little stronger. “Sure. Let’s see what we can find.”

At the front of the store, a mannequin wore a red satin gown that made Reese pause. Her fingers itched to touch it. What would Ben think of this dress? Could she even pull it off? The fabric looked like it would cling to her curves and give away every imperfection. Even with her newly adventurous sense of style, she wasn’t ready for that.

“I’m sorry I’ve been such a bitch,” Masey muttered.

Reese nodded, thought of Halie saying,
“Don’t say it’s okay when it’s not. You’re telling people, with every word out of your mouth, how they can treat you.”
“Thank you for the apology,” she said simply.

“It’s just man trouble. I found out my crush has a crush and it’s not me.” Masey held up a hand. “And before you ask, no I don’t want to talk about it. He’s not worth the time.”

“Oh-
kay
.”

Masey blew out a breath. “You probably wish you never said you’d come shopping with me.”

“Well, maybe, but only because I’d rather be naked with Ben.”

As her eyes widened, some of the misery left Masey’s face. “What?” She grabbed Reese’s arm and dragged her to a dressing room, closing the door behind them. “Give me details!”

“Can I help you with anything?” a small, squeaky voice called on the other side of the door.

Reese reached to unlock the door only to have her hand smacked away.

Masey crossed her arms. “I’ll wait here all day if I have to.”

“You don’t have to wait all day. I’d be happy to get you another size, another item?” The bewildered voice on the other side of the door called.

“My friend’s a size fourteen,” Masey called. “Find her something she can have peeled off her…by her new
lover.
” She emphasized the word and jabbed her finger in Reese’s direction.

“Well,” said the voice outside their dressing room. “Just one second.”

Masey tapped her foot, waiting.

Reese bit back a smile. “Some things have happened,” she hedged.

“Such as?”

“Phone sex.”

Masey’s eyes went wide. “Seriously? How was it?”

There were no words, at least not ones she was willing to share. Except maybe, “Dirty.”

“How dirty?”

“X-rated.”

“Was this one of your steps?”

She slanted her gaze at Masey. “I might have implied it was.”

“You
lied
to get Ben to have phone sex with you?” she shrieked.

Reese nudged her. “Keep your voice down!” Then, softer, “I’d had some wine, and I was using his tub. He called my cell, I answered. It happened.”

A stream of deep red satin floated over the dressing room door. “Try this and let’s see what you think.”

Masey whistled. “That’s hot.”

Reese stood up and fingered the red satin that was draped over the door. “Then, today, I went to his job site for lunch, and—” She drew in a shaky breath.
And he made me come my brains out.
“I think we’re going to try to make this work.”

A squeak sounded on the other side of the door. “It will be perfect on you.”

The material kissed her fingertips and Reese imagined the dress would feel as silky on as the lingerie she’d picked out with Ben.

“Did you tell him you lied?”

Reese met Masey’s eyes. “I didn’t lie. Not really.”

Masey put her hands on her hips. “You need to start this right, Reese. Tell him the truth.”

“I need a minute.” Reese pushed Masey out of the dressing room and shut the door. Once she was alone, she removed her clothes and stood naked, staring at the dress. Was Ben at home now? Was he thinking of her?

She pulled the dress over her head, letting it slide like cool water over her skin. She didn’t bother looking in the mirror, but the air danced against her back, so she peeled off her bra before stepping out of the dressing room.

Reese recognized the first “Oh!” as the squeak of the dressing room attendant, and the sigh of “Oh, Reese,” as Masey’s voice, but she didn’t look at either of them. Instead, she walked directly to the three mirrors ahead of her and looked at herself.

The dress itself was beautiful, a deep apple-red satin that floated down her body and touched the floor. But what took her breath away was the way she looked in it. The cowl neck drooped to show off her delicate collarbone. She ran her fingertips over the skin there, realizing for the first time how sexy that spot on her body was. The satin draped over her until it reached her hips, where the material seemed to be cut to match the lines of her body until it flared at the bottom. She ran her hands over her hips and her heart beat a little faster. Her hips were her most abhorred body part, and this dress showcased them like her greatest asset, accentuated the curve from her waist to hip, the full rounding of her rear. She turned slightly in the mirror to survey the back of the dress, which was cut all the way down to the base of her spine.

Ben would love this. Even now, she could imagine his eyes running over her, his fingers skipping along her spine as they traced the way to the small of her back.

“Sexy,” Masey said.

Reese turned to the dressing room attendant, a short woman with a blond bob. “It is beautiful. I just don’t know where I’d wear it.” Even as the words left her mouth, she knew. She needed an outfit for the masquerade ball, and this dress was just the thing.

“Well, if I looked like that in that dress,” the attendant said, “I have a feeling I’d wear it around the house, to the movies, even grocery shopping.”

Reese searched for the price tag under her arm. Her jaw dropped at the numbers. Even with her new salary— “I can’t swing that. I’m so sorry.”

The woman’s grin widened. “It’s last season’s style, so it’s on clearance.”

How much could she afford to blow on a dress she may only wear once?

“Seventy percent off,” the attendant said.

Reese grinned. “Sold!” In the mirror, she caught sight of Masey’s tenuous smile. “You okay, Mase?”

“I’m happy for you. You deserve a good relationship.”

Reese turned to the attendant. “I’ll be up front to pay for this in a few.”

Getting the point, the woman nodded and left them alone.

“I don’t think I’d call it a relationship. Not yet at least,” Reese said softly. “I don’t know what it is.”

“You think you’re just, what? Fuck buddies?”

The term made Reese wince. Because it was accurate or because that was what she was afraid of? “I think I need to be careful,” she finally said.

Masey stepped forward and smoothed invisible wrinkles from the sides of Reese’s dress. “Careful about what?”

“I don’t want to hurt him.” That was it. The fact she’d been avoiding. She wanted Ben, had never stopped wanting him, but what he didn’t know about her mistakes would kill him. Not that she could explain that to Masey. She hadn’t told anyone about that night with Mark.

“If you don’t want to hurt him, you need to be honest with him.”

Reese studied herself in the mirror, half in love with the dress. “I’ll tell him the phone sex wasn’t a step, but I really don’t think he’s going to care.”

“That’s not what I’m talking about.”

Reese turned to see Masey frowning.

“You need to tell him you had sex with Mark.”

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

When Reese climbed into Ben’s truck on Thursday night, his eyes immediately dropped to her denim-clad legs.

“Jeans?” He said it like it was a dirty word.

She clicked her seatbelt into place before looking at him. The heat in his eyes made her want to climb across the seat and straddle him, so it was probably better that she was restrained. “We’re going to your parents’ house. If I wore a skirt, you wouldn’t behave.”

He ran his eyes over her again, muttered, “I don’t want to behave.”

She reached over to put her hand on his thigh. “Then have me over tonight.”

He grinned. “Been thinking about it?”

God, had she. “Maybe.”

He put the truck into gear. “Keep thinking, and by tomorrow night…”