Seven Years of Bad Luck (20 page)

The caption below the photo caught my attention.

‘Major contributor, Benjamin Chase sharing a moment with the lady in his life at the ball’

I read the article and caption aloud to Ben. He didn’t say anything when he got up and left the room, leaving me in his bed wondering what the hell had just happened.

Special lady in his life? This freaked him out? Bet he is trying to figure out how to do damage control. God forbid the ladies think he is taken.

I smirked and laughed inwardly at my own sarcasm. Moments later, Ben reentered the room with his laptop in hand.

Yep. Doing damage control. Probably going to release a statement denying involvement with me.

“What are you doing?” I cautiously asked him as he flopped back into his bed and opened his laptop. He began typing. I resisted the urge to peak at his screen.

“I’m going to the website,” he said nonchalantly.

“Oh. Going to release a formal statement denying the lady in your life?” I said facetiously and playfully elbow-jabbed him.

He looked pensive as he turned his attention from the computer screen to me, and I immediately felt regret for saying something that implied that he was a ladies-man concerned with salvaging his single status with the public. I sounded like a judgmental ass who believed that jerk Stephen. I had never told Ben what Stephen said. Nor did Ben ask, but based in his reaction to my snarky comment, I guessed that he likely knew the things Stephen said to me.

“I-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything by it.” There it was. I was stuttering again.

He turned his attention back to his screen while he spoke. “No Kathleen, I was doing no such thing.” I decided to avoid asking any more questions or even acknowledging the article. I moved along to the second thing Chey told me to check despite my growing aversion to discovering anything else that would undoubtedly spoil my mood. I logged into my Facebook account, and my jaw dropped.

Holy notifications, Batman!

I had multiple messages from friends and family wondering what the occasion was that had me all done up.

The picture of me in the gown that I uploaded attracted lots of attention. The biggest shock came from Aidan. He posted a comment on the photo of me.

‘Even more gorgeous than our wedding day, Kathleen.’

“Aaaaaaghhhhh!” I tossed my phone on the bed towards my feet and covered my face with my hands while I counted to ten. Aidan was being a possessive jerk incognito. He had never once mentioned how I looked on our wedding day, and the only reason he was doing it in such a public way was to lay claim to me.

Here is a novel thought Aidan: I don’t belong to anyone!

I screamed inwardly. When I looked up from my short reprieve, Ben had my phone in his hand staring at the photo, and comment. My gut twisted the moment I saw the confusion on his face. He wore an expression that was unmistakable. I could tell he was shocked and displeased. He tossed the phone back onto the bed and went back to looking at his computer screen. I felt obligated to explain. He deserved to know at least a few things about my past, mainly my marriage and subsequent divorce from Aidan. A peek at my past was the very least I owed him.

“Ah… I um, I was married before. My divorce was final right after I moved here to Dallas.” Ben seemed to listen to me objectively with an indifferent expression on his face.

He might not even give a shit about Aidan’s comment. Why explain?

He gave me a tight nod of his head and sat silently staring at his computer screen and typing. He stopped and turned to me. “The divorce. His idea or yours?” I shrugged.

“Mine,” I said nonchalantly.

“So where is…” He raised his brow, prompting me to fill in the blanks.

“Aidan. His name is Aidan, and he lived in El Paso, last I knew. Though I wouldn’t know for sure. The last I spoke to him or saw him was the day you saw me bust my ass in the airport. He could have taken a job someplace else by now.” Ben grinned while obviously reminiscing about the most embarrassing moment of my life.

Jerk! It wasn’t funny. Well, okay, it was funny, but not that funny.

The moment passed, and his impassive look returned. “It would appear that he may not be over you.” He pointed at my phone.

Okay, fine. Going to give him the whole story. Maybe just the summarized version.

I drew in a deep breath and readied myself before I opened the metaphorical can of worms. “It doesn’t matter if he is hung up on me or not. We were married for seven years; yes, do the math. I was very young and dumb.” I rolled my eyes and nodded my head dramatically. “We lived in a few different places. Always wherever he was offered a better position than the last. Texas, Illinois, Colorado, and then back to Texas. Aidan is in real estate development and travels a lot. I was left alone most of the time. Cheyenne has been my only lasting friend. She has been there for me through every affair, every lie, every woman who swore she was in love with my husband, everything.”

Even through the car accident that took my baby.

I kept that detail to myself. For the time being. Ben winced.

“Ouch. You said every affair as in plural? How many?” I covered my face with my hands, utterly embarrassed. I didn’t have an actual numeric answer for Ben, so I gave him the next best thing.

“Aidan cheated so often I lost count. Dozens of women. Anyway, it doesn’t matter. I had to walk away and he decided to confess his undying love and regret when I was in El Paso finalizing everything. Too little, too late. So here I am.” I flopped back into the pillows as Ben shut his laptop, set it aside, lay back, and rolled toward me. His intense blue-green eyes staring down at me lit my skin on fire and ignited something inside me.

“Indeed, Kathleen. Here. You. Are.” He said pausing for chaste kisses between each word. I rolled onto my side to face him and peppered his chest with kisses. I was beginning to realize that nuzzled against Ben’s chest was my new favorite place to be. He sighed as I indulged in my new favorite place.

Love this.

My thoughts about ‘loving’ being snuggled up against his chest should have been alarming to me. Normally, such a thought would be alarming, but in that moment in his arms, against his warm all masculine chest, I couldn’t be further from alarmed. Being there felt good. It felt right. I allowed myself the moment free of all self-doubt and inner conflict. Ben must have lost patience with my teasing kisses because one minute I was in my new favorite place and the next I was once again on my back with Ben resting the full weight of his erection against my wanton body. His eyes bore into me.

