Free Company Ink by Samantha Anne Page B

all she could mutter was, “Like, really tall.”
    “Is that all you have to say?”
    Violet could feel her cheeks burning as she watched Ben examine her face carefully. The world around her seemed to fall into a haze; the only things left were his ice-blue eyes, chiseled jaw covered in a half day’s growth, and that far too tempting mouth.
    Ben reached out, touching her jaw with a gentle, slightly callused fingertip. “Vi?”
    “Hmm?”
    “The cab
is
here.”
    Thoroughly embarrassed, she took a careful step off the curb. “Ben, it’s been … ”
    “It has.”
    She swallowed a lump in her throat. “Will you … ?”
    He smiled warmly, curving his finger beneath her chin. “Tomorrow.”
    Her heart raced and her breath grew short—they may have connected to the point that he was actually reading her mind.
What the hell is going on?
Before she could declare to herself for the second time that night that this wasn’t like her, Ben tilted her chin upward. Her lips parted involuntarily and, without another word, his mouth closed over hers. The kiss was gentle, unassuming …
genuine
. It was unlike anything she’d ever experienced, and her entire body was humming by the time he pulled away from her.
    Violet closed her eyes, dropping her head with a sigh as her indecisiveness came to a crashing halt. It may have been completely unlike her, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that if she didn’t speak now, the opportunity may never present itself again.
    “Get in the car.”
    “Excuse me?”
    “Just get in the cab,” she replied with a nervous smile, “before I change my mind.”
    He extended his arm toward the open door. “Ladies first.”
    Every nerve ending in her body was tingling in excitement. The effects of the wine had made her brave beyond belief, but she knew there was no way she’d regret this in the morning. She climbed into the cab and scooted over to the far side. “Take us to 143rd and Broadway, please.
Quickly
.”
    She pressed her back against the car door as Ben reached for her, his eyes filled with mischief. Violet couldn’t help but give a nervous chuckle as his mouth claimed hers again. She was beneath him in the back seat of the cab, only partially aware that there was someone else in the car. Ben’s hands found their way just under the edge of her shirt; slender fingers danced along the curves of her waist and moved toward the small of her back. She wrapped her arms around his neck and giggled beneath his lips.
    He smiled but kept his lips against hers. “Ticklish?”
    She sighed as he moved his mouth away to nip at her neck and responded, “Only for the moment.”
    His breath against her ear ignited a fire in the pit of her tummy. “You smell like cupcakes.”
    “Do you like it?” she asked, her voice trembling.
    “More than I did the first time we met.” The tip of his tongue flicked its way across the pulse point behind her ear. “And I liked it then.”
    For a brief moment she was thankful that she was already lying down, because the sound of his voice made her weak at the knees. Feeling encouraged, she reached up, running her hand up the back of his head and grabbing a handful of his straight, blond locks, so soft to the touch. She tugged his head. His eyes rolled back, and a moan escaped his lips. She may have liked the giddy schoolgirl feeling she got when he kissed her, but she wasn’t one to stay underneath a guy for long.
    Ben gave in willingly as she pushed against him and forced herself into a sitting position. His eyes darkened as she straddled him, and his already mischievous grin stretched across his face just a bit more as Violet displayed her more aggressive side. She tugged his head back again and allowed herself a moment to nibble on his neck and collarbone. Her dominance turned him on, judging by his breathlessness and the rapidly growing bulge pressing against her jeans.
    Ben gripped her tightly by the hips as the cab picked up speed on the West Side