Chapter Eight

Jewell held herself back to keep from sprinting down the hall to her office. Her heels slowed her down and prevented her from taking off at full speed. She looked at phone as she rushed from the elevator.

"Damn. Almost ten o"clock."

She reached the desk outside Benjamin"s office, and April looked up with amused surprise on her face.

"Well, good morning," April said, and looked at her desk clock. "Yup, it is still morning."

Jewell took a deep breath and leaned on the high desk. "Very funny."

"What happened?"

Instant heat rushed to Jewell"s cheeks. Oh, I spent the entire night on my couch with Benjamin. We talked. We joked. I fell asleep in his arms. When I woke up this morning, it was after eight and he was gone. She cleared her throat. "Oh, I just overslept."

"I guess that happens to the best of us once in a while. I missed my coffee this morning, though."

"I"m sorry," Jewell said in earnest.

April laughed. "That"s okay. I survived."

She finally caught her breath and tilted her head toward Benjamin"s door. "Is he in?"

"Of course. Mr. Roth is always here." April rolled her eyes with a grin but quickly shrugged. "Well, except for yesterday, that is."

"What kind of mood is he in?" Jewell asked, pulling her lower lip through her teeth. She wanted to know what she was walking into.

"Seems to be much better, actually."

Jewell smiled and sighed in relief. That was definitely a positive sign. "Good."

"Do you know something I don"t know?" April"s eyes squinted slightly and her voice carried a curious lilt.

Jewell shook her head, probably a little too adamantly. "No, just wondering."

April still looked at her quizzically as Jewell walked to her office. "Congratulations on not being fired," April called after her, and Jewell laughed softly. Her nerves, frazzled from being late, calmed a bit. She took pride in never being late to work. Then again, last night was not her usual evening at home. A smile pulled at her lips as she thought about it.

The last time she remembered looking at the clock it was almost three in the morning. At the time, she hadn"t felt tired at all. They were too busy talking. Other than Greg, she had never felt comfortable enough with a man to talk so freely. Of course, Benjamin was different. It was a strange sensation. Yet, not completely unpleasant.

Benjamin brought her nerves to life. Her senses were finely tuned to every move he made, every word he said, and every nuance of his body. Jewell decided to forego her normal morning routine and go directly into Benjamin"s office. Besides, most of the morning was gone anyway. The routine seemed silly at this point. With a smile, she wondered if he was as tired as she. Jewell peeked through the open door.

Benjamin reclined in his chair. His elbow rested on the arm and folded fingers supported his temple. Just as he had on the couch the night before, one ankle rested on the opposite knee in a relaxed position. Jewell giggled when he stifled a yawn behind his hand and blinked his eyes to focus again on the papers in his lap.

Jewell walked in, not bothering with the cane at the door. He looked up and his slow smile sent butterflies fluttering behind her ribcage. There was a faint glimpse of mischief in his eyes. Benjamin sat forward and set down his papers.

"Good morning."

With her hip leaned into the desk edge, Jewell said good morning back. "Are you as tired as I am?"

His smile widened. "I"m exhausted."

Jewell felt like the night before was some wonderful secret to be shared between just the two of them. Not a shameful or indecent secret. Just a special, private one for her and Benjamin. He wore a dress shirt and silk tie, but the image of Benjamin in worn jeans and a well-fitting tee shirt stayed prominent in her mind. She knew beneath the loose Van Heusen shirt his arms were muscular and his chest defined.

"I"m sorry I"m late," she said. "I didn"t wake up until well after eight this morning. Ruby didn"t even wake me up when she left for school."

Benjamin came up out of his chair and stood near her, his hands pushed deep into the pockets of his trousers. His gaze moved over her face and hair. She wore the rebellious mass down today, with just a gold clip at her crown to hold back the worst of the curls around her face. The thick underside was still damp from her perfunctory shower, and there hadn"t been time to fidget with it enough to get it up in a professional style. As fast as she dressed that morning, it was a miracle she managed to put on matching shoes. Her entire body flushed when he touched some of the long tresses behind her ear.

"You were sound asleep when I left," he said in a slow voice. "I was careful not to wake you."

