Never Too Much Read online

  “No.” A new fear took hold of Sierra. “Kent, you know what he can do, the connections he has.”

  “Fuck his connections.”

  “Your diction has deteriorated horribly.”

  “My mood is way beyond my diction, hon. I’ve had it with that sniveling coward.”

  Sierra closed her eyes, remorse filling her. Griffin was capable of so much, which he’d already proved. She and her father had never been close, but she hated what Griffin had done to him, how miserable his last year of life had been. He’d known true humiliation, true shame—and he’d blamed Sierra.

  Because of her, people had lost jobs, lost loans, even lost their homes. She would not let Griffin hurt Kent in the same way.

  She knew that somehow she had to protect him, even while she relied on him to protect her. At least for tonight.

  “Promise me you won’t do anything stupid, or I swear I’ll never call you again for help.”

  Impotent frustration darkened Kent’s handsome face, made the muscles in his neck and shoulders stand out sharply. He had his balled fists on his hips, his head down as he paced angrily around her small living room.

  “Kent? Please.”

  He scrubbed at his jaw, his gaze locked on hers, flinty and bright. Finally, he nodded. “I’ll promise to try, but that’s all I can promise.”

  Sierra let out a breath. “Thank you.”

  Kent started through the house, flipping lights back on, making himself at home by stealing one of the pillows off her bed and finding himself a top sheet in her closet. “You know,” he said to Sierra as she trailed him, “I’m the least of your worries right now.”

  She hated fretting but couldn’t help herself. “You think Griff is going to do something so soon?”

  He stopped by her tiny couch and tossed the pillow and sheet down, then faced her with his arms crossed over his chest. “Actually, I was talking about Ben.”

  Stumped, Sierra shook her head. “What about him?”

  Kent gave her a wry look. “He’s staked a claim, Sierra, and that’s one young man who isn’t going to take kindly to any exes sniffing around, hostile or friendly or otherwise.”

  Tension made her tone sharp. “These are modern times, for crying out loud. He has no rights over me.”

  “I bet he’ll see it differently.”

  Indignation, and a good dose of worry, rose sharply. “My life is none of his business.”

  “He’s spent a week hanging around, helping out, making it his business.”

  “We’re . . . friends.” But she knew it was more than that, because she’d wanted more. She’d wanted everything Ben offered.

  “Yeah, tell him that.”

  Left with no choices, Sierra scowled. “I will.”

  “Uh-huh. Just don’t expect him to be as easy to sway as I am.” He flicked the end of her nose. “He wants you, and I have the feeling he’s not going to let anyone get in his way.”

  With her heartbeat jumping into double time, Sierra stared at Kent—and knew he was right.

  God, she’d have to cut all ties with Ben or put him at risk. He was so easy going, so open and accepting and nice, he wouldn’t have a clue how to deal with someone like Griffin Ross.

  Sierra made her decision and immediately felt the wrenching loss to the point her stomach ached and her heart felt hollow. She just hadn’t realized how much she wanted Ben, until she made the decision to give him up.

  Chapter Nine

  Ben stretched as he stepped out of the shower. He’d been up half the night working and when he had made it to bed, he hadn’t been able to sleep because he’d wanted Sierra. Bad.

  Damn, but she managed to dredge very unfamiliar feelings out of him. He’d never had a woman occupy his every thought, but he liked thinking about her. It made him smile.

  Hell, he was smiling now.

  Ben laughed, toweled off briskly, and reached for a pair of khaki slacks. He should have been exhausted, but he wasn’t. He felt filled with purpose, energy. Lust.

  Sierra trusted him. She didn’t want to, but little by little he was winning her over.

  He finger-combed his hair on the way to the phone to ring the diner.

  He wanted to know if Sierra had shown up for coffee. God knew he should have been sleeping. And his own experience told him he should stop looking so eager to be with her. He’d all but run her to ground, occupying every available free second she had. At this rate, she’d figure out that she had him wrapped around her little finger and the fun would end.

  Course, that went both ways. Though she never seemed as eager to be with him, last night had been a milestone. If Grace hadn’t called, he might have awakened with Sierra in his arms.

