by Jamie Craig
He could feel her smile against his neck. “Go to concerts. Find some new bands for me.”
“Concerts. Check. You want me to send you any mp3s that sound interesting?”
“Yes. And if you get bored, you can weed my garden. Claire waters everything for me.”
“So, music, weeds…anything else, mistress?”
She shook her head, and her hair tickled his chin. “Don’t want to go. I don’t want to get out of bed in a few hours. I like it here.”
So did Ben. In fact, the thought of going back to his apartment and his lonely bed made him tighten his hold around Ana. “I don’t suppose there’s a chance you can take a later flight,” he said, only half joking.
“No, I have a meeting in Salt Lake at noon. So what are you really going to do this month?”
She said it like he hadn’t been serious about the music and gardening. Ben wracked his brain, wondering what he could say that wouldn’t make him sound like a slacker to her. “I haven’t actually given it any thought,” he admitted. “I’ve been too busy enjoying this week. Probably finish that paper I’ve been trying to write all semester.”
“You should do that.” She lifted her head to look at him with soft eyes. Touching his cheek gently, she added, “Ben, I just want you to know that whatever else happens, being with you this week was…really wonderful.”
“It was. The best.” He did his best to block out the ominous whatever else happens. He was dealing enough with his own sense of upcoming loss to even consider what Ana might be seeing in the future. “That’s because we’re so good together, you know.”
“We do have our moments.” Her hand slid between their bodies to brush against his cock. “Why don’t you give me another one to remember you by?”
He’d give her a thousand memories, and a thousand again, if he could only get her to stop making it sound like this was going to be it. Gently, Ben rolled Ana to her back, lowering his head to rain soft kisses along her jaw, as her fingers caressed the hardening length of his shaft. Her movements were slow, languid, still tempered by sleep, but it took only moments for him to get fully hard. She did that to him. She did a lot to him.
Ana wrapped her legs around him and ran her hands down his back, pressing him against her. She tilted her head, seeking his mouth, her tongue tracing his lips. He ran his fingers down her face, her long neck, her chest. He cupped her breast, massaging her nipple against the palm of her hand. She sighed, her breath warm and soft across his face, and shifted beneath him until the head of his cock rested against her lips.
Ben entered her without fanfare, without the edgy hunger that had typified most of their fucking the past week. Ana was too sleepy yet to make this hard, and besides, he wanted to savor each sensation. He paused when he was fully sheathed, taking the time to kiss her again, and only when he felt the impatient shift of her hips did he begin to slide in and out of her wet heat.
“I’m going to miss you,” he murmured.
Her hands went to his hips, her fingers gliding against him each time he moved. Ana was never shy about taking what she wanted, or showing him what she needed. But now she just looked at him with half-closed eyes, moving with him, like she didn’t want anything to change. He covered her face with soft kisses, and she caught his lips each time he brushed them across her mouth.
“I’m going to miss you, too.” She sighed. “It’s going to be hard…”
“I know. But I’ll call. And you can call me. And there’s always e-mail.”
Ana nodded. “I’ll call you. I’ll check my e-mail. Every chance I get.”
Ben smiled before catching her lips in another kiss, this one deeper than its predecessors. He was worrying for nothing. Ana had just been tired saying those things, and the walls she kept around her fears were lower. But she wouldn’t be like this if she didn’t care. She wouldn’t be like this with him now, her knowing hands moving over his back in gentle glides, her body answering his when he quickened his pace slightly.
He touched his forehead to hers, his eyes searching hers. A part of him expected her to look away from him. She always did, uncomfortable if he looked at her too long, like she didn’t want him to see too much. But her gaze remained locked on his. She moved her hands up his back and buried her fingers in his hair, holding him.
The words came so naturally, he wondered why they had taken so long to come at all.
“God, I love you,” Ben breathed.
Her eyes ducked, her lashes obscuring her dark eyes. He held his breath, waiting for her response, but she didn’t speak. She only tilted her head back to find his mouth, kissing him slowly to match the measured rhythm of his hips.
