Cinderella's Sweet-Talking Marine

by Cathie Linz

  “You okay?”

  She nodded. “I was just worrying about Amy. I didn’t get to say good night to her. Maybe I should call….”

  “She’d fallen asleep on Frenchie’s lap while we were dancing. Frenchie has your cell phone number right?”

  Ellie nodded.

  “Then if Amy needs anything Frenchie will call.”

  “She might not want to interrupt us.”

  “Do you really think Frenchie would put your daughter at risk by not calling?” Ben asked.

  “No. Frenchie takes excellent care of Amy. It’s just that I haven’t been away from her at night except when she’s been in the hospital, and even then I spend most of the night in the chair next to the bed.”

  “I wanted to talk to you about Amy. I guess this is as good a time as any. Let’s sit down.”

  “No, wait.”

  But he guided her down to perch on the end of the bed then leapt up in surprise. “What the…?”

  “Welcome to the Happy Vibrating Bed.” She pointed to a sign propped against one of the leopard print pillows along with several chocolate kisses.

  “There must be a way to turn it off. If you want to go ahead and change, I’ll take care of this.”

  “Change?”

  He nodded. “Unless you planned on sleeping in that dress?”

  She shook her head. But she wasn’t keen on swapping it for that sexy nightgown her friends had left her, either.

  As if reading her thoughts, Ben said, “There’s probably one of those thick hotel robes in the bathroom hanging from the back of the door.”

  Considering the layout of this room, she thought it was more likely that there was a see-through negligee hanging in the bathroom. But she was pleasantly surprised to discover that Ben was right.

  The robe covered her and the sexy red nightie with material to spare.

  She came out of the bathroom to find that Ben had changed into the silky boxer shorts. “It’s gotten real hot in here,” he said almost apologetically.

  It sure had. She couldn’t believe how good he looked. Cyn had been right to nickname him Mr. Too Yummy For Words. He was. His tautly muscled and lean-bodied frame was a wonder…from the tantalizing swirl of dark hair that disappeared beneath the waistband of his shorts to the masculinity of his legs. Even his knees looked good.

  “Somehow I turned on the Flames of Love Fireplace and I can’t locate the switch to turn it off.”

  While Ben worked on that, Ellie noticed the bottle of champagne chilling. Her mouth was dry, so she undid the foil wrapping and started working on the cork.

  “Here, let me do that.” Ben took the bottle from her, expertly popped the cork, and poured them both a glass. “To a most memorable wedding night.” He took a sip before adding, “I fixed the bed so it should be safe to sit on now. Like I said, I wanted to talk about Amy.”

  Because Ellie’s knees were getting weaker by the minute, she sat, but only after refilling her empty glass with more champagne.

  Was it her imagination or did Ben look a little nervous? Maybe it was the strange light in here, provided by the red-tinted light bulbs in the overhead chandelier.

  “I wanted your thoughts on the idea of my adopting her. I know, I know, she already has a father. But he hasn’t shown much interest in her up to this point and I don’t see any signs of that changing in the future. As you probably know, Kate is an attorney who deals in family law. Granted she practices in Texas, but I bet she could head us in the right direction, maybe give us a referral to a good attorney here in North Carolina who can handle the adoption process for us.”

  “I don’t know what to say.” She could hardly think at all with him sitting half-naked beside her, the Flames of Love flickering in the background.

  “Say you’ll think about it. I’ve also been thinking about where we should live. I’ll be returning from my leave in a few days and Pine Hills is almost an hour commute to Camp Lejeune. What are your thoughts about moving a little closer? Maybe get a rental house, one with hardwood floors for Amy, one that we could have outfitted the way you want it. I know how much you love your friends and your neighbor Frenchie. If you hate the idea, we can look for a place in Pine Hills. What do you say?”

  “What do I say?” Ellie shakenly set her empty champagne glass on the floor. She put her hands on his bare shoulders and tumbled him back onto the bed. “I say kiss me, Ben.”

  Chapter Nine

  Ellie didn’t have time to notice the startled look in Ben’s beautiful eyes because a second later he was doing just as she’d asked him. He was kissing her.

