DivineWeekend (2 page)

“Because you’d be looking at the wrong guy.”

His reply was so smooth and contrary to the message in his
eyes, she thought she’d misunderstood him. Had she imagined the hot flash of
desire in his eyes a minute ago? She obviously had, though her skin was still
tingling from it. What she needed now was a blast of oxygen to clear her mind
and get some reasonable perspective on the present situation—her desire to get
to know him and his obvious indifference. Her mind in an absolute whirl, Julia
told herself to ignore his comment.

“Message understood, I’ll alert the female population,” shot
uncensored straight out of her mouth before she turned on her heels and went
through the kitchen door. Fuming.
So much for keeping quiet! Oh well, he
asked for it…presumptuous jerk!

“Julia! You’re just the person I need,” Mark said. “I was
wondering how long it will take to heat up your lasagnas.”

She could sulk or she could ignore the whole unfortunate
incident. She chose to have a good time. “Okay, step aside and make room for
the culinary expert,” she joked just as the kitchen door opened and a handsome
stranger holding a couple of wine bottles walked in.

He was introduced to her as Kevin McKenna, an old friend of
Mark and Sarah’s in from Boston for the weekend. The vibes were good and she
was rapidly drawn to him and his friendly manner. They remained together for
the rest of the evening. Kevin helped her with the food and amused her with his
wit and great sense of humor. There was an easy way about him she found
endearing, and she couldn’t help comparing him to the rude and moody Ben
Russell, whom she’d kept clear of for the rest of the evening. She needn’t have
bothered—he ignored her the entire time she was there, although once or twice
she felt his stare on her. A twinge of regret for her crushed hopes was
immediately snuffed out by the memory of his vexing words. Ben Russell had
proven to be a conceited jerk, and she had no business caring if he ever talked
to her again.

Yet she did…

* * * * *

The sun was high when Julia awoke the following morning. She
slid from the bed and stood at the window as a boat sailed by. Her thoughts
shifted back to Ben Russell. She sighed with regret for what could have been
and never would be. She was so tired of dating men who were almost
interchangeable. Ben Russell seemed different. She’d hoped he’d be someone
special, someone she’d like well enough to date more than once. But he wouldn’t
do. Not even for one single date. She turned from the window and went into the
bathroom.

It was a clear, sunny day, perfect to sit on her back porch
in her favorite chair and enjoy the Indian summer heat. With a cup of coffee in
one hand and her manuscript in the other, Julia watched in total bewilderment as
Ben Russell moored
Serenity
at her dock, stepped ashore, and ambled
toward her as if he’d been invited.

Lying at her feet, Fred raised his head and made
threatening, low, growling noises. “Does he bite?” Ben asked as he started to
climb the steps to the porch.

Only jerks like you.
“Not usually.”

His lips curled into a smirk. “I’ll take my chances, then.”

She shrugged. It wouldn’t be her problem if suddenly Fred
decided to go after his tall, hairy legs clad in a pair of cargo shorts. In
spite of herself, the sight of him made her pulse go faster.
Damn.
He
was a handsome one in a wild, dark way. She grabbed Fred’s collar more to keep
her hands busy than from any concern.

“Why are you here?”

“I came to invite you to lunch.”

He was even more lustworthy in daylight and she couldn’t
help the surge of heat to her face and neck, and the moistening of her pussy.
She had to act calmly, though, so she nodded at his boat. “In that?”

His face lifted in a flash of amusement. “No. In a
restaurant.”

“Huh.” That was all she managed to say when her heart leapt
with pleasure.

“Is that a yes?”

“I thought you weren’t looking for a partner.”

“I’m not.”

Her jaw started to clench. “What do you want from me, Ben?”

“A lunch date,” he said easily.

She’d been out of the dating game so long now she didn’t
know how to play it. And Ben Russell was older, more mature than the men she
had previously dated. Famous even!
And capricious
. He was definitely
that. She could hardly recognize last night’s distant, cynical man in the
almost amiable person standing in front of her today. But he was still the same
person who told her in no uncertain terms he wasn’t looking for a partner. And
a partner was what she truly wanted.

