Now and Forever (21 page)

“If you were mine, I wouldn’t let you out of my sight.” Cara ran her foot down his calf and Ben tossed back most of his beer. He wasn’t tempted by this woman, but she was distracting him. He wanted to drink alone and keep an eye out for Layla.

“How tall are you?” Cara asked.

“6’5”.” Ben reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. He glanced down at the blank screen. “There’s my fiancée looking for me. Better get back. Have a good night.”

“Mmm, you too,” Cara said.

He only planned to escape the chatty blonde, but Ben found himself drawn to the ballroom. Layla was in there.
His
fiancée, with a slippery bastard who was probably coming on to her right now. Just the thought made his face heat with anger.

A side door allowed him to slip into the ballroom without drawing much notice. He gazed around the room, looking for the long, dark waves of Layla’s hair. It was her body that caught his eye, though, her curves filling up a little black dress perfectly. The bottom of the dress swished as Winston led her across the room by the hand.

Ben saw red. The sight of Layla with another man, looking so couple-like, made him wish he was carrying his gun right now. No, fuck that. His fists would work better in this instance.

Winston grabbed Layla’s ass and it was all Ben could do not to roar and break into a run. Thank
fuck
, Layla shook him off and was clearly giving him a piece of her mind.

When she saw him coming, Layla’s face broke into an expression that was a mixture of relief and worry.

“The fuck is this?” Ben cried when he reached the foursome. The other couple looked like they wanted to fall through the floor. They were edging their way away from the others.

“Everything’s fine,” Layla said firmly. “I won’t be working for Brian’s company anymore. Will you take me home?”

“Don’t be so rash,” Brian said, looking at Layla quizzically. “I’ve maybe had too much to drink, but I certainly didn’t mean to offend.”

“Either she quits or I’m kicking your ass,” Ben said, arching his brows at Winston. “Or maybe all of the above.”

“This is your fiancé, then?” Brian said to Layla, looking at Ben like he was a stain on one of his expensive suits. “The police officer?”

“This is my fiancé, yes, and we’re leaving now,” Layla said, grabbing Ben’s arm. “Best of luck with the company.”

“We can all have a drink before you go,” Brian offered. “Shall I see if they have the canned beer you probably like, officer?”

Ben lunged at Brian, who stepped back and coolly adjusted one of his cufflinks.

“Careful, officer,” he said, arching a well-groomed brow. “My bodyguard is on his way over here.”

Ben gave Brian a disgusted look. “Why so smug, Winston? Surely that doesn’t get you any pussy – being a guy who needs a bodyguard instead of a guy like me, who could be one.”

“You might be surprised how quickly thighs part for me, officer. Money and power are a powerful aphrodisiac for most women.”

“Power?” Ben shook his head and laughed. “Sure, they like your money, so they tolerate the sex. But they’d rather get fucked by a beast like me, who’s not pretty and proper like you are.”

Layla’s face heated with anger at his words. “Hold up,” she said. Ben and Brian turned to look at her, but she spoke directly to Ben. “No one but me is getting fucked by you, just so we’re clear. Not now and not later.”

“Goddamn right,” Ben said, his eyes darkening. “And the same goes for you. I won’t tolerate another man putting his hands on what’s mine.”

“Well, maybe you should be
nicer
to what’s yours.”

“It’s not my nice side that makes you scream my name though, is it?”

Her cheeks flushed. So fucking hot. Ben’s urge to apologize to her with words was fading. He wanted to
show
her what she meant to him.

“Let’s go home,” she said. She wanted it, too.

Ben gave Winston and his bodyguard the finger and wrapped his arm around Layla’s waist, making sure his hand was on her ass.

***

As soon as they stepped into the hotel lobby, Layla stopped and whirled to face Ben.

“What are you doing here?”

“I needed to see you,” he said. “I have something to tell you.”

Ben’s expression, from his worried brow to the set of his lips, was sheepish. It was so rare Layla didn’t know what to say.

“Is everything okay?” she finally asked.

“Yeah, it’s just—”

“Wait. Let’s go find my coat. Then we can get out of her and talk in private.”

From the fire in his eyes, she knew privacy was exactly what Ben wanted right now. She did, too. His reaction to seeing another man touching her made her want
him
to touch her.

