Yours for the Taking Page 20

  Ben pushed through the door and took her in his arms. “No you don’t. Now tell me what’s wrong?”

  She looked as flummoxed as he. “I… I… don’t know.”

  “Shh. Come on. He pulled her along with him into the bedroom, turned down the bed, and lay beside her. Once he wrestled the towel out from around her, she pillowed her head on his shoulder and finally relaxed against him, but the waterworks still hadn’t stopped. Good thing he wouldn’t melt. “When Karma was a kid and started crying, I used to bribe her to get her to stop. I take it that won’t work with you.”

  Gina sniffled and poked him in the ribs. “Don’t you think I’d stop if I could? I’m mortified, and I’m ugly, and blotchy, and snotty.”

  “Well, sweetheart, if you’re trying to scare me away, it’s not working.”

  Chapter 13

  Gina couldn’t stop crying, and for the life of her, she didn’t know why she started in the first place. Right now, though, it was all she could do not to bust out in another torrent of tears. She was dying of embarrassment.

  Ben’s hand ran up and down her back, just like he’d done to Jasmine earlier. “Feeling better?”

  She cuddled closer to his side, trying to hide her blotchy face in his neck. “Why can’t we just pretend this never happened?”

  “Because there’s obviously something bothering you, and if that something has anything to do with the fact that I love you, we have a problem.”

  “There’s no problem. This crying jag is nothing. I have no idea why it started or why it won’t end, so it has no place in my reality.”

  “I love you.”

  Why did he keep saying that? He was insane. Maybe it was mountain fever or it could be cabin fever, she’d heard of that somewhere. Maybe it was insanity caused by being in the middle of nowhere. Gina poked him in the ribs again. “No you don’t. You might think you do, but you’re wrong. Stop saying it, and sooner or later, you’ll come to your senses.”

  Ben pulled her on top of him and kissed her through her tears. All she could think of was how gross she looked and felt. Her head ached, her eyes were puffy, her face felt tight and sticky from God only knows what, and she had turned into one big red blotch. She slid down his body to get away from his mouth only to encounter Mr. Happy. He stiffened even more and groaned. “You can’t seriously be horny again.”

  “You’re naked and on top of me. That’s about all it takes, but then just being in the same room with you usually does the trick.”

  His erection pressed incessantly against her. “I thought sex started getting old once you got married. Not that this marriage is real or anything. But still, you’d think there’d be some carryover.”

  “Not yet, I guess we’ll see if it wears off, but I wouldn’t hold my breath if I were you.” Ben’s hands rounded her waist and pushed her down onto him, raising his hips and gliding smoothly into her, filling her in one swift motion.

  As if holding her breath was an option, hell, she could barely catch her breath around him. His body cradled hers, arousing and comforting. He caught her gaze and looked as if he could read her mind. She hoped he’d be more successful making sense of the storm of emotions and feelings swirling through her than she was. She tried to turn off her mind and just concentrated on feeling the rush of his pulse under her lips as she kissed his neck, the quickening of his breathing as her hands slid over his chest, the thundering of his heart beneath them. But it was the look on his face when she pushed herself up to ride him that shook her. She’d never had any man look at her the way he did. She was used to having men want her, and he wanted her, all right; but there was something more, deeper, scarier. Whatever it was, it was her undoing. Her orgasm took her by surprise, paralyzing her.

  Ben rolled them over as one climax rolled into another, drowning her in emotion. He breathed her breath and took her back up pushing her over the edge of sanity before he stiffened and groaned out her name. She wasn’t sure if it sounded more like a curse or a prayer. Whatever it was, Gina was too tired to do anything more than sleep.

  ***

  Ben caught his breath and rolled his sleeping wife onto her side facing him. Jasmine whined; her cold nose poked his bare ass. He lifted her off the ground and set her down on the foot of the bed. The two of them watched Gina sleep.

  His phone vibrated on the dresser. Ben rose, called the puppy, and grabbed his pants before leaving the room to answer the call.

