Page 53 of Love in Mission City: The Shorts

I met his gaze, then scratched behind his ears.

He sighed.

I lifted my arm, and he settled his snout on my thigh.

Okay, then.Phew.If Buddy didn’t like me, being a part of Ben’s life would’ve been complicated.

Oh, hell, who was I kidding?Of course this would be complicated.Several hundred miles and a ferry ride separated us.I opened my laptop and navigated my way to my employer’s website.No lighthouses in Mission City, but…

Well, if that wasn’t a sign, I didn’t know what was.I carefully filled out the application for the job of harbormaster in Mission City.I wasn’t guaranteed to get it, but the posting had been up for some time.Might’ve had to do with the salary.I’d be taking a pay cut, but I’d still make enough to survive on.

If he wants you.

Yes, minor hiccup.What if this was one-sided?What if I was just a fling?Someone to pay the bills until he could go back to Mission City?What if he never wanted to see me again?

Movement out of the corner of my eye caught my attention.

Ben, sleep-rumpled and naked, meandered over with a blanket slung over his shoulders.He plopped down next to Buddy, but shifted the pooch so the little guy pretty much sat in my lap.Then he proceeded to kiss my neck.“I woke, and you weren’t there.”A bit of petulance laced his voice.

“Couldn’t sleep.”

His stubble rasped my jaw.“I can think of ways to make you sleep.”

I chuckled.

He snagged my laptop, and before I could react, he had it on his lap.

Buddy stirred when I tried to grab it back.

Okay, not upsetting the pup was more important than his master not seeing the website.Nothing confidential as I was on a public site.

Ben blinked.He turned to stare at me.Then his attention was drawn back to the screen emitting a weird blue light that turned his white skin almost translucent.

I’d observed him at dinner, of course, but now I could look my fill.Powerful jaw, distinctive nose, and hair the colour of mahogany close-cropped at the sides.He was just…adorable.

His nose scrunched.Then he rubbed his forehead.“So, uh, you’re going to apply for a job in Mission City?”

I tried to read his tone, but he was being scrupulously neutral.“Well, I applied.”I rushed to add, “But that doesn’t mean I’ll get the job and, you know, even if I do, I don’t have to take it, and…”

His eyes were bright but wary.“I thought your ex-boyfriend lived in Mission City.Dickens, right?”

“Yes, he does.It’ll be nice to reconnect with him.As a friend.We parted on good terms, and I’ve only ever wanted him to be happy.I’m not the man who can make him happy, though.And he wasn’t the man for me.”

“But you think I might be?”Again, no hint of what he was thinking.

“Well…” My brain scrambled.How was I supposed to answer that question?We’d made love once.He’d rocked my world.I wanted to see where we could go, and staying in Tofino wasn’t going to give me the answer to that question.

Ben gently closed the laptop and set it on the coffee table.Then he carefully scooped Buddy into his arms and placed him on the doggie bed.

Buddy opened one eye, got the lay of the land, and went right back to sleep.

Oh, the life of a dog.

Without warning, Ben hopped onto my lap and straddled me.He ran his hands along my scalp until they rested at my nape.Then he tugged me in for a kiss.

This wasn’t a languid kiss.No, this was passion.This was fury.This was need and desire and electricity.

He kissed me with a ferocity that rivaled my own hunger.

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