Bad Boy Love - Ben (Bad Boy Love Series Book 2) Read online

  Ben let his gaze wander over her body, caressing every curve with his eyes, until she blushed. “Like a woman, I’d say.”

  He watched her punch the bag half-heartedly for a few minutes and then he adjusted her grip and angle of attack.

  “Never tuck your thumb inside your fist or you’ll get it broken. Punch with your entire body as if your arm was firing from your shoulder. Put everything behind the blow as if you’re actually punching at something behind the bag.”

  “Like this?” she asked, wrapping her thumbs around the outside of her folded fingers and hitting the bag with everything she had.

  She was a sight to behold as she continued to pummel the bag, hitting more powerfully with each blow. Her ponytail hopped up and down and her warm brown eyes had become dark – and cold. For a moment, she’d gone somewhere else.

  Ben stood back and watched her relax into the strikes, nodding at her progress and almost feeling sorry for the poor imaginary bastard at the other end of her fists. And he was sure that the look in her eyes was intended for a member of his sex who didn’t deserve the time of day. She might be a tiny thing, but she would definitely do some damage with punches like that.

  Strangely enough, her uninhibited fury turned him on and he wondered if she’d show the same abandon between the sheets. He had to turn away and put his mind on the detested bookwork to cool down his rising erection.

  Irena paused, and panted. “How was that?” she asked.

  Ben turned around. Irena was disheveled, her ponytail hanging loosely down to her shoulders, a few strands having slipped the binder, glistening with a sheen of sweat, but her eyes radiated pride.

  “Okay,” he said, his eyes travelling further down to her breasts, where he observed her nipples becoming taught peaks beneath black tank top.

  “Only okay?” she asked before looking up.

  She’d caught him staring but instead of reprimanding him, he saw his own lust reflected in her darkening eyes.

  “Better than okay. I wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end of those hands, unless...”

  “Unless what?”

  “Unless you wanted to use them for something other than fighting.” A thrill of excitement rushed through his body and he was sure she’d heard it in his voice.

  Irena held his gaze and bit her bottom lip. He pinned her in place with his stare, and despite the fact they stood several feet apart from each other, the intimacy of the moment overwhelmed him. It was better to stop this right now. He didn’t do emotions. And she was married. He wasn’t a guy who broke into marriages. There were enough willing single women around.

  A movement at the doorway caught his attention. He shook his head and said, “Let’s take a break.”

  Ben didn’t miss the look of disappointment in her eyes, and he only hoped he wasn’t being such a pansy that his own disappointment was showing.

  Chapter 8

  Irena knew flirting with Ben was wrong, but it felt so right. In his presence, her life seemed to be trouble-free and fun. And sexy as hell. Her body ignited every time he looked at her, or worse, touched her and it had required all her self-control not to jump on him during their training.

  She finished the water she’d brought, sneaking glances at Ben’s muscled back as he pushed the punching bag back into the corner of the room and wiped it down with a damp towel and a spray bottle of antibacterial solution.

  Her pulse raced, whether from the grueling exercise or the flustering flirtation, she didn’t know and she sat on the mats to recover. Almost automatically, she removed her hair binder and shook her head, letting her long tresses swing around her shoulders. Through the curtain of her hair, she glimpsed at Ben and saw him stealing glances at her.

  The heat pooling in her center increased. That man had the ability to turn her into a puddle of water with one single glance. Every time she felt his eyes on her body, her skin tingled and her nipples hardened into painful nubs straining against her Lycra top.

  There was no way she could start anything with him, not as long as she was married to Fred. If she had an affair with Ben and Fred ever found out, he’d kill her and Ben. She shuddered just thinking about Fred’s catastrophic revenge.

  “What’s wrong?” Ben’s worried voice broke into her painful thoughts.

  She looked up to realize he’d stopped next to her. His rugged face had lost all playful sexiness. Irena shook her head, unable to find the words and knowing she really couldn’t and shouldn’t say anything. This was her battle to fight.

