Ben toed off his shoes, peeled off his socks and rid himself of his shorts and briefs. Placing a knee on the bed, he plucked one of the condoms off the comforter and sheathed himself in seconds.

Jillian arched her back, stretching catlike against the pillows, and let out a feline moan. When she opened her eyes, her lids barely lifted, as if they were too heavy to move. Her wicked grin stoked the fire burning in his belly.

“Show me yours.” She tried to sit up, but he placed a hand on her shoulder firm enough to keep her down.

“No.”

“I showed you mine.” Her teasing voice lilted. She traced a finger up his arm.

Her skin was damp from her release, so wet his hand slid with ease from her shoulder to her breast. He wanted to go slower, to enjoy more of her, but he couldn’t take much more of this. Next time, he promised himself. But first he needed to find his own release.

“Ben?” The sexy voice was gone, replaced by a timid tone that invaded his lust-charged brain. “I’ve never...that was the first...”

Her throat undulated as she swallowed hard and he thought about rescuing her from her confession. But he wanted to hear what she had to say.

“Usually, I can’t...it never feels...” He didn’t care to listen to her compare him to the other men she’d had in her bed. Not now, when he wanted to erase them all from her memory.

His hand slid from her breast, down her ribcage, over her belly, past her hip. She shivered at the slow touch. Hooking his hand behind her knee, he pushed it back, towards her shoulder.

“Hold it.” Her eyes widened, in surprise or excitement he didn’t know or care. He sank his other knee on the bed, between her legs. Bending and lifting the other leg, he stared down at her. “Hold them, or I turn you over.”

Her grin was so wicked he had to bite his back. If that was how she wanted to play, they would, later. This time he wanted to watch her. All of her. And this was the best way to see.

Licking her bottom lip, Jillian did as she was told, wrapping her hands about her thighs so her manicured nails dug into the flesh. Ben grabbed a pillow, tilting her hips up and shoving it beneath her.

Nothing was as sexy to him as a woman who knew what she wanted. Who didn’t play coy games or get defensive. There was nothing more attractive than the trust in Jillian’s eyes when she granted his requests.

Taking his cock in hand, Ben inched forward on his knees until he was in the perfect position. He traced her inner folds with the tip, remembering all he’d just learned. He drew small circles around her entrance until she arched herself into him. He pushed forward, sinking into her tight, slick center until he felt her muscles clench at the intrusion. He stilled himself, looking at his cock half in, half out of her.

Glancing up at Jillian he saw her head was tilted back, her mouth open in a silent scream. He waited until her mouth closed before pulling out slightly and pushing in farther. Drawing a finger up through her wetness, he began to circle her clit, timing it with each deeper thrust. He stroked in and out, in and out until finally he’d buried himself up to his balls. That was the union he’d been waiting to see. He stared down at their joining, feeling himself completely hidden inside of her.

“That’s all you got?” Jillian rasped, squeezing him with her inner muscles, a seductive gleam in her eye. She had no idea what was in store for her.

Ben pulled back, his hands wrapping around her inner thighs and opening her hips even farther. Pulling out until just the tip of him remained inside, he plunged in to the hilt. A long lusty moan pushed out her throat as he did it again, and again. Her moans grew louder, making him thrust harder, and harder.

He was already swelling within her tight walls, his head swirling with need. He pulled out completely, releasing her hips.

“No!” Jillian shrieked, releasing her hold on her thighs and using them to wrap around Ben’s back. “Please, don’t stop.” She reached for him, pulling him down towards her even harder than her legs were. Still, Ben stayed in place.

“Let me go.” The calmness of his voice seemed out of place in the heated room, even to his own ears.

With a whimper, Jillian’s body went limp, her arms and legs falling to the side, but her eyes still pleaded. Ben pounced on top of her, using the length of his legs to pin hers down, while still keeping them slightly apart. His cock nestled uncomfortably between her thighs.

“Do you want me?” Threading his hand in hers, he stretched them out to the side. She nodded in response, but it wasn’t what he was after. He wanted Jillian in every way possible. He’d seen her bare before him, smelled her passion, tasted her need, felt her desire—and now he wanted to hear it. He lowered his face to hers, breathing her breath.

Baring his teeth, he growled in her face. “Say it!”

“Yes, I want you.” With the words Ben pushed inside her, pumping with every word she said. “Yes...I always have...yes...I want you...yes...yes... Soon she was incapable of words. His pace quickened to match her panting breaths, her moans. Moans that became shrieks as they both neared their peak.

He leaned forward, making sure she felt the base of him against her clit. He was getting so lightheaded he was almost dizzy. He didn’t want to go over first and not be able to enjoy it, having to come back for her.

