Simply Sensual (Simply 3)

Good judgment be damned, Ben thought and answered her silent plea, sealing his lips over hers. She moaned and he swallowed the sound, threading his fingers into her hair. The strands felt like fine silk beneath his fingertips, a stark contrast to the hardness building inside him.

A shred of sanity remained—the part of him that knew he ought to stop now before things went any further. He grabbed her wrist, calling for her attention.

She tilted her head back. Eyes glazed with desire, she met and held his gaze—until the ringing of her cell shocked him back into reality.

He tried to push back, but Grace’s legs held him tight. His gaze fell to the cell phone on the counter and a familiar name, one guaranteed to instill guilt in Ben, popped up on the screen.

“It’s my grandmother. Let it go to voicemail. I’ll listen after. I’d rather hear what she has to say than talk right now,” she said, face still flushed, her breathing as ragged as his. “I just need to make sure it’s not important.”

She waited until the alert on the cell phone showed a message and pressed to listen, hitting speaker. Grace obviously felt she had nothing to hide.

“Hello, Grace. It’s been too long since I’ve heard your voice. I want to know how you’re getting along in the big, lonely city. Met anyone interesting lately? You know, I wouldn’t mind a great-grandchild from you before I pass on. And if that’s too much to ask, how about a little information about your life instead? After all, the woman who raised you ought to be privy to such information.”

Somehow, he managed to stifle a combination laugh at Emma and self-directed groan. He wasn’t supposed to know Grace’s grandmother—any more than he was supposed to be kissing Grace.

The grip on his waist loosened and he took advantage. He stepped back into the safety zone, out from between her legs and out of her reach.

“I’m sorry.” Grace’s voice didn’t sound much steadier than he felt at the moment. “Emma, my grandmother, has impeccable timing, even long distance.”

“She sounds like quite a character.”

“Oh, she is. But a lovable one and she worries about me.”

“What was it she said? She raised you?”

Grace nodded. “She was the only adult in the house who cared about me and my brother—about how we felt, not how we appeared to the outside world. I adore her.” Warmth and kindness softened her voice.

Her relationship with Emma seemed to parallel Ben and his mother’s, and he could understand her strong feelings for the woman who’d raised and cared for her. “Then I’d say you were lucky to have her around.”

Grace laughed wryly. “You can’t possibly feel that way now.”

Considering Emma had placed him firmly back in reality, reminding him of his job and what his relationship with Grace was supposed to be, Ben most definitely appreciated her call.

“But she has good reason to worry, wouldn’t you say?” He turned the conversation back to Emma’s message.

Grace’s gaze darted from his. “Until today, not really,” she said, lightly.

Her soft laugh didn’t fool him. This afternoon’s attack had shaken her up more than she was willing to admit. Why else had she sought to release her adrenaline with that heart-stopping kiss?

“Why don’t you just stop by every once in a while and reassure her?” Ben asked to keep conversation flowing. But he hated lying to her, even by implication.

“She lives in Boston.”

“Ah. You’re a New Englander. That explains the accent.” Which was light considering the Boston accent.

“Hampshire, Massachusetts, born and raised. But I really don’t want to talk about me.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Then what would you like to talk about? And don’t say that kiss because it never should have happened.” No matter how great it was, he silently added. Women tended to dislike being told they were a mistake. But for Ben, being honest with Grace was the only way to avoid finding himself in this predicament again.

“Oh, really?” She folded her arms across her chest. “Care to tell me why not?” Unfortunately, she didn’t seem the least bit upset about his comment.

“I took advantage of your injuries.”

A smile curved her lips. “I’d say I took advantage of you. But instead of quibbling, why don’t I just tell you what I want to talk about?” Without waiting for a response, she jumped right in. “I want to talk about you.” Using her hands to brace herself, she hopped off the counter, then winced.

“You okay?”

She nodded. “I just have to remember to watch myself for the next few days.”