  No, it was more than that. He was possessing her with a driving hunger.

  There was no tentative prelude, no tender beginning. Instead there was total and utter passion, complete with all the desperation and exhilaration that came with such raw emotion.

  Unabashed desire blended with the alcohol in her bloodstream, adding its powerfully throbbing beat to her body. Ben made her want things she hadn’t wanted in years, things she’d vowed never to get mixed up in again.

  He nipped softly at her lips, tugging them deftly apart as he deliciously tasted the inner curve of her upper lip with his tongue. She lay atop him, tethered by the strength of his arm around her waist. Somehow her thick robe had come undone, leaving her with only the sexy nightie. Her lower body rested in the cradle of his hips. The close contact left her in no doubt as to the urgency of his needs. She shifted against him, feeling the rub of his bare thighs.

  Thrilled by the sensual friction, she ran her fingers over his muscular chest. Their kisses continued in a heated series that never stopped even as their hands were busy exploring, expressing what brought pleasure. He was so solid, so strong. Yet he shuddered beneath her touch as she brushed her fingertips over his nipples.

  Growling deep in his throat, Ben flipped her so that she was now beneath him and he was the one seducing her nipples, caressing them with the repetitive brush of his thumbs. The material of her silky nightgown seemed to amplify his touch, adding another element of pleasure. She slid her arms out of the robe, now completely free of its protection.

  He rewarded her move by nudging the thin straps of her nightgown aside with his lips. Using his index fingers, he hooked the straps and lowered the material, baring her breasts to the heat of his gaze.

  Since having a child, Ellie felt self-conscious about her body. There were stretch marks where there had been none before. But Ben didn’t allow any doubts to enter her mind. Instead he adored her, holding her in the palm of his hand, his mouth finding and surrounding the soft swell of her flesh before closing around the rosy peak. His tongue sweetly stroked her with impassioned need.

  Ellie embedded her fingers in his hair and arched off the bed. Shooting pinwheels of bliss were triggered deep within her. She was reeling drunkenly in a sensory world where time and prudence no longer mattered, a place where only this wild pleasure was important.

  She barely had time to breathe before he repeated his erotic seduction on her other breast, creating the same sensually intimate response as before.

  Bathed in a pool of joy, she shifted her hands down his back, beneath the waistband of his silk boxers. She shivered with the exciting realization that she could shatter his composure the same way he’d shattered hers.

  Groaning his pleasure, he shifted so they both lay on their sides. Their kissing resumed with a newfound urgency. She took lipfulls of his mouth. He gave erotic thrusts of his tongue.

  He reached out to curl his fingers behind her knee, guiding her bended leg up over his hip. The intimacy of their embrace was increased as he surged against her. The high degree of his arousal was unmistakable.

  Which is why she was stunned when a second later Ben abruptly severed all contact, rolling off the bed and leaving the room.

  Ellie stared at the closed bathroom door in confusion. Had he gone to get protection? The condoms were still in the bag on the floor in here.

  Then she heard the sound of
the shower going.

  Uncertain of what was going on, she pulled her nightgown back in place and put on the robe once again. Suddenly the Flames of Love Fireplace no longer made the room seem hot. Instead she felt chilled.

  She felt even colder when Ben came out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel. Despite his sexy attire, he looked so remote. “I’m sorry. None of that should ever have happened. It was a mistake.” His voice was curt. “And it won’t happen again.” His eyes which had only moments before smoldered with passion now smoldered with determination. “We’ll chalk it up to too much alcohol.” He grabbed his trousers and shirt before heading back to the bathroom to get dressed again.

  A mistake. Never should have happened. What did the guy have to say to make it clear to her that he wasn’t interested in making love to her? Oh, sure he’d responded when she’d thrown herself at him in what he considered to be a drunken passion.

  Only she knew that alcohol wasn’t responsible for her actions. Her feelings for Ben were.

  But that didn’t matter because those feelings clearly weren’t returned. He’d told her that he wasn’t looking for a normal marriage. He’d even told her that he didn’t plan on going to bed with her. They were married in name only and that’s the way he wanted it.

