Desire (#5) (5 page)
Authors: Carrie Cox
Tags: #arrangement, #hot romance, #billionaire bad boy, #erotic romance, #desire series, #billionaire romance
Mrs. Wicker stood on the beach, with her hand clamped to her mouth. And next to her was my sister.
“Tina!” I surged forward, forgetting my water-drenched clothes were heavy and that my muscles were too cold to respond properly.
I staggered a little, and Benjamin caught me with one strong arm around my waist.
“Tina, I thought he’d hurt you…”
Tina rushed forward and enveloped me in a tight hug. She was saying something, but I couldn’t make out her words through her tears.
“Come on,” said Mrs. Wicker, the voice of reason. “Let’s get everyone inside and warm.”
IT TOOK A WHILE for the sedatives to wear off. I tried to fight their effects, but Benjamin insisted on stripping me of my wet clothes and wrapping me in a duvet. He bundled me, along with three hot-water bottles, into his Aston Martin Vanquish.
Benjamin used his influence to make sure I was seen by a doctor immediately. He hovered beside my bed as the doctor examined me. Usually I would find that a little embarrassing, but right now I was terrified the doctor would mention the fact I was pregnant. I wanted to ask if the baby was okay, but I couldn’t do it with Benjamin standing right there. I wanted to tell him when it was just the two of us.
“All things considered, you have been extremely lucky,” the doctor said, signing a clipboard on the end of my bed.
“No permanent damage?” I asked.
“You’ll be tired for a day or two, but you should make a full recovery,” the doctor said.
“And the baby?” Benjamin asked.
And the baby? Holy crap. He knew.
I gawped at him, but he kept his gaze fixed on the doctor.
“The sedatives shouldn’t have affected the baby. I’ll arrange a scan to be on the safe side.”
I stayed silent, barely breathing until the doctor left the room. I looked across at Benjamin. Was he mad? What was he thinking?
His eyes blazed as he stared down at me. Uh oh. That wasn’t good.
“I should have told you earlier,” I began to explain.
“Yes, you should.”
“How do you … feel about the baby?”
He looked down at my midsection and put his hand lightly over my stomach. “It’s a shock.” He turned his gaze back to my face and smiled. “It’s a big responsibility.”
I nodded. “You’ll be a great father,” I said.
“Will I?” His face twisted into a pained smile. “My family don’t have a great track record.”
“We’ll be different,” I said. “And we’ll make sure little Benjamin knows that family is more important than the money.”
“Little Benjamin?” His eyes widened. “You think it’s a boy?”
My eyelids drooped. Dammit. I was exhausted, but I had so many questions.
“Dunno,” I murmured as I drifted off to sleep.
When I woke, Benjamin sat in a chair by my bed, gazing anxiously at me. “How are you feeling?”
“Um, bit of a headache, but okay, considering … What happened to Colin? He told me he caused your accident in England.”
“Don’t worry about Colin,” Benjamin said, his eyes cold. “You never have to worry about him again.”
I shivered. “What happened?”
“I’ll tell you later when you’re better.”
“Tell me now, please,” I wheedled. “I have a right to know.”
Benjamin looked conflicted, but eventually he nodded. “All right. Colin is dead.”
“Dead?”
“He jumped off the cliff.”
“But … why?”
“Because I had found out what he had done. And I suspect he preferred suicide to me tearing him limb from limb when I got hold of him.”
I shuddered. “But I don’t understand. How did you find out?”
A nurse entered the room, making us both turn to the door.
“Hello,” she said, “I’ve brought you some dinner. Nothing heavy, just a little soup.”
I eyed the bowl of pale, yellow soup suspiciously. “Thank you.”
“How are you feeling?” she asked. “Is there anything else I can get you?”
I shook my head. “I’m feeling much better.”
I wanted her to leave the room as quickly as possible, so Benjamin could finish telling me what had happened.
After the nurse left the room, I turned to Benjamin. “Okay, carry on with what you were saying.”
Benjamin pointed at the tray and smirked. “First, you eat.”
I rolled my eyes. “I’m not hungry.”
He pointed at my belly. “It’s not only you we have to think about now.”
I picked up the spoon and dipped it into the bowl. “Okay, I can listen while I eat.”
“Later,” Benjamin said. “I’m going to talk to the doctor about discharging you. I expect that soup to be finished when I get back.”
I gave him a mock salute and started to eat. The soup was chicken and surprisingly good. I rested my hand on my stomach. I was an idiot. Why hadn’t I told Benjamin before?
***
After the doctor discharged me, Benjamin wrapped me up in blankets ready to take me to the car.
