She liked his thinking. “The question then becomes, who did?”
“We’ll figure it out. Put your thinking cap on regarding who wanted Sam dead, and Benson and I will see who wanted to force your brother to cough up some money.”
She nodded and then tossed back the rest of her wine. “I can live with that.”
Since they all decided that they wouldn’t be able to sleep if they didn’t move onto a different topic, they pummeled her with questions about why she chose to be a vet’s assistant. Ariel could talk about animals and her passion for them for hours.
When she yawned, the men pretended that they, too, were tired. Benson and Preston stood.
“If you are thirsty or hungry in the middle of the night,” Preston said, “help yourself to anything in the kitchen. Our house is your house.”
These two men was almost too good to be true, but she couldn’t dwell on that now. The bed was calling her name. Because they had made her feel so welcome, she walked up to Preston, kissed him on the cheek and then did the same to Benson.
The light in the room must have changed, because she swore both of their eyes had turned a golden color for a moment.
“Sleep well, Ariel,” Benson said.
“I’m sure I will.” Or so she hoped.
Once in the bedroom, Ariel sighed. Today had been both terrible and wonderful. The best part was that the men had been extraordinarily nice. To be honest, she wasn’t sure what she would have done if they hadn’t stepped in and offered to help. Actually, she did know. She would have continued to pursue the truth and probably ended up dead for her efforts.
In order to ensure she would sleep, she needed to dwell on the positives of the day. For the last hour, she’d been able to put aside Sam’s death and concentrate on how the men had come to her rescue and whisked her off to their wonderful home, and that calmed her.
Ariel pulled back the dark spread and ran her hand over the cool, light blue sheets. Benson had slept in these last night, and for some reason that pleased her.
Before she crawled into bed, she wanted to shower. Ariel located a set of towels and carried them into the bathroom, along with her toiletry kit. She couldn’t help but drag her fingertips along the granite countertop, spotting Benson’s razor sitting at the end. She could imagine him padding in there every morning, ditching his pajama bottoms and stepping into the shower. She sighed. She bet that would be a sight to behold.
Enough fantasizing. Ariel was tired and needed to clean up so she could crawl into bed and sleep. Determined to put her newfound desire for the men on hold, she stepped into the large, glass-enclosed shower and turned on the water to the highest setting. To her delight, it heated almost instantly.
As much as she tried to block the image of standing where Benson had been naked, she failed. Knowing the bar of soap had rubbed against his body, the mere act of touching it sent a quick shaft of desire straight to her core. This infatuation was not good.
Using all of her willpower, she once more pushed aside her erotic thoughts and scrubbed her body. After successfully focusing long enough to wash, she dried off and put on her pajamas. Next, she brushed her teeth and then practically fell into bed. Knowing no one could enter the house without alarms going off, she fell fast asleep.
What woke her, Ariel wasn’t sure, but the clicking sound came from the kitchen, causing her stomach to tumble. Had someone been able to break in? If so, wouldn’t the men have heard? Their rooms were on the other side of the great room. The only conclusion was that she was imagining things. That didn’t mean she wouldn’t check it out just in case.
Ariel tiptoed toward the kitchen, careful to make no noise. A dim light was on below the range hood, and what she saw made her mouth drop open.
CHAPTERTEN
A shirtless Benson,with his hair slightly mussed, was drinking a glass of water. Normally, that wouldn’t cause streaks of pleasure to invade every cell of her body, but the dim kitchen light reflected off his strong, sleek body, causing a rush of endorphins to flood Ariel’s system. Had the scare caused her body to go into such lustful overdrive?
Before she could figure it out, Benson spun around. And no, he wasn’t wearing pajama bottoms as she’d imagined. Instead, he had on boxer briefs—black and red plaid ones to be exact.Wow. No wonder all the women in Wildwood lusted after this man. His business suits, while fitting him perfectly, hid his physique well.
She wouldn’t be surprised if the females of the jury had mentally undressed him in court many times. Without a doubt, their imagination could never come close to the reality.
“Ariel?” He rushed over to her. “Is something wrong?”
She must have been staring. Okay, she had been transfixed by him. Inhaling, she looked up and smiled. “Not anymore. I thought you might have been an intruder.”
He gathered her in his arms, and his warmth and comfort took away any residual anxiety. “No one can get in here. The place is alarmed. I’m sorry that we forgot to give you the tour before. We’ll show you everything later.”
Ariel had seen the window sensors and the fingerprint scanner. That was enough. She leaned back. “I know it’s safe. I think my nerves must have gotten the best of me.”
Benson kissed the top of her head, and that tender action melted her insides. She looked deep into his eyes, which were a delicious shade of browns and golds. “You have pretty eyes.”
He chuckled. “You’re the one with the beautiful blue eyes.”
She liked his flirtatious ways. “Thank you.”