  “Trapper, what the hell do you want?”

  “Other than to be in your position, not much.”

  “I wouldn’t be so sure of that.”

  “Why? Problems in paradise?”

  Ben sank down on the couch. “I’m so fucked.”

  “Oh yeah, you have a little sex kitten warming your bed and absolutely no ties after the two of you part ways. My heart’s just bleeding for you, bro.”

  “I love her.”

  There was dead silence. After a moment, hysterical laughter. “And here we were worried about Gina. Oh God, this is beautiful! Who’d have thought that little bit of a thing would take down Big Ben. We all thought you were one of the last remaining untouchables.”

  “Hey, you should talk. I don’t recall you ever taking the plunge.”

  Silence again, but this time it wasn’t followed by laughter. Ben checked his phone to see if he lost the signal. No such luck. “You there?”

  “Yeah, man. I’m here. Did you share your little epiphany with Gina?”

  “Yeah, it didn’t go well. She started crying—”

  “God, I hate it when women cry.”

  “Tell me about it. In between crying jags she told me I was crazy. She said if I ignored it, it would go away.”

  “You’re kiddin’ me.”

  “No, I wish I was. But Trap, the thing is it’s not going away. What the hell am I supposed to do now?”

  Trapper laughed. “I guess since you’re already married, you could try the whole happily ever after thing.”

  “Not if she still wants a divorce.”

  “Well, you just have to make yourself impossible to leave.”

  “How the hell do I do that?”

  “Beats me, bro. If I knew that, I wouldn’t be single.”

  “What? You never—”

  “Look, I just called to tell you Hunter and I were coming up your way to check the rafts after winter. I thought we’d stop by, but maybe not.”

  “I guess it wouldn’t hurt. Maybe you could try to make me look good. Just keep your damn hands to yourself.” Jasmine sat in front of the door and whined.

  “What the hell is that?”

  “Gina adopted a puppy on the way up the mountain.”

  “Did you just say a puppy?”

  “Yeah, she named her Jasmine and it seems as though she has no problem falling in love with a dog, she just doesn’t want anything to do with me.”

  “Dogs are easy. You, my friend, have never been easy.”

  “Thanks for all the help. Now I have to take Jasmine out so I don’t have another puddle to clean up… or worse.”

  “Good luck, Ben, with both the women in your life. It sounds as if you’re gonna need it.”

  “Thanks. Just do me a favor, give me some warning before you come up and don’t stay long. And you might want to bring a present, like a leash and collar for a fifteen-pound puppy. Be sure to tell Gina it was all my idea when you do.”

  “Got it. See you soon.”

  Ben ended the call, tossed his coat on as he put Jasmine’s collar around her neck, and headed out into the cold. He shivered as Jasmine sniffed every rock and stone in the area before taking care of business. He figured it wouldn’t be long before Gina needed to make a trip out in the cold too. She certainly wasn’t going to be happy about it.

  He could kill Delbert for not winterizing the cabin. He just hoped the pipes would defrost by tomorrow. If not, he was going to have a hell of a time keeping Gina at the ranch; and right now, he felt as if their entire future depended upon it.


  ***

  Gina awoke with her head resting on Ben’s chest, nose to nose with Jasmine. For all his bellyaching, it didn’t look as if Ben minded having a puppy in bed with them. He was just a big softy.

  That’s when she remembered Ben had told her he loved her. Or thought he did anyway. God, even after her meltdown, he kept saying it. Love terrified her. Those three little words were so easy to say, but did anyone actually live up to them?

  Sure Tina and Sam were solid, they’d only been married a year and a half. Nick and Rosalie looked as if they had the real thing, but they’d been married for what, a year? No marriage she’d ever seen lasted more than five years, and from what she could tell, most of that time was spent in that lovely place where they teetered on the brink of divorce. As far as she was concerned, love did nothing but bring sorrow and heartache. She’d had enough of that in her life without asking for it.

  “Morning, sweetheart.”