  His eyes bore into her and she felt utterly exposed, as if he could see right into her soul and knew she kept something sinister locked deep within. But then he broke eye contact and suggested, “Let’s get an energy drink and cool down a bit.”

  He held the door open for her as she exited the small room and then he nodded to the group of guys waiting to use it next. “All yours.”

  “Thanks, Ben. We’ll need a half hour or so.” One of the guys said.

  “No problem.”

  Irena followed him to the small bar near the entrance of the gym. It wasn’t as fancy as some of the name brand gyms had, but then again his guys weren’t picky.

  “Strawberry or banana?” he asked, walking behind the bar and setting two cups on the counter.

  “Strawberry,” she answered, watching his back as he efficiently added ice, powder, milk, and frozen fruit to a blender.

  She tried not to get too absorbed in his rippling muscles and the tattoos covering his arms and neck. If it were up to her, she’d sit here and watch him all day long. Her skin tingled as she imagined how it would feel to have his big hands running down her bare skin.

  “Here. That will help your muscles recover faster.” Ben poured the blended mixture into the two cups and handed her one.

  She took a small sip and then smiled. “It tastes good.”

  He nodded. After sitting in silence for a few moments, he squinted his steel blue eyes at her and asked, “Why do you want to learn how to fight?”

  Irena looked to the side. “Doesn’t everyone want to learn to defend themselves?”

  “No. And I didn’t ask about everyone, I asked about you. Why do you want to learn how to fight?”

  Irena shrugged her shoulders, still not meeting his eyes. “It’s something I’ve always been interested in and I just decided now was a good time.” She hazarded a look up at him and the look in his eyes told her he wasn’t buying a word of it.

  Ben stared at her with hard and cold eyes that sent a whole new fear coursing through her. “That’s crap. Why are you lying to me?”

  “Because…it’s none of your business.”

  Much to her surprise, he grinned. “All right then, that’s a valid answer.”

  Ben’s employee, Tim, came to ask for help with one of the weightlifting machines and they trotted off, leaving Irena alone with her thoughts.

  She was afraid to tell Ben about her husband. The hard look in his eyes had showed her exactly what he’d thought. She shivered. If he knew, he might be able to beat Fred into a pile of mush. Was this the reason he’d almost killed his sister’s boyfriend fifteen years ago? Because her boyfriend had abused her?

  For a split second, she felt relief at the idea of never having to deal with Fred again, but then she returned to her senses. No, she couldn’t dump her problems on someone else. This was her mess and she needed to find a way to clean it up on her own.

  Ben returned to the bar. His prowling walk sent heated zings to her core and his crooked grin made something in her head snap. Enough is enough. She wouldn’t remain married to Fred. No, she would find a way to get a divorce and make him stay away from her. Without the help from the courts or authorities. To the public, her husband wasn’t an abusive asshole with a mean streak and a possessive nature. He was the smiling politician who kissed babies and made things happen.

  She deserved so much more. A career. A life of her own. A man who loved her – and drenched her panties whenever she looked at hi
m. A man like Ben.

  Learning to fight back was only the first step.

  Chapter 9

  Ben was grateful for the small reprieve Tim’s request had given him, but now that he’d returned to the bar, he couldn’t keep his lips from tipping up to a grin. Beneath her petite stature lay an iron will and he admired her determination. Damn, I want her. More than he’d wanted anyone before.

  But he couldn’t act on his attraction. Getting attached to her – or anyone for that matter – wasn’t in his plans. Emotions sucked. He hadn’t perfected his calmness under duress to throw away his mental peace for the first hot woman who came along. And Irena had lied to him. Just like Caroline. He’d do well to remember it.

  “Would you rather stop for today?” he asked her.

  “No. I mean, I thought we were just taking a break. Unless you need to attend to your other customers…” She stood and an intense energy exchanged between them. Something deep and meaningful.

