Suddenly, Jess was overwhelmed by a wave of desire so strong that she almost ran off the road. Giving herself a savage mental shake, she slowed down to a crawl, then turned shakily into Catherine’s driveway, proceeding very carefully up the cement road, grateful now that she had a job to do which would take her most of the evening; very grateful that she had no reason to go back to that seductive cottage till well after Ben had left with Andy for their night on the town. Thank heavens he wouldn’t get home till the small hours of the morning. By which time she would be sound asleep.

Jess had to laugh over that one. There would be no sleeping for her tonight.

But at least she could pretend she was asleep.

* * *

Things didn’t turn out quite like that, however. Jess finished the dress around nine-thirty, after which she refused all offers of wine, saying she was tired, then drove back to the cottage. In actual fact she’d only just remembered that she’d promised to give her mother a ring. This she did whilst she opened a bottle of the white wine resting in the door of the fridge. She poured herself a large glass, sipping it as she sat at the kitchen table, and gave her mother an edited version of what had happened, telling her the truth about the dramas over the wedding and how she’d fixed the dress tonight, plus the plan for her to be a substitute matron of honour the next day. Naturally, she didn’t mention anything about her being thought of as Ben’s girlfriend or that she was staying with him, alone, in this cottage. She admitted staying as a guest at the winery but that was all.

‘It sounds like it’s been a rather surprising trip so far,’ her mother said.

‘It certainly has,’ Jess agreed with considerable irony as she poured herself a second glass of wine.

‘You’ll have to ring me tomorrow night and tell me all about the wedding.’

Jess winced. She could hardly tell her mother why that wasn’t going to happen.

‘Mum, the wedding’s not till late in the afternoon. By the time the reception is over and I get to bed, it’s going to be very late and I’m going to be exhausted. I’ll call you on Sunday morning. But not too early, mind. I might sleep in.’ Jess was grateful that her mother couldn’t see inside her head at this moment, as the images in there were not fit for a caring mother’s consumption.

‘Oh, all right,’ her mother said. ‘But don’t forget to take some photos. I’d love to see what you looked like. What you all looked like, actually. Which reminds me. What does this Ben fellow look like? You said he was nice but I have a feeling he’s good-looking, am I right?’

‘Yes, he’s very good-looking,’ she admitted, struggling to keep her voice calm in the face of a looming panic attack over her sexual inadequacies. ‘And very tall.’

‘Tall, dark and handsome, eh?’

‘No, he’s actually fair-haired, with blue eyes.’

‘And how old, did you say?’

‘I don’t know. Early thirties, perhaps.’

‘And rich?’

‘Filthy rich, Mum. His father’s a billionaire.’

‘Goodness. And did you tell him that you lost your job at Fab Fashions because of him?’

‘I did mention it. And he promised to see what he could do.’

‘Well, that was nice of him. But did he mean it?’

The jury was still out on that score. ‘Maybe. I guess we’ll have to wait and see, Mum. Now, I really must go. I’m tired.’ That was a lie. She had so much adrenaline flowing through her body at the moment that she had no hope of sleeping. That was why she was downing all this wine; sometimes wine made her sleepy. Unfortunately, it didn’t seem to be working.

‘Driving can be very tiring,’ her mother said. ‘Goodnight, darling. Sleep tight. Love you.’

Jess suddenly came over all emotional.

‘Love you too, Mum,’ she choked out, then hung up.

Jess decided after her third glass of wine that it definitely wasn’t working. So she put the half-drunk bottle back in the fridge and headed for the bathroom. A long, hot bath filled in another hour but didn’t relax her one iota. She’d just emerged from the bathroom, dressed in a nightie, when she heard a car screech to a stop in front of the cottage. Running to the front living room, Jess peered through the curtains in time to see Ben climb out of the back of a taxi.

Flustered—what on earth was he doing home this early?—she whirled to make a dash for the bedroom, in her haste catching her left foot under the curled up corner of a rug. She cried out as she fell, her hands bracing themselves to protect her face whilst her knees hit the wooden floorboards with a painful thud.

Ben heard Jess cry out as he made his way up onto the front veranda. He dashed inside, switching on the hall light and calling her name at the same time.