He was lost at the first contact. Being with Ana made everything else vanish, something no other woman had ever done with him. He should have realized ages ago what his feelings were, but he’d been so wrapped up in the cloud of desire that he hadn’t seen it. But he knew now. That was what mattered. And it filled him with more joy than he thought possible.
He returned her kiss with a deeper edge and shifted the angle of his body in order to hit the spot he knew now would drive her closer to orgasm. Ana gasped against his mouth but didn’t pull away, her fingers digging into the muscle of his back as he continued to thrust. He was close himself and grateful that they’d realized they could get away without the occasional condom, but there was no way he was coming before Ana did.
Ana tensed beneath him, her chest hitching against his. Ben expected a series of moans and even shouts to herald her orgasm, but for the first time since he knew her, she was silent. Her lips thinned with the effort to bite back her response, and her nails sank deeper into his back. She clung to him as her body shook, pulling him closer, deeper, and her tight walls fluttered and clenched around his cock.
The sensations were too much. Ben cried out her name, his back tensing as he drove her into one last time, but Ana’s hands were there, at his nape, pulling him down to her mouth as he shot deep inside her. There were words he wanted to say, sentiments he wanted her to hear, but she refused to abandon the kisses until the quivering in his arms refused to hold his weight any more.
Breaking free, Ben rolled to his back, making sure to take Ana with him. His hands smoothed down her warm skin as he buried his nose in her hair.
“I do, you know,” he murmured. “Love you. That wasn’t just a sex thing.”
She was heavy with sleep against him, each breath deeper as she drifted back to her dreams. “Get some sleep, Ben. We’ve got an early morning.”
Sleep.
He glanced at the clock out of the corner of his eye.
4:18.
His arms tightened a little bit more around her.
Chapter 10
Ben knew Ana was going to be busy. Her job was demanding at the best of times, but traveling with the author who needed her hand held didn’t qualify. She was going to be on-call practically 24/7, so he knew not to expect very much communication from her. It didn’t stop him from hoping, though.
The first day passed with only a brief e-mail announcing she’d arrived safely at the hotel and would write as soon as she could. He wrote back a short note, telling her he missed her and was keeping his fingers crossed that it wouldn’t be tough. He signed it, “Love, Ben.”
He didn’t hear from her on the second day. Or the third. On the morning of the fourth, he woke up to a message apologizing for taking so long to get back to him.
I’m busier than I anticipated. I think e-mailing is going to be tough for a while.
He wrote her back. He signed his e-mail exactly the same. He wasn’t going to deny how he felt about her, even if it made her uncomfortable.
This was the way it went for the rest of the week.
The paper he’d hoped would distract him took less time than Ben anticipated. He started going out to Ana’s during the day, working on the garden as he had promised. Every time he showed up, Claire came out with her poodle, smiling and flirtatious. It was flattering, but he
made it clear as soon as possible that he wasn’t available. The company was nice, though. It made time pass faster.
A week after Ana had gone, Ben arrived at the house earlier than usual. The weather was promising to be hot. He wanted to have the weeding done before the sun was too high overhead. Then he would retreat to his cooler apartment and continue his quest for new music. He hoped to find at least one new band to try out, but so far, no luck. Maybe today would be different.
The unfamiliar sports car in front of the house brought Ben to a stop, but before he had a chance to investigate, Ana’s front door swung open. His heart stopped and for a wild second, he thought she was home early. But then a man he didn’t recognize stepped out of the house, and Ben’s stomach dropped. Who had the right to come and go at will?
“Can I help you with something?” the man asked, noticing Ben staring at him.
He was as tall as Ben, with skin a rich dark brown and not a hair on his head. Dressed in an expensive suit, he looked to be in his early forties, though time was starting to thicken his lean frame. A lawyer, maybe? A professional, most definitely.
