Marry Me by Karen Stivali Read Free Book Online

He took a sip.
    “I don’t think Lizzy liked me much though.”
    Ben set down his glass and put his arms around Julia’s waist. “You can’t pay Lizzy much mind. She liked you just fine, she’s just very particular about who I’m with.”
    “Jealous?” Julia looked confused and concerned and Ben realized he needed to explain.
    “No. Lizzy and I have known each other since we were kids, but there’s never been anything remotely romantic between us.” He paused, searching for the right words. He tucked Julia’s hair behind her ear, wishing he could stop talking altogether and just kiss her.
    Julia’s eyes remained on his, her hands perfectly still against his chest.
    “There’s no easy way to explain this, so I guess I’d best just say it straightaway. I’m one of those blokes you read about who fell in love at fourteen and married his childhood sweetheart. Her name was Sheila.” He took a deep breath. “She died in an automobile accident.”
    Julia’s eyes clouded with tears, her fingers pressing tighter against him. “Ben.”
    Sympathy was still the hardest thing for him to deal with. “It’s okay. It was a long time ago. But Lizzy was her best friend. And I think she has a hard time seeing me with someone else.”
    “I’m sorry, for both of you. I can’t imagine how difficult that must be.”
    “Thank you. It’s gotten easier. But Lizzy hasn’t really had to deal with seeing me with other people. I haven’t really dated anyone since. There’ve been women, but no one who meant anything.” He looked down, wondering if any of this was coming out right. “It’s kind of like your ‘no guys in your apartment’ rule. There hasn’t been anyone I’ve wanted to be close to. Until you. I think Lizzy was being extra cautious because of that.”
    “I can understand that.”
    Ben ran his fingers up Julia’s back, loving the feel of her, the comfort of her presence. “She’ll come around when she sees what I see.”
    Julia snaked her arms around his neck, twirling her fingers through the hair at the base of his neck. “Why me?”
    Ben couldn’t find the words, he was lost in her softness, her warmth, her intoxicating scent. “Because I find everything about you irresistible.”
     
    Julia tried to respond but Ben’s mouth was on hers, his lips gentle but urgent. She went up on her toes, straining to be closer to him. He lifted her effortlessly, his strong arms enveloping her. She wrapped her legs around his slim hips, locking her feet behind him as he carried her toward the bed.
    Julia’s heart beat a fierce rhythm, excitement and desire blurring together as they stripped off each other’s clothes. Ben’s fingers seemed to dance across her body, leaving trails of electric heat in their wake. His tongue, hot and sweet, swept around hers in a manner that made all her thoughts and fears fall away. All she knew was that she wanted him.
    Ben’s body was a dizzying array of textures. Satiny hair, a hint of stubble on his sculpted jaw, firm, muscular shoulders, smooth chest with the most enthralling silky trail leading lower, to the hardest part of him. She curled her fingers around his hips, pressing her hands into the perfect dimpled spots above his ass.
    He groaned, sending ripples of heat all the way to her toes. His cock slid against her thigh, hard and hot, making her want him inside her.
    Ben kissed his way across her face, his thick lashes brushing her cheeks as his lips trailed to her ear then her neck. His tongue flicked against her sensitive skin, setting her on fire.
    He pulled back and she remained, breathless. “I want you to know, I’m clean, I’ve been tested. I’d never do anything to put you in harm’s way.”
    Coming from any other guy, this might have killed the mood, but Ben sounded so sincere it just made her want him more. “I trust you,” she said, realizing how much she meant it.
    Ben traced his fingers down her body, his touch delicate and light, yet so potent