Fated Bliss (Bliss #2) (2 page)

A small laugh burst from me. I liked the fact that he was able to make a joke out of this. I wasn’t feeling quite as embarrassed as before.

“Again, thank you,” I returned as I offered him my handful.

We lapsed back into silence as I continued to fill his palm. When my lap was clean, I stood and picked the last bit off the floor and my seat, purposely giving him a close-up of my ass. I had to get my kicks somewhere. After all, we had a long flight ahead of us.

“I don’t think you’ll be wanting these,” I told him as I straightened and twirled back around. Like I knew I would, I caught him checking out my ass.

His eyes snapped to mine, and much to my astonishment, there was a slight blush staining his cheeks. “Um, yeah. Uh, put them on the, uh, tray table. I’m sure we can get rid of them in a few.”

Say what?

Was he embarrassed?

Surely this wasn’t the first time he’d been caught sneaking a peek.

I sat back down and did as he said, wondering why I didn’t get a cocky smile or a lame pickup line.

He cleaned his palms on his jeans and snatched his IPad as if nothing happened.

Not happening.

I was intrigued further.

"I'm Sam," I told him now that the floodgates were open and we'd broken the conversational seal.

He paused for a second, indecision waging war in his expression. Something shifted, and the man turned his head towards me. “As in Samantha?”

Was that interest I just saw?

“Yep,” I chirped, smirking.

“Nice to meet you, Samantha.” He extended his hand. “Ben.”

Wanting to tease him, I took his hand and replied, “As in Benjamin?” As our skin touched, I was unprepared for the zing that shot up my arm and continued down to my nether regions.

Strong hands.

I loved a man that had a strong, sure grip but had hands that were still somewhat soft. It encompassed all of the things that represented a man – strength and virility, with a kind, deft touch.

Ben groaned, but I had no idea if it was caused by what I was feeling or if it was because of what he said next. “Please, don’t call me that. Only my parents call me Benjamin.”

“How ’bout Benjy?” I joked, ignoring my response to him, and let go of his hand.

He narrowed his eyes, but I saw a hint of humor dancing in them. “That’s wrong. It’s just Ben.”

“Well, just Ben, it’s nice to meet you.”

“You too, Samantha.”

“No one ever calls me Samantha, and when they do, I’m usually in big trouble.”

One side of his mouth quirked up. “I have a feeling that’s often.”

Is he flirting?

I needed to fan myself or find a cold drink, stat.

“So…business or pleasure?” he questioned, still eyeing me intently.

Once the word pleasure fell from his lips, my mind went haywire. Provocative flashes of our bodies entwined came to mind, and a volcano of heat erupted in my core.

Stop it, Sam!

Flustered, I swept my hair from off my neck and tied it into a bun on top of my head with the hair tie around my wrist. “I’m sorry, what?”

“London. Are you going to London for business or pleasure?”

Oh.

I cleared my voice, hoping to keep it from sounding husky. “Pleasure. This trip was my Christmas present from my brother.”

His gaze along my exposed neck felt like a physical caress. “You have a very kind brother.”

I’m out of my league here.

“The best,” I agreed, beaming at him, and attempted to act natural. “I jumped up and down like a little girl for five straight minutes.”

He laughed, shaking his head like he didn’t know what to think of me. “I bet.”

“What about you?” I queried. “Business or pleasure?”

He paused, his humor withering away, and slowly replied, “The same, actually. This trip is a gift to myself – a bit belated I might add – for finishing med school and my residency.”

He didn’t look like any doctor I’d ever seen. A member of a biker MC or a musician I could totally see.

Still…

If he was my doctor, I’d be sick every week just to schedule an appointment with him.

Sam, stop! Talk to the man and quit fantasizing about getting him naked.

“Doctor?” I questioned, biting my lip. “Impressive. What kind of doctor are you?”

“Emergency medicine.”

“Interesting,” I murmured. I scrutinized him again, estimating his age. It took a lot of time to get through medical school. “How long have you been a doctor?”

He gave me a knowing look. “You’re fishing for my age, aren’t you?”

“Maybe,” I answered coyly.

His resonant chuckle rolled over my skin, heating me further. “I’m thirty-two. I won’t make the mistake by returning that question.”

My chuckle joined his. “I’m twenty-eight.”

He turned, angling his body toward mine as if he was getting ready for a long discussion and wanted to observe me.

With his new position, I checked his ring finger. Sure enough, it was bare of any ring or impression that one had been there previously.

Oh, goodie.

“What is it that you do, Samantha?”

“Nothin’ as grand as medicine, I can assure you,” I teased, feeling a bit outclassed. I took some online college courses for accounting and management, but I never finished my degree. I mostly did it to help my family’s bed and breakfast cog along more efficiently.

“Turnabout’s fair,” he pointed out.

I puffed out a breath. “Fine. I own and manage a bed and breakfast.”

He did a slow-blink. “Really…? I wasn’t expecting that.”

“What were you expectin’?”

“I’m not sure, exactly. Just not
that
.”

My hackles rose.

The Bliss Bed and Breakfast had been in our family for generations. My great, great (or was it great, great, great – I couldn’t remember correctly, but there were a lot of greats) grandparents moved to Bliss, North Carolina when it was nothing but a trading post high up in the Blue Ridge Mountains. The B&B was built sometime after that, and my family had lived there ever since. It was passed down to the firstborn son when he married and so on and so forth.

That changed when my grandparents, Hershel and Violet Raiden, transformed it into a B&B. When they retired, they handed it down to Mom and Dad, and when Mom and Dad retired, it was given to Grey and me.

