Page 41 of Hot n Bothered

I sobelle smiled to herself to hear Ben’s rumbling voice singing. She recognised the song immediately. Evermore from the live action Beauty and the Beast. She adored listening to him sing anyway, but this song? This was her favourite.

It leant itself to his voice perfectly and he really got the feeling behind it even now. As it finished and went into the next song, it appeared that he was on a Beauty and the Beast kick. Not just his usual mix of all Disney.

“Belle?”

She leaned her head back to see him stood over her.

“Do you want to eat in or go out? I’ve been recommended a good seafood restaurant. They’re right on the beach and get fresh catch in every day.”

“You had me at seafood.” She grinned up at him. “Do I need to start getting ready?”

“I need another hour on my masterpiece, then I’ll grab a shower. So you have until then.”

“I would ask if I need to unpack, but I don’t do I?”

He bent down and pressed his lips to the tip of her nose. “You know me so well.” He pulled a face. “I guess now is a good time to confess I might’ve done something a bit stupid.”

“What?”

“I, um… Well I kinda had a bit of a rant about what they did to you while you were sleeping.” He crouched down next to her.

“A rant? To whom?” She realised just how guilty he looked. “It was on your Instagram wasn’t it.”

“Yes. And, well my parents saw it along with Nat.”

“Your parents follow you?”

“Apparently you’re the only one that doesn’t. Maybe you should give it a go?”

“Maybe you should tell me why you still look so guilty? What exactly did you say?”

“If you follow me you’ll see for yourself what I said. And the reason I look so guilty is that I was unable to stop them.”

“What do you mean stop them?”

“So you know how headstrong Nat is? Well, she’s nothing compared to mum. She’s now determined to show you what a proper family should be like. So they’ll be here tomorrow.”

“They’ll what? But they don’t even know me. Why would they do that?”

He gave her that crooked grin of his. “Technically they do know you. I talk about you to them all the time."

Wait… he talked about her to his parents? Why? She mentally shook her head, she was reading too much into it again. It made sense he talked about his friends, so that's why.

"Plus you’ve met Nat a couple of times.” An alarm started pinging from the kitchen. “I have to get back to work.” He gave her a quick kiss before heading back inside.

What did that mean with his family coming? It really was a lovely and sweet thing to do. It was a complete Ben move. But it was also not something she was looking forward to, for purely selfish reasons.

What they had wasn’t real, so it’s not like he would’ve told his parents about the scheme. Obviously, what they had couldn’t continue with his family there. It would bring up too many questions that couldn’t be answered.

She pressed her hand to her chest. That pain was so sharp, it caused her breath to catch. She knew it must come to an end, but she had hoped for a little longer. She took a breath steadying herself, realising that this could be a good thing.

Instead of it being a wrenching apart that she was unprepared for or pretending it would continue, this was perfect for a final goodbye.

This way they could part on good terms and keep their friendship. Yes, it would hurt, but remembering how it was soon after that night. How distant it was between them was infinitely worse.

She loved him so much more now. He was her everything, the air she breathed, the sun on her face, everything she needed to survive.

If she was still friends with him that would be enough.

Ok no denying it would be painful, but she would learn to deal with the pain, she'd have to. Because she knew she wasn’t strong enough to not have him in her life.

So with that in mind, she was going to make the most out of tonight. Which meant actually taking her time to get ready and look her best. So she’d better get watching make-up tutorials.

The tutorials were a bust. Seven times she attempted smoky sexy eyes and four times she looked like a racoon. Twice like she had been beaten up and the first time it looked like a four-year-old had done it. So instead of something special she ended up with her usual eyeliner and mascara.

Because of the time it took to create and remove the disasters of her make-up, her hair was also a bust. She’d planned on curling it to give sexy tousled looking curls, but she now didn’t have the time.

So much for making an effort to look better, she was wearing her usual make-up and styled her hair in the usual way.

She pulled out three dresses she normally wouldn’t think of wearing.

She’d bought them ages ago when she’d gone out with the girls from the group.

Meeting her parents the next day wearing one of them had her hating how she’d looked so buried them deep in her wardrobe.

Ben had found them and put them in the pile for her to pack so he must like them.

Holding them up to herself in the mirror one by one wasn’t helping her pick one.

She actually liked them all and remembered why she had bought them in the first place.

She noticed Ben leaning against the doorframe watching her with a wide smile on his face.

“What?”

“This is the first time I’ve actually seen you get ready looking so happy.”

“Huh?”

“No matter how beautiful you look, which you always do. You’ve always scrunched up your face when you look at yourself. Not only that, you’ve always had a tension to you. But look at you.” He walked over to her. “You’re smiling at your reflection and humming happily. It’s wonderful.”

“I… really?” She puzzled at it, then realised he was right.

She did feel happier, relaxed, more confident in herself and she knew why.

“Well, you’ve never seen me get ready where I won’t see my parents.”

She shook her head in disbelief at the sheer relief that washed over her to know that she would never again have to dread what comments would be made. The certainty that no matter what she wore, or how she looked it would be enough.

“And it’s a little bit you.” She admitted, smiling widely at him. “Because you would never criticise me. In fact, I don’t think you ever have. Have you?”

“Never. And I never would.” He leaned down to kiss her. “You’re perfect to me.”

“Wait.” She pushed her hand against his mouth making him scowl at her. “You do pinch me though.”

He removed her hand, pressing a kiss to the inside of her wrist. “Only when you insult my favourite person.” A kiss to her forearm. “But it’s been several days now.” Another kiss on the inside of her elbow. “I think the conditioning is working.” A kiss on her shoulder.

“You make me sound like a lab rat you are experimenting on.” She grumbled.

“A beautiful, stunning, ridiculously sexy lab rat.” He murmured running his nose up her neck making her shiver. “You are all that and more to me.”

She took his head in her hands. “Just shut up and kiss me. Enough corn.”

“Never. You will bow down to the glory of my corniness. Besides, it’s not corny if it’s tru…”

She shut him up by kissing him. She needed to kiss him as much as she possibly could tonight. So she was no longer going to wait for him. She was going to get as many as she could locked away in her memory bank. She didn’t want to look back at any point and regret not doing something.

She laughed against his mouth as she felt the clasp to her bra part.

“I thought you promised me seafood.” She nipped his bottom lip as her hands pulled up his t-shirt.

“You’ll get it. But this is your fault by the way.” He helped her remove his clothes as he rid her of her bra and knickers.

“How?” She breathed, head falling back as his mouth latched onto her breast.

“You are too fucking desirable.” He moved over to her other one, his hand delving between her legs. He groaned against her skin. “Always so wet for me.”

“Always so hard.” She countered gripping his cock.

“For you. Always for you.” He said huskily, claiming her mouth again and walking her back to the bed.

She turned him before they hit it, pushing him back onto it. He scootched up it reaching out for her.

“Come here, I need to taste you.”

He pouted when she shook her head straddling his hips.

“No time. You promised me seafood.”

“Bossy.”

She took his hard cock and fitted it to her. “You love it.” She moaned sinking down onto it, filling her up so deliciously.

He gripped her hips, closing his eyes as he thrust up in time with her movements.

“I do.” He groaned.

This was a position she’d never thought she could do. All her insecurities wouldn’t let her. She would crush her partner, he really wouldn’t want to watch her fat ugly body jiggling as they did it. But now that was a thing of the past.

Not only was the angle sending her to her orgasm quicker. But Ben was now watching her and the heat in his eyes was telling her he enjoyed the view. And that was just adding to her pleasure.