Page 53 of The Scenic Route
Once inside the bathroom, she gave in to the urge to sniff his shirt. She could smell the light scent of his laundry detergent and—although she wondered if it was just wishful thinking—the faintest hint of Bennett. Shaking off her silly thoughts, she blamed her mushy mind on her lack of sleep and set the shirt on the counter.
After her shower, she took a bracing breath and stepped into the main room, trying to ignore all the wedding-inspired decorations and romantic paintings. Instead, she focused on the bed and the man stretched out on top of it, doing something with his phone.
Bennett glanced up as she walked toward him, his eyes darting over her quickly before a pleased smile touched his mouth. She wondered if that look was because he liked seeing her in his shirt, but she dismissed the thought as another symptom of sleep deprivation.
“I’m so tired,” she sighed, allowing herself to fall like a treeand crash into the mattress next to him. It felt strangely domestic, sharing a room and a bed with a man—a very attractive man. Not allowing herself to dwell on the idea, since it would only make her stiffen up again, she let her brain drift.
“Let me see,” he ordered, and her eyes popped open.
Rolling onto her back, she sat up using her stomach muscles. She was dying for a good workout and promised herself she’d check out the hotel’s fitness room the next morning. “Let you see what?”
“Your bullet wound.”
“Oh, right. Although ‘bullet wound’ sounds so dramatic. This is like a ‘bullet scrape’ or a ‘bullet touch.’ Actually, let’s just drop the ‘bullet’ part, because I think that’s what makes it sound so life-threatening.” She wasn’t sure what she’d expected him to say, but she’d forgotten about the small divot in her skin already. “Here.” She swung her leg over his, rotating it slightly so he could see the scabbed-over groove.
He traced it with a gentle finger, barely touching it, making her shiver.
“Cold?” he asked, wrapping his large, warm hand around her calf. It covered a good portion of her lower leg, and the sight of his skin against hers made her breath catch. Her gaze flashed to his, and it wasn’t until she saw him looking at her inquiringly that she remembered he’d asked a question.
“A little.” She used that as an excuse to gently pull her leg away and then wriggle under the covers. She told herself she wasn’t hiding from him, but she knew that was a lie.
“How’s the ankle?” Rolling onto his side to face her, he propped his head up on his hand.
It was very hard to have a conversation, she was discovering, when her obnoxiously hot bedmate had focused his smoldering brown eyes on her and his muscular body was within reach. “Um…oh, fine. Just a twinge now and then. It was a little swollen after our little jog last night, but I took some ibuprofen and that’s gone down now.”
He frowned, his gaze dropping to the approximate location of her ankle under the covers.
“Nope.”
His eyes found hers again.
“You don’t have to examine it.” She pulled the covers up to her chin. “It’s fine, just like I said.”
He made a “humph” sound that made her laugh.
“What?” he asked, the tiniest bit of his weirdly attractive pout on display.
Smiling a little too fondly at him, she said, “You sounded like a grumpy old man.” Giving in to temptation, she leaned over and smacked a kiss on his cheek. “It was funny, Grandpa.” She realized his face—including his lips—was only an inch away, and she sucked in a breath and held it. They stared at each other, a string of attraction pulling tighter and tighter until finally, it snapped.
The tension that’d saturated the air for days suddenly ignited, like a gas-filled house exploding into flame. She didn’t know if he closed the distance or she did, but either way, his mouth was on hers, and it was incredible. Relief coursed through her as she realized thishadto be their first real kiss together. No matter what drug had been running through her system, no matterhow fractured her memory of the previous night was, there was no way she could have forgotten the earth-shattering pleasure of his mouth on hers.
There was no gentle exploration, no careful pressing of closed lips. Their kiss was immediately deep and carnal, mouths open and tongues exploring, as if they wanted to devour each other. She’d never felt anything so all-consuming, and this was only a kiss.
He rolled her onto her back and moved on top of her without breaking the contact of their mouths. Clutching at his shoulders, running her fingers through the short strands of his dark hair, she wanted to touch him everywhere all at once. Every moment they’d spent together, every urge she had to run her hand over his back or feel the rough rasp of his morning stubble, everything was possible now, and the floodgates were open.
He yanked and pulled at the covers until they were no longer blocking him, and then he did the same with his clothes. Once he was bare, he reached for her. Feeling protective of her borrowed pajamas and not wanting them to tear in his haste, she lifted her arms, helping him pull his T-shirt from her body. He tossed it aside and sat back on his heels, staring at her as if she was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.
“You’re incredible,” he breathed, lifting a hand to touch her belly but then hesitating as he met her gaze. “This okay?”
“Oh yes.” If she’d been any less frantic to feel his hands—and his lips and tongue and teeth—on her, she would’ve been embarrassed by the way the words rolled from her mouth, coming out as a purr of assent.
He smiled, just a quick flash, and then went serious as he focused on her naked skin.
Not wanting to miss out on the opportunity to explore him, she started at his wrists, running her fingers over his hairy forearms to his biceps, marveling at their size. He wasn’t cut like a bodybuilder, but he was thick and strong, like a lumberjack from a previous century, able to fight and lift heavy furniture and maybe even gently toss her around a little. She bit her lip, confused by what was turning her on at the moment but too caught in the rush of lust to question her reactions.
Then he laid his hands on her stomach, and the rest of the world disappeared. His callused palms lightly plucked at her skin, leaving streaks of heat in their wake. The way he stared at her—as if she was something wonderful and precious, something he’d never thought he’d have a chance to see—was almost as intoxicating as his actual touch.
Her heart thundered in her chest, beating faster than it ever had pursuing a skip. Bennett Green was the ultimate adrenaline rush.
