“THE BITCH IS LYING!”
Ben went still as he heard the growl behind him. He turned slowly and saw Anthony standing at the edge of the table looking belligerent.
“What did you do Anthony?” Margaux asked with a cold voice. Ben glared at the man who just became more aggressive as his nerves reacted to Ben’s silent intimidation.
“Nothing. We were dancing and the little cock tease was rubbing against me getting me all fired up. I know the rules Ms. De la Cruz so I pushed her back. That’s all.” he explained.
Ben turned back to Lucy and leaned down to whisper to her. “Tell me what he did to you.”
Lucy looked up at him and saw his eyes were fixed on hers. “The dancefloor is crowded so we did bump against each other. Then he- he grabbed my breast… and he squeezed it so hard! It hurt so much and he wouldn’t let go. I tried to get away and the dress tore. I called him an asshole… and he hit me.” Tears were dripping down her face. He reached up and brushed them away with his thumb. Ben pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to Lucy.
“May I see the damage to the dress?” he asked calmly.
She gingerly pulled her hand back and the side seam under her right arm had been torn four inches down. Unfortunately this eliminated the support she had for keeping her right breast in her dress. The fabric pulled away and Ben saw the lovely half cup bra hidden under the dress. He also saw the bruises and scratches Anthony’s fingernails had left on her breast. Ben put Lucy’s hand back in place to hold the dress closed. She looked up and was startled to see his eyes had that strange distant look in them she’d seen in the Customs area of the airport. He turned back to Anthony.
“I TOLD you the BITCH LIES!” the man yelled.
“The bruises and scratches don’t lie though, do they? They say you’re an abusive little cowardly shit who gets his fun hurting women. That’s what you are, aren’t you. A weak little coward.” Ben’s voice was cold and flat. Lucy hadn’t heard him sound like that before. She recalled what he’d done to Cecil and began to get nervous.
Sophia finally managed to get free from her dance partner who’d been trying to keep her from the table. “Ben, he hurt Lucy.” she blurted.
“Yes, I know but thank you for confirming.” Ben said and Sophia heard that oddness in his voice. His eyes seemed to be looking through Anthony.
“Fuck you!” Anthony bellowed and threw a punch at Ben’s face only to find himself flying across the table where all their drink glasses were placed. He smashed through the glassware to fall between the couch and table on top of the shattered glass.
“Get your hands off me, ass wipe!” Megan yelled as she reached the edge of the dancefloor and jammed her elbow in a quick strike against the eye of Byron who was trying to hold her back. He went down screaming and clutching his eye. The crowd parted and Rachel walked through breathing hard but smiling as Carlos rolled on the floor behind her holding his groin and crying.
“These bozos tried to keep us from coming back to the table after that asshole hurt Lucy!” Rachel yelled angrily.
The asshole in question lunged to his feet, staggered onto the table and swung a broken glass at Ben. There was a deep thud as Ben’s fist struck his solar plexus and Anthony was flung back to land on the couch where he lay trying to breathe.
Lucy cried out when she saw the red on Ben’s shirt sleeve. Anthony’s wild swing had cut the back of Ben’s left forearm. It wasn’t deep but it was bleeding. Megan grabbed some napkins from the table and held them down on Ben’s arm. At her touch Ben’s eyes started blinking and he looked down at the carnage.
“You OK big man?” Megan asked.
“Uh, sure. Are we done with dancing?” Ben asked. He looked over to Margaux’s men standing at the edge of the crowd tending to their injuries. They looked back with fear in their eyes.
Rachel pulled them out of the booth. “Yeah, we’d better book before the cops arrive.”
Ben looked back at Margaux. “I’m sorry we broke your toys but I think they were bad anyway. I know YOU can do MUCH better.” The girls encircled Ben and pushed him across the club and out the door before the bouncers arrived and just before a very agitated police detective made it to the scene. When they got there Margaux was already gone and three young men were beating up a fourth for ‘ruining everything’.
Ben reached into his pocket and pulled out a paperclip. He bent it into a new shape and gestured Lucy to come over. She stood next to him and gasped as his fingers slipped inside the top of her dress to press gently against the side of her breast. She looked up at his face then held still as he forced the paperclip through the fabric carefully. Then he pushed the other end through the fabric on the other side of the rip. When he was finished Lucy no longer had to hold the dress closed. He looked her in the eyes. “We’ll take this to the dress shop to get them to fix it. Not to worry.” He leaned forward and kissed her forehead. She blinked in surprise and looked at Megan who gave her a smile but there was worry in her expression too.