  Ellie wrapped the thick robe even closer around her before crawling beneath the covers and tugging them up to her ears, until only the top of her head was showing.

  Walking out of the bathroom and finding her curled up in the big bed made Ben feel even more of a jerk. He’d seen the pain in her eyes, the confusion, the desire.

  He’d felt the same way but there was nothing he could do to change things. He’d promised her a marriage in name only without the pressure of sex.

  She hadn’t been herself tonight. He’d noticed the unusually high amount of alcohol she’d consumed. Only a scumbag would take advantage of a woman under those circumstances. Especially a woman he cared deeply about.

  So Ben had done the honorable thing. As difficult as it had been, he’d broken off their heated embrace, not wanting to take advantage of her. His body still hadn’t recovered, despite the world’s longest cold shower that he’d taken.

  His remorseful gaze returned to her huddled form. So much for promising to take care of her, for promising not to hurt her.

  An instant later she’d tossed the covers off and sat up to glare at him. “I can’t breathe that way. And I’m not the kind of woman who hides from her mistakes. So what’s next?”

  She had just stolen another piece of his heart. This was his Ellie, the one who boldly stood her ground. She was no beaten-down victim.

  “What’s next?” He tried to sound calm. “We go to sleep.”

  “There’s only one bed.”

  “I realize that. But it should be big enough for both of us. I’ll sleep on top of the covers and you can sleep under them. I called the limo and made arrangements for them to pick us up by seven tomorrow morning, so we better get some shut-eye.”

  “Fine.” She lay back down and turned her back on him.

  “Good.” He stretched out, still dressed in his pants and shirt, on the opposite side of the bed.

  Staring at the blobs in the lava lamp on the bedside table, Ben decided this had to be the most G-Rated wedding night that the Red Hot Lover’s Suite had ever witnessed.

  “Mommy, I missed you!” Amy hugged her tightly. “I missed you too, sweetie.” Ellie hugged her back. “Raboo missed you, too. And Raboo and I missed Ben.”

  “I didn’t expect you two back so early,” Frenchie noted.

  Ellie just smiled vaguely without providing an explanation.

  “Did you and Frenchie read the storybook I drew for you about Lady Blush?” she asked her daughter.

  Amy nodded.

  “I didn’t realize you’d drawn pictures to go with my stories,” Ben said.

  “Mommy did it when you were gone those days and didn’t come tell me the story. Lady Blush still needs to be rescued.”

  “Or to rescue herself.” This suggestion came from Ellie.

  “Or have Flamebo rescue her.” This idea was supplied by Amy.

  “You’ll find out later tonight,” Ben said, “when I tell you the next installment in the story.”

  “What’s an instament?” Amy stumbled over the unfamiliar word.

  “An installment is a part, like the next part in the story.”

  “Where are you going to sleep, Ben?” Amy suddenly asked him. “Are you going to sleep with my mommy?”

  “Uh, yeah.” He couldn’t say anything else, not with Frenchie standing right there. He didn’t want the entire neighborhood knowing that their’s was a marriage in name only.

  “But I still can come jump in your bed when I get scared, right, Mommy?”

  “Right.”

  “Outstanding.” Amy beamed at Ben, using his word to show him that she approved.

  Ben waited until Frenchie had returned to her own apartment and Amy was taking a much needed nap later that afternoon before bringing up the matter of sleeping arrangements again. “Have you thought more about what I said last night?”

  “About not repeating the mistake of my throwing myself at you?” Ellie countered, misunderstanding him. “Message heard loud and clear. Don’t worry. As you said, it won’t happen again.”

  “That’s not what I meant.”

  “That’s what you said.”

  “I never meant to upset you or hurt you.”

  “I know that. It was my fault. You made it clear what kind of marriage this would be.”

  “I thought that’s the kind of marriage that you wanted.”

  “Isn’t it what you wanted, too?” Ellie countered.

  “I want what you want.” Ben heard himself talking in circles and became even more frustrated. He couldn’t say what he wanted, because even hoping for happiness with Ellie seemed like a betrayal to his buddy John.

