Against the Edge (The Raines of Wind Can - By Kat Martin Page 0,12
and led him toward the guest room. He tossed his duffel on the bed.
“Your bathroom’s at the end of the hall,” she said. “There’s soap, shampoo and toothpaste, and the towels are fresh. If you need anything, just let me know.”
“I need to get on the internet, see if I can find anything on Bridger. I hope you’ve got Wi-Fi.”
“I’ve got it. Sunrise452 is the code. But you need to get some sleep, Ben. You won’t be any good to Sam if you’re dead on your feet.”
He scrubbed a hand over his face. He’d been clean-shaven that morning; now a rough shadow darkened his jaw. “You’re probably right. I could use a couple of hours.”
“I usually get up early. If you’re not up, I’ll wake you.”
He nodded, turned to survey the queen-size bed, looked at it with longing.
“By the way. Johnnie Riggs called you Iceman. That’s your nickname? From the SEALs?”
“Yeah.”
With eyes like his, there was no mistaking where the name had come from. “Good night, Ben.”
“Good night, Claire. See you in the morning.” Ben disappeared behind the guest room door, and Claire went into her own room to shower before going to bed.
She yawned as she headed for the bathroom. With so much on her mind, she wasn’t sure she’d be able to get any sleep.
* * *
Surprised to find the sun shining brightly through the curtains over the windows, Claire yawned as she climbed out of bed the following morning. She needed to wake Ben and make some coffee—strong, she remembered, was the way he liked it.
Slipping into her robe, she opened the bedroom door and stepped out in the hall, heard footsteps an instant before she collided with Ben. His arms went around her, steadying her before she took a fall.
“Easy.”
“Sorry. I—I didn’t know you were awake.” He was returning to his bedroom, freshly showered, a towel slung low on his hips, his black hair wet, drops of water beaded against his tanned skin.
Claire’s mouth went dry. She couldn’t take her eyes off the thick pectoral muscles, flat stomach and six-pack abs. A patch of curly black hair spread over his chest and arrowed down his stomach to disappear beneath the towel.
She couldn’t seem to breathe.
“You okay?” he asked in a voice that sounded a little gruffer this morning.
Claire stepped back as if his skin had burned her. “Fine...I’m just... You just took me by surprise.”
“I’ve been awake for hours. Wanted to see what I could find on the net.” His gaze ran over her, taking in her sleep-tangled hair, traveling over the nipples that had hardened under her short silk robe, down the legs exposed below the hem, all the way to her bare feet.
How those icy eyes could look burning hot she would never know, but her stomach contracted beneath that heated gaze and her nipples hardened even more.
In an instant, his demeanor changed, the heat disappearing as if it had never been there.
“I need some coffee, doll. How ’bout you make us a pot?”
Her mouth dropped open, then snapped closed. Before she could tell him to keep his pet names to himself, he had walked on down the hall, disappeared into his room and closed the door.
Ohhhh, the man was infuriating! Ben Slocum was rude and arrogant, a complete macho jerk. How could Laura ever have fallen in love with him?
But she had, Claire knew. Laura had loved Ben desperately. And she had never gotten over him. Loving Ben Slocum and having to give him up had ruined her life. Even having his child hadn’t been enough to save her from the depression she felt in losing him.
Claire glanced at the door of the guest room. Laura had called him a heartthrob. He certainly had the most incredible male physique she had ever seen. Even the jocks in the gym didn’t look as good as Ben, whose hard-muscled body just seemed more authentic.
As a former SEAL, it actually was. It didn’t mean she had to like him. Still, for Sam, she would try to keep an open mind as much as she could. Laura had loved him. There had to be something good about him.
Then again, for a while, Laura had thought she was in love with Troy Bridger.
* * *
Ben went back to work on the laptop he’d set up on the kitchen table at 5:00 a.m. that morning. Claire was on the computer in her bedroom, digging for information same as he was.