Page 14 of A Sip of Sherry

My mouth parted, and memories of the last time I screamed for him slammed into me.Heat crept into my cheeks, and I knew the minute he realized where my dirty mind had wandered.

A smirk quirked his lips, an adorable dimple popping right into his cheek.“I think I got my answer.”

I rolled my eyes, unable to think of anything witty.My eyes drifted to the storage bin he just put into place.

“Is there a reason you’re going through old records?”

He leaned casually against the shelf that held the bins with financials going back seven years.“Looking for extra signage for the brunch.Figured you could use all hands on deck.”

“I don’t think you’re going to find signage in”—I peered around him, eyes narrowing to read the label—“2021 Financials.”

“You caught me.I heard you coming, and I panicked.Thought maybe if I was going through something you could continue ignoring me.”

“I’m not ignoring you.”

A laugh barked out of him.“You’ve barely uttered a word to me since New Year’s.”His hand landed on his chest, and he tapped it a couple of times.“It hurts.”

“I told you it was the last time.”Keeping our distance was for the best.Every time we got too close, the tension was too much to ignore.I was trying to keep things professional.My busy season was about to kick into full gear.I didn’t have time for distractions.

“I know, but I thought my handsome good looks and undeniable charm would pull you back in.”

“That’s where your arrogance fails you.”

“You keep saying arrogance, but I think of it as confidence with a touch of self-awareness.”

“Potato patato.”

That maddening smirk returned, and he stepped closer.Heat instantly surrounded me, along with the scent of oak, crushed grapes, and spice.There was something else there.Something masculine, like the kind of musk that clung to a man who broke his back all day.It was deliciously sensual and awakened the beast in me that only he seemed to provoke.

“Why are you here so early?”I asked.As the warehouse manager, his schedule was different from the rest of the employees, but it was even early for him.

“I don’t sleep much, so figured I might as well get a head start on the day.”

“Why don’t you sleep much?”I asked, and when his green eyes landed on mine, making me feel as if he had me pinned to the wall, I knew that question was a mistake.

“Every time I close my eyes, all I see is you bent over that table in the cellar, hear your moans and cries of ecstasy.”

“Sounds like a good dream,” I managed around the lump in my throat.

He shook his head.“It’s actually quite depressing.Just reminds me of what I’ll never have.”

Heat prickled along my spine, spreading up my neck.I swallowed, his eyes immediately dropping to my throat.Memories of his mouth dragging along the sensitive skin caused my thighs to tingle.I pressed my legs together to try to control the ache.

Ben wasn’t the only one suffering from sleepless nights.Waking up horny at three a.m.was not something one could just brush off and go back to sleep.The need was too strong, but all the techniques that had worked to satisfy myself in the past no longer did the trick.If anything, it left me needing more, wanting the release that only Ben had been capable of wringing out of me.

Maybe it was time to give in.Maybe my reasoning ofwe work togetherwas much thinner than I cared to admit.Ben stirred something inside of me that scared me.

As the fifth in a lineup of seven siblings, I had learned to stay in my lane, be reliable, be steady, and don’t create problems because those problems became everyone else’s.But Ben?He made me want to throw my carefully crafted rule book overboard and dive headfirst into something I wasn’t sure I could handle.

With Ben, it wasn’t just sex.It was so much more, and that’s what scared me most.

I watched love break Grandpa’s heart when Grandma died, then watched love break all of our hearts when we lost him years later.I watched love turn Franc into a bitter single dad, and Laurent into a man that avoided attachments.I watched brides and grooms who stood up at the altars I carefully curated pledge their undying love and affection to each other only to get the marriage annulled months later.

Then again, I also witnessed the beauty of it.The sweet reunion of Laurent with Phoebe, the love of his life.Watched Franc find his soulmate in his son’s nanny.Felt the lasting results of the love Grandpa had given us.Not to mention the countless brides and grooms I had helped provide the perfect wedding for that have actually lasted.Not all weddings ended in annulment and divorce.

Maybe love was more than loss.

“Anyway,” Ben said, knocking me out of my head.“What can I do for you?”

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