Too Much Temptation. Lori Foster
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wrong conclusions and how everyone is acting and—”
Noah pressed two big, warm fingers against her lips, making her toes curl inside her waterlogged shoes and her belly curl in sensual delight. “What conclusion did Agatha jump to? And how in hell do you think everyone is treating me?”
His fingers were still over her mouth and Grace swallowed hard, then reached for his thick wrist and gently drew his hand down. Oh Lord, the man made her shake with…with all kinds of things.
“Agatha wrongly assumed you were to blame for the breakup. And from what she told me, Miss Callen’s family was no better.” Grace’s temper ignited anew at her own reminder of how he’d been treated. “You’d think none of them knew you at all!”
Ben pushed away from the wall. His walk was only slightly steadier than the moment before. “You’re saying you don’t blame him?”
Grace whirled on him. “Ben Badwin! You should certainly know better!”
“Hey—” He held up both hands, on the verge of laughter. “I didn’t say I blamed him.”
“Well, I would hope not.”
Noah crossed his arms and propped his hip against the dinette table. He still wavered a little, rocking back and forth. “So who do you blame?”
“Why…no one.” Grace flapped a hand. “Oh, I heard all about Kara weeping and being devastated and all that. Agatha said you’ve humiliated her in front of all of Gillespe by crying off after all the arrangements had been made, and that Kara’s emotionally crushed and may never recover. And I feel horrible for her, I really do.”
Ben laughed again.
“But I know you both must have had your own reasons. At the very least, I know you wouldn’t have crushed her unless you had no other choice.”
Grace squealed when Ben slipped his thick arms around her from behind and lifted her off her feet in a crushing hug. He treated her weight as negligible, and the thought occurred to Grace that for a man of Ben’s size, it might be.
And Noah was even bigger!
Ben’s bear hug so surprised her, Grace’s arms and legs sort of stuck straight out, like a strangled starfish trying to gain balance.
Rainwater squished out of her clothing, then trickled down her body and onto Ben. He put a smacking kiss on the side of her neck, immobilizing Grace with the impulsiveness of it. She could count on one hand the number of times a gorgeous man had kissed her neck.
Heck, she could count with one finger because this time was a first.
Noah continued to study her, scrutinizing her every reaction, which made Ben’s behavior inconsequential. She began to burn, and knew she had to gain control of the situation.
She cast a wary glance at Ben, who, although he released her, continued to grin like a rogue. She looked back at Noah, and way up, to see his expression. His muscled arms were crossed over his chest, his intense blue eyes narrowed, watchful. He looked bemused and something else, perhaps…tender.
“I’d have been here sooner,” Grace told him in a croak, trying to collect herself. “But I was out of town.”
“I remember,” Noah murmured, still holding her fixed in his gaze. “Agatha had you doing some headhunting, didn’t she?”
“Yes, for a new chef she’d heard about. He agreed to her terms and she, ah, hired him. He starts right away.”
“Great.”
Noah sounded more disgusted than enthused. It had been Noah’s job for years now to do all the hiring. Agatha’s interference often resulted in difficulties that Noah had to deal with.
Grace didn’t want him sidetracked with worries about that now. “But that’s not important.”
“No? What is important?”
Grace chewed her lip, trying to decipher Noah’s mood. He had the most stony, unreadable expression when he chose, and he’d just gone into full conceal mode. He appeared relaxed, unconcerned, no more than curious.
But oh, those silvery blue eyes of his, shadowed by his long thick lashes, continued to burn. And she felt the heat right down to the core of her being. She glanced at Ben, but he just winked, his own brown eyes alight with mischief.
“It’s important,” Grace said, “that you know everyone doesn’t blame you.”
“But everyone does.”
“Not me.”
Ben again laced his arms around her and propped his chin on her crown. “Why is that, sugar?”
Oh, please, Grace thought in a bit of a panic; Ben didn’t really think she could talk with him lined up behind her and Noah in front of her? She felt surrounded by testosterone, hemmed in by machismo. Impossible.
It was distracting enough that Ben had a body like a steel statue and was sexy to boot. It was doubly bad that he touched her in ways she’d never been touched before. It more than rattled her.
But while Ben could unsettle her with his dynamic presence, he’d never excited her emotions the way Noah did, never made her alternately hot and cold and so physically aware.
Yet, there Noah stood a mere foot in front of her, bare feet braced apart, dark hair damp from the humidity, eyes as hot as a blue flame. Grace’s heart pattered, and she wondered that Ben didn’t feel it.
Then Noah slanted his brother an amused look. “You’re going to make her faint, Ben.”
“That right?” Ben peeked over her shoulder to see Grace’s face. She could feel his breath on her cheek. “You feelin’ faint, honey?”
“I, uh…”
“Knock it off, Ben.” Noah watched her as if he knew what she felt and even while he smiled at her predicament, he wanted to protect her.
Grace drew a shuddering breath. “I’m, uh, not used to guys touching me.”
Noah’s eyes glittered. “Huh. Now there’s a confession.”
Before Grace could recover from the suggestion in Noah’s tone, Ben saved her by pretending to be shocked. He said, very theatrically, “No! I won’t believe it, Gracie.”
Grace didn’t mind Ben poking fun. Almost every other twenty-five-year-old woman she knew had left virginity far behind.
Without looking at Noah, she said, “Afraid so.” Then, to try to relieve the tension, she added, “At least, not big, gorgeous, sexy guys like yourself.”
“You hittin’ on me?” Ben asked with a teasing grin. He could be such a charming scamp.
“No,” Grace assured him, “because I’d have no idea what to do with you.”
He laughed and shook his head, then touched her cheek before moving away. “She’s all yours, Noah.”
Noah smiled.
Seeing that smile, Grace gulped.
Apparently unaware of Grace’s embarrassment, or at the least not caring, Ben added, “I suggest you get her out of those wet clothes before you continue your interrogation.” He glanced back at Grace over his shoulder and bobbed his eyebrows. “I’d offer to help, you know, but I gotta get going. Hell, I’m so drunk, I hope I make it to my own bed.”
Grace immediately turned and snagged the back waistband of Ben’s jeans. She held on. “You can’t drive in your condition!”
Ben was so unsteady on his feet he almost fell into Grace when she abruptly halted his forward momentum, causing him to stumble back two steps. He caught himself at the last second and laughed. “All I’m gonna do, Gracie, is pick up my shoes, shuffle to the elevator, and then ask Graham to call me a cab, assuming I make it to the lobby in an upright