Obviously, none of these characters are mine. Although I wouldn't mind having them if no one else wants them.

Ben Grogan lived on conflict. Kate Reed hated it. She spent her whole life trying to eliminate it. Which gave a possible explanation why she was peering sheepishly out from underneath her desk at Ben's thousand dollar shoes while he tilted his head and quirked his eyebrows at her quizzically.

"Got a sec?" He asked, without bothering to discover the reason she was hiding from him. He knew why.

"Oh." Kate said, acting nonchalant. "I didn't see you…I just dropped my…" she patted the floor and held up the first thing that she found, "Uh…Leo's action figure."

Ben didn't reply. If anything, his face only got smugger.

Kate scrambled out from under the desk and stood. Ben's eyes dropped to today's latest pair of skyscraper heels as she teetered to her feet. "Got it?" He asked, holding out one hand as if to support her, but leaving the other tucked carelessly in his trouser pocket. A file was tucked under one arm.

"Fine." Kate said immediately, then gave a big sigh and a brilliant smile as she focused on him. "So? Make it quick. I've got a meeting." She lied, looking at the clock on her desk.

"Were you hiding from me?" He asked, never afraid to press his advantage.

"Me? No, never." Kate denied, realizing he could see right through her lies but raising her expressive eyebrows daring him to call her on it.

"Oh, good. Because I've been thinking. Since our elevator kiss was a success and we already fight all the time we should probably just get married." Ben said, his tone as flippant as usual.

"How romantic." Kate said drily.

"Pragmatic." Ben corrected cheerfully. "Think about it. I am quite a catch."

"Well, that's the best marriage proposal I've had all day." Kate said. "So I'll take it under consideration. Did you drop by just for this or did you have other business you wanted to discuss?"

"There's always other business, Katie." Ben said expansively. "I want your help convincing Mr. Rushman to take the deal."

"Mr. Rushman, lost-the-use-of-both-hands-in-a-work-related-accident-that-could've-been-prevented, Mr. Rushman?" Kate asked. She sat on her desk chair, toed her shoes off, and tucked her feet under her jersey skirt. She held out her hand for the file. He handed it to her.

"You know the case." Ben enthused. "Tessera Pharmaceuticals offered three hundred thousand. It's the best he's going to get, given his negligence…"

"Negligence! He couldn't use protective equipment that wasn't provided to him!" Kate bridled.

Ben sighed. "Don't you think I'd be moving toward a trial if I thought we could do better?" He asked. "Tessera is going to file for bankruptcy by the end of the week. Their latest botox-thing didn't make the cut at the FDA. If he doesn't accept, all outstanding actions will pend until the bankruptcy is resolved. He needs to accept this deal. There won't be another one."

"Three hundred thousand can't replace a lifetime of lost income. He can't work without his hands." Kate argued.

"Do you have another solution?" Ben asked.

Kate lifted her chin. "No." She admitted. "Let me think of one."

"Why were you hiding from me?" Ben asked, switching gears on her effectively. It was one of the things that made him an annoyingly good attorney.

"I wasn't." Kate said. He raised both eyebrows at her. She sighed. "Fine. I was."

Ben smiled.

"Why did you kiss me?" Kate demanded in return.

Ben was now fully grinning.

"Well?" She said.

"Mm." Ben said. "Cause you're just so kissable." He replied glibly.

Kate frowned. "No." She said.

"Okay, because I wanted to." He answered honestly now, but still gave no insight into his actions the day before.

"Because…?" Kate prompted, raising her brows at him challengingly.

"Because you're just so kissable." He repeated softly, the light in his eyes changing from teasing to serious in a heartbeat.

Kate felt her breath catch. "Oh." She said. She tried to act casual.

"So, Mr. Rushman?" Ben prompted, back to all-business in a moment.

"I'll have a look at the offer." Kate conceded.

"Good." Ben said. "Now, the other thing."

"Which is?"

"Have dinner with me tonight." He said. It wasn't a question.

"Like a date?" Kate asked.

"Whatever gets me to second base." Ben nodded.

"Ugh." Kate replied. "Go away." She walked around her desk barefoot and gave his chest a little push. He rocked back on his heels, smug smile perfectly in place across his mouth, and walked over to her door.

