She, on the other hand, had absolutely no desire to be the one being ushered out of the bedroom before breakfast the next morning, when he’d got what he wanted and lost interest in her.
The waiter cleared away their dessert plates and deposited the coffees they’d ordered in front of them, along with two oversized liqueur glasses with a small amount of thick amber liquid pooled at the base.
‘Calvados,’ Ben explained, lifting his glass to his lips. ‘Apple brandy. It’s a traditional Normandy digestif.’
Luce followed suit. The brandy taste she remembered from occasional late nights with her grandfather during university holidays was deepened by the hint of fruit. ‘It’s good.’
Ben shrugged. ‘I like it.’
While she was drinking it he paid the bill. She realised too late to insist on paying her half. ‘Let me give you something for my—’
‘Absolutely not.’
Ben clamped a hand down over hers as she reached for her purse, and she felt the thrill of a shiver running up her wrist to her shoulder. It must be the brandy, she decided, affecting her judgement. Because, however attractive Ben Hampton was, and however intense his focus on her and her conversation made her feel, she was not going to sleep with him tonight.
She couldn’t help but wonder, though, how all that concentration on the moment would feel if he was focusing it on her body. Her pleasure.
Luce shook her head. Too much Calvados. Some fresh air would sort that out.
Ben slipped her coat over her shoulders, and that same frisson ran through her as he stood close behind her. Luce wondered whether her room in the suite had a lock on its door. For keeping him out or her in, she wasn’t entirely sure.
The cold night air bit into the exposed skin of her face and hands. Luce glanced at her watch: nearly midnight. She needed to get some sleep if she was going to make that lecture for Dennis in the morning. She huddled into her coat and felt Ben’s arm settle on her shoulders, holding her close against him again.
‘So, feeling any more relaxed?’ he asked.
‘Lots,’ Luce answered honestly. ‘But that might just be the alcohol.’
‘True.’
They walked a few more steps, and Luce almost thought he might drop the subject.
Then he asked, ‘So, what do you think might relax you a little more?’
Truly great sex, Luce thought, but didn’t say. The sort that made you forget your own name, just for a little while. The sort that let you sleep so deeply you woke refreshed and energised, however much of the night you’d spent exploring each other’s bodies.
Not that she’d ever actually had sex like that herself, of course. But Dolly was adamant that it existed.
‘Um...handing in my book draft on time?’ she said finally, when she realised he was still waiting for an answer.
‘And how do you plan to do that when your “To Do” list is full of stuff you need to do for other people?’
It was a question she’d asked herself often enough, but hearing it in Ben’s relaxed, carefree voice made her bristle. ‘What do you care? If you’re so against helping others, why do you care if I get my book in or not?’
Ben shrugged. ‘Well, I’ve listened to Nest’s life story this evening. I’m invested now. I told you—I want to read the damn thing when you finish it.’
‘Oh.’ Luce tried to hide her astonishment.
‘Besides, I didn’t say I was against helping others. I’m here in Chester because I’m doing a favour for my brother.’
Apparently he wasn’t going to stop surprising her any time soon.
‘What favour?’
‘The person who was supposed to be checking out the hotel this week got sick, so I offered to swing by on my way to a week off.’
Ben smiled down at her, and Luce felt it in her cold bones.
‘So, you see, it’s not helping out others I object to.’
‘Then what is it?’ Luce asked, remembering that she was supposed to be annoyed.
‘I object to you giving up your whole life to serve others. I think you need to put your own wants and needs first for a while.’
It sounded so reasonable when he said it. So tempting. But then Luce remembered the pages of ‘To Do’ lists filling her stolen organiser. ‘And how, exactly, do you suggest I do that?’
‘Well, actually,’ Ben said, grinning, ‘I do have one idea.’
They were nearly back at the hotel now. Luce stopped walking and raised her eyebrows. ‘Are you really trying to tell me that sleeping with you would solve all my problems?’
Ben chuckled. ‘No. But it would be a good start.’