  Ben stared at her again as if he could read her thoughts. “Are you talking to me or Jasmine?”

  “You. I was up with Jasmine three times since 6 A.M. We’ve already exchanged morning greetings.”

  “Sorry. You should have woken me.”

  “I didn’t mind.” He leaned over and kissed her full on the mouth.

  Gina pushed him away. “I haven’t brushed my teeth yet.”

  “So?”

  “So, I don’t kiss anyone without first brushing my teeth and downing a cup of coffee.” Actually, she never kissed anyone good morning, ever. “Not to mention, I really have to pee.”

  “I’ll walk you out.”

  Gina got up and looked around. Her clothes from last night were hanging neatly on the chair beside the bed. She pulled them on. “I’m fine going out on my own but it would be lovely if the pipes would hurry up and defrost. All this becoming one with nature crap is really getting on my nerves.”

  “Yeah, not to mention the fact that it’s about 20 degrees this morning.”

  “You’re kidding.”

  Ben shook his head as he stepped into his jeans and pulled on a sweatshirt. “You might want to put on those wool socks we bought yesterday.”

  “It’s practically summer.”

  “Sweetheart, we’re in the mountains. It’s not summer here until after the Fourth of July, and even then, there’s still snow on the ground in some places.”

  “Right.”

  Ben tossed her a jacket before he bent to put Jasmine’s leash around her neck. Gina opened the door and couldn’t believe her eyes. “Ben, tell me that’s not snow I see flying.”

  “Shit. I better call the guys.”

  “What guys?”

  “Trapper called last night. He said he and Hunter might stop by on their way to check out the rafts. They better wait to see how much snow we get.”

  “Oh, come on. It’s almost June. Surely it won’t be more than a few flurries.” She ran all the way to the outhouse and swore she’d take her blow dryer to the pipes before she pulled her pants down out of doors again. Damn, it was cold. She never peed so fast in her life.

  She bundled back up and pulled Ben’s phone she’d nabbed off the dresser out of her jacket pocket. Dialing the number on the card, Gina was put through to Dick, the private investigator’s voice mail. If she were him, she’d have her name changed. She left a message telling him to only call back if he’d learned something before ending the call and running back to the cabin.

  By the time she got back inside, there was a good inch of snow covering everything. The sky was dark with clouds and it looked more like January than June. For the hundredth time, she wondered what Ben ever saw in this place, and for at least that many times, what he saw in her.

  ***

  Ben went back into the bedroom to get his phone to call Trapper and the ranger station to ask for an updated weather report, but his phone was missing. He looked high and low, checked his jacket pocket, but swore he remembered leaving it on the dresser before getting back into bed with Gina last night.

  She came running into the cabin, stomping her feet. “It looks like a blizzard out there.”

  “Yeah, I was just going to call the ranger station for an updated weather report, but my phone is missing.”

  “No it’s not. I have it. I had to call… and check in.”

  “Everything okay?”

  She shrugged and looked away. “I left a message and told them to call me if they had an emergency.”

  Ben rubbed the back of his neck to get rid of the prickly feeling that settled there. Why would she lie about that?

  He took the phone and called the closest ranger station in Stanley. The forecast wasn’t good. It didn’t look as if he’d have a problem keeping Gina in the mountains. As far as he could see, there would be no way to get down without a helicopter. He wasn’t going to mention he could get one to come up after the storm passed. What she didn’t know wouldn’t hurt her, and could only help him. It looked as if they’d be stuck there for the next few days at the very least, with or without a working bathroom.

  Gina sat on the couch with Jasmine in her lap watching the snow fall.

  “Are you hungry? I could cook up some flapjacks.”

  “What?”

  “You know, griddle cakes, pancakes. I make great breakfasts.”

  “Don’t you think we should pack up and leave?”

  “Nope, if we wanted to leave, we should have done that before the storm hit. We’re snowed in.”

  “In May?”

