My feet are killing me when I get back to the room. I unbuckle the thin straps of my sandals and am kicking them off when I hear the door open. Ben walks in and his downcast eyes tell me all I need to know. I don’t ask him a thing. Instead, I spread my arms wide and he walks directly into my embrace. His body shudders against mine and all I do is stand there and be his rock. Putting myself in his shoes, I can’t imagine how I would feel if I lost Lauren.
At last his body calms. “I’m sorry I was gone so long,” he says.
“No, it’s okay. I was fine and she needed you.”
He stares at me in disbelief.
“What?”
“You.” He shakes his shaggy hair. “Did Drew send me an angel?”
“I’m no angel.” I push the hair back from his face.
“You don’t seem real. And I don’t deserve a gift from above.”
I don’t bother answering him. I kiss him to show him how real I am. There is a partial smile on his face when we break apart.
“This has been the strangest day I can recall.” His towering frame bends over mine, but he eases away from me and I look up at him.
“How so?”
“First there’s you. I was pissed as hell at you because you kept ignoring me and were all over Nick the Dick.”
I sputter out laughing, “Nick the Dick?”
“Yeah. That was my name for him when I thought you two were an item.”
“An item, huh?”
“Okay, I might have imagined that, but it was only my greed for you. I wanted you all to myself.”
His hands reach for my dress and unzip it.
“I wonder why,” I say as I shrug the dress off.
“God, you’re beautiful.”
“I could say the same for you.” I reach for his shirt and unbutton it. “Go on.”
“And then, you came to your senses.” I punch him in his arm which only makes him laugh. “Then there’s crazy Karen. I mean, who called her? She said someone from the office called, but still.” He goes quiet for a second and I wonder about that too. “And Cate drops a bomb on me and tells me she’s moving to DC to get away from all the memories of Drew.”
“You don’t want her to go.”
His head moves side to side and hair spills across his forehead. Before I can help him, his hands are fisted in his hair. “She’s all I have left … of Drew anyway. She’s become my best friend.”
I nod because I can’t help him with that. Cate has to do what she thinks is best. And I don’t know her well enough to offer an opinion.
“Oh, and then there’s Horace.”
“Oh, yeah. He’s a piece of work, isn’t he? And by the way, what picture do you have of me?”
Two pink spots appear on his cheeks.
“Oh my. I hope it’s not anything indecent.”
“No! I would never do that without your consent.” The combination of sheepish and sexy is irresistible on Ben. I walk up to him, grab his face, and kiss him.
“Show me.”
“Huh?”
“The picture.”
“Oh.” He digs in his pants and pulls out his phone. A few seconds later, he hands it to me with the picture pulled up. It was taken that day on his boat.
“I didn’t know you took this.”
“I know. I should’ve said something. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay.” I hand his phone back, a little surprised yet impressed he went to those lengths.
“You looked so perfect, sitting there, I guess I couldn’t resist.” Then he reaches behind me and unhooks my bra. “You have the most gorgeous tits in the world.” His head drops down and he pulls a nipple into his mouth.
A short time later, after his tongue and lips work me into a quite a frenzy, I say, “I think I need to lie down. My legs won’t support me much longer.”
He lifts his head up and says, “Don’t worry, babe, I’ve got you.”
In one clean motion, he lifts and walks me to the bed and asks, “Have I told you I’m a tits guy?”
“I think I’ve already deduced that.”
He shifts his focus away from my chest and starts to shimmy down my body. “And now you’re going to experience what else I fantasize about.”
Our lovemaking that night is slow and languorous. Ben touches me in all the right places, making my body come alive like a sparking wire. After he’s given me two orgasms, one with his hand, the other his mouth, he tears into a condom packet, rolls it on, and slowly enters me. Our eyes never leave each other’s as he slides in and out, seating himself to the hilt every time. His hips rock into me at just the right angle so they press on that certain spot, and soon I’m erupting in yet another explosive climax. He follows as he takes my mouth in a searing kiss.
“I wish I could sleep like this,” I say. His eyes are soft and I run my hands through his hair.
“So do I. But I’d better get rid of this to be safe.” He gets up and takes care of things.
When he returns, I say, “Ben, I’m on the pill.”