Touch Me (You & Me 2)

Of all the feelings he had experienced while sitting alone in his living room, one he had not denied was longing. He missed Katherine, and that was a new feeling for him. When you could buy anything you wanted, it was a rare occasion to not be able to get what you wanted.

“Did your husband do this to you?” Ben asked again, and Katherine nodded in his arms, unable to speak through her tears. Saying ‘husband’ made him sick to his stomach, but it was a cold truth he was going to have to accept.

“I’m so sorry,” she finally mumbled, prompting Ben to hold her tighter.

He couldn’t believe she could possibly feel any guilt or remorse for what had happened. She was nothing short of an angel at the event. Despite the way it had ended, Ben had not forgotten how perfectly the first half of the evening had gone. She was graceful and charismatic, the highlight of every conversation she was in. To see her now saddened with grief hurt him more deeply than he would have thought possible.

“I’m so sorry,” Katherine repeated over and over, her voice gaining clarity as her tears slowed.

“Katherine, please listen to me,” Ben said, speaking in a calm and even tone as he rubbed her back. “You have nothing to be sorry about.”

Katherine nodded, but it wasn’t enough for Ben. With his hand resting on the nape of her neck, Ben tilted her head so he could see the pain in her eyes, wishing he could carry the burden for her.

“You have nothing to be sorry about, Katherine.”

With his arms wrapped around her bruised body, Ben stood in the doorway of his home with Katherine, staring deeply into her eyes as he tried to silently say the words his mouth refused to speak. He wanted her to know how badly he wished to care for her.

While he had always been cautious of people trying to take advantage of him, Ben felt for the first time a desire to spend every penny of his fortune to help someone else. Whatever he had was hers, she just needed to ask.

“This is the only place I wanted to be,” Katherine finally broke the silence.

Ben was ecstatic that she had showed up at his house, despite the circumstances. In his mind, it meant that she must share at least some of the strong feelings he himself was experiencing. It was a bit of validation that he wasn’t alone, and although he wasn’t sure what the future held, he was much more optimistic than when he was sitting alone in the living room.

“Let’s get you inside,” he finally said, leading the way.

“I don’t mean to be a burden,” Katherine started, but Ben cut her off, pulling her close again.

“Katherine, you could never be a burden to me. I’m just so glad you came here, now let me take care of you.”

Leading her through the house, Ben stopped in the kitchen to get Katherine a bottle of water before taking her to his bedroom. She followed him into the closet, watching closely as he opened a drawer to retrieve a crisp t-shirt folded perfectly. Next, he selected a pair of black lounge pants from another drawer. After stacking the shirt on the pants, he walked into the bathroom with Katherine’s hand in his.

Reaching behind her, Ben turned on the water, then reluctantly released her hand to retrieve oils and bath salt from beneath the sink. As the massive tub filled with warm water, Ben knew he would need to help her get in, but wondered if she would want privacy instead.

“Is it okay if I undress you?” He asked her softly, and the shadow of a smile crept across Katherine’s face before she nodded.

With great care, Ben began to pull the dress from Katherine’s body, watching her face as she winced from certain movements. When Ben pulled the fabric down to her waist, a large bruise on Katherine’s rib caught his attention, and he had to clench his jaw tightly to bite back the rage.

He couldn’t believe someone would hurt Katherine so viciously, yet she was still calm and sweet as normal. Ben found himself even more impressed with this woman he had fallen for. She was resilient, and more than anything, she trusted him. He took immense pride in the fact that of all the places she could have gone, she chose to come to him in her time of need.

“It looks worse than it is, and I actually heal pretty fast,” Katherine said, when she noticed Ben looking at the bruise again.

His eyebrows shot up in shock, saddened that she knew that about herself. He hated that she had lived a life where recovering from a beating was something she was used to.

Satisfied with the level of water and the small layer of bubbles floating on top, Ben offered his hand to help Katherine step into the tub. When the water touched her bruises, her face reddened as she clenched her jaw to combat the pain. Ben could feel a piece of his heart tearing. It was brutal watching her in such pain knowing there was nothing he could do about it, and he wondered if there were other injuries he couldn’t see.

There was so much helplessness involved with caring for someone in the way he cared for Katherine. Ben was used to control, but for the first time in a long time, he had none. So, he bit his tongue, silently dipping the washcloth in the warm water before bringing it to Katherine’s shoulder and squeezing the warm water onto her back.

“That feels nice. Can you do that again?” Katherine said, flashing the first smile he’d seen all night. It wasn’t her normal, carefree smile, but it was a step in the right direction.

“Anything you want, Katherine,” Ben assured her, repeated the motion again and again.

“Anything?” Katherine turned her head to look at Ben as she asked the leading question.

“Anything.”

“Well, you did say you would take a bath with me,” she said, the left side of her lips curling as she watched him take in her request.

Ben was completely caught off guard and it was evident on his face. He hadn’t expected to get in the bath with Katherine, but the last thing he wanted to do was deny her anything. She was so vulnerable, he didn’t want to take advantage, or to have any lines get blurred on such a traumatic night. Katherine had enough to deal with and he didn’t want to add to her load.