90 Days (Prairie Town Book 2) (17 page)

     Her eyes were closed and a smile played on her kiss-swollen lips as she sighed, her chest heaving up and down with shallow breaths.

     He couldn’t help but to steal another taste of her skin, pressing soft kisses against her neck as she hummed in delight.

     “I
really
like when you do that.” She confessed, lolling her head to the side for easier access.  “Oh, Benji…”

     Sliding his hand over her thigh, he paused briefly when her legs fell open.

     An invitation?

     He kissed his way to her lips once more, his hand inching up, up, up, until his palm pressed between her thighs.  She moaned quietly and he knew she wanted it.

     “Don’t stop.” She whispered against his mouth, nipping at his bottom lip as he applied more pressure against her clit, palming her over the fabric of her jean.  “Oh, shit…”

     He couldn’t help but to wonder when she’d last been with someone.  She seemed so eager to be touched, so easily riled.

    
Or maybe I’m just that damn good.

     He groaned against the softness of her cheek and popped open the button of her jeans, pulling away briefly, seeking any sign of hesitation.  But that sign never came.  Laney gazed at him with sparkling, beautiful eyes, and he was lost in her.

     He pulled the zipper down and then slipped his hand inside, watching her face as his fingers brushed over her hot, wet skin.

     “Oh…” Her eyes slid closed again and her lips parted, a shallow breath escaping.

     It took every last ounce of willpower he had not to sink his fingers inside of her.  She was so hot and so ready, silently begging him for whatever he would give her, but he wanted to take his time.  He wanted to remember every detail of this night.

     He wanted to remember what it was like making Laney McIntosh orgasm.

     “Benji.” Her sweet voice reached his ears as his thumb slid over her clit and he quickly pressed his mouth to hers, silencing her moans with a kiss.

     He wondered if her heart was beating as loudly as his, but he couldn’t possibly hear it with the thundering in his ears.  All he could do was focus on her breathing and her gorgeous moans as he rubbed her delicately and with precision.

     “Yes…” She whimpered, fisting the sleeve of his shirt in one hand.  “Benji, yes.” Her thighs clamped around his wrist and he knew what that meant.  “Oh, God… Oh, please…”

     If there was one thing he knew in that very moment, of all the things he could possibly know, it was that she’d never have to beg him for anything.  Ever.

     “That’s my girl.” He murmured against the soft strands of her hair, keeping his rhythm steady and consistent as he pushed two fingers inside her.  “Come for me, beautiful.”

     And she did.  Holy shit, did she ever.

     Her mewls of passion filled the air around them, which had raised at least fifty degrees, and Laney’s muscles clenched around his fingers.  Profanities flew from her lips as she threw her head back and arched out of her seat, her orgasm coating his palm with a welcomed warmth.

     All Benji could do was grin as she came down from her high, breathless and spent.

     Never had he seen anything more exquisite in his life.

     He had to have her.  Forever.

     “You are perfect, Laney.” He whispered into her ear as she finally returned to earth.  “And I never want to hear you say otherwise.”

     She turned her head and caught his lips in a tender kiss, smiling.

     “If you say so, Benji.  Thank you for that.”

     “Are you crazy?” Laughter bubbled in his chest.  He carefully pulled his hand out of her jeans and admired the liquid glistening on his fingertips.  “You never have to thank me for that.  It’s my pleasure.”

     And truly, it was.  He loved getting girls off, but he had a feeling he’d never want to touch anyone else ever again.

     Only Laney, if she’d have him.

     “Well, thank you anyway.” She said sheepishly, pressing a kiss to the side of his neck.  “I think I really needed that.”

     “I’m glad to be of service then.”

     “Benji?”

     He sucked a finger into his mouth and turned his eyes to meet hers, lifting an eyebrow.  “Hm?”

     “Do you think maybe…maybe you might want to be my date to Lydia’s wedding?”

     He released his finger from between his lips with a loud
pop
and smirked.  “Do you think there’s anyone else I’d rather take to that wedding?”

     She blushed and dropped her gaze to her lap.

     “No, I suppose not…”

     “Definitely not.” He reached down and grabbed her hand, pulling it to his lips.  As he kissed over each knuckle, he gave her his most charming grin.  “Laney McIntosh, you are a superb human being and I would love to accompany you to your sister, slash my best friend’s, wedding.”

     As they kissed again, he couldn’t help but look forward to that damn wedding.

Chapter 9

Laney

     Monday was her least favorite day of the week.  Maybe she disliked it so much because she was spoiled by two days of sleeping in, or maybe it was because she had to go back to a job she wasn’t happy with anymore. 

     She had always considered herself lucky for landing one of the only decent jobs in Prairie Town.  It didn’t have much to offer aside from working at the hospital or the police department, so being selected—out of all the candidates—to work as a teller at their
only
bank, was a big deal.  The money was good—better than other places in town—and she was blessed to receive the benefits, too.

     Her parents had been so proud of her when she got hired on.  It was one of the only things she felt she had done right by them.  She didn’t want to let them down by letting her illness win.  There were so many times when the voices in her head told her to give up.  Giving up meant disappointing her parents.

     She would never, ever do that again.

     So she held her head up high and smiled at her customers as they came through.  Greeting them as kindly as she could, asking how their day was going, and lying when asked the same thing.

     “Have a wonderful day, Miss Laney.” Mr. Canada said as he tucked his wallet away and smiled at her.  “Don’t go courtin’ too much, little lady.”

