Page 68 of An Indecent Longing

Chapter Six

Ben wondered how long it would take Ian to slip away.

But after five minutes, his cousin showed no signs of leaving and Ben breathed a silent sigh of relief.

Dorrie had gone limp between them, her forehead pressed against Ben’s shoulder as she lay on her side while Ian stretched out behind her, one hand on her hip.

Feeling pretty pleased with himself and wondering when they could start again, Ben caught his breath for another minute before rolling out of bed to head to the bathroom. When he re-opened the door, he saw Dorrie scoot to the side of the bed and approach him. Her smile when she met his eyes was sweet but fleeting as she closed the door behind her.

Grabbing his boxers off the floor, he pulled them on and sat on the chair on the far side of the room. He didn’t want to make Dorrie uncomfortable, although after what they’d done that might seem stupid. But he had the feeling Dorrie wasn’t going to just fall back into their bed and life would go on to be rainbows and hearts.

Or anything close to normal.

Especially not with Ian. His cousin continued to lie on his back, staring at the ceiling.

For the first time in their lives, Ben didn’t know what to say to Ian so he figured he should probably keep his mouth shut until he did.

When Dorrie opened the door a minute or so later, both he and Ian turned to watch her. She wore one of Ian’s t-shirts, which reached to mid-thigh.

“I found it on the back of the door. Hope you don’t mind?”

She addressed her question to Ian, and Ben couldn’t help the way his gut clenched as he waited for his cousin to respond.

“Of course not.” Ian stood and headed for the bathroom but just as he was about to pass Dorrie, he stopped and ran a finger along her jaw.

The small motion made Dorrie blink as Ian disappeared behind the closed door.

Then she sucked in a shaky breath and turned to Ben.

“I can’t stay.” She practically blurted out the words then grimaced before shaking her head. “Sorry. I need to get back to my office to check on Blank. I just need my clothes.”

Ben nodded. “Sure. I think I saw your panties on the end of the bed. I’ll go get your dress.”

With another woman he might’ve teased, might’ve tried to entice her back into bed. But not Dorrie.

Gut instinct made him smile as he rose and headed for the door. But not before brushing his hand against hers as he passed. And when she flexed her fingers and returned the caress, his grin widened.

It only took him a minute to retrieve her dress, but by the time he returned, Ian and Dorrie were squared off against one another.

Dorrie had her hands on her slim hips, looking amazingly perfectly in just her lace bra and panties.

“—perfectly capable of taking a cab back to my office.”

Shit. Ian had his arms crossed over his chest and a look on his face Ben knew really well.

“And I told you, you don’t have to. We’ll drive you.”

Ben stepped into the bedroom with his hands spread. “Hey, what—”

“Sex doesn’t give you the automatic right to make my decisions for me.”

The stubborn look on Dorrie’s face made Ben’s gaze narrow. Jesus, what the fuck had he missed in a minute?

Ian’s jaw clenched, and for a second Ben was worried his cousin was going to roll his eyes. And Dorrie would’ve smacked him. Not that Ian wouldn’t have deserved it.

But then Ian sucked in a deep breath, and Ben could practically see his cousin force himself to remain calm.

“I’m not trying to make your decisions. What I’m saying is, you don’t need to take a taxi. We can take you. If you don’t want to go with me, I’m sure Ben would be more than happy to give you a ride.”

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