“You must meet people from around the world,” I said when he poured the wine that accompanied our fourth course, Chateaubriand.
“It is one of my favorite things about working for Il Palagio.”
By the time we finished our dessert, I was having a hard time keeping my eyes open. I hadn’t slept well the night before, after having to abruptly leave the farmhouse and Brand’s visit.
“Shall we?” Ben asked when I yawned for the third time.
“Forgive me. I’m more tired than I realized.”
He shook his head and stood to help with my chair. “Don’t apologize.”
I followed him out of the restaurant, baffled when he led me over to the bank of elevators.
“I thought it might be easier if we stayed here tonight.”
He withdrew a key card from his pocket. “I’ve booked a two-bedroom suite.”
“Thank you,” I murmured, wondering if he expected I’d share his bed or if he truly intended for us to stay in two separate rooms.
Unlike before, when it seemed neither of us could keep our hands off the other, Ben was acting more the polite gentleman.
“I had our bags brought to the room,” he said, motioning me to a doorway. When he turned on the light, I saw mine but no others.
He cupped my cheek with his palm and kissed my forehead. “I know you’re tired. Get some rest.”
I put my hand on the door. “Good night, then.”
“Good night, Catarina.”
17
Halo
The first thing I did when I entered the second bedroom was put in my earphones. The dual tracking and listening device I’d put in Tara’s bag was powerful enough that I’d hear her side of any conversation, unless she put it on speaker, in which case I’d hear both.
So far, she hadn’t made any calls, but I expected that once she believed I was out of earshot, there was a good chance she’d contact the man she was supposed to meet.
The time we spent together today had almost made me forget what I’d seen the night before. Tara was engaging, bright, funny, and fascinating. She was also sexy as fuck.
Our day was as close to perfect as I could imagine, if only I could keep seeing her with another man out of my head.
It was hard for me to marry the two sides of her in my mind. How could she be so flirtatious with me if she was involved with someone else? It wasn’t just that she flirted, the heat I saw in her eyes sometimes, left me breathless. For hours, I fought against having my hands on her every minute, until I stopped trying and gave into my desire to touch her.
I heard her moving about, followed by a door closing, which I assumed was the bathroom. I checked my phone to see if there’d been activity on hers, but saw none. When I heard what sounded like Tara filling the bath, I took off my clothes and turned on the shower. Moments later, I heard a faint sound in my ear. Was she crying? I shut off the water and turned the volume up on the earphones.
I rested on the bed and turned off the light, focusing only on the noises I heard coming from the other room. When the sound of the tub filling stopped, I could tell she wasn’t crying; Tara was whimpering. More—she was groaning.
My cock sprung to life when I also heard the rustle of water. Evidently, I’d left Miss Emsworth sexually frustrated. I pushed the idea that it wasn’t me, but her mystery man, out of my head as I stroked myself in rhythm to her mewls.
She let out a sound similar to the one she made when her eyes rolled back into her head, followed by the one word that brought me to my own quick release. “Ben,” she moaned.
I lay still, catching my breath, listening to the water as it moved with what I pictured was her hand between her legs, maybe the fingers of the other pinching her nipples. She said my name again, and I closed my eyes. I saw her on the kitchen island in the farmhouse, writhing against my mouth and fingers. When there was no question she was coming, I stroked myself to my second release.
There was no sound coming from the bathroom or bedroom for quite a while; I’d almost drifted to sleep when I heard her door open and close. I waited, holding my breath to see if she’d come to my room. I could no longer hear her footfalls as I willed the knob of my door to turn. Instead, there was nothing, not even the sound of her walking about.
I pulled on my boxer briefs and went out to the common area. There, by the light of the moon, I could see Tara standing near the window that looked out over the park.
“Is everything okay?” I asked.