Chapter 50
Melody
“Oh, hell no .”
Melody awoke with a start, the sound of Ben’s heartfelt exclamation having roused her from what she would guess was a solid sleep.
“Hmmm?” she mumbled.
When he didn’t respond right away, she turned around to face him. She wasn’t sure what she’d been expecting, but it definitely wasn’t the disconcerted expression marring his handsome visage.
She raised a hand to trace the frown lines on his face. “What has put this unhappy expression on your face so early in the morning?” she asked, genuinely curious.
Ben kissed her fingertips as they grazed his lips, but his perturbed expression remained.
Melody felt her lips wanting to twitch up into a smile, but she fought the impulse.
She wasn’t sure what had led Ben to look so adorably disgruntled so early in the day, but she figured she should figure that out before smiling at him too brightly, even though she was finding it hard to contain her pleasure at waking up to find him lying beside her.
Ben’s lips twisted into a partial frown, a look that was no more reassuring than his former facial expression.
“Not to sound like a total caveman, but could you please do me the favor of not wearing another man’s jersey to bed, especially when I’m in bed with you?
” His voice was no less sexy for the hint of grogginess that infused it.
Melody blinked. It took her a moment to realize what he was talking about. When she did, a slow, easy smile formed on her lips.
“What? This old thing?” she asked, glancing down at the front of her special edition “Cassidy No. 31” sleep shirt, before batting her eyelashes dramatically.
She could swear that Ben actually growled.
Try as she might, she couldn’t prevent the giggle that managed to escape her lips.
With the quick reflexes of a seasoned athlete, Ben flipped her onto her back and gently pinned her arms above her head before she could do more than blink. He then dropped his head to her neck and blew a raspberry into the hollow of her collarbone.
Melody squealed and tried to wiggle away from him. She lifted her shoulder to her neck when it looked like he might be preparing to deliver another blow to her sensitive skin.
“That’s right,” Ben said, a smile finally lighting up his handsome face. “Feel badly. Feel badly for turning me into a possessive beefcake.”
“Beefcake?” Melody asked with a laugh, oddly overjoyed by his word choice.
Ben made a face. “Okay, so maybe that wasn’t my best description,” he admitted before releasing the light hold he still had on her hands.
“Oh, I don’t know,” Melody teased as she lifted her hands to his pectorals and traced the grooves of his defined abdominal muscles. “You do have a lot of sexy muscles.”
She couldn’t help but groan when he flexed his muscles beneath her fingers. Damn. Now he was just torturing her.
Ben lifted one of his hands to capture hers and press it against his naked chest. “Beefcake. Caveman. Primitive buffoon. Take your pick,” Ben said.
“I think I still like beefcake,” Melody teased.
Ben shot her a mock glare before continuing.
“Whichever we decide I am, could we please agree that you will at least consider not wearing another man’s jersey to bed?
” Ben quirked his lips in a way that suggested to Melody that he knew he was being a little ridiculous in his request. “I’m man enough to admit the only jersey I want to see you wearing is mine. ”
Heat suffused her body at his words. She couldn’t help but find it super sexy that Ben cared enough about her to feel jealous about seeing her wearing another man’s name and number. Possessive wasn’t a look that suited all men, but Melody felt Ben wore it well.
“Eric gave me this when the team released these sleep jerseys last year,” Melody explained. “I think he was just trying to outsell the other players.” She’d been joking about that last part, but knowing Eric, there was a distinct possibility that might be true.
Ben shook his head. “Cassidy has a thing for you,” he opined.
Melody couldn’t help but laugh. “No, he doesn’t,” she reassured.
Melody frowned as she remembered Eric’s reaction to the news that she and Ben were dating, as well as some of the other signs of jealousy she’d noticed since.
Surely, if Eric were interested in being more than her friend, he would have made his interest known to her by this point in their acquaintance.
He might flirt with her sometimes, but this was Eric they were discussing.
She wouldn’t be surprised to learn he’d flirted with a brick wall.
Melody nodded, earlier opinion confirmed.
“Agree to disagree,” Ben said, obviously sticking with his assessment, but not feeling the need to belabor his point.
“If it makes you feel any better,” Melody offered, “I know Eric’s mom and sisters received the same gift.”
“Some,” Ben admitted. “That does make me feel somewhat better.” His smile was begrudging. It looked like he wanted to maintain his frown, but his naturally positive disposition simply wouldn’t allow it.
Melody played with the hem of the jersey. “Would it make you feel better if I took it off?” she teased.
Ben’s eyes darkened until they resembled sultry pools of chocolate hazelnut. “I definitely think that would be an excellent first step,” he agreed. His eyes traced the motion of her nightdress as the seam fluttered against the skin of her upper thigh.
Feeling bold, as she so often did when Ben looked at her like that, Melody lifted the garment over her head, then dropped it on the floor.