Page 79 of Rebellious Hearts

His lips were firm but soft, and his stubble scraped against my chin. After our nights together, I always had a bit of a beard rash, and I’d come to like it, carrying it with me like a secret, something precious that only I knew about, hiding under my makeup, reminding me every time I touched my face or rolled my lips of when he’d kissed me hard, making me his again and again and again…

Last night I’d wanted to be with him so badly. And not just for sex, either. I’d wanted him to take control, to pound into me, to make me come undone and put me back together again… and then to fall asleep in his arms.

I’d told myself it was the alcohol speaking. I’d reminded myself this wasn’t real, and we didn’t have to pretend behind closed doors—although he was doing a pretty good job with it right now—so I’d politely said good night, allowed him to kiss me, and I’d gone back to my own room. My head and my heart had been full of him, and I’d forced myself to not think about him until sleep had taken over.

“How did you sleep?” he asked when he let me go, and I was a little more breathless than before.

“Okay,” I said.It would have been better next to you. “How about you?”

Ben shrugged. “Struggled to sleep, but I guess I had a lot on my mind and when that happens, it keeps me up.”

“Work?”

He hesitated before he nodded. “Yeah. You know… the project.”

My hopes rose when he paused and sank again when he said the project.

“I’m glad it’s going to happen,” I said. “This town needs this project and with Richie on board they’re going to get the injection they need to keep going.”

“Speaking of which,” Ben said. “Amy called this morning. She and Luke are extending their stay by a day. They want to see what we’re working on. I suggested we eat somewhere and walk through Harborview, but Luke knows of a hiking trail not far out, and it overlooks Harborview. Are you keen to join us for something like that?”

I blinked, surprised. “I didn’t think you were the type to like hiking.”

Ben grinned. “There’s a lot about me you don’t know.”

“Well, I guess we’ll just have to find out, huh?” I blushed.

Ben cocked a grin at me, and his eyes turned a little darker, which always made me hot under the collar. Just the way he looked at me sometimes was enough to make me want to cancel whatever was on the agenda for the day and close the door behind us so we could be alone together.

“So, does that mean you’re in?” Ben asked.

I nodded. “Yeah, we don’t have much else to do today, do we?”

“Just that report I need to send to Alex to officially document the project and Richard’s involvement, so I’ll take care of that at some point. But for now, we get to enjoy this as a working holiday.”

“I’ll be ready in ten,” I said.

Ben smiled and squeezed my hand. “See you in a bit, then.”

He turned away, and I took a moment to watch his back, his muscles moving under his T-shirt, the dark ink of his neck tattoo peeking above the collar. He already wore hiking pants and thick boots. It made him look so different from when he wore suits, but God, he could really wear anything and he would look panty-dropping-gorgeous.

I closed the door before I would get too worked up and turned to my closet. I’d packed a lot of office clothes for our meetings, but I’d happened to bring along something for every occasion, and I’d packed hiking clothes, too. I hadn’t had any idea what to expect here.

I got dressed in a tank top and leggings, with trainers that could double as trail shoes. This part of Georgia was relatively flat, so the trail wouldn’t be too challenging, I imagined.

We met Luke and Amy outside the hotel. They looked ready for action, bright and fresh. We hadn’t overdone it with alcohol, but I’d also noticed that the more expensive the alcohol, the less hungover I was.

Interesting to note.

“Good morning,” Amy said brightly, bounding over to hug me like we were best friends. She had a way of making me feel accepted.

She wore an expensive-looking lightweight shirt and hiking pants. Her trail shoes looked a lot like mine, and she wore a floppy sun hat that worked perfectly with her bright face.

She handed me a similar hat.

“I wasn’t sure if you had one,” she said.

“I don’t. Thank you.”