A small shudder danced up Jewell"s spine. She shifted to hide the effect of his nearness. Jewell found it harder to breathe in a steady rhythm. Her pulse throbbed at the base of her throat. A trembling hand reached up to cover the spot. The pounding seemed so violent she thought he must be able to see it. If she were anyone else hearing their conversation, she would assume they had spent the night together. They had, but not in the most carnal of ways.

"What time did you leave?" she asked. She was afraid to sign. He would surely see the tremors in her hands if she did.

Benjamin shook his head slowly. His powerful gaze held hers. "After five."

He stepped closer. Jewell"s bottom rested on the edge of the desk, and Benjamin stood so close their bodies nearly touched. But not quite. Her knees felt weak. Before she had the chance to rationalize the stupidity of her actions, Jewell reached out and took his tie between her fingers. She smoothed it down his chest and felt his abdominal muscles tense when her knuckles brushed the buttons of his shirt.

Don"t do this, Jewell! Don"t let this happen! He"s your boss. You"re kidding yourself.

Jewell ignored the warnings screaming in her mind. With all the strength she could muster, she lifted her chin and met his stare. The smoldering depths of his brown eyes burned deep into her soul.

Benjamin raised his hands and made small signs in the minimal space left between their bodies. When he spoke to her, his fingertip brushed the lapel of her suit jacket.

"Will your boyfriend be upset when he finds out we spent the night together on your couch?"

"Boyfriend?" she asked. Her hands on the edge of the desk were the only things holding her upright.

"Greg Jacobs. The big guy I met at your apartment."

His finger lingered on the fabric of her clothing. Jewell looked down to watch his touch brush her blouse. She was painfully aware of how close his hands were to her breasts. One curl fell forward over her shoulder, and he let it brush the back of his hand.

Jewell drew in a slow breath to ease the burning in her lungs. She shook her head. Benjamin"s fingers pushed up into her hair and wrapped around the column of her neck, her copper curls intertwined amongst them. His thumb pressed against the pulse spot beneath her jaw. Her heartbeat pounded against the pressure.

The shrinking space between them drew her gaze. His hips made contact with hers. Gentle pressure pushed her back into the desk"s edge. Jewell drew in a sharp breath.

"He"s not my boyfriend," she whispered.

His thumb nudged her chin upward. Slight furrows wrinkled his brow, questioning her, and she realized her foolishness. Benjamin couldn"t read her lips when she looked down. The extraordinary blaze and glow of his brown eyes looking down at her forced her heart to skip a beat. Her lips parted, and she struggled to keep her thoughts in order. Was this really happening?

"He"s not my boyfriend," she managed to say again. The volume of her voice was almost indiscernible.

The space closed further. His body settled against hers, and Jewell was acutely, almost painfully, aware of his hard contours.

"He isn"t?" An irresistibly devastating grin tugged at his lips and his eyelids lowered as his gaze fell on her lips.

The effect was as tangible and powerful as a caress. She tried to shake her head, but couldn"t stand to move away from his touch. Acting practically on its own accord, Jewell"s hand moved from the desk"s edge to his trim waist. His breath caught and Jewell smiled at the involuntary reaction her touch created in him. It gave her a heady sense of power over a man who was infamous for his intimidation of others. Riding on the euphoria of her newfound ability, Jewell shifted her body against him and watched the muscle jump along his jaw.

"No," she managed to say. "He"s my best friend."

"Is there a boyfriend, Jewell?"

"No."

His open mouth covered hers, and her body reacted intensely and immediately. There was no prelude to the kiss. No slow overture to its intensity. Benjamin"s hands held her face, and each time his lips moved over hers, their bodies swayed closer together. Jewell had no option, no choice, but to give in to its power without restraint. Their tongues met as a conduit, and thunder arched her body against him.

Jewell wrapped her arms around him, flattening her fingers against the firm muscles of his shoulders, drawing him closer. Benjamin"s hands held her head in place with a gentle massage as his tongue parted her lips and plunged inside. His fingers pressed into her scalp. A low purr reverberated in her throat and her stomach tumbled.

The kiss was hungry. Jewell never realized how desperately she craved this, and there was no doubt in the way he held her, and the way his lips demanded her response, that Benjamin had wanted this just as much as she had. All consequences vanished. All logical thought disappeared. He took a hand from her face to grip her hip and yank her hard against him. She couldn"t help the small sound that roughened her throat and felt Benjamin"s tight moan against her mouth. Jewell heard the scrape of desktop objects across the wooden top as he tipped her back, reclining onto the desk surface.

