Dating Dr Notorious (4 page)

Reaction to her insult and her smart-ass tone travelled everywhere through Ben before dividing frustration equally between a pain in his chest and a seething fury in his groin area.

“Being nice just doesn’t work with you, does it? I was being polite. I don’t
think
anything, Dr. Logan
—I damn well know what we both want
,” Ben declared, jerking her body up against his with more force than he had intended to use on her.

Frustrated with his loss of control, but determined to prove his point, Ben clamped his determined mouth onto Regina’s surprised one, his tongue delving inside as if he had every right this time. The enormous relief he felt to be kissing her again surprised him, and had the effect of turning the invasion of her mouth into yet another passionate exploration between them.

Despite their angry words with each other, kissing her now was just as good and just as promising as earlier.

Ben heard her bag and keys fall to the ground as Regina brought her arms up around him. Realizing her desperation matched his made him crazy with lust all over again. He had a hell of a time not lifting her dress to get to her—into her, even knowing full well who she was.

Since his self-control was not infinite, Ben lifted Regina and spun them both until he could press his body firmly into hers against the side of her car. He leaned hard against her anchoring her there with his hips as he kissed her over and over until they were both shaking.

It was a torment to pull away from the reach of her eager mouth.

“I admit I started this first and that I didn’t care about your identity when I did,” Ben said softly. “But you can’t blame me for being the only person here tonight who didn’t realize who you were, Regina.”

Dizzy with desire, Regina’s mind still reeled from Ben’s kisses while she tried to take in his words. His rapid, hard heartbeat announced against her that Ben was not as calm as he sounded. And though what he’d said to her wasn’t an apology, at least Ben knew who she was this time and had kissed her again anyway.

Regina had to admit it was a better response than she usually got.

She sighed and let her forehead rest on Ben’s chest while she stroked his back with her hands to soothe them both. His heartbeat instantly slowed and quieted under her hands. Her body seemed to know Ben’s instinctively, but physical compatibility, no matter how strong, was never enough. No one knew it better than a woman who dealt with it every day.

Ben might want her, but he certainly didn’t like her. He for sure didn’t like who she was—probably never would. Regina squeezed her eyes shut against the deep disappointment. Even if he had asked questions, Regina knew there were no words adequate enough to explain her crazy life.

It hurt that Ben might never know the truth about her. It hurt worse to think Ben might not ever want to know.

“So now what, Ben?” Regina asked, her voice tired and strained. It had been one hell of a day and she needed to find some peace before she collapsed.

“I don’t know,” Ben said as he massaged along her spine with his fingertips, her grateful sigh pleasing him. “I want you, Regina—I admit I do—but, it’s complicated.”

Complicated
, she thought. A good enough description for the situation, Regina supposed. Though she could have told Ben a new sexual relationship was always complicated, even for an everyday Jane or Joe.

But he probably wouldn’t want to hear it from her even if she was an expert.

So Regina stroked Ben’s back once more, savoring the feel of him and building a memory for later. Finally, she pushed against Ben’s waist to sever their connection completely.

Tonight she was glad to be as old as she was, and glad seven years of being famous had hardened her enough to be able to step away from the promise of Ben Kaiser’s arms.

Regina cleared her throat, finding and taking the high road at last. “Don’t feel bad about your actions, Ben. I understand how you feel about what I do for a living. I get that reaction from people all the time,” she said lightly.

Pushing completely out of his arms and turning away, Regina quickly retrieved her car keys and bag from the ground.

Ben had to step back to avoid getting hit by her car door when Regina opened it to climb inside. While he tried to think of something more to say, she buckled the seatbelt and rolled down the window as the car started. Then Ben watched Regina work the gearshift and clutch with an efficiency he found both erotic and admirable.

He leaned against the car door, the biggest part of him wishing he was going home with her. But the other part of him—the one still absorbing who she was—felt like a high school kid lusting for the easy girl in school.

His thoughts scattered when Regina turned her full attention to him again. Her gaze was tired, but direct.

Gone now was the woman he had coaxed into kissing him in the garden. The woman looking at him through the car window plainly didn’t care what the world thought about her. Ben’s shock at her restored composure had him pushing off her car as she revved the engine.