Luce closed her eyes and laughed. ‘You are incorrigible.’
‘Come on,’ he said, tugging her forward again. ‘Let’s get inside.’
CHAPTER FIVE
THE SUITE WAS almost too hot after the bite of the December night air. Ben stripped off his coat and jacket, rolling up his shirtsleeves as he made his way across to the bar area. ‘What can I get you? More brandy?’
‘Um...peppermint tea?’ Luce asked.
He couldn’t help but smile at her. ‘Is that to help you resist my charms?’ he asked.
‘To help me get up for this lecture in the morning.’
Luce sprawled into the chair he’d been sitting in earlier, and Ben admired the way her slim calves stretched out in front of her. She’d kicked her shoes off the moment they’d got into the room, and she pointed her toes as she flexed her feet.
There was absolutely no reason at all for that to be sexy. And yet...
Flicking on the kettle, he said, ‘I wanted to talk to you about that, actually.’ If she wasn’t going to let him help her relax the way he knew best, maybe he could at least draw her attention to some of the unnecessary things that were stressing her out.
Luce raised her eyebrows at him and waited for him to continue.
‘What is it, exactly, that you’ll get out of attending this lecture for a colleague?’
‘It’s a favour,’ Luce said. ‘I’m not expecting to get anything out of it.’
‘So this guy won’t do the same for you at a later date? It’s not somehow tangentially related to your own research and might prove helpful one day? The university won’t look fondly on your actions and bear it in mind in the future when it comes to promotions and such?’ He was watching carefully, so he saw her squirm a little in her seat. Had she never considered how little she got back from all she gave out?
‘Well, no. Not really.’ She shifted again, looking down at her hands. ‘Dennis doesn’t like leaving the university much, and I can’t imagine he’ll let on to anyone at the university that I went for him in the first place. Plus the topic’s pretty dull.’
The kettle boiled and Ben poured hot water onto a tea bag in one of the fine china mugs. Then he poured himself a large brandy while it brewed. ‘In that case, I can only assume that this man is important to you in some way. Are you dating?’
‘No!’
The answer was so quick and so vehement that Ben suspected he wasn’t the first person to suspect it. But maybe it wouldn’t bother her so much if it wasn’t him asking. He could hope, anyway.
‘Then why are you doing it?’
‘Because he asked,’ Luce said, sounding miserable.
‘And you can’t say no?’
Her glare was scathing. ‘I said no to you, didn’t I?’
Ben took her the tea before he replied. ‘You told me you wouldn’t stay here tonight, and now you are.’
‘I told you I wouldn’t sleep with you. I’m holding firm on that one.’
He chuckled, and saw her frown grow deeper. Had she always been this much fun to tease? How had he not noticed? ‘We’ll see. Anyway, the point is you do all these things for other people and you get nothing back. You need to think about what you want for yourself.’
Luce sighed into her cup of tea. ‘I know.’
She sounded defeated, which wasn’t quite what Ben had been going f
or. She hadn’t stopped fighting him since they met in the lobby. He kind of liked that about her.
‘But there’s just never any time. If I don’t take care of things for Tom, or Dolly, or Mum, it’ll just cause a bigger mess further along the line that I’ll have to clear up.’
‘Tom and Dolly—your brother and sister?’ He didn’t remember her even talking about her family at university. Not that they’d ever really had any long, meaningful talks about their lives, of course. But he was starting to wish they had. Maybe then Luce would make more sense to him.
Luce nodded. ‘They...they’re not very good at getting by on their own. Neither is Mum. It was different when Grandad was still alive. But now...’
‘They all rely on you.’ Ben slouched down in his chair, stretching his foot out to nudge against hers. ‘Sounds to me like you need someone you can rely on for a change.’
Her head jerked up in surprise. ‘You cannot possibly be suggesting that person is you.’
‘Good God, no!’ Ben shuddered at the very thought. ‘Good for one night only. I have a rule.’