Her breasts bounced between them with every thrust, the nipples teasing the hair on his chest. Feeling the quaking between her legs work its way down to grip his cock, Ben lowered his forehead to hers, willing her to open her eyes.

Without having to be told, she did. Their gaze locked for the briefest of seconds before her eyelids quivered, her eyes rolling back into her head. Her body thrashed beneath him, her back arching into him. He slowed his movements, letting her body do the work of pulling him deeper and deeper into her. He moved slowly, stretching her climax out so he could enjoy it himself. As it slowed, he pounded into her, taking his pleasure through clenched teeth. Heat began to explode in bursts as he plunged deep inside. He could swear he felt her walls pull at him again.

When she was still he rolled off, hooking the well-used condom into the trash can next to the dresser. He turned back to her and she snuggled into him, wrapping an arm around his torso, and actually purred.

Ben snickered, shaking his head at her honesty. Pulling the blanket from the bottom of the bed, he covered them both, kissed the top of her curly head, and followed her to sleep.

* * *

“I know you,” his hoarse voice whispered in Jilly’s ear.

“Biblically,” she giggled, pressing back into him without opening her eyes.

His fingers crept through her hair, massaging her scalp. “Your hair is curly and you’re not a natural blonde.”

“Guilty.” The different temperatures of the room roused her from her dreamlike state—the cool morning air, the warm bed, his hot body behind her making her remember all the ways he could steam up a room.

“You’re the one.” His lips tickled her ear as he spoke.

Her body drank in the words, then stiffened in reaction. Wasn’t she supposed to be the one struggling to muddle through the post-coital bliss right now?

“Curly caramel-brown hair, wire-rimmed glasses, green sweater, jeans, Birkenstocks with socks.” Her heart raced as he paused. Ben remembered. “I looked all over that campus for you.”

“It’s a big campus,” she managed to say without her voice cracking. And she had worked hard to evade him. Ducking out of coffee shops and bagel bakeries when he entered, hiding in desolate corners of the library. She never went to another basketball game again.

With a move of his arm he spun her beneath him, pinning her between his massive legs. “Why didn’t you tell me who you were when you showed up here?”

With him on top of her she was suddenly aware of how exposed she was, and not just from her nakedness. She swallowed hard, looking for some way out with a shred of dignity. “Maybe I just figured it out too.” She slammed her eyes shut, pressing her lips together, willing this moment to be over. She had seen it in his eyes. Ben knew she was lying.

“It’s that bad? Bad enough for you to lie about it?” He retreated, rolling back to his side of the bed. “What, was it some line on a scavenger hunt—kiss a basketball player? Was it a joke?”

“No,” she managed. She sat up, careful to keep the sheet covering her body as she scanned the room for something, anything, that would shield her from the revelations that were to come. Ground, please open up and swallow me whole.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Ben asked, propping himself up on one elbow and tugging at the sheet with a wicked smile as she struggled to hide her bareness. “Come on, don’t run away. I’m a big boy, I can take it.”

“The sheet or the truth?” Jilly attempted levity, searching his eyes for answers. His eyes stayed open and warm, wide with wonder.

“Both,” he answered simply, pulling the sheet free.

“This is so embarrassing.” Jilly slunk back down onto the bed, rolling onto her stomach to cover herself.

“Quit stalling, out with it. The dramatic build up is doing nothing for me.”

Lifting her chin with her hands, Jilly met his gaze. “I had a crush on you. You were obviously drunk, my friend dared me, and I honestly thought you would never remember. I didn’t want to know what you thought of someone who could just walk up and kiss you without so much as—”

“I kissed you back,” Ben shot at her, taking her hand.

“Yeah, and tried to jump me against the closet door.” She laughed at the absurdity of having to relive the moment.

“I scared you?” he asked quietly.

“Yes, and no. I wasn’t experienced with men enough to know how you would respond. I’d been kissed, but I had never kissed anyone. Back then I was still... I had never been with anyone. I thought you would assume things about me that I couldn’t back up. This is just so embarrassing.” She buried her face in the pillow but didn’t release his hand.

“You thought I would expect something from you?”

When she peeked out she saw his head down, eyes closed. “Didn’t you? When you lifted me against the door I felt... I didn’t want my first time to be some post-game statistic.”

His eyes fluttered open, meeting hers. “Why avoid me later, why not admit to it now?”

“I’m not sure; embarrassment maybe? I thought you might still expect... And now, you didn’t seem to remember me. I think that’s it, I didn’t want to know that you’d forgotten the best kiss of my life. I didn’t want making love with you now to be tainted with the need of that night.”

