by Jessica Gray
“Well, if this isn’t an unexpected surprise, Fred. Irena wasn’t expecting you back for a few more days.” Georgia glanced at the grip he had on Irena’s arm and her expression grew grim.
Fred, momentarily distracted by Georgia’s bold greeting, loosened his grip, and Irena yanked her arm away and dashed through the throng of people.
She could hear him yelling for her, but she kept running, her head down as she skirted the dance floor and headed for the doors that led to the kitchen. She pushed through the brightly lit kitchens, tears streaming down her face as she struggled to find a safe place to hide.
“Miss, you can’t be back here…”
“Is there another way out of here?” she asked, wrapping her arms around herself and trying to pull herself together enough to escape.
Several employees pointed toward the far left shoulder and she nodded her thanks. She darted in that direction, her only goal to get as far away from her husband as possible.
Chapter 13
Ben returned home after leaving the gym, still in a bad mood, and walked to the corner liquor store a few blocks down. He didn’t normally drink, but tonight he needed some booze to forget Irena and the shitty day. He’d get drunk, sleep it off, and tomorrow he’d have forgotten all about the gorgeous woman with the dark hair who turned him on like no other.
He purchased a bottle of vodka – because Vodka didn’t leave him with a headache the next morning – tucked the bag under his arm and shoved out of the liquor store. Deep in thought, he wasn’t paying attention to his surroundings, until a petite body hurtled out of the alleyway and barreled straight into him. Ben instinctively grabbed the person to keep her from falling. The bottle of vodka didn’t fare so well and shattered on the pavement.
“Hey, don’t you have eyes in your head?” he shouted at the tiny person in his arms. Then he put her on her own feet again, reared back and froze. “Irena?”
Her eyes were wide, her makeup streaked under her eyes and fresh tear tracks continued to stain her flushed cheeks. She shivered despite the balmy evening air. As soon as she’d regained proper footing, she darted around him and tried to run down the sidewalk.
“Whoa there!” he said, spinning around and catching her arm to pull her to a stop. “Tell me what’s wrong.”
She winced under his touch and started crying again, continuing to pull on her arm in a frantic attempt to keep running.
He looked around, but couldn’t see anyone following her. His anger at her had vanished and instead the need to protect her consumed him. “Irena, who are you running away from?”
“Fred…he…please don’t let him find me…”
Ben struggled to understand her words through her chattering teeth. Her frantic sobs masked the meaning of her words. “Tell me what’s going on. Has someone hurt you?”
She stared at him like a wounded doe and then nodded, yanking on her arm once again. Ben wrapped an arm around her shoulders and said something he hoped he wouldn’t regret. “Baby, nobody’s gonna hurt you. Not as long as I’m around. I live just on the other block. Come with me and we’ll get you off the street.”
Irena finally stopped fighting him and let him lead her across the street and down to his apartment building like a lamb to the slaughter.
Once they reached his apartment, he unlocked the door and ushered her inside. She was still shivering, so he set her down on the couch, grabbed a blanket from the other room and wrapped it around her. Then he offered her a glass of water.
“Drink this,” he said, placing the glass in her hands and holding her trembling hands in place until he was sure she wouldn’t spill it.
He hooked a small stool with his foot and sat down in front of her, leaving only a few inches between their knees. Though he didn’t touch her, he could sense the anxiety radiating off of her. Between sobs, Irena drank the water, her eyes continually darting to the front door as if she expected someone to barge through the door at any moment.
“No one’s coming in here,” he said. Ben wanted to press her to his chest and take away all her fears, but he didn’t dare. After what happened this morning, he wasn’t sure she’d appreciate it. It was a mistake, she’d said.
Ben observed her closely and finally he noticed the tension leaving her body. It became soft and round, and devastatingly sexy. He should probably send her away. Right now.
