Free Take Me Under by Rhyannon Byrd

fling in my life, Ben, and things are pretty crazy for me right now.”
    A notch formed between his dark brows. “I thought we agreed not to label it.”
    “We did?”
    He nodded, his gaze sharp. Determined. “No labels. We can make our own rules as we go along. And I know you’re just getting settled here. I won’t take up too much of your time. Outside of the bedroom, you can have as much freedom as you want.”
    “And
in
the bedroom?”
    Something dark and intense moved through his eyes. “I won’t lie to you. I don’t play nice when it comes to sex. But I swear I’ll never hurt you. I just want to make you come so hard you scream.”
    Wryly, she admitted, “I’m really not much of a screamer.”
    “Maybe not yet,” he said. “But you could be. Whatever it is that’ll make you lose control and let go, Reese—that’s how I’ll give it to you.”
    She stared, wanting very much to believe him. “That’s a bold claim.”
    “When you want proof”—he gave her a slow, sexy smile—“just say the word.”
    There was a wild woman inside her who wanted to tell him that yes, she was ready
now
, but the worst interruption in history came when someone started knocking on her front door. She jumped, startled, and took two steps back. “I have no idea who that could be.”
    He checked the watch on his thick wrist. “It’s probably a little early for the glass repair company.”
    “You already called them?”
    Turning a bit to the side, he nodded as he reached over to snag his shirt off the back of the sofa. “I could get called in to work at any time, and I don’t want to leave you alone until that door is fixed.”
    Before she could comment, another knock sounded, along with her mother’s voice shouting through the door. “Reese? Aren’t you up yet? It’s almost eight o’clock!”
    Her wide eyes locked with Ben’s, and she felt her face flame with color. “That’s my mom.”
    His lips twitched. “I know. Go answer the door, Reese.”
    She could tell by the twinkling in his eyes that he was enjoying her discomfort. With a hot glare, she turned and headed down the hallway. Hating that she felt embarrassed by the thought of her mom finding a man in her house, as if she were some underage teen, she took a deep breath and opened the door.
    Her mother stood there in yoga pants and a tank top, still looking beautiful and far younger than her age. She had the same blond coloring that Connie and Cami had, but with Reese’s blue eyes instead of their brown ones. Before Reese could get the first word out, her mother breezed into the house, her blond hair swinging in a ponytail. “Morning, sweetheart. I was in town for coffee and thought I’d come to see how—Oh! Um, wow. Am I interrupting anything?”
    She knew, by the stunned look on her mother’s face, that she’d caught sight of Ben. Sure enough, when Reese looked over her shoulder, she found him standing in the hallway, arms crossed over his chest, shoulder propped against the wall. He’d pulled his shoes and his polo shirt back on, hiding anything she wouldn’t have wanted her mother to see, thank God. But he still looked all mellow and sleep-tousled, as if he’d just rolled out of bed. Another one of those slow, suggestive smiles curved his mouth, and she blasted him with a glare again before looking at her mom.
    “Of course you aren’t interrupting anything,” she said a little too brightly, thankful that Ben’s shirt was long enough to conceal his erection. “There isn’t anything to interrupt.”
    Ben’s smile melted into a sexy smirk. “Morning’s still young, though.”
    It wasn’t easy to get her next words out through her gritted teeth, but she managed. “Ben slept on my sofa.”
    “Oh?” Her mom’s eyebrows had risen nearly to her hairline.
    Ben finally took mercy on her, though it was a little late in coming. “I’ll put on the coffee while you explain, Reese. Mrs. Thompson,” he said with a nod, using her mom’s