Page 31 of An Indecent Longing

Ben’s laughter bounced around the room as he took eggs and milk out of the fridge then set them on the island before turning back to the cabinets for other ingredients.

“No. Not at all. I designed the kitchen. I like to cook so I knew what I wanted and I knew where I wanted it. My cousin said to go for it so I did. We pretty much gutted the house from basement to attic.”

Since she’d lived in the city all her life, she knew how much that had cost. Which meant Ben and his cousin weren’t hurting for money.

“What does your cousin do?”

“We work in the same field.”

“Does he work for Adam and Tristan, too?”

“Hmm. So you wanna be good and have strawberries? Or do you want chocolate chips in your pancakes? I’m feeling like chocolate. Wanna be bad with me?”

Her eyes widened because she couldn’t misunderstand him now. He was flirting with her.

And now she was frozen like a deer in the headlights.

Come on, you idiot. Say something.

“I think…I’d like that.”

Now his smile turned wicked and there was definitely a look in his eyes that hadn’t been there before.

“Glad to hear it. Chocolate it is.”

Ben watched emotions flow over Dorrie’s face for a few seconds before he tore his gaze away.

He didn’t want to embarrass her or make her uncomfortable.

No, what he wanted to do was reach across the island, wrap a hand around her nape, and pull her close enough to kiss. The temptation was so strong, he found it hard to concentrate for several seconds and nearly messed up the pancake batter by adding way too much vanilla.

Luckily, she hadn’t noticed his distraction or she was choosing to ignore it.

He was betting on the first because she definitely looked a little shell-shocked. Like she didn’t know how to handle his teasing.

Was she really that awkward with men? Or was she just that stiff?

Again, he was going with the first.

“Have you checked in on your guy? How’s he doing?”

Her head popped up from her examination of the counter. Or had she been watching his hands as they mixed and chopped? Was she wondering how his hands would feel stroking her body? Or was that just wishful thinking on his part?

“He’s fine.” Her tentative smile made his gut clench. “Thank you again for staying with me last night. Blank’s so damn stubborn, I’m afraid he would’ve bled out before letting on how badly he was hurt.”

“Glad to hear he’s gonna be okay.”

She paused and, for at least a minute, silence held as he whisked the batter.

“So…how well do you know Ian?”

Damn, he’d been hoping she wouldn’t go there because he didn’t want to lie to her.

“We’ve worked together for a few months now.” Totally true. And then his curiosity got the better of him. “How do you know Ian?”

Her gaze dropped immediately. “We’ve met. A few times. Can I give you a hand with those?”

As he’d expected, she backed off but Ben was a little pissed. Mostly at his cousin. He still didn’t know exactly what had happened between them, but he knew why Ian had dropped her when he’d discovered who she worked for.

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