His gut told him there was a lot more to the situation than met the eye. He sure as hell didn’t want to go back to jail if she decided to turn against him and make it look like he’d attacked her in the first place. Like Caroline. Ben’s chest constricted and he opened his mouth to send her away. As if she anticipated his words, she looked at him with a small smile and his heart lurched. God damn it. I can’t do it.
Several minutes elapsed until she finished the glass of water and set it down on the coffee table. “Thanks.”
“Feeling better?”
Irena nodded, her cheeks having gained some color.
He placed his forearms on his thighs and held her gaze. “Who’s hurting you?”
She hastily shook her head. “Nobody. I just got scared…”
“Bullshit!” He knew she was lying and a bomb of anger exploded through his body. She’s not trustworthy. She’ll betray you just like Caroline did. “You need to leave.”
Her shoulders caved in as his words registered and she accepted…what, he didn’t know. But she nodded and dragged her battered body into a standing position. She started to lose her balance and he instinctively reached out a hand to steady her, but pulled it away just as fast when she winced in pain and moved away from him.
Irena made her way to the door, her arms wrapped around her middle and looking so defenseless, he focused on the tips of his shoes so he wouldn’t lose his resolve. When he didn’t hear the door open, he finally looked up to see her staring at it with her hand on the handle and shaking like a leaf.
“Weren’t you leaving?” he demanded.
She nodded and then finally she spoke. Her whisper was barely audible and he had to take two steps toward her in order to hear her words.
“My…husband…he’s been beating me…that’s why I wanted to learn how to fight…I ran away…I’m so sorry I got you involved in my mess…” She broke off on a sob and reached for the door handle, but he stopped her.
“Don’t go.”
Ben stepped up behind her and pulled her back against his chest. His show of compassion broke through the tenuous control she had on her emotions and deep, racking sobs tore from her throat.
He turned her in his arms and felt her tears dampen his shirt and shoulder. “Shush. It’s going to be alright. No one can hurt you here.”
When her tears showed no sign of stopping, he couldn’t resist her allure and pressed her petite body closer to his own. He tipped her chin up with a finger and kissed her lightly at first, and then he nipped her bottom lip and really tasted her.
The energy between them exploded and he pressed her back against the closed door, using one hand to pull her thigh up on his hip and stepping into the cradle of her legs. “God, you taste so good.”
“Ben. Don’t stop.”
He had no intention of ever stopping. Her tears had dried and she tightened her arms around his neck, moaning when he let his fingers skim down her back to rest at the curve of her ass. When he squeezed lightly there, she pressed her core against him and he was lost.
Without any further thought, he used both hands to lift her, wrapping her legs around his waist and headed for his bedroom.
Chapter 14
Irena wrapped her arms around Ben’s muscled shoulders, her heart racing and desire pulsing through her veins. It felt so good and safe to be with him, so right. She couldn’t remember a time she’d been more aroused, and the sheer intensity of her emotions overwhelmed her.
Thankfully, as he pushed the door to his bedroom open, rational thought floated away and her heated body took over. Ben pressed her harder against his body and she could
feel his muscles moving as he turned and laid her down on his bed.
His body overpowered hers as he kissed his way down her neck and her collarbone, while his hands stroked over her hips, across her stomach, to cup her center through her jeans. She arched into his warm palm.
Ben released the button on her jeans with one hand while slipping the other one beneath her shirt. His manly scent hit her nostrils and combined with his hands on her bare skin and his mouth nibbling her earlobe, it made her writhe in pleasure. Her entire body tingled from head to toe and her core clenched with desire.
When he raised her upper body to remove her shirt and bra, she barely noticed and just reveled in the intense sensations. Ben worshipped her body with his hands, his mouth, his eyes…it was a revelation to her. This man she barely knew made her feel things she’d only read about in the dirty novels she hid on her kindle.
He kissed his way toward her naked breast, licking the sensitive skin and drawing smaller and smaller circles around one of her nipples. Holding her breath, she waited for the obligatory pinch to harden them, like Fred had always done. But nothing happened. Instead, Ben continued to tease her other breast, leaving both nipples standing like taut peaks screaming for his fingers. His mouth.
