The Fix Up (First Impressions #1) (14 page)

“That’s it, baby,” he murmured, stroking his thumbs over her nipples. “Make yourself come.”

She drew her hands up to her breasts, her fingers twining with his to squeeze and knead and stroke. She wasn’t usually this bold when it came to touching herself in front of a man, but something about Ben brought it out in her. Emboldened by the pleasure coursing through her, she moved her palm down her belly. She let her index finger graze her clit, softly at first, then with a firmer touch.

She gasped at the sensation as Ben thrust his hips up to drive deeper into her. “That’s it, honey,” he whispered. “Show me how you like it.”

She’d never felt so bold with a man before, so confident taking her own pleasure while a strong, solid male moved beneath her.

“God, Ben.”

“Keep going, baby. Stroke your clit while you ride me.”

“That feels so fucking good,” she moaned.

“Tell me when you’re close, baby.”

“I’m close,” she breathed, riding him harder now. “So close.”

“Open your eyes, Holly. I want to watch you when you come.”

She obeyed, pretty sure she’d do anything he told her to right now. His eyes were dark and molten, the amber flecks sparking in a beam of light through a part in the curtains. Holly locked her gaze on his, conscious of the blood pounding in her head, Ben pounding between her legs, and the delicious eruption building inside her.

“Ben!”

“Yes,” he groaned. “Do it. I’m there with you.”

He thrust up to meet her, angling his hips to hit something so mind-blowing she went orbiting into a new dimension of pleasure. She screamed from the shock and the ecstasy and the utter certainty she’d never felt anything like this before.

She saw Ben’s eyes go wide and felt him shudder beneath her. “Oh, God.”

His gaze locked with hers as he dropped his hands to her hips and brought her down harder onto him. With each wave that hit her, another crashed into him until they were both sweaty and dizzy and totally, completely spent.

Holly collapsed forward, landing with her head on his chest. Ben rolled to his side, easing her with him so they lay face to face with their breath mingling and their limbs caught in a delicious tangle.

“Well,” he said. “That was the best internal business merger I’ve ever been part of.”

B
en didn’t remember falling asleep with Holly in his arms, but it must have happened at some point. He woke bleary-eyed and confused about why his pants were hanging from the lamp and why they seemed to be vibrating.

It took him a few seconds to realize his phone was ringing. As gently as he could, he eased Holly off his chest and rolled away from her. He burrowed a hand into his pants pocket and pulled out the phone, peering at the readout. Where the hell were his glasses?

The words came into focus as he squinted, and Ben felt his gut sink.

Dad.

He thought about not answering it. Then he remembered the lecture Lyle had given two days before.

“A good CEO never takes a break,” he’d insisted. “Your mind’s always working, your guard’s always up, and your phone’s always on.”

Ben sighed and hit the button to answer the call. “Hey, Dad. What’s up?”

“I’ve been trying to reach you for an hour. Where the hell have you been?”

“I, uh—was in the middle of a performance evaluation.”

“You’ve gotta shove that off on human resources,” Lyle grumbled. “You’ve got more important things to do.”

Ben looked down at Holly sleeping beside him and couldn’t think of anything in the world more important. As though feeling his gaze on her, she stirred and opened her eyes. Her lashes fluttered and she smiled at him, and Ben felt his heart lurch in his chest.

“Right,” Ben said, already forgetting whatever the hell they were discussing.

“I got a call from Kleinberger.”

That got Ben’s attention. “What did they say?”

“They want to sign the deal. They’re willing to move fast, too.”

“Wow.” Ben raked his fingers through his hair, surprised at the surge of pride rushing through him. He’d had a hand in landing that deal. Not just from the engineering side, either, but as a real, honest-to-God, hobnobbing CEO. He sat up a little straighter on the edge of the bed and smiled at Holly. She smiled back, making his heart stumble against his ribs.

“That’s great, Dad. Congratulations.”

Ben paused to see if his father might congratulate him, but Lyle just grunted. “Yeah, it’s terrific. Look, we need to wine and dine these guys. Really seal the deal, if you know what I mean. Remember that party we threw last year when Jolen Brothers signed on?”

