When she laughed, he met her gaze and she shook her head. "No, really, I can't," she gasped, pushing his head away, and he paused, a grin pulling at his lips.

"Really?"

"What? I think you broke me," she said, still fighting for breath. Her eyes were dark and hard, beautiful. And as he lifted his mouth, he eyed her.

"I haven't even gotten started."

"Jesus take the wheel," she muttered as he covered her, pushing her thong down her legs. Rolling over onto her side, she kicked her panties off and then crawled on top of him. "Maybe I haven't gotten started?"

Benji bit into his lip as her hot, wet center descended on his swollen flesh. She leaned down, kissing him as his hands came up to hold her sweet ass. He moved her up and down on him, and she gasped against his lips and set him with a look. "I'm trying to seduce you."

He scoffed. "Baby, you seduced me the moment I saw you."

That surprised her, her little lips parting as she eyed him. "Oh, yeah?"

"Oh, fuck yeah," he agreed, rolling them over and pushing her leg up so he could enter her again.

"Hey, strong guy," she complained halfheartedly, but her complaints were a thing of a past when he entered her fully. "Never mind," she breathed, and he chuckled against her jaw as he pushed in and then pulled slowly back out. "As you were."

"Fuck, I can't handle you," he admitted against her jaw, pressing a kiss to it as he moved in and out of her.

"I was thinking the same thing," she gasped, her nails biting into the back of his arm. Arching into him, she squeezed his cock before crying out. "Please, don't stop."

"I couldn't if I tried," he moaned, before sitting up and bringing her with him. Sliding back on his haunches, he pounded up into her. Her breasts bounced against his chest, and yeah, he wasn't going to last. Her pussy was too good, too hot, and it held him like a dream as he moved up into her and back out. Holding her ass, he squeezed as her arms came around his neck, her mouth meeting his. And just like that, he was done.

Bucking into her, he cried against her lips. Her teeth sank into his lip as he moaned, filling her completely. She tightened around him, her body trembling against his as their hearts slammed into each other. Gasping for breath, she squeezed his neck, her nose pressing into his as their breaths became one and her lips grazed his.

Opening his eyes, he found hers still closed, her face flushed and ever so beautiful.

How was he supposed to let her leave this room?

When she opened her eyes, she blinked twice before a grin curved her lips and those dimples appeared in all their gorgeous glory. Licking her lips, and his, she wrapped him up tightly as his hands came around her.

In a hug.

"This all started with a hug," she whispered against his lips and he smiled. "Guess it should end with one."

"Who said anything about ending?"

Her eyes widened, and then she shrugged. "I assumed."

"You assumed wrong. I still have all night," he said, continuing not to move because he loved the feel of her.

She eyed him. "I pinned you completely wrong. I thought you were all shy and awkward."

His lips curved against hers. "I am, but it's different with you."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. Told you, you should have gone to dinner with me."

Her whole face smiled and she giggled. "Yeah, yeah. So, now what?"

"Sleep. I need sleep," he said then, falling over with her still in his arms.

Cuddling against him, she smiled. "A nap would be nice."

"Yup, because when we wake up, it's period three."

She rolled her eyes. "Hockey players."

He grinned against her hair and closed his eyes. "Shush, you. Get some rest."

"Don't tell me what to do," she demanded as she nuzzled her nose against his chin.

And as they fell asleep, Benji felt something he hadn't felt in a really long time.

Twelve years to be exact.

Whole.

He felt whole.

But she must have worn him out more than he realized, because when Benji woke up, he found not only was it daylight...

But Lucy was gone.

"Hello?"

"Avery."

"Lucy? What's wrong?"

Lucy leaned her forehead on the steering wheel of her car, sucking in a deep breath. She had one shoe on, no underwear, and she smelled like him-all glorious and sexy. But that didn't matter.

She had done the walk of shame.

Something she thought she would never do. Even as a teenager, she'd never done the walk of shame. Everyone she'd slept with was a boyfriend. But nope, now, in her twenties, she was doing the walk of shame. She was a mommy! Mommies didn't do walks of shame. It wasn't responsible, but nothing about last night was responsible.

