Ben still believed Tawny was behind the incidents. Whether her agent had a hand in it or not remained to be seen, too. He’d called Dan and added Michael Gold to the suspect list of people he wanted looked into. At least he felt he’d done everything he could think of for now, when it came to keeping Summer safe.
He double-checked the locks on the apartment for the night while Summer showered. He was looking forward to crawling into bed and losing himself in the warmth and heat of her body. His dick perked up in agreement.
His cell rang and he pulled it from his pocket. At a glance, he didn’t recognize the number but he answered anyway. “Hollander.”
“Ben?” his father asked in a rough voice.
Ben’s gut clenched at the familiar voice. “Dad? Where are you calling from?” Ben asked, concerned because he only heard from his father when something was wrong. A problem with his health or a self-pitying rant.
“Umm. About that. You see, I have a problem. I was arrested and I need you to post bail.”
“What?” he shouted into the phone, prompting Summer to rush out of the bathroom, wrapped in a towel.
“What happened? What’s wrong?” she asked, her eyes wide and full of worry.
Ben gripped his phone tighter, disgust and embarrassment running through him. He held up a hand, tearing his gaze from the sight of her long, wet hair falling over her shoulders and her breasts plumping up over the edge of the towel.
“Arrested for what, Dad?” he asked through gritted teeth.
Summer gasped but Ben was focused on the voice on the phone. Given his father’s weaknesses, he was afraid the situation involved alcohol. Luckily until now, his dad hadn’t hurt anyone else while abusing liquor, but Ben had been called from bars when his father’s credit card was denied and he’d needed cash to close out his account.
Silence followed his question before Nate finally replied.
“Drunk driving,” came the muffled reply. “I need you to post bail.”
Ben ran a hand over his face, anger, humiliation and frustration warring inside him. Why couldn’t his father deal with his shit like a man? An adult who could bounce back from adversity?
“Where are you exactly?” he asked, gesturing for Summer to find him a pen and paper.
She ducked into her room and returned with a pink pad and a pen, which he used to write down the jail nearest his father’s house in Hewlett, which was a solid hour and a half from Summer’s apartment, no traffic.
“Got it. I’ll be there in the morning.”
“But…”
Ben shook his head, refusing to give in to guilt for not rushing to bail him out now. “By the time I show up, they won’t process you out anyway.” He wanted his father sober when he saw him, plus a night in jail to think about how dangerous his actions had been might help.
“Time’s up!” a loud voice called out, obviously letting his father know he had to hang up the phone.
“I’ve gotta go. Thanks, son.” He disconnected the call, and Ben cringed knowing he had no choice but to turn and face Summer. The explanation he’d been avoiding giving her, the truth about his father, his parents, his background, was about to come out.
“Ben? Is your father okay?” Summer asked gently.
He shrugged his shoulders, not knowing the answer to that question. It ought to bother him more, but he was so tired of seeing his father drunk or hungover, which was why these days he barely saw him at all.
“He’s probably sobering up and coming to terms with being picked up for a DWI,” he muttered.
She tucked the towel tighter around her. “And is this an unusual thing? Him being drunk? And driving?”
He swallowed hard. “Why don’t you go get dressed and I’ll explain after.” He needed a minute to gather his thoughts and pull his composure further around him.
She nodded, spun around, and headed for the bedroom.
He gave her a few minutes to change while he stared out the window over the glittering city lights. Ben wasn’t a jerk. He understood his father had a serious issue. He’d just feel better about it if the man were willing to get himself some help instead of spending all these years indulging past pain.
He heard the sound of a drawer close in the bedroom and knew he couldn’t stall any longer. He headed to join Summer.
She sat on top of the bed wearing an oversized white tee shirt, her nipples poking through the fabric, her legs drawn up to her chin, a sexy peek of her panties visible.
He ignored the unintentional view for the more serious conversation they were going to have and settled on the edge of the bed. “I mentioned I don’t celebrate my birthday … unless forced.”
“You did allude to something like that.” She waited patiently, those big brown eyes softening as they focused on him.
He thought back to when he was little. “I remember parties when I was little.” One party in particular, with streamers in the garage and a magic show. “My mom and dad would both be there. But after things fell apart, I don’t remember any holidays or happy celebrations.” He didn’t feel sorry for himself, he was just … resigned to how things were. How they had been for the last twenty years.
He glanced at Summer, who waited patiently, as if sensing he needed to tell this story on his own time, at his own pace.
Ben knew it would never get easier, so he dove in. “My dad and his best friend, Tom, were partners in a lucrative import-export business, and Mom worked there, too, handling the books. Tom Milford wasn’t married and he spent holidays with my family. To me he was my uncle, as much family as if he were blood related.” Ben remembered looking up to the big bear of a man, as much as he once had to his father, which was why the betrayal hurt badly.