Ben remembered. He’d been dragged out of the engineering dungeon and ordered to make charming conversation with Jolen executives. He’d ended up spending the whole night by the canapés chatting with the server about her husband’s desire to return to college for an advanced degree in economics.

“Yes, I remember,” he said. “Are you wanting to do something similar?”

“No, bigger. I told Molly to get in touch with that event planner we used for that bullshit charity thing last fall. We’re going to pull out all the stops for this one. They’re even flying the company founder out here to nail down the final details in person.”

Holly yawned and stretched, then leaned up to plant a soft kiss on his forehead. He drew back, weirdly uncomfortable having a beautiful, naked woman touch him while his dad yammered on about due diligence and monetized assets. He squeezed her hand, then rolled off the bed and reached for his underwear, pulling them on while she watched.

He shuffled across the room, gripping the phone with one hand while he located his glasses with the other. “That sounds like a good plan,” he said. “Do you want me to prepare a speech?”

Ben couldn’t believe he’d just offered that, nor could he believe Lyle’s response. “Yeah, I think that would be good. The Kleinberger guys like you. Throw something together that’ll dazzle them.”

“Dazzle. I can do that.” He ambled back to the bedside and grabbed his pants. He stepped into them while Holly sat up and pulled the sheet over her breasts. Her hair was tousled and her cheeks were flushed from sleep or beard burn or some combination of both, and he wanted her all over again. He started to reach for her, but his father’s voice stopped him in his tracks.

“Make sure you bring a date. That hot little number you had the other night should do the trick.”

“Hot little number,” Ben repeated, looking at Holly. “I should be able to pull that off.”

“Good. Look, I’ve gotta run. The party’s next Saturday. Try to have all our ducks in a row by then. And Ben?”

“Yeah?”

“Don’t screw this up.”

Lyle disconnected the call, and Ben stood holding the phone for a minute. It was hardly the afterglow he’d been savoring in his dreams just a few minutes ago. He shoved the phone in his pocket and sat down on the bed beside Holly.

“Let me guess,” she said, resting a hand on his thigh. “Your dad?”

“Yep. Sounds like we got the Kleinberger deal.”

“Really? Ben, that’s amazing!” She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him, her softness enveloping him all over again. “Congratulations,” she murmured against his neck. “I’m so proud of you.”

The words hit him right in the spleen and his chest flooded with an odd mix of pride and sadness. Would it have killed his father to say the same five words?

But Holly had said them, and that counted for a lot. “Are you free next Saturday?” he asked.

“I can check. Why?”

“We’re throwing a big party for the Kleinberger execs. My dad wants you to come with me.”

Holly drew back and gave him a salacious grin. “I just did.”

Ben laughed, and for a moment, he forgot all the awkward, lingering feelings about his dad. He kissed her on the mouth, then reached for the edge of the sheet. “He called you a hot little number,” he said as he tugged down the sheet and claimed her breast with his mouth. Holly twined her fingers in his hair and arched against him. He cupped her other breast in his palm, taking his time to work his way between one and the other.

“Hot little number?” She giggled, which came out sounding partly like a moan. “What is this, 1958?”

“In my dad’s mind, yes. He also might be under the impression that you’re my girlfriend instead of my branding consultant.”

“Oh really?” Her tone was teasing, but Ben felt her pull back just a little.

“Yep.” He sat up and planted a kiss at the edge of her jaw, then another right below her earlobe. “The thing is, I don’t think that’s such a bad idea.”

“The party? Well, I can check my schedule, but—”

“No, the girlfriend thing.” He drew back and looked at her, hoping to see her eyes light up. There was no reaction, but maybe he just hadn’t been clear enough.

Be bold. Say what you really want.

“How about it, Holly?” he asked, leaning down to kiss her shoulder. “What do you say we take a shot at a real relationship?”

He let those words hang between them for a moment as he kissed his way from her shoulder along her collarbone, then drew back to study her face.

She wasn’t smiling.

Okay, so “girlfriend” was a big word to start throwing around. He maybe could have eased in more gently or started by asking her out on a date.

