Broken: A Mountain Man's Romance

by Mia Ford, Bella Winters

Then the waves crash over me like a tsunami, shattering through my body. I buck, I writhe, I think I yell top note I just don’t know anymore... I’m like a wild, crazy animal who has absolutely no control anymore.

  The pleasure gets to Ben at almost the same moment, so at that moment we kiss to swallow up one another’s screams. It feels amazing, it builds our bond even tighter. I freaking love every moment of it. I cling to him, I hold him and I honestly hope that I never have to let him go.

  Chapter Eleven – Ben

  As we lay in Serena’s bed panting next to one another, my brain isn’t in my head anymore. It can’t be, somewhere during that intense orgasm it must have flown away, that’s the only explanation I have for the words that come out of my mouth next, that despite my money are nothing like me at all.

  “This place is tiny and a bit crappy. How can you live here?”

  Instantly, I cringe, but I don’t say anything to try and rectify my words. They’re out there now, there’s no way I can make them any better. I can tell from Serena’s crestfallen face that I’ve been an asshole, but I don’t know how to make it better.

  “I know, it is small I suppose,” she replies in a small voice. “But I’m used to it. I’ve been here for about five years so now it’s just home.” She shrugs, trying to act blasé, but I can see this really bothers her. “I guess it won’t be for much longer though. I’m going to have to move if Jenny gets the job. There’s no way I can afford it on my own.”

  I want to offer to pay for it for her, but something inside me tells me that it’ll be the wrong thing to say. Just because I have money doesn’t mean I should flash it and be arrogant about it. “Can you not... get another roommate?” I ask cautiously. “To live in Jenny’s room?”

  “Yeah, I suppose I could. I just... I don’t know what it’ll be like living here with someone else. I don’t think it’ll be the same.” She pushes herself into a sitting position. “I guess I won’t worry too much about it yet, I’ll wait to see what happens first.” She might not even get the job so I don’t want to get carried away with worry just yet.” She pushes herself out of the bed and straightens down her top and skirt. I feel bad that I didn’t manage to get her naked but it all happened far too quickly. “Anyway, I’m just headed to the bathroom then I’ll get a drink. You want something?”

  “Water, please. Thank you, Serena.”

  “Sure.” Her smile is a little unsure. Her body language is awkward which makes me very curious. I want to know why, after that mind blowing craziness, she’s acting that way. She just gave me the best sex ever, and she doesn’t even seem to realise that. How do I tell her without being weird about it. “I’ll be right back.”

  “I’ll be here,” I reassure her in case she fears I might run away at the first opportunity I get. “Waiting for you.”

  She nods, but doesn’t look any more convinced, then she spins on her heels to leave.

  I get a glimpse of her butt as she leaves the room which sparks my desire all over again. It’s almost five in the morning now, I don’t know if either of us have it in us for round two, but I still really can’t wait until it happens again. I have no desire to race out of here, despite the fact that my bed at home is so much more comfortable, with Serena I just want to be with her.

  I definitely like her, I think I could fall for her.

  I don’t like hearing that she has all these problems, that I can’t immediately solve. I mean, I could solve them by throwing some money at her but I don’t want things to get weird. Serena isn’t the gold digger type, I’ve seen enough of them in my time to know, and I know that she’ll be offended. So what can I do? How can I help her?

  My brain racks, but in all honesty I’m far too tired to come up with some logical solution. I know it’s there somewhere in my brain, but I can’t find it anywhere. I hope that with a bit of sleep it’ll come to me. My eyes flicker. I want to stay awake to see Serena when she comes back into the room, but I know that I can’t. The exhaustion, plus the expensive champagne, has got the better of me, and combined with the post orgasmic bliss is too much. I promised Serena that I would be here, I want to be awake too, but I just can’t seem to make it.

  The blackness comes for me quickly, and I succumb to it, but Serena is in my brain the whole time, infiltrating my dreams and making me fall for her all over again...