Irena panted with need and arched her back until he finally settled his mouth over one nipple and suckled hard. “Ohmygod!” she moaned and grabbed his head to keep him in place.
After a while, Ben freed himself from her grip and released her nipple from his mouth. Then he blew air on it. The nipple tightened into a straining nub and sent ripples of ecstasy throughout her entire body, dampening her panties. The wetness confused her. She never got wet.
Fred had been the first and only man she’d been with and with him she’d never reached an orgasm. He’d always complained about her frigidness, her inability to satisfy the needs of a real man.
“You’re so sexy,” Ben whispered, his breath tickling her skin as he dropped his mouth onto her other nipple.
He thinks I’m sexy? But she didn’t have much time to worry about the truth of his statement, because his mouth and hands on her breasts did funny things to her. Things she’d never felt before. It felt like all the air had been sucked from the room and only blazing heat remained. Then he smoothed his hands down, over her ribcage, over the small rise of her stomach and down to the open zipper of her jeans.
When his mouth followed his hands, her breath hitched in her chest and she froze up, bracing herself for his anger. He’d surely explode in a fit of rage as soon as he found out she couldn’t satisfy him. Just like Fred. Her arousal started to fade as doubt and fear consumed her. Once he realized she wasn’t enough woman to please a man, he’d never want to see her again.
“Relax, babe.” Ben kissed her stomach, glancing up at her and then taking one of her hands in his own, kissing her palm. “What’s going on up there?” He tapped a finger on her head.
She turned away. “It’s just…you will be disappointed,” she whispered.
“Disappointed? Me?” Ben gently turned her head to lock eyes with her. His steel blue eyes were now dark with desire, a desire she hadn’t earned and didn’t deserve. “Not gonna happen. See what you do to me?” He directed her hand to the bulging hardness in his jeans.
Irena allowed her hand to fondle him for a moment, feeling a sudden surge of arousal that disappeared as soon as she realized how huge he was. Her nervousness magnified tenfold. She’d barely been able to handle Fred so lacking in the necessary natural lubrication to make sex comfortable. Irena shuddered at the thought of how he’d always insisted on going deeper, demanding she engage in unusual acrobatic positions. Positions that felt awkward at best, often uncomfortable and sometimes outright painful or leaving her raw and cramping.
“What’s wrong?” Ben’s soft voice tore her out of her thoughts.
Resignation written across her face, she said, “I’m sorry…”
Ben drew patterns on her stomach with his fingertips, right above her mound and he quietly asked, “What could you possibly have to be sorry for?”
Irena shook her head. “You’ll see. I’m not… and you won’t be able to penetrate deep enough.”
She watched as Ben’s jaws clenched, but then he forcibly relaxed them and smiled at her. “Babe, you’re perfect. And don’t worry about me okay?”
“What?”
“You’re worried about whether or not you can handle me, right?” he asked.
Irena blushed and nodded.
“Well then, I won’t penetrate you with anything until you ask me to. That way you can tell me when you’re ready.”
“What if I’m never ready?” she asked, surprised at his selflessness, so different from Fred’s arrogance and brutality. How could he even consider holding back and let her set the pace?
Ben winked at her. “Then I’m not doing my job right. I’m willing to wait as long as it takes. I want this to be pure pleasure for both of us. It won’t be fun for me, if it isn’t fun for you. Are we good for now?”
“Yes. Thanks,” Irena whispered and pressed her face into his chest. She was still trying to wrap her head around his proposal. How come he’s not demanding I let him pound his way into me?
After a few moments, her hands slipped under his shirt and her fingers trailed the chiseled pectorals that moved under her touch. Ben took off his shirt and she licked her lips as she gazed at his bare sexiness. His huge masculine chest was devoid of hair – just like his head – and featured several tattoos she hadn’t seen before.
