Benjamin's POV

I had almost completely switched off again when she suddenly calls for me to wait.

I pause but don't turn around immediately, waiting for her to carry on.

"You have like the worst timing ever, but... thank you for being honest with me." She continues. " Especially since I haven't been entirely honest with you."

I quickly smile to myself, before turning back around to continue the conversation. She's looking straight at me waiting for a response. I'm looking at her waiting for her to continue her confession... but she never does.

" Lexi...today in the lift..." I begin.

"No please, it's none of my business." Lexi interrupts. "I shouldn't have snapped at you like that. It was wrong of me to form an opinion, considering you have so much history together."

" Whether the opinion is valid or not, we are all entitled to our own opinions." I reassure her. " But what you saw in the lift today, is really not what you think."

"Well what exactly is it you think I'm thinking?" She asks with intrigue.

"That I've forgiven her." I shrug. "That we've reconciled and are back together."

"Well like I said Benj, it's really none of my business." She replies. " I'm nothing to you, so there's no need to explain yourself."

The way she says affects me more than I'd care to admit.

" Is that really what you think?" I ask, raising an eyebrow.

"Honestly, it doesn't matter what I think." She shrugs. "Confessing your new found feelings for me, doesn't change the fact that I am irrelevant in this current situation and I am more than ok with it."

Hmmm...why is she closing me off now?

"I agree, I don't need to explain myself to you or anyone... But I'd like to." I reply. "I asked Audrina to come and see me, so we could get a paternity test done. God knows I don't trust the bitch and I can't stand being in the same room as her, but there is no other way around this and I have to find out if Blake is my son... For his sake."

"That's really noble of you Benj." She replies.

"Is it though?" I question. Still not sure if I was actually doing it for Blake or if I wanted an excuse to punch my brother in the face again, but this time for knocking up my ex girlfriend.

"Well, of course." She says. " Why are you evening questioning this? You have good, genuine intentions."

Do I?

"Would it be easier for you, if I was the father?" I say bluntly.

"What?" She says, completely dumbfounded by my question. "What kind of question is that?"

Yes Benj. What kind of question is that? What answer am I hoping to get?

I slowly make my way over to her again. Her back still pressed up against the steel doors. I stop just under a metre in front of her, placing my hands inside my jacket pockets again.

"Lexi, I'm well aware of the growing attraction that my brother has for you. I'm sure you are too. He's not one to shy away or be subtle about these things." I say. "But I'm also aware of this tension we have between us. It intensifies whenever we are around each other, no matter if we are on good terms or not, I can still feel it, which in turn makes me act out irrationally at times."

I take a step closer and she watches me intently, calculating how many steps left before I am completely upon her once more. She looks up at me, waiting for me to continue and I almost forget what I wanted to say. She looks back down at her feet for a moment as her cheeks begin to show a hint of pink and I chuckle internally.

As she lifts her head up, a strand of hair falls down along her cheek. I feel my hand reach out to touch her face, toying with the strand of hair for a minute, before gently tucking it back behind her ear and continuing what I wanted to say.

"But I know that it's something I can no longer ignore and I have no intention to either." I say, with my fingers still lingering above her ear as I play around with the 2 small black hoopes earrings, clamped ontop of her ear. "I don't know what's going on in that head of yours, but I can see you're torn."

I remove my hand as she looks down once more, wincing slightly at my last words.

"Despite our past history. I still speak very highly of my brother and we both know who the better choice is for you, or the better suitor." I continue. "But something tells me, that's not what you want. Something in your eyes and the way your body reacts to mine, tells me that you want more."

She lifts her head up but refuses to look me in the eye, instead choosing to concentrate on the clasp on my jacket zipper, just below my exposed chest.

"More than just feelings. More than just exclusivity. More than just a standard, generic relationship... More than just a quick hot fuck."

Her head snaps up and I take the opportunity to lean in closer, selfishly wanting to feel her breath on my lips.

"So I'll ask again. Would the choice be easier for you, if I was Blakes father?"

Her eyes linger on my lips as her hands press against the doors to steady herself. "If you put it that way, then...yes." She replies softly.

