Ben sat up straighter in the bed. ‘I remember hearing about it on the news. The reporter said you were critically injured and sustained a huge amount of blood loss. I remember thinking that poor cop is probably going to die because of some dead-beat drug addict.’
Emma shook her head. ‘These people who are drug addicts are someone’s sister or brother, someone’s mum or dad, someone’s aunt or uncle, or someone’s best friend. It’s the drugs that change these people, and I wish the circumstances had been different. If I hadn’t killed Axel, maybe he could have got the help he needed to clean up, or maybe it was too late for him, he was in too deep. All I know is I wish things had gone down differently that day.’
Ben ran a reassuring hand up her arm. ‘You’re a better person than me. I can’t help thinking there’s one less murderer off the street.’
‘I guess everybody thinks differently. But one thing’s certain, there were no winners in all of this. Zoe lost her mum and dad that day. Reg and Daphne lost their daughter. Jackson’s wife became a widow, and his kids will grow up with no dad. I lost a good friend, too, and I have scars that will always serve as a reminder of the damage drugs can do. Axel chose to take drugs, but in the end, the drugs took him. It was the drugs that turned him into the monster he became. Drugs are the real evil here.’
Ben leaned down and kissed the scar on her shoulder. ‘You’ve been through so much. I’m in awe of you.’
‘It’s the doctors you should be in awe of. They worked a miracle on my shoulder. I have more metal in there then a metal recycling plant.’
‘I think you sell yourself far too short.’ He lowered his head to kiss her soundly on the lips—a kiss full of passion and need. ‘Make love to me,’ she said when they took a breath.
‘It would be my pleasure.’ He lowered his head, brushing his lips across the delicate skin of her neck. She moaned with delight. ‘Your lips make my skin feel like it’s on fire.’
He stopped the feather-light kisses and braced himself on one elbow to look into her eyes. ‘Tell me more about how I make you feel.’
She grinned up at him. ‘Mmm, like how my legs turn to jelly when you trace my lips with your finger.’
He reached up, and with one gentle finger, trailed a path of sublime sensation around the dips and curves of her pink lips. Her nipples instinctively tightened in response. She opened her mouth and took his finger inside her mouth, giving a gentle bite. He removed his finger from her mouth and replaced it with his lips, teasing them apart so he could enter the warmth within. He broke away. ‘Tell me more.’
She looked at him with eyes full of desire and ran a hand down her chest and between her breasts. ‘When you kiss me here, it makes my body quiver all over.’ He showered her with tender kisses that began from the base of her neck and ended with his tongue circling each nipple, sending shockwaves of pleasure tingling through her skin. As his mouth moved further south to delight on her taut stomach, she sucked in a breath. He lifted his head and smiled at her. ‘Tell me more.’
‘I feel like I’m floating on a cloud of pure delight.’ She actually felt indulgent as he worshipped every part of her body, and when his lips brushed against the skin of her thighs, and he asked her, ‘Tell me more.’ There were no words left for her to utter that could possibly come near describing the pure bliss and wanton ecstasy she was feeling. Instead, she showed him exactly how she felt by rising to meet his strokes, his caresses, and kisses matching his with her own, and as they came together as one, they were surrounded only by the love they both felt for one another.
Emma had spent the day smiling. Even a customer who had complained about the quality of the blue cheese and then about the apparent grainy texture of the fig and walnut paste couldn’t dampen her spirit. Ben had left her bed in the early hours of the morning to go to work. She had missed him ever since, even with the countless text messages each had been sending. She wanted to feel his touch, hear his voice, see his handsome face. They were meeting up later, and she was counting down the hours, minutes, and seconds until her shift finished. She was meeting him at his house, the one his brother was building. He sounded excited whenever he spoke about it, and it was contagious. Emma couldn’t wait now to see it and him.
