Big Ben (See No Evil Trilogy #1) - Nana Malone Page 0,55

I was so totally screwed.

Ben

I was soaking wet. And it was all thanks to Olivia Ashong, who was currently chattering a mile a minute as she followed me into my office.

“It’s fine. It’s just a little water.”

I kept a change of clothes in the office for such an occasion that I stained my shirt or something. I just hadn’t planned on doing a full change.

“I’m really sorry. I was just trying to get you out of the way.

“I’m just going to grab a change of clothes.”

“But oh my God. I’m so sorry. I was trying to help. And honestly the lorry was so close, and we could have been killed.”

“We weren’t going to be killed. And I like the idea of you jumping in front of danger to try to save me.”

“If I hadn’t, you’d be flat as a pancake right now.”

“I tripped.”

Her eyes sparked with fire. “I saved you.”

She was holding a towel and blotting me dry. And standing far too fucking close. Her coconut lime shampoo was wreaking havoc on me. I couldn’t really think properly. I wanted to lean into her, to take a good whiff, to wrap myself in her scent and do all kinds of dirty things with it.

Jesus, you need help. “You are a magnet for trouble, did you know that?”

“I have never been a magnet for trouble until I met you. In a closet, mind you.”

“You were there before I got there.”

“But if you hadn’t ever come in, I never would have gotten that drive in my purse, or gotten mugged the first time, or almost gotten mugged the next time.”

“You’re blaming me?”

“Yeah, I’m blaming you. Before I met you, I was completely boring. No one paid me any attention.”

“You think this is my fault.”

“I’m just saying.”

“You’re the one who needs to be careful. You’re small and delicate, and you traipse around jumping into messes like you can’t get hurt. When someone tries to mug you, you try to fight back.”

“I just couldn’t let it happen again. Besides, they wanted to take me somewhere, and even I know that’s not a good idea.”

“At least you know that much.”

She jabbed me in the chest, her finger leaving an invisible, searing burn on my skin. And I wanted more.

“You need to be more careful.”

“Careful, Mr. Covington, someone might accuse you of caring.”

I squared my shoulders. “Hardly.” My gaze fell on her lips, and my gut tightened. No. Stop looking at her mouth.

Olivia swallowed hard. “I am… uh…” The spark of lightning between us danced. I could physically feel the tension in the room. I needed to get changed. I needed her to get out for me to do that. But goddamn, her hands were on me as she patted me dry. “Look, it’s fine. I’m just going to help you, and then we’ll get back to our day, okay? God, I’m such an idiot. I was really trying to help.”

She continued to pat me with the towel as she spoke rapidly, hardly taking a breath. Each press of her palm was stoking the flame, playing with fire. “Um, Livy?”

She kept on talking though. About how I needed to be more careful. That I should have better situational awareness. Have a clue as to what was happening around me.

All the while, she had zero idea what was going on in my head. The war I was having with myself about touching her, about what was appropriate. All the blood rushed south, and I clenched my teeth, trying to fight against my growing erection. She chose that moment to glance down.

Fucking brilliant.

Her voice went throaty when she mumbled, “Um, I think you’re mostly dry. You can handle this yourself. I’m going to go.”

I cleared my throat in a desperate attempt to regain control. “You probably should.”

But she didn’t move, just stared at me with those wide dark eyes. Daring me.

“Olivia?” It sounded like a plea.

Her wide dark gaze met mine. “Yeah?”

“I’m going to kiss you now.”

Her mouth opened as if she meant to gasp, and I didn’t waste any time.

Yes. I knew it was wrong.

Yes. I knew it was a bad idea.

Yes. I knew I had zero business kissing her when I didn’t know if she could be trusted. She has a boyfriend you wanker.

Well, fuck him.

Deep down inside, she belonged to me. And yes, I knew that once I had broken the seal, it would be nearly impossible to put that genie back in the bottle.

But the kiss happened so fast that I didn’t even have