Page 78 of Stick Side
“Is it a secret?” she teased back. “Do I need top-level security clearance to find out how you’ve managed to elude calloused hands?”
Melody could hear the amusement in his voice when he answered. “No, it isn’t a secret. But it’s not the most manly thing to admit to.”
Tendrils of excitement unfurled within her at the prospect of learning undisclosed details of Ben’s life. This was the best part about being in a new relationship, wasn’t it? Learning personal information that wasn’t shared with just anybody. “Now you’ve really got me curious.” She bounced their clasped hands together in excitement. “Lay it on me.”
Ben laughed lightly. “Okay, Ms. Curious,” he murmured. “My secret . . .” He halted to create a dramatic pause.
She glanced at Ben in time to see him raise one eyebrow playfully, as if daring her to guess what he might reveal. She felt drawn to this playful side of him. So much so that she couldn’t resist closing the distance between them and nestling into his side. Ben didn’t disappoint, dropping her hand to circle his arm around her waist.
“Okay,” he said, squeezing her toward him in what felt much like a hug. “My secret weapon against calloused skin,” he revealed, “is Udderly Smooth.”
She blinked in confusion. “Say what now?”
Ben chortled.
A smile tugged at her lips as the sounds of his amusement rolled across the field and into the quiet night. It tickled her musicality to hear the rich baritone of his voice was evident even in his laughter.
“Udderly Smooth,” Ben repeated with vivacity, proving she hadn’t misheard him.
“Remember that I was raised on a farm,” he pointed out, sweeping the arm not currently wrapped around her waist out to illustrate the very farmland to which he referred.
She could hear the smile in his voice even if she couldn’t see it. Since her attention was currently focused on not tripping over her own feet as Ben led her along increasingly uneven terrain, she had to rely on her ears to fill in anything missed by her eyes.
“Udderly Smooth,” Ben explained as he steered her to the left, “is a cream that was developed for use on dairy cows. Most people don’t realize it, but cows’ udders can really suffer from all the milking. When I started playing hockey and getting calloused skin, I figured if it was good enough for the girls, it was good enough for me.”
A giggle escaped her mouth at the suggestive comment.
“You think it’s funny that I use bovine lady butter, do you?” he challenged, his tone playful.
She shrieked when Ben curled his hand into her side and started tickling the underside of her rib cage. Goodness, but the man had quick reflexes. She hadn’t seen him coming. Not that she should be surprised given his superstar athletic status.
She strove to evade his questing fingers, but it was no use. She was no match for his tickle tactics. “Okay! Okay! I give!” she capitulated between shrieks of laughter.
Ben put an immediate end to the torture, but he didn’t remove his hand from her body. Instead, he splayed it across her ribcage before trailing it down her increasingly sensitized frame.
Ben paused at the dip of her waist and squeezed lightly. She shivered at the primal possessiveness of his hold. She knew that modern day women were supposed to be strong and self-actualized—and she liked to think she was just that most of the time—but she couldn’t deny there was something thrilling about the way Ben was taking what seemed like effortless control of her body. He appeared to know what he wanted and he was going after it. All while still making her feel safe and respected. It was a skill, really.
Ben sidled closer to whisper in her ear. “I’ve had the devil’s own time resisting you tonight.”
“Have you really?” she asked, her voice breathy with anticipation.
Ben’s hands traileddown to her hips. With gentle pressure, he shifted her so they were fully facing each other. “Wasn’t it obvious?” he asked in a candid way that had her midsection fluttering with awareness.
Moonlight shone onto the angular planes of Ben’s chiseled face and spilled down onto his chest and shoulders, making him look like some sort of demigod. He was so handsome it was hard to believe he was a real flesh-and-blood man, but it was the intimate warmth lighting his eyes that truly took her breath away.
She bit her lip, not quite certain what to say.
Ben tilted his head in consideration. “Surely, you could tell I couldn’t keep my eyes off you.” His hands moved up her back, over her shoulders, and stopped just above the nape of her neck to cradle her skull. “I documented every thoughtful furrow of your brow.” He dropped a soft kiss above the outside edge of her eyebrow. “I took note of every delicate crinkle of your nose.” Ben pressed the tip of his nose against hers and rubbed gently. She shivered as the cool skin of his nose made contact with hers. “And I catalogued every one of your many radiant smiles.” His lips quirked in the manner of someone who knows something that others don’t. “Of which you have at least four different variations, by the way.”
She felt like she was going to melt into a puddle. Who said stuff like that? Had Ben really been watching her so closely? And did she really have four different smiles so bright they could be termed radiant?
When he placed a lingering kiss on the side of her mouth, she was convinced she had dissolved into a fully liquid state.
She was so engrossed in the sweet romance of it all that she was caught completely off guard when he flicked the inside corner of her lips with his tongue. Her hips pressed into his in reaction.
She reveled in the primitive groan that escaped Ben’s lips.
“I’ve been dying for another taste of these lips,” he confessed as he tunneled his fingers through her hair and pressed his lips to hers in a full-mouth kiss.