“I never forgot.” His predatory eyes conveyed a promise as he leaned closer. “I looked for you because I knew we would be combustible together. And we are.” He drew her mouth to his own, plundering her uncertainty with complete assurance as they began their dance anew.

* * *

“This is nice.” Jillian ran her hands along the leather and leaned back in her seat.

“It should be for what it cost.” Ben pulled onto the highway and glanced down at the odometer. Damned thing only had two thousand miles on it.

“Whose is it?” The leather creaked as she turned in her seat, smiling over at him. The woman absolutely glowed this morning.

“Mine, technically.” Fixing his gaze on the road, Ben wondered how much to tell her. They hadn’t done much talking since last night. The morning had been a banter of whether or not he should drive her home. Jillian claimed she could work if she took a town car, but Ben wasn’t ready to be away from her, yet. Not until she understood that this thing between them wouldn’t be over just because she got on a plane.

“Technically? What’s that supposed to mean?” A rip of Velcro echoed through the car as Jillian opened her laptop bag.

“What are you working on? You said your column was done.” Raindrops splashed against the windshield of the black Lexus LS. Ben adjusted the wipers and stretched, wishing it weren’t raining. If it were dry he could have taken the Jeep and actually had some legroom.

“Done is a relative term.” The slim computer beeped and hissed as Jillian fired it up. “I’ve turned it in to my editor.” In seconds her fingers were tapping against the keys, almost as fast as the drops splashed at the car. Her fingers froze, her head turned to him. “What did you mean by technically?”

“Is this for your article?” If she really was writing a fluff travel piece, he was fine with it. But he didn’t want anyone writing about the Cannon family drama, about Jay’s struggles. The guy had enough to deal with.

“Your cryptic answers about the car? I doubt it.” Her finger hit the side of her screen with the insistence of a pendulum. Eleven times. “No, this is not for my article.”

Ben grinned and adjusted the defroster. Summer rains could be so tricky, especially in a car you’d only driven to a funeral.

“Do you have a problem with me writing about Cannon Meadows?”

“Depends on what you plan to say.”

Snapping her computer shut, she shifted in her seat, the scarf tied through the loops of her low-rise dark denim jeans pooling at her side. Watching her dress this morning gave him all kinds of ideas for the fringed scrap of silky cloth. Gold bangles clanked down her arm as she raised her hand to his face.

“I would never write something that would make you look bad. Or anyone else for that matter. It’s not what I do. Maybe if you read a few of my pieces you’d understand.”

“I have read them. All of them that came up on Google anyway.”

“Really?” Her hand dropped to his shoulder. “What did you think?”

“That your golf-course dating piece would be funny.”

“Oh. You read them before.” She leaned forward and unstrapped those ridiculous shoes she insisted on wearing. When she saw it was raining, she’d opted for jeans and a mossy green cardigan that might have fit if there were more to her pants. But she’d insisted on the shoes. Pineapple python-print sandals, red sole, three-inch heel. She’d stated the facts like they mattered more than the fact she was wearing an open shoe in driving rain.

She settled back against the seat, but instead of opening the computer she stared out the window. Occasionally he’d glance her way to see just what was so captivating. The scenery wasn’t much to look at as they made their way through one coastal town after another. Ben didn’t like having to slow down as the highway became the main thoroughfare of each community.

The storm worsened at they drove on, blowing so violently in one town they watched an umbrella turn inside out as a paunchy man made his way across the street. Ben turned to ask if she’d seen it too, but from the dazed look in her eye and the way her fingers toyed with her dangling gold earrings he knew she hadn’t noticed anything.

“Those are very nice.” He ran a finger along the side of her hand still playing with the earrings.

“Ralph Lauren drop-tassel earrings. They’re from last season, but I doubt anyone will notice.” She slid her hand to her bare neck, circling her throat.

Moving his hand to her knee, he rubbed the soft denim beneath his fingers. Something was off. Was it him, the article, her family? If he didn’t know what it was he couldn’t fix it.

“What are you thinking about, right now?”

“I should have worn a necklace.”

Ben laughed at the idea. She’d tried on four before they left her room at the lodge. She claimed none went with the knit cardigan, still zipped up. He knew about the lace-trimmed tank she wore underneath, the one whose hem tried to span the gap between her pants and the sweater. He shook his head. Remembering watching her dress was not going to help the situation, only make him more uncomfortable.

Jillian leaned forward, flicking on the radio, dialing in one static-filled station after another. “Do you have any CDs?”

Ben shrugged and opened the glove box. There were no CDs to be found. His mother liked to hear the road when she drove. She’d claimed it helped her concentrate. He smiled, recalling the reason why she had to get a new car in the first place.

“What’s funny?”

