Benson Siblings Series: A Dark Romance Boxset

by Sarah Bailey

  Hauling myself up off the floor, I opened the door and stepped out. The stock room was empty thankfully. I brushed myself down and checked my bun. It felt like it was still intact. There was nothing for it. Time to get back to the bar.

  I took a deep breath and walked back out, eyes scanning the room. He wasn’t there. My father was gone. I almost sighed in relief.

  “Hey, Ellie, everything okay now?” Sasha asked as she spied me.

  “Um, yeah, sorry about that. Just felt really faint.”

  “It’s cool, glad you’re feeling better.”

  I nodded to her in thanks before moving away to serve someone who’d come up to the bar. I wasn’t sure what my father wanted or why he’d come here. Probably just showing himself to try and intimidate me. Sadly it had worked. I was terrified of him coming back. Now he knew where I worked, did that mean he would find out where I lived?

  I didn’t need this. Not now I was getting my life back together.

  ***

  My phone buzzed next to my head. I’d flopped face down on my bed when I got in from work, not wanting to do anything else. Today had taxed me. Seeing my father kept me on edge for the rest of my shift.

  I rolled onto my side and picked up my phone, letting out a soft sigh when I saw who it was.

  JAMES: I need a fucking drink.

  ME: Bad day?

  JAMES: Just busy. New collection means all hands on deck.

  I stared at his message for a long minute, contemplating how to respond. As much as I wanted to talk to James, my head was pounding. All I wanted was to curl up under the covers and sleep for a week.

  ME: Mine wasn’t any better.

  JAMES: No? Need a drink too?

  ME: Guess so.

  I thought he was going to respond but he didn’t. Shoving the phone away, I hauled myself up and stripped out of my clothes. I pulled on pyjama shorts and a long sleeved sleep top before crawling under the covers.

  The shrill ringing of my phone made me groan. I answered it and put it to my ear without looking at who it was.

  “Hello?”

  “What are you doing?” came James’ deep baritone voice which sent a shiver down my spine.

  I should’ve checked my damn phone first.

  “Right now? Nothing really… Just got in bed.”

  There was a moment of silence.

  “This early?”

  “Haven’t got anything better to do and honestly, my head kind of hurts.”

  “You don’t want company then.”

  My heartrate kicked up a notch. The thought of James being here made me equal parts nervous and excited.

  “Depends what you have in mind.”

  “Pizza, wine and a film.”

  “My flat is tiny. Like seriously tiny.”

  I wasn’t trying to deter him, but at the same time, I wasn’t sure I could handle seeing him after today. Not when my dad had turned up unexpectedly. I slapped my hand over my head. If I let my father’s appearance dictate my life then he would’ve won.

  “And? I’ll bring the booze.”

  “Okay, fine. I’ll text you the address.”

  “Red, white or rosé?”

  “White please.”

  “Consider it done.”

  He hung up without letting me respond. Holy shit, I just agreed to let James come over. The only people I’d ever let in here were the men who delivered my furniture. I tapped out a quick message with my address before launching myself out of bed. The flat wasn’t too messy, but I needed to sort it out.

  Thirty minutes later, I’d tidied everything away, made the bed, brushed my hair and changed into a pair of longer pyjamas, pulling a zip-up hoodie on. I felt self-conscious about my appearance. Should I have changed into jeans?

  What would he think of my place? It was basically one room which housed my kitchen with a little breakfast bar and my bed. I had a TV mounted on the wall so I could watch it from the bed. There was a small bathroom and two cupboards. I had a chest of drawers too, but that was about it. I could’ve probably gotten a sofa in here, but since it was just me, I didn’t see the point.

  It was too late to do anything else because the buzzer went. I hadn’t expected him to be here so soon.

  Fuck.

