Against the Edge (The Raines of Wind Can - By Kat Martin Page 0,58
her again and she swayed against him, kissed him back with growing urgency.
He figured she would have agreed if she hadn’t bumped his wound just then, eliciting a sharp grunt of pain.
Claire tore free. “Oh, my God, what was I thinking? Are you all right? Did I hurt you?”
“I’m fine.” That was a lie, but what the hell? A little pain would be worth it. He caught her hand, pulled her close and kissed her again. “Come on, let’s go.”
Claire jerked away. “No way, Ben Slocum. You aren’t in any shape to have hot, mind-blowing sex. You need to get well so we can find Sam.”
His groin was throbbing, aching more than his side. He was hard as granite, but, dammit, she was right. He couldn’t afford to do something stupid like tear out his stitches.
She was right—again. And he was getting damned tired of it. Being a know-it-all wasn’t becoming in a woman.
Well, usually. He kind of liked it in Claire.
“Okay,” he said. “For now. But once I’m good to go, the deal is off. Just so you know.”
“That’s crazy. What if I say no?”
His mouth faintly curved. “Then I’ll convince you to say yes.”
“What...what about working together?”
“We’ve done all right so far. We’ll manage.”
“I’m not agreeing to anything—just so you know.”
He smiled. He couldn’t help it. “I’ve always enjoyed a challenge.” He sobered. “Unless, of course, you’d rather go back to L.A.” Which was suddenly the last thing he wanted.
It was insane. She’d be safe, and so would he.
Claire squared her shoulders. “I’m not going back.”
Relief he shouldn’t have felt slid through him. “Then as soon as I’m well, all bets are off. You’re fair game, angel.”
She opened her mouth and closed it again. Turning, she started for the door. “I have to go. I have work of my own to do.” Leaving him frustrated and amused, Ben watched Claire walk into the hall and close the study door.
With a sigh of resignation, he returned to his desk and sat back down in his chair. His side was throbbing like a thousand hammers pounded away inside him. And yet he felt better than he had in days. Sooner or later, Claire would be his.
He waited for the little voice that told him he’d gone straight off the deep end, but the voice never came.
Seventeen
The wind blew all night and was still whipping the branches and terrorizing the shrubs late the following morning. Turning away from the window above the kitchen sink that looked into Ben’s leafy backyard, Claire poured herself a cup of coffee from the dregs left in the pot. The kitchen was small but neat, with four of everything: place mats, plates, cups, glasses and silverware. Clearly Ben didn’t do much entertaining.
He seemed to be feeling much better. It was good news and scary news—Ben wanted her, he had made no bones about it. He intended to seduce her. The question was what did she want to do?
She mulled the question over as she added some half-and-half to her cup, took a sip and winced at the bitter taste. She was wildly attracted to Ben. Just looking at his amazing body made her hot and shivery all over, embarrassingly aroused. She knew how good he could make her feel, hadn’t forgotten those incredible multiple orgasms. But Ben was a loner and as soon as he found his son, he would be ready to move on.
Even now, it was hard to think of him with another woman. Getting in deeper would only make things worse.
Still, it was tempting.
Claire rolled the idea around in her head as a light knock sounded at the door. Setting her cup down on the white tile counter, she made her way across Ben’s man-cave living room to peer through the peephole, saw Sage Cantrell, Maggie Rawlins and Annie Mayberry, the little blonde woman in her sixties she had met along with his other friends the first day of their return to Houston.
Claire smiled and opened the door. “Hello. Come on in. It’s good to see you all.”
“It’s good to see you, too.” Sage hugged her as she stepped into the living room, followed by Annie and Maggie.
“I could use a little female company,” Claire said. “Ben’s getting better, which means he’s as crabby as a caged tiger.”
“So he’s back to his lovable old self,” Annie said.
Claire grinned. “Getting close, I guess. Would you like a cup of coffee or a glass of iced tea?”
“Tea sounds great.” Sage was dressed in an expensive