An Act of Persuasion(68)

The bump took over and demanded food. Ben was happy to treat her to lunch, which included a tuna-fish sandwich with an extra pickle and a brownie with whip cream that she insisted on eating first. He merely expressed his gratitude that she wasn’t eating them together.

By the time they arrived at her apartment and he walked her to her door, she was in a crazy state. Nervous, but excited. Queasy, but exhilarated. She was ready. This time when he made his move she would let him take over.

They were going to do this. They were going to have sex. It would be nice, it would be thoughtful, not just some random happening. Then they would get to find out what kind of couple they would be going forward. At least in bed.

“Anna, today has been lovely. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Actually I was going to—”

“I’m exhausted. I’m sure you are, too. So, I’ll leave you to rest alone. I’m convinced that sleeping was so difficult for you last time because the bed was too small. We won’t have that problem with the new one.”

He bent down and kissed her firmly, but briefly, on the lips then headed away from her before she finally got the chance to say what she wanted.

“But I think I want to have sex with you.”

The empty hallway, however, didn’t respond.

* * *

BEN WALKED into his home office and saw the couch waiting for him. He imagined how good it would feel to get off his feet and close his eyes and lose himself to sleep. It had been a good day today. He’d definitely felt as though progress had been made, especially when she’d agreed to the larger bed.

And, for a moment, when she’d looked at him then at the bed, he imagined that she was seeing them in it together in the near future. Maybe not precisely the way he did, with him above her and inside her, pinned to the mattress so that she would never think about leaving him again.

No, he doubted she would know how desperately he wanted to possess her. Instead, he thought she imagined them as an ordinary couple, as two people who belonged in the same bed, which was a good thing.

When he’d left her with nothing more than a kiss, had that been disappointment in her eyes? Had she expected him to make a move on her? After all, he’d flat out told her he wanted her and he’d seen the reaction in her eyes when he had.

Maybe she thought he intended to go inside her apartment with her. Hell, maybe she’d intended to do the asking herself but he’d cut her off.

The idea brought a smile to his lips. If he’d left her a little...deflated...then that might be a good change for them. He’d made his feelings regarding sex known. Maybe it was time for Anna to start admitting that she wanted him, too.

The way she’d looked at him...then at that large bed...

Of course, Sharpe had interrupted them and removed all thoughts of bed-sharing. Ben walked over to his desk, deliberately holding off succumbing to the couch and its temptation for now. He saw the folder on his desk, the one he knew contained Anna’s birth certificate.

He had to believe that whatever business Sharpe wanted to discuss with him revolved around Anna and her missing parents. Maybe Mark had found something and wanted to let Ben know about it first, as a courtesy.

Ben doubted it, though. He had firm suspicion that Mark’s first loyalties were to Anna. Whose wouldn’t be? The woman practically inspired it with her spirit. In seconds she’d managed to make a connection with Mark’s daughter that he doubted Sharpe had been able to do in weeks of communication.

Ben looked again at the birth certificate and thought about the woman who had come from a childhood like Anna’s. He thought about the heartbreaking stories she’d told him of her time in foster care. Stories she didn’t see as heartbreaking, instead simply accepted them as something that had happened to her. Even now a surge of rage bubbled in him when he thought of some punk-assed kid who was bigger than she was, holding her down and hitting her face so hard he broke her nose.

Ben took a breath and controlled the urge to seek out that kid and return the favor. He knew she wouldn’t appreciate it.

Now she wanted to go further into her past. She wanted Ben to take her deeper into where her life had truly started and where it all went wrong. It was probably time to admit, at least to himself, that it wasn’t a place he wanted her to go.

Especially now. With so much of her life in turmoil between him and the baby. The house had been the first step to giving her the security and comfort he wanted her to have in life. Unraveling the truth about her past now might shake that foundation of security at a time when she needed it most.