     “I won’t.” She laughed, waving to him as he pushed open the double doors and stepped out into the sunny weather.

     Summer was definitely in full swing.  She couldn’t wait to be out in it, hopefully with Benji.  Her mind was already reeling with ideas of things they could do together.  A picnic, perhaps?  Maybe a walk in the woods?  Prairie Town was so beautiful in the summer and there was so much she wanted to show him, to share with him.

      Did he feel the same way?  Surely to God, he had to be on the same page, especially after that magical night they spent together in the backseat of his car.

     Just thinking about it made her tingle.

     Smiling to herself and sitting back down in front of her computer, she began putting in all the numbers for the day.  Maybe this Monday would be the best one yet, somehow.  If only she could stay focused on Benji.

     The drama of the last few days had crossed her mind more than once though, in spite of her efforts.  She still didn’t understand what was wrong with Jeb or why he was acting so funny.  It really worried her.  Jebson had never been the type to get so easily riled up and he was honestly acting like a man with a secret.

     Secrets weren’t supposed to happen between them, and that hurt a little.  Didn’t he trust her?  If he was in trouble she wanted to help, but getting him to open up to her about it was an entirely different story.

     And then there was Lydia.  Poor, stressed-to-the-max Lydia.  Laney knew how much the wedding meant to her sister and as her co-maid-of-honor, it was her duty to ensure things went as smoothly as possible.

     But she was failing her, wasn’t she?

     Plus Tula’s new bookstore was going to have its grand opening soon.  She was excited for it because that meant Benji could finally get back to work like he wanted, but what would that mean for them?

     What were they, exactly?

    
It was just a very hot make out session.
She thought, tugging at the collar of her blouse. 
Very, very hot.

    
But oh, how her knees trembled and her skin heated up at the thought of Benji’s lips upon hers.  She’d never been kissed like that by anyone before.  He had done things to her that made her question the very meaning of life.

     Was it possible she was falling for him?

     The clock finally stuck 4:30 and she was more than ready to leave as she grabbed her purse and quickly exited the building.  The sun was shining bright in the sky and the warmth of a beautiful day kissed her cheeks.

     Closing her eyes and breathing in the sweet-smelling scent of honeysuckle, Laney smiled.

    
Maybe now the day will start getting better.

     She turned her phone on as she soon as she got in the car and the familiar chime of her text tone went off immediately.  Biting back a stupid smile, she slid her thumb over the screen and glanced at the name of the recipient.

    
Benji:
  Thinking of you.  Call me when you get off work.

    
She was about to reply when another text message popped up and it was from a number she didn’t recognize.  However, that was the least of her worries when she read the accompanying message.

    I know the truth about your ‘sister’.

     Her heart sank and she suddenly felt sick as she read the message again.  And again.  

    
This can’t be real.

     But it was.  The bold letters stared back at her, mocking her as she shoved the car door open and climbed out, immediately leaning over and gagging.  But there was nothing to empty out of her stomach; she hadn’t had breakfast or lunch.

     After receiving a message like that, she’d be lucky if she ever ate again.

    
I need to call Lydia.

     But wasn’t that a terrible idea?  Lydia was already dealing with enough without adding something like this onto her plate.  As her co-maid-of-honor
and
as her sister, Laney knew she had to leave Lydia out of it.  She had to protect her.

     Clutching her phone between trembling fingers, she quickly dialed a number and put the phone to her ear.  Sucking in deep breaths and releasing them as calmly as she could, she waited for the only person who could help to pick up.

     “Hello?”

     “Callum.” She sighed in relief.  “Oh, thank God.  We need to talk.”

----------

Benji

     “So basically what I’d like for you to do is just smile pretty and help customers find whatever type of book they’re looking for.” Tula said as she led him down one aisle, and then another.  “Most of these authors aren’t very well-known yet, but it’s now our mission in life to help spread some more light on them and their ridiculous talent.  Understand?”

     “Yep.” Benji watched the cheerful blonde as she lifted a hand and stroked the spine of a book while passing by it.  It was easy to see how much she adored books—no wonder she started writing them.  “And of course,”—she whirled around to stare at him—“there’s an entire section dedicated to my books.  Be sure to let people know they are pre-signed.  If they want something more personal then they’ll have to visit on days I’ve scheduled for meet and greets.”

     “Yes, ma’am.” He nodded, eyeing the stacks of books in the furthest corner of the store.  Though he didn’t quite understand why she’d placed all of her books in the back, he supposed she’d done it to give more attention to her ‘friendies’ as she called them; the independent novelists of the world.  Apparently that was a huge thing nowadays.

     “I want the store closed down by six o’clock every evening until I find someone else I trust enough to hire.”

     Funny, he wasn’t sure how she trusted him so much.  She barely knew him.  He probably needed to thank Lydia for putting a good word in for him.

     “And when you count down the register, drop the money off at my house or I’ll have Paul retrieve it on his way home from work.  The timing should work out perfectly, at least for now.” Tula’s eyes sparkled as she smiled.  “When the baby is born, we’ll probably have our hands full, but we’ll work something else out when we get to that bridge.”

     Benji grinned.  He was happy she was happy.  Tula and her husband had been trying to adopt a baby for a while according to Lydia, and their time had finally come around.  They were just waiting for the baby to be born now.  A nice girl from Raleigh was due in September and she had selected them to be the parents of her child.