  ***

  My eyes snap open as soon as the sunlight streams through the window... or at least as soon as I notice it. By the time my vision adjusts I realise that it’s actually quite bright, so it’s probably pretty late in the morning. I move my hand to the side, expecting to feel the softness of Serena’s skin next to me, but all I get are cold sheets.

  The bed is cold and empty, and it has been for a while now.

  “Serena?” I croak, pushing myself into a sitting position. “Where are you?”

  The last thing I remember is Serena going to the bathroom and to get a drink. There’s a tall glass of water next to me and a dent in the bed which suggests she came back to sleep, but for some reason she’s gone all over again. I need to find out where and what’s going on with her. The last thing I want is for the most amazing night of my life to turn into something awkward and weird.

  I take a massive gulp of the water and I get out the bed. I pad across the room and to the door which opens up into her living room. This home is so small that it doesn’t even have hallways, it’s so cramped, the complete opposite to mine, but it’s Serena’s home and she’s clearly terrified of losing it.

  “Serena?” She’s sitting on the couch and curled over herself as if she might be crying. My blood runs cold, is this my fault? Is she upset because she slept with me? I don’t want to be her mistake. “Serena, are you okay?”

  She lifts up her face to look at me and the red rims around her eyes prove that she has been crying. “I’m sorry, Ben, this is bad timing. I don’t mean to be upset right now, this isn’t right.”

  I perch on the chair opposite her and lean my elbows onto my knees. I don’t want to get too close in case I am the problem here. “What’s going on? Don’t worry about timing, or whatever, just tell me.”

  It’s weird to care. I can’t recall the last time that any woman and her emotions, aside from my mother of course, got to me. It feels all odd and shaky inside, I almost don’t know what the hell I’m supposed to do with myself.

  “It’s Jenny.” She holds up her cell phone to indicate that she’s just been on a call. “She just called me. She got the job so she’s definitely leaving.” She sobs a little, but I feel frozen. I don’t know how I’m supposed to behave now. “I know I already knew about this and I had some time to prepare, but it’s still a shock. I mean she’s going to be gone, she’ll be travelling the world on some cruise ship and I’ll still be stuck here. Alone, with a job I hate and no home.”

  “A job you hate?” I can’t help being a little offended by that. That’s how we met.

  “Oh not you,” she reassures me. “I’ve loved spending time with you, but all the other guys in there are horrible. Plus if I have to move then I’ll probably live too far away to make it worth it. I can’t travel too far across the city at that time of morning in that outfit, you know, it just isn’t safe.”

  “I’ll always walk you,” I insist, trying to make her smile. “You know that.”

  She smirks but looks down. Her sadness isn’t going anywhere any time soon. Even I can’t help with that. “Yeah, I know, I just don’t like the way that everything is changing much too quickly. It’s a bit much.” She wipes some stray tears that fly out of her eyes. “Sorry, I know I’m being an idiot, it’s just the news just came through and I’m shocked.”

  I move over to where she’s sitting on the couch and put my arms around her. As I do my mind ticks over, my brain scans right through it for any possible solution. I know it needs to be in there somewhere, it has to be.

  Oh my God...

  As my brain hits upon it, the jackpot idea, I pause for a moment just
checking through it in my mind. It’s perfect, but radical and I need to check if it’s smart before I actually go through with it. I like the idea, I like Serena, but I don’t want to do anything rash. I don’t want to do anything rash that could ruin us....

  Nope, it’s great, I’m going to go for it.

  “Why don’t you come and live with me for a while?” Predictably, she pulls back and she stares at me like I’m a mad person. “No, I know how that sounds, but just hear me out before you start jumping to conclusions. My house is massive, I have plenty of spare rooms so you could definitely have your own space, there would be absolutely no pressure on your shoulders at all for anything. You could just stay there while you work out what you want to do with your life. I’ll cover all expenses so you don’t have to worry about it, you can stop working in the club and just take some time.”