He found her sitting back on her haunches in the semi-dark on the living-room floor, dressed in a red satin nightie with spaghetti straps which showed off her gorgeous figure. Her lovely hair was down, spread over her shoulders in dishevelled disarray, adding to the criminally sexy picture she presented.

‘What happened?’ he asked, and held out his left hand to help her up.

‘I fell over,’ she said, but made no move to take his hand, her eyes on her ground. ‘My foot got caught under the rug.’

‘I see,’ he said, not seeing at all. What was she doing in this room, anyway? The lights weren’t on. Neither was the television. ‘Well, do you want to take my hand or are you going to stay there all night?’ he said, his tone betraying his inner frustration.

She glanced up at him.

Jess only just managed not to groan out loud. God, but he looked utterly gorgeous dressed in grey stone-washed jeans, an open-necked white shirt and a fabulous looking charcoal-grey jacket.

Finally, she placed her hand in his, his fingers closing tightly around hers as he pulled her to her feet.

‘What on earth are you doing home this early?’ she asked whilst she tried to ignore the direction of his gaze. Right where her erect nipples were poking against the red satin. Maybe he would think she was cold. Though she wasn’t, having turned off the air-conditioning when she’d got home. The temperature had dropped considerably once the sun had gone down but it was a nice twenty-three degrees inside the cottage.

‘Do you want the truth?’

‘Of course.’

‘I told Andy I had a vicious headache and that if he wanted me on deck tomorrow, then I should go home.’

‘And do you? Have a vicious headache?’

‘No. I simply couldn’t stop thinking about you.’

Jess tried not to let his flattering words seduce her but it was way too late for such a futile struggle.

‘I’ve been thinking about you too,’ she admitted somewhat shakily.

‘So do I still have to wait till tomorrow night?’

She shook her head.

She half-expected him to kiss her then but he didn’t. Instead, he just smiled.

‘I need a shower,’ he said. ‘I smell of beer. Can I tempt you to join me?’

The desire to lick her suddenly dry lips was intense but somehow she resisted. Jess swallowed instead, putting some moisture into her mouth. ‘I…I’ve just had a bath,’ she said, her voice thick and throaty.

‘Then you can come and watch.’

Jess blinked at him, her mouth falling open briefly before snapping shut again.

‘All right,’ she said, wondering if this was what he’d meant earlier about her liking him telling her what to do.

She did. Which was weird. If Colin or any of her other boyfriends had suggested the same thing to her, she would have told them to get lost. Bathrooms were private places, in her opinion. They weren’t places where you watched. Yet she wanted to watch Ben shower, didn’t she? She wanted to see him naked. Wanted to do all sorts of things she’d never done before.

Her head spun at the thought.

When she didn’t move, he frowned at her. ‘You’ve changed your mind already?’

Changed her mind? Was he insane? How could she possibly change her mind when she’d already lost it?

She shook her head.

‘Good,’ he said, and held out his hand to her again.

CHAPTER TWELVE

BEN LIKED THE WAY Jess let him lead her meekly into the bathroom. He could tell she was turned on, the same way he was. Even the slightest touch turned him on with her. It was quite incredible, the effect she had on him. But nothing he couldn’t control, now that she was being deliciously cooperative.

He settled her, somewhat stunned-looking, on the side of the claw-footed bath, then started undressing.

* * *

Jess could not believe she was doing this, sitting there watching whilst Ben took all his clothes off in front of her. But, dear heaven, it was exciting!

After he kicked off his shoes, he removed his jacket and then his shirt, revealing an upper half which didn’t look like it spent all day seated behind a desk. He must work hard in a gym, she decided, or go swimming a lot. His light tan suggested this might be the case. He had broad shoulders, one of which carried a nasty bruise. But it didn’t seem to stop his arm working. His chest muscles were wide and well-toned, his stomach a surprising six-pack. Very little body hair, she noted, and liked.

Jess held her breath when he whipped the belt out of his jeans, but he just dropped it on the floor, then ran the zipper down. When his hands hooked under the waist band and pushed down, she finally let go of the air trapped in her lungs.