“I meant what I said. No fighting this, Kathleen.” His voice was nothing short of stern and the right amount of intimidating. I nodded my head.

“I won’t,” I whispered breathlessly. He came down on me and kissed me senseless. His lips worked their magic on me. I moaned into his mouth while his expert tongue slid back and forth against mine. He groaned when I slid my hands down his back to grip his perfect, firm ass in my hands. I squeezed his rear and snaked my legs around his waist. Despite my limited height, I was able to cross my ankles behind him. I was wrapped around Ben in a heated, sex-kitten death grip. He chuckled through our kiss when I wrapped myself around him like I’d never let go. His mouth left mine. I whimpered and pouted mockingly.

“Don’t, worry baby, I’m not going anywhere, and neither are you.”

I’m not?

Before I could give it much thought, Ben resumed his mouth plundering. He gripped my wrists and wrenched them high above my head. He held my wrists in one of his big hands easily to allow the other to wonder down my body. His free hand massaged my breast. He took my taut nipple into his mouth. I tilted my head back and moaned. He abruptly abandoned his ministrations on my breasts and his mouth came to m,y neck. He moaned appreciatively. He licked and sucked at my skin.

“I need you,” he whispered, and I wondered if he even meant to say those words aloud. He leaned towards his nightstand and grabbed a condom. He covered his pulsing erection and poised the wide crown of his cock at my slick opening. We were both panting and frantic to consume each other. His lips crashed into mine as he sank into me slowly, sliding in inch by rigid inch. I was thankful for his tenderness with me. My body had not experienced a man in months, and taking Ben’s thick length the night before had left me sore in the best kind of way. He paused once he was fully buried in me. I felt the tip of his cock against my womb, and the thought that he was touching me there filled my stomach with butterflies. He remained completely still in me.

“How long has it been?” He probed.

“A while,” I whispered.

“How long is a while?” He demanded an answer.

“Not since Aidan. Eight months.” My voice was full to the brim with mortification and shame. I squirmed beneath him pleading for him to move. But he remained still, holding me by the wrists and looking me in the eyes.

“He the only man you’ve been with?” I was sure that my face had reached the pinnacle of deepest shades of red. “That’s what I thought.” Ben let my wrists go and wrapped my arms around him. “Doesn’t matter. You’re mine now, baby.” He withdrew from me, leaving just the tip at my opening and slid back into me, stroking all the right places. I clung to him with my arms wrapped around his body. He took me deep and slow. Each deep stroke butted against the deepest parts of me and edged me closer to climax. I dug my nails into his back as I got closer to bliss.

My core tightened, and my center tingled. Ben grunted into my ear as he, too, drew closer to his own release. “Me and you, baby.” Hearing his possessive words in my ear sent me flying over the edge into a glorious head-spinning orgasm. My body clenched around Ben’s cock and milked him for every drop of his release. His full weight came down on me while we reveled in our post coital contentment. He brushed slow circles on the cap of my shoulder with his fingertips. We lay silent together. Ben’s lips rested against my neck in the most comfortable way. I could have lain there for hours, days even. He finally withdrew himself from me, and I genuinely pouted. Ben disappeared into his bathroom and returned only a moment later. He slid into his bed and sidled up beside me. We were lying together, bare as could be. I smiled my completely sated, delirious smile. “Better?” he murmured with his lips pressed to my temple.

“Mhmm,” I cooed back. Ben returned my smile with one of his own and slung his arm over my shoulder. His graceful fingers began drifting up and down my spine coaxing a shiver from me. He chuckled deep and low. The sound rolled through his chest and vibrated against my lips.

“What’s with the tattoo, Kathleen?” My heart seized in my chest, and my mind raced. I felt like a fish out of water flipping and flopping all about in a frantic state of oxygen deprivation. I didn’t have an excuse for it, only the truth. I went with the latter.

“It’s a long story.”

“We have all day, Kathleen.”

Here goes.

“So after I moved here, I had it done. It’s a representation of my past, of all my mistakes. Of someone I know and hope to forget. The bluebird represents freedom and beauty,” I said rather flatly. Okay, so I may have edited the truth a bit, but I didn’t have it in me to explain the lot of it or lay all of my cards on the table for Ben. He would run in the opposite direction if he had the slightest clue of how screwed up I was. I would need time to process this thing I had with Ben before I could reveal the details of my past. Ben looked disbelieving as he nodded his head and said

“Hmm.” I could tell that he knew I was holding back. I felt crushed by the weight of unspoken truths and needed to get out of there quickly. I couldn’t stand to look at him knowing that he deserved something I couldn’t give at that moment: full disclosure.

I had finally convinced Ben to take me home after we shared the lunch he prepared in his fancy kitchen. He had held my hand and kissed me softly every chance he could. He smelled my hair and kept me within touching distance the entire time I was with him. He whispered sweet words of affirmation into my ear that sent chills up my spine. Neither one of us confronted the boss-employee dilemma. I had assumed we would just muddle through the awkward mess later. Or not at all.

When I arrived home, Cheyenne was her tenacious self, asking a million and one questions. “So, was he, is it…” she said with arched eyebrows and prompting nods.

I sighed dramatically. “You have zero shame; you know that, right?” She shrugged and smiled proudly. “Yes, Chey. He is definitely, um, blessed, in that department.” Cheyenne squealed like a stuck pig and hopped from one foot to another.

“I knew he would be! He is too hot to not be blessed all over. Details, Kat! I want details!”

I knew she wouldn’t give up easily, so I conceded to her curiosity and recounted the entire night with Ben. Cheyenne listened to my blow-by-blow account of my night with dreamy eyes.

“So are you two going to date now or what?”

I shook my head vehemently. “No way! The last thing I need right now is a man to report to. I am in no position to commit. You know that.”