her presence kicking his brain into gear better than a whole pot of coffee.
She wore a white tank, yoga pants that clung to the curve of her ass, and a smile way too sunny for a Monday morning.
Not for the first time, Ben imagined she wasn’t joining him fresh from her car but that she was joining him from his bed. She wouldn’t be wearing workout clothes but maybe one of his old t-shirts. She’d pad toward him in bare feet, cotton brushing the tops of her thighs, and she’d wrap her arms around his neck with the smile of a recently satisfied woman. He would slide his hands under her shirt and cup an ass cheek in each hand as he put his mouth on hers. Then they’d get a whole different kind of workout.
A dangerous fantasy. In the real world, Reese smacked a kiss to his cheek like she was greeting her little brother. To add insult to injury, she stole his mug out of his hands and took a gulp of his coffee. The soft moan of pleasure that escaped her lips played all too well into the images flashing through his mind. So did the way she closed her eyes and tilted her head back, pleasure running across her face.
Jesus . Ben tried to get a handle on himself, but, hell, he was only human, and Reese enjoyed a sip of coffee in a way that made a man think of slow, sweaty, thorough sex.
How was he supposed to avoid imagining the expression on her face as he teased her breasts? What sounds would she make when he ran his tongue across a hardened nipple? And when he ran his mouth down her stomach and tasted her between her legs, what sounds would she make then? Would she quietly open her legs for him? Or would she cry out in pleasure, tug on his hair?
She cocked her head, studying him but not seeing him. Reese saw a friend when she looked at him, not a man. And maybe for awhile he’d only seen a friend when he’d looked at her. That was all he’d let himself see. But at some point he’d let his guard down, and now when he looked at Reese he didn’t just see. He wanted .
“Have a lot on your mind this morning?” she asked.
He nodded slowly, let his fingers brush over hers as he took his mug back. “You could say that.” He slugged back the rest of his coffee and headed toward the basement without preamble. Reese followed, humming softly under her breath, a sound low enough to sling shot his mind straight back to his fantasy, to the idea of her body under his hands. His mouth.
“Hey, grumpy,” she said when they reached the bottom of the stairs. She tugged on his shoulder until he turned to face her. “Anything I can do to improve your mood this morning?”
“I can think of a few things.” He couldn’t help himself. He let his gaze travel slowly down her body, lingering at her curves. His gaze traveled so slowly back to her face, he had enough time to picture every inch of her bare, exposed, ready for him. It was an image that was half fantasy and half memory.
When he returned his eyes to her face, a deep red blush stained her cheeks. “Ben!” She landed a soft punch to his solar plexus.
Ben lifted a shoulder in a half shrug. “You asked.”
“When was the last time you got laid?”
He knew down to the day, but he wasn’t about to share the truth with Reese—not when the date was just as significant in her life. “A few months.”
“Well, you need to do something about that.”
“You volunteering?”
CHAPTER FIVE
“Spill,” Masey demanded an hour after Reese had finished her workout.
The Coffee Spot hummed with activity. Classic rock played lightly overhead and caffeine addicts milled around the counter, casting evil glances toward anyone who dared get between them and their next fix.
Reese did her best to look innocent. “Spill what?”
“Yesterday you said you’d made out with Ben. I want details.”
“I said he came to my apartment to kiss me.”
“Spill.”
“I’d rather not.”
Reese frowned at the sealed envelope she’d pulled from the depths of her purse. The bootcamp