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Ben nodded.
“I haven’t worked out how I’m going to make a life for myself. My inheritance is almost gone. I pissed that away and the time I should have been using to develop some skills to build a life on. I can’t go home. There is no home to go back to. I have nothing and I have nothing to offer. I feel like a burden for you and your friends. You came here to vacation and got saddled with me.” she said in a whisper and tears started to fall down her cheeks.
Ben pulled her down onto his lap. She was trembling hard by this point.
“In my entire life I’ve never felt as safe as I do when I’m in your arms but I don’t know how much time I’ll have with you. Every time I’ve opened myself up to love I’ve been badly hurt because the moment they learn I’m a Sub they become cruel. But I think I’m more terrified to open up to you because I know you’re not like that but I have no place in your future.” She began to cry. She leapt to her feet. “I shouldn’t do this to you. You don’t deserve this!”
She rushed to the door but no matter how hard she pulled she couldn’t get it to open. She looked up through tear filled eyes and saw Ben had his hand on the door over her head. He suddenly scooped her up in his arms and carried her to his bedroom. He set her on her feet next to the bed and she tried to get away. He took her head between his big hands and made her look at him.
“Listen to me.” he said sternly. “I don’t abandon friends because they are ‘inconvenient’. I knew what your situation was when we brought you into our little ‘family’. I don’t know what the future holds for any of us. I try to take it one day at a time but know this! I’m willing to ensure you have a future but you’ll need to follow a plan I create for you as I did for Tina. You are young, like she is. You both have all this time in front of you. I know how Tina feels about me. She knows how I feel about her. But she had to promise me to keep her heart open to the possibility of love from someone her age. She agreed. That was the only way I was willing to take her back. If we were to spend time together you would have to be willing to make the same promise. I want you to speak with Tina before you say anything to me on that.”
“Now, will you promise not to try running away again? It would totally ruin everyone’s vacation if we spent the entire time tearing Paris apart looking for you.” he rumbled.
She trembled in his hands and he pulled her into a tight hug. She whimpered as she cuddled in.
“I would like to go to sleep now and I would love it if you would share my bed. Will you do this?” he asked.
She nodded.
Ben unzipped her dress and held it as it slipped off her body. He let her step out of it then he folded it over the back of a chair. He removed the paperclip. He turned back to her and took in her sexy lingerie. He unpinned her hair and allowed it to pour down over her shoulders and back. “You look absolutely lovely!” he said with a smouldering smile.
She blushed and squirmed under his gaze.
Ben undid his robe, pulled it off and draped it over the same chair. Lucy gasped when she saw his scars.
“Oh my god! What happened?” Lucy reached out to touch them.
Ben looked down and saw her hands hover over the scars of the stab wounds like she was afraid to touch them, like they might open if she did.
“They’re from a bad man with a big knife and a lot of rage. I stopped him from killing his wife in front of his kids. I think Trish may have killed him or at least helped. To protect Tina and his wife and kids.”
Lucy seemed to be counting them. Then she saw the three bullet scars. “What- what are these?” she whispered.
“Bullet hole scars.” Ben said quietly.
She looked up with shock in her eyes.
“They’re from a bad man with a gun and a lot of fear. I stopped him from abducting Miriam when she was very young. Then I killed him. To protect Gabriella and Miriam.”
Lucy looked at the bandage on his arm. “This scar is from protecting me.”
“Badges of honor. Every one.” Ben said firmly.
She was biting her lip like she was going to cry again. He reached out and touched her lower lip and gently pulled it from her teeth. She sucked in her breath at the intimacy of his touch. He smiled and touched the small ring piercing her lower lip. She looked at him nervously, fearing his rejection.
“I’ve never kissed someone with a lip ring.” he said with a smile. “Or a tongue piercing. Or an eyebrow ring for that matter.”
“Would- would you like to?” she asked in a voice that was barely a whisper. She was feeling faint as her heart pounded in her chest.
“Very much.” he said as he dipped his face down to hers. His first kiss was light, a test to see how their mouths fit together. The cool metal in her lip was a new sensation for Ben but he didn’t think it was particularly bad, just different. He loved the way Lucy caught her breath in a sudden gasp. Before she could recover he kissed her a little harder and sucked her lip between his. He ran his tongue over her plump lower lip and caressed her ring.
