More Than Ever: The Home Series, Book One Read online

  I chuckle. “My first ride was a Jeep just like yours.”

  “No shit?” he says, looking surprised.

  “No shit. I was mortified, of course, but Daddy rebuilt it for me. It was his when he was younger. I ended up loving that thing, but it got too hard for me to drive around. So, now it sits under a tarp at my parent’s house. He tried to give it to my sister, but Maggie would sooner die than drive something less than luxury.”

  “I’d love to see it. I bought mine off of some old guy when I got out of the Marines. It was a piece of shit, but I worked on it every chance I got.”

  “You were in the Marines?” I ask.

  “Joined the second I could. Needed a way to get through school. It served its purpose.”

  “How long did you serve?” I ask. I just realized that I have no idea how old Bennett is.

  “Just the 4 years. Got home from overseas and got the fuck out,” he mumbles, more to himself than me. He rubs his hand over his closely shaved head, unconsciously. “Anyway, came home and went straight to school.”

  “How long have you been practicing?”

  “Three years.”

  “Why kids?” I ask. I am completely intrigued by what I saw at the center yesterday. Why did he pick this as his career? It wasn’t a rash decision.

  “That, my curious Lucy, is a story for another time,” he says as he takes his eyes off the road for a second. “I can’t give you all the goods just yet.” His smile is killing me.

  I feel us coming to a stop.

  “We’re here.”

  Wow. That was fast. I didn’t pay the least bit attention to the ride here. I wait for him to come around and let me out of the car as the valet comes around for the keys. I’ve never been here before, but it is supposed to be the best restaurant in town.

  He instantly puts his arm around my waist. “God, you’re a tiny little thing,” he mutters under his breath, looking down at me. I have on mile high shoes, but he is still almost a head taller than me.

  We walk in and are taken right to our table. It’s near the back in a cozy little corner. Very intimate. We have no choice but to sit close. I have a feeling this was pre-planned. Candles are on the table, and a bottle of red wine is opened and breathing right in the center.

  “Do you drink?” he asks, as the host gets us settled.

  “Not really. I used to on occasion, but for obvious reasons, I stopped.” I don’t say more, we still have an audience.

  “Well, I want you to have a glass to help you relax. And anyway, tomorrow’s appointment will take care of it for you,” he says with a grin. He’s right. I guess one small glass of wine won’t hurt.

  The sommelier comes over to the table to make sure the wine is to Bennett’s standards, pours us each a glass, and leaves. I take a small sip, surprised at how much I like it.

  “Do you come here a lot?” I ask him.

  “Not really. But, you need to eat and steak is really good for you. They have the best in town. Besides, I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to see you dressed like that.”

  I feel my cheeks heat and it’s not from the wine. He grabs my hand that is resting on the table.

  “I mean what I said earlier, Lucy. I don’t know how to put into words how you look tonight. It’s better than I imagined.”

  And there goes the rest of my wine. I guzzle the remainder of the glass down in one giant, unfeminine sip. I’m not used to this kind of attention from a man. I don’t know what to do with it. I don’t know what to say in return. So, I do nothing. Bennett’s dark green eyes are just looking at me. He’s not trying to fill the space with small talk. He’s just taking this all in.

  “Lucy, you look like you want to bolt. Relax.”

  “I’m sorry. I don’t do this.”

  Shit. I guess the wine is making me talk.

  “You don’t do what?”

  “Date.”

  “I find that hard to believe. When’s the last time you went on a date?”

  “Ummm, I guess three years ago. That’s when Miller and I broke up.”

  Double Shit. I didn’t mean for that to slip out.

  His face gets hard. Now it’s his turn to guzzle his wine in one gulp. He pours a new glass, and tips the bottle towards mine, silently asking if I want more. I know I shouldn’t, but, what the hell? I have a feeling I need it to get through this conversation… to get through this whole night.

  “Just a little,” I tell him.

  As soon as he pours his glass, he takes a healthy sip while I take a much more conservative one. I need to watch myself.

