Page 44 of An Indecent Longing

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By the time he’d parked up the block from her apartment, Ben had been able to shake some of the frustration eating at his gut. But not all of it.

He wasn’t sure why Ian’s refusal to do something about his desire for Dorrie pissed him off so much.

He should be happy. Ian’s refusal meant Ben had a clear path.

If Ian had decided to make a move on her, Ben probably would be dateless on a Saturday night.

So why the hell are you pissed off?

There was no way in hell he and Ian would be able to handle an relationship like the one Adam and Tristan maintained with Kat. Or like Mary Alice’s with Jesse and Max. They weren’t built that way.

So why did he keep coming back to it?

Fuck it.

Shoving the thought out of his head, he walked through the doors to the security desk and gave his name to the guard.

And once again had the fact that Dorrie had money shoved in his face. Like, she had to have serious bucks to be able to afford to live in this place.

Yeah, she was a doctor but she was only twenty-seven. And yes, she had her own practice, but she couldn’t have had enough time to build it up enough to make serious dough yet, could she?

Family money, she’d said.

So what the hell kind of name was Haverstick? It didn’t exactly scream Main Line or Society Hill.

But he’d been born and raised in South Philly and hadn’t exactly mingled with the money crowd so maybe—

The elevator doors opened, drawing his attention.

Then she stepped out into the lobby and Ben nearly swallowed his tongue.

Holy fuck. Thank you, Ian, for passing.

Christ almighty, she was pretty.

Yeah, he’d noticed last night, but those hours had been frantic and filled with adrenaline. Tonight… Damn, tonight she made his heart beat like a fucking bass drum. Made him want to beat his fists on his chest and punch any man who looked at her.

Since he was the only person in the lobby, other than the guard, she picked him out right away, and her smile when she looked into his eyes made his dick twitch and harden. Her lips curved just enough to be enticing, but it was like she didn’t want to appear too excited.

He’d noticed last night she didn’t talk much but, when she did, she spoke thoughtfully, as if she were picking each word with care. Like she didn’t want to say something stupid.

Too many of the women he’d dated lately—not that there’d been a lot of them—seemed to talk just to fill the silence and didn’t care what they said.

Ben knew if he got on a tear, he could talk for hours. It occasionally drove Ian crazy but Ian tended to be too quiet, a casualty of his previous life. Ben had hoped—

“Hi.”

That one word from her lips made Ben’s smile widen even more.

“Well, I hit the jackpot tonight. You look beautiful.”

Her gaze dipped as she looked down. Her maroon dress hung by two thin straps on her shoulders, which she’d covered with a little gray sweater. Simple, yeah. It skimmed her slight curves but didn’t cling. It wasn’t overtly sexy but it still managed to make him hot.

A blush colored her cheeks as he reached for her hands. She hadn’t held them out to him but he wanted to touch her. Needed to touch her, and he figured her hands were safe. Didn’t want to scare her off. He had a feeling she’d jackrabbit given the chance and any provocation.

She didn’t pull away and she didn’t cut eye contact so he figured that was a win.

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