He was wearing black underpants, made out of a silky material which hid nothing.

She wondered if he was as big as he looked. Jess had always believed that size did matter. To a degree. She liked a man to be well built in that area.

He was. Bigger than her previous boyfriends. And magnificently erect. Circumcised, with only a smattering of fair hair at the base. She knew he would feel—and taste—fantastic.

He stood facing her, a golden Adonis in every way.

‘Now you, Jess,’ he commanded. ‘Stand up and take that nightie off. I want to see all of you.’

She stood up onto shaky legs, utterly compelled to obey him. Her belly tightened as she slowly slipped the straps off her shoulders, first on, then the other. She wasn’t wearing any undies. She never wore undies to bed. The nightie slid down her body with a whoosh, pooling around her feet on the tiled floor.

His gaze dropped down to those feet first, then gradually travelled upwards, lingering on the neatly waxed V of curls between her thighs, before lifting to her breasts.

‘Beautiful,’ he said.

Jess knew she was attractive, but she’d never considered herself beautiful. She had physical flaws, like most people. Couldn’t Ben see that her nose was too big for her face? So was her mouth. The back of her thighs had some dimples of cellulite which no amount of massage or cream could remove, though he wouldn’t see that unless he ordered her to turn around.

Jess suspected Ben wasn’t about to do that. He was enjoying looking at her breasts too much. Admittedly, they were the best feature of her figure. Full and high, with perky pink nipples that grew astonishingly in size when they were played with. Or when she was excited. Which she was right now. God, yes. Her whole breasts seemed to be swelling under his hot, hungry eyes, though perhaps it was just Jess’s ragged breathing.

‘No more arguments or excuses, Jess,’ he said thickly. ‘You’re coming into that shower with me and then we’re going to bed. Together.’

Once again, she obeyed him, blindly and without protest, letting him pull her with him into the shower cubicle. And it was there, as the hot jets of waters did dreadful things to her hair, that he cupped her face and finally kissed her properly.

Jess had been kissed many times in her life. And by men who were quite good kissers. But Ben kissing her was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. She felt its effect through her whole body right down to her toes. It overwhelmed her. Then obsessed her. She could not get enough of it. And of him. When at last his head lifted, she sank against him in total surrender, her arms wrapping tightly around his waist.

‘Are you on the pill, Jess?’

She pulled back enough to glance up at him. ‘What?’

‘Are you on the pill?’

Her mind cleared a little. ‘Well…yes…but…’

‘You still want me to use protection.’

‘Please,’ she said, despite being tempted to say no. Just do it to me. Right here and now.

‘In that case, I think we should cut this shower short this time.’

Again, no protest from her. She just stood there whilst he switched off the taps, then reached for one of the towels hanging on the rack, rubbing rather roughly at her dripping hair before giving himself a brisk rub down. Then he scooped her up in his arms and carried her back to his bedroom.

Jess shivered as he laid her gently down on top of the bed, goose bumps springing up over her body.

‘Are you cold?’ he asked as he lay down next to her, propping himself up on his left side.

‘A little,’ she lied.

‘Do you want to get under the covers?’

She shook her head.

‘I’ve been wanting to do this all day,’ he said, and bent his lips to hers once more, his right hand sliding up into her still damp hair.

His return to gentle kisses surprised her at first, then entranced her. She sighed under their soft sweetness. Gradually, however, the pressure of his mouth grew stronger. When his teeth nipped at her lower lip, she gasped, and his tongue slipped inside once more, Jess moaning softly as it explored the sensitive skin of her palate. She gasped again when a hand covered her right breast, playing with her nipple in ways she’d definitely never experienced before: soft rubbing with his palm interspersed with quite painful pinching till it was on fire.

And all the while he kept on kissing her, his tongue alternately snaking deep, then withdrawing before plunging in again. When his hand moved across to her other nipple, she felt momentarily bereft for the abandoned one. If he could have played with both at the same time, she would have been in heaven. Or hell. Jess could not work out if she was in agony or ecstasy. Not that she cared, as long as he didn’t stop.