Instead of leaving, he shut the door and locked it. "Katie…" He began.

"Kate." Kate corrected him.

"Kate." He amended with a smile, enjoying ruffling her feathers. "Youuuuu kissed me back."

"Did I?" Kate said cagily.

"Mmmhmmm." He hummed. He walked back toward her and she felt herself take a step back against the edge of her desk as he closed in on her.

"Reflex." She said, sticking her chin out.

"You have good reflexes." Ben murmured, crowding her against the desk. "Excellent reflexes."

"Thank you." Kate said. Her voice had gone a little feminine and breathless, but neither of them were fooling each other anymore anyway.

"So if I kissed you again, you might reflexively kiss me back again?" Ben asked softly.

"I…might." Kate admitted.

"Let's test it." He said, and brought his mouth down on hers.

Kate's immediate half-step of retreat brought her backside in contact with her desk. Ben just followed, not breaking the kiss, tenacious as a bulldog.

"Mm." She said, squirming either to get away or to get closer. It didn't matter which, because Ben made sure it resulted in the latter. If love was a battleground, as the song goes, Napoleon himself would have been proud of the Grogan offensive. Kate surrendered.

Several breathless minutes passed before they both needed to draw back, if only to take deep gulps of air and stare at each other with dilated, dazed eyes. Ben held her against his body, flush from chin to knee, and Kate's arms had somehow wound around his neck, her fingers tangling in his thick boyish hair. His arms tightened and he bent until they were nose to nose.

"You're so little." He said, his voice soft and husky and strangely tender. "I forget how little you are."

Kate blinked up at him, the gentleness of his tone throwing her off-balance. "Hence the big shoes." She said, trying to sound light.

"I love the shoes." Ben said with conviction. "I'm starting a shoe fetish right now….and a short girl fetish too, I guess."

"Are you?" Kate said.

He lazily kissed her lips. "Mm." He said. "Just for you."

Kate laughed breathlessly and he caught her lips again, sweeping his tongue into her mouth to taste her. Bold as always, he slid his hands over her hips, up her ribs, caressing her breasts as his hands slid up to her face, cupping it and tilting her face as he seduced her mouth.

Kate's whole body tightened with need. Her own hands roamed, sliding down his athletic back and pressing his hips against hers. She inhaled sharply when evidence of his arousal pressed against her belly. She clenched her thighs against the rush of liquid heat. "Ben." She whispered as he moved to her neck. "We're in my office."

"I locked the door." He muttered.

"It's…it's ten in the morning." Kate protested weakly, then closed her eyes and tilted her head back when he bit her earlobe.

He drew back and waited for her to focus on his face before he said. "Okay, give me a sec." He took a deep breath. "I can't go out there yet."

Kate's eyebrows drew together in question.

"These pants were custom made." Ben said, his lips quirking. "But I didn't like the tailor quite as much as I like you." His expression was somewhere in between arrogant and passionate with a heavy dose of frustration thrown in.

Kate's cheeks pinked and her eyes dropped involuntarily to his fly. Oh. God. It had been a long celibate time and here was the sexy, infuriating solution.

Kate glanced at her office windows, all completely shuttered, and the locked door. She met his gaze again. "Okay, let's do this." She said impulsively.

"What?" Ben said, his shock overwriting his previous expression.

"But you still have to take me out to dinner." Kate said. Even as she finished the sentence, Ben recovered from his surprise and acted, silencing her mouth with his.

She didn't have to time to process how quickly he moved. His hands cupped her buttocks and he easily boosted her up onto the desk. He slid her skirt up, pushed her panties to one side and opened her. She was already damp and slick.

If she was expecting seduction, she didn't get it. He didn't even unbuckle his belt, just unzipped his trousers and slid into her body hard, the sensation causing both to gasp and break the contact of their lips.

Ben stilled above her, breathing hard.

Kate squirmed, trying to adjust his large stretching penetration. No wonder he was so cocky. "Foreplay." She grunted.

He withdrew and thrust forward. Her body softened and accepted him.

"No foreplay." He replied, stilling again above her and looking solemnly into her eyes. "I didn't want to give you the chance to change your mind."