  “You look like you’ve had enough,” he said gruffly, hoping she would simply leave and give him some breathing room to get his mind back on track.

  Irena shook her head at him and he mentally groaned. “I’m fine. Really.”

  He narrowed his eyes at her. “You sure?”

  “Sure. Can we continue?” Irena said, with a smile that rendered him defenseless.

  To hell with her! And to hell with his damn attraction. It would have been the clever thing to send her away right now. Teaching her how to get out of a chokehold had put him dangerously close to her, and his body still hummed with desire.

  “Fine, you’re paying the bill.”

  He tossed the empty cups into the trashcan and then strode toward the other side of the room. He was the king of mental toughness; he could resist working out one more hour with the sexiest woman alive.

  That thought pushed through his barriers. It didn’t matter who she was or why she was afraid. It didn’t even matter if he trusted her or not. To hell with emotion and all of that crap! Ben was an expert at separating sex from emotions. He just needed to sleep with her and get her out of his system. Like he’d done most of his adult life. Pick up a woman at a club, have a night filled with wild sex, and never see her again. He never even took the time to find out her last name.

  “What’s your last name?” he asked her.

  Irena looked at him, like he’d lost his mind, which he probably had. “Delaney. Irena Delaney.”

  “As in Senator Delaney?”

  She nodded and that hidden pain clouded her beautiful brown eyes again. He’d seen that same look of fear in enough women’s eyes to know what it meant. And he’d worked for enough bad people to put images with that brand of violence. Shit! Irena meant nothing but trouble.

  Suddenly the idea of having sex with her to get her out of his system didn’t sound that appealing anymore. Get it together, dumbass. She’s none of your business. Not her body and definitely not her mind. She asked you to teach her, and not to throw her down on the nearest surface and have your way with her.

  “Let’s do some free weights. You’ll need to build up strength.”

  He saw her grimace and grinned inwardly. Most women hated free weights. He hoped it would keep her from looking hot and sexy. And there was nothing between them. The chemistry he felt was a figment of his imagination, and the heat that sparked from his fingertips straight to his groin whenever he touched her was just…the room temperature.

  Despite his best efforts to find fault with her, he found himself filled with admiration. After spending some time on the weights, he took her back into the small room that had been vacated while they trained. This time he closed the door and locked it behind him.

  “You locked the door?” she asked, a hint of surprise in her voice.

  “I don’t want to worry about someone coming in here and getting hit.”

  “Is that a possibility?” she asked, catching the small boxing gloves he tossed her way.

  “Depends on how good of a shot you are,” he said with a chuckle.

  The light of challenge filled her eyes as she watched him pull a chest protector over his immense shoulders and then slip on a groin protector.

  “So, this is how this next part works. You’re going to come at me with everything you’ve got and I’ll block and deflect. We’ll first work on your offense, and then we’ll work on your defense some. It’s always better to be on the attacking side of the equation.”

  “I…you mean, I should be the one starting the fight?”

  Ben shook his head. “No, but sometimes the best defense is a good offense. If you know a blow is coming, get the first shot in and get the hell out of dodge.”

  She blinked at that information and then nodded once. “Okay. I can do that.”

  He waved his fingers in a gesture meant to get her attention. “Hit me. Take your best shot.”

  Irena walked towards him and hesitated, watching his eyes when she got within arm’s reach, but she still didn’t hit him. He goaded her.

  “Come on. Show me you don’t hit like a girl.”

  She gave him one more look and then hit him in the solar plexus, her hand bouncing off the chest protector as he laughed. “That’s all you’ve got?”

  Irena shook her arm and glared at him. “Not everyone is built like you.” She bit her lip and blushed when she realized what she’d just said, but he chose to ignore the flames sparking up between them. He wasn’t the least interested her.

  “Look, you’re never going to hurt a guy by hitting him in the chest. You’re too small and you don’t have enough muscles to pack that much power. You need to hit him where it hurts.”