  She stands up and paces the room, clearly stunned by my insane suggestion. I knew she would be, I feel a bit like that myself, but once she takes a moment she’ll come around I just know it.

  “I’m not saying you have to make a decision right now,” I tell her reassuringly. “Why don’t you just come with me to mine and take a look. See if it’s something you could get on board with.”

  “But won’t it be weird? Like, after us hooking up and stuff? Will it be strange for us to live together?” Serena’s face goes a deep bright red now. “I know that’s odd to ask but I want to be sure that this won’t be a mistake.”

  I stand up and join her, taking her hands in mine. “Only if we make it that way. We can make it whatever it is, you know? There’s no pressure. We can just be. We can be roommates or friends, or whatever.” Even I don’t know what I want, which is understandable since we’ve only known each other two days, but there’s something deep in my chest that’s telling me this is right. I’m not impulsive, that’s what’s gotten me this far in life. But now, I want to be. For her. “Just come and see the house, let’s go from there.”

  She nods slowly. “I suppose that can’t hurt.” Her face breaks into a smile. “I would like to see where your house is anyway. It’s only fair since you’ve seen mine. I need a distraction anyway. I don’t want to sit around moping all day. Jenny’s going, that’s that. I don’t want to think about it for another second longer.”

  As Serena heads into her bedroom I wait for the moment of regret to come in but it doesn’t. I just feel good about my decision, I want this. The idea of Serena living in my home, invading my personal space, it just seems like it’s going to be awesome.

  Chapter Twelve – Serena

  What is going on? I ask myself with a small shake of my head. This is insane.

  I cannot believe that Ben has asked me to move in with him, it’s almost like it’s a damn movie. Like when the heroine falls in love far too quickly and things progress in this amazing and romantic way and somehow it all works out. Yes there are a few hiccups along the way, but it’s always a happy ever after. Is this going to be mine? Is this honestly the start of my own love story? Am I headed towards my own happy ever after?

  I pull some fresh clothes on without much thinking about it. I’m just too excited to see deeper into Ben’s world. I might not decide to go along with his crazy, spur of the moment plan, even if it’s way better than any other idea that I’ve heard, but I do want to see his home and this sounds to be a good excuse to do so. I’ve seen all the rich people massive houses around the city, but I’ve never been inside one. I’m interested to see how the other half lives.

  As I move back towards my bedroom door I pause for just a moment. I need to give Ben just a second to really think this through before he does anything rash. I haven’t agreed to his plan, but he might be regretting it already. I need him to work out how he’s feeling before I can decide how I feel about it all. It is his house.

  I count to three in my mind before I push the door open. Fear swirls around inside of me as I do, but I try not to let that show on my face. I keep the smile there as I look at him. “Everything alright, Ben?”

  He gives me this intense look but he doesn’t look like he regrets anything. He actually looks like he might be excited. “I’m good. Let’s get going, shall we? I’m looking forward to you seeing my place.”

  Once we both reach my apartment door, Ben reaches his hand down to grab mine. As his fingers interlock with mine my heart races. This is too much, I’m sure it’s happening too quickly, but I love it. It’s like a whirlwind, a speedy heady rush, it’s how I imagine love is supposed to be. This is how it is, isn’t it? I’m sure this is how people describe it.

  God it feels good. So good I want to explode.

  We walk outside like that, and I’m sure everyone is staring at us. I don’t take my eyes off of Ben much, but I can feel the jealous prickles racing all over my skin. I’m usually the jealous one, on the outside looking in. I’ve never been in the middle of a couple before and it feels awesome. I love that sensation almost as much as I like Ben.

  This is it, I think with utter certainty this time. This is definitely the moment that my real life begins. I can’t believe it, I’m so damn happy I could cry!

  There’s nearly a skip in my step. I feel like all the problems have been lifted from my shoulders and that I could fly. Ben just has this weird way of making everything seem okay. I could fall in love with him given half the chance, I just know it.