They grabbed a taxi at the taxi stand and rode back to the hotel in silence, each deep in thought. Sophia and Megan were thinking about speaking with their mother and Gabriella about Ben’s little phase out during the fight. They both independently sent texts. Rachel was reliving watching Ben put Anthony down with one punch and that gave her tingles in happy places.
Lucy was back on Ben’s lap and chest and was just enjoying the feel of him. She had major tingles happening herself and wanted desperately to touch herself. Or better, for Ben to touch her.
Ben was trying to put together the events of the night but there were gaps and that was worrying.
He paid and carried Lucy out again. She clung to his chest and pressed her face into his neck. He felt her body trembling so he carried her all the way to the elevators. He set her on her feet when they got in. Sophia moved to stand in front of Ben.
“Could I get a kiss goodnight here before we get to our floor?” she asked.
His eyebrows rose but he nodded. She leaned in and kissed him on the mouth. After the initial surprise he kissed her back. Her mouth was so soft and she smelled so good! She pulled back and Rachel stepped forward and planted her wonderful lips on his before he recuperated from Sophia’s kiss. There was no tongue involved but it was a sweet kiss none-the-less. His head was spinning. Megan was wide eyed looking at her sisters. Then she stepped forward and kissed his cheek which surprised her sisters. The boldest of them was afraid of a kiss?
Ben moved awkwardly when they stepped from the elevator. Gabriella, Catherine, and Tina were all in the hallway waiting. They were wearing their dressing gowns and pulled the arrivals to Ben’s room. Everyone took a seat and Tina took Lucy aside to speak with her briefly.
First things first, Gabriella took Ben into his bathroom and they took off his shirt so she could wash and bandage the cut on his arm. She had him put on his dressing gown over his pants as his muscular chest was too much of a distraction. She led him back out to the living room and they took seats with everyone else.
“Ben, Sophia and Megan both noticed you phased out again tonight during the fight. Did you experience memory loss?” Gabriella got straight to the point.
Ben nodded.
“We are going to create a record of these lapses so you can play it back for your psychiatrist when you get home. You should describe in as much detail as you can the things you remember. Witnesses will give their statements too. Can we do this now while it’s fresh in your mind?”
“OK.” he replied.
Tina put her phone down and started the audio recorder application. Gabriella gave the time and date and Ben described their evening. Then Sophia said her part, Megan, and finally Lucy. When they were done Tina saved the recording. Everyone took a deep breath.
“Time for bed. We have a busy day tomorrow. Listen to Tina.” Gabriella said cryptically and smiled. She gave Ben a soft kiss and left the room. Catherine kissed Ben and looked on with surprise when Sophia leaned in and got another kiss from Ben. She pulled her eldest along with her and began questioning her on their way out. She looked back in time to see Rachel take a kiss from Ben. The middle child scurried after her mother and pushed the shocked woman out of the room.
Tina stood before Ben. “I would stay with you tonight but I am not feeling too well. We don’t want you to be alone so I have asked Lucy to stay with you. Did you know she is a submissive like me? She also has had many bad experiences. She feels safe with you. I have spoken with Gabriella and Catherine so they understand and they agree. You need someone with you and tonight it will be Lucy. OK?” she explained and looked at him for his agreement. He was wide eyed but looked over at Lucy. Megan was standing next to her with a stunned expression on her face.
“Megan. Come here.” Ben said and the young woman jumped. She moved to his side. He curled his finger and she leaned in. He turned her head and kissed her on the cheek. “Good night.” he said with a smile. She grinned. Tina kissed him sweetly and left with Megan.
Then it was just Ben and Lucy.
He took a deep breath. Once more he was about to step outside of his comfort zone. He’d learned how to deal with a Sub with Tina but he knew everyone was different and he couldn’t expect Lucy to respond in the same ways Tina did. He was starting from scratch again.
“Come here Lucy.” Ben said.
Lucy moved to stand in front of him with her hands clenched in front of her. Her knuckles were white.
“What are you afraid of?” he asked gently.
“I’ve had some bad boyfriends. They hurt me.” she said trembling.
“You’ve spoken with Tina. She’s told you I’m not like that, right?” he asked. She nodded.
“She also told me how you initially pushed her away because you were worried about the age difference.”