Wyne and Dine (Citizen Soldier Series Book 1) (13 page)

“Ryder remodeled the place five
years ago,” she said, opening the door to show him a full bathroom that had
once been a small half-bath. “The rest is similar, but he changed the layout to
be more functional.”

Placing his back to the couch, Ben
worked on curbing errant thoughts of getting Lea naked on the cushions and
sinking in to her warm, wet…

 He cleared his throat. “It seems
bigger, too.” He motioned toward the table against the wall by the steps where
the silk pieces for the horses rested.

“Yeah, I like it down here now.”

This caused him to frown. “I don’t
remember you not liking it down here.”

Pink settled in her cheeks. “Some
memories weren’t that great.”

Even though she was clearly
embarrassed, the woman held his gaze, unafraid if he read them. And he did. He
knew exactly which memories she’d meant.

Him and Gwen making out on the
couch.

They were quickly turning into some
of his least favorites, too. If he’d been of his right mind, he would’ve
realized that analogy was cause for a massive red flag and would’ve required
him to hit the stairs running.

But, he was far from his right
mind. In fact, he only had a one track mind. The one that wanted Lea on the
couch. Naked. And screaming his name.

He had no idea where the last part
came from, but it worked for him.

“Wait.” She stepped back,
apparently seeing his intent in his eyes. “You haven’t said what you thought
a-about the leis.”

“They’re one of my most favorite
things.” He moved toward her. “In fact, I’d love to get
lei-d
right
now.”

“Ben.”

“Lea.”

She choked on a laugh. “What’s
going on in that head of yours?”

“That it’s time you had some new
memories down here. Good memories,” he said, stalking her, backing her up until
the back of her knees hit the couch, and she fell onto the cushions.

“I
—”

Ben followed her down, swallowing
her words with his tongue, covering her body completely with his. God, she felt
great, all warm and soft and trembling. Her hands were on the back of his head,
holding him close, brushing her thumbs across his neck, sending goosebumps down
his shoulders and spine.

Groaning, he ground into her,
eliciting a sexy moan as her hands skimmed his back to grab his ass and press
up into him.
Ah hell
, she had him on the fast track in under a minute.
He broke the kiss and pulled back just enough to yank the shirt up and over her
head. Breath hissed in his lungs at the sight of her white, lacy bra barely
containing her breasts. He lowered his head to kiss her cleavage, and she
grabbed him again, this time his head as he pulled the lace aside and sucked a
beaded nipple into his mouth.

“Yes…” Her breathing came shallow
and ragged.

Her body was hot, and he needed to
touch all of her.

Slipping his hand under her skirt,
he shifted his weight so he could push the denim up to her hips. He released
her nipple and glanced down, nearly coming undone at the sight of her matching
lace panties barely covering her mound.

“Don’t stop,” she begged, pulling
his head back down to her chest.

Needing no further instruction, he
kissed his way to her other nipple, pressing the pert peak to the roof of his
mouth with his tongue. She moaned, arching into him while his fingers slid over
her sexy lace panties… finding them damp.

A deep, hungry groan filled the
room, and it took him a moment to realize the sound had come from him. He
didn’t care. He was too far gone, lost in the slick heat and soft curves of the
responsive woman writhing beneath him.

“Ah, Ben? Lea?”

The interruption from the top of
the stairs had him on his feet and pivoting around before his eyes could even
focus. Thankfully, the wall prevented her father from seeing down into the room
from the very top, and the back surgery prevented Mr. Gablonski from using
stairs.

Jesus, what the hell had he been
thinking? They weren’t teenagers. But he sure acted like one, a horny one,
whenever his mouth was on any part of the woman.

“Sorry to bother you, but the cat
knocked the cable out of the wall again, and there’s only two minutes left in
the game,” her father explained. “I tried, but I can’t reach it.”

“No, don’t do that.” Lea was on her
feet, tucking things in as she spoke. “We’ll be right up.”

Ben was already at the bottom of
the stairs. The sooner he fixed the cable, the sooner he could take Lea to his
extra room at the lodge where they could continue like adults, and
uninterrupted. “Lead the way.”

A few minutes later, he was
kneeling behind the TV stand, fastening the cable to the jack in the wall when
his gaze fell to the newspaper on the coffee table.

The New York Times.

Classifieds.

With several ads circled in red.

The tightening in his chest
returned again, and he was grateful he’d been on the floor, because he felt as
if he’d been run over by a tank. Twice. Which was damn stupid.

He knew Lea was going to New York
in a few weeks. It was no secret. She hid nothing from him. So the shock
rumbling through his body was unacceptable.

But it was real, and he needed to
suck it up. And fast.