  I buzzed him in and paced the room, wringing my hands until there was a knock at the door. Walking over to it, I pulled it open. There he stood, looking effortlessly handsome with a carrier bag in one hand and a pizza box in the other. His dark hair was wind ruffled and he had jeans, trainers and a dark green hoodie on, which was unzipped revealing a black t-shirt clinging to his muscular body.

  My mouth suddenly went very dry. James was here. And I was going to be alone with him in my flat where the only place to sit down was the breakfast bar or my bed. My frigging bed.

  “I wasn’t sure what you liked so I just got a margarita. I hope that’s okay.”

  “Um, yeah, uh… come in.”

  I stepped back and he walked in, taking in the surroundings with a casual turn of his head.

  “So you weren’t kidding about it being small.”

  I shrugged, shutting the door behind him as he popped the pizza box on the breakfast bar along with the carrier bag.

  “Glasses?” he asked.

  I felt weird having him here. This was my personal space and there was a man in it. An actual man. Why had I agreed to this? Especially today when I’d seen my father.

  You haven’t seen James in a week. That’s why. You miss him.

  I shifted by him and opened one of the kitchen cupboards, pulling out two wine glasses. The only ones I owned, but at least I had some. Drinking wine out of normal glasses didn’t seem very classy. Not that I was particularly classy. I was standing here in pyjamas and we were about to eat pizza on my bed.

  I was glad he’d bought screw cap bottles because I didn’t have a bottle opener myself. I set the glasses down for him and he poured a generous serving in each one. I got some kitchen towel and popped it on top of the pizza box.

  “Now all we have to do is pick a film,” he said, giving me a lopsided smile.

  “Lucky I have Netflix.”

  His smile got wider and he stepped back to allow me to move over to the bed. I picked up the remote from the bedside table and turned the TV on. I navigated to Netflix and crawled onto the bed, sitting up against the headboard.

  “What do you fancy?” I asked as he popped the pizza on the bed and returned to collect the wine.

  He put the glasses on the bedside table and sat down, tugging off his trainers before he sat next to me.

  “I’ll watch anything. Dante and I have shit film marathons where we just spend the whole time taking the piss out of the bad dialogue, crappy plots and awful CGI.”

  Handing me a glass, he gave me a smile. I tried not to think too much about him being on my bed and how close we were sitting to each other. I concentrated on the TV, flicking through the menu.

  “What about that one?” he asked, pointing at something on the screen.

  It was a romantic comedy. I didn’t question it even though I wondered why he wanted to watch that of all things. Popping the film on, I dragged the pizza box in between us and flipped the lid. Neither of us spoke for the first half an hour whilst we were stuffing our faces.

  He popped the box on the floor and settled back down next to me. It didn’t escape my notice he was inches from my body. My skin prickled and my face felt hot. A weird stirring started in my stomach and wound lower.

  Holy crap!

  I was barely paying attention to the film. All I could think about was if he shifted, his hip would brush against mine. I finished off my glass to calm my nerves. He’d brought the bottle over so he pretty much refilled it straight away. His blue eyes met mine. There was something in his expression I’d never seen before. A flicker of longing which was gone in the next instant.

  “Thanks,” I mumbled.

  I hadn�
�t imagined that, had I? Did James see me as more than just a friend? Did he like me? I tried not to groan in frustration at my whirling thoughts. At the very least, this was distracting me from what happened today.

  I fiddled with the zip on my hoodie, sipping the wine whilst trying not to look at him. The thing is, I really wanted to stare at him. At first, I hadn’t noticed just how hot he was. Only now I’d admitted the depth of my attraction to him did I see it. The way his dark hair was never quite perfectly styled. Unkempt suited him. Gave him this sort of rakish appearance. His ocean blue eyes could literally drown a girl. They were stunning. And I really couldn’t get over how everything he wore moulded to him perfectly. It shouldn’t surprise me he knew how to dress. He worked in the fashion industry. Didn’t mean I couldn’t admire how well he wore his clothes.