  “I thought you two were just friends.” His tone is accusatory. His jaw is starting to tick.

  “We are. We dated for a while, but it didn’t work. We’re just friends. That’s it.” A small sip.

  “But you did date, and now you live together?”

  “Yes.” More wine.

  “You know how I promised not to talk about medical stuff?” he asks. I nod. “Well, I don’t want to talk about Miller anymore tonight. Can we do that?” he asks me. I nod again.

  We order dinner and stay away from all things related to Miller and medicine. This is not an easy task, considering those are the most prominent things in my life. He asks a lot of questions about my family. He’s genuinely interested in hearing about them. When I try to ask questions about his family and his childhood, he steers the conversation back to me. Aside from the rocky start, I really do have a nice time. It’s easy and effortless, being with Bennett. He makes me feel safe. We eat the most fabulous steak I have ever tasted in my life. It practically melts in my mouth. We are full of delicious food, wine, and conversation when dinner is over.

  I’m sad to see the night ending. I end up having a bit more to drink than I planned. I think he did, too. When we get to the front of the restaurant, he suggests a walk along the river.

  “Let’s walk for a bit. We can work off the wine and food. I’m not ready to let you go just yet.”

  His words settle in my belly, just like the superb food and wine. They feel good. I feel good. I nod and we take off for the levee, just behind the restaurant.

  As we walk, his hand takes its usual spot on the small of my back. He’s rubbing up and down, back and forth, and it feels fabulous. It lingers a little bit longer each time it brushes over my scar. Once, it even makes its way under the fabric of my dress. I can feel him inhale sharply as the goose bumps burst across my skin. He knows how his touch is affecting me. He stops and turns me in his arms.

  “When did this happen?” he asks.

  I see genuine concern in his eyes, but I don’t understand why. He’s worrying about something that is over and done with.

  “You promised,” I remind him, shaking my head.

  His hands move from my waist to my face.

  “I’m sorry. I want to make sure you were taken care of. That you did alright while you recovered. I want to know as much as I can about you.” He smiles, leaning in closer and lowering his voice. “I don’t want to get all the juicy details from your sister.”

  I laugh, remembering that he pumped her for information. I was upset about it before, but not anymore. I like that he did that. It was thoughtful. He wants to know me.

  “What else did you learn about me?”

  “That you put up a tough front, but you’re not as tough as you think. You act like you don’t want this to happen, but I think you do.”

  “That’s not true.”

  “Luce, you can only fight me for so long. I will wear you down until you can’t resist me anymore. You might be tough, but I promise you, I’m tougher.”

  As soon as the last word is out, his lips are on mine. My whole body jolts with awareness. I didn’t know a single kiss could be the source of this much intensity. The sensations his hands have caused on my body are nothing compared to the sensations of his lips pressed to mine. They are soft, but his kiss firm and insistent. I don’t fight it. He feels too damn good. His tongue is invading my mouth, and he
tastes of the wine we had earlier. God, this man can kiss. I’m up on my toes, and I’m clutching to his shoulders like he’s the only thing keeping me grounded to the Earth. One of his hands has left my face and it’s working its way into my hair. It’s tight, pulling underneath my bun, but it feels good. I would let him rip my dress off right here if he wanted to.

  “Fuck,” he exhales, pulling away from me. His forehead is resting against mine, his breath is coming out fast and hard. We sound like we have run miles. “I’m sorry.”

  I step back from him. Why is he telling me he’s sorry? Did he not want that? Is he drunk and that amazing kiss was a mistake? I can feel the tears starting to pool in the bottoms of my eyes. Shit, I don’t want to cry about this. I cross my arms over my chest in a defensive stance. I start to turn away, but he grabs at my shoulders, then moves his hands to rest at the base of my throat.

  “Lucy, look at me. I’m not sorry for kissing you. God, no. I’m sorry for being so damn rough with you. I practically mauled you. You deserve better.”

  He wipes under my eyes with the gentlest of touches.