  Ben had spent months slamming the hatch on the dark secret he harbored and his guilt but it still remained—festering inside him, keeping him awake nights, giving him nightmares about the last moments of John’s life.

  Ben knew he should tell Ellie, he should confess everything to her.

  But doing so would probably mean losing her. And he couldn’t bear that. So he stumbled along as best he could, not telling her his secrets, not sharing his desires.

  Except for last night, their honeymoon night, when his needs had temporarily overcome his better judgment.

  Difficult though it had been, he’d broken off their embrace because he was trying to do the right thing by Ellie, to honor his promise of a marriage in name only. He hated the fact that he’d weakened and given in to the passion brewing between them. He was not a man who broke promises. Ever.

  And in Ellie’s case his promises were not just to his buddy John but also to Ellie. He’d promised to look after her, and that he wouldn’t coerce her into his bed.

  Ellie had been clear about her feelings regarding marriage from day one. She hadn’t wanted a husband. No way, no how.

  Ben was no fool. He knew she’d only said yes because of Amy.

  Which was why he had to stay focused here, and not be distracted by Ellie’s lush lips and the memory of them traveling over his bare body. He couldn’t afford a repeat of what had happened last night.

  “Have you given any more thought to the possibility of moving?” he asked. “I can sleep out here on the couch for a while but…”

  “That’s not a permanent solution. I suppose the best thing would be…” She looked at him.

  “Yes? The best thing would be…?” For one brief wild moment Ben wondered if she were going to invite him into her bed. This despite the fact that he’d just had a fierce self-lecture about keeping their relationship platonic. He hated not being in control of his emotions.

  “To contact a Realtor about finding us a larger place. My lease here is up next month so I’d better get a move on. No pun intended. I’ll call someone tomorrow.”<
br />
  “Right.” Ben nodded. “That would be the logical thing to do.”

  “And we both agree that we want to be logical, right?”

  “Right.”

  Ben was still trying to convince himself of the advantages of logic when he sat down on Amy’s bed to tell her another bedtime story starring Lady Blush and Sir Goodknight.

  Amy looked so adorable, wearing her pink cat pj’s and hugging Raboo, her big brown eyes gazing up at him with adoration. His throat tightened. He didn’t deserve this.

  “Look at the pictures Mommy drawed.” Amy sat up to shove the handmade storybook at him. A series of pencil sketches had been placed in a three-ring binder. The last one showed a castle along with Lady Blush and Flamebo the dragon in the background.

  “These are good.”

  Ellie blushed. “Thanks. They’re just rough drawings, anyone could have done them.”

  “I couldn’t.”

  “Well, I couldn’t have come up with the characters you have. So I guess that makes us a good pair.”

  “Yeah.”

  “What’s Lady Blush doing now?” Amy demanded.

  “Do you remember where she was when we left her?” Ben asked.

  Amy nodded. “She was having a tea party with Flamebo.”

  Ellie frowned. “I must have missed that.”

  Ben explained, “It was the night you had your bachelorette celebration and I baby-sat Amy.”

  “Right.”

  “The day after the tea party, a guard at the All-Moat Castle noticed a group of people approaching. As they got closer, he realized that they were monks leading a donkey. They told the guard that they’d come to rid the castle of its ghost. The lead monk identified himself as Friar Tankard and his assistant as Friar Stein.”

  Ellie grinned.

  Ben noticed how he’d grown to watch her expressions as he did his storytelling. Her reaction provided him with pleasure. So much about her provided him with pleasure. He yanked his thoughts back to his story.

  “Sir Badlord and Sir Breedembad approved the plan for the monks to set up their ghost-busting equipment. While everyone in the castle watched the exorcism, Friar Tankard slipped off without being noticed. It turns out he wasn’t Friar Tankard at all, but was Sir Goodknight in disguise. When he reached the wine cellar he realized how heavily guarded it still was so he figured that’s where they were hiding Lady Blush. The guards refused to leave their posts to go watch the ghost-busting going on upstairs, so GK showed them a strange looking box. When the guards leaned closer to see, they instantly fell to the ground as the chloroform knocked them out.”