Addie pointed at his discarded shirt with a finger that trembled slightly. "I told you to get out… I… Put that back on!"
Ben smiled slowly, walked over to her bed, and sat down. And held her eyes while he yanked at a boot. That calm, anticipatory stare was too much to. bear. She found her tongue and began to babble, certain that any minute someone in the house was going to find out what was going on in her room.
"Ben… Ben, stop that and listen to me. I'm sorry for the things I did tonight that might have made you think I'm interested in doing this with you, because I'm not, I'm not ready to do this with anyone, especially not you, and if Daddy knew you were in here right now, he'd kill you, either that or tomorrow morning you'd find yourself on the wrong end of shotgun until you promised to m-m…" Her voice stuck on the last word.
"Marry you?" Ben finished for her helpfully. He pushed his boots aside with one bare foot and stood up. There was an enigmatic softness in his voice. "Interesting idea, isn't it?"
"Not very," she quavered, knowing she had no control over the situation, searching for some retreat. "Although I'm certain you like the idea of marrying someone with my money. And you know my father would give you everything he has if we got married, including the ranch, with no strings attached. Oh, I'll bet the prospect of being my husband holds no end of appeal for you."
As Ben saw her distress, the hint of ruthless amusement faded. "To hell with your father's money and the ranch. I don't need to be given anything. I have my own resources, including enough money to do whatever the hell I want."
"H-how can that be?"
"Mavericking is a highly profitable venture, if done well. And I had a particular talent for it. So I don't need your money. But you're damn right-the idea of being your husband appeals to me. And in the next few hours I'm going to show you why."
She was shaken by a chill and then a flash of heat as she watched him unfasten the top button of his Levi's.
"Come here," he said, his stare direct and compelling.
Before she could stop herself, her eyes flickered down to the shadowy opening of his unfastened jeans, where the lean stretch of his abdomen continued downward into a furring of dark hair. In the course of her work at the hospital she had seen men unclothed before, but never anyone so uninhibited about it. People were always embarrassed without the protection of their clothes. Ben seemed to be entirely comfortable without them.
Her instinct to bolt was overpowering. Leave. All she had to do was leave the room. He certainly wouldn't chase her through the house while he was half-naked. She would head for the kitchen and stay there until he'd had enough time to cool down. She'd sit there all night if she had to.
Cautiously Addie took a step backward, trying to gauge the distance to the door, her nerves screaming for action. She started to move, and in the next second found herself hauled back against his body. She went still, her chest heaving, aware of his sinewy midriff against her back.
"I told you once before not to be afraid." Ben said, lowering his mouth to her ear. She stiffened as she felt his hand slide inside her robe and claim her breast, seeking to find its shape through the folds of her nightgown.
"Let me go," she whispered.
He rested his thumb in the valley between her breasts and rubbed gently before allowing his hand to wander down to her stomach and the pliant warmth between her thighs. The veil of her nightgown did nothing to disguise her response.
Ben nuzzled into the crook of her neck and inhaled the tantalizing fragrance of her skin. "I won't hurt you," he muttered. "You know that. The things we did before gave you pleasure, didn't they? It won't be any different now."
She gulped and shook her head, trying to suppress the anticipation that rushed out from the very core of her. There was no sound in the room but her labored gasps. Slowly his fingers moved further between her legs, and she groaned his name in protest, leaning her head back against his shoulder.
"It's not fair to take advantage of me this way."
"I'll take advantage of everything I can to get you. What's wrong with that?"
"Everything. You know I don't want to feel this way about you."
"That doesn't matter. I won't go away, and neither will your feelings. And I won't stop forcing you to face them until you accept the truth about you and me. "
The truth, she thought wildly. What is the truth? Was she in the arms of a murderer? If he was capable of that, then everything he had said to her was a lie. She couldn't accept that. In her heart she had to believe in him, or never trust in anything again, especially her own instincts. The conflict, the doubt, tore at her with icy claws.
"Please," she wheezed, prying at his hands, and she stumbled away as he let her go. Spinning around, she looked at him in panic, his face branded permanently in her memory. Image after image blazed through her mind: Ben, kneeling by her after she'd been thrown from her horse… risking his life for a wounded man… laughing at her temper… fighting Jeff for her… comforting Watts when he cried… helping a drunken Russell to bed… holding her with passion.
Ben-comforter, protector… lover.
He was no murderer.
He didn't do it. He isn't capable of cold-blooded murder. That was the only truth she found inside. She couldn't doubt it, no matter what price she might have to pay for her faith in him. There was nothing else to choose. With the decision made, Addie knew an overwhelming relief.
"What do you want?" she asked unsteadily.
Ben looked at her with a consuming gaze. "To be part of you… part of your life. But I'll be damned if I can stand not having your trust. I'm worthy of it. "
"I know."
"Then I deserve the chance to prove it. Trust me. Give me tonight. I swear you won't be sorry." As he waited for an answer and she remained silent, he wound her hair around his hand and pulled her head back, forcing her to look at him. "Dammit, Addie, I'm in love with you. And I'm through with games. Do you understand? I love you. "
An ache of sweetness swept over her. She couldn't speak. Her eyes filled with tears, and her arms crept around his neck. Ben's impatience subsided as he felt her quiver.
"Give me tonight," he said, knowing he had won, and she pulled his head down to hers. He crushed her against his body. The heat of his skin seared through her nightgown, raising goose bumps of pleasure, causing the peaks of her breasts to tighten.
His mouth was savage, his arms bruising in their strength. They were so close their heartbeats mingled, and though Addie's pulse was pounding madly, Ben's was like violent thunder. Their kisses lengthened, deepened, lingered.
His body was bronze and silver in the faltering light from the window. Addie splayed her hands over his back, explored down to the loosened waist of his Levi's, then stopped in sudden shyness. Ben murmured something indistinguishable and spread the edges of her robe, easing it down her arms. It dropped to the floor with a soft rustle.
She stood motionless, her fingers resting at his waist as he undid the tiny button at the top of her high-necked gown, then the next, following the trail of fastenings down to a spot just beneath her breasts. His lips brushed against her cheek, catching the last glimmer of a forgotten tear.
Unhurriedly he peeled the nightgown off her shoulders and let it drop in a circle around her feet. Their fingers tangled together as he took her hands and led them to his shoulders. She left them there and let him look at her, shivering slightly as his eyes traveled over her slender body. Impossible to look at his face, for fear of what she might see written there. She wanted to be everything for him. She wanted to be perfect for him. His gaze moved down her, returned slowly to her face, and his eyes darkened with passion.