“I can’t.”

He frowned. “You mean you won’t?”

“I mean I already have a date.”

“With Kevin?”

So, he
did
notice. Excellent!
“Yes.”

He shoved his hands in his pockets. “Cancel it.”

A derisive little laugh gurgled from her throat. “Why would
I cancel a date with a nice, friendly man to be with you?”

Leaning down, Ben placed his hands on the arms of her
Adirondack chair, his eyes blazing with some strong emotion—anger, annoyance,
frustration? “Because I’m not nice or friendly… and also not boring.”

“Kevin is n—” His mouth crashed down on hers, pushing the
words back into her throat.

His kiss was wild. Wild and incredibly wonderful,
intoxicatingly addictive. And it went on forever, his frustration transmitting
to her mouth in a passionate, demanding kiss that was more intent on stirring
an immediate and overwhelming response than tasting and exploring any kind of
intimacy. It was impossible to even pretend she was outraged by his behavior
when she was returning his kiss with the same mad urgency that seemed to have overtaken
him. Arousal came fast and she shivered with the sheer force of it. There was
no withdrawal from her, no attempt to pull away as their lips parted, their
tongues thrust, and they licked, nipped and sucked as if they were starving and
couldn’t get enough of each other. She wanted him with a need so strong it
stunned her. She tightly gripped the front of his shirt and her hands took
their own fill of him, inciting him to take her. Intensely and immediately.

Oh, oh, this is pure insanity
. A serious case of
pent-up need unleashed by his expert and lustful kissing. She didn’t want to go
there. With more regret than she thought possible, she pushed against his chest
with the flat of her hands.

He drew back, his eyes burning into hers.

“No!” she said, and though it wasn’t the first time she’d
said no to a man, this time she truly regretted it.

He straightened and blew out his breath, tension quite
palpable.

“I must get ready for my date,” she said, standing on shaky
legs. She waited for him to back away but he merely shifted his body so she
could squeeze by. She carefully stepped around, afraid to touch him and lose
control again, and pushed through the screen door into the safety of her
kitchen.

* * * * *

Two weeks had gone by since her episode with Ben and her
lips still tingled from his kiss. He had made no attempt to contact her, which
left her confused and unable to sleep, dwelling on the meaning of everything
that had happened during and after Sara’s dinner.

The first rehearsal of their new play was taking place tonight
at the community center. The casting was practically finished, though a new
director was urgently needed to replace the old one, now retired and living in
Arizona.

She was truly looking forward to a fun evening and entered
the hall with a spring in her step. Most of the cast was already there. At the
sound of the door opening and closing a few heads turned and some people
shifted to the side, allowing her a full view of the man standing in the
middle. She almost tripped over her own feet.

Why is he here?

“Hi, I hope I’m not late,” she said to no one in particular,
talking over the pounding of her heartbeat.

“Not at all. We’ve been busy getting acquainted with Ben
Russell, our new director,” Greg informed her.

A sudden understanding of Ben’s presence hit her.
Oh no!
She
turned her head to Ben for validation and was met with a wry smile.

“I thought you were a TV writer,” she said accusingly.

He raised an eyebrow. “And one invalidates the other?”

From the corner of her eye Julia sensed her friends’
surprise at the spat unfolding in front of them. She shrugged, trying to show
indifference to this turn of events that would throw them together once a
week—twice when the time came for dress rehearsals. “Sure…I guess.”

Greg put an end to their mutual digs by cutting in. “So,
shall we start?”

“Yes, why don’t we?” Ben said, throwing a warning look at
her before he moved off the stage.

In spite of a shaky start the rehearsal went rather well—
thank
you, God
—and she felt very pleased with her performance. Her high wasn’t
long-lived, though, because just as she was leaving the stage she missed a
step, tripped and fell right into Ben’s arms.

