First Impressions: The Fix Up Part 18

He touched his own necktie, stroking a finger over the silk. He almost hadn't worn one, but if he was here to play the a.s.sertive, take-charge CEO, the tie seemed like a necessary part of the costume. Holly's gaze drifted over his fingers and he wondered what she was thinking. She squirmed a little beneath his arm, then nestled closer.

"Come on," Gloria said. "Let me show you some of our st.u.r.dier models of bed frames and mattresses. I have some pieces I think the two of you will really enjoy."

She winked at Holly, then turned and marched toward the other end of the store. Ben glanced down at Holly, who rolled her eyes at him.

"Seriously?" she hissed, ducking out from under his arm. "Now we're bondage fanatics?"

"What?" he whispered back. "You wanted me to be more a.s.sertive. Surely an a.s.sertive guy would tie you to the headboard on a regular basis?"

"If Christian Gray is going to be your model for CEO behavior, I think you seriously need to rethink your plan."

"You, my dear, are most definitely not Anastasia."

Her eyes widened as she stepped around a desk, her body pressing closer to his as she moved. "Don't tell me you saw Fifty Shades of Gray."

"Of course not. I read the books. Well, the first one, anyway. I wanted to see what was getting women all hot and bothered."

"And what did you figure out?"

"That in addition to not using the book as a model of CEO behavior, I probably shouldn't use it for s.e.x tips, either."

She snorted, then hurried to catch up with Gloria. "And once again, you win the smart guy points."

"Those seem to be doing a lot for me lately."

"Here we are," Gloria announced, pivoting in front of a ma.s.sive four-poster monstrosity with towering hardwood pillars. It was stained a dark red hue that was almost black, and it glistened beneath the showroom lights. Gloria grabbed hold of one of the pillars and gave it a good shake. "This is one of the st.u.r.diest models we carry."

Ben looped an arm around Holly again, taking a scenic detour long enough to graze her a.s.s with his palm. "It's beautiful. What can you tell us about it?"

"This is our Hillman bed in a California king. It's solid mahogany with a floating latticework headboard, tapered posts supporting the luxurious canopy. It's done in a Chinese-Chippendale fashion with solid nickel hardware and a top-of-the-line Tempurpedic mattress set."

"I like the drawers underneath," Holly said, nudging one with the toe of her shoe.

"Absolutely. Plenty of storage s.p.a.ce for sweaters or books or-well, I'm sure you two can come up with plenty of things to store under there." She gave Holly a knowing look, and Ben did his best to look like a man who might have a full a.r.s.enal of whips and handcuffs requiring their own storage s.p.a.ce.

"Are there matching nightstands?" he asked.

"Certainly. There's also a matching chest of drawers and a lovely armoire you can see right over there."

"What do you think, honey?" Ben turned to Holly, who was surveying the bed with obvious fascination. "How do you like it?"

Holly reached out and pressed a hand into the mattress. "Very nice. It seems a little firm, though."

"It does feel that way, doesn't it?" Ben murmured and watched the tips of Holly's ears turn pink.

"Oh, I'm sure you'll find it's just perfect if you lie down on it," Gloria said. She bounced her palms against the mattress a couple times in ill.u.s.tration. "Would you like to try it out?"

Ben turned to Holly. "How about it, honey? Want to lie down with me?"

Holly looked up at him, her eyes bright and beautiful and a little wild. "Yes, please."

Holly eased herself down on the bed, conscious of the fact that Ben was doing the same thing on the opposite side. This was probably a bad idea, but she couldn't recall exactly why. She could feel his weight moving the mattress beneath her, and the scent of his aftershave was making her dizzy with desire. His body was big and hard and warm and so close she could reach out and touch him.

"Heavenly, isn't it?"

Gloria beamed down at her, and Holly remembered why reaching out and touching Ben probably wasn't a good idea right now.

"Yes, it's very nice," she agreed, stretching up to grab a pillow. Ben reached for it at the same time, and his fingers brushed hers, making all the nerves in her arm sizzle.

He smiled and let go of the pillow and grabbed her hand instead. He gave a soft squeeze she knew was probably meant to be comforting, but it just left her thinking about how badly she wanted his hands all over her body.