  “Don’t apologize for that, Bennett. Please. I know I’m a broken mess, with a body that doesn’t even work right, but you make me feel good. Everyone treats me like glass. You haven’t done that all night. You treat me like I’m just like everyone else.” He’s frowning again. “I liked it,” I whisper quietly. I don’t even know if he heard it.

  “Don’t talk about yourself like that. There’s so much more to you. And you’re not like everyone else. You’re so much more,” he whispers reverently. He pulls me into his arms and whispers in my ear, “Besides, you want rough, Luce, I’ll give you rough.”

  Oh, shit. I guess he did hear me. What am I supposed to say to that? He looks at me, laughing. I’m sure my face looks mortified.

  “Come on, sweet girl. I need to get you home. You have an early day tomorrow. So do I. Ava’s appointments start at seven. I want to be there to make sure she’s alright.”

  “You never told me about her,” I suddenly remember, coming out of my wine and kiss induced haze. That was the whole reason for this evening. It’s certainly taken on a life of its own.

  “Looks like you’ll have to let me take you out again.”

  “You did that on purpose.” I try to give him a stern look, but I don’t think it works.

  “Maybe,” he says, shrugging and grinning.

  We walk back to the restaurant to get the car, hand in hand, both of us smiling like crazy.

  ***

  Bennett

  My feet are pounding on the road. I’ve been running for about an hour, but I can’t expel the tension out of my body. I feel like I’m about to fucking explode. I’m wound up tight. I have a feeling I could run for days and this tension won’t go away until I sink myself deep into Lucy Brennan. Jesus, I want that girl. I’ve never felt like this about someone before. There have been plenty of women in my past, but it’s always just been about sex. Nothing more. I’ve never felt anything for any of them. Zero emotional connection. I’m not sure I’m wired like that. I’ve never had it, don’t know how to give it. But it’s not like that with Lucy. It’s this intense pull. It’s been there since I spotted her leaning over the side of that chair, about to barf. I have to laugh about the whole thing. I feel like a complete fuckin’ pussy. I want to know everything I can about her. I want to know that she’s taken care of. I think she is. She seems happy when she talks about her family. She’s obviously led a pretty sheltered life, doesn’t know that’s not how it is for everyone. I glance down at my arm and shake my head at the evidence of my shitty life on display.

  I start the trek back to my house. I’ll never get up in time to see to Ava if I keep this up. I need to think about her, too. I let myself into the house and strip on the way to the shower. The heat feels good on my aching, tired muscles. As the water works the kinks out of my sore muscles, I let my mind drift to Lucy in that hot little dress. I had no idea she was hiding that kind of body under those damn jackets and yoga pants. I close my eyes and let my hands run down my body, thinking about peeling that dress off her body, ripping that bun out of her hair. I want her in my bed, her blonde hair spread out all over my pillow, her smell all over my sheets. I don’t bring women into my house. She will be the first. I hope like hell she will be the last. She would make it feel like home. A feeling I’ve never experienced before.

  Damn, I’m rock hard thinking about this girl. I’m completely undone by her. One hand drifts down my stomach and grabs onto my aching cock, the other one steadies me on the wall. I take care of myself, trying to ease some of the tension from my body, fantasizing about exactly what I will do once I get Lucy Brennan into my bed.

  Chapter Twelve

  Getting out of bed is not difficult this morning. I can’t believe I even think it, but I’m actually looking forward to going to the center. I am anxious to see Bennett. Was the chemistry in my head? Was it because of the wine? Was it one-sided? I’m nervous. How is he going to act around me? I’ve never been in this situation before. I have no idea what to do… I don’t know how to act.

  I dress quickly, pulling on a pair of running tights and a tank top after my shower. Over it goes a zip up, light weight hoodie. I pull my hair over one shoulder, throw it in a messy braid, and slap on a little make-up to conceal my tired eyes. I throw back my morning medicinal cocktail and head out the bathroom, eager to get the day started.

  Miller and I run into each other in the hallway. I’m surprised he’s up. When I got home last night, the coffee table was littered with empty beer bottles. I guess he’s keeping his partying close to home these days. Was he waiting up for me? He wasn’t awake when I got in, so I guess he either went out or was in his bedroom. I’m not bringing it up. I don’t want to ruin my good mood.