  I swallowed, trying to ignore how hot I was feeling. Was this what desire felt like? I really didn’t know. Mostly I associated sex or sexual contact with violence and being taken against my will. Not with him though. My stomach felt tight, my muscles coiled as the tension inside me increased. I couldn’t deal with the sensations coursing through me. I needed an outlet. A release. There was no way I was getting that any time soon.

  I looked at the TV, finding the couple about to kiss for the first time. My lips tingled, imagining what it would be like to kiss James.

  Oh god. This is too much.

  I licked my bottom lip, trying not to squirm next to him. Stealing a glance, I saw his eyes were on me, specifically my mouth where my tongue was poking out. I retracted it, looking away and trying to act like nothing just happened. But it did. I saw that look. The concentration on his face as my tongue swept across my lip.

  Nope. Not going there. You can’t. He’s in love with his best friend.

  I wanted to. I’d never wanted to kiss someone in my life and I wanted to kiss James so badly my lips burnt with need. To be honest, the only kisses I’d ever received were sloppy messes and I’d refused to participate. Thankfully, most of my masters weren’t interested in kissing. My mouth appealed to them in other ways.

  When I couldn’t take the tense atmosphere between us any longer, I crawled off the bed and set my glass down on the chest of drawers before hurrying into the bathroom. Splashing my face with water, I looked at myself in the mirror. I was flushed, my eyes wide and pupils dilated. The only way it could be more obvious I wanted him was if I put a neon sign above my head saying ‘please kiss me, James’.

  Inwardly groaning, I quickly went about my business and walked back out into my studio. I flipped on some of the lamps and turned out the main light. Settling back down on the bed with my glass, I noticed he’d paused the film.

  “You didn’t have to do that,” I said.

  “I don’t think either of us were paying attention to it anyway.”

  He reached out towards me. My breath caught in my throat as he tucked my hair behind my ear. The light brush of his fingers against my skin sent sparks running down my spine. I almost stopped him retracting his hand. Almost. My earlier thoughts blared in my head.

  James is off limits, Ellie. Off limits!

  No matter how much I liked him nor how my attraction to him was driving me crazy, I couldn’t act on it.

  “Well, should we just drink and talk instead?” I asked.

  Even though I should probably be herding him out of my flat, I didn’t want to. Despite my attraction to him, I enjoyed his company. He made me laugh and never judged anything I said to him. That was a rare quality. To find someone who just accepted who you were.

  “Mmm, we can do unless you really want to watch the end. I mean… they might not end up together.”

  I laughed, shaking my head. It was a rom-com, of course they were going to end up together.

  “Just put it on as background noise.”

  He un-paused it and turned to me with that lopsided smile of his.

  “So I have a funny story about today.”

  “You do?”

  He gave me a nod, his blue eyes twinkling.

  We ended up both laid out on the bed staring at each other as he told me about the nightmare at work due to an incorrect shipment of fabric and how it had almost delayed the new collection. When both bottles of wine were consumed, I was yawning and his eyes were drooping.

  “You can stay if you want,” I mumbled, unzipping my hoodie, throwing it off the bed and crawling under the covers.

  It was late so I didn’t want to kick him out. He opened his eyes, giving me a strange look.

  “I shouldn’t.”

  “Stay and sleep. I don’t mind if you get comfortable.”

  I was too tired to care at that point and the wine made my brain a little hazy. It didn’t matter if we shared a bed. We’d just be sleeping. I could be okay with that.

  “Are you sure?”

  I closed my eyes.

  “Mmmhmm.”

  I felt the bed shift as he moved and the sound of clothes dropping on the floor. The lights turned out as he moved around the room. Then he lifted the covers and I felt him crawl in next to me.

  “Ellie…”

  “Yeah?”

  “Have you done this before?”

  “Done what?”

  “Slept next to someone.”

  “Oh… No. All my masters preferred to sleep alone.”

  At least it meant I usually got uninterrupted sleep. And I needed it after the way some of them treated me.