Later, when she pulled in behind Ben’s motorbike at his house, she was suddenly filled with nerves. What if he’d changed his mind about them? What if he regretted last night? She was being ridiculous, of course. The text messages she’d been receiving all day should have dispelled any fears. Taking Zoe out of her car seat, she turned nearly bumping into Ben’s chest. She was close enough to smell the balmy spice of his aftershave. She reached up and touched the smoothness of his cheek, missing the roughness of the stubble she had grown accustomed to. ‘Hi.’ She felt herself grin like a teenager as he kissed her cheek, the brush of his lips across her skin, sending shockwaves of desire tingling throughout her body.
‘Hi,’ he whispered in her ear. Zoe reached out for him, and Ben easily took her in his arms. ‘Hello to you too, possum.’ Taking hold of Emma’s hand, they walked side by side up to the house. ‘I missed you today.’
She looked over to him. ‘I missed you, too.’ She couldn’t seem to get the grin from leaving her face. She was dizzy from being close to him, knowing he was finally hers, and they were finally the couple she had dreamed of.
His hand never left hers as he showed her each room in the house. The house still had the smell of fresh paint. All it needed was furniture, and Ben would be able to move in. When they reached the main bedroom, she was struck by the magnificent view. She dropped his hand and walked over to open the French doors leading out onto the verandah. She felt one hand slide around her waist. ‘This is beautiful. What a view,’ she said. The sun was setting behind the mountains providing one of the most stunning backdrops she’d ever laid eyes on.
‘It is, isn’t it?’ His voice was a soft whisper against her ear, and she knew he wasn’t talking about the sunset and was talking about her. It sent pleasure rippling through her body, and she turned her head to kiss him fully and soundly on the lips. Zoe, at that moment, made herself known crying out as she was squashed between the two adults. They pulled apart. ‘Sorry, Zo,’ they said in unison. Zoe indicated she wanted to be put down. As soon as Zoe’s feet hit the carpet, she was off running around the room. They followed her out as she stomped her way through the house, squealing, enjoying the sound of her voice echoing in the empty rooms. ‘I think that might be our cue to leave.’
‘Yeah. I think you might be right.’ Ben scooped Zoe up onto his shoulders and headed out the door. ‘Are you still coming to tonight’s campfire?’ Ben had invited her to a campfire night at Will and Lottie’s house a couple of weeks ago, and with everything going on, she had totally forgotten about it.
‘We wouldn’t miss it,’ she replied. Truthfully Emma wasn’t ready to say goodbye to Ben quite yet, and she didn’t care about the campfire. All she cared about at this point was spending more time with Ben.
‘I thought it would be a good opportunity to let everyone know that you and me…’ he ducked his head and placed a hand in his pocket, ‘… are exclusive. Boyfriend and girlfriend.’
‘I’d like that.’
‘Mum’s going to burst an artery or something when I tell her.’
‘She’s been waiting for a while for you to bring home a girlfriend. When are you going to tell her about not being able to have kids?’
He shrugged. ‘Not yet. I think one surprise is enough for tonight.’
‘Promise me you’ll tell your family soon.’
He crossed his heart. ‘I promise.’
He placed Zoe in her car seat and closed the door. Emma got into the driver’s seat, and Ben leaned in to give her one long, lingering kiss—a kiss that promised there was more to come tonight. Anticipation swept through her with the thought. He broke away, breathless. ‘I’ll lock up. You head over to Will and Lottie’s. I won’t be far behind you.’ She nodded as he closed the door.
‘See you in a bit.’ She reversed out of the driveway and headed down Holbrook Creek Road.
The fire was crackling, shooting sparks into the night sky. The heat of the flames warmed his jeans, but the woman he was looking at was warming his heart. She had completely turned his world upside down, making him question how foolish he had been in not allowing any woman into his heart before. This was what love felt like, and he adored it. Yes, he loved Emma and Zoe. How could he not? They were fast becoming his family. He hoped beyond any shadow of a doubt that Emma felt the same way about him. That one day she’d consider them a family.
She had a blanket wrapped around her shoulders, and Zoe was sitting on her lap, engrossed in the fire. He turned the sausages on the hot plate that stood over the fire and smiled. The simple things were the things that brought him the most happiness—watching Emma talk to Lottie, watching Zoe looking at the fire with awe. The past few months had been some of the most frustrating but also the best times of his life. That frustration had been his own doing, though, he now realised. Ben saw a shadow fall over him before a hand clamped down on his shoulder. He knew without turning it was Will. ‘Those sausages look done to me.’