He nodded and led her across the lobby.

“Coat room?” he asked a uniformed luggage attendant.

“Around the corner,” the attendant answered, pointing.

When Ben and Layla arrived at the coat check counter, a maid was lazily running a feather duster over the counter. Ben craned his head to look past her.

“Anyone working in here?” he asked.

“No, they’re on break. That’s why I’m cleaning,” the maid said, as though it was obvious.

“But my coat’s in there,” Layla said. “And I’m ready to go.”

The maid shrugged. “I can try to find it if you want. But I’m supposed to be upstairs in five minutes.”

“Can I just get it myself?”

“Sure.” The maid reached for a ring of keys and turned one in the door. “Just make sure it locks when you close it.”

Ben followed Layla into the room, closing the door gently. “Which coat is it?” he asked.

“My long black wool one. There are hundreds of coats in here, though.” She looked through the section of coats closest to her.

“Might as well look since we have to wait anyway,” Ben said.

Layla shuffled through the hanging coats in silence.

“You look absolutely stunning tonight,” Ben said. She turned to smile at him.

“Thank you.”

He approached and covered one of her cheeks with his large hand, stroking his thumb across her lips lightly. “I love these lips,” he said, his low tone nearly a whisper. “I love the smart, sassy words that come out of them. The way they part when I kiss you. The taste of them – so sweet.”

Warm desire pooled between Layla’s thighs as he spoke. She reached her arms around his neck and pressed herself against him, leaning up to kiss his jaw line. She eased her lips slowly down to his neck, and his arms tightened around her waist.

As soon as his mouth met hers, she was consumed with need for him. He’d come here to claim her, and dammit, she wanted to be
claimed
. Spoken for. By Ben. He was the only man she’d ever wanted that from. It was against her independent nature, but from him, it was impossible to resist. She was in love with this brash, overbearing caveman.

He shoved her into the closet wall and she felt the whoosh of coats parting followed by the pounding of her back against the wall. It would hurt later, but right now it felt so incredibly good. Ben was kissing her hard now, and she tasted his hunger for her.

While he was hiking her dress up around her waist, she fumbled with the button of his suit pants. This moment of heavy breathing, deep arousal and the mingling scents of perfume on the coats was exactly what she needed. Right here and now – no more waiting.

Ben helped her with the zipper on his pants and then parted her thighs, lifting her body and thrusting himself inside in one powerful motion.

“Fuck,” he groaned against her ear. She locked her legs around him, her body meeting his every stroke into her.

“So good,” she whispered desperately. “Ben, it’s so fucking good.”

He lifted her thighs higher, allowing him to get deeper inside of her. She was trying to stay quiet, so she sank her nails into his shoulders to let him know she was coming. Her thighs clenched around him tightly. With a hot, deep exhale against her neck, he thrust inside her one last time, keeping his hips locked tightly against hers for a few seconds.

“Shit,” he muttered softly, easing his body away from hers slowly. “Some self-control I’ve got around you, huh?”

“I love you,” she said, smiling and stroking his cheeks. “No other man could ever make me consider becoming Wilma Flintstone.”

Ben looked down at her apologetically. “I’ve been kind of an asshole about that.”

“If having a wife who will stay at home with your kids is important to you, there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s just not me. But I can’t lose you, Ben. Maybe I’m the one who needs to open my mind to doing something for you instead of myself.”

“No. Having you is what’s important. I don’t know the first thing about being a good husband or father. I thought that you being at home was the way for us to be good parents. But my sister set me straight. I’ve been doubting myself about it anyway, you know that.”

Layla’s heart hammered uncontrollably. “I so want this to be true. Are you saying you’re still thinking about it, or . . . ?”

“I’m saying that if we have daughters, I want them to grow up to be ass kickers like you. And if we have sons, I want them to marry ass kickers like you. I was wrong for thinking you had to leave your job and let me be the sole provider.”

Her eyes were filling with tears, and Layla blinked to let them fall so she could see him. “So . . . we’re getting married, then?”

“If you’ll have me.”

“Ben!” She threw herself against him. “I’d never have any other man!”

“When?” He looked at her hopefully.

“As soon as possible.”

“Like. . . a few months soon, or
soon
?”