  “Ready?” he asks.

  I can’t believe he was serious yesterday. I thought he just offered to bring me to be an ass.

  “I didn’t think you were really bringing me today. There’s really no need. I can drive,” I tell him, making my way to the door.

  “I want to, Goose. I don’t get to see you much. I thought we could spend some time together.”

  Translation: I thought I could keep you away from Bennett.

  “Sure. But, I have to warn you, half the time I just sleep. You may want to leave and then come back later to pick me up.”

  “I can stay. I’ll bring my laptop so I can work on a paper that’s due next week.” He’s got an answer for everything.

  “So, are you gonna tell me about last night?” he asks as soon as we get on the road.

  “There’s nothing to tell. He took me to dinner. We talked and had a great meal.” I am not going there with Miller. No way.

  “Are you seeing him again?”

  “We didn’t make any plans,” I tell him.

  I‘m hoping like hell I’m going to see him again. Not just at the center, either. I want to go out with him again. Soon. I can’t stop thinking about that mind-blowing kiss. A grin starts to form so I bite at my lower lip, trying to prevent a smile from popping up and giving away my thoughts. I can feel Miller eying me. Shit.

  “Did you sleep with him?” he practically growls at me.

  “What? Are you insane?” I can’t believe he’s asking me this. “Yes, Miller. Of course I did. I let him take me back to his house after our first date, even though I barely know him. We had wild, crazy, dirty sex all night. Jesus! What kind of person do you think I am?” I am so hurt by his accusations. He knows me better than that.

  “Shit. I’m sorry. It’s just that I waited up for hours for you to come home, but you never did. You said you were just going to dinner. I figured it would be a few hours, tops. Then I started drinking, and my mind started going places I didn’t like. I shouldn’t have said anything.”

  We are sitting in the parking lot, my good mood officially squashed.

  “I need to go inside. You can come if you promise not to act like an assho
le. That’s not who you are,” I tell him.

  He cannot start this shit inside. I will be mortified if he causes a scene.

  “Go ahead. I’ll be in soon,” he tells me, with a hesitant smile.

  He looks awful. When’s the last time he’s shaved? Or gotten a decent night’s sleep? He’s much paler than usual, and he’s got good-sized bags under his dark eyes. I pat his leg and leave the car, not really sure what’s gotten into him. I’m starting to worry about my friend.

  I walk in, and there’s Rose. She practically jumps me at the door. I think it’s safe to assume she’s talked to Bennett already.

  “Tell me all about Salvatore’s, dear. I’ve always wanted to go. Bennett told me to ask you because he didn’t have time to chit-chat this morning. He was running late. He looked so tired. Y’all must have had a late night.” She’s like a giddy school girl, desperate for information. I didn’t even get a ‘hello’.

  “It was fabulous, Rose. Both the food and the company,” I tell her. My grin is spread so wide it’s hurting my face. I can’t help myself. She clutches her chest. She’s either really happy about this bit of news, or she’s about to have a heart attack.

  “That’s just what Bennett said, too. He also said there’s more to you than you let on.”

  Did he? I guess that’s a good sign.

  “Well, I’m running late, too, Rose. I’m going back. Will you let them know I’m here?”

  Rose nods, and I take off for the lab.

  I do the usual pre-dialysis bit, and head for my chair. I spot Ava right away, coloring while she is dialyzing. Bennett isn’t with her.

  “Hey Lucy. Wanna color with me? We can put our chairs really close together.” She’s so cute, smiling like she doesn’t have a care in the world. She seems more relaxed than the last time I was here. That makes me happy.

  “I would love to color. Let’s see if I can push this over.” I scoot the chair close to hers, which is no easy task. Damn, these things are heavy. She’s laughing pretty hard at me. I guess she thinks my efforts are purely for her entertainment. Once I’m situated in my chair I’m hooked up by a new nurse that I don’t know, and get some colors and a page from Ava’s book.