  Getting the responses he wanted—both verbal and physical—were easy when he touched her just right. The woman wanted him, and soon she’d have him.

  One of his waitresses, harried by the sound of it, answered his call on the fourth ring. “Yeah?”

  Ben would reprimand her later about her phone manners. “This is Ben Badwin.”

  “Oh. Morning, Ben.”

  Ben could hear the contrition in her tone and smiled. This particular waitress was fairly new, still learning, and not as aggressive in her flirting since she had a young fiancé to contend with. And because she was saving up for a down payment on a house, she worked whatever hours Ben wanted to give her. She’d been in since five that morning. He’d keep her for sure.

  “Do me a favor, Cathy, and check to see if Sierra’s in the diner.” After a weeklong routine of sharing coffee, conversation, and a lot of smiles, all his employees knew Sierra—and they knew the boss was smitten.

  “She just came in, Ben. She asked for you, but I told her you were still in bed.”

  She’d asked for him? Ben hated the idea that he might have missed her and was disgusted at himself for caring one way or the other. But this would have been the first time that she’d sought him out. Normally he was up and waiting for her when she walked in. “Did she leave?”

  “Not yet. She’s got some big bruiser with her insisting she needs coffee.”

  Ben stiffened for one alarming moment before realizing it had to be Kent. More often than not, Kent met her on a job rather than picking her up. He was probably here today with the hopes of running into Brooke.

  Ben carried the phone to his closet to pick out a shirt. “Ask her to wait. I’ll be right there.” And then, because he couldn’t seem to help clarifying things, he added, “And Cathy, the guy with her is an employee.”

  Cathy said, “Right.”

  Her tone held some underlying meaning that grated Ben the wrong way. His hand froze on the sleeve of a dark green shirt. “What does that mean?”

  He must have sounded peeved, because Cathy stammered, “Look, Mr. Badwin, I gotta go. You know mornings are busy.”

  With an effort, Ben moderated his tone. “That’s right. Just tell me what you meant so you can get back to work.”

  Ben could almost see her fidgeting. Finally, she blurted, “He spent the night. I heard her grumbling about it being his fault she hadn’t slept and was grumpy. He laughed at her, and she said he snored like a freight train.”

  A red haze closed in around Ben. His hand gripped the phone too hard. They had to be sharing mighty close quarters for Sierra to know that Kent snored. Through his teeth, Ben said, “Thanks. I’ll be right there.” He hung up without hearing if Cathy replied or not.

  Kent had spent the night with Sierra.

  Ben headed for the door, and realized he didn’t have a shirt or shoes on. Cursing, he grabbed a shirt and yanked it on, fumbled with his belt and shoved his feet into socks and shoes. Within one minute, he was out the door.

  Damn it, from the start he’d thought their relationship a little too secure, too intimate. He should have known something more was going on. Men and women as friends? It didn’t happen, not that way, not that close. Especially not when the woman was so damn sexy and God knew, with the way Sierra affected h
im, she had to be sexier than most.

  Of course, Kent had made a play for his mother as well, and in front of them all. Sierra hadn’t acted jealous.

  Ben’s stomping stride slowed as he considered that and tried to sort it all out in his mind. But he couldn’t get beyond the fact that they’d spent the night together. What reason could there be, except the same one for why he wanted to spend the night with her?

  He stormed into the diner—only to see that his mother was also in evidence, with Kent fawning all over her. Sierra stood next to them, looking tired and antsy, but not in any way resentful toward the other two. They were near a table, but not yet sitting.

  “Shit.” Ben hated being at loose ends, and he absolutely detested this sense of jealousy. He’d never felt it before and he didn’t like feeling it now. Ungluing his feet and attempting an air of negligence, he sauntered up to the small group and was met with a variety of moods.

  Sierra’s disgruntled gaze slanted his way. She did indeed look as though she needed some caffeine. Had she been up all night? Doing what?