The things they did.

The things she allowed.

Oh God, she had sex with a guy she had only known for a few days!

And after all was said and done, she'd had the best night's sleep of her life. Usually, she was restless, her mind going a billion miles an hour. But he had done her so well, relaxed her so much that when she closed her eyes, she didn't wake until seven.

And he was still beautifully asleep.

She could still see him. His chiseled jaw relaxed as he drew in deep breaths, his hair falling slightly over his closed eyes. His brown lashes touched his cheeks, his plush lips parted ever so slightly, and Jesus... Did she miss him? Obviously not, because she hightailed it out of there faster than Angie moved when she hadn't had her medication. She had hustled moved so fast in her life, and because of that, she didn't give herself time to actually find her other shoe or panties.

God, she was a mess.

Squeezing her eyes shut, she considered just hanging up. Did she really want to share her indiscretions with her sister-in-law? What would it do? She wouldn't cry; she didn't regret it. She enjoyed every minute with him, but she was embarrassed. She hadn't wanted this to happen. She'd said it would be a bad idea. Yeah, she might have considered going out on a date with him. But that was it, a date! She basically jumped the dude. How was she supposed to face him? Ugh. It had been such a bad idea. She didn't have time for this.

"Damn it," Lucy muttered, shaking her head.

"What in the world? What is going on?"

"I slept with him," she said and then looked up at the Walmart in front of her. She was early. Rick wouldn't be there for another hour. But after going to the shop and her apartment, where she realized that she wouldn't be coming back for a while-Tuesday, her ass-she gathered what she could and stuffed it into her car. Hard feat when she was wearing a tight dress and no panties. There was no way to change in her apartment since they had torn down the wall between her room and the kitchen. She could have gone into the bathroom, but one of the workers was in there.

And apparently his breakfast did not agree with him.

So her week of hell was ending in a fiery heap, which was exactly how it started. But could she really consider last night part of her week of hell? Because it was on the opposite side of hell. No, it was perfect. So damn good and she wanted more, she did, but how? How in the world could that work? At first, she thought a date would be a good idea, but after being with him, no, a date would be a train wreck.

Because after one night.

One smile.

One press of his nose to hers.

She was fucking feeling something.

Damn it.

That was the issue with sex. It was a double-edged sword. One edge was great, "Woo-hoo, she loved sex. Giggity, giggity." But on the other edge, feelings could blossom. She'd wanted mindless, fun, happy, giggity sex, but she got more than that. She desired more. She wanted to know him. She wanted to never leave that bed, and that was what scared her so badly that she had to run. Never in her life had she had felt what she felt in Benji's arms, and she didn't understand it.

She didn't have time for it.

No, she had to raise Angie right. She had to deal with Rick, and bringing a man into that just wouldn't work. It couldn't. Rick would be such a fucking asshole, and that would have Benji running the other way. No one wanted to deal with stupid baby-daddy issues.

But Avery didn't know all that. Hell, she probably didn't need to know anything. Yet, Lucy whispered, "I slept with Benji."

Avery took in a sharp breath and then paused. "Okay. Why do you sound like you kicked a dog? I don't get it. I thought this is what you wanted."

Lucy shut her eyes once more, shaking her head. "I jumped him like a cat in heat, Avery. We went at it like rabbits and I ran. I left before he woke up."

"What? Why did you do that? And why so many animal references?"

"Focus, Avery," she complained and Avery laughed.

"I'm sorry, I just don't understand what is going on. You wanted to have sex, you had it, and it's okay that you ran. People do that all the time. It isn't like you guys are in a relationship. It was a one-night stand. So what?"

Why was she so callous about this? "You make it seem like not even a big deal!"

"It isn't!" Avery laughed. "People seriously do it all the time. Hell, I've done it."

Not something she wanted to know about her perfect angel sister-in-law who was married to her baby brother and had his child. "Avery Rose!"

She kept laughing. "That's how Jace and I got together."