“Happy to be of service,” he said, catching her.

She stiffened, a jolt of electricity running through her
body at the whisper-light sensation. She pushed against his broad chest,
forcing herself to ignore the thrilling effect of his touch on her body—a lot
more unsettling than his words.

“What did you think of the play?” she immediately asked in
an attempt to prove to him, and her, that his touch had no lasting effect on
her.

“It’s a good play.”

She’d be damned if she’d beg him for compliments. “But?”

“There are no buts.” He held the door for her, then followed
her out. “So, how about a drink?”

She shook her head.

Wearing but a lightweight sweater with her jeans, she
shivered in the cool night air. Surprised, she watched Ben remove his field
coat and place it over her shoulders. His hands stayed on her for a moment,
then slipped down her arms before he pushed them in his pockets.

“Got a date?”

She shook her head again. “No.”

“So why not have a drink with me?”

“I’m getting up early and I still have to pack.”

Her heart was racing. What did he mean by inviting her for a
drink? She had to rein in the joy that surged through her, reminding herself of
how dismissively rude he’d been to her before, not to mention his two weeks’
silence after her refusal to have lunch with him.

“Where are you going?” he asked, breaking into her thoughts.

“Boston.”

“Why?”

She was tempted to tell him it was none of his business but
she had nothing to hide. “To visit a friend…” In no way would she admit the
main purpose of her trip to Boston was to introduce Kevin, who had just acquired
an apartment on Beacon Hill, to her interior designer friend Laura, who she
believed would be perfect for him in every way possible. “Kevin.”

He cursed softly. “You certainly don’t waste any time.”

Hands fisted to keep her from slapping him, she glared. “Why
should I? Just because you’re not interested doesn’t mean others aren’t.”

His eyes, dark brown and sullen, held her gaze with blatant
challenge. “You’re right. Let’s forget this whole conversation.”

Oh she was mad now. Who did he think he was to discard her
like a pebble in a shoe? And to bluntly accuse her of moving fast…she who hadn’t
even been kissed by another man in, in…
So long I can’t even remember.
Never
mind that now. The hell with him. “I already have,” she said before she got in
her car and drove away, still wearing his coat.

* * * * *

Ben seethed every time he imagined Julia and Kevin together.
But he also realized he’d been a jerk and had no right to act so high-handedly
toward her. In all his thirty-six years he couldn’t remember wanting a woman so
badly on sight, or pushing one away so decisively. Why was he fighting the
attraction? Was it because she didn’t fit into his grand plan to write books
between long trips around the world? If that was the only impediment he could
always have a one-night stand—maybe two if she turned out to be as hot as he
expected her to be—and nobody would be the wiser. Somehow he doubted it would
be that easy…
To get her to agree, or to walk away afterward?
No, he
wouldn’t have a problem walking away,
for sure
, so the only problem that
remained was to get her to agree
.
Was her relationship with Kevin rock solid
or could he give it a shake? All the same, he was determined to stir the embers
every way he could and watch how the wind blew.

He picked up the phone not realizing the time. He must have
woken her because when she answered her voice was husky and her words slow.

“Hi. Sorry to call so early but I need to discuss the play
with you.”
What a lame excuse. Would she buy it? “
I was wondering if you’re
free to meet tonight.”

“Er…not sure, I’ll have to check my calendar.”

She was going to make him wait for an answer. It was her
prerogative, and he well deserved her cold shoulder after the way he’d behaved
with her at the party and all the other times.

“Fine, I’ll call you at lunchtime.”

Julia walked into the bar at Skipper’s Dock at precisely six
o’clock only to find Ben already there. She slipped onto one of the free stools
next to his as he stood and placed a kiss on her cheek. The feather-like touch
of his lips on her skin sent a bolt of heat to her core. Desire vibrated
through her with shocking swiftness and urgency. God, she wanted him. Badly.