“I think I should be asking you the same question,” Ben replied, taking a step closer. “This is Ana Seger’s house. And you’re not her.”
“Very astute, sir. You’re not her, either. So what are you doing here?” He eyed Ben’s old T-shirt and ratty jeans. “Oh, are you the kid she hired to water her plants?”
He gritted his teeth. He hated it when people referred to him as a kid. “No, Claire is watering. And Ana didn’t hire me. I told her I’d do some weeding while she was gone.” Another step. “You still haven’t told me who you are, or what you’re doing here, so unless you want me to call the cops to report your trespassing, I suggest you start talking.”
“I don’t think I can technically be arrested for trespassing in my own house. Though it’s been twenty years since law school, so I could be mistaken.” He pulled the door shut behind him and locked it. “I’m Clint Seger. Ana’s ex.”
Ben stiffened at the name, his gaze sweeping over the man in fresh assessment. Considering what he knew about Ana, Clint wasn’t what he would have expected at all. And for some reason, he’d thought that Ana had gone back to her maiden name after the divorce, but apparently not.
There was one thing Ben was sure about, though. There was no way Ana would want her ex wandering around her house when she wasn’t there.
“I think Ana might have an opinion about whose house it is,” he said, pulling out his phone.
“I’m not particularly concerned about Ana’s opinions,” Clint said, sliding on a pair of dark sunglasses. “But I already called her and told her I was dropping off some paperwork, so you can save it.”
“That’s what mailboxes are for.” He couldn’t help the tight tone of his voice. This man rubbed him the wrong way.
“What? Are you her little guard dog or something? Go yip at somebody else’s ankles.”
“No, I’m her boyfriend, asshole.”
That seemed to get his attention, but only for a moment, before he smirked and shook his head. “It’s a little bit too late for the rebound, so I guess she’s just trying to compensate for something.”
Ben folded his arms over his chest, hiding the fists he couldn’t unclench. “Ana doesn’t need to compensate for anything. Except for finally getting someone who treats her with a little respect.”
“It’s not wise to talk about things you couldn’t possibly understand. You don’t know the first thing about how I treated her.” He stopped in front of Ben. “You haven’t known her for long, have you? Well, I’d try to warn you, but where would the fun be in that?”
“There’s nothing to warn me about. I know exactly what kind of woman Ana is.”
The smirk didn’t leave his face. “Enlighten me, please. What kind of woman is she?”
“A strong, independent, beautiful woman. Who deserves someone who won’t walk out without even an explanation.”
“Ana is beautiful, I could never deny that. As for the rest…well, give me a call when the honeymoon is over, kid.”
Ben reacted on instinct. Maybe it was the disregard for Ana’s achievements that pissed him off. Maybe it was the smug look on Clint’s face that just begged to be obliterated. Or maybe it was just the fact that he really, really, really didn’t like being referred to as “kid.”
His fist shot out, slamming into Clint’s jaw. Pain radiated up his arm, and Ben pulled back, cradling his hand, but Clint was already staggering backward. He hadn’t seen it coming.
Good.
Clint straightened, wiping the back of his hand across his bleeding lip. He pulled his hand away and looked at the blood there, before taking a step forward. Before Ben could step out of the taller man’s reach, one large fist connect with his left eye. Ben stumbled back, putting his fists up to block another hit, but it didn’t come.
“I hope that made you feel better,” Clint said, wiping his lip again as he walked over to his car.
It had, but Ben wasn’t going to dignify the remark with a response. He watched as Clint drove away, not moving even when Claire came rushing over.
“Did you hit him?” Claire asked, touching his arm. Ben turned to look at her and she gasped. “Oh my. We better get some ice on that. Come on.”
Claire didn’t give Ben a chance to refuse. She dragged him across the yard to her house, not stopping until she had him inside the cool kitchen, sitting on a barstool. “Why did you hit him?”
Ben reached up and touched his eye, wincing at the slight pressure. “Because he’s an asshole.”
