ROMANCE: Bear Naked Passion (Billionaire Bear Trio Book 2) (20 page)

Chapter 5

Shit. What had she done, making out with her…gaaaa! Her stepbrother. Sure, he was super cute and pretty much fun once he relaxed, but he had some dark, secret weirdness going on and she didn't want to get sucked in. Didn't want to get involved with him anyway. With anyone. She wasn't ready.

But remembering the feeling of his lips on hers, his hand on her skin, her breast…a shudder ran along her spine. Her body had certainly been ready. She'd drenched her panties, she noticed, as she undressed for bed.

Well, no big deal. They would see each other on holidays, maybe birthdays, if Amanda insisted. Chris planned to stay in Maplewood and Robert's house was an hour away. Not really that far, but far enough she could make excuses not to visit on a regular basis. She'd join a softball team, or a bowling league, something to keep her busy and keep her mom off her back. Give her a ready-made excuse not to come over.

Damn him! All those feelings she'd been pushing down, all that sensual longing, the memory of how good it felt to connect with another human being both physically and emotionally…

Hobbling to the bathroom, she dug out the bottle of pain pills. The other half should be enough to knock her into la-la land, and make her forget those few moments of bliss.

****

"Order whatever you'd like, dear," Amanda said, lifting her china coffee cup and sipping gracefully.

"I plan on it," Chris shot back, rattling the parchment paper breakfast menu. She hated that tone her mother got when she said those words. The message was clearly, "Don't you think you should get the low-calorie selection?"

They sat in the Lilac room again. Just the two of them. Robert must really have a butt-load of money to buy these amenities. A note on Regency letterhead, slipped under her door, informed her they would be dining at eight o'clock sharp. La-dee-da. Sorely tempted to skip the meal, her growling stomach suggested otherwise and Chris dressed, combed her hair, and showed up on time. Which Robert and his clan couldn't seem to do.

"Where are the others?"

"They're eating elsewhere. I thought it would be nice if we had a chat, just you and me."

"Mom, I see you every day. We've been chatting for what, a year since I moved in with you?"

"Two years. You've been living with me for two years and three months."

That long?

"Which is what I want to discuss. You know I'm selling the house and you said you don't want to come live with me at Robert's place."

"That is correct." Chris poured herself a cup of coffee from the carafe on the table.

"And where do you plan to live?"

"With some friends. An apartment. I don't know. I've got a few ideas."

"You don't make that much money working as a mechanic."

"I make enough. I'll get by."

"Honey." Amanda put her hand on top of Chris's. Like a touch of sunshine. Her mother always had such warm hands.

Chris fought back the surprising sting of tears.

"It's time to move on with your life. I know Jason upset you terribly, but you have to get past that and make plans for the future. You can resume your classes, get your computer science degree, like you always wanted."

"I will. Soon. I'm just not ready yet. My job keeps me too busy anyway."

Liar.
She had plenty of free time. If she wasn't playing football, she was watching movies and playing online games. Anything to fill that aching void.

"I worry about you, Christina. Please, come and live with us. Then, you won't have to work for a while and can concentrate on school."

"I'll think about it." Chris slid her hand away from the comfort of her mother's and picked up the menu again. "What are you going to have?"

The truth was, Chris thought later as she wiggled into her swimsuit, ever since Jason, her confidence had hit rock bottom. If she didn't know her own husband was gay, how stupid
was
she? She could figure out moods and feelings for everyone else, but not the guy she'd lived with for three years. Coming home early one day, finding him in their bed with another man, had been like getting smacked in the head with a baseball bat.

Jason had apologized up one end and down the other. He wasn't sure what he wanted, he said. When they'd married, he loved her, really he did. Just in the wrong way, it turned out. She didn't hate him for being gay, or being confused, or really, for any reason. More like, she hated herself for not picking up on the obvious.

Chris shook her head. Enough about Jason. She'd go for a swim, then hunt down Lila and take her on that promised exploration tour.

No one else occupied the pool, to her relief. Her ankle still ached a little and she had to move slowly. She didn't want to dodge rambunctious kids or oblivious adults. Or look like a little old lady, hobbling along.

Like everything at The Regency Hotel, the aquatic area was huge. The pool spanned the indoor area and extended outdoors. Two hot tubs, a steam room, and a dry sauna occupied the indoor area also. Several doors led off the main atrium, to massage rooms or some other type of pampering service, no doubt. Maybe she'd get a massage later. Charge it to Robert. Better yet, Ben. And get a really long one, with a facial tacked on.

Easing herself into the water, she began swimming slow laps. Clearly, she was still pissed at the dude for last night. It wasn't like he attacked her. She willingly let him kiss her, and eagerly returned it. So why was she working off her anger chopping the water so ferociously?

Because he'd made her feel. Opened that part of her she'd sealed tightly shut. The way it should stay.

A flash of movement caught her eye and threw off her rhythm, causing her to inhale a spray of water. She stopped stroking abruptly and stood, coughing, glad she was in the shallow end. Shit. Ben. Was he going to appear every time she thought about him?

"You okay out there?"

"Fine. I'm fine." Was she doomed to have him always see her at her worst?

"Guess we're thinking the same thing." He dove into the deep end and swam toward her.

Doubt that.
Too late to escape now, without looking like a complete idiot, she waited till he reached her.

"Hey there." He stopped and stood next to her, shaking the water from his hair like a dog.

"Hey there yourself." She coughed again.

"Swim much?" He grinned.

Bastard. "Yes, I do. You startled me and I got some water in my mouth. You're looking mighty happy this morning. I take it your breakfast was more fun without my mom and me around."