He stopped, both the kissing and the nipple pinching, leaving her moaning in dismay till she realised why he’d stopped. Already he was down there with that knowing mouth and tongue of his, making her groan and squirm as he licked and sucked and showed her that all her other lovers had been seriously ignorant of a woman’s body. Ben knew exactly what to do to bring her to the brink of coming, not once but several times. How he knew when to back off, she wasn’t sure. Maybe it had something to do with his fingers being deep inside her all the while. Maybe he could feel the way her muscles tightened when she came close to coming.

His head lifted at last. ‘Enough, I think,’ he muttered, then collapsed on his back beside her, breathing very heavily.

She levered herself up onto her elbow and stared over at him. ‘You’re not stopping, are you?’

‘Just for a few seconds. I need a breather, and then I have to get a condom on. I put two in that top drawer this afternoon,’ he said, nodding towards the bedside chest next to her. ‘Get one for me, would you, Jess?’

Jess wondered if Ben always used protection, even when his girlfriends were on the pill. She had a feeling that he did. Maybe he was worried that one of them might try to trap him into marriage. Seriously rich men would have to worry about such things, she imagined. If this Amber wanted to marry him enough, it wouldn’t be beyond her to do such thing.

‘Put it on for me,’ he said after she extracted one from the drawer.

Oh, Lord, Jess thought as she opened the foil packet and turned back to him. She had put a condom on before. Just not whilst she was in such an excited state. She found it extremely difficult with her hands shaking so much. When Ben groaned, she shot him a worried look.

‘Am I hurting you?’

His smile was both tortured and wry. ‘Oh, honey, you’re killing me. But not in the way you think. Would you mind being on top?’

‘You want me on top?’ she echoed. Whilst it was her favourite position, she hadn’t imagined it would be Ben’s. Earlier on, he’d seemed keen to be the one in control. And whilst it had turned her on, being ordered around, she was happy to have their roles reversed for a while. Though the position had been his idea, come to think of it.

‘I would have thought you’d like being on top,’ he said.

‘I do quite like it,’ she confessed.

‘Then what are you waiting for?’

What, indeed?

Ben’s stomach tightened when she moved to straddle him, his heart thundering in his chest when she took hold of him and presented the bursting tip against the entrance to her body. He could feel the heat and the wetness of her, but he couldn’t see it. She wasn’t one of those girls who totally denuded herself of body hair, her sex protected by a smattering of soft dark curls. Ben rather liked that. It was different. She was different. In every way. There was no pretence about her. She was sweet and very natural, and he wanted her as he’d never wanted any woman before. His excitement was so great that he had no patience with playing games tonight. He wanted her now!

A groan escaped his lips as she pushed him inside, her flesh slowly swallowing his with a silky snugness which was incredibly pleasurable. He braced himself mentally against what it would feel like when she moved. He didn’t want to come too soon. Hell, no. That would never do!

Jess had been right. It felt incredible with him deep inside her, filling her totally. He obviously liked it too, judging by the look on his face. Though was it rapture she was seeing, or torture? A mixture of both, she imagined. Men could be very impatient at this stage. So she kept her movements slow and gentle at first, lifting her hips only slightly before lowering herself down again. But it wasn’t long before her own desire for satisfaction took over, urging her to lift her hips higher, then to plunge down harder. She tried not to think about anything but her sexual pleasure, valiantly ignoring the emotional responses which hovered at the edges of her brain. This wasn’t love, she told herself firmly. This was just sex. Great sex, yes, with an utterly gorgeous man. But still just sex. Enjoy it, girl. Because you could go the rest of your life without finding a lover like Ben.

Their coming together distracted her totally from any thought of love, her own orgasm so intense that all she could think about were the physical sensations. The electric pleasure of each spasm, plus the wonderful relief from the tension which had gripped her all evening. Finally, when it was over, every pore in her body succumbed to a huge wave of languor. She collapsed across him, totally spent, sighing a long, sated sigh when he wrapped his arms around her, his lips in her hair.

‘That was fantastic,’ he whispered. ‘You’re fantastic.