Gag. "Oh, fuck. Shut up!"

Laughing, Avery cleared her throat. "It's not a big deal, really. Stop stressing."

"So you've done it with your daughter's coach, who is also your potential client?"

Avery paused at that. "Oh, also the dude who plays with your brother in the NHL. Okay, well, that does complicate things a bit."

"A bit!" Lucy screeched, shaking her head, and then wrapped her arms around her legs. "Avery, I'm sitting in my car, no panties, with one shoe on. I'm a mess. A water pipe busted in the wall of my apartment, and they have to tear down walls and fix shit. I'm homeless."

"Oh, Lucy-"

But Lucy stopped her. Why had she said all that? Shit. "No, you know what? It's no big deal. I'm gonna find some panties, pull them up, and then I'm gonna be okay. I'm always okay. I've got this."

"Lucy-"

"No, it's cool. I don't know why I called. I'm fine. Just a lot at once, and then Benji, yeah, he got under my skin. No big deal. I'll handle it with grace. I'll design his house and nothing will come of it. We are adults. People fuck all the time, no big deal. Maybe he'll pay me more," she said it as a joke, but even she didn't laugh. It wasn't funny. She wasn't a whore; that wasn't her. But last night she almost was, and she could feel Avery's sympathy coming off her in waves through the phone and against her face. But she didn't need that.

She was Lucy Fucking Sinclair, and she would handle this. She had it. She would stuff the stupid, crazy feelings back down, lock them up, and get on with her life. She didn't have time to complicate things further with Benji. She obviously needed his job because she had nowhere to live and could maybe lose the building for her shop. No, she had things to worry about, bigger things than stupid feelings.

Feelings that were completely and utterly insane to have.

It was one night.

Get your shit together, she thought as she shook her head. What, she slept with a guy for the first time in years, and all of a sudden, she liked him? That was insane. Stupid, even. God, she was a dumbass.

"Okay, no big deal. Don't freak. I'm good-"

"Did you ever think that maybe it's okay to be a little down sometimes? To reach out for help?" Avery asked, her voice a little hard. "You can't be strong all the time, and that's okay."

"Yes, I can, and I'm good. I promise. Little lapse of freak-out, no biggie. Don't worry, I'm good. I'll call you later. Rick just pulled up," she said, but it was a lie. Before Avery could call her on it, Lucy told her she loved her and hung up. Leaning back in her seat, she closed her eyes. Sometimes she was convinced she sucked at life. She was good with Angie, or at least, she tried to be, but everything else...? Yeah, she was a mess. It really wasn't fair. When was she going to catch a break?

As she watched the time, she didn't listen to anything on the radio. No, she was too busy replaying every single caress of Benji's hand. The sweep of his lips against her neck and jaw. The way he held her gaze and she felt beautiful. Safe. That was what she missed most and what was so hard to leave behind when she was carefully wiggling out of his hold.

The protection he gave her.

She wasn't sure what she needed protection from, but when she was in his arms, she felt like nothing could even come close to touching her. Nothing could stress her out. No, she was lost in those arms, the thickness of them. The warmth. She missed the warmth. It was just easy with him. She didn't have to try so hard. She was just herself, and he was into it.

Blah.

She also wanted to know more. Yeah, he was a great lay, best she had ever had-not that there was a long list to compare him to-but still, he was wonderful. So damn attentive, and those hands... Jesus. But, besides that, she wanted to know who he was. His house didn't give her anything to work with. It was so bare. Well, except that she knew he was a nerd who played video games and collected toys, but there weren't any pictures. Not even of him playing. It was weird, and she wanted to know more.

She wanted to know what the tattoo on his chest meant.

Laying right over his heart was a pair of angel wings with the words, "Your wings were ready, but my heart was not." She figured he had lost someone. Maybe his mom or dad or something. She wasn't sure, but she had this burning in her stomach from wanting to know. Though that would be such a bad idea. A date was completely off the table now. She had already slept with him. He'd had his face between her legs; what else could even come from a date?

Trouble, fucking trouble.