“I don’t want to wait,” she said. “I waited so long for you, and . . . I don’t need a fancy dress or bridesmaids or invitations. All I want is to be your wife.”

He smiled, his eyes shining. “That’s all I want, too. Buy a pretty dress, clear your schedule and let me take care of the rest.”

“Hello?” a male voice called. Layla’s eyes widened with terror. Ben pulled her dress down past her hips and then pulled his pants back up and zipped them quickly.

“It’s not there, honey!” he said, stepping back out of the coats. “Oh, hi. Do you work here? We’re looking for a coat, maybe you can help.”

Layla adjusted her dress, ran a hand over her hair and stepped out to stand next to Ben. The skinny coat attendant’s cheeks reddened and he looked down. So damned embarrassing. Yet so completely worth it.

***

Emma cringed as she folded her strapless ivory dress in half and put it in a garment bag. Hopefully it wouldn’t be a mess by the time they landed in . . . wherever they were going.

Cole had told her to pack her passport, a dress for the ceremony and nothing else. She’d smiled at the last bit. Being naked would get old eventually. After all, they had to eat sometime.

Her initial flat-out panic over the idea of a spontaneous trip had faded. Cole had covered all the bases. His firm had given him an extra week off before he had to come back to work. He’d worked with the staff at the bakery to make sure everything would be covered in Emma’s absence, down to quizzing them about where to order ingredients if they ran out.

And the most exciting part for Emma was that Cole and Ben had planned this trip together. Ben and Layla would be getting married at the mystery destination as well.

Cole stuck his head past the door frame of their bedroom to look at her. “Did you pack your toothbrush?”

She gave him a puzzled expression. “Didn’t I tell you about my vow to never brush my teeth again once I’m married?”

“Cute, Carson. And comfortable shoes. We’ll be walking.”

“I planned on being mostly horizontal after the ceremony.”

Cole strolled into the room with a grin. “Oh, you will be, baby. Don’t worry about that.”

Emma threw a low-rise bikini bottom into her suitcase. Her bump wouldn’t be an issue in that one. And the top . . . well, she’d fill it out extra well with her slightly larger boobs.

“It’s kind of cool that our baby gets to come on our honeymoon with us,” she said.

“We can tell Squirt all about it one day.”

“Where are we going?” Emma had been begging him to tell her since he’d dropped this surprise on her yesterday.

“Someplace warmer than here.”

“It’s Chicago in December, Cole, so that’s pretty much the entire planet.”

He smiled and arched his brows. “I’m gonna call a cab to take us to the airport. Can you be ready in ten minutes?”

“Yeah, I think so. You said we’re all on the same flight, right? Us, Ben and Layla, and all four parents?”

“Yep. Dani and Melanie, too.”

“Dani? As in – my Dani?”

“Your Dani. Can’t have you marrying me without a maid of honor.”

Emma let go of the straw hat she was trying to stuff in her bag and threw her arms around Cole. “You did that? That’s amazing. Thank you.”

“We’ll have a great time. All the people we love will be there.”

“Everyone but Shay,” Emma said. She didn’t want to bring up a painful subject, but she wanted Cole to know she thought of his sister as someone they loved.

He nodded and looked down. “I talked to my mom about that. She said Shay wouldn’t be able to handle flying. And she’s doing pretty well, so she needs to stay in the routine she has at Tall Oaks.”

Emma brought one of his hands to her lips and kissed it. “We’ll take lots of pictures, buy her something special from wherever we’re going and go see her soon.”

“Mom and Dad want us to all go there for Christmas.”

“I’d love that.”

“You need any help packing?” he asked.

“No, I’m almost ready. I’m almost as excited about getting away from the snow and freezing cold as I am about us getting married.” She thought about her words and then squealed with delight. “We’re getting married!”

Cole wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close. “Tonight when we get there I want to have my wicked way with Emma Carson for the last time. Tomorrow night when we go to bed, you’ll have my last name.”

Emma broke into a smile. She was so ready for this. Her inner adolescent had been ready for almost a decade.

***

As soon as her feet hit solid ground, Layla jumped into Ben’s arms, wrapping her legs around his waist. “You’re the best! Fiji? This is un-fucking-believable.”