Take Me Under by Rhyannon Byrd

face. “Genuine. Different from what I’m used to. Almost innocent.”
    Pulling her hand from beneath his, she said, “I was a married woman, Ben. I’m not innocent.”
    The heat in his green eyes got a little hotter, making her oblivious to the chill of the air-conditioning vent blowing down on them from above. “Just because you’ve had sex doesn’t mean you’re experienced.” His gaze narrowed a little, and there were tiny lines that she found ridiculously sexy crinkling at the corners of his eyes. “I have a feeling you’ve only ever been served a fairly vanilla menu.”
    Her brow arched, even as her pulse rushed. “And you’re not a vanilla kind of guy? Is that what you’re saying?”
    “’Fraid not, honey.” He lifted his hand to her face, watching as he rubbed his thumb against the corner of her kiss-swollen mouth, her lips still tingling. She could smell her salty scent on his fingers, and it made her insides clench. “I should probably stay the hell away from you, but I’m not going to. I want you too badly.”
    Her reply was soft. “And what about what I want?”
    He lifted his gaze, locking her back in that warm bottle green. “Tell me, Reese. You wanna be fucked hard and rough? Want your sweet little pussy licked for hours on end, my tongue sinking inside you, deep and slow?” His nostrils flared as he pulled in a short breath, that rough voice getting even rougher. “Whatever it is you want or need, I’ll give it to you.”
    She wanted to ask,
And what if I want it slow and easy, like you’re making love to me?
But she didn’t dare. The last thing she needed was to look like some lovesick divorcée. If she did this thing with Ben—and that was a BIG if—she was going to keep her eyes wide open and her emotions locked down as tightly as she could. It would be about pleasure, about what she knew would be incredible sex, and nothing more. She wasn’t going to lose her head over him, and she sure as hell wasn’t going to lose her heart.
    “Hey, you in there?” he asked.
    She licked her lips, blinking him back into focus. “Yeah, I’m here. I was just trying to decide how to handle you . . . us . . . this thing we have between us.”
    Satisfaction smoldered in his gaze. “At least you’re accepting that it’s going to happen.”
    “I haven’t actually accepted anything yet.” Knowing damn well that she was playing with fire, and more than a little surprised by how much she enjoyed it, Reese arched her brow again. “Maybe I’m just trying to decide how to tell you I’m not interested.”
    “Like hell,” he said with a husky laugh, suddenly taking her mouth in another hard, devastating kiss. One that was over far too quickly for her liking this time. He had his hand buried in her hair, and he tilted her head back even more as he tugged on the strands, the slight sting on her scalp only making her burn hotter, until she could feel the fire all the way down in her belly. “I meant what I said, Reese. I’ll give you whatever you need. You just have to let me know what you want.”
    Beautiful words—but she knew they weren’t true. He’d give her sex, maybe even friendship, but that’s all.
    It’s better than nothing.
    She didn’t know where that pragmatic thought had come from, but she couldn’t argue with it. Not now, when he was standing in front of her looking like sin incarnate. Wanting to push him, to shake him up like he was shaking her, she pressed her palm over his erection again and tightened her grip, rubbing him through the denim. “You know what, Ben? This thing of yours is ridiculously proportioned. Kind of like your ego.”
    A flush shaded the crest of his cheekbones, his eyes hooded and dark. But a devilish grin kicked up the corner of his mouth. “It’s only ridiculous if I don’t know how to handle it.”
    “Do you?” she asked, unable to keep an answering grin off her lips.
    “Take me for a test drive and decide for yourself.”
    Her grin