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“Let me deal with that,” Ben said.
He scooped her into his arms and laid her gently in the back of his car. After making sure she was comfortable and secure, he returned to Moretti. He lifted him like a rag doll over his head and placed him in the passenger’s seat.
Getting back to her apartment was a blur. She went in and out of consciousness, hearing Ben’s calming voice at a distance. She didn’t know what he had done with the Moretti boy, but all she knew was that he was suddenly gone as she woke up in her bedroom.
She could hear Ben starting to run a bath as she lay there, a blanket over her body and a pillow pushed under her head. Her wrist continued to ache like a thousand knives were embedded in it, and she winced when she gazed down at the unsightly appearance.
It had swollen to the point of looking like a tiny plum, just as purple and glossy.
Ben came back into the room to find her awake, his eyes bright and concerned.
“Are you okay?” he said, racing toward the side of the bed.
Liz had to blink for a second and consider the question. She lifted her hand up, feeling the weight of it like she had grown a catcher's mitt through her wrist bone.
“I feel mostly okay,” she said, feeling serene. “Other than this extra limb, anyway.”
Ben smiled, but the concern hadn’t left his face. He bent over, taking her hand in his like he was petting a lamb. His gentleness made her heart beat wildly.
“I wanted to wait for you to wake up before I gave you some pain meds,” Ben said. “I can wrap it for you once you’re all clean and rested.”
Liz nodded. For the first time in her life, she was okay with someone else taking the reins. It was completely new, but the fact that it no longer scared her was striking.
She figured that was what love was.
Ben gave her a strong pain medication he had in his possession. Liz felt it hit her hard as he helped her into the tub, the extension of her body fading away until she was simply just one floaty cloud. She was her own essence.
Ben sat with her in the tub just in case she dozed off. He made her chamomile tea that would calm her shock, and he chatted lightly to keep her stimulated. The truth was, though, Liz had never felt more relaxed in her entire life.
The bath salts he’d used smelled of lavender and intermingled with the glorious fragrance of the herbal tea. She soaked, feeling like a queen having returned from battle and gazing at the man she wanted to be her king.
“I want to talk to you,” she said, voice low and dozy. “It’s very important.”
Ben smiled, then ran his fingers along his chin. He then stood, picked up a towel, and threw it over his shoulder.
“One more moment,” he insisted. “Let me get you out of here first.”
Liz accepted his offer and let herself be helped out of the tub. He then rubbed her down, from her toes all the way up to her face and hair, as she held onto his shoulders, then his waist for balance. When he ran the towel through her strands, his eyes blazed at her, and there wasn’t any way that she was going to be able to keep it in any longer.
She was standing there naked with the man of her dreams, drying her body. Her skin was humming while also feeling relaxed. It was a sedated feeling of trust she knew she would never find again.
So Liz took hold of his wrist softly, and his eyes came to her like an arrow to a bull’s eye.
“Ben, I’m in love with you,” she said as sternly as she could. “I don’t know what it was that we started off with, but I know how I feel. I am confident about that now. And I need to know what you are feeling right now.”
Ben did not hesitate, giving her no space to worry.
He tipped her chin up to him after wrapping the towel around her body. He then kissed her as velvety as a butterfly’s wing.
“Liz, I am in love with you too,” he whispered. “You are my mate. I’m sorry I was so stupid, so blind.”
Liz forgave him instantly. Nothing in the past mattered. All she cared about was how it would be from then on and into eternity.
“Oh, Ben,” she whimpered.
Their mouths met again with delicious fervency, and Liz groaned deep into him. Ben reached his arms around her and pulled her into him, her smaller body enclosed in his giant form.
Just as things started to heat up, when their tongues began to mingle, Ben pulled away, taking hold of her wounded hand.