"What do you think, honey?" he asked. "Could you see us sleeping together in this every night?"

G.o.d, yes. Sleeping and kissing and touching and- "No!" She hadn't meant to say the word out loud, and she felt idiotic for doing it. But her brain had latched tightly to her own memory of happily-ever-after fantasies and how that whole mess had turned out last time.

Ben was giving her a perplexed look, so Holly softened her voice and tried again. "I just mean I can't picture it yet, because we're on the wrong sides. That's my side of the bed, remember?"

"Right, of course," Ben said, grinning as he rolled closer. "Let's fix that."

He moved over the top of her, and Holly felt her breath catch in her throat. His hand brushed the edge of her breast as she scooted out of the way, moving into the spot that was still warm from his body heat.

"Better?" he asked.

"Much." Holly licked her lips, trying to get some air in her lungs. She saw Ben's gaze fall to her mouth, and he shifted a little on the bed. His leg b.u.mped hers, sending another pulse of electricity through her body. He let go of her hand and slid his palm to her hip. It was an innocent enough gesture, and totally in character for a supposedly married couple out bed shopping on a Sat.u.r.day afternoon.

So why did it leave her breathless with the urge to take off her clothes?

"Does it come in other finishes?" Ben asked. "I like this color, but my wife tends to prefer lighter hues."

"You know, that's an excellent question," Gloria said. "The cherry has been our most popular option, but we just got a new catalog yesterday. I haven't even opened it yet, but I can go take a look to see if they've released some new finishes."

"That would be great," Ben said, his hand still on Holly's hip.

She watched as Gloria scurried away, conscious of Ben's chest mere inches from her face. She could feel his breath rustling her hair, and the curve of his palm around her hip left his fingers grazing the edge of her backside.

"How am I doing?"

Holly blinked and turned her attention back to Ben. "What?"

"With my charming, a.s.sertive CEO persona?" He lifted his hand from her hip and reached up to brush a strand of hair from her cheek, his eyes dancing with amus.e.m.e.nt. He rested his hand on the bed between them, leaving Holly aching for his touch. "Am I pulling it off effectively?"

"Oh. Yes, yes of course." She'd almost forgotten the reason for their visit. Right, she was supposed to be coaching him. She'd do that any minute now. If she could just stop thinking about his leg brushing hers, the swell of his bicep under that gloriously soft shirt, the zipper on his trousers that would be so easy to tug down and- "Any tips?" he asked. "Anything you want me to be doing that I'm not?"

Touching me. Kissing me. Stroking me.

"No. I think you're nailing it." She swallowed hard, trying to regain her composure. "You've definitely improved your CEO charisma."

"I'm not laying it on too thick?"

"Nope. Not too thick. Not at all."

G.o.d, she sounded like a moron. She should come up with something intelligent to say. "You're doing a great job holding eye contact. With Gloria, I mean."

"And with you."

She wasn't sure if it was a question or a statement, but she nodded anyway. "Yes. With me."

"I've been trying to work on it. I never noticed how much I avoided eye contact until you pointed it out."

His gaze was locked on hers, unblinking. She knew he probably didn't mean to give her a smoldering look, but that's what it felt like. Chemistry, is that what he'd called it? Whatever it was crackling between them was making Holly dizzy.

"Your posture has been perfect, too," she said. "I mean, not right now-"

"No, probably not at the moment." He smiled. "I can't recall you giving me any tips on how a CEO should conduct himself on a bed."

"Right. Um, I think you're doing pretty well figuring it out on your own."

She could feel her hands shaking as liquid heat pooled in her belly and moved down. She wanted him to touch her again. She needed him to touch her again.

"Thanks for the feedback," Ben said. "You know, I think there's one more thing I could be doing to solidify our ruse and really demonstrate my a.s.sertiveness."

"What's that?"

"This."

Ben threaded his fingers into her hair and pulled her close, his lips finding hers. He kissed her softly at first, then with more intensity as his knee brushed hers and his hand slid from her hair to the nape of her neck.

Holly moaned and kissed him back, her palm finding its place in the hollow of his chest. His mouth was warm and soft and he was kissing her so exquisitely she couldn't see straight. She closed her eyes and slipped two fingers between the b.u.t.tons on his shirt, aching to feel his skin against her fingertips.