“That’s it,” her dad said as the
game must have came back into focus on the TV. “Thanks, Ben.”

He backed out of his tight spot and
slowly rose to his feet. If only he could do something about the tight spot in
his chest. It hurt, bad. Like he was having a heart attack, but he knew
differently. It was anxiety. He had to have a heart to have a heart attack.

“You’re welcome, sir.” He nodded at
the man, keeping his gaze from the woman who hovered in the doorway. “I’d
better get going. Thanks for having me over.”

“Any time, son. But, don’t leave on
my account.”

“I’m not,” he reassured, holding
her father’s gaze until the man relaxed and nodded. “I have to head down the
Gap before first light.”

“Yeah, morning comes early on days
like that.”

“Sure does.” He made small talk,
still not glancing at the woman.

“I’ll walk you out,” she said,
apparently tired of being silent…or ignored.

And now he had no choice but to
leave the house with her or he’d seem way too rude. But he did owe her an
explanation. He chanced a glance at her face. Yeah. His stomach clenched.
Confusion clouded her vibrant gaze as she hooked her arm through his then led
them outside.

“Okay, what gives?” she asked as
they walked from her front porch to the sidewalk.

Ben glanced around, relieved to
note none of the neighbors were sitting on their porches at the moment. He and
Lea didn’t need to become the talk of the town.

Been there done that with another
Gablonski.

If only he didn’t have an aversion
to liars, he’d try to come up with one that would let her off easy. But, she
deserved the truth.

When he reached the truck, he
removed her hand and leaned back against his door. “I saw the newspaper.”

Her forehead wrinkled into a frown.
“I don’t follow.”

“The New York Times. The
classifieds.”

“Okay.” She blinked. “Still not
following.”

He shrugged. “It was just a
reminder that you’re leaving.”

Why wasn’t the conversation easing
some of the damn pain in his chest?

“Yes. Something you already know.
I’ve never kept that from you. So, how is that a problem?”

God, he wished he knew. But he
didn’t have a clue. He felt like he was standing in quicksand. Something in his
expression must’ve given her an answer because she shook her head and sighed.

“You’re still trying to protect
this,” she said, patting his chest. “But I’m not trying to stake a claim there,
Ben. I’ve tried to make it clear. You’re safe with me. I’m leaving. It’s a
perfect set up. I’m attracted to you. You’re attracted to me. I don’t know why
it’s so hard for you to understand. I’m not looking for a ring you don’t want
to give. I just want some fun. Some sex. Some crazy,
fun
sex where I
don’t have to hold back or pretend or live up to anything…”

She removed her touch, and his body
suddenly felt cold.

“You don’t need to live up to
anything, Lea. You’re perfect,” he finally said, unable to allow her to think
otherwise. “You’re the best damn person I’ve ever met.”

Determination and affection and
exasperation all crowded her gaze. “Then why are you stopping this?”

He opened his mouth to answer, but
he had nothing.

She sighed again and slowly shook
her head. “If you come up with an answer before I leave, look me up.” She
lifted on tiptoe, kissed the corner of his mouth and his cheek, then drew back
and walked away.

Didn’t look back. Just walked up
the sidewalk, onto her porch, then went inside.

He envied her. She knew what she
wanted. Wasn’t afraid to take risks.

Normally, he wasn’t either. He had
no issues with risking life and limb for family and country. Had done it on
numerous occasions. But to risk his heart for a few nights in her bed? Okay,
glorious, hotter-than-hell nights in her bed. Even so, he simply wasn’t that
brave.

L
ea spent the next few
days staying busy. Between taking her father to and from therapy, working at
the restaurant, cooking and cleaning her father’s house, and double-checking on
tomorrow’s trip to New York City, she was exhausted. And frustrated.

In attitude.
And
sexually.

Dammit
.

And it didn’t help whenever Ben
waltzed into the Eatery, looking all hot and hard and gorgeous. At least he
wasn’t avoiding her, her mind insisted. True. But, his presence and that
wonderful scent of his, all male and soap and fresh cedar, and the way his eyes
held hers with a dark, brooding expression…He was killing her.

Would he ever come around? Reverse
his decision?

She hadn’t called a halt to things.
He had. And they really didn’t have a
thing
other than sex. Why did he
have to go and stop the sex? She’d only gotten one blissful night. And a few
teasers. She wanted a few nights.

But she’d made enough moves. Made
things perfectly clear. The ball was in his court now. If they were to fall
into bed together, then he was going to have to come to her. She was done
making the first move.

“Today’s the day, huh?” Mr. Tierney
smiled up at her from his perch on the bar stool. “Brandi’s coming home for a
visit and brining them cowboys with her?”