  “Yup. Once it passes, the snow won’t last long, at least not where the sun can get to it. It’s unusual. They haven’t had a storm like this since before they started keeping records in 1955. The average snowfall this month is under an inch. It’s kind of nice though, huh? I always loved the snow. I have snowshoes, if you want to give them a try. We can take a hike to the meadow. Make a snowman, or we could just curl up in front of the fire.”

  “How much snow are we expecting?”

  “A foot, maybe more if the system sticks around longer. Up here, you never really know.”

  “Oh, God. It’s like that story you told me about those women who froze to death. It was a bad omen. I knew it. We’re trapped here.”

  “You’re exaggerating. We have plenty of food, we’re safe, and warm—”

  She stood and paced across the room. “As long as you don’t have to use the outhouse. Warm is not a word I’d use to describe that experience.”

  He got in her way and grabbed her before she could turn. “With any luck, the pipes will thaw. I have the heat up so it shouldn’t be much longer.”

  “How much longer?”

  “I don’t have an exact time, Gina. Just think of this as an adventure.”

  She blew her bangs out of her eyes and drilled a hole in him. “An adventure is walking through Bedford Stuy at night. This is a nightmare.”

  “Oh, come on.” He dropped a kiss on her forehead. “You and me in a cabin for a week, and nothing to do but eat and make love. It sounds like heaven.”

  “There’s no TV, no Internet, no communication other than your phone. And what if you—I don’t know—have appendicitis?”

  “There is life flight in Boise. If we needed to be medevaced, I’m sure they’d come in as soon as the snow stops.”

  “Oh, that makes me feel so much better.”

  “Good, glad I could help.” He kicked off his shoes and went to the kitchen. If she wasn’t hungry now, she would be just as soon as she smelled his flapjacks. While he was beating the egg whites, the secret to making light, fluffy flapjacks, he called Trapper to make sure he’d heard the weather report. It was unnecessary. Trap and Hunter knew better than to go into the mountains without first checking the weather.

  “So, you’re snowed in? Lucky you.”

  “Yeah, Gina doesn’t see the upside yet, but I’m hoping that’ll change after a good breakfast.”

  “So you have everything you need?”

  “Who do you think you’re ta
lking to? Of course I have everything… well, except a real leash. We’re making do with a rope.”

  “That might come in handy with more than just the dog. I’m sorry I’ll miss it.”

  “Very funny. There will be no unholy triangle with Gina. No way.”

  “Aw come on, Ben. I was looking forward to it, as long as you follow the rules.”

  “God, we were drunk. You still remember the rules?”

  “What rules?”

  Ben turned to find Gina standing right behind him. “Look, Trap. I gotta go. I’ll talk to you later.” Ben disconnected the call and cursed. He picked the worst time imaginable to forget how small the cabin was.

  Gina’s eyes shone with interest. “Were you just talking about what I think you were talking about?”

  Ben groaned and gathered the rest of the ingredients. “No, well, okay, yes, but Trap was just joking. Besides, I’m not into sharing. I want to keep you all to myself.” Forever, but he didn’t think she was ready to hear that yet. He really hoped that would change, even more than he hoped the subject would change.

  “Have you ever—”

  Ben shook his head. “No, we got drunk one night and ended up going after the same girl. A mistake she quickly corrected by leaving our sorry asses at Humpin’ Hannah’s.”

  “But not before you discussed rules.”

  “Actually, she left before we discussed rules, but then we were drunk.”

  She jumped up to sit on the counter next to where he was working. “So, what are the rules?”

  “It’s not going to happen, so what’s it matter?”

  “I’m just curious, and it’s not as if we have anything better to talk about. I’ve always wondered what would possess two guys who were straight to go for one girl.”

  “Probably the same thing that possesses two straight girls to go for one guy.”

  She wrinkled her nose, which just made him want to kiss her. He had it bad.

  “I never got that either.”

  “I think the answer is mass quantities of alcohol.”

  “Back to the rules. Spill. Inquiring minds want to know.”

  Ben laughed. He so didn’t want to give her any ideas. “It’s never gonna happen.”