The Stillness Of You(18)

She could have knocked me down but I would have been right back up and   in her face. Now that she was here I wasn't letting her go anywhere.

I'd been thinking about this girl every single minute of every single   day for the past week and to see her so close, to be in her space,   filled me with something I wasn't going to even guess at. But it was   good, whatever this was … hell yeah, it was good.

I'd decided the day before to give Georgia until tonight before I made a   move to get in touch with her. I wanted to respect that Georgia needed   some time and space, but on the other hand, I was so hot for her that I   found it hard to concentrate on anything. Hell, I'd played the  shittiest  round of golf ever, because I couldn't get her of my mind.  And  considering it was in my own charity golf tournament, well you can   imagine the ribbing I took.

But it was all good now. She was here. Right here in front of me.

For several long moments we stared at each other and when I was sure she   wasn't going to pull away, I advanced, watching her eyes follow me   until I stopped beside her window.

Slowly it slid down and I bent over, leaning my elbows on the lip of the   window, my gaze taking in the face that had starred in more porn star   fantasies than I would ever share. Those eyes. That hair. That mouth.                       
       
           



       

I was tight, my muscles bunched, my heart beating way too fast. But even   more pressing, I ached to touch her. To reach forward and claim that   mouth and to taste her again. When the hell had I ever felt like this   over a girl?

She cleared her throat and tapped the steering wheel with her fingers. A   blue halter dress left her shoulders and most of her legs bare, and my   mouth went dry as my eyes took a trip down her body. When they  traveled  back up, goose bumps rolled across my skin as we made eye  contact.

"Hey," I said softly, drinking her in, in one long gulp.

She jerked her head, a quick little nod, but didn't say anything, her   expression shuttered, closed … and if I didn't know any better I would say   just a tad bit jealous.

My grin widened and a scowl touched her mouth.

"What's so funny?" she asked sharply.

There were no questions, no nice, safe conversation. There were her   dark, furled brows, her steadily tapping fingers and her green-eyed   jealousy.

"Are you going to turn off the engine and get out of this car?"

"Nope."

"Huh." I leaned an inch or so closer. Holy hell the smell of summer   caught me hard and my gut clenched as I let the scent waft over me. In   me. Through me.

"So you came all the way out here to ring my doorbell and then leave without even saying hi?"

She licked her lips, that soft pink tongue mesmerizing as it swiped along her bottom lip.

"Ben, I don't know what I was doing coming out here, but obviously you're busy and I don't want to interrupt."

"Busy?" My grin was goofy. Oh, this girl was so jealous and I fucking   loved it. It meant that she cared. It meant that she'd made it through   whatever it was she'd needed to work out. She'd come for me and that was   enough.

Her face was less than two inches from mine and my gaze roved over her   features hungrily as she arched a delicate eyebrow. "The girl?"

"The girl." I repeated cheekily.

Her eyes flashed and her nose pinched in that delicate way that drove me   crazy. "The girl in your house? The one who's half dressed?"

I leaned all the way inside, taking her by surprise, my mouth seeking   hers before she had a chance to move away. For a moment there was a   slight hesitation and then I felt her surrender. Her lips parted and I   slipped inside, my tongue tasting, licking and taking from her as my   hand crept into her hair so that she couldn't move.

It was a long, slow kiss, one that delved deep and had us both panting   heavily when I finally pulled away. I had to take a moment and catch my   breath. "That girl," I said huskily, "is my sister, Eden."

Her eyes widened and I traced the line of her brow with my thumb, before   caressing the corner of that mouth that was driving me insane. "Oh,"   she said softly.

I pushed away from the car, liking the way her gaze swept over my bare   chest, before settling onto the steering wheel-the one that her hands   gripped so tight, her knuckles were white.

"So are you going to park this thing and come inside?" I paused and then whispered. "I missed you, Georgia."

She exhaled-a long, shuddering sort of breath and then cleared her   throat. "Okay," she said simply, and I moved away as she reversed her   car once again and slipped it beside my truck.

As soon as she was out of the car, I had her in my arms, hugging her   close just so that I could feel her again. Every single inch of her   pressed up against me. I groaned and sank my nose into her neck,   chuckling when she shuddered.

I couldn't help myself and my hands danced along her spine, slowly   moving over her hips until I cupped her ass and just held her. I held   her for a long time and the only sound in my ear was her short staccato   breaths, and the rush of blood in my ears.

I was hard, Christ was I hard, and she knew it, and there was something   insanely sexy about that. About the way she slowly moved her hips and   that damn noise that sat in the back of her throat. The one that sounded   like need. And want. And desire.

I didn't know what the week of silence was all about and I didn't care.   All I knew was that she was here, and I was happy that she was here and  I  was suddenly wishing we were alone. If Eden wasn't in the house I  would  have pulled her inside and had her naked before she had a chance  to say  Geronimo.

Or at the very least I would have tried my damnedest.

But I wasn't alone and I knew that Eden was most likely watching us from   one of the windows. With a sigh I let Georgia go, though my hand slid   down her forearm until I settled her small hand in mine. Without a word   we turned and retraced my steps until we found our way to the back  yard.                       
       
           



       

Eden burst out of the house-I knew she'd been spying-a giant grin on her face as she stared down at us from the deck.

"So, Benjamin, you've been keeping a secret from me."

I didn't bother to deny it. "Eden, this is Georgia."

Georgia tugged her hand from mine and I didn't let her go easily-I didn't want the connection to end.

"Hi," Georgia said slowly, an adorable blush staining her cheeks. "I'm   sorry about before. I was kind of rude and I thought … " she stumbled over   her words. "Well I just … "

"You thought I was a puck bunny?" Eden shrugged. "Don't worry about it."   Her gaze swung to me. "I can see why Ben was so anxious to get back   here. He even blew off our family barbecue and our nana was not happy   about that."

That was an understatement, but I'd promised to make it up to Nan, so we were good.

Eden glanced my way. "I'm gonna drive into town for the pizza because it   will be quicker than waiting for them to deliver. Can I have your   keys?"

"Sure, they're on the table in the front hall."

Eden nodded. "Nice to meet you, Georgia."

She disappeared inside the house and I looked at the girl beside me. "So," I said, my voice low.

A shy, nervous grin stole her mouth. "So," she repeated softly.

"You came."

For a moment her heart shaped face fell and I took a step forward, my   hand under her chin, tugging her face up to meet mine. "Hey, I don't   need to know what last week was about. I get that there are things about   you that I don't know." I bent forward and slid my mouth across hers.   "Things that you need to figure out, but I'm happy to take all the time   we need."

"I thought," she said hesitantly, before exhaling her warm breath   against me. "I didn't think I could do this. You. Me. But I want to … I   want to try and see what happens."

The girl was killing me. Staring up at me with those huge blue eyes that   made me feel as if they could see down into the bottom of my soul.   Stumbling over her words. Biting that bottom lip. Where the hell had she   come from? Had I been waiting for her? Was it chance? Or fate?

Did I really care?

I held out my hand. "You want to see the barn? I did a purge and organized it for you."