I thought as much as I recall how cosy she looked in my brothers arms.

I take a step back and reply. "Ok." Before turning away from her, allowing myself to take a deep breath in without her eyes studying my every move.

"But... that doesn't mean I it that way." She adds.

Her words make me involuntarily breathe out a little harder than intended. I turn back around, somewhat confused with her response.

" And what exactly do you want Lexi?" I ask, arms folded across my chest.

She rubs nervously at her neck. " Benj you're putting me on the spot here."

Not so easy when you're the one in the spotlight ay Kitten?

"You don't know do you?" I press on.

"I..." She begins.

I roll my eyes at her before turning back around. "That's what I thought."

"I knew what I wanted last night!" She spits at me and I feel the anger quickly rise inside me, making me turn back around once more.

"And yet you decided to play mind games with me."

She's completely taken aback with my response. Good.

"Fuck you Benj." She spits. Anger clearly evident in her response. " Asking you to shed some light on how you feel about me, just so I knew what I was getting myself into, isn't me playing mind games."

Call it what you want Love. I roll my eyes again and it fuels her anger even more.

"All I wanted was a god damn genuine answer." She says while pushing me backwards.

Well you got one Love.

I catch her wrists as her hands land a blow to my torso. Her eyes widen and I push her up against the elevator doors with my body pressing against her now, while her hands are pinned up high above her head with my right hand and my left grips her waist.

"And I...just...want...you, Lexi." I whisper into her mouth, making her breath hitch. "I just want you. Why do you insist on making this more complicated than it has to be?"

She gasps at the sudden contact. Neither one of us dare to breathe, allowing the sound of our heart beats to echo in the air.

My left hand grips tighter on her waist, feeling her soft skin against my palm as it slips underneath the hem of her loose top. My eyes drop to her bottom lip and I can almost taste it on my tongue.

"You have no idea the things you to do me." I whisper. "The things to my mind...to my body."

My hand softly plays with her bare skin, resting on my fingertips as it travels higher.

" You bring out reactions and emotions in me that I can't control and I've been trying so hard this whole damn time to keep it contained." I continue, fighting the urge to dip my tongue inside her parted lips. "I'm sorry to be so blunt, but this isn't what I wanted Lexi. This was my intention, but all that changed, the moment you stepped into this lift that day, and there was no doubt in my mind...

My hand glides over her ribs towards her stomach and her body reacts to my touch, her skin starts to burn up under my fingertips and her hands begin to fight against my hold. I lean my body further into hers but let go of her arms as they slowly drop and now rest against my chest, with one hand gently pushing me away and the other gripping tightly on my jacket.

I brush my fingers against her cheek, playing with her soft skin as it continues to burn up under my touch. "Admitting this to you, doesn't necessarily make it any easier either." I continue. "I'm not a jealous man, but I admit, I can be possessive at times. If it were any other guy, it wouldn't be a bother, but this is my brother we're talking about here."

My thumb travels down to her lip, taking it between my fingers and I have to bite down on my own lip to fight the urge of taking hers into my mouth. "And although you mine, that doesn't mean I like seeing you with him... Knowing he's kissed you. Touched you."

I watch as her head falls, her face riddled with guilt. I grip her chin and tilt it upwards, forcing her to look at me once more and her eyes are slightly glazed over.

I breathe out a soft sigh, resting my forehead lightly on hers. My next words come out in a whisper. "He's my brother for gods sake. You know our history..."

My left hand makes its way back to her waist as the other rests on the side of her neck, feeling the rhythmic beats of her heart against my palm. I selfishly let the sound drown out the thoughts and questions in my head for a few minutes more, before finally pushing myself off her.

" Even the most successful, arrogant, egotistical, sadistic and selfish males, have their own insecurities to over come." I say. " Trust me. This is harder for than it is for

She pushes herself off the elevator doors, adjusting her top to cover her exposed waist and my eyes dart quickly to the bare flesh momentarily.

I clear my throat, and bring my eyes back up to look into hers. "Nevertheless.