"Ben…"

"You've made me a desperate man, Katie." He whispered. "I couldn't take the risk. God, you feel perfect." His smile was lopsided, his presence inside of her was aggressive, but his lips were tender when he kissed her.

Every nerve ending in her body woke. He leisurely nibbled her lips as if he wasn't already fully embedded within her body. Kate's hips rolled as she found purchase with her thighs against the desktop. Ben groaned, one of his hands grabbed her hips to prevent her movement. "No, sweetheart." He murmured the endearment so naturally Kate's heart squeezed. "Let me take care of you." He feathered kisses across her cheek and the bridge of her nose and followed words with action.

"Oh my god." Kate gasped as he set a slow rhythm with his hips. The hand on her hip slid between their bodies and clever fingers found the flesh she needed him to touch most. She gave a low wail and Ben caught it with his lips, silencing her as she crashed over the first peak.

Ben choked for air as her body shuddered beneath him, around him. He fought for control. This first time needed to be good, it needed to be great, in fact. He hissed out a breath as her breathing evened out and the pulsing muscles that held him deeply fluttered spasmodically with the aftermath of her release. He looked down into her flushed face. A tiny frown of passion knit her brows. Her dark eyes blinked open and met his hooded gaze.

She blushed.

"God, you're beautiful." He whispered.

The blush deepened and her eyes fluttered closed.

"Don't be shy." He said. "Kate Reed isn't shy."

"Did you..?" She asked, opening her eyes immediately at his challenge.

He smiled crookedly. "No." He murmured. "I'm not through with you yet."

Kate giggled. Actually giggled. "We're in my office." She said with a feline grin.

"My jacket's still buttoned." Ben added with a twinkle in his eyes. He continued his gentle rhythm and when she relaxed and softened around him, he started her slow climb to a second wave of pleasure. And a third.

"Oh, my god." Kate gasped as she caught her breath. "Oh, my god." She repeated. "Ben." She whispered his name and drew his head down to kiss him, she shifted her hips, and it was Ben's turn to gasp.

"Katie." He ground out as he shuddered and climaxed, groaning as his thrusts became jerky and uneven. He propped himself above her with shaky arms. "I'm going to squash you." He said breathlessly. He drew away from her, withdrawing from her body. They both did their best straightening themselves and their clothing. They smiled shyly at one another, both rosy and mussed.

Ben tidied himself first and he watched with a sober gaze as Kate used tissues from her desk to clean the wetness between her thighs. She glanced up and both laughed awkwardly.

"Have dinner with me." Ben repeated. This time it was a request.

"Okay." Kate said.

"At my house." Ben said.

"Well…" Kate said carefully.

"Please." Ben said. Her gaze shot to his and the vulnerability she saw there stole the teasing remark from her lips. She'd seen glimpses of this Ben before. This Ben unsettled her, made her think she might care much more for him than she would admit to herself.

"Yes." She said. "Tonight."

Ben shifted from one expensive shoe to the other. "I didn't intend…" He gestured toward her desk.

She gave a little burst of laughter. "Oh, I did. Desk sex is just a normal part of my day." She said wryly.

Ben chuckled.

"I promise…" He said, stopped, then continued with a small smile. "Foreplay next time."

Kate grinned and admitted. "I should've expected the caveman approach."

Ben's eyebrows rose and his smile curved, his eyes lit with his usual rascally light. "Caveman, huh?" He said, obviously pleased by the comparison for some mysterious male reason.

"See you tonight." Kate said, dismissing him with a smirk.

Ben nodded. He did that little schoolboy shuffle with his feet again and then crowded her against the desk once more to kiss her. "See you tonight." He said. He unlocked the door to her office and peeked out. "Coast is clear." He whispered at her in a loud conspiratorial whisper, his eyes dancing, and then he was gone.

Kate sat back against the edge of her desk and let out a long breath. She glanced at her desk clock and did a double-take. Only ten minutes had passed. Three orgasms in ten minutes with zero foreplay. It had to be a new record.

"Helloooo, Benny." Kate murmured to herself with an impressed twist of her lips.

She opened the Rushman file and, for the first time since she'd met Ben Grogan, she admitted to herself that she couldn't wait to see him again.