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If they made it that far.
Benjamin put her against the wall, his mouth magic on her throat. Jewell couldn't stop the bombardment of sensations. His hips pressed against her, declaring without any doubt the physical evidence that he felt the same. His tongue smoothed beneath her jaw, his lips sucked at her throat, and his hands tugged her blouse free from the waistband of her work trousers.
Jewell groaned when his hot palm pressed to her side.
He held her so close that she felt the vibration from his smartphone in his pocket when it went off. He never moved to answer it. If anything, he pressed his body harder against her, the shift of his hips eliciting another flush of sensation through her.
Benjamin bent at the knees, aligning his body lower with hers, his mouth finding the exposed skin at the collar of her blouse to kiss the valley between her breasts. With his breath hot on her skin, he rubbed his body against hers from thigh to chest. Jewell threw her head back, exposing her throat. His fingers laced with hers and he pushed her hands above her head, holding her against the wall.
The phone vibrated again and he released her hand long enough to flail blindly to his pocket, tossing the phone on the floor where it rattled and shook.
Go away! Leave us alone! God, Benjamin, touch me again!
Her thoughts splintered in thousands of directions but nothing mattered.
His open mouth found hers again, his tongue plunging in to devour the sounds she couldn't stop any more than her next breath. He stopped the kiss, releasing her hands to hold her face between his palms. Their rapid breath mingled in the space between them. Benjamin stared down at her with dark eyes, and a smile ticked his lips. Jewell almost wanted to giggle with the giddy sensation his aroused smile inspired.
Without needing to speak, Benjamin took her hand and stepped back, leading her toward the stairs. Her heart pounded in her chest like a caged bird, desperate for escape. The phone rattled again on the floor and the screen lit up. Benjamin stepped over it, intending to leave it where it lay, but the screen caught Jewell's attention and she had to stop.
Victoria Calling.
Jewell tugged at Benjamin's hand to stop him and crouched to pick up the phone. He turned, the smile still on his face, but confusion tugged at his brow. She held up the phone so he could see what the screen said.
"She wouldn't call," he said simply.
The champagne warmth under her skin almost instantly dissipated. He jerked his chin toward the phone, his smile completely gone. The phone vibrated in her hand. Swallowing, Jewell pressed the green icon to answer and pressed the phone to her ear.
"Hello."
A shuffling sound carried through the phone and she heard an elderly man's voice. "I don't know if I did this right. Take a look, Bea." The voice was distant but close enough that Jewell knew he held the phone.
"Hello," Jewell said louder, hoping he'd hear.
"You've called them, George. Someone is on the line."
"Oh, goodness." There were more shuffling sounds. "H-hello?"
"Yes," Jewell said, looking at Benjamin as she spoke. He gave a jerky sign to ask who it was, and she shrugged. "Hello. Who is this?"
"Uh, um, this is George Ferguson. I'm hoping to reach Benjamin Roth. Have—have I done that? Who is this?"
"I'm Jewell Kincaid, a friend of Benjamin's. Can I help you?" With her free hand, she finger-spelled the caller's name.
"He's Dillon's grandfather," he told her.
"Oh, Miss Kincaid," the older man declared with such enthusiasm Jewell had to take the phone away from her ear. "Oh, thank goodness. Victoria and Dillon speak so highly—I—Miss Kincaid, I'm sorry. I have been trying all day to find a way to reach Ben, but no one here—and then I found Victoria's phone. I don't even know what I did to?—"
"Sir, is there something wrong?" Jewell interrupted. His sentences were so broken, his thought chains scattered, she couldn't figure out the point of the call.
"Wrong?" His voice nearly broke, and he cleared his throat. "Yes, terribly wrong. Victoria…Victoria has been shot. She?—"
"Shot?" Jewell swayed and reached out with her free hand, and Benjamin caught her, his attention never leaving her face. She knew he'd read the word on her lips.
"Yes. They—uh—the police arrested my grandson, but he didn't—that's not?—"
Jewell wanted to scream at him to just say it. She closed her eyes and pressed her fingers to her forehead. "Please, sir, please tell me. Is she alright?" Benjamin's grip on her arm tightened and she opened her eyes to look at him.
"She survived surgery, but they don't know if…"