  “I don’t want to make you uncomfortable again.”

  I could feel the heat of him seeping into me despite the distance. Somehow, it was comforting rather than scary.

  “You’re not,” I whispered. “I feel safe with you.”

  “I’m happy you feel that way.”

  “I’ve never felt safe with someone before. Not even when I was young.”

  I blindly reached out and my hand connected with his t-shirt covered chest. I could feel his heart thundering against my fingertips.

  “Promise me you won’t disappear even if I tell you things that might be hard to hear.”

  His warm hand covered mine, holding it to his chest.

  “I’m not going anywhere.”

  “Promise.”

  “I promise, Ellie. I swear I’m here for you.”

  I sighed, feeling sleep dragging at my senses.

  “Good because I like you, James. I like you a lot.”

  And I could’ve sworn before I drifted off to sleep, I heard him tell me he felt the same way.

  If he likes me as much as I like him, does that mean there’s hope for us yet?

  Chapter Eleven

  James

  My brain felt like mush. I blinked rapidly as I opened my eyes. Where was I?

  Oh shit.

  I’d ended up at Ellie’s. In her bed. I was laying in her fucking bed. Turning my head to the side, I found her next to me with my arm looped around her. Hers was curled around me, her body heat seeping into mine where it was pressed against my side. When had this happened?

  She let out a little moan of distress in her sleep. I brushed her hair out of her face.

  “Shh, you’re okay. I’m here,” I murmured.

  Fuck, this was awkward for me. Here I was, rock hard with the girl I desperately wanted cuddling me in her sleep.

  What time is it?

  I had fucking work today so I was going to have to disturb her at some point to extract myself. Grabbing my phone off her bedside table where I left it, I found it was only five. I didn’t normally get up till seven so I could be in the office by nine.

  I popped the phone back and lay there for a long moment unsure of what to do. Perhaps going back to sleep for a couple of hours would be best. I needed it.

  “No, don’t,” Ellie whimpered. “Stop, please.”

  She clutched me tighter, her whole body going rigid. Was she having a nightmare?

  “Ellie, wake up,” I said gently, stroking her arm.
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  “Please, I don’t want to.”

  I shook her a little.

  “Wake up, you’re okay. You’re safe. I’m here.”

  That’s what she said last night. She felt safe with me. Only me apparently. I took that responsibility seriously. I hadn’t planned on trying anything with her. What if she ended up hating me for taking advantage of her?

  I was relatively sure she felt something more for me but it made her nervous. There were too many obstacles in our path. She knew things about me I should’ve never told a girl I wanted. Would Ellie feel like I was substituting her for Avery? I wasn’t. The way I felt about Ellie had nothing to do with my best friend. Honestly, I didn’t think about Avery in a sexual way even though I had memories of the time we were together. With Ellie, I had full on vivid fantasies about her.

  Her soft pink lips trailing down my chest. Her hair wrapped in my fist. Her blue eyes staring up at me with heat, silently begging me as I buried myself inside her wet, hot pussy. And I’d make sure she was wet for me first. Show Ellie sex was pleasurable for both partners and give her the sweetest ecstasy she’d ever known.

  My cock throbbed at my wayward thoughts and I inwardly cursed myself for going there. She was right fucking next to me having a nightmare. I was a prick.

  I stroked her hair, trying to soothe her. I couldn’t exactly turn over and hold her because if she woke up and found my cock pressed into her stomach it would probably freak her out.

  “J…James?” Her voice was thick with sleep and shaky.

  “Yeah?”

  “Am I dreaming?”

  “You seemed to be having a nightmare before but I’m very much real.”

  I looked at her. Her blue eyes were wide and her body trembled against mine.

  “So I’m really holding you right now?” she whispered.

  “I’m afraid so.”

  Instead of moving away, she buried her face in my side and groaned. The noise was fucking cute.

  “You can go back to sleep if you want,” I told her. “Fuck knows I still need some.”