Claire sighed and dumped a handful of ice into a small plastic bag. “He might be an asshole, but he’s not the sort of man you should start a brawl with.” She wrapped the ice in a towel and handed it to him. “Especially if you want to stay on Ana’s good side.”
Yeah, he had a feeling Ana wasn’t going to be happy about it when she found out. Would Clint call her? As much as he hated the idea, Ben knew he couldn’t give Clint the opportunity.
He sighed. This wasn’t going to go well, no matter how it played out.
“What happened with them?” he asked, pressing the ice lightly to his eye.
Claire pursed her lips. “Well, I’m not a gossip, and I don’t know how much she told you, but…” Claire pulled up a stool and sat across from him. “I’ve known the two of them since they bought the house ten years ago. Ana spent a lot of time over here, looking for a shoulder to cry on. She suspected Clint of cheating on her, but she never had any proof. When she finally confronted him about her suspicions, they had the fight to end all fights.”
Ben opened his mouth, but Claire didn’t give him the chance to speak.
“They must have spent most of the night shouting at each other. The next morning, Ana was all smiles, but three weeks later, Clint bought his sports car, packed up, and moved out. She was crushed.”
It explained a lot. How so much of the house looked untouched. Ana’s reticence to extend their contact when they had first started e-mailing. He had never dated a divorced woman before, but he’d seen enough Oprah to know it left its scars. He’d mistakenly assumed that Ana’s strong front meant that she’d come through relatively unscathed. He had been wrong.
“I can’t believe he’s still got a key to the house,” he commented. “Does he come around often?”
“Often enough to rub it in. Oh, he always has a perfectly legitimate reason. He’s very clever that way. Ana either doesn’t realize what he’s up to, or she doesn’t care.”
The more he heard about Clint Seger, the more Ben disliked the man. “He’s the one who left her. Is he really such a control freak that he can’t let her get on with her life?”
“I don’t know.” Claire looked at her hands, no longer the eager gossip but more of a concerned friend. “He enjoys the power he has over her. He once kept her from going to concerts for a whole year, for no other reason than he could, as far as I can tell.”
&nbs
p; There had to be more to the story, Ben knew, but that didn’t make it any easier to listen to. He hated seeing Ana put into that position, and suddenly, hitting the man once seemed far too light a reaction.
“Hopefully, she’ll start believing she deserves better than to be treated like that.” He sighed. “Except now I have to tell her what I did. I hope she doesn’t use it as another excuse.”
“Well, I’ll e-mail her and tell her I witnessed the whole thing, and you were clearly provoked,” Claire promised. “That should help your cause a bit.”
Ben smiled. “Thanks.” Rising from the stool, he handed over the ice pack. “And thanks for the TLC. I don’t think I’m going to be sticking around today. I should probably head back to my place so that I can talk to her.”
“Don’t let her push you away,” Claire said, standing as well. “She’s strong, and she’s good at keeping people at arm’s distance. Don’t let her get away with it.”
“I hadn’t planned on it.” The smile he shot her was brilliant. “She thought I was persistent before? She hasn’t seen anything yet.”
Chapter 11
Date: May 17, 2007
To: bj_scalia
From: ana_moon
Subject: ??
What did you do to my ex-husband?
Ana
* * * *
Date: May 17, 2007
To: ana_moon
From: bj_scalia
Subject: Re: ??
Somehow, I’m not surprised he got to you first.
He was at the house this morning when I stopped by to do the weeding. And he’s an asshole. He said a few things that pissed me off, and I hit him. Just once, and the worst he’s going to have from it is a fat lip for a day. But he deserved it, Ana. You should’ve heard the things he said.
And why does he have a key to your house?
Ben
* * * *
Date: May 17, 2007
To: bj_scalia
From: ana_moon
Subject: Re: ??
Sometimes when I leave town like this, he comes by and checks on things. And we’re currently selling the last bit of property we own together, so he was dropping off the paperwork for me to sign. You’re lucky I talked him out of pressing charges.