Page 53 of Benny

“While that may have been the man I fell in love with, I don’t want you trying to become him for me.” She pressed her palm against his chest. “This new you has a strength of character we haven’t even begun to discover yet. You’ve gone through things no one should ever have to experience, and they’re going to change you.” Her expression softened. “My life is going to change too.”

Benny covered the hand she still had pressed over his heart.

“I’d like us to change together,” she finished.

Something inside him settled. It wasn’t a memory nor the sudden restoration of everything Overlander and the last year had taken from him. It was something far better--certainty.

He bent and kissed her as the sun dipped toward the horizon and the lights of Las Vegas began to flare to dazzling life below them.

Jordan wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back.

Yeah. Growing together was something he could definitely get behind.

Chapter Fifteen

They ate a quiet dinner ordered from room service, spoiling Spot with pieces of chicken breast they cut into tiny bites.

When Jordan stood and held out her hand to Benny, he clasped it, as he had so many times over the last few days.

“How’s your side doing?” he asked, partly because he needed to know as a medic and partly because he really wanted to have sex with her.

Jordan tugged him down the hallway and sent him a look over her shoulder that was definitely what he would call saucy. Obviously, her wound was doing just fine.

She released his hand when they entered the main bedroom and stripped off her shirt, revealing the tiny peach-colored lace bra that made his mouth go dry.

The bandage was gone from her flank. When he looked more closely, all he saw was a slight bruise and a pinkish patch where the graze had been.

Even so, he planned to handle her with the care she deserved. Because Jordan’s heart had been injured infinitely more than a simple gunshot graze.

He stripped off his shirt and toed out of his shoes, his gaze locked with hers the entire time. When he unbuttoned the top button of his jeans, her eyes were drawn to the movement like a magnet, and he chuckled in response.

She looked just the tiniest bit rattled. He liked her that way, especially because she wasn’t unnerved, she was anticipating what they were going to do together.

He lowered the zipper and swore to God his cock jumped out of his pants like a jack-in-the-box.

Jordan burst out laughing. She was still laughing when he shoved his pants the rest of the way down and tackled her onto the bed, making damn sure her injured side never made contact with anything.

He lowered his mouth to hers and swallowed those laughs, breathing them in as he kissed her with single-minded purpose.

Her laughter. Her taste. Her sighs. Her scent. He wanted all of it.

When they finally came up for air, her eyes had gone soft and sexy, her cheeks flushed pink. God, she was gorgeous.

And the words simply tumbled out. “I love you.”

Jordan froze beneath him, then reached up and threaded her fingers through his hair. “You don’t need to say that, you know.” Her voice was gentle. “When it comes to you, I’m kind of a sure thing.”

He kissed her again, trying to show her through touch that he meant the words.

When he raised his head, they were both breathing heavily and his body felt like it was going to explode.

“I mean it, Jordan. I mean it as CJ, not as Benny.” He smiled slightly. “Although you’re going to need to come up with another pet name for me, because Benito isn’t going to work anymore.”

Tears slicked her eyes, and he was immediately appalled that he’d made her cry.

But she was smiling, and there was nothing sad about her voice when she answered.

“Then I love you, CJ.” She wrinkled her nose. “Although that sounds really strange coming out of my mouth. I’ll definitely have to come up with a pet name for you. I can’t promise that I won’t slip up and call you Benito for a while, though.”