“The business began to expand quickly, and it was my father who did the overseas travel to procure items for shipment and to handle contracts with the overseas companies. And he was good at what he did.” He swallowed hard. “To sum up an ugly story, my mother and my uncle had an affair. I was sleeping at a friend’s. Dad came home early from a business trip and caught them in bed.”
He winced as he said the words, unable to imagine how betrayed his father must have felt. Which was why Ben’s frustration with the man made him feel so conflicted. Did he feel sorry for him? Was he angry with him for not getting over it? It was a difficult mixture of both.
“Ouch.” Summer sunk her teeth into her bottom lip. “How old were you?” she asked.
“Ten when the marriage began to unravel. Apparently when she was caught, my mother got hysterical. She cried and said it was a mistake, that they were both sorry… She begged my father to take her back and he did.”
“So he forgave them. That shows strength of character,” Summer said.
“I once thought so. Maybe it did … then. The problem was, they did it again. Or maybe they never stopped. Dad was wary at first but things seemed okay. He became complacent and they carried on behind his back.” Ben groaned, rubbing a hand along the back of his neck, working out the tension there. He hated thinking of the past, his mother’s behavior and lack of caring for anyone but herself.
“What happened? How did he find out the second time? Did your dad catch them again?” she asked.
Ben nodded, nauseated over what came next. “In the office, a year later, and this time, Mom didn’t beg him to take her back. She announced she was leaving him for Tom. Which meant Dad had a choice. He could walk away, be bought out according to the partnership agreement, and leave the business he’d built or come to work every day and face them. Together.”
“He opted for the buyout?” Summer guessed.
“He did. He put the money in the bank and wallowed in self-pity. That’s when the drinking began. Of course, I didn’t find out all the details until I was older. And after Dad began to drink … and ramble and admit the sad family truths.”
“And your mother? What happened?”
“She and Tom married. Had kids of their own.” His stomach cramped at the reminder of t
Summer held out her arms, and despite not wanting pity for his pathetic childhood, he climbed beside her. She laid her head against his chest in a gesture of comfort.
“Was he a good father?” she asked.
“He was physically present,” Ben said. “That’s the best I can say. I had food on the table and a parent at home because he was too depressed to find a job or try to create a new business. While I lived at home, he tried, a little, to be there.”
But Ben had seen him withdraw into himself, to decline over the years until he was no longer the man he’d once been. “What I took away from watching my father was to never repeat my mistakes. Taking her back was a huge error in judgment. He wanted to believe the marriage he had was real, but he’d obviously missed something key in their relationship, because she betrayed him a second time.”
“That’s sad,” she murmured. “I’m sorry. It explains why you were so hesitant to get involved with me again.”
His smile was grim. “I learned not to trust in much,” he admitted. “Add to that I was just hurt and angry at myself that I was stupid enough to violate my contract and lose my job.”
“Stupid enough to get involved with me?” she asked, smiling despite the conversation.
“I couldn’t resist you, Summer. Then or now.”
Her face lit up at his words. And since he’d have to deal with the fallout of his father’s actions tomorrow, tonight he wanted to get lost in Summer’s arms.
* * *
When Ben turned toward her, Summer could read the need in his eyes. Desire was there, but so was the yearning to get lost and replace his pain with something else. Something she could provide.
She sat up on her knees and lifted his shirt, pausing to glide her palms up the light coating of hair on his chest and over his nipples, scratching with her nails before she eased the shirt over his head and tossed it onto the floor. She took in his muscled forearms and pecs, his tanned skin, and leaned down for a taste.
She followed the reverse path with her mouth, gliding her lips over his chest, teasing his nipples with her tongue and teeth before licking her way down to the waistband of his shorts.
He gripped her breasts in his hands as she moved, tweaking her nipples, moisture flooding her underwear, desire rushing through her. With his help, they removed his pants and boxer briefs, his cock huge and erect, his naked body hers to explore.
The problem was, he obviously didn’t want slow, because he ripped her panties off with a swift tug and lifted her, positioning her over his straining shaft. Her legs quivered, barely holding her up, the feel of his pulsing heat between her thighs a heady thing.
She was gone for him but not so far gone that she wasn’t aware of the situation. At least not yet. “Condom,” she managed to croak out, not easily with her body softening and demanding to be filled by his thick erection.
“At least someone’s thinking,” he said with a shake of his head.
She held herself up on her knees, waited while he leaned over and pulled a packet from the nightstand drawer, where they’d stashed their supply, and covered himself with the condom.
He quickly returned his hands to her hips, lifting her up and placing her over his hard cock once more. She slid down a tiny bit, a tease of sorts, clenching him tight inside her, feeling him as he parted her slick heat.
His big body reverberated, and he groaned aloud, a sexy sound of torment she enjoyed, and she took him in a little more. And a little more, deliberately torturing him with a slow dance of seduction, at least the slowest she could manage with the flutters of desire beating inside her, growing larger the more of him she took into her body. He gripped her hips, his fingertips digging ever harder into her skin until she was sure he’d leave marks.
