The Job Offer

chapter 12


Later that night, Ben and Anne were lying in Ben's bed after making love another time and looked at each other with soft smiles on their faces. Anne was on her side looking at Ben who was lying on his belly looking at her with a satisfied male smile on his face. She reached out, brushed his shoulder, and trailed her hand down his back before leaning over to kiss his shoulder.

"Hmmm, you wear me out, Anne," Ben said sleepily. Then he yawned and rolled over to his side so that he faced her, reaching his hand out to brush his fingers over her breast.

"I'm not going to be able to walk tomorrow," she told him. The comment elicited a laugh from Ben. She rolled onto her back, and he cupped the breast he had been brushing. She was suddenly nervous about asking him, but Lily said that she should ask him tonight. In her logical mind, she needed to know where she stood, too. "Ben, I have a question."

"What, Baby?"

"What do you think of our relationship?" He sighed and removed his hand, rolling onto his back to look at the ceiling. He was no longer smiling, and she could feel his withdrawal emotionally as well as physically. She bit her lower lip and sighed in disappointment. "I mean, does this, do I, mean anything to you? Or is this just sex to you?"

"Anne. Of course it isn't just sex." He rolled over and looked at her again. "If you are wondering if I expect more after the week is over, I don't. I know that this is just for this week only. I'll always remember our time together this week as the best time I've had with a woman. You're such a wonderful woman, Anne. I hope you know that."

"After this week, that's it." She stated it rather than asked. She could not look at him and did as he did seconds earlier; she stared at the ceiling. He was silent for a long time, his eyes sad as he thought of how to answer her. Finally, he rolled onto his back again and looked up at the ceiling.

"Yes."

His answer did not surprise her, but she was surprised by the stab of pain that went through her chest and the water that pooled in her eyes. Not wanting him to see how much his answer hurt her, she rolled on her side so that she faced away from him. A tear rolled over the ridge of her nose and dropped onto the pillow. After a few minutes, she felt him move behind her until he was wrapped around her spooning her. His arm crossed over her side and pulled her back against him. Then he kissed her shoulder and the back of her head.

"Let me love you for the rest of this week, Anne. Don't push me away now. I need you the rest of this week. Anne?" She did not answer him right away as she struggled to be able to talk without letting him know that she was silently crying.

"Ok. I'll be yours for the rest of this week." She was surprised that her voice did not give him a clue to how she was feeling.

"I have a question for you, Anne." His breath brushed her shoulder.

"What is it?" Her voice was soft, barely reaching his ears.

"Do you think having a child is a good reason to get married?" She never expected that question. If he was not holding her so tight against his front, she would have turned around to look at him.

"No, I don't. My mother married my father when she found out she was pregnant with me. It did not last long. It was over before I was born. Knowing my father the way I do, I'm glad it didn't work out. If my mom had remained married to my father, she would never have married my dad."

"I never knew that Jim wasn't your natural father," Ben spoke softly behind her. "You're so close, and you call him 'Dad.'"

"That's because he is my dad. My father wanted nothing to do with me when I was born. Jim married my mom when I was a baby and adopted me. My natural father came around and caused problems when I was a teenager, wanting a relationship. For a while, he was in our lives, but not now. I haven't seen or heard from him in years. If I never see him again, it will be fine with me; although, I'll see him again eventually. I really don't like talking about him, Ben. Why did you ask me if I thought a baby would be a good reason to marry?"

"I had a couple of past girlfriends who tried to trap me with claiming that I was the father of their baby. That's all."

"What?" Her voice rose is her shock, and she tried to turn around. He held her tight, and she settled back down.

"Chelsea was one. She knew that I was planning on breaking up with her. The relationship was going nowhere, and she just downright scared me. So she made up the story that she was pregnant. There was no pregnancy, thank God. When I asked to see the doctor's report, she crumbled and finally admitted there wasn't going to be a baby. My last girlfriend tried passing another man's baby off as mine. While I was out of the country on business, she hooked up with an old boyfriend and became pregnant. When he refused to marry her, she told me the baby was mine. I went to the first doctor visit with her and got the baby's due date. Doing the math, it would not have been possible for me to be the father. Plus I always use protection. I confronted her about it, and she admitted that the baby was the other guy's."

"That's awful, Ben. I don't know how a woman could do that to a man. How did you feel about the baby when she told you she was pregnant?"

"Trapped. I felt trapped. I already knew we would be breaking up. I had heard it from friends who saw her out with the other guy. But even before I went on the trip, I knew that I did not want to see her anymore."

"Don't you want to have children?"

"Yes, I would. Someday, when I find the right woman, I want to have children. But I won't be trapped by a woman who only wants my money. Do you want children?"

