Page 5 of Enemies with Benefits

She was heading towards the far end of the grounds, her heels sinking soundlessly into the grass. She didn’t hear me until I was six feet from her.

‘Wren?’

Her head whipped around. ‘Are you following me?’ she asked sharply. But then she trembled. A tiny reaction, but, coupled with the slight wobble of her mouth, it hastened my steps, the peculiar punch in my chest unsettling me.

‘What’s wrong?’

‘Other than the fact that you’re stalking me now?’

‘Hardly. You just seem—’

‘There’s nothing wrong. Just leave me alone, please?’

I looked beyond her to the high hedges of what looked like an elaborate garden. ‘If everything’s fine, why are you running away from your own party?’

‘I’m not running away. And it’s not my party—’ She caught herself and snatched in a deep breath. ‘Why the hell am I explaining myself to you?’

‘Because sometimes it helps to vent.’ Not that it’d done me much good. Ever. All my good intentions had ended in disaster, the repercussions of which I still lived with. But this wasn’t the time or place to examine old scars. ‘Or so I’ve heard, anyway.’

‘Do you go around dishing out inexperienced advice?’

I shook my head, unwilling to drag my far from delightful childhood into this moment. ‘We’re not talking about me.’

‘You’re right, we’re not. In fact, I’m going to pretend you’re not here at all. Feel free to make that a reality,’ she suggested, right before she turned on her heel and marched away from me.

And since I was far too intrigued to heed her brush-off... I followed.

If she gave even a hint of needing comfort, I’d offer her a shoulder, and other parts of my body, to cry on.

Bloody hell.I cringed at my own crassness. Then shrugged it off.I am who I am.And that person wanted Wren Bingham any way he could get her. Besides that, though, I was here on Mortimer business. Technically.

She ignored me until she reached a bricked pathway. Then she turned and stared at me for several seconds without speaking. For a moment, a deep yearning flitted over her face, then her expression blanked. ‘You’re really not going to leave me alone, are you?’ she murmured.

‘Not until you tell me what’s wrong.’ Before she could reply, I jerked my chin at the hedge. ‘What’s behind there?’

Her eyes narrowed, her fingers twitching against her thighs. ‘Nothing interesting. Just the garden. A pool. Gazebo. The usual.’

She was lying. Or at least holding something back. ‘What else?’

‘Why do you want to know?’ she demanded, then flinched as someone laughed loudly nearby.

‘You look like you need a breather. What’s out there?’

‘A maze,’ she confessed with reluctance. ‘I go there sometimes...to think.’

Before my brain could growl its warning that this was a bad idea, I stepped closer. ‘Show me.’

She tensed. ‘Excuse me?’

‘I’d like to see this maze. A quick tour. Then, if you still insist, I’ll leave.’

Something flickered in her eyes, undercurrents of lust zinging between us. Her gaze dropped to my lips and I almost wanted to crow in triumph. ‘Fine. Let’s go.’

She wrapped her scarf tighter around her neck and I stopped myself from mourning the loss of the sight of her satiny skin.

Even in the cold, my libido was racing feverishly. I cleared my throat. ‘So, what was that with your mother?’

Stubborn fire lit her eyes. ‘I’ll allow you to stay on condition we don’t talk about my mother. Or any member of my family.’

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