I loved the B&B. I lived and breathed it. That house was a part of my make-up, my heart and soul. I grew up running through those halls, playing hide and seek with Grey, helping my mother in the kitchen or with anything else that needed to be accomplished. At the age of five, I knew that all I wanted in life was a family of my own and to manage our B&B. I’d never wavered, either. Well, other than the family part – I didn’t know if that was in the cards for me.

Feeling protective, like a mother with her offspring kind of way, I seethed, “The house has been in my family for generations. My grandparents turned it into a bed and breakfast when my dad was a kid. It’s all I’ve ever wanted to do with my life. I love it. That house, to me, is like the air I breathe.”

Ben touched my arm, his expression gentling. “I didn’t mean to offend you. When I imagine someone running a bed and breakfast, I picture someone like my grandfather doing it…not someone as beautiful as you.”

My cheeks flamed at the compliment. “Oh…”

“Yes. Oh.” He laughed, and his eyes had a sexy way of twinkling as he did.

Before we could say anything else, the flight attendant that had initially greeted me came down the aisle with her cart, taking drink orders. We were in the third row, so she arrived at ours quickly. She noticed Ben first, and her smile became mega-watt, her interest as clear as a spring day.

“Can I get you something to drink, Mr. Rhodes?” she purred, not paying attention to me. “Complimentary champagne perhaps?” It sounded like she’d just propositioned him for sex instead of requesting his drink order.

Why do I feel jealous suddenly?

I snuck a peek at Ben and saw that he was barely acknowledging her – his sole focus was on me. “A Crown and Coke would be wonderful. Thank you.”

When the flight attendant noticed me, her smile dimmed and her eyes shot daggers.

And who’s the jealous one now?

She all but snarled, “Champagne?”

I scrunched up my nose – I hated champagne – and tried to stop from laughing. Seeing her reaction was highly entertaining. “Uh, no. I’ll take a beer, though.”

Her brows rose haughtily. "A beer?" 

“Yes, a beer. What’s wrong with beer?” I snapped, insulted by her condescending tone.

“What brand?” she questioned, rolling her eyes at Ben.

Who in the hell is this woman?

Yes, I liked beer. So sue me. That didn’t give her any reason to judge or belittle me.

“I’ll take one too, actually,” Ben interjected, his voice deeper, darker. “A beer sounds pretty damn good all of a sudden.”

I smiled sweetly and batted my eyelashes. “Dos Equis.”

“Same,” Ben concurred.

The woman fumed, but she kept a strained smile plastered on her lips. “Of course,” she choked out. Between that and the forced smile, she looked constipated.

She handed us our beer cans and plastic cups before skedaddling to the next row. I snickered to myself quietly, enjoying the retribution as I poured my beer.

“People like that drive me crazy,” Ben commented once she was out of earshot.

“Here, here,” I agreed.

He was quiet as he poured his beer, his brows furrowed. Finally, he glanced at me again. “You’re a bit of a spitfire, aren’t you?”

“Maybe,” I admitted, giving him a half smile.

His eyes dropped to my mouth. “I don’t think that’s a maybe.”

My pulse spiked, but I shrugged so that he couldn’t tell how much he affected me. “She was bein’ a bitch.”

He chuckled and relaxed back into his seat, taking a sip from his plastic cup. “You saved me, though. She made me feel like a piece of meat.”

I laughed –
I wouldn’t mind making him my piece of meat
– and quirked a brow at him. “I bet that wasn’t any hardship for you. I’m sure you’re well versed in women throwin’ themselves at you. It’s probably a daily occurrence.”

His eyes went odd, sparking with something I couldn’t decipher. “Not really. At least, if they do, I don’t notice it.”

My face screwed up in disbelief. “Are you kiddin’ me? Have you looked in the mirror lately?”

He choked on his beer, laughing slightly, and his face relaxed, the look from before vanishing. “You don’t hold back, do you?”

I lifted one shoulder. “Why should I? I’m a firm believer in bein’ a straight shooter.”

“I can see that,” he murmured, his eyes roaming my face. “I can definitely see that.”

What does that even mean?

He continued, asking, “What are you planning to do while you’re in London? I presume you’re staying in London, that is. It’s another reason I didn’t expect your answer about your job. Since you’re by yourself, I figured this was a business trip.”

Made sense.

“Not entirely sure. I did some research, tryin’ to figure out what sights I wanted to see and all that, but I decided to go with the flow. I don’t have a set agenda.”

His brows rose in surprise. “Really? And you didn’t bring anyone with you? That seems a bit adventurous…brave.”

I shrugged again. “It is what it is. I wanted a break, to get away for a while. Where I come from, there’s tons of pryin’ eyes and busybodies, and everyone knows everythin’ about everyone. I guess I wanted to reinvent myself away from all that. I want to just be, even if it’s for a little while.”

Ben became somber once more and peered into his beer. “I understand that more than you know.”

There was a story there, but I wasn’t about to probe.

Yet.

“What about you? What are your plans?”

There was a wonky look on his face when he turned towards me. “I have friends in London,” he explained, blanking his expression. Was that a lie? Was he suspicious of me for some reason? “I’m going to spend a week with them. After that, I’ll spend a week in each Ireland and Scotland.”

“Sounds like fun,” I murmured. That seemed like a dream.

“Should be. It’s a last hurrah – I guess you could say – before I have to start real life.”

Again, there was a story behind those words. He was already a doctor; how was he supposed to start life now?

Hmmm.

“It’s my chance to be a stranger for once,” he continued, staring off, lost in thought. “Without responsibility…or judgment.”

It was as if he plucked the thought right out of my head. Those were my exact feelings.

I held up my cup instead of commenting. I understood and respected wanting anonymity. “Well, cheers to becoming strangers.”