Love Me Sweet (Love Me book 1)

Chapter 14

         

Lia hooked Huck up to his leash and headed towards Ben's house at nine the next morning. She was not going to talk to a contractor without having at least seen the inside of the house. As she and Huck mounted the steps to the back porch Huck jerked ahead running though the dog door that was not boarded up as promised.

Lia didn't have the good sense to let go of the leash and ran face first into the door. Her forehead took the brunt of it, but her nose hurt too. She was holding her face cussing up a storm when Ben threw open the door.

"What the hell Lia, why didn't you just knock?" He put his hand on her arm trying to push her hand away from her face, so he could see the damage.

"No!" she turned away from him. "Why didn't you board up the dog door like you said you would?" she demanded fighting back tears.

"It was on my list to do today, but I only woke up half an hour ago, I was at the hospital with Trinity all night." He reached for her arm again, but she evaded him. "Let me see Lia, stop being a big baby about it."

"It's probably broken, I'll just tell everyone it's your fault," she insisted, attempting to wiggle her nose.

"They will probably believe it," he said seriously, but Lia was in too much pain to realize what was being said.

Ben walked up behind her and wrapped both of his arms around her arms. "Let me see Lia, I've broken my nose, I'll be able to tell."

"I'm a nurse, I've seen plenty of broken noses." She informed him as haughtily as she could from behind her hand. She could feel his warmth as it enveloped her, his large arms made her feel small, and she could feel his body pressed tightly against hers. When he started to push her arms down her initial reaction was to fight him, so she doubled over, it didn't move Ben's arms, it only proved to push a certain part of her anatomy more tightly against his.

"I'm all for getting closer Lia, but I think I should take a look at your nose first," he whispered in her ear.

She straightened, her heart beating erratically as he rested his chin on her shoulder. His arms were like steel bands, one was around her midsection and the other was across her chest, up high enough to be decent. Her arms were pinned at her sides, but she was no longer fighting him, and he knew it. He continued to hold her close, his heartbeat matching her own.

"You smell delicious, Peaches," he said, nuzzling her ear.

Lia cleared her throat and gave a small squeak as he nuzzled her neck. She bent to free herself again and he laughed. "Sweetheart, that only makes it worse, don't you know that?"

"Please, Ben," she begged.

He sighed and dropped a small kiss on her neck before releasing her and spinning her around. "Let me see," he said, grabbing her face with his hand and tilting it up towards him. He rubbed her forehead with his thumb and grunted then he gently prodded her nose with his fingers. "It's not broken, but you'll probably have a bruise," he said, touching her forehead.

Lia looked up at him, her eyes meeting his. There was an awareness between them that hadn't been there before. It wasn't like anything she had ever felt before. She missed his arms, and she wondered if he missed having her in his arms. It had felt like she belonged there, like she was home.

"I came to see the house," she said finally, breaking his gaze and looking away.

He gave a halfhearted smile. "Is it the end of the world if we're attracted to each other?" he asked, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. Lia couldn't contain the shiver that ran up her spine at the feel of his fingertips as they brushed her face. "You're a beautiful woman Lia,"