  His mother blushed, leaving Ben to wonder what Kent had just been saying to her. Or what she might have been thinking. He’d never before seen her with a lack of poise and if it weren’t for his suspicions over Sierra, he would have found the situation hilarious.

  Kent, who was obviously on the make, ignored Ben. He had eyes only for Brooke.

  Just what the hell was going on? “Good morning, everyone.”

  Ben knew his smile appeared more of a snarl when Sierra glared at him and Brooke blinked.

  Kent gave him the once-over, reminding Ben that he hadn’t really combed his hair and had forgotten to shave. “Get up on the wrong side of bed this morning?”

  Ben narrowed his eyes. “Got out of the wrong bed, actually.”

  Shocked, Brooke said, “Ben!”

  Sierra locked her jaw, appearing contentious and riled enough to spit. “Well, that’ll make things easier then.”

  Ben didn’t trust the way she said that. “What will?”

  “Knowing you were out carousing last night.”

  “Carousing?” Ben shook his head, thrown off by her misassumption. “No, I meant I’d have rather gotten out of your bed, instead of my own.”

  Brooke took him by surprise with a hard pinch.

  “Ow, damn.” Ben jumped and rubbed his side. “That hurt.”

  “I meant for it to. You’re behaving abominably.” She sent a furtive glance around the diner as if she thought all present were privy to his comments. “You’re embarrassing all of us.”

  Far from being embarrassed, Kent looked on the verge of laughing.

  Sierra just looked put out. She rubbed her forehead and mumbled under her breath. Today she had her silky hair in a ponytail and her jeans seemed relatively new.

  She drew a breath and announced to no one in particular, “I need to get to work.”

  Ben pulled out her chair. “One cup of coffee first.” No way in hell was he letting her out of his sight until he knew what had gone on last night.

  “No, I . . .”

  With a type of sibling irreverence, Kent took her shoulder and pushed her into her seat. “Coffee, Sierra.” He held her down when she would have bolted back up. “I need it even if you don’t.”

  “I could have made some this morning,” she grumbled, casting a sour glance at Ben. But she did give up and slump into the chair.

  “I’d like to keep the lining of my stomach, thank you very much.” And as he seated Brooke, Kent explained, “She makes horrid coffee.”

  Ben stared at Kent hard. “Since you spent the night, why didn’t you just make it?”

  Sierra’s head shot up, her eyes narrowed in astonishment. Brooke went pale, then flushed.

  Kent held up both hands. “Hey now, before anyone starts jumping the gun, I can explain that. You see—” In the next instant, he jerked hard, yelped, and bent to rub his shin while glowering at Sierra. She gave a short, quick shake of her head.

  Ben decided to get right to the point. “Did you sleep with him?” This time his mother didn’t seem to mind his bad manners at all. She looked glacial with her own curiosity.

  Sierra turned a falsely sweet smile on Ben. “It’s really none of your business.”

  Ben started to speak, and Kent said, “The hell it isn’t. Don’t make it sound like something it isn’t, Sierra, just to irk the young bull here, because you’re crucifying me in the bargain.” He caught Brooke’s hand and held on when she frantically tried to pull free. “Sierra and I are friends. Period. End of the road. Never anything more than friends. Okay?”

  Ben wanted to believe him. “So why’d you spend the night?”

  There’d been no coffee served yet, and still Sierra shoved her chair away. “You’re overstepping yourself, Ben. I made it clear from the start that I didn’t want you intruding into my private life. Just because I’ve agreed to . . . to other stuff, doesn’t give you the right to question me.”

  Her vehemence, her trembling reaction, threw Ben. It hit him on a gut level that something must be very wrong this morning. He’d known her a little over a week and not once had she sounded so devastated.

  Jealousy and curiosity faded beneath his concern. He slowly stood with her. “What is it, sweetheart?”

  She blinked hard at the endearment and his tender tone, as if fighting off tears, then predictably enough, straightened her small proud shoulders.

  Sounding strangled, unable to meet his gaze, she said, “That’s it. I’m sorry Ben, but . . . I don’t want to see you anymore.” She turned to Kent, who still held Brooke’s hand, his face set, his mood heavy. “Stay and enjoy your coffee. I’ll see you at the site.”