The barman’s voice interrupted her thoughts. After ordering
a white wine spritzer—she’d better keep her mind clear for the drive back—she
returned her full attention to Ben. He looked good in casual clothes of dark
jeans and a black waterfowl sweater. His wavy black hair and dark brown eyes
were fabulous.

Fabulously gorgeous.

She smiled inwardly. Ben could have his pick of any woman in
the bar, and there were several checking him out. It was hard to believe he
would be interested in her—a nobody living in a small town—other than the
project they had in common.

Damn!

“Are you still with me?”

With a blink she tried to dismiss her thoughts and let her
mind concentrate only on his words. “Um, yes…”

Ben laughed. “You could have fooled me.”

She shrugged, not bothering to answer.

“How was your day?”

“Fine…busy.”

“Fine, busy.” He shook his head. “Not a very eloquent speech
for an English teacher,” he teased, the corner of his mouth slightly lifting
before he leaned in and whispered in her ear. “Do you want to be here?”

Still trying to figure out how he knew she was an English
teacher, Julia jerked her gaze sideways at his sudden question. “What do you
mean?”

“I want to have sex with you. Right now,” he murmured.

Her eyes widened and she blinked.
What!
He’d been
clear and blunt enough, but she needed him to confirm she wasn’t just imagining
the words. “I think I misheard you.”

His lips quirked. “No, you didn’t.” He leaned in, bringing
his mouth closer to her ear as people moved by. “I want to take you back to my
place and strip you naked, run my hands all over your smooth skin, hold your
luscious breasts while my cock sinks into you.”

The sounds around them dimmed as her senses filled with
him—his all-male scent, his hand on the small of her back, the sound of his
low, velvety voice. She didn’t know where she was anymore. And didn’t care.
Blood roared through her and pumped into her pussy. Her mouth slacked open and
she found it impossible to turn away from the heat in his gaze. Never in her
twenty-eight years had she received such a blunt proposal, or been so turned-on
by one. But she’d never indulged in a one-night stand…
Maybe it’s about time
I do.
And what better time than now with Ben, the man she’d wanted to get
her hands on from the moment she’d first laid eyes on him? She wouldn’t be
getting what she wanted—dates, a boyfriend and a future together—but she sure
would get what she needed—sex, and lots of it by the luscious look on his face.

“All right.” Too fast a reply? Maybe, but she couldn’t be
bothered playing hard to get. Time was of the essence and they’d already wasted
a few precious weeks.

Ben jumped to his feet and fished inside his pocket for a
couple of bills that he threw on the bar before he took her hand and tugged her
off the stool. “I’m glad you said yes,” he said as he curved an arm around her
waist and guided her through the crowded bar.

“Me too,” she managed to say once she got her voice back.

“Let’s go to my place.”

She nodded in agreement. It made no difference to her which
house they went to, and it might be less personal in his. Alone in her car she
stared at his dark silhouette through the back window, her body humming with
anticipation as she followed him through the streets of Stonington to Mason’s Island.

There he got out of his Jeep and came to her door. He opened
it and leaned over to unbuckle her seat belt. He stopped with his face inches
from hers before he claimed her mouth for a kiss that left her breathless and
wishing for a bed. He tugged her out of the car and into his arms for another
kiss that had her trembling with need. His hand cupped her bottom and squeezed,
pressing her against his full length.

“I can’t wait to have you naked and under me,” he rasped,
tilting his pelvis toward her, leaving little doubt of the level of his desire.

“So hurry up and get us inside,” she said breathlessly.

He chuckled and took her hand as he tugged her toward the
house. She followed him in a daze, hardly recognizing herself with the bold,
flirtatious words coming out of her mouth.

They entered a large entrance hall with a white marble floor
and she had a brief glimpse of a spacious room with white furnishings and large
picture windows, framing what must be a glorious view of the water, before she
was rushed into the upstairs master bedroom.

* * * * *

His eyes heavy-lidded with lust, Ben treated himself to a
long, thorough look at her naked body. “My God, you’re beautiful,” he said in a
low voice.