  “Or her?” she asked, watching him carefully.

  “Are you learning to fight because you want to kick some chick’s ass?”

  Irena blushed and shook her head. “No.”

  “Then, hit me where it hurts. Go for my balls.” He tapped his groin protection, watching as her blush intensified to the point her face flamed beet red.

  “I couldn’t…I mean…”

  “Quit stalling and hit me.”

  When she continued to shake her head, he advanced on her. “So you don’t really want to learn to fight? You like being pushed around? Bullied?”

  His words seemed to push her beyond her embarrassment and she finally hauled off and punched him in the groin with her entire body weight behind it.

  Ben coughed and backed up a minute, bending over at the waist while he waited for the impact of her fist to lessen. He had groin protection on, but he’d not been prepared for her to act so abruptly and damn it, she’d hurt him. Not badly, but enough that he needed a minute to catch his breath.

  He glanced up at her to see her covering her mouth, shock in her eyes, and that fear starting to return. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to. But you…”

  He tried a half smile. “Don’t be sorry. That’s exactly what I was talking about. Good job. Let’s continue.”

  Irena’s face glowed from his praise and she nodded eagerly. Ben circled her and then started toying with her, making her block and return punch for punch. Within a few minutes, she caught onto the game and they were working around the room.

  His desire for her increased with every minute and every skin-to-skin contact. Ben knew he was playing with fire, but it felt too good to resist. And Irena gave as good as she received. Sometimes he had the impression she intentionally lingered a moment too long near to him, pressed her body too hard into his chest, before making an effort to struggle out of his grip.

  Her face had heated up with the exercise and he loved the way her cheeks had turned flushed and rosy. She blew a strand of hair out of her face and took a moment to size him up with her beautiful eyes that had darkened to almost black. If he didn’t know better, he’d think she was aroused. Like he was.

  It wasn’t a well-planned move, but more of a sudden notion to grab her punching hand and haul her close to his chest, intending to tip her over his shoulder. But she’d caught
on and her knee pressed between his legs, putting just the right amount of pressure on the underside of the groin protector that he paused.

  They stayed entangled for a moment, and more than one bolt of energy passed between their bodies. Then she looked straight into his eyes and licked her bottom lip in the most sensuous way and Ben lost the thread of control he’d been clinging to.

  He swept her feet out from under her, following her down to the mats. Even during the fall, he captured her mouth with his own and slowly licked the seam of her lips until they opened for him. His tongue surged into her soft, warm mouth full of promises. His tongue licked over her teeth and his teeth nipped at her lips, relishing in the sweet and salty taste of hers.

  Afraid to crush her with his weight, he rolled over, positioning her firmly on top of him. She was a lightweight, but he could still feel every pound of her pressing against his body – and his hardening erection. Until an unyielding confinement reminded him painfully that he was still wearing the groin protection.

  Ben stopped kissing her for a moment, and she pressed her lips together and pushed up on her elbows, looking down into his eyes.

  “We have to stop,” she whispered, her breath coming in ragged gasps.

  “We can take it elsewhere…”

  Irena shook her head at him, the expression in her eyes unreadable. “I’m sorry. I should never have kissed you. It was a mistake. I’m still married.”

  Ben watched her for a long moment, rolled her off of his body and shoved himself to his feet. Heated passion turned into cold rage, and it took him several deep breaths before he’d regained mental clarity and locked any trace of emotions deep down in his soul.

  “You’re right. It was a mistake. Leave and go back to your husband.”

  She looked up at him, sadness in her eyes, her lips red and swollen from his kiss. Ben fisted his hands and turned away from her. He cursed a blue streak while he removed his protective gear and flung it to the floor.

  As he stalked toward the door, he turned for one last time to look at the woman who’d managed to unlock his emotions and said in a low voice, “Lessons are over. Don’t come back.”