‘Says you.’ Ben looked down at the sausages and saw they were beginning to get a charcoal coating. He used the tongs to lift the sausages, placing them in a metal tray sitting in the dirt by the fire.
‘You’re gone,’ Will said with a knowing twinkle in his eye.
‘What?’ Ben didn’t need to ask the question, but he had anyway. He knew his love for Emma was for everyone to see. How could he hide it? They had walked hand in hand tonight like she had wanted and he had wished for. Such a simple gesture had announced their togetherness to all. Their interlocked hands told everyone he was hers, and she was his. Without a murmur of a word, everyone knew it.
‘I think it’s great for what it’s worth. I think she’s really good for you.’
Ben looked across the fire at Emma, their eyes locking. ‘Yeah, she’s pretty amazing.’ He watched as her attention was drawn to something Lottie said. Ben focused back on the sausages. ‘She’s so brave. Everything she’s been through…’ he shook his head, ‘… she amazes me.’
Will took the tray of sausages off him, and Ben stood, dusting himself off. They walked over to the trestle table set up with salad and bread rolls. ‘So, what’s happening with Zoe’s grandfather?’ Will asked as he placed the sausages down on the table.
‘According to Roy, he has been doing all the right things.’ Ben hadn’t spoken to Roy in the last couple of days, and with Daphne’s passing and his new relationship status, he had put Jason Knight out of his mind. Now, though, the memory of the possible danger Zoe and Emma were in came back to haunt him. He didn’t want her to spend another night alone in that house. He wanted to be there with her from now on.
‘That’s good news.’ Will clapped his hands together. ‘Now, let’s get stuck into some food. I’m starving.’
Ben turned around searching for Emma, finding her standing off to one side talking with Lilly. He picked up a sausage and a bread roll and mouthed to her as their eyes met, ‘You want one?’ She nodded, and he went about making her a bread roll.
He smelled her perfume, and he knew immediately she was behind him exactly one moment before her hands wound around his waist. She kissed the nape of his neck, and he nearly dropped the bread roll in his hands. Did she have any idea how she affected him? ‘Hey.’
‘Hey, yourself.’ He twisted in her arms, so they were facing and kissed her tenderly on the lips. He felt eyes of approval on them. It felt good everyone knew they were together. They broke away. ‘I’m going to get Zoe a sausage and bread roll for dinner.’ She reached around him to grab a bread roll. He placed a hand over hers.
‘No need,’ he lifted a bread roll and showed her. ‘I already made one up for her.’
She kissed him on the cheek. ‘Thank you. Where have you been all my life?’
‘Waiting for you.’ They both laughed. ‘Geez, I can’t believe that came out of my mouth. So cheesy.’
‘I can take cheesy now and then.’
He smiled at her and busied himself a sausage sandwich minus the salad. ‘I was wondering if you’d like to stay the night?’
‘Here?’
‘Yeah. You and Zoe can stay in Lucy’s room. I thought it would be nice for you and me to go for an early morning ride after I finish milking and maybe you could have a go at milking a cow.’ He was blundering idiot as he spoke. Why was he so nervous asking her to stay the night? Maybe because it was the first time he’d ever asked a woman to stay at the farm with him. He knew before long she’d be heading home to put Zoe to bed, and he wasn’t ready for the night to end so soon. He’d had a few drinks, so driving the bike back to her place was out of the question. He wanted her here with him.
‘I would have loved to, but I haven’t got any clothes for myself or Zoe, and she’ll want her bottle in the morning. She has it as soon as she wakes up.’ He could hear the disappointment in her voice, and it gave him satisfaction knowing she wanted to spend the night with him.
Thinking on his feet, he said, ‘Well, how about you and I drive back to your place, and you pick up some things.’ He grabbed her around the waist and drew her into him. ‘And we could spend a little alone time before coming back,’ he whispered seductively in her ear.
Her eyebrows shot up. ‘Are you propositioning me?’