Ben slowly started moving his big hands across her back and down her ass and her legs. “How about I take off these jeans of yours and then you can tell me what you like and what you don’t?”
“You want me to tell you?”
“Sure, Babe. I want to know how to best pleasure you.”
She helped him to get rid of her clothing and blushed furiously at the hungry way he stared at her naked body. When he didn’t make a move, she remembered she was supposed to tell him what she liked. “You really want me to tell you what I like?”
Ben looked at her like a panther on the prowl. “Damn right I do.”
Hot zings rushed to her core and her arousal grew beyond imagination. Without even touching her, Ben had her body reaching for the stars. “Maybe you could start with kissing my breasts?”
He chuckled. “Aye. Sounds like a good plan.” Then he kissed and suckled and nipped and licked all worries and confusion out of her being. Irena moaned, writhed and arched into his touch, desperate for more.
He traced his fingertips across her stomach and upper thighs, his mouth never leaving her nipple. When she shivered beside him, he stopped paying homage to her breasts for a moment and moved his mouth to hers, claiming her mouth in a kiss so tender and full of promise she could only close her eyes and wish this would never end.
His fingers kept teasing her most sensitive spot as he moved his mouth to her ear and nibbled the soft spot behind her earlobe. She moaned. “Ohhh...sooo…good.”
Irena felt his chuckle more than she heard it and next he whispered with a seductive voice, “Like that, Babe?”
“A lot. Can you…I mean…continue?” Irena still felt shy expressing her needs.
“All night long,” he answered, smoothing his fingers over her curls and pressing between her cleft.
Her arousal spiked to unknown heights. “Oaaah. Ben.”
His mouth skimmed down her body leaving a trail of wet kisses and scorching heat, until he moved between her legs, parting them and settling his hips between her thighs, leaving her open to his touch and gaze.
Just his hungry stare sent waves of burning sensations through her and she longed to feel his hands on her bare skin. True to his word, he didn’t penetrate her with his fingers, but teased and tortured every sensitive spot until she begged him with her body for more.
“Want more?” he asked with a sexy grin on his face when she arched her hips into his hand for the fifteenth time.
&
nbsp; “Please…”
“Whatever you want, babe. Hang on,” he said, his voice dense with lust as his thick finger penetrated her drenched core. Since she already dangled at the precipice, that simple touch convulsed her inner muscles with blinding pleasure that ripped through her body as she spasmed around his finger. Irena shattered against his hand, a violent orgasm taking control over every single muscle in her body. She dug her fingernails into the sheets for stability and opened her mouth to scream out his name. “Ben. Oh, god. Ben.”
When her body finally eased and she opened her eyes, it was to see him grinning down at her. “You’re gorgeous when you come.”
The compliment was so carnal, she felt the blood rushing to her cheeks, probably leaving every body part bright red – and yet, she wanted more. Ben seemed to sense her need, because he lowered his mouth to kiss all the way down her stomach. By the time he’d reached her dripping wet folds, she was ready to burst again.
“You taste so good. Come again. For me, ” Ben said and settled between her legs, pulling her calves atop his shoulders. When his tongue slowly licked up and down her folds, her abs constricted and catapulted her upper body into a sitting position.
“That’s so intense.”
“You’re such a turn on,” Ben groaned. “So damn responsive.”
He eased her down on the mattress with is hands and held her there while his tongue plunged into her center. When her hips bucked he intensified his assault and used his teeth to graze her most sensitive spot. Irena felt a monumental orgasm building up…up…up. Until she came screaming his name. In that moment, he moved one hand onto her nipple, squeezing tight. The ripples from her core, the tingles in her breasts, the fireworks in her head, it built up into another even more powerful wave taking her higher…higher…higher.
He entered two fingers into her and intensified the spasms racking her body. When she finally came down after what seemed like an eternity, Irena was completely wrung out, unable to move.