The words spread inside her with a burst of pleasure. She’d
had her share of compliments but coming from a man so decisively handsome and
to whom she was so attracted had a different meaning. He was looking at her as
a lover and no man had been allowed to do that in two long years.

He palmed her breast, his big hand engulfing the swollen
flesh. Her already puckered nipple ached for more stimulation. She bowed into
his hand and he rotated his palm. Sensation shot from her nipple to her core
and she moaned.

“I want to touch you everywhere,” he growled, nuzzling her
breasts.

“
Mmm.” His words, and the obvious magnitude of his
desire, did almost more to turn her on than his touch.

He lowered his head and took her nipple into his mouth.
Electric bolts of heat shot from her rigid tips right down to her toes. She
fisted on his soft hair and nudged his head farther against her breasts.

“I’m so hungry for you I could gobble you up whole,” he
rasped as he walked her backward to the bed, his hands firmly on her hips. He
pushed her onto the mattress, immediately dropping on top of her, his erection
straining against her mound, his hot mouth molded to hers with pressing need.

His body was so warm and hard, his ass so firm and muscular
and his thick cock so deliciously strong that waves of pleasure whirled around
and around inside her until it was all she could do not to cry out. She spread
her legs and nudged his hips, inviting him right in, wishing to end the
heavenly torment. But he didn’t take the hint and continued to dry-hump her
while ravishing her mouth. She moaned and slanted her head to deepen the kiss.

“Not so fast,” he murmured, clasping her body tighter and
nibbling her ear. “I want to savor you bite by bite.”

He took her mouth again and their tongues stroked endlessly
against each other, their lips moist from their vigorous kissing. If he fucked
as well as he kissed, she’d found her man. She almost laughed at the thought.

“What’s funny?”

She’d been smiling unknowingly. “You’re a good kisser.”

His gaze leveled with hers as he leaned on his elbows. “I’ve
thought of us together like this ever since the first time I saw you
daydreaming at the side of the road.”

Really?

She liked that. Nice to know she wasn’t the only one
obsessed. She wouldn’t dwell any more on a reason for his less-than-friendly
attitude at the party. It was all good now, that’s all that mattered.

“I saw you before that.” She couldn’t help confessing.

He looked surprised. “When?”

“You were on the boat, pulling into the Old Seaport… I was
sitting in the car watching.”

His dark eyebrows resumed their straight line, a
little
smile tugged at the corner of his lips. “And you have coveted me ever since.”

She bumped him off her, and because he wasn’t expecting it, she
succeeded in dislodging him slightly. “You’re too big for your britches.”

Ben grinned as he rolled back on top of her. His eyes grew
darker and by the wolfish grin on his face she knew she was in trouble. The
kind of trouble she was dying for. “Surely you’re not complaining,” he said,
grinding his pelvis against hers.

Idiot!

She rolled her eyes. “I’ll let you know,
after
.”

“Oh, allow me…” he said, taking one of her nipples into his
mouth.

She sighed deeply as he went about proving himself to her.
He needn’t try very hard, his kissing had brought her pretty close to the
finish line. But all the same, his talented tongue went about stroking areas of
her body she didn’t know could be so excitable—who would have thought that a
kiss to the back of her knee could give her such a thrill, or that the fold of
her elbow was so sensitive?

The growth of dark hair on his chest teased her tender
nipples, and jolts of desire rushed through her, gathering moist heat between
her thighs. Oh man, she would go out of her mind if he didn’t hurry up and get
inside her soon. Her need for fulfillment was so fierce and her level of
arousal so strong, she was quite sure once he entered her she would erupt like
a volcano.

“Ben, Ben, please!”

Was that her whimpering? Her begging? Yup, and she would
make no apologies. Ben was most decisively driving her insane with need.

“Shh, just a little longer.”

Jesus, how much longer? Was he a marathon man?

“Be patient, it will be good.”

