Page 113 of Carbon

Something else turned out to be him washing my hair and soaping every inch of my body while he peppered me with kisses. I was already in heaven when he dropped to his knees and showed me the importance of cleaning every last hidden inch.

“I love you,” I gasped as he took me over the edge.

I could taste myself on his lips as he pressed them against mine. “Love you too, Augusta.”

After that many orgasms, I was ready to collapse back into bed again, but a knock at the door made me clutch my hands over my bits even though it was still closed.

“Dudes, we’ve got work to do,” Emmy yelled. “You can fuck later.”

“Oh, shit,” I muttered. “Do you think she heard us?”

Ben grinned. “Probably.”

“How are we supposed to face them?”

“I’m never going to be ashamed of anything I do with you. Hold your head high, and we’ll walk in side by side.”

I looked down at my attire, or rather the lack of it. “Perhaps we’d better get dressed first?”

His smile faltered. “Yeah. I’ve only got yesterday’s clothes.”

“We’ll get you some new ones. I could call... No, I can’t call Dorothy. We’ll sort something out.”

“They just need a wash.”

“I’ll ask Ruth to show me where the machine is.”

“You don’t need to run around after me,trésor.” He straightened the duvet, then bent down to pick up last night’s condoms from the floor.

“We need to flush those. Emmy said... Well, she thinks that maybe Leroux stole the ones we used at midnight and used them to frame you for Angie’s murder.”

“I’d come to the same conclusion. There’s no other way. The only girl I’ve been with since the Leroux thing kicked off is you, and when I jack off, I tend to do it in the shower.”

A little of the tension I’d been carrying around with me seeped away. True, we’d never discussed exclusivity, but if he’d told me there was another girl involved, I’d have been devastated. But there was only me. And the thought of him touching himself in the shower with water streaming down his naked body made a mess in my knickers. Dammit.

Another soft knock interrupted us, and we both stared at the door.

“I’ll get it,” Ben said, doing up his jeans.

I tugged a T-shirt on as he let Sofia in. She hesitated to step over the threshold and held out a couple of carrier bags. “Here. I thought you might be short of clothes.”

He took the gift with a quiet, “Thanks,” but she didn’t move.

“I’m sorry about last night. I shouldn’t have unloaded all of that on you.”

“Don’t apologise. I’d rather know. I’m just sorry I wasn’t there to stop him. If there’s anything I can do to make up for it, just say the word.”

“Until I got the call about the DNA match, I’d buried it, and I’ll do the same again.”

“Is that healthy?” I blurted, realising too late I shouldn’t be listening in to a private conversation.

“It’s better than it preying on my mind every second of every fucking day and night.”

She smiled, and it chilled me to the bone.

Ben ignored the daggers coming from her eyes. “It can help to talk to someone.”

“You think? My ex-employer sent me to a therapist once. I was so fucked in the head I didn’t realise she reported everything I told her back to them, and they used that knowledge to their advantage. Damn it, I’m running my mouth again. Look, don’t worry about me. We’re here to sort out your problems.”

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