Page 4 of Indirect Attack
Jasmine pushed herself to her feet just as the truck came into view over the bump of a hill in the driveway.
“Well, my parents are out of town until tomorrow night for a wedding. Why don’t we go somewhere so we can talk without the mosquitos?” She held out her hand to me, and I took it.
I didn’t point out that it was too late in the season for mosquitos as I followed, my heart thumping a trilling beat in my chest.
Chapter 2
Jasmine
I KNEW THIS WAS RISKY, what I was doing. Even though I’d been in love with Ben all my life, we were going in two very different paths in life. He was already in the Marines, and I was in college, determined to get my master’s degree.
But how could I pass this moment up? From the moment I’d seen Ben leaning over the upstairs railing, I’d felt a shiver under my skin, an awareness of him and my desire to be with him. I’d thought my crush would fade once we graduated and both left. Ben had never once indicated that he felt the same, had never given so much as a hint that he saw me as anything other than just a friend. My feelings had been unrequited all those years, even though I’d never been able to let him go.
Going to college meant I could finally free myself from Ben—there had to be enough guys there to get him off my mind. But all I’d found was a bunch of guys I didn’t want. None of them had been tall and athletically built, with unearthly blue eyes, strong arms, and a shy, boyish grin and a slow laugh that never failed to get me to join in. I hadn’t found anyone I wanted to stay up with until the early morning hours, lying on our backs on the roof outside my window, talking about nothing and everything as we watched the stars move across the sky.
I felt drawn like the tide to Ben, washing out and moving back into shore, to him, to his smile and his laugh and the all-consuming warmth and happiness I’d always felt around him. That distance and time hadn’t dimmed it—of anything, had made it stronger.
All this time, I’d thought he thought of me as just a friend. And I still couldn’t quite believe he’d actually said those words:I’ve had a massive crush on you since we were kids. Had I really heard him right? I hadn’t been hallucinating?
Glancing over my shoulder, I saw that Ben was following me, his feet crunching through the leaves as we crossed the pasture between our two old farmhouses, his hand large and warm in mine. He was going along willingly, though I hadn’t been outright with my plan. Did he know? Had I been suggestive enough? Was this a stupid idea?
Had Ben felt the same ignition of fire between us? I’d never felt a feeling like that, my heart pounding, exhilaration crackling through my veins, excitement. warmth, and anticipation rushing through my body from my head to my toes and back.
I had always been attracted to Ben. Well, not always. But I’d gone away for a summer to my uncle’s lake house between our freshman and sophomore years and come home to find not a boy but a man. Ben had shot up, his chest broadening, some of his gawky awkwardness becoming hard muscle, his voice finding its adult baritone. Attraction had flared, hot and breathless from the moment I’d seen him walking through the pasture toward my house that early fall afternoon, and it hadn’t let go since.
I’d known for a long time that I’d been in love with him—it wasn’t just some silly high school crush or puppy love, but a deep longing to spend time with him, to be around him, to talk and laugh and simply be in his presence until the early hours of the morning. My heart skipped a beat when Ben walked into a room, he was the first one I wanted to talk to when somethinghappened, and when we weren’t together, I wanted to seek him out.
Even so, I’d never slept with anyone before or had a serious boyfriend, all because of my feelings for Ben. But if there was ever a time, this was it. Especially when we had just declared our feelings for each other and only had a couple of days together before we returned to our separate lives.
Hopefully separate, but still together.
The thought thrilled me, and I had to bite my cheek to keep from squealing in joy. I did tighten my hand around Ben’s, though, and he answered by threading his fingers through mine.
It was all I had wanted and hoped for all these years, and I couldn’t believe it was actually happening.
I had left the back door unlocked, and the dog came to greet me, his tail whipping the air when he realized Ben was with me—Ben had always been one of his favorite people. I moved over to the fridge as he knelt to give the shepherd a proper greeting.
“You hungry?”
He unfolded and came to stand behind me as I opened the doors. “Always.”
We’d been in this same position so many times, the bottomless pit that was Ben looking into the depth of the fridge behind me. But this time was different. Awareness of him so close, pressing against my back as he leaned over me, made me shiver.
He paused, and I saw him look down from the corner of my eye. “Are you cold?”
“A little,” I fudged.
“Want to watch a movie?” I asked as Ben gently pushed me onto the couch and covered me with the blanket.
“Sure.”
His answer sounded slightly hesitant, and I wondered if we were both dancing around the same subject. Neither mentionedour earlier admission, and neither of us was visiting because we’d come here to my empty house.
We settled in to watch the movie as the afternoon went on, the shadows growing longer as the sun dipped closer to the horizon. The house grew chilly, but we were cuddled under the blanket together. At some point, Ben had settled against the arm of the couch and pulled me into him. I was extremely aware of the firm solidity of his chest against my back as he breathed in and out—had it always been that way, and I just hadn’t noticed? Or had boot camp added to the muscle already there? So much so that I was having trouble concentrating on the movie.
“Do you know what’s going on?”
Ben’s question pulled me out of my thoughts. “What?”
