chest. “Damn—” Poke. “Straight.” Poke. “I’m reclaiming it.” Poke. Poke. “Men sleep around and they’re manly, studly, freaking yee-haw Alpha Males. Well, that’s fine, but I’m reclaiming slut . What is a slut anyway? A woman who has sex without commitment and”—she gasped dramatically—“ enjoys herself. I’m sick of men expecting so much from me and giving so little in return.” She nodded as if the matter was decided. “Starting tomorrow, I’m going to be a slut.”
Ben removed her finger from his chest and stepped closer.
Reese swallowed. The heat coming off his body warmed her exposed skin.
God, he smelled good. When he reached behind her head, she tilted her mouth up to his. She blamed the wine as her gaze drifted to his lips. Bad idea, part of her thought, but another part of her—a dangerous part that remembered just how good those lips felt on hers—didn’t care. That dangerous part wanted to be kissed.
His eyes met hers, then she heard a click as the cabinet behind her head opened and he withdrew a glass.
She released a breath and he stepped back, putting space between them as he turned to the sink and ran the tap.
He handed her the glass, and it felt cool against her burning skin.
“Drink,” he commanded.
She did as he said. When the she drained the glass, he refilled it and handed it back.
When she was halfway through the second glass, he leaned against the wall and crossed his arms over his chest. “Want to tell me what this is all about?”
Reese frowned again. Thought about Mister Your-Eggs-Won’t-Last-Forever. Thought about her unfortunate reunion with Lance. “What I want ,” she said, “is a hot and sweaty, never-gonna-be-my-hubby, down and dirty fling.”
With a sigh, he shrugged and tugged his shirt from his waistband. “If I have to.”
She snorted at his exposed abs.
He lifted his palms. “I’m just trying to help a friend.”
She smacked his arm.
He grinned in earnest now. “I’ll take one for the team.”
“I’ll keep that in mind. I just want a guy who… likes sex.”
“That narrows it down,” he muttered.
“I want someone who is more interested in my body than my housekeeping skills.”
“That should eliminate a solid one-percent of the straight male population.”
Reese dropped her eyes to her empty glass of water. “I want to know what it’s like to be wanted . Part of me—a teeny, tiny, stupid part—wishes I could be one of Halie McCormack’s sex goddesses.”
***
Oh, hell. She was wearing a dress. An innocuous little blue thing that hid every damn curve she had and ended just far enough above her knees to hint at soft thighs and an even softer—
“Thanks for picking me up,” Reese said, climbing into Ben’s truck, “but I really could have taken the train.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. We’re going to the same place.”
She frowned and adjusted her skirt as she settled into the seat. “Well, thanks.”
“You need to get rid of that death trap,” he said, forcing his eyes off the sliver of exposed skin above her knees. Her POS sedan sat useless in parking lot of her complex, begging to be put to rest in a scrap pile.
“It’s paid for,” she said, matter-of-fact. “The mechanic is fixing it this weekend. Besides, I use the L most of the time. What do I need with some fancy car?”
Right, and she couldn’t afford a car payment since that asshole ex of hers had convinced her they should buy a condo together. Then he’d left and stuck her with the mortgage.
If she’d take Ben up on his offer to let her live with him, she’d be able to sell the condo and buy a reliable vehicle.
“Well, it works most of the time.”
He turned back to her and quirked a brow. “ Most of the time? That puts my mind at ease, Reese. Here I was worried it might break down on you in the middle of rush hour on I-90, but now that I know it works most of the time, I’ll put it from my mind.”
“You worry too much,