A soft tap sounded at the door as Benjamin"s mouth moved to her throat, just below her jawline. His mouth tugged gently at her skin, and she gasped. Her eyes fluttered, and she threaded her fingers into his hair, holding him against her skin. Then the knock came again, yanking her hard from the moment. With a groan born of frustration, she ran her hands from his shoulders down his arms, and with overpowering regret, curled her fingers around his wrists and pulled back from his touch. His gaze settled on her mouth, his lips open, his breathing as rapid as her own, and his eyes were an even deeper mahogany. Jewell curled her fingers into his shirt, wanting more than anything to pull him back to her.

The knock came again. Benjamin moved to kiss her, and her hand shot up.

"Someone is knocking on my door,"she signed.

Benjamin sighed and closed his eyes, letting his forehead rest against hers. He swallowed hard. The pad of his thumb ran across her lower lip, now swollen by the strength of their kiss.

The knock came a third time. "Jewell?" April"s voice called through the wood. She sounded miles away through the blood pounding in Jewell"s ears.

"April," Jewell mouthed, and Benjamin laid his thumb on her lip as she spoke. He smiled, which immediately made her smile, too. "I"m in Mr. Roth"s office," she called out. Her voice cracked and she quickly cleared it. "Come in."

Benjamin stepped back just in time to avoid April seeing him standing so close as she came in through the other office. Jewell ran a quaking hand over her mouth before turning to face the woman, giving her skirt a firm tug. Not daring to look down, she hoped her clothing wasn"t mussed and twisted beyond explanation. He sat down in his chair and moved close to the desk.

"What"s up, April?" she asked, thankful that her voice didn"t give away the jumbling chaos in her stomach and the twittering sensation under her skin. "Sorry, I didn"t hear you."

"You left your phone on my desk and you got a call."

"Thank you."

Jewell took the phone April held out and looked at the notifications on the locked screen. Missed call from Garnett. She took a step away from Benjamin's desk, slid her thumb to unlock the phone, and tapped the notification to call him back. He answered before she heard the ringtone.

"Hey, kiddo," her older brother said, already sounding apologetic. "I"m sorry to call you while you're at work, but Mom asked me to find out if you"re coming to that family fun night thing at Pearl"s school tonight."

"Is that tonight?" Jewell mumbled, still trying to focus on anything but the way she still felt Benjamin touching her, even though he sat several feet away. April had walked around the other side of Benjamin"s desk to show him some paperwork, and she spoke in soft tones to keep from interrupting Jewell"s conversation. Didn"t matter, her attention was miles away from the family fun night.

"Hey, Juls! You there?"

Jewell jumped when her brother shouted her name, and drew both Benjamin"s and April"s attention. April arched her eyebrows, but Benjamin looked concerned. She shook her head and focused on the conversation. "I"m sorry. I"m distracted. Yes, tell Mama I"ll be there. She wanted us at the house for five-thirty, right?"

He hummed in the affirmative. "Ruby is here already. She asked me to pick her up after class because she figured you"d be staying late at work. Has your boss been working you hard?"

Jewell smirked and slid her gaze to Benjamin again. He focused again on what April had to say, so his attention was on her and not Jewell. She cleared her throat. "No, not really. I"ll be there on time."

"Okay, Sis. Love you."

"Love you, too."

A snippet of April"s conversation with Benjamin reached her as she disconnected the call. "—Mr. Burke. That"s all he said," April ended with a shrug and a smile back to Jewell.

In one stuttered beat of her heart, Jewell"s smile slipped, and a cold flush swept up her neck to her cheeks. Logically, she knew she had done nothing wrong when it came to Kevin Burke—but logical thinking didn"t prevent the sudden ball of lead in her stomach. Burke had made a single point that voided her logical mind—who would people be more likely to believe? Benjamin"s eyes shifted from April to her, and he pushed back from his desk, standing. Stepping around April, he came around to where she stood, his gaze never leaving her.

