Page 21 of Savage Romance
I like win-win situations.
Just as he poured the final batter on the nonstick griddle, Zoe poked her head around the corner of the kitchen archway. “Is that pancakes I’m smelling?”
Ben glanced over his shoulder as Zoe wandered closer. With her hair wet and almost black from a recent shower and her face makeup-free, she was a gorgeous sight. “Your nose is right.” He ran his finger through the bowl, sweeping up some of the pancake batter, and held it up in front of her mouth.
Her gaze flicked to his eyes, back to the finger, and his knees almost buckled when she took the digit between her lips, sucked, and made a “hmm” sound.
He cleared his throat and teased, “I will even make you another cup of coffee if you ask me nicely.”
She let go of his finger with a pop and came closer.
His arms slid around her waist. “Hmm.” He pressed a quick kiss on her nose. “I like the way you’re thinking.”
“Do you now?” She tipped her head back, curled her arms around his neck, and pulled him forward until he could feel her fresh breath on his lips, and smelled the minty scent of her toothpaste. Closing the distance, Zoe drew wet trails over his puckered lips. Ben opened for her, and she pressed an openmouthed kiss to his lips before dipping her tongue between the seam.
It unleashed something carnal in him, and Ben took over the kiss with a passion that shook him to his core. Their tongues danced and their bodies melted together with an intimacy Ben hadn’t felt before. It was like some hidden barrier between them had dropped. A breathless whisper escaped her lips.
The pancake! Zoe firmly pressed against his side, Ben pivoted around and assessed the damage—only a little bit scorched. Phew, how foreseeing… I’d turned the stove down when Zoe entered.
“Sit yourself down.” He gestured to the breakfast nook and busied himself with the food. “Let me get the syrup.” Ben set a warmed stack of pancakes and a plate filled with crispy bacon slices gently sizzling and popping in front of Zoe.
“What are your plans for today?”
“By now, the hotel is running smoothly, but I haven’t been there in a few days.” She snagged a piece of bacon from the plate and popped it in her mouth with a twinkle in her eyes. She savored the bite, and the expression on her face and the sound she made threw Ben off-topic. Then she swallowed and licked her lips. Instant hard-on. Not that he had been soft to start with. Zoe’s presence usually was enough to have blood rushing south.
“—with maintenance.”
He shook his head. “What was that? I missed part of that sentence.”
Her face morphed into a mischievous expression. “I’m willing to bet you missed more than a part. Where did your mind go?”
“Hmm, I was just realizing how easily you make me hard.”
Zoe giggled. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen your dick when it’s not hard.”
“Wench.” He pinched her nose. “You like the control you have over me, don’t you?”
Her eyes sparkled and she pressed her lips together.
“I can see that you want to smile. Go ahead, laugh.”
She snorted and slapped her hand over her mouth but couldn’t contain the giggles and laughter. “Okay,” Zoe confirmed between splutters and chortles. “I like it. Maybe not the control but—well, that you like me enough to—” She gestured to the front of his pajama bottoms.
“To want you?” he finished her sentence. “I don’t just like you, woman, and I think you know it by now.”
He pulled her torso against him, ready to show just how much he liked her, when Zoe’s and his cell phone started to ring almost simultaneously. God-fucking-damn-it.
Zoe gave him a rueful smile as she stood and moved out of his reach to answer the call. Ben’s reluctance to let go of his wife and pick up his own phone amazed him. He had never been this preoccupied with a woman before. Never had wanted to let pleasure come before duty. However, he hadn’t really known those other women he’d, um, dated, never had called anyone truly his. When the phone rang again, he grabbed for it, almost dropping it. He took a quieting breath and answered, “Hello.”
“Mr. Dennehy,” the polite voice of Lenny came over the phone, “I’m sorry to bother you, but the new blackjack tables will arrive in about an hour. How late would you want me to take you to the casino?”
Ben inhaled and tried to ignore how Zoe’s hips swayed as she paced up and down with the phone against her ear.
“Thanks.” With a glance over his shoulder, Ben started walking toward the bedroom. “I’ll be down in—” The fifteen minutes remained unsaid as he saw the expression on Zoe’s face.
Spinning on his heels, Ben stalked toward his woman and gave Lenny a simple, “Hold on for a second,” and pressed the phone against his chest.
“What’s wrong, darlin’?”
