He groaned as guilt consumed him. How could he possibly have left her that way? She didn’t wake as he carefully withdrew, then even more carefully untied her. She stirred slightly when he slid the pillow out from under her hips, but she didn’t wake, thank God, though she did curl herself up into a semi-foetal position. After throwing a sheet over her far too delicious derrière, he headed for the bathroom.
A quick shower later and he was back in the bedroom, standing at the side of the bed and staring down at her still body. Ben supposed he really had nothing to be guilty about; Jess had obviously enjoyed herself. Ben was never absolutely sure if his girlfriends went along with his demands because they were genuinely on the same sexual wavelength or because he was Morgan De Silva’s son and heir. He definitely had no such doubts with Jess. Damn it, but he wished she lived in America.
Maybe he would ask her to go back with him. He could get her a job and lease her a nice little apartment. Or she could even move in with him.
Ben frowned at this last thought. His father had warned him never to do that: have a woman move in with him. Not unless they were married. As much as Jess claimed she would never marry a rich man, she hadn’t seen his New York lifestyle. His thirty-square apartment overlooking Central Park had a lap pool on the roof plus a fully equipped gym and spa room. He had a wardrobe full of designer suits and hand-made shoes, a Ferrari in the underground car park and an expense account which allowed him to dine at all of New York’s finest restaurants. He also had access to the company’s private jet which flew him to Acapulco for weekends in the summer and Aspen in the winter.
That kind of lifestyle could corrupt even the nicest girl, especially if she’d never experienced such luxury. Which Jess obviously hadn’t.
No, best not ask her to go back to America with him. Best he do what he’d originally intended: have a holiday fling with Jess, then leave it at that. It wasn’t as though he was in love with her. He just liked and admired her a lot. And wanted her like mad. Already he had another erection, tempting him to climb back into bed and wake her. He didn’t think she’d mind.
Ben sensibly armed himself with protection first, then climbed in under the sheet and curved his body around hers, spoon fashion. She stirred immediately, stiffening against him when he began to caress her breasts. Obviously they were still sensitive from all the attention he’d been giving them, so he moved lower, stroking her stomach, then her thighs.
‘Yes please,’ she choked out when he pressed himself against her still-wet sex.
A wave of tenderness engulfed Ben as he slid into her. God, but he’d never felt anything like this for a girl before. She was just so sweet, yet so sexy at the same time. A girl in a million.
He took his time, setting up a gentle rhythm, loving the sounds she made, loving the way she wriggled against him as her excitement grew. And, when he knew he was close to coming himself, he touched her in a way that would guarantee her release as well.
They came together, Ben startled as another wave of emotion hit him. Not just tenderness this time, but something deeper. Much deeper. He held her tightly in his arms afterwards and wondered if he was finally on the verge of falling in love.
JESS WAS WOKEN by Ben shaking her shoulder again, plus the sound of her phone ringing.
‘I was in the kitchen making coffee when it rang,’ he explained as he handed it to her.
Jess tried to take the phone, sit up and cover her bare breasts at the same time, but failed.
What the heck? she thought despairingly. It wasn’t anything he hadn’t seen before. Yet, strangely, she felt shy in front of Ben all of a sudden. Jess supposed it wasn’t every day that one woke to such memories. In a way, it didn’t seem real. Had she really let him tie her up and spank her? Obviously she had, if her still-tender bottom was anything to go by.
‘It’s my mother,’ she said, trying to look and sound cool. ‘Would you mind?’ She waved him away.
He smiled, turned and left the room. Thank God. The infernal man was stark naked. Obviously, he never suffered from shyness.
‘Hello, Mum,’ she said into the phone. ‘It’s a little early, isn’t it? I’ve only just woken up. Can I tell you all about the wedding when I get home?’
‘I guess so. But, before you go, I was also ringing to remind you that today is family barbecue day. I thought you might have forgotten.’
She had, actually. It was a once a month tradition where the family got together at her parents’ place.
‘I was thinking that you could ask Ben to come along. Your father and I would love to meet him.’
Meaning she’d like to see what he looked like. Her mother was a very intuitive woman and had probably picked up something from Jess’s voice.
‘I’ll ask him, Mum,’ she said. ‘But I won’t guarantee that he’ll say yes. He might just want to get home after such a long drive.’
‘I see. Well, how about you call me when you stop and tell me if Ben’s coming or not?’
‘Will do. Now, I must go, Mum.’
‘Before you go, did the wedding go off all right yesterday? No other Murphy’s Law disasters?’
‘Everything was perfect, Mum,’ she said. ‘I’ll ring you later. Bye.’
Rising, Jess dashed for the bathroom, where the sight of her pink bridesmaid dress draped over the bath reminded her of the submissive scenario Ben had insisted upon in there. That was where her loss of will-power had all started, of course. In that shower. By the time he’d turned off the water, she’d been so excited that he could have done anything to her and she would not have objected.
The speed with which he’d turned her into a submissive sex slave was quite shocking. So why wasn’t she more shocked this morning? Maybe it was because underneath all that S&M role-playing Ben was a nice man. A decent man. She felt confident that he would never hurt her for real. Look at the way he’d made love to her later in the night, so gently and rather sweetly. She’d enjoyed that time even more than all the other times so far. And there’d been quite a few already, Jess thought ruefully. Ben couldn’t seem to keep his hands off her. In more ways than one!
After a rather quick shower, Jess rubbed some of the body lotion she found in the vanity into her buttocks. They were still a little on the tender side, but nothing major. Once her teeth were cleaned and her hair up in a ponytail, she hurried into the other bedroom where she took out some fresh clothes: a pair of three-quarter length white trousers and a navy-and-white striped top. Slipping white sandals onto her feet, she headed for the kitchen where Ben was thankfully now wearing the white bathrobe which had been on the bedroom floor earlier. He was sitting at the kitchen table with some toast and coffee in front of him.
‘I think your mother’s checking up on you,’ he said.
‘Possibly. It’s hard to put anything past my mum.’
‘Not for the want of your trying, though,’ he said, smiling at her.
Lord, but he was devilishly attractive
