I can’t lie. I’d done some research—Google can be a girl’s best friend these days—but there was nothing to find. I looked at pictures of him while he’d played with the Kings and even a few of him at the clubs, but there were no wild stories, no inappropriate photos or videos.
He seemed to be the guy every girl dreamed about bringing home, and he was so far from what I deserved that I just knew if we acted on our attraction, it would end badly.
Ben Lancaster was the total opposite of me. Of what I had been and what I was afraid to become once more. And I didn’t know what to do about it.
I felt his interest. The way his eyes lingered a tad too long or his hands touched the small of my back whenever he could. We’d spent the entire day together and by evening my body thrummed with repressed passion and the need to connect.
We’d stopped for dinner at a little Italian place on our way back to the loft, and it seemed as if only a few hours had passed, but it was nearly midnight by the time we made it back.
We’d talked about his plans for the house and I was more than happy to sit and listen to him. In that moment, I didn’t want to be anywhere else but with him. I wanted to be in his orbit, to soak up his energy and goodness. I wanted to crawl into his lap, sink my hands into his hair and open his mouth with my own.
I’d watched him and I had wondered what it felt like to be with him. To get naked with him. To have sex with him because surely laying down with Ben Lancaster wasn’t anything like the hookups I’d had in the past.
That’s because my hookups over the last few years were usually drug and alcohol fueled.
My cheeks were hot and I swore as I grabbed my running gear out of the closet.
Shit, I needed to focus on something other than Ben Lancaster. The clock beside my bed glowed nearly five now and I threw my hair into a ponytail, pulled on my running gear, and headed for the kitchen to grab water.
I’d just opened the fridge door when that familiar sliver of energy told me I wasn’t alone anymore.
I turned around—as nonchalantly as I could—and hoped he couldn’t see the exploding pulse at the base of my neck. Already my nipples were pebbling and I thanked everything that was holy—or even remotely holy—that I’d worn my padded bra with the extra inch of padding.
I had to take a second or two before I could even speak, and used a few more to study him in the dim lighting.
He hadn’t shaved, so his jaw was once again shadowed with dark stubble. God, I loved that look—that I just got out of bed and I’m all man, kind of look. His hair was rumpled as if it hadn’t been brushed, though he was dressed in a Nike T-shirt, nylon shorts and he wore running shoes. He smelled of mint toothpaste. My favorite.
“I thought I’d join you.”
Shit, his voice touched on that note again, the one that gave me shivers and I cleared my throat, hoping I wouldn’t squeal like a stupid mouse when I eventually managed to say a few words.
“Oh. Good, I mean I hope you can keep up to me.” Idiot. The guy could probably run a four minute mile and not even break a sweat.
“I’ll try, but promise you’ll go easy on me.”
His grin was contagious. “We’ll see,” I answered lightly, tossing him a bottle.
“I thought maybe we could run the Rocky steps?”
I laughed and shook my head. The Rocky steps. He was adorable. “Sure, follow me.”
We headed out into the quiet early morning, and followed the trails of fog that fell along the sidewalks. There were a few other runners out, but it felt like we had the world to ourselves and for the moment I enjoyed both the silence and the feel of Ben running beside me.
We didn’t say much. We just put one foot in front of the other and by the time we reached the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the sun was peeking through the darkness. I stopped at the bottom and glanced around. We had the place to ourselves.
Ben’s damp T-shirt clung to his chest and stretched across his wide shoulders, and as he turned slightly I couldn’t help but notice the way it clung to his back, filling in all the hard nooks and crannies of his very male body. When I dragged my gaze up to his face, my heart jerked so badly I almost choked. His eyes were on me and the look within them made the heat in my belly curl hard and fast.