‘Of course you do. Every girl’s dream.’
Ben gave her a wry smile. ‘You’d be surprised.’ There were always enough women looking for exactly that.
‘So, what are you suggesting?’ Luce asked.
The hint of desperation in her voice, the pleading in her eyes, told him she was really hoping he had an answer. She was in so deep she didn’t even know how to get out.
‘Stay here tonight with me, like we planned. And tomorrow, first thing, head back to Cardiff. Screw your colleague and his lecture. Forget about your family for a couple of days. You’re supposed to be in Chester until Thursday, right? So no one will know you’re home. You can knuckle down, sort out your book, and then spend Christmas relaxing instead of stressing out about all the work you should be doing.’
Luce’s gaze darted away. ‘I’m not sure I even remember how to relax.’
Ben smiled. ‘Spend the night with me and I’ll remind you.’
* * *
Oh, it was so, so tempting. Not just the sex—although that was bad enough. But the thought of three whole days with nothing to do except work on her book. No one asking her for anything.
Luce bit her lip. ‘What about the lecture? Or my conference report? Or the Christmas Eve dinner?’
‘Screw them,’ Ben said, raising his glass to her. ‘Decide, right here and now, that you are more important than what other people want from you. Decide that your book is what matters most to you at this moment in time and focus on that for the week. Make your family help you for a change. Get some priorities for once.’
He was right. The world might stop turning on its axis because of it, but he, Ben Hampton, was actually right. Maybe he’d been wrong every time he’d called her boring or obsessed at university—or maybe he hadn’t been. But now he was right. She needed priorities. And maybe, if nothing else, three days alone would help her figure out what they were.
‘Maybe I can get my ticket refunded. Or changed to tomorrow,’ she mused. The conference organisers had bought the original ticket, but after the fiasco with her hotel room she didn’t feel inclined to trust them to rearrange her travel home. She’d head down to the station in the morning—see what they could do.
‘I’ll buy you a ticket,’ Ben said carelessly. ‘First-class. You can work on the train.’
Luce raised her eyebrows at him. ‘What? As payment for services rendered? I’m not sleeping with you, remember?’
‘As an apology.’ Sitting up straighter, Ben fixed his gaze onto her own, and she found it impossible to look away. ‘From Hampton & Sons. For losing your booking. I don’t pay for sex.’
He looked more than insulted. He looked hurt. Luce’s gaze darted away. ‘Sorry. I didn’t mean...’
‘Yes, you did.’ Ben sighed. ‘Look. You’re pretty much out of options here, Luce. I’m leaving tomorrow, and I have no doubt that this suite will be booked up for the rest of the week. You can try and find somewhere else in the city with a cancellation, or you can go home. And once you’re there it’s your choice whether you let anyone else know you’re back.’
‘Why are you doing this?’ Luce asked. ‘Trying to help me, I mean?’ Could he possibly be so determined to get her to sleep with him that he’d try to fix her whole life to achieve it? Surely even Ben Hampton couldn’t be that single-minded.
More to the point, how the hell was she meant to keep on resisting him if he was?
But Ben just shrugged. ‘Because I can. Because fixing things is what I do for a living. Because it’s so blatantly obvious what you need.’ His words were casual, thrown away without thinking. But there was a tightness around his eyes that suggested something more.
Did he remember that night in the library? Was that what he was trying to make up for by helping her?
And, really, did it really matter? It was eight years ago. But she might never see the man again after tomorrow, and she knew the curiosity alone would drive her insane. ‘Do you remember the night of your twenty-first birthday?’
Ben didn’t even blink at the change of subject. ‘Barely. Mostly I remember the hangover the next day. That kind of misery stays with you.’
He didn’t remember. And if he didn’t remember, it was as if it had never happened. She could forget it, too. Let the past go.
‘I do know that I got dumped because of my actions that night.’ Ben raised an eyebrow at her. ‘Care to fill in the missing memories?’
