Chapter Twenty-Eight
Over the years, Sarah had dated various men.
Some had been male models, handsome and vain.
Others were well-known singers and indeed, a few charming actors.
One had been a movie producer who’d made her laugh.
In all that time she’d coasted through life never landing on the exact kind of man she might want for the long haul.
Observing Ben dissect his team’s performance, and watching him individually compliment those who deserved it, and professionally correct those who needed that, she couldn’t help being impressed.
Each recruit listened intently, accepted his comments, and processed his critique.
It was as clear to Sarah as the water of a deep, still pond that Ben Paxton was the sort of man others looked to for leadership.
While his features were cut more ruggedly than the magazine male models she’d known, he was attractive in a substantive, more dynamic way. Competent, intelligent, and yes, Sarah admitted to herself, insanely sexy.
How quickly he was becoming in her mind the kind of man she might want for the long haul.
Watching him deal with problems both large and small, she couldn’t take her eyes off him. He was the alpha. The top. The man in command. Like a female animal in the wild, she was drawn to his apex predator appeal.
Most importantly, when she was close to him, all her worries about her stalker evaporated. He’d told her he’d keep her safe. She believed him. With Ben, she could relax. Enjoying the sensation of well-being, she sighed. There was something very primitive about trusting a man with her life.
Beneath her shirt her nipples hardened, and a heated warmth infused her feminine places. She’d known right away she was attracted to him, but she’d also done her best to tamp that down. Now, spending so much time with him wasn’t helping.
In fact, it was having the opposite effect. Why was she fighting this? Suddenly she didn’t have a good answer. She wanted him. Sarah closed her eyes. Except for that one, quick interlude in the barn, she’d already turned him down. How could this be happening?
For the remainder of the day, Ben ran teams through the shoot house. During those hours, Sarah felt as though her body was set on simmer. In the most elemental way a woman wanted a man she admired, Sarah wanted Ben. As the hours passed, her desire built.
Ben was truly a good man: fair, honest, reliable. Until recently, she hadn’t realized the importance of these traits—-a kind of starting point for her.
At times throughout the day, he sat with Sarah and watched the men on camera.
Sometimes he joined them again in the shoot house.
Each time a squad emerged, their mission was discussed.
Improvement was always the goal. To do it faster, better, with fewer mistakes, until the teams moved like well-oiled gears.
Caught up, Sarah forgot about her stalker. She set aside her grief over Mira and simply lived in the moment.
Ben included her, and he listened when she made comments. He was attentive and respectful, sometimes squeezing her arm, holding her gaze. His obvious feelings for her made her feel appreciated and valued.
And hot. She couldn’t deny it any longer. He excited her mind and her body.
As the minutes became hours, Sarah felt drunk, as though she were on a sensual cloud, waiting for her lover to sweep her away. She tried not to make goo goo eyes at him.
Overriding everything, she felt gratitude. Ben had taken seriously the job of protecting her. She knew without reservation that he’d take a bullet for her. With his very life, he would keep her safe from harm.
She wanted to give back to him, show him her gratitude. He’d said he wanted her so much, had made that clear. There was only one remedy. She’d give herself to him.
Had she really told him no more kissing? She suppressed a rueful chuckle. The hell with that! She was going to act. Today. As the day aged, she found herself squirming in nervous anticipation.
At four o’clock, the office started closing up. Because it was a Friday, several of the guys agreed to meet for beers at a local tavern, and they trickled out to their cars.
Not long now, Sarah thought, desperate to have Ben all to herself. She couldn’t wait. He’d made no secret of his wish to claim her in bed. Well, today, he was going to have her.
Just not in bed.
The simmer inside her lit to a low boil.
Rio locked the shoot house doors and closed the outbuildings. He secured all the weapons in a safe. Waving to Sarah, he drove home to his wife and babies.
Finally, she and Ben were left behind.
In Ben’s office, Sarah went to lock the door and then stand behind the big desk. “Are we alone?” she asked, her heart fluttering.
“Yeah, everyone’s left.” Ben gathered up files.
Preoccupied with stacking them, he didn’t notice her flip the lock, and he didn’t look up.
“I’ll have some work to do at home tonight,” he said.
“Hope you don’t mind. I’ve got to go over the new guys’ files, double check their backgrounds. ” He grabbed his truck keys. “Ready?”
“Yes.” Sarah took the laptop from him, set it on another table, and climbed up on the desk.
She rested her bottom on the top, and let her legs dangle free.
Behind her, she leaned her hands on the blotter.
Deliberately, she let an impudent smile curve her lips.
The placement of her hands made her breasts jut forward.
She hoped he liked that. “Yes,” she said, trying to still her trembling. “I’m ready.”
Still holding a few files, he blinked. “Uh, why are you on the desk?”
With languid fingers, she loosened the band at her nape so that her hair hung free and thick about her face.
Her eyes grew heavy lidded. The heat building inside urged her to please him.
The only way she knew to do that was through old fashioned seduction.
“I told you.” Her hands went to the buttons of her shirt and she began to undo them. “I’m ready. For you. For us.”
Ben’s brows shot up and his eyes went to her hands, now unbuttoning her blouse to bare her cleavage.
He went still. “Sweet Pea, don’t tease me.” He almost looked comical, holding the files to his broad chest, hopefulness spreading over his face.
“Why?” Her blouse unbuttoned now, she flung it aside so it landed on the floor. In just a shell pink bra and her jeans and boots, she ran her index finger lightly down her chest to the spot between her breasts. “Don’t you like to be teased?”
Dropping the files onto the floor where they landed in a messy splat, Ben swallowed hard. “Now?” he asked in amazement. “You want to do this now?”
“Yes, Ben,” Sarah confirmed. “I want you now. And I want you right here. On your desk. Does that sound sexy?” With one hand, she swept the remaining pens and papers off the desk, leaving it cleared. A paperweight thudded to the floor.
Ben needed no further invitation.