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“I know darling.” Ben yawned and kissed the top of her head.
Beatrice immediately felt the atmosphere between them shift. What was once casual and relaxed suddenly became electrified with heightened awareness. She knew that he was looking at her when the warmth of his breath brushed gently across her cheek. As though drawn to the magnetic pull of his masculinity, she turned to face him.
His lips immediately captured hers in a drugging kiss that left them both gasping for breath, and unable to break away from the sensual web of desire that had woven around them.
She leaned back to look up at him and shivered at the molten desire in his eyes. She clung to him and moaned as delicious warmth began to unfurl deep in her belly when he began to slowly ease her back against the sofa.
He didn’t give her the time to stop and think before his head dipped once more. His fingers teased the long strands of her hair out of the tight bun at the nape of her neck, and combed through the riotous tumble of curls until they lay in a silken mass around her shoulders as he deepened the kiss.
She was his; the woman he was meant to spend his life with. Now all he had to do was prove it to her. He physically shook with the need that raged through him. It was a fierce battle between the need not to scare her, and the desire to plunder and take, seduce and consume, until she too was carried away by the depth of passion that surged between them.
When the barrier of their clothing became too much to bear, Ben tried to ease back on the kiss. His head lifted so that he could look down at her, but she was not prepared to release him. When his head didn’t lower as she wanted him to, Beatrice reluctantly opened her eyes to gaze up at him. The firelight lit the angles of his face and cast his defined features in shadow but, rather than appear dark and sinister, it only emphasised the rich masculinity of his face and increased her need for him. She had no idea what she was asking for, and daren’t look at the emotions coursing through her too closely, but she resolutely drew his head back down to hers anyway and copied the way he had kissed her only moments earlier.
Her lips sipped and nipped before drawing him deeper into an embrace that robbed him of all thought. His body immediately responded to her feminine lure and he settled over her more fully while he gauged her reaction to their intimate positions.
“God Beatrice, if we don’t stop this now, we won’t be stopping at all,” he warned her.
“Don’t stop,” she gasped and tugged his head back up to hers when he began to plant tiny kisses along her shoulder. “Please don’t stop.”
“Be sure of what you are asking for, Beatrice. There is no going back if I share your bed tonight.”
“I know,” she replied honestly. “I don’t think that we can go back. Not now. Not after everything that has happened between us. I won’t. I can’t.” Her eyes locked with his and she knew that he felt the same even before he seared her with one last, hard kiss before he lifted his weight off her and stood beside the sofa.
She gazed up at him for a moment and studied the hand he held out to her for several long moments before she returned her gaze to his. The warmth of his hand chased away any lingering doubts she might have had, and she smiled at him when he laced their fingers together and drew her around the room with him while he extinguished all of the candles.
They paused long enough to put the fire guard in place before they made their way upstairs.
Beatrice sighed in contentment and listen to Ben’s heavy breathing beside her. In all of her life she had never expected to share such wonderful intimacy with anyone, especially someone like Ben. He had taught her so much in such a short space of time that she still trembled with the force of the wonderful sensations their love making had brought her. It was inconceivable that she could ever regret sharing her bed, and her body, with him. In fact, what had transpired between them had chased away any lingering doubts she might have had that her future lay anywhere other than with him.
Last night had been stupendous; wonderful; shockingly wanton, and something she wanted to repeat over and over again. When he had woken her just before dawn, she had more than willingly followed his lead. They had savoured the passion that had roared to life between them with an enthusiasm that had left them both trembling with emotion, but she didn’t regret a single second of it. Life didn’t get any better than this. She knew without a shadow of a doubt that she loved him. From the bottom of her heart to the very depths of her soul, he was now a part of her in a way that nobody ever had been before and she knew that whatever happened, however he felt for her, he was meant to be a part of her life forevermore.
She yawned and felt his arm tighten around her waist as he stirred sleepily. A soft smile curved her lips, but she didn’t move again for fear of waking him. It was a delicious feeling to wake up in his arms and wondered if this is what it was going to feel like when they were married, and suddenly couldn’t wait to get the mystery of the plant out of the way so that they could move on with their lives, and start to get their relationship moving on a little so she could fulfil that dream of being his wife.
The sudden scuff of footfall outside the window was immediately followed by loud thumps on the back door which echoed hollowly around the silence of the house.
Ben’s eyes shot open as he listened to the heavy thuds that just didn’t stop. His scowl was deep and he threw Beatrice a warning look that told her to stay right where she was. Oblivious to his unclothed state, Ben hurried to the window and drew the shutter back. His lips twisted as he looked down at the top of the head he didn’t recognise. He heard Maud slide the bolts back on the kitchen door, and the low murmur of voices. Unfortunately though, they were too far away for him to hear what was being said.
“Who is it?” Beatrice asked, aware of her own well tousled state. She drew the sheet up to cover her nakedness and watched Ben quickly tug his clothes on with a sigh of dismay. She had hoped that they could have at least one last kiss before they had to leave the warmth of the bed, but it appeared that Ben had other ideas.
To her dismay, he seemed to have completely forgotten about what they had shared that night and now seemed more hell-bent on getting downstairs than saying ‘good morning’ to her.
“Maud shouldn’t have opened the door, damn it,” he swore and stomped out of the bedroom without a backward look. He stopped only briefly on the stairs to tug his boots on before he stormed into the kitchen.
Maud was just closing the door when he slammed to a stop behind her. He saw the stranger move past the kitchen window, and opened his mouth to lambast the housekeeper, only to freeze the look of sorrow on her face. His stomach dropped to his toes and he knew instinctively that the news wasn’t good.
“Ben, you need to hurry. That was Billy Green. He was sent by Fred. Apparently your house is on fire,” the housekeeper gasped tearfully.
“What?” Ben stared at her in horror. “Are you sure? Who told him?”
“Fred Dinage sent him to fetch you. Your house is on fire. He said to get over there right now.”
Ben didn’t need telling again and reached around her to yank the door open. He paused when he realised that Beatrice was standing in the kitchen doorway, and threw her a dark look of warning. “Stay here. Keep the door locked and don’t answer it to anyone.”
“I am coming with you. I can help,” Beatrice argued.
“No, you stay here,” Ben sighed and ran a frustrated hand through his hair. He didn’t have the time to argue and knew that his words had come out too sharply, but he just had to go and see how bad the damage to his house was.
“But I cannot sit here and do nothing, Ben. I have to be with you.”
