Cowboy Casanova - Lorelei James [89]
“Am I interrupting?”
A polite lie sprang to his lips but he couldn’t give voice to it.
“I should’ve called first, but I was feeling restless, so I drove out.”
He repeatedly scraped along a deep line. “I reckon it might be a wasted trip for you.”
“Why?”
“I’m not in a real sociable mood.”
“Bad day?”
He grunted noncommittally.
Ainsley stood right next to him. “Is this what you do to unwind?”
Ben’s gaze met hers since her body was blocking his light. “This is one of the things I do to unwind.” He let his eyes slowly travel over her body. “You’re familiar with the other.”
Those warm hazel eyes chilled. “I didn’t come out here to ask you to tie me up and fuck me, Bennett.”
He couldn’t stop the surly, “So why did you come out?”
“Honestly? I missed your dogs. The whole snarling, slobbering, jumping on me with muddy paws thing really makes my day.”
His lips twitched. “So you must’ve been disappointed when they were locked in the house.”
“I’ll say. It was a total wasted effort to line my pockets with raw meat to win them over.”
Ben laughed. Damn woman. Trying to cajole him out of a bad mood.
She wandered around the room, not touching anything. “So even your dogs are banished from your sacred space?”
“Yeah.”
“I can’t blame you. Between us? I’ve found Deuce to be hypercritical about any type of art. And Ace? Well, Ace just goes along with whatever criticism Deuce barks about.”
“You are hilarious.”
Ainsley moved close enough to brush woodchips from his shirt. “I am sorry I assumed it was okay to barge in here.”
“Ainsley—”
“Let me finish. The last thing I intended was to add more stress to your day.” Her fingertips whisked away more shavings. “Here’s the truth, Ben. I missed you. Not Bennett. Not who you are as a Dom, but you.” She nuzzled the side of his face. “Thank you for stopping by last night. It was totally unexpected. Completely amazing. And exactly what I…needed. I never understood how much I need to access that submissive part of myself until you showed me how good it could be.”
The red splotches on her cheeks indicated how hard that’d been for her to admit. It touched him. And flustered him because she was beginning to mean a whole lot more to him than he’d ever imagined. “I don’t know what to say to that.”
“Say, I’m happy to see you too, angel.”
Ben tugged her between his knees and reached up to frame her face in his hands. “I’m happy to see you too, angel.” This woman constantly surprised him. This woman seemed to get him. All sides of him. And that was almost too much to hope for.
She broke the kiss. “Mmm. I needed that too. Tell you what. Why don’t we switch roles tonight? I’ll wrassle the dogs and then whip up something for dinner. You can come inside when you’re done out here. So, if you play your cards right and are suitably submissive to me, I’ll wrassle you and whip you too.”
“And what will you be doin’ while you’re waiting on me to hit a creative rut?”
“I brought my e-reader to keep me occupied.”
“Some of them naughty books?”
She smirked. “You know it.”
Damn. That was sexy as all get out, imagining her getting all wet and squirmy. “Don’t be touching yourself if you get to a hot part, understand?” he half-growled.
“And there he is,” she murmured, “the beastly Dom.”
Ben clamped his hands on her ass and jerked her forward. “The beastly Dom never left, angel. I just tone him down when I’m carving.”
“Why?”
“He can be a controlling dick.”
She laughed. “As I well know.”
He smacked her ass.
“Seriously, though, when you’re ready, I’d love to hear more about Ben McKay, master wood carver. I’d love to see the beautiful things these wonderful hands create.”
That wasn’t a bullshit, throw-away comment. Her genuine interest in yet another side of him was strangely humbling. “Thank you.”
“For what? Because I haven’t cooked dinner yet and it might be inedible.”
He smiled. “I doubt that. Thank you for—” being exactly what I needed tonight, “—barging in.”
“You’re always pushing my boundaries, it’s only fair I push yours right back.”
“That’s probably true. But as far as