  “It’s quite a walk,” he tells me. “I can call a car if you like.”

  “How far is it?” I don’t mind the walk, but I also quite like the idea of him calling a car. I’ve just never had that privilege before. “How long would it take us?”

  He pulls out his cell phone. “I’ll call us a car.”

  We wait impatiently on the side of the road while the car comes to pick us up. I can barely keep my feet still, I keep bouncing about like a bunny. There’s an ache in the balls of my feet and in my ankles from the long night shifts at CeeLow, but the pain isn’t bothering me as much as it probably should be.

  Eventually a black town car with tinted windows turns up. It’s intimidating looking, not the sort of car that I would ever associate with me. Or Ben for that matter, it’s more the kind of vehicle that I would link to organised crime. But when Ben indicates for me to get inside I know that it’s for us.

  “Oh my goodness.” Even the car is luxurious. “This is something else.”

  “Oh it’s okay. My limo is better stocked, but yeah it’ll do.” Ben gives me a cheeky smile and hands me a bottle of water. I suck it back like there’s no tomorrow as the realisation of just how thirsty I am hits me. “Anyway, it won’t be long until we get to mine now, it isn’t really that far at all.”

  I watch out the windows as the houses start getting nicer and nicer. It isn’t long before the sort of place that I live in looks like a shit hole compared to these places, but we’re still going. They get bigger and better and my jealous heart soars. I want one of these places to be mine, they’re just so beautiful...

  “Oh my God.” When we eventually stop it’s outside a home that’s nearly mansion like. It certainly is the biggest place I’ve ever seen in the city. I press my hands up against the window and move my face nearer so I can drink it in. “Is this place yours?”

  “Yep. All mine. The town house is one of my earliest purchases when I started making it big... closely followed by the house I bought for my mother, but that’s on the outskirts of the city. She wanted to stay near her friends...” He trails off when he realises that he’s gotten off track. “Anyway, shall we go inside?”

  I let him lead the way, still looking up at what Ben referred to as a town house. I’m sure this is too big to be classed as a town house. It’s ridiculous. I love it. When we walk inside, I’m even more blown away. It’s modern, sleek, set out in a really nice inviting way. There isn’t a woman’s touch to be seen, but I’m glad about that. It’d be weird to live where another woman has been before. Not that I’ve made my mind up yet.

  “Okay so this is the livi
ng room...” A room with a giant TV and a comfortable looking couch lies in front of me. I spot some fancy art work on the walls, but I don’t get long enough to properly look at it. “...and the kitchen...” Of course he has every cooking appliance known to a man. I’m pretty sure I even see an electric sushi maker. “...there’s a bathroom down there and a utility room, plus the games room.” Then he takes me up the stairs. “I have my office there, there’s a bedroom there and another one there, possibly two...” These spare bedrooms are bigger than my whole apartment. “And my room is up on another floor. You take whatever room here you want, but if you want to see my room it’s up there.”

  I follow him around the house in a state of shock. This is something we could probably actually do without it being too strange or complex. This house is so damn massive it’s ridiculous. We could both live here and keep a distance. It would be a way for us to work out what’s going on between us without having to involve the club anymore, and like Ben said I wouldn’t even need to work there. I could use the time to get back on my feet. I could decide what I want to do with my life it wouldn’t even need to be a permanent thing.

  “This is a lovely home,” I rasp, needing to say something. “You have such a nice place.”

  Ben moves forward and he takes my hands in his. “Serena, you can see now how we can make this work, can’t you? You can see what I see. There’s plenty of room for both of us, no need for us to get under each other’s feet and we can continue to get to know one another.”

  “I have to admit,” I reply with a smile. “At first I thought you were absolutely insane, but maybe now I think different. If you’re absolutely sure this is what you want then maybe we can give it a try. When Jenny goes on her cruise, we can try it as a temporary thing.”