Page 18 of An Indecent Longing

Chapter Three

Dorrie knew she’d had too much drink and was close to passing out.

Some part of her brain knew exactly how much danger she was putting herself in and was flashing warning signs in a vain attempt to get her to do the right thing and go home.

The other half knew how comfortable she felt here. With Ben. And how attracted she was to him.

Which made her drink even more because, if she was going to even attempt to seduce Ben, she needed liquid courage.

She’d been thinking about exactly how to do that for the past hour, as she’d continued to make a dent in a very fine bottle of bourbon and ate enough so that she didn’t get sick. She’d never really seduced anyone before. The few relationships she’d been in had been instigated by the man.

She wasn’t quite sure why that was, and she was a little too drunk to consider it now. Maybe a lot too drunk.

Blank was probably tossing and turning in his drug-induced sleep right now. Over the time they’d spent together, he’d taken it on himself to be the big brother she’d never had. He’d told her to never go home with a stranger, to never let herself be that vulnerable.

Yet here she was, alone with a stranger in his home. And no one knew she was here.

But Ian had vouched for Ben. He’d sent Ben to protect her. And that made Ben safe.

Why?

At the moment, she didn’t care because she’d rather know if Ben wanted to spend a few hours screwing her brains out. She just didn’t know if she should just come out and ask for it or if he’d be turned off by her advance.

Sinking back into the couch, she propped her head on her hand and stared at one of the most handsome men she’d ever seen.

“So tell more about you, Ben.”

Sprawled into the overstuffed chair across from her, Ben smiled, his beautiful lips curved in a devastating grin. “What do you want to know?”

Her brain was way too fuzzy to think of a witty response to that. “Why did you bring me home with you?”

“Because you looked like you could use a drink.”

“Are you planning to hurt me?”

His eyes widened in shock before they narrowed and watched her with laser focus. “Why would you think that?”

She shrugged. “Men hurt women all the time.”

His jaw firmed. “I don’t.”

Men also lied to get what they wanted but she let that go. “Have you had many relationships?”

“A few. None that lasted. Or that I wanted to last.”

Everything went black for a second and she blinked, her head popping back up. Refocusing on Ben, she saw he’d shifted position.

What had they been discussing? Oh yeah. Relationships.

“Don’t you want a partner? Someone to…”

Someone to what? Why did she care if he was looking for a life partner? It wasn’t going to be her.

“Someone to spend my life with?” Ben helpfully supplied.

“Yeah, that one.”

He shrugged. “I’m not saying no but I’m not worried about it yet.”

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