He actually wanted to carry me.
I waved away his hands. “Cut it out. I’m perfectly capable of walking.”
I made it in one piece, although my legs felt like Jell-O when we finally reached Benjamin’s Aston Martin.
He leaned in the passenger side and clipped my seatbelt in place. He stared down at me for a moment tenderly. Then leaned down and kissed the tip of my nose.
This was the new affectionate Benjamin. I liked him. Although I didn’t fancy almost drowning every time I wanted his attention.
Benjamin slid into the driver’s seat, turned on the ignition and switched the heater up to high.
“So,” I said as he pulled out of the hospital parking lot. “Tell me what happened.”
Benjamin glanced at me as he changed gear. “It was Tina. She’d come back to Cliff House to talk to you. She wanted to convince you she hadn’t stolen the miniature, which by the way, she didn’t. Colin made that up.”
I clenched my fists. “Bastard. Why would he do that?”
“To get her out of the way. One less person asking questions when you disappeared. Anyway, she noticed Colin running back towards the house from the cliff path. She asked him where you were and he was very evasive. She said he was acting really strangely and had a cut on his forehead. She didn’t know what was wrong, but she was worried. So she called me then went to look for you.”
I nodded. “I heard her calling me, and I told her I was trapped, but then Colin grabbed her.”
“Luckily, that was just as I got back home,” Benjamin said. “I found Tina trying to fight off Colin in the grounds. He ran as soon as he saw me. I chased him, and when I got close, he jumped off the cliff.”
I shuddered.
“He jumped?” I asked. “Or was he pushed?
Benjamin stared straight ahead at the road. “He jumped,” he said firmly.
Back at the house, we had to deal with the police, who obviously had a lot of questions for all of us. When I finally got into bed, I felt like I could sleep for a week, but as Benjamin climbed into bed beside me, my body came alive.
Would I ever get tired of feeling his skin on mine, of feeling his hot hands work their way around my body? I hoped not.
As my fingers trailed their way down Benjamin’s chest, I felt the warm glow of desire heat the top of my thighs.
Benjamin groaned and grabbed my hands. “You need rest, Kate.”
I moved my body closer to him. I wanted to make it as hard to resist me as possible. “I want you,” I whispered against his chest.
He stared at me, his dark eyes burning into mine. “I love you.”
My breath caught in my throat, and tears misted my eyes. “I love you, too.”
I curled up in his arms and I lay like that for ages, just listening to the slow steady beat of his heart.
Eventually I had to get up to answer a call of nature. Reluctantly, I moved away from his warm embrace and made my way to the bathroom.
When I came out, Benjamin was nowhere to be seen. I sat down on the bed. Where had he gone? Less than a minute later, Benjamin walked back in the bedroom with a box under his arm, he wore only his jeans. Dammit, he looked hot.
“Where did you go?” I asked and pouted.
He held up the box. A shoe-sized box. “A present.”
I grinned.
He handed me the box, and I looked at him through lowered lashes.
“And you call me insatiable,” I teased, as I opened the box and pulled out the most sensational high-heeled shoe, covered with tiny crystals.
The shoe sparkled as I held it up to the light. “Pretty,” I said. “Would you like me to try them on?”
The smile dropped from my face, as I caught his expression.
He didn’t looked turned on, or angry, or playful. For the first time ever, I saw fear on Benjamin’s face.
“What is it?” I asked, concerned.
I put the shoe down on the bed and moved towards him.
He looked down at the shoe box. “There’s … uh … something else sparkly in the box.”
I turned my attention back to the box and felt around in the tissue paper.
Then I saw it.
Holy crap . The biggest diamond I had ever seen glinted up at me.
I picked up the ring with trembling fingers and looked up at Benjamin.
He got down on one knee. “Will you marry me, Kate?”
My jaw worked up and down a couple of times, but I couldn’t get the words out.
“I know, I’ve got issues to work out, but I’ll make you a good husband, I promise.”
Still, I couldn’t manage to reply.
“You can think about it if you like,” he said, disappointment shining in his eyes. “Although you should know I bought the ring last week. I’ve been planning this for a while. It’s not just because of the baby.”
I flung my arms around his neck and covered his mouth with mine, kissing him deeply. Then I finally found my voice.
“Yes,” I said. “Of course, I’ll marry you.”
THANKS FOR READING DESIRE part five, the final instalment in the Desire series. I hope you enjoyed it!
I am currently working on a new trilogy, which I can't wait to share with you guys! It focuses on Kate’s sister Tina and how she manages to turn her life around and get the man of her dreams. Sign up for my
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CARRIE COX LOVES TO write hot romance.
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