Lucy moaned and whimpered as he gently tugged at the ring with his teeth. He released the ring then slid his tongue into her mouth and slipped it over hers. When he encountered her little barbell piercing he played the tip of his tongue over it. He felt her hands land gently on his chest and pull back. He took her hands in his and held them firmly against his chest so she could feel they were healed and it wouldn’t hurt him. She moaned again as he sucked her tongue while she ran her fingers over the muscles of his chest and his scars.
He pulled back from her lips and her hands went to his belt. She undid it and the button and zipper on his pants. She looked up at him for permission to push his pants down and he nodded. She slid her hands down over his hips and the pants dropped. His boxers went with them and Lucy gasped again.
“Oh god! You’re big!” she said.
He gave her a questioning look. “Is that bad?”
She appeared to be about to hyperventilate so he hugged her to his chest and made shushing sounds.
“Lucy, I want you to know that I won’t do anything you are uncomfortable with. If there is something you don’t like to do we won’t do it. My pleasure depends on my knowing you are happy. If you don’t like something please tell me.”
After a moment she mumbled something against his chest but it was too quiet and muffled to hear. He pulled back a little to hear her better. “What was that?”
She pressed her face harder against his chest and trembled.
“Lucy, please. You don’t have to be scared to speak your mind. Please tell me.”
It took a little more time before she finally peered up at him from his chest. “My ass.” she whispered.
“Your ass? Oh, you don’t like… anal?”
She shuddered and clung to him tighter expecting him to reject her.
“That’s ok Lucy. We won’t do that. I won’t touch you there. Can I squeeze your butt? It’s a really pretty butt and I think it needs caresses and squeezes.” he said with a smile and she giggled against his chest. He could tell her giggles were just her tension releasing. “So that’s a yes to bum cheek squeezing?” More giggles and a definite nod. “Good! How about tonight we just sleep and we leave the rest for later. There’s no need to rush. Like I said, we have time.”
He walked into the bathroom and went to brush his teeth. Lucy realized she’d left her toiletries in her backpack. Ben noticed and opened a drawer. He pulled out a new toothbrush the hotel supplied and handed it to Lucy. They brushed their teeth together then they climbed into the large bed and shut off the lights. Lucy took off her bra and cuddled up against Ben. She felt his body relax. She felt good that she could do that for him. Tina had let her know that he needed this now. She felt his lips on her forehead and she sighed contentedly, her own body fully relaxing for the first time in years.
Detective Babineaux saw the last light on the top floor of the building across the street go out and cursed under her breath again. First she’d been careless and was almost spotted at the club. Then the fight had broken out and she might have been able to arrest Kirion for causing it but she hadn’t been able to get through the crowd fast enough and he got away. The man he’d beaten was so badly bruised from his other assailants there was no point in using him as evidence of Kirion’s violence.
She wanted to stay as he might sneak out but she was too exhausted to keep the surveillance going all night. She’d make a mistake that might prove fatal. She’d return early to watch him in the morning.
First things first though. She turned on her phone to see if the Chief Inspector had left her a message asking for her badge or to come in. She was surprised to see no voice mails. She checked her email and spotted a message stating there was evidence on the customs video of a man roughly matching the description of Kirion Rapava. She shook her head and shut her email down. Of course there was. She was standing across the street from his hotel.
The fact that Kirion hadn’t contacted her boss proved once more than it was him. Of course his threat to contact the Chief Inspector was empty. He avoided the police at all costs. Couldn’t have the authorities looking too closely at him.
Chanel ached for sleep. With a final glance up at the top floor she headed for her apartment.
Ben woke up feeling refreshed and looked down at the woman drooling on his chest. He grinned. Lucy looked as relaxed as he’d ever seen her. Ben glanced at the clock and saw they needed to start their day as the others would soon come calling. He nuzzled Lucy’s forehead, leading little kisses across her face and he felt her slowly surfacing.
Lucy pulled her face back from Ben’s chest and felt the drool sticking to her. Her eyes flew open and she jerked back looking down at the mess she’d made. Her eyes shot up to Ben in worry but saw he was grinning at her.
“I’m going to make you wear a drool bib when you sleep with me,” he teased and her face flushed red with embarrassment.
“I’m so sorry,” she began to babble.
“I’m teasing. You’re not the first to christen my chest with saliva.” he grinned. “We need to get cleaned up as we’ll likely have guests soon.”
Her eyes shot to the living room then she pushed back the sheets and sat up. She stretched her arms above her head and yawned.