Page 51 of Let Me Love You (Excess All Areas 5)

“Have I ever told you you’re beautiful?”

Chaya blushed and bit her lower lip for a moment. “You’ve said I looked pretty, have mentioned how well items of my clothing fit. But, no, I’m pretty certain you never called me beautiful.”

He touched a knuckle to her cheek. “Well, you are.” Stepping inside, he allowed the door to click closed behind him. It was a mistake because the room smelled like her. Miss Dior. And the black dress she was wearing, a deceptively simple mix of thin straps and black satin that kissed her curves perfectly.

He cupped her cheeks and kissed her. All his good intentions left him, for a moment. He’d wanted to kiss her every day for years, and now he could, he suddenly didn’t want to wait another moment.

He ran a fingertip from her shoulder to her hand.

When he stepped back, wide eyes looked up at him, as if surprised yet thrilled by his touch. “I love it when you kiss me.”

As he’d showered, he’d given himself a talking to. They had so much to discuss, about their futures, to see if they could ever truly get on the same page, and he’d had to remind himself that serving his heart up for another beating was a stupid move.

He was optimistic. She was here. But…there was more to it than simply loving each other. Because if that was all there was to it, they’d be fine. Of that he was certain.

Ben discreetly rearranged his dick in his denim. “I like it too. Will you be ready in six minutes, or should I tell Alex and Matt we need a bit longer?”

Chaya stood back in front of the mirror and continued straightening her hair. He’d watched her do it a thousand times before and could tell by the fact she was on what he mentally referred to as the upper third, which she’d complete in eight sections, it would take a little over five minutes.

He flopped down on her bed. The room was so much tidier than his own.

“I’ll be fine. Just need to finish this, pull on my shoes, and apply my lipstick.”

Ben bit down on the urge to ravish her lips some more. It was hard. The waiting. But he needed to retain just the smallest part of self-preservation.

When she was finally done, and she had her purse, then her phone, oh, and her lipstick, he held the door open and placed his hand on her lower back as she walked by.

One glass of champagne became two, two became four.

Or maybe that was simply because there was so much alcohol buzzing in her veins right now that Chaya couldn’t see how many glasses were on the table.

“It’s very red,” Zoe signed.

At least, that’s what Chaya thought she signed, but given Zoe was also very drunk and gave no more clues, Chaya wasn’t quite sure what she was signing about.

They’d ended up on a leather banquet and chairs around low brown tables in The Rum House. It gave off old library and prohibition-era vibes. Or perhaps an old-school gentleman’s club. It was hard to pick because Ben’s thigh was pressed up against hers. The brush of the fabric of his dark black denim shouldn’t be so arousing and yet, combined with his arm casually thrown over the back of the banquet, she was all kinds of wound up.

His fingers would occasionally stroke down her hair, or grip the back of her neck, massaging the tense muscles running up the back of her skull.

“What’s got you all pensive?”Ben’s voice in her ear made her jump.

“Oh, gosh. I was just thinking about what a bizarre twenty-four hours I just had. When I was texting with the girls, I thought we’d all just got buoyed along by the idea of me just showing up and surprising you, but I didn’t think it would actually happen. But then, Cerys sent the plane ticket, and I had no idea if I could even get the time off at such short notice. But I just came off call, had a teaching day, and then it was my day off. I only needed about six hours of cover, so I swapped a shift with a friend. I sent my sister a picture from the aircraft coming in to land, but she didn’t respond. None of them have. When Mum and Dad stopped speaking to me, they did too.”

He placed his arm around her. “This is why we can’t rush this. A lot is changing for you.”

“It is, but the best change is this.” She placed her hand on his cheek. “I get to be here, with you. The wins outweigh the losses.”

Ben smiled at her, his dimples popping. “Well, I’m glad you’re here. Tell me what your favourite colour is.”

“You know this.”

“You know, we’ve been friends so long, that it might have changed. Humour me.”

“It’s teal, followed by petrol blue. Like it’s always been.”

Ben nodded as if he’d just been dropped a most valuable piece of knowledge. “Good to know. Mine is black if I’m being manly and burnt orange if I’m being honest.”

Now it was Chaya’s turn to laugh. “Which is why the accent colours in your living room are burnt orange.”

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