"Traynor wants to talk with me for a bit. It"ll give you a chance to catch up on what you missed this morning," he said with a small smirk she knew he meant to be sexy and dismissive of the lead ball in her stomach. "Emails. Memos," he said, but his hands moved in small motions between them. "A large coffee with three extra shots."

It worked because she couldn"t help her smile. His smirk spread into a warm smile and he turned back to April, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Tell Mr. Traynor I"m available when he is."

April nodded and headed for the office door. Before Jewell could step away, Benjamin"s long fingers wrapped around her wrist. A warm tingle of awareness danced up her arm, and she drew in a metered breath before raising her chin and looking into his face. He smiled slow, making her heart dance.

"We"ll pick this up later."

She returned his smile and pulled from his touch, letting her fingertips skim across his before she stepped away. Following April"s route, Jewell went through her office, and out the door April had come in. Mr. Traynor stepped toward Benjamin"s office door as Jewell came out behind April"s desk, and their eyes met as he reached for the knob. He offered Jewell a cryptic smile that she couldn"t interpret, and it chipped away once again at the ease Benjamin had tried to instill before she left the office.

Jewell released a slow breath. "I"m going to the break room to see if there"s any coffee left. Can I get you anything?"

"Um, actually, I"ll walk with you."

April fell into step with Jewell. They didn"t say anything until they reached the common break room for the bullpen, and Jewell had poured a cup from the coffee of undeterminable age and sat at one of the tables. She had managed to ignore her exhaustion while in the office with Benjamin, but now—seated—the exhaustion sat on her shoulders and tensed her neck, making it a challenge just to keep her head upright. She poured extra sugar into the cup to counteract the age of the brew, added some creamer, and braced herself as she took the first sip.

"Oh, that"s nasty," she groaned, wincing as she set down the cup. "A long cry from Dunkin"."

April had bought a bottled juice from the vending machine in the corner and twisted off the cap with a pop. "You look wiped out."

"I didn"t get to sleep until around three," Jewell said, forcing down another swallow of nasty coffee. "And I fell asleep on the couch." Curled up against your boss. "Which is why I never heard my alarm."

"It"s funny. Mr. Roth was on time, but he looks more exhausted than you."

Jewell just gave a noncommittal hum against the edge of her coffee cup, forcing down more of the sweet sludge. She couldn"t take the burn anymore and pushed the cup away. "What did Mr. Traynor want to speak to Mr. Roth about, do you know?"

"Not specifically, no. He came out of Mr. Burke"s office just before he came across and said he wanted to see Mr. Roth when he had free time. That was right after you arrived. He just said he wanted to speak to Mr. Roth privately about some concerns Mr. Burke expressed."

"He didn"t say what kinds of concerns?"

April tilted her head, studying Jewell. She hid from April"s scrutiny behind her mug. It was either drink the coffee or reveal too much on her face. April twisted the cap back on her bottle of juice and set the bottle down with a thunk. She sat back and crossed her arms, pulling her lips together in a pursed scowl.

"What?" Jewell asked.

"What happened yesterday?"

"I don"t know?—"

"Yes, you do. You know what I mean. I know about the fight with Mr. Roth, but then what? Then Mr. Burke shows up and leaves minutes later looking pissed, excuse my French. And you weren"t right the rest of the day, Jewell. Then this morning? Maybe it"s none of my business, and you can feel free to tell me so, but a lot of rumors are flying around here?—"

"What kind of rumors?"

"I asked first."

Jewell set down the now empty coffee mug, already feeling an acidic hole burning through her gut, and matched April"s position slumped in the chair with her arms crossed. "Okay, fine. When Mr. Burke showed up, he made some…comments," she paused, clearing her throat as heat rose in her cheeks again. "Comments I didn"t appreciate, and I told him so."

"Comments about the rumors?"

"You"ve got to answer my question." Now she"d know if Burke lied about the rumors, or if he hadn"t lied and Jewel and Benjamin really were the topic of the company rumor mill.

Of course, ironically, the rumors weren"t completely untrue after this morning.

"You sure you want to hear the torrid details?"

"I"ve already heard some from Mr. Burke. Fill in the details for me." Jewell sat forward, linking her hands together on the tabletop. "April, I don"t want anything going around that could jeopardize my career here, or Mr. Roth"s."

"Fine, but you won"t like it."