But wasn’t it Holly who’d encouraged him to be assertive? To listen to his inner voice and speak his mind? His inner voice was yelling at him to go for it, to stand up and tell her how he felt.

Apparently, Holly’s inner voice was telling her something very different. Like
“run.”

“Ben, I don’t think that’s such a good idea,” she said slowly. “If you need me there as your PR coach, I’m up to the task.”

“That’s actually not what I need from you,” he said, trying not to feel stung by the rejection. “I need you by my side for this event. I want you to be my rock, my support system, my partner, my—”

“Arm candy?”

“Sure,” he said, surprised to see her flinch at the word. “We’ve joked about that before. You’re a beautiful woman, and it doesn’t hurt—either my ego or my image—to have you by my side. Is that so wrong?”

She shook her head and stood up fast, grabbing her bra from the floor at the foot of the bed. She tried to yank it on, but ended up whacking herself in the nose with the strap. Still she didn’t meet his eyes.

“I’ve played your doting wife already, Ben. When the need suited your career, I did that and you paid me for it. It was a job.”

“A job,” he repeated, trying to understand what she was telling him.

“Yes, a job. And now that you’ve landed the Kleinberger deal, my work here is done.”

Ben blinked, trying to keep up with the conversation as she jerked her top on, fumbling with the buttons. She still wouldn’t look at him, but he could have sworn he caught a shimmer of tears in the corner of her eye.

“I’m not talking about work,” he said. “I’m talking about the two of us hanging out together because we enjoy each other’s company outside business.”

“There’s no
us
outside business, Ben—don’t you see?”

“I don’t. We’ve laughed together and played together and made crazy passionate love together, and as far as I can tell, you enjoyed all of those things.”

“I did. I
do
. But I just don’t—I mean I can’t—God, where are my shoes?”

“Holly, sit down for a minute.”

He wasn’t sure if she’d obey, but he wasn’t surprised when she did. She dropped onto the edge of the bed, a good two feet of space between them. Ben suspected she’d prefer to keep it that way.

She was quiet a moment, and he watched her take a few deep breaths. When she turned to face him, her odd lavender-hued eyes were glittery. “Look, Ben—I took this job because I needed the money.”

“Okay,” he said slowly. “I’ll have the second half of it to you by end-of-business tomorrow.”

“Thank you.” She pressed her lips together and looked down at her hands.

He watched her, trying to figure out what had her so undone. He got the sense there was more to her money woes than the need to pay off an Office Max credit card. Softening his tone, he probed again. “Do you mind telling me why you needed the money so urgently?”

She sighed and folded her hands together in her lap, her gaze still fixed on them instead of on his face. “When I bought the building that’s home to First Impressions, I made a stupid mistake.”

“You mean like a balloon mortgage or something?”

“Worse. I co-signed with my husband. Ex-husband, I mean, but we were married at the time. It was idiotic and stupid and—”

“Hey,” he said, reaching out to touch her hand. “It’s not that dumb. A lot of married people sign loans together. It’s part of the partnership.”

“Partnership,” she scoffed, shaking her head a little. “There was no partnership to the arrangement. He resented my career from the very beginning, and I should have known better. I made a mistake.” She sighed. “Anyway, that’s why I needed to take this job with you. To get out from under that loan and refinance in my name alone.”

Ben let the words wash over him, trying to make sense of what she was telling him. He dropped his hand back onto the bed, not sure he felt right touching her. So it was all about the money all along. He’d known that, on some level—he’d signed the damn check himself. But still, he’d hoped it was evolving into more. Had he been naive?

“So this whole time, I was just a paycheck?” he said slowly. “A chance to save your real estate investment?”

She looked up at him, alarm flashing in her eyes. He waited for her to argue, to tell him he was wrong and that it had become so much more than that to her.

But instead, she shook her head. “I would hope you think I earned that money,” she said. “Every penny of it. I worked hard for you.”

“I’m not questioning that. But this whole job was just another business transaction for you.”

Again, he waited for her to argue. He stayed silent, wanting to hear her say those words. She didn’t speak for a long time, so Ben reached out again and touched her hand once more. “I wanted a shot at a real relationship with you. Something real. Something meaningful.”