Page 21 of Falling for the Forbidden
“Of course I do, but you can’t just move me in and out when it suits you,” I mutter.
“It’s my house, young lady,” he snaps, and I see a little of the person he was last night seeping in.
“No, Dad. It’s Jenny’s house. I’m nineteen in a few weeks. I’m more than capable of being home alone and not burning the place to the ground.”
“Thatisn’t what I’m concerned about.”
“Oh, and what is it exactly that you’re concerned about?” Raising an eyebrow, I wait for his response.
The silence stretches out between us before the noise of my phone going off sounds out like a siren. Ignoring it, I continue to stare at my dad.
“Give the girl a break, Nick. She’s more than welcome to stay here while we’re away,” Jenny says, joining us out of nowhere.
Dad turns his stare on her, giving me a chance to look at my phone.
Ben:You are NOT going to your mum’s this weekend.
Looking up,I glance around for him. My body is aware that he’s looking at me, but I don’t see him. That is, until a shadow catches my eye when it moves from the top of the stairs. He may not have been in bed when I woke this morning, but he’s keeping a close eye on me—protecting me, just like he said he intended to do.
Once I know he’s gone, I look back down at my message and butterflies take flight in my stomach at the prospect of an entire weekend alone with him.
“You’d better be texting your mother,” my dad grumbles, having finished his debate with Jenny, “Because if you don’t arrange it, I will.”
“Yeah, of course.”
“I’ll be checking,” he warns, earning himself another look of disappointment from Jenny.
I want to argue with him, but the knowledge that everything he seems to be scared of happening probably will happen once the two of us are alone has the words dying on my tongue.
A whole weekend with Ben in an empty house.Some of the sensations he created in my body last night tingle within me, making me desperate for the weekend.
* * *
I don’t geta chance to make a plan to fool Dad into believing I’m with Mum this weekend, because the second I get to work, things go crazy. It’s probably not helped by the fact that I’ve only had a few hours’ sleep, and when I do get a quiet moment, my thoughts immediately transport me back to Ben’s bed and how it felt to have his hands and lips on me.
I squirm in my seat once again and my face flames red when it doesn’t go unnoticed by Erica.
“You okay, Lauren? You should book a doctor’s appointment for that.” She winks.
My cheeks have barely cooled down when my skin tingles and a shiver runs down my spine.
He’s here.
It’s only another two seconds before the door opens and Ben marches into the office. I look up, desperate to see him after everything that happened between us, but he doesn’t even look my way.
Disappointment fills me.
I watch as he walks straight up to Laura at the other end of the office and starts asking about some delivery and hiring some lifters for the job he’s working on.
The whole time I sit there, unable to take my eyes off him, willing him to look my way so that I know I didn’t imagine what was between us. If the pull I feel is really there, surely he’s fighting not to look my way right now.
As their conversation comes to an end, my heart starts to race. Surely now he’ll acknowledge my presence?
Instead, he turns towards my dad’s office, lets out a long breath and walks in—without knocking like everyone else does, of course.
With my frustration growing by the minute, I push my chair out behind me and mutter something about going to make tea before disappearing into our little kitchen and flicking the kettle on.
It takes forever to boil. Or, at least it feels that way as I fight to keep thoughts of him being in the other room from my mind. Being able to hear his deep rumbling voice through the thin wall doesn’t help all that much.
