Free Heart's Duo (Ugly Eternity #4) by Charity Parkerson Page B

thought it over and shrugged. “I don’t know. For some reason, this seems more intrusive than usual.”
    Hawke’s mouth turned up in one corner. “At this point, I’m willing to risk it.”
    “Have Benton and you ever slept together?”
    “Where did that come from?” Hawke asked with a chuckle.
    “It’s a fair question.” One Sophie wished she could take back. “You were single when the two of you met.”
    “He wasn’t.”
    “Okay. Didn’t know that.” Her first reaction was to say she didn’t think it would matter to Benton, but, of course, it would. Benton valued honesty above all else. Still. “I can’t picture him in a relationship. Anyhow, it’s obvious the two of you care a lot about each other—maybe a little more than friends normally do. It’s made me curious.”
    Hawke stared at the fireplace, seeming to consider her words carefully before responding. “It’s hard to explain. We have a strange bond. He’s funny when I don’t realize how badly I need to laugh. I’m serious when the rest of his life feels like a joke. To answer your question, no. We haven’t slept together. Although I’m certain there’s nothing Benton wouldn’t be willing to try or hasn’t done already, for that matter, but he’s straight.”
    “Oh. I don’t know about that,” Benton said from the doorway. “If you’d ever given me hope, I would’ve switched teams for you.”
    If there was a worse hell than get caught talking about someone, Sophie couldn’t think of one. She also couldn’t meet his stare. Her face was on fire. Hawke, on the other hand, didn’t appear the least bit surprised or embarrassed as Benton filled the space on the couch between them, forcing Sophie to scoot over or get squashed. Stretching out, Benton draped his arms over their shoulders, settling in.
    Hawke snorted. “Yeah. Right. I begged you every night to ruin me for all others, but you never took me up on it. I was so neglected.”
    Sophie stared at the two of them together, incapable of believing Hawke would say such a thing. He was never…funny, for lack of a better term. Benton did something to him—made him strange. Hawke and Benton spent a full thirty seconds trying to make eyes at one another before roaring with laughter. She saw it then. They would’ve never been able to take sex with each other seriously long enough to do the deed.
    Swiping his eyes, Hawke stood to leave. “Speaking of begging sexy men to do bad things to me, I’m assuming mine is home now. If I’m lucky, I’ll catch him mid-shower.” Even with the empty space on the sofa, Benton didn’t move away. Sophie was more than a little aware of every spot his body touched hers. Benton waited until Hawke almost made it to the door.
    “Hawke.” Hawke paused mid-step, glancing behind him with eyebrows raised in question. The sweetest smile Sophie had ever seen touched Benton’s lips. “I love you.” He was serious. Sophie could feel it.
    Hawke returned Benton’s smile and his words. “I love you too.”
    They both meant it. It wasn’t in the way Sophie had wondered about, but it was love. They were family. Their bond went beyond blood or ties anyone could see, but it was there. The knowledge made Sophie feel worse rather than better. Sometimes, she felt strangely alone. In her moment of self-pity, it took a minute for the weight of Benton’s stare to penetrate her thoughts. Once the sensation sank in, she couldn’t ignore it. He was chewing on his lip. It was wrong, but she couldn’t look away.
    “It occurs to me, I may owe you an apology.”
    Since her brain was busy attempting to keep her tongue from pleading with him to bite her instead of his lip, Sophie didn’t understand him right away. Once she deciphered his statement, she still didn’t understand.
    “For what?”
    His gaze swept her face. It took every ounce of her will to keep from pressing her hands to her stomach. It was dancing at the vision of his amber-colored eyes. She’d