  “Damn it, Sierra,” Kent called after her, “this isn’t what I meant . . .”

  “It’s for the best.” She walked out, head held high, spine erect.

  For the moment, Ben let her go.

  “Ben.” His mother’s voice softened with concern. Again she tried to free her hand and again Kent held on. She gave up and addressed Ben. “Maybe you should . . .”

  Kent cleared his throat and spoke over her. “She needs a little time to think things through, that’s all. Trust me on this, Ben.”

  Ben didn’t say anything. He didn’t know what the hell to say. Never in his life had a woman dumped him. If he hadn’t liked the jealousy, it was a damn sure bet he hated this.

  He made a disgusted sound to himself. Hell, she’d made it clear from the start that she didn’t want to be bothered with him. She’d suffered him all week only because he’d been so determined. So why did he want to go after her and shake some sense into her? Why did he want to drag her off to his room and keep her there until . . .

  He tightened his fists. Time? He’d give her all the damn time she needed.

  Kent lifted Brooke’s hand to his mouth and kissed her knuckles. “I’m sorry, but I need to go with her. She’s . . . upset.”

  Brooke nodded, realized what she was doing, and snatched her hand away only to flap it at him. “Yes, of course. Go. You certainly don’t need my permission.”

  Kent turned to Ben, did a double take, then rolled his eyes. “Oh for pity’s sake, man. You look like a damn thundercloud and it’s not even necessary. You’d probably already know that if you stopped to think, instead of wallowing in your male ego.”

  Insults were the very last thing Ben intended to put up with this morning. “What the hell am I supposed to think?”

  “Let’s see. You might consider the fact that Sierra’s protective of everyone she cares about.”

  Because Sierra kept herself closed off from him, Ben didn’t know her well enough to know that, which only added to his ire. “She’s protecting you?”

  Kent shook his head. “Me, you, everyone but herself.” He pointed an accusing finger at Ben. “If you’re half as smart as I think you are, you’ll realize she isn’t a woman you should give up on.”

  Anger and frustration rippled through
Ben, making him shake, setting him on edge. “You wanna explain all these cryptic comments?”

  Kent dropped his head forward and pinched the bridge of his nose. Ben heard him curse softly. “Can’t. Sierra would kill me if I did.” He looked up at Ben. “She’s protective, but she’s also damn private.”

  “Not with you.”

  “Yeah, well, our relationship is special.”

  “Special enough that you sleep with her?”

  “Jesus, not the way you mean.” He turned to Brooke.

  “I’m going to call you later. We’ll talk.”

  Brooke, who’d been silently listening to the exchange, shook her head. “No. I . . .”

  Kent touched her chin. “Yes.” And he left.

  Though Ben’s mother was unsettled by Kent’s pursuit, she turned to Ben with concern. “I feel like something’s wrong here.”

  Ben kept his gaze on the door where both Sierra and Kent had walked out. “Yeah, me too.” It seemed every day with her uncovered a new challenge. “You believe what Kent says?”

  “That they’re just friends? Yes.”

  “But?”

  “Ben.” She touched his forearm. “Honey, I know Sierra is special—”

  “You do?”

  “I’m your mother. It’s pretty obvious to me.”

  Ben scowled over that. Damn it, nothing seemed obvious to him.

  “The thing is, do you think it’s smart to get overly involved with someone who might have some very real problems?”

  What kind of very real problems could an intelligent, independent twenty-four-year-old woman possibly have? And why would she need to be so protective of everyone, and why so many secrets? Ben just didn’t know, but Kent was right. He couldn’t give up on her.

  “Smart? Probably not.” He patted Brooke’s hand. “But I don’t seem to have any choice.”

  “Nonsense. I didn’t raise a fool. You always have control.”

  Slowly, Ben’s dark mood cleared. Control. Yeah, he could control Sierra—with sex—and that was a fantasy destined to make him into a tyrant. He’d given her a week without testing that control, because strangely enough, he wanted more than just her sexual surrender.