Love Me Sweet (Love Me book 1)

Chapter 33 (The End)

There was no way Ben could stop her, it was Saturday so there were no workers at the house, and he wasn't due home until later that evening. Meaning, if she worked hard, she could get the Christmas lights up before he arrived. Lia had a disagreement with him via text the night before. She had mentioned putting a few Christmas lights up on his house and he had told her not to bother. She had insisted it was no bother and he had told her no.

He should know by now that the word no was like waving a red flag in front of a bull.

So, here she was, on his roof once again, hammering in nails to hold the lights. The new roof looked good and she took a minute to admire it before she got to work, humming a Christmas song while she worked.

Lia was halfway down the backside of the house when the upstairs window flew open, but she didn't hear it.

"What the hell do you think you're doing!" Ben's tired voice called.

Lia stilled, her hands starting to shake as she looked up at him, trying to control the goofy grin that wanted to take over her entire face. His hair was mussed and his beard had at least a week's worth of growth. He looked like her Ben.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" she insisted as she began hammering another nail into place. The window slammed shut and she kept going, only a few more and the backside of the house would be done. She was on the second to last one when she heard his voice from below.

"Get off my damn roof!" he called.

"Only one more to go!" she called, hammering for all she was worth. Her hands weren't all that steady, so she missed the mark a few times.

"Lia!" he warned.

"Alright! You're not due home until this evening, what happened?" she asked as she threw her leg over the top rung of the ladder.

"I got in very late last night and was hoping for a few hours of sleep," he said, watching her descend.

"So, you would rather sleep then see me?" she asked, stopping halfway down the ladder to look at him, hurt that he hadn't sought her out immediately.

"I was tired, and I needed a nap because I don't think that we will be sleeping anytime soon, not if I have anything to say about it," he growled

Lia felt a little thrill course through her, and she started back down the ladder her knees a little weak at his admission. When she reached the bottom, he placed his hands to either side of her, trapping her against the ladder and burying his face in her neck, inhaling deeply. She gave a shaky sigh, letting the ladder hold her up as her legs gave way.

"You smell so good," he pulled her close as one arm wrapped around her waist. "You feel good too."

Lia spun around and wrapped her arms around his neck. "So, you missed me then?" she asked, in part as a joke, but also because she needed to hear the words.

"Missed you is an understatement." His lips landed on hers in a heated kiss. His hands were everywhere and Lia wasn't objecting. Her body was enjoying every touch, but when a car horn honked it broke the spell. Ben held tight and didn't let her go. "Your place or mine?" he asked.

"Mine," Lia said, not recognizing her own voice. Ben grabbed her arm and started to pull her across the alley.

"Ben, the ladder!" Lia objected.

"I don't care about the ladder!" he almost shouted.

Lia stopped, pulling away to take care of it herself. "It's not mine!" She had just reached it when Ben came up behind her and made quick work of folding it and dropping it to the ground.