Okay, but please, please hurry up!

He nudged her entrance with the tip of his cock and pushed
just enough for her to whimper with joy.

Finally!

He teasedher by pulling back but she followed him
with her hips. Groaning, he sank fully into her wet, tight sheath.

Oh God!
“So good!” She moaned and bit her lips not to
shout
I love you
, the words hanging on her lips for a breathing moment,
before she expelled, “Ben.”

His hips gyrated, getting deeper, and she let out a soft
cry.

“You’re so beautiful. So responsive. It’s going to be a
bitch to go slow.”

A smile flickered over her face as his gaze dropped to her
breasts and then back to her face, his big, brown eyes so intense and lustful
she shivered with delight.

They quickly found their pace, as if they’d been doing it
for years rather than for the first time. Everything about Ben felt
familiar—his smell, his touch, the way he tasted, the sound of his voice. It
was as though she’d known him in another life.
Spooky! But so true.

As Ben upped the speed Julia matched him with the thrusting
of her hips, holding tight to his arms, anchoring him to her. One hand on her
hip, the other on her breast, Ben slammed into her time and time again, getting
closer and closer to the edge.

“Let’s change positions.”

Momentarily thrown off balance, Julia just stared at him
while his words were processed through her foggy brain. He grabbed her legs and
pushed her knees toward her chest, her feet pointing up at the ceiling as he
slid his thighs under her ass, aiding the penetration.
Oh my God! Oh my God!
Oh my God!
It felt amazing. It was as if they’d fused together. Heat rushed
to her face as shivers of arousal ricocheted down her body, all converging at
her core, adding to the fire already raging there. Her fingers gripped the
sheet as her head thrashed on the pillow.
Too much. Too many sensations. Too
much stimulation. I can’t take it! I’m going out of my mind.

“You okay?”

Am I okay?
She didn’t think okay quite defined the
incredible, amazing sensations ripping through her body. Shuddering, she
nodded, her eyelids shut as she balanced on the edge. Her hands switched to his
thighs and she pulled him closer.

“Oh fuck!” he shouted as he pistoned in and out of her with
added speed and force. “Hold on tight, Julia, a mega wave is coming,” he announced,
a hint of amusement in the tone of his voice.

And then they were surfing the wave together and nothing
else mattered but the release of all the sexual pressure that had built up in
the past hour. She exploded in one long orgasm, taking him with her, shuddering
and growling for what seemed an eternity.

Slowly coming out of the fuzz her brain had plunged into,
she heard Ben whispering, “I want you to stay the night.”

Her heart leaped with joy. “I’d like that,” she said,
forcing herself to remain calm when she felt like doing a little tap dance.

* * * * *

They were having breakfast by a bay window overlooking a
well-manicured lawn and the river, after a night spent having the best sex of
her life. Images of them tangled together in bed surged through her mind. Lightheaded
with happiness and arousal, Julia watched Ben cut his food before putting the knife
down and starting to fork eggs and bacon into his mouth. He was so hot. And
sexy. And gorgeous. And she was so totally infatuated with him.

“So, Ben,” she began casually, “in your travels you must
have met women from all over the world.”

What am I saying?

“I’ve met a few,” he admitted, even as she sensed his
defenses go up.
Shit!

The thought she might be stepping into private ground
crossed her mind but she’d waited two long years for a man to touch her with
love and desire, and by God, this was that man. She felt bold. Daring. Eager to
know all about him. In her heart he was the one, though to him she might be just
a distraction before he got back on his boat and sailed into the sunset.
Unwelcome claws of jealousy scratched her confidence, and the thought of him
kissing other women, sharing his gorgeous body with countless lovers around the
world didn’t sit well with her. This wouldn’t do, she had to get a grip on
herself and focus on the reason that had brought her to his house the night
before. Sex. That’s what they’d had. Plenty of, in fact. So now she was going
to stop her silly wishes and hopes and enjoy their relationship while it
lasted.