“Yep.” She nodded. “And cowgirls,
too.”

His smile widened. “Whoop! I heard
that. You going to pick them up?”

“Yes. Just waiting for the call.
They left Texas…” She glanced at the train on the wall “Three hours ago.” She
couldn’t hold back a wide smile. “They should land any minute now. One of the
Wynes are supposed to pick me up on the way to the airstrip.”

“Bet it’ll be Ben. He can’t keep
his eyes off ya. Always playing it cool when you’re looking, but when you
ain’t?” The older man slapped the counter and chuckled. “Boy, I’ll tell ya,
that young man’s got it bad and doesn’t even know it.”

Well, it was news to her, too. Ben
stared at her? Damn, stubborn man. Why the heck was he holding back?

Keiffer rushed into the restaurant,
bell above the door unnecessarily announcing his arrival. “Hey, Lea. It’s time.
You ready?”

Mr. Tierney shook his head,
muttered something under his breath about being young and stubborn and foolish.

“Yea,” she replied, removing her
apron as she glanced at the clock. “Did they call? I haven’t heard anything
yet.” She grabbed her purse from under the counter then removed her phone,
noting no missed calls or texts.

“No.” He ushered her out the door
and into his jeep parked at the side of the building. “We just know they should
be landing soon, so there’s no need to wait for a call. Ben and Mason are
already there. Ethan, Tyler and my dad stayed behind to make sure all the rooms
are ready at the lodge.”

Her stomach squeezed, and it wasn’t
from the seatbelt she’d just clicked into place. “And you got stuck with
picking
up Lea
duty. I could’ve driven myself. The airport is only twenty minutes
away. I’m sorry.”

And she was. Sorry it hadn’t been
Ben. Damn man worked across the street from her. He should’ve taken her on the
principal of convenience alone. And here she’d thought he’d stopped avoiding
her.

“It’s no trouble.” Keiffer smiled
as they drove out of town. “Ben was supposed to take you, but Dad called him
two hours ago with a busted water heater. He’s been helping Ryder install a new
one, so he ended up just leaving from there.”

“Oh…that’s terrible.”

Then why did she suddenly feel
better?

He nodded. “Yeah, great timing,
right?”

Even though she’d been ecstatic
over seeing her best friend again, and finally meeting her new ones in person,
Lea’s mood had lifted considerably, and all because of a busted hot water
heater. Silly, but knowing Ben hadn’t deliberately pawned her off on his
youngest brother made the difference between breathing, and painful breathing.

She was even glad she’d taken a
little extra care getting ready that morning. Because of her duties at the
restaurant, she couldn’t dress chic, but she could wear a sensible dress that
still flattered. Gwen had taught her that much. She wore a light gray, cap
sleeve dress that hugged her figure without squeezing and fell halfway to her
knees, then paired it with gingham print, peep-toe flats with an adorable
little bow above the hole. They were cute and comfortable and made her feel
flirty. And after the past few days, she needed to feel flirty.

“Looks like we got here before
Brandi,” Keiffer said, parking his jeep next to Ben’s truck before they got out
and joined the vigil by the gate.

“Hi, everyone,” she said, ordering
her pulse to slow down as she stood next to Ben.

He was just a guy. A guy who was
holding back. Although, he missed a piece of heat, because a spark had
flittered through his gaze for a few beats before his neutral expression
arrived to save the day.

She forced herself to ignore the
man and stared out over the private airfield used by businessmen and tourists
alike. The runway was empty, and the hangar was opened, but also empty. Her
friend hadn’t landed yet. Other than her and the Wynes, the place was pretty
deserted. Just a few workers stood about, glancing up at the sky.

Family owned, the airstrip was
convenient for those who wanted quick access to the Poconos, or needed to get
to one of the neighboring big cities. The Wynes had some sort of shuttle
service deal with the owners, but today, she knew the guys wanted to come get
their sister and her new extended family.

“Looks like them there,” Mason
said, pointing to a small blip in the cloudless blue horizon.

Everyone stood silently, watching,
and smiling as the blip grew from a dot to take the shape of a plane that
eventually landed without a bump on the airstrip several yards out. As the
Gulfstream jet taxied onto a different runway on the way to the hanger, Lea’s
excitement picked up.

It was going to be great to see
Brandi again.

The jet stopped, and the airstrip
workers rushed forward to help as the door opened and steps were lowered. Then
beauty and testosterone emptied onto the tarmac.

Holy wranglers
did the
Texans ever know how to fill out a pair of jeans. And cowboy boots. And
Stetsons. She’d talked to each of the cowboys on Skype at one point over the
past few months, so she immediately recognized them, but wow, the computer failed
to convey the punch of their actual presence.