“Just a memory.” He flicked off the static and gripped the steering wheel tighter.

“Care to share?” She twisted towards him.

“Will you print it?”

A startled gasp sprang from Jillian, making Ben wince. Sometimes being direct had its drawbacks.

“Do you want me to not write the article? Is that what this is all about?”

“No, write what you want.” As long as it leaves my family alone.

“It’s a travel piece, Ben. It’s an idea that struck me as an outsider. There are very distinctive types of golf resorts. You have both ends of the spectrum coexisting next door to each other. I’m not doing an exposé. You’re a businessman. You should be happy about the publicity.”

Yes, he should. “There are some people who could be hurt if you make it personal between Meadows and Crosslands. I just don’t want to see that happen.”

“Like Jay?” Her sculpted eyebrow arched. She’d changed those too.

“Yes, and Angela.”

“I didn’t think you liked her.”

“I like her fine. It’s complicated.” Ben wiggled his toes inside his shoes, looking for more room somewhere.

“Enlighten me.” Her hand flipped the crimson hair over her shoulder, scattering it against the pale blonde. He’d asked her to wear it curly, but she’d refused.

“For the article?”

“Do you even listen when I speak?” Jillian thrust her hand through the air and landed against her thigh with a smack.

Ben’s eyes widened in surprise at her flare of temper. “Of course I’m listening.”

“This is about the resorts, not the people who run them. It’s about who should stay where and why, not about your need to be in control of other people’s lives.”

“I’m not controlling anyone.” Ben pressed on the gas, wondering just what this overpriced engine was capable of.

“Then why not tell Angela how to get a hold of Jay? Maybe if she heard it from him, instead of having to get all her information through you—”

“Jillian, you don’t know what you’re talking about. You don’t know Jay, you’ve barely met Angela. And I’m not discussing it with you. Period.”

Rain sheeted the windshield as he upped the speed of the wipers. He would not air Jay’s dirty laundry, least of all with someone he knew was writing about the Meadows. If Jay could pull himself together he still had a shot at going pro. He didn’t need for his past to resurface because his brother had a big mouth.

Jillian resumed her position, staring out the passenger-side window at nothing at all. The whole point in driving her was to be with her, get to know her. And now he was giving her a list of reasons not to like him.

He wanted to know why she came, why now. If she’d thought of him as often as he’d dreamed of her. But the tension in the air let him know she wouldn’t be answering now. Not ever, unless he started chipping away at her armor.

“It was my mom’s.”

“What was?” Her head tilted his way, but her body stayed true to the window.

“The car. She crashed hers into my cousin’s wedding.”

Jillian turned, her liquid green eyes sparking with interest.

“Mom was a terrible driver. That’s why there aren’t any CDs, or any stations programmed on the radio. She had to concentrate on what she was doing. Anyway, my brother and I were in the wedding so we went early. It was my dad’s cousin whose daughter was getting married, so he was with him. That left Mom to drive herself and arrive with the guests.

“She was just pulling out of the garage when she realized she’d forgotten the gift, so she drove back in to run inside and grab it. She put the gift in the car and went to pull out. But the car was still in drive and she slammed right into the living room.”

Jillian’s laughter rang through the car, mingling with his own. She lifted a knee onto her seat, turning to face him completely. Just what he needed.

“That’s not the best part. She made it to the wedding. She left the car there, punched into the wall, and took Jay’s truck. Probably a good thing, because she took out the mailbox on her way out of the driveway. Then almost hit the valet guys at the hotel.”

Jillian laughed until tears squeezed from the corners of her eyes, until her hand on his thigh felt as if it had been there all day.

“Wow. And I thought I was a bad driver. I’ve never hit two things in one day.”

Ben dropped one hand from the steering wheel, wrapping his fingers around hers.

“You can read it, if you want. Before I submit it.” Her fingers tensed as she spoke, so he squeezed tighter.

“We’re back to the article?”

“Yeah.”

“If it’s not about my family, then you can write what you want.” Lifting her hand from his leg, he kissed the palm. A grazing kiss at first, but then he was inspired, placing an open-mouthed kiss there.

“Don’t do that,” Jillian moaned, trying to pull her hand away.

“Why not?”

“Because it makes me want to do other things.”

“That’s never a bad idea.” Just what did she want to do? Possibilities flipped through his mind.

“It’s raining. You have to pay attention to the road. And we’re less than ten minutes from the front door.”

“I’m a very good driver. And I could go in under ten minutes.”

Her laugh echoed through his ears, vibrating to his cock. If she was so worried they could always pull over.

“You don’t like to be rushed. And I’m not messing up my make-up. I need all the help I can get.”