Page 10 of Blame It On Midnight

“What the hell are you doing at Ivy’s party?”

She was nervous. He saw that now. Her eyes slid from his, and her breathing ramped up. “I came with my brother.”

“And that would be?”

“Kip.”

His eyes widened, and he frowned. “You’re Lafferty’s sister?”

She nodded.

“And we…in Nashville we… you and I…”

“Yes.” Her cheeks were pink, and that hair of hers was a riot of waves that at any other time, he’d want to tug and pull.

Benton shook those thoughts from his mind and considered things. He rolled his mind back. She’d been at his place before. And though he didn’t remember her exactly, he knew the Laffertys had come the previous Christmas.

“Did you know who I was when you sat down at that bar?”

“If I said no, would you believe me?”

“Probably not.”

“Then you’d be right.”

“You don’t remember me,” he murmured. “You said to me that back then.”

“I did.” She moved even closer, and he steeled himself as the most delicate, feminine scent he’d ever smelled washed over him. “I seduced you.” A dimple appeared when she smiled. She was too fresh. Too beautiful. Too perfect.

He studied her some more. Too fucking young. He took stock of what he knew about Lafferty. Senator father. Brother in politics. And the sister was a…

Model. Of course, she was.

She was probably bored with the silver spoon stuck in her mouth and looking for the kind of distraction a man like Bent could provide. The whole anonymous sex thing was good until a guy’s cover was blown. But then, she’d known who he was, so they hadn’t had a level playing field.

“How old are you?” he asked darkly, moving toward.

“Old enough.”

“Are you stalking me?”

“That would make me crazy, wouldn’t it?”

“It would make you something.”

“Do you think about that night?” She closed the gap between them, and though she was tall for a woman, he had at least four inches on her. Bent found himself staring down into the kind of eyes a man could lose himself in.

“What are you doing here?” he asked. She was trouble, this one. The kind of trouble Benton didn’t have time for.

“I came for the party.”

“Bullshit.”

“How do you know that?” Her tongue took a swipe at the corner of her mouth and damned if his body didn’t tighten.

“My bullshit meter is legendary.”

“What would you say if I told you that I came here because I wanted to see you again?”

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