‘No, don’t move,’ he said when she tried to lift her head. ‘I want to fall asleep like this, with me still inside you. My only regret is that we can’t do it again. I’m just too damned tired all of a sudden. But I’ll make it up to you tomorrow. I promise. Just stay where you are, you delicious thing. Stay,’ he repeated, his voice slurring a little.

Within thirty seconds, he’d fallen asleep.

Less than a minute later, she followed him.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

BEN WOKE TO the smell of bacon cooking, plus no Jess in bed with him. Hell, he’d really passed out last night. And slept for a good ten hours, he realised with amazement as he glanced at his watch. And whilst he regretted not waking—he hadn’t intended sex with Jess to be so short and swift—the long sleep had done him a lot of good. His shoulder was one hundred percent better and he felt marvellous.

Ben fairly leapt out of bed, calling a hurried, ‘Good morning,’ out to Jess before bolting for the bathroom. After a very quick shower, he wrapped a towel around his waist, then made his way to the kitchen, anxious to see Jess again. She glanced over her shoulder as he walked in, her lovely eyes lighting up at the sight of him.

‘You look good in a towel,’ she said, smiling.

‘And you look good in anything,’ he returned, his gaze raking over her from top to toe. She was wearing the same fitted black trousers again, but her top was different, a simple scoop-necked sweater in a bright-green colour which suited her dark hair and olive skin. She wasn’t wearing any make-up and her hair was up, secured on top of her head in a rather haphazard fashion. On closer inspection, he could see she’d wrapped it around itself in a knot, a few bits and pieces already escaping. Her lack of artifice continued to enchant him. Amber was always fully made up and her hair groomed to perfection before showing herself in the morning.

Jess made Amber look terribly shallow. And impossibly vain.

‘Flatterer,’ she said, laughing, then turned back to the stove.

‘That smells good,’ he said, coming up behind her to slide his arms around her waist.

Jess tried not to stiffen at his touch, having determined to act naturally with him. It had been difficult not to ogle his beautiful body when he’d come into the kitchen just now, but she’d managed, telling herself all the while that a sophisticated New York woman wouldn’t ogle. She would sail through the morning after the night before with style and panache. She wouldn’t ask for reassurances that he wanted more from her than sex. She would be pleasant and easy going. Slightly flirtatious, yes, but nothing heavy.

So, when Ben placed a hand under her chin and turned her face towards his, she hid her momentary panic and let him kiss her. Fortunately, it wasn’t too deep, too long a kiss. But, oh…how her heart raced, her head instantly filling with images of him scattering everything off the kitchen table with one sweep of his arm and taking her on it then and there.

His eyes were glittering when his head lifted. ‘If that bacon wasn’t already cooked,’ he said, ‘I’d have you for breakfast.’

‘Really,’ she replied with superb nonchalance. ‘I might have something to say about that.’

His eyes carried the knowledge she was bluffing. ‘Come now, Jess, let’s not play games this morning. You and I both know that what we shared last night was something special. And highly addictive. But you’re right. We should eat first.’

‘Your bruise looks much better,’ she said, turning her attention back to the breakfast. ‘When bruises start going all the colours of the rainbow, it usually means they’re on the mend. Now, sit down, for Pete’s sake, and let me get on with this.’

‘You sound like you’re familiar with bruises,’ he said, pulling out a chair at the kitchen table and sitting down.

‘I have three brothers,’ she reminded him. ‘There wasn’t a day that they didn’t come home from school with bruises.’

‘Habitual fighters, were they?’

‘No. Just physical.’

‘Like you. You’re very physical. And very sexy.’

Jess felt some dismay—and irritation—that Ben’s focus seemed to be all about sex. She was more than that…wasn’t she?

Somehow, she managed to serve up toast, bacon and eggs without burning anything. Ben ate his with relish, Jess just picking at hers. She’d always been a girl who lacked appetite when she was upset about something. She tried telling herself she was foolish to expect anything more than sex from Ben, but it was a losing cause.

‘You didn’t eat much,’ Ben remarked after he finished his breakfast.

‘I’m not very hungry. I had some coffee before you got up.’

‘You’re not one of those girls who lives on coffee, are you?’

‘Not usually.’

‘You don’t need to lose weight, Jess. Your body is absolutely gorgeous just the way it is.’

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