She's looking at me with pleading eyes. Eyes that have so many things to say...yet nothing is heard. I will my body to move as I turn and walk away, closing in on the living room, almost out of her sight. I hear nothing from her or any sounds from the elevator, so I know she is still standing there... but I carry on, fighting the urge to look back.

I've said what I needed to say.

Then she speaks and I feel my body freeze. The emotions that instantly wash over me are hard to subdue, as these 2 little words that come pouring out of her mouth like sweet honey, violently split me in two.

Alexis POV

The heat bouncing back and fourth between our bodies had quickly dissipated. and I shivered from the absence of him. My mind was racing at a 100 miles per hour, and I couldn't keep up.

I was angry. I was confused. I was sad. I was embarrassed. I was proud and in awe of this man.

I was struggling to unscramble the mixture of emotions inside me, trying to ensure, I said the right thing before he completely walked away. Yet the only emotion strong enough to break through my will power, caught me off guard, coming up to the surface before my mind could catch up and the unforgiving words left my mouth with no second thoughts.

Benjamins POV

What the fuck is she playing at?

I feel relief and anger all at the same time, as I let those 2 words completely sink in. Then the anger quickly turns to frustration and impatience.

"Don't do that." I say sternly, as I turn back around. She cocks an eyebrow, then saunters over to me. She comes so close, I almost stumble back on my own two feet as I create some distance between us.

"You once told me, that you would only kiss me if I asked for it." She says confidently. "Well this is me asking."

My brows furrow and I can't help but feel guarded. She moves closer now, closing the gap between us as she places herself directly in front of me.

Where did this confidence come from just now?

Her petite hand glides up my torso, inching closer towards my chest and I quickly grab her wrist, pausing her movements. "Lexi..." I say in a warning tone.

"This is what want Benj." She replies, clutching onto my jacket as her other hand now hooks into my belt loop. "Isn't what want too?"

God knows I do. When those words left her lips, my dick was so quick to react... I felt like I was a fucking cowboy trying to control a bucking horse within the constraints of my damn pants.

"You already know the answer to that." I reply, loosening the grip on her wrist.

"Then kiss me." She replies as both hands now tug at the opening of my jacket, aiding her as she lifts herself up on her tip toes.

"Don't test me Kitten." I reply as I place both hands on her waist, pulling her back down to her feet and she gives me a coy smile.

Looks like someone wants to play.

"What's the matter Benj? Can't finish what you started?" She says cheekily, raising one of her eyebrows at me.

"You sure you wanna go there?" I reply, still holding her in place, more for her sake rather than mine.

She looks down, taking a breath in. "How do you expect me to react, after everything you just told me. You can't just walk away without..." She says as her cheeks begin to flush.

I place my finger under her chin and tilt her face upwards. "...Kissing you?" I say as I search her eyes. "Why would I do that? We both know it wouldn't change a thing."

She frowns at my response.

"You feel something for me. But you also feel something for my brother." I explain. "So turning your back on him won't be as easy as you'd like to believe."

She moves her face out of my hold, while still clutching onto the front of my jacket. The confidence she had moments ago, was quickly fading and now turning into shame and guilt. She places her head against my chest and lets out a heavy sigh.

"I just...(sigh)...Benji please don't make me ask again." She whispers into my chest.

"Lexi..." I say, pushing her slightly off me.

"Benjamin..." She pleads softly and I almost begin to melt.

I place my hand around her neck gently but with a firm grip, feeling the pulse as it vibrates through my veins. I move my hand around to the back, tugging at her hair while and she submits quickly as I pull her against me.

" Your vulnerability, is a damn beautiful site to see." I lean in, brushing my lips against her cheek, edging dangerously close to her lips. She parts them without any hesitation.

"But no.. I won't be kissing you." I reply, completely releasing her from my hold as I quickly step away.

She stumbles back looking absolutely shell shocked and embarrassed.

Here it comes.

"What the actual fuck Benj?" She spits and her words are like fucking venom. "Time and time again, you manage to humiliate me and yet here I am still asking you to kiss me. Do you even know how this makes me feel?"

Sigh.