Luce smiled. ‘Maybe one day.’ Except there wouldn’t be another day, would there? Tomorrow she’d take the train home and forget all about Ben Hampton.
She tried to remind herself that this was a good thing.
Ben drained the last of his brandy and got to his feet. ‘Well, I guess I’d better let you sleep on your decision. Unless...’ He gave her a hopeful look.
‘I am not sleeping with you.’ Whatever her rebellious body was hoping. She could feel a tightness growing in her belly just thinking about it.
He laughed, far more cheerful than she’d expected him to be about being turned down. ‘In that case, if you’ll excuse me, I have a long drive ahead of me tomorrow.’
Bending down, he brushed a kiss against her cheek. His lips were softer than she’d imagined. Not that she’d been thinking of them.
‘Goodnight, Luce.’
She watched him place his glass on the counter and saunter into the bedroom, closing the door firmly behind him. And yet she was still staring at the door.
Her fingers brushed her cheek, as if she could trace the kiss his lips had left.
Damn him. Somehow she knew that all she’d dream about that night was what might have happened if she’d said yes.
* * *
Ben was not naturally an early riser, but his father had been, and Seb had inherited the trait, so he’d had to learn to function well before seven-thirty. And, given the motivation of breakfast with Luce before he packed her off to her new and improved existence in Cardiff, he was awake, showered and dressed before the sun was fully up the next morning. Which wasn’t as impressive in December as it would have been in July, but Ben still felt a little pleased with himself as he knocked on Luce’s door.
At least he was until she answered it moments later, already dressed in some sort of knitted jumper dress and those incredibly enticing boots.
He’d spent a lot of the previous evening thinking about those boots. And what Luce might be wearing under that dress. It hadn’t been his most restful night’s sleep ever, but his mind had at least been happily occupied.
‘You’re up at last, then,’ Luce said, eyebrows raised.
‘Were you always so smug in the mornings?’ he asked as Luce wheeled her already packed suitcase into the living area. He had Seb for smugness. He really didn’t need any more smug in his life. At least not unless he was getting to feel it for once.
‘Probably.’ Luce flashed him a superior smile. ‘But you were mostly sle
eping in while I was up working. You might not have noticed.’
Taking her suitcase and resting it against the wall by the door, Ben decided it was time to change the subject. ‘So, have you decided what you’re doing today?’
Luce bit her lip. ‘Heading back to Cardiff, if that offer of a train ticket still stands?’
Ben nodded. ‘Of course. And when you get there?’
‘I finish my book. In secret.’
A sense of relief washed over him. ‘Good.’ He’d done it. He might not have been able to bring his mother back from the brink before she jumped ship, but he’d fixed this. He’d fixed that little bit of Luce’s life that he could influence and now he could move on, forget all about her.
That, right there, was one good day’s work.
‘I’ve ordered us breakfast,’ he said, just as a knock on the door indicated its arrival.
‘If nothing else, the Hampton & Sons hotel chain has certainly fed me well during my stay,’ Luce said, taking a seat at the table in the dining area. ‘I should write to the management.’
‘I’ll pass on a message.’ Ben let in the room service staff member and took his own seat as platters of food were laid on the table. Eggs, bacon, toast, pastries—and plenty of hot coffee. Should keep him going on his drive through Wales, and it would make sure Luce had one more good meal before she lost herself in research and writing for the rest of the week.
‘Shall I open the curtains, sir?’ the room service guy asked, and Ben nodded.
Helping himself to eggs as Luce poured the coffee, Ben couldn’t help but think how domestic this was. Far more couply than he’d ever managed, even with women he’d actually slept with. It was a good job she was leaving today, or she’d be straightening his tie and calling him ‘honey’ in no time. She was that sort.
‘I’ll call the station when we’ve eaten,’ he said as light flooded into the room from the opened curtains. ‘See what times your trains are.’
But Luce wasn’t listening to him. Instead she stared out of the window, coffee cup halfway to her mouth. Ben followed her gaze.
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