"Yes, when I find the right man."

They laid in silence for a long time, and Anne felt herself drifting off. She did not know if Ben was asleep or awake. His breathing was even.

"Anne."

"Yes, Ben?"

"I'm glad that you are here this week; that I found you again."

"I'm glad, too. Goodnight, Ben."

"Goodnight, Anne." He kissed her shoulder then settled back down behind her, curled into her back. Anne drifted off to sleep never seeing the sad eyes that watched her.


* * * * *


Ben woke up a little before five am, stretched his arm out in the dark to feel Anne's warm body in the spot next to him, and sighed in relief. He watched her fall asleep the night before, holding her in his arms, afraid that if he let go that she would get up and leave. He looked at her now with the light of the alarm clock casting enough light to see the softness of her face while she slept. He stared at her committing her face to memory. It was Thursday, and he only had less than four full days to try to win her heart. On Sunday he would be leaving, and she was leaving next week sometime. He never asked on what day she was planning to go back east. After Sunday morning, he would never see her again. It did not matter until now.

He was not ready to let her go, but he did not know how to keep her in Seattle. Her life was out east, and his was here. She said she only wanted this to be a vacation romance and that once she left that would be it. He had agreed to it because that was all he thought he wanted at the time. But he was wrong. He wanted her for a lot longer than a vacation romance. He had to woo her. He had to show her how good they were together. He knew it was too soon after their reunion to be in love with her, but he was. When she asked him last night how he saw their relationship, he realized that he loved her. Maybe he always had.

He thought about their unprotected sex yesterday. He never asked her if she was on birth control. Right now, he did not want to know. Right now he wanted to think that there was a chance that his baby was already growing inside of her. She would be a good mother, he knew. He asked her last night about what she thought about a baby being a good reason for marriage, not because he had past girlfriends who tried to trap him, but because of the idea that if she was pregnant he would marry her. Then when he heard her talk about her natural father and that she would not get married just because she was pregnant, he knew that she was right, and he was thinking foolishly. But if she was pregnant, he would be there. A baby would give him a reason to still keep her in his life.

Looking at her face with the digital light shining on it, he smiled. He had dated several women over the years, some of them he had a physical relationship with and some he did not. There were several who dated him because they wanted something from him, namely his money. Now, here he was with a woman who wanted nothing from him, and he was hooked.

He reached out his hand and traced her breast running his fingertips over her nipple until it hardened into a pebble. Then he twirled it in his fingers and tugged on it gently. Anne began to stir. Leaning over, he took her breast into his mouth and moved his hand down until his fingers found her already wet. He pushed his finger inside of her, and she moaned with pleasure. Then he teased her until she began to push herself into his hand.

Letting her go, he quickly reached over to the nightstand and grabbed a foil packet. Then he slipped on the condom and positioned himself between Anne's thighs, the head of his penis pressed against her opening waiting. She opened her eyes and looked at him then said his name breathlessly. Watching her face, he pushed himself inside of her slowly feeling her open a little bit at a time to hug him in her warmth. Her eyes remained open watching him. When he was in a far as he could go, he held still watching her face. Then he pulled out slowly and pushed back in. He watched the different expressions of passion cross her face at the sensation of him moving inside of her.

He pulled out again until he was almost outside of her then pushed back in more forcefully. She gasped and closed her eyes enjoying his movement. He waited for her to open her eyes again then began repeating the movement, each time pushing in a little further with more force. Each time he waited until she was watching him before he began again. She began to pant and he watched her breasts rise and fall with each breath, her nipples hard. Moving his hands to her breasts, he pinched her nipples with each thrust until she was crying out with pleasure.

He kept up with the torment of her body until he could feel her inner muscles begin to quiver. Then he pushed himself in so far he felt the wall of her womb open to him. Her body exploded in an orgasm that went on and on, and he held still inside of her absorbing the sensation of her body gripping his in this timeless dance of lovers. When her body quieted, he started again from the beginning giving them both pleasure until she reached another orgasm. This time, he let his control go when her body began to contract around him, and he had the most power orgasm he had ever experienced. His vision went white for a second as he began to release his seed into the condom.

He collapsed on top of her and she wrapped her arms and legs around him holding him against her and inside of her. He wrapped his arms under her back then held her tight and pushed his face into her neck. They stayed that way holding each other with their bodies still joined for several minutes until he was sure he was squishing her beneath him. Finally, he removed his arms and put them on the sides of her head so that he could lift his weight off of her. Raising his head, he looked at her face and was surprised to see a trail of tears that ran from her eyes to her hairline. He kissed one of her eyes then the other and pulled himself out of her body. Then he rolled to his back. She moved against him until her head rested on his shoulder, and he held her against him until the sun came up.