He felt the distance between them widening even before she spoke.

“Look—don’t worry about what happened tonight, Ben.” Regina put the car into gear, preparing for her escape. “At our age, you think the romantic stuff is either for teenagers or maybe at best movie fodder. Frankly, it was nice to be kissed by a handsome man in a garden, even for a few moments. Now take the doctor’s advice and keep trying. The next woman you walk across the dance floor to just might be the one who fits into your life.”

She looked at him for a few moments longer, and then revved the engine again before smoothly rolling away. He heard the Stones blaring loudly just before her window closed.

The gossip mill had churned and word of his
faux pas
had spread just as fast as Ben had feared. Now he sat at his desk, trying hard to ignore the two men seated across from him.

He put his attention back on the papers he was reviewing, trying not to acknowledge the conversation they were having about him in his presence.

“I think you should go for it. Ask her out,” Alfred advised.

Alfred Winslow, Catherine’s cousin, was the Chief Operating Officer of the company and one of the smartest, kindest men Ben had ever known. Or at least Alfred normally was. Ben frowned at his statement as he pretended not to hear it.

“Hell yeah. Dr. Logan is a good-looking woman. You should ask her out, Ben,” agreed Daniel.

Daniel Binghamton, Catherine’s brother-in-law, was the Chief Financial Officer. He was also like a brother to Ben, who had no natural siblings. In fact, both Alfred and Daniel were more like family to him than employees, which made their cross-examination that much more irritating to tolerate.

“Don’t you guys have sex lives of your own to worry about?” Ben asked, exasperated with their remarks. He knew from years of working with them if he acted too shocked or outraged about the subject matter, they’d just push harder.

“Yeah, we do, but this is different. Dr. Logan is in a class of womanhood all by herself. She’s not young, but she’s plenty hot, and well—what man in his right mind would say no to a chance with a woman who knows practically everything about sex?” Daniel asked.

“I want to hear the story about how you two met, Ben. Did you really make out with her on the dance floor of the country club, and then drag her outside?” Alfred teased, watching the sweat bead on Ben’s forehead. Normally Ben was the ice man with his emotions. It was a lot of fun watching his calm demeanor dissolve for once, Alfred thought. He wondered what it was about Regina Logan that had overridden Ben’s unfailing politeness.

Ben swore and threw the stack of papers down on his desk, all pretenses of not listening gone. What was the use? Memories of kissing Regina were never far from the edge of his mind anyway.

“Hey, people talk, Ben,” Daniel said. “No biggie. It’s not like you’re going to have to marry the woman now or anything. It’s just hard to imagine you acting so spontaneously in public, and you haven’t talked about it at all.”

“Because there’s
nothing
to talk about—I barely spoke to the woman,” Ben protested. “We danced at the fundraiser, and then walked in the garden for about five minutes. She gave her speech. I went home alone, and she went—wherever.”

The fact Ben remembered in great detail how Regina Logan’s body arched against his was no one else’s business. And it was damned well going to stay that way.

“Well I say you should have a fling if she’s willing,” Alfred said. “Then come back and tell us all the things she did to you so we can dream about them.”

“Alfred, I told you to just read her books,” Daniel said, smacking his head as a sign to Alfred he wasn’t using his for a better purpose. “Everything Dr. Logan knows is in her books. Stacey and I own all of them. You know we went to her for counseling.”

“
You what?
” Ben asked, totally surprised by the information. “
When did you go to Dr. Logan for counseling?
” And why hadn’t he known? Daniel talked about bloody everything.

“I can’t believe Catherine didn’t tell you. You know we had to do counseling. Stacey didn’t give me a choice. It was either therapy or get a divorce. Dr. Logan was cool about it all though. She’s definitely not a stuffy white coat.” Daniel leaned back in his chair and smiled. “I remember she had this great laugh—sexy as hell. Well, anyway, we only saw her a few times, but we did buy all her books. We also bought some videos she recommended that I swear to God are better than any porn I ever saw.”