He made a sound low in his throat and deepened the kiss. His palm slid lower, brushing the side of her breast, the dip in her waist, the curve of her hip- "Looks like it comes in honey!"

Holly jerked back, breaking the kiss and possibly Ben's eyegla.s.ses. "Who comes in honey?"

He reached up to adjust his gla.s.ses as Gloria skimmed a finger over a page in her catalog. She kept her gaze down for a few more beats, and Holly said a silent thank you-for her discretion or her cluelessness, she wasn't quite sure. Holly leaned back to put a little s.p.a.ce between her and Ben, but she could still feel him everywhere.

"The bed," Gloria said. "In addition to the cherry finish, the manufacturer just started making it in honey. Here's a sample."

She held out the catalog, and Ben leaned forward to peer at the picture. His shoulder brushed her breast, and Holly nearly bolted off the bed as a fresh wave of pleasure coursed through her.

"It's beautiful," he said. "What do you think, dear?"

"I think it's amazing."

"Shall we do it?"

She looked at him, half expecting to see a teasing glint in his eye. But there was nothing teasing in his expression. She saw a flicker of her own reflection in his gla.s.ses, and she realized she wore the same look of desire she was seeing now in his gaze.

Something clicked inside her. She was done fighting it. All her energy was consumed with wanting him, and she didn't have the strength to keep pretending otherwise. So what if this wouldn't last? She wasn't living in the future. She was living in the present. And she wanted him now.

"Yes," Holly said, taking a deep breath. "We should do it."

Ben nodded, his gaze locked on hers. "Are you sure?"

"Positive." Her voice sounded breathy and high, and she wasn't entirely sure they were talking about the same thing. But she was about to find out.

"Give her your credit card," she said. "And let's get out of here."

Chapter Twelve.

It didn't take Holly long to get the answer to her question, mostly because Ben had the wherewithal to ask on his own.

"Just to be clear, are you suggesting we have s.e.x?" One ma.s.sive palm gripped the steering wheel as he merged onto the freeway.

The other hand caressed her knee, sending goose b.u.mps up Holly's leg. She nodded, too turned on to speak, only dimly aware that he probably couldn't see the gesture with his gaze fixed on the road.

"I just want to be sure," he said. "Because I don't always pick up on all the social cues, so I want to be absolutely, positively certain-"

"Yes," Holly said, surprised by the breathlessness in her own voice. "I want you, you want me, and I'm tired of fighting it. Take the next exit, please."

"Where are we going?" His hand moved a fraction of an inch up her thigh, and Holly nearly moaned with pleasure.

"You don't have a bed, and my place is too far away. There's a hotel right up there and it seems like the surest way to have you inside me within five minutes."

"Yes, ma'am." He grinned and slid his hand further up her thigh. "And this is why you're well-qualified to coach me on a.s.sertiveness. You're a woman who knows what she wants."

"I think you've mastered a few things yourself, Mr. CEO." She watched his hand slide further up her thigh as he pushed her skirt up higher.

"Yes, but a little hands-on experience is always valuable if I'm really going to get behind the issue for some strategic interplay."

She grinned, pretty sure this was the first time anyone had attempted to use business jargon as a seduction tool. "I think I can slot you in."

"Excellent. I'd like to touch base on the liquidity of your a.s.sets as soon as possible."

He shoved her skirt higher and Holly let her legs fall apart. Ben accepted the invitation, his fingers grazing the satin center of her panties, and Holly heard herself gasp.

"G.o.d yes!" she gasped, pressing against his fingertips. "Right there."

Ben smiled, his gaze still on the road, his fingers slipping beneath the elastic of her panties. She felt him dip inside her and knew from the way his finger slid and glided that she was already slick with desire. That he'd been the one to make her that way. His moan confirmed it.

"G.o.d, you're wet," he said. "Take these off."

She didn't need to be told twice. She looped her fingers under the elastic at her hips, yanking the panties off and tossing them into her purse at her feet. Ben wasted no time claiming her again, his fingers slipping inside her as he steered the car onto the off-ramp. One hand worked the turn signal. The other worked Holly's c.l.i.t, circling and stroking until she cried out with pleasure.