Unable to take it any longer, she released her grip on his shaft and slid down hard on top of him, accepting his thick length inside her completely.
“Ride me,” he said in a gritty voice.
“With pleasure.” She grasped his hands in hers, holding on as she began to slide up and down, a steady beat that allowed him to thrust into her over and over, each pass ending with a grind of her sex against his pelvis. Every press of their bodies causing a shock of pleasure to rush over her, stronger each time.
It was fast, it was furious, the pounding of his body up and into hers, and her climax hit almost immediately in a sudden burst of sensation, her orgasm rushing over her in waves that continued as he began to pump upward, causing her to come harder and longer, as he, too, found release with a loud shout.
His hips grinded into her body, his thickness swelling inside her, and she came again on a sob, collapsing on top of him, his arms bracketing her in warmth.
* * *
Summer woke up to the sunlight streaming through the slatted shades, worried about Ben and the day ahead. He rolled over, coming to consciousness slowly, his heavy-lidded stare focusing on her.
“Morning,” he said gruffly in his sexy, sleep-roughened voice.
“Good morning.” She lay on her side and met his gaze.
“Listen, don’t worry about being alone today. I’ll get someone over here to look out for you before I go bail out my father.” He pushed himself up in the bed and leaned against the headboard. “If I can’t get someone from Alpha Security, Dan will call in a favor and get a person he trusts from another company to take over.”
“What?” She eased herself into a sitting position as well, pulling the covers up and over her bared breasts. “No. I’m coming with you.”
He frowned at her words. “I am not taking you to a county jail. And I’m sure as hell not exposing you to my father after a night in a cell.” He wrinkled his nose in disgust. “I’m your bodyguard and my job is to keep you safe.”
“Oh, cut the crap,” she muttered, knowing excuses when she heard them. He was obviously embarrassed by the situation and he didn’t want her there, but tough luck.
“What the hell does that mean?”
“We might not have a label on what’s happening between us…” And he might want it to be about sex… “But it’s more than just you’re my bodyguard.” She reached out and gently stroked his cheek, letting her touch linger. “I … care about you, and I’m going to be beside you when you deal with your dad and his situation.”
His mulish expression hadn’t changed, but she ignored it just as she planned to ignore any argument he formed. “I’ll take a fast shower and be ready to go when you are,” she said, rising from the bed.
“Do I have a choice?” he asked in a grumpy tone.
She shook her head. She wasn’t taking no for an answer. Which was why she found herself beside Ben in an Uber to his apartment, so he could grab his car keys and drive them in his SUV to pick up his father.
Ben was silent on the way there, and she didn’t press him to talk, just grateful he hadn’t found a way to leave her behind. She’d meant what she said. They might not have a defined relationship, but she more than cared about him and she knew it. She had a feeling he did, too, but he hadn’t indicated he felt any more for her than convenient, easy sex buddies while they were together. Their chemistry was off the charts. It always had been.
But today wasn’t about sex. Today was about being there for him in ways that mattered.
* * *
His father reeked of alcohol and disgusting jail cell odors Ben would prefer not to identify when he finally bailed him out and loaded him into the back seat of his car. Nate was sullen and morose, introductions between Summer and his dad not going all that well. Nate grated out a hello, while Summer’s cheery disposition had no effect on his father’s mood.
What an embarrassing clusterfuck. Of all the times for his father to get arrested for drunk driving, it had to be while Ben was on an assignment he couldn’t separate himself from.
He recalled Summer’s words from earlier this morning. We might not have a label on what’s happening between us, but it’s more than just you’re my bodyguard. He swallowed hard. At least one of them was being honest. She wasn’t here because he was her security detail. She was here because they had a relationship, undefined though it might be.
After today, who knew what their status would be. If Summer was smart, after a day with Nate Hollander, she’d run the other way, far and fast. The thought made him ill. He’d come to terms with the fact that he wanted as much time with Summer as he could get before life pulled them in separate directions.
He turned into his father’s driveway and shut off the engine, the three of them trudging into the house. The ranch hadn’t changed, nor had his father done much in the way of upkeep. The house was a dump and heaped more embarrassment on Ben’s shoulders in front of Summer for the way his dad lived.
But, he reminded himself, if Nate didn’t want help, he couldn’t force him to get it. He’d be laying down the law later, and his father would have to make some hard choices. Because Ben wouldn’t be bailing him out ever again.
“I need a shower,” his father muttered, heading for the master bedroom in the back of the house.
Ben let him go. He needed his father cleaned up for what he had to say next.
“Is there food in the refrigerator?” Summer asked, standing in the family room. “I can make something to eat for when he’s finished.”
“I don’t know. And you don’t have to wait on him.” He didn’t mean to sound ungrateful. This whole situation had him on edge.
“I know I don’t have to. I want to.” Summer headed for the kitchen. “He’ll feel better after he gets something in his stomach.” She opened the refrigerator, and Ben groaned at the sight that greeted her.
Old takeout leftovers sat inside, and beer lined the door shelves.
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