The light in his eyes dimmed and she mentally kicked herself.
Stop being a bitch.

"Lila made a waffle fort. We got kind of silly with the syrup and jelly. Guess I let the fun carry over." He leaned back in the water and floated.

"And you should."

"What?" He raised his head.

"I said you should. Let the fun carry over."

"Still can't hear you. Come here."

She strolled over to where he drifted by the steps. "I said…" she broke off with a yelp as he grabbed her.

"I want you. I want more of this."

And just like they'd never stopped, he wrapped her in his arms and kissed her. She fell into it, allowing the heat, the energy they'd created the previous night, to come rushing back. For just one minute. Then she broke away.

"What are you doing? This is such a bad idea on so many levels."

"I realize that, believe me. I thought about it all last night and this morning. But you know what? I don't care. You're special, and I want you. Want to get to know you."

"So we'll have dinner now and then." She tried to wriggle out of his grasp but he held on. In fact, he smiled as she squirmed, pressing his erection against her.

Oh damn, that felt good. Hard, strong. Her lustful body responded and she felt a burst of wet heat between her legs.

"You don't want me. Shit Ben, you're a doctor. You could have any rich, skinny girl you want…"

"Which is why I'm here. You're right, I am hiding something. Everyone thinks I'm so wonderful, moving to Maplewood to be with my dad. The truth is, I'm also running away from something. Someone. Marlene, the woman my dad thinks I'm going to marry. Not happening."

As he talked, Ben slowly moved them to a secluded corner of the pool near a waterfall. "She's rich, socially connected, skinny, totally into herself and boring as hell. You, on the other hand," he ran a finger down her cheek, making her shiver, "fascinate me. You pay attention to what's going on around you, and you can look at people and see them as they really are. That's a gift."

"More like a curse, sometimes."

"It's because you care about others. Lila is usually super shy, but she senses your beautiful soul. She opened right up with you."

Now he ran his finger lower, tracing her collarbone, then slipping into the V of her swimsuit. She caught her breath.

"But, we're kind of related. Doesn't that creep you out?"

"We are absolutely not related. We have none of the same blood or genes. Would you like me to give you the scientific explanation?"

Hell no. She wanted his hands on her naked flesh. But the last little bit of common sense she had spoke up.

"Shouldn't we go somewhere more private?"

"No. I can't wait."

He peeled her top down and his pupils went large and dark.

"So beautiful," he murmured, and then quit talking.

Lifting one breast, he took it into his mouth, swirling his tongue around her nipple, then grazing his teeth along it. His other hand pushed her suit down further, then reached between her legs to explore. She felt how slick she was as he slid his fingers in and out of her pussy, his thumb teasing and stroking her clit.

He tugged her suit all the way down, lifting her legs to pull it off. Though half her mind cringed at being naked, with a man she barely knew and in public, the other half urged her to spread her legs further and grant him complete access. She let her head fall back and her body lean onto the side of the pool.

Weightless, he could maneuver her around, lifting her hips, resting her ass on his legs. He continued to rub her, sending searing jolts of pleasure up and down her spine. When he dove under the water and began licking her clit, she grabbed his hair and pulled him back up.

"Stop. I'm going to come right now."

"That's okay. I can do this all day."

He pinched her nipple hard, a move he'd already figured out she enjoyed, and plunged two fingers into her pussy. He thrust in and out, using his thumb to tease and stroke her clit, driving her insane with desire. Looking into his eyes, she saw tenderness and lust. He wanted to give her pleasure, to make her come while he watched.

Letting her inhibitions roll far away, she closed her eyes and gave in to the waves of arousal. As he increased the pace of his movements and the pressure on her clit, she arched her back and groaned, pushing her pelvis into his hands. She exploded with sheer delight, losing her footing, then laughed as Ben caught her.

"Wow! I've never done that."

"Had an orgasm?" He stroked her breast with his palm.

"No, had sex in the water."

"How about on a bar stool, by the side of a pool?" Before she could stop him, he lifted her out of the water, up onto the ledge.

"Come on, over here." He held out his hand.

"Someone's going to come in."

"I'm not going to take long, believe me."

Judging by the bulge in his pants, she did. A shiver of anticipation ran through her. She suddenly had to have him inside her, she wanted to wrap her legs around his waist and feel his wet skin sliding against hers. She grabbed her suit from where it floated in the water, took his hand and followed him to one of the stools that surrounded a tiki-style bar.

"Up."

She sat and allowed him to push her thighs open. Then, an attack of self-consciousness hit her. She closed her legs.

"It's so bright."

The sun filtered in through a skylight in the ceiling. In the pool, they'd been shaded. Here, he could see everything. Every dimple, every bulge.

As though he knew just what she was thinking, Ben leaned close and looked her in the eye. "I like big, beautiful women. I like women who drink beer, play sports, and sometimes cuss like a sailor. I like real women. You're perfect."

Her heart flipped. He wasn't just saying this to get into her pants. He meant every word. This time, she kept her legs parted and leaned back onto the bar with her forearms.

"Shit. Stay right there." He dashed over to the table where a shirt and towel lay, and dug around. When he returned, he carried a foil packet.

She grinned. "Pretty sure you were going to get what you wanted, huh?"

He smiled back. "When I want something bad enough, I am, yeah."

Then the smile faded and turned to a look of pure lust as he dropped his trunks and stepped closer.

Oh lord. He had to put that magnificent cock inside her right now. She reached down and lightly stroked him with her fingertips, enjoying the shudder that ran through him. Giving it a squeeze, she then ran her thumb across the tip, remembering how he'd teased her earlier. Spreading the drop of pre-cum that formed, her mouth watered with the desire to taste him.