Chapter Forty-Six

Ben

Waking up next to Tessa Logan feels all kinds of right.

I sneak out of bed as the light streams into her bedroom and illuminates her luscious body. I grab another condom out of my jeans, return to bed, and spoon up against her, my cock hard as a rock.

“Baby…” I whisper.

“Mmm…” she softly moans.

I kiss the soft flesh of her tan shoulder, ease my cock between her ass cheeks. “This okay?” I ask.

“More than okay,” she murmurs.

I slide into her pussy.

This is how I should have made love to her last night—slowly, sweetly, taking all the time to see to her pleasure before I took my own.

But last night…

Yesterday…

No.

Won’t think about that now. Won’t let any of that taint my time with my girl.

Because she is my girl.

I’m in love with her. She’s not ready for it, and neither am I. But I fucking love her with every bit of my heart and soul.

“Feels good,” she mumbles.

“God, does it.” I slide out and in again, relishing how perfectly she gloves my cock.

“Don’t we both have to go to work this morning?” she asks.

“I’m the boss.”

“You’re not my boss.”

“I’m your boss’s boss.” I pulse into her, releasing with a grunt.

I stay inside her until she moves away and turns to face me. “I’m not going to play that game. I’m not going to be the employee who’s fucking the boss and gets away with everything. You’ll get a full day’s work from me every day, Ben. I swear it.”

“Easy.” I move her gorgeous dark hair off her forehead. “I’m kidding. But there’s plenty of time. Plenty of time for me to take care of you, too.”

She squirms out of my arms and off the bed. “You took plenty good care of me last night. But if I don’t get moving, I’m going to be late for work.”

“Okay, okay.”

“And you need to get ready, too. Anyone who has to miss taking me to the zoo on a Sunday afternoon is obviously swamped, so get moving.”

Thud.

Reality is back in full fucking force.

I wasn’t working yesterday afternoon. I was dealing with Dirk Conrad. That tooth he was wearing around his neck is still in the pocket of my jeans.

I grab my jeans to get my phone. Damn. It’s dead.

“Tessa!” I yell into the bathroom.

“Yeah?”

“I need to plug in my phone.”

“There’s a charger on my nightstand and another in the kitchen,” she calls back.

I glance at the nightstand. Tessa’s phone is plugged into the charger, so I walk, still naked, out to the kitchen, find the charger, and plug in my phone. Then I return to the bedroom and join Tessa in the shower. I’m used to a much larger space, but the closeness seems apt for Tessa and me.

She smiles. “I was hoping you’d join me.”

“How could I not?” I stroke her wet hair. “You’re at your most beautiful in the water, Tessa. Whether it’s Dunn’s River Falls, or taking a cold plunge, or in the rain where I kissed you. Water brings out the most amazing beauty in you. It’s like you were a mermaid in another life.”

She smooths shampoo onto her scalp. “I never dreamed of being a mermaid,” she says, “but I used to dream that I could fly.”

I move my hands to her head and begin massaging the shampoo through her gorgeous hair. “Did you? I’m pretty sure I’ve had that dream, too.”

“My therapist said it’s a common dream for children.”

“Is it?” I work the lather through her long hair and then turn her toward the shower water to rinse. “I’d like to know all your dreams, Tessa.”

“The best one just came true.” She rinses the last of the suds from her hair and turns to me, water dripping off her long lashes the way it did in the rain.

I cup her cheeks. Her hair is a sleek wet curtain clinging to her shoulders and neck.

I want to say the words.

Mustsay the words.

“I love you, Tessa.”

She drops her jaw.

“I know it’s too soon. I know it makes no sense, but I love you, Teresa Maria Logan.”

She opens her mouth, but I gesture her to stop.

“Don’t say anything. I don’t expect you to say it back to me. But it’s important that you know how I feel.” I kiss her forehead. “I love you so damned much, Tessa. When I first laid eyes on you, I lost a piece of my heart. I don’t want it back, not ever.”

She melts into me, and the shower pelts us.

When it becomes lukewarm, I turn off the water and leave the shower, handing Tessa a towel.

I look away as she dries off, toss my used towel onto a rack, and enter her bedroom to put on my clothes. I have to get to the office for a meeting at ten. I keep several spare suits and accessories ready at the office. I’ll need one today.

After that…I need to talk to Braden.

I need to finish this Dirk Conrad thing once and for all, and it’s high time I tell my brother what’s going on. He should hear it from me.

He should have heard it from me fifteen years ago.

Tessa leaves the bathroom and stares at me. “Are you leaving?”

“I have a meeting to get to.” I kiss her quickly on the cheek. “We’ll talk later.”

“But Ben, I want to tell you—”

“Later, baby. I love you.”

I leave her standing in her towel, staring after me.

I want to hear the words from her ruby lips, but I fear once I do, I won’t have the strength to do what needs to be done.