He nuzzled her neck. ‘I sure am. Do you still have your police uniform, maybe you could wear it for me? I’ve always been a sucker for a lady in uniform.’
Emma playfully swatted him away and took a step back. ‘Thank goodness, Zoe doesn’t have any idea what we’re talking about.’
Ben grinned mischievously. ‘So?’
‘So. You make a sound offer, Mr Beckett.’
He lifted one eyebrow. ‘Well?’
‘Okay. I accept.’
Emma pulled up to her house at last. It had felt like the longest drive home mainly because for the entire journey back to her place, Ben hadn’t kept his hands off her. He had started as soon as they had exited his driveway. Starting with a casual caress of her hair, placing the auburn locks behind her ear, and travelling one single finger down the side of her throat, caressing across her shoulder down to her breast where he circled her nipple through her jacket. Despite the layers of clothing, she still felt the effects of his touch, shuddering as his finger toured her stomach, waist, hip, and pelvis. He bypassed the road to the place where she wanted his touch most, frustratingly detouring to her thigh, gently stroking her through her jeans, and at sweet last, when she thought she’d lose her mind if he didn’t touch her, he cupped her, and her breath hitched as he stroked her through the harsh fabric of her jeans.
She had barely put the car into park when both their doors were open, and they were heading to her front door. Thank goodness Jackie had offered to watch Zoe while they were gone. They were alone, and Emma couldn’t wait to drag this man who had rocked her soul inside her house, rip the clothes from his body, and make sweet love to him with complete abandonment.
His lips were nuzzling her neck as her hands shook to get the key in the lock. Finally, with the door open, they practically fell inside, and the next thing she knew, they were stripping off their clothes on the way to her bedroom. Their mouths interlocked in a passionate kiss. They both kicked off their boots. She removed his jacket, casting it aside, and she was vaguely aware of the zip of her jacket being drawn down, and the jacket slipping from her shoulders. The house was pitch black as they made their way through the lounge room on instinct. She yelled out, ‘Ouch’ when the back of her knee hit the coffee table.
Between kisses, Ben mumbled, ‘Sorry, babe. I’ll kiss it better.’
Emma didn’t respond, he’d know from her ardent kisses she was more than okay. Her phone buzzed in the distance, whoever it was could wait. She pulled his shirt up, and he lifted his hands from her waist long enough to raise his ha
nds so she could lift the shirt over his head. She opened her eyes briefly as she tossed the shirt aside, and that’s when she saw the shadow. In their haste to be together, Emma had forgotten to lock the door behind them.
It was too late as she opened her mouth to scream, but she saw the look of shock sweep across Ben’s face as the sound of glass shattering against his skull sent him slumping forward. She caught him under his armpits as he sank to the floor. Falling to her knees with Ben in her arms, she saw the leering face of a woman staring down at her. Ben groaned as she drew him onto her lap, bleeding profusely from a wound on the back of his head where he had been struck with the vase which had held her beautiful sunflowers. They were scattered now, along with a million shards of glass over the carpet.
Thinking quickly, Emma reached for Ben’s discarded shirt and pressed it against the blood oozing from his skull.
‘Well, we finally meet,’ the woman said. She had wild, curly hair, grey with age. Emma guessed she was in her sixties. She’d had a hard life which was apparent from the lack of teeth in her mouth and her hunched-over shoulders. Her face was wrinkled, not with laugh lines but with harsh creases giving her a callous look. The fact she was covered in sores was a dead giveaway the woman was dependent on ice.
‘What do you want?’ Emma’s voice was fearless. It surprised her how strong she sounded.
The woman leaned down close enough so Emma could smell her rancid breath. ‘What do I want? Girly, I want my granddaughter, that’s what I want.’ She spat on Emma’s face, and Emma reached up and wiped it away with her sleeve.
Ben tried to lift his head, but Emma pushed his head back down firmly. He shouldn’t move. ‘She’s not here.’
‘I gathered that. What do you think, I’m stupid or something?’ Zoe’s grandmother had a lisp, her ‘s’ sounds particularly sounded like the letter was swirling wet in her mouth. Each time she spoke, Emma was sprayed with her spit.
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