Ben rolled his eyes. “Damn it, Daniel, that’s way too much information for me to know about you and Stacey. How the hell can you just talk about your sex life like it’s no big deal?”

“Hey—don’t swear at me,” Daniel said with a laugh. “It’s not my fault I married the adventurous sister, and you got the quiet, sedate one. I’m nothing but grateful to Dr. Logan. Now and again Stacey picks out something from one of the books she wants to try and tapes a copy to the bathroom mirror.”

Ben felt a flush creep up his neck at Daniel’s revelation, but a stab of envy hit his gut as well. It wasn’t that Catherine hadn’t been wonderful as a lover. She had been great. It was just Daniel’s insinuations about Regina Logan’s—well,
knowledge
, Ben conceded—reminded him of her unrestrained response and wound him up tighter.

What they were saying made him want to track her down even more than he already wanted to just from kissing her. He wondered how many men were attracted to Regina for what they thought she knew. The idea of her with someone else seriously bothered him.

Ben glared at Daniel to get him to stop talking, but it did no good.

Daniel just sighed and closed his eyes on a smile. “Three years, and there’s not been a single bad idea so far. I’m telling you Dr. Logan knows her sex stuff.”

Sex stuff
, Ben thought, as the complete realization of what Daniel was saying finally took solid root in his brain. Regina Logan—the woman he’d kissed—wrote explicit books about sex and sold videos as well. Regina saw clients, including Stacey and Daniel. Who knows how many people he knew had seen her? What if their business clients were clients of hers? How awkward would that be?

And why in the hell hadn’t Catherine said anything to him about Stacey and Daniel seeing a
sex therapist
? Damn it anyway. She’d said Stacey and Daniel were seeing a marriage counselor.

Daniel leaned over and snapped fingers in front of Ben’s glazed eyes. “Ben. Keep it together, man. Look, Dr. Logan’s office is on Winchester Street. You can’t miss the sign. What do you have to lose? Just take her out of town if you can. The media loves to harass her and her dates.”

Ben closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair to stare at the ceiling. He had told Regina it was complicated before he’d even known the full extent of what that meant.

*** *** ***

Two weeks later—two weeks after he’d kissed the notorious Dr. Regina Logan in the garden of the country club—Ben could still close his eyes and remember every detail. Regardless of how her profession disturbed him, he was desperate to take some action to resolve the problem of not being able to forget her. So Ben finally asked Lauren McCarthy to dinner. She said yes and agreed to meet him at Lucinda’s, one of the nicest and most private restaurants in town.

“Hi, Ben. Sorry I’m late,” Lauren said, breezing in and taking the chair across him. “So what do you want to know about Regina?”

Ben blinked, dumbstruck that Lauren somehow had guessed his true motive for asking her out.

Lauren smiled at Ben’s pained expression. She was surprised it had taken Ben a whole two weeks to do something about his interest in her friend. Ben probably intended to ease into asking questions about Regina, but Lauren was running late and hadn’t the time to be less than direct.

Ben leaned his head into his hands and groaned before finally looking up at Lauren again. His dating game was completely off. He was acting as horny as a teenage boy over Regina and now about to beg help from her best friend.

And evidently, he wasn’t even subtle about it.

“Aren’t you offended I asked you out to talk about Regina?” Ben could feel ashamed about it a little. Lauren was a fine looking woman.

“Depends. Are you paying for dinner?” Lauren watched Ben nod, tapping the end of one perfectly painted fingertip against her equally perfect white teeth.

“Anything on the menu,” Ben said seriously.

“Wow, a man ready to open his wallet because of a woman. You must have it bad.” Lauren smiled in mock sympathy, the knowing look in her eyes daring Ben to deny it.

“It’s like being eighteen again,” Ben admitted with a frown. “She’s all I can think about.”

Lauren giggled, relieved when Ben finally smiled.
And there it was
, she thought,
the lady killer look she’d warned Regina about.
While she was happy for friend, Lauren also couldn’t help being a little envious of Regina’s ability to attract someone like Ben. First Alexa found a younger man who was great for her. Now Regina and Ben. And all Lauren attracted was unfaithful married jerks. Life was so unfair at times.