Chapter 21
A Neanderthal in love.
Annie
Ben stands in front of me, a sentry, a white knight, my personal shield.
His button-down shirt stretches over his powerful, broad shoulders, sleeves rolled up to reveal corded forearms. There’s something seriously wrong with me that I even have the capacity to think about his muscles, let alone appreciate how good his butt looks in his black pants.
“Hi. Annie. I’m Dr. Sullivan, but everyone calls me Sully.” The gray-haired man smiles kindly at me.
“Hi.”
“You better be really fuckin’ careful with her,” Ben rumbles.
Sully ignores Ben’s warning, focusing his attention on me while he pulls up a kitchen chair next to mine. “Is it okay if I give you a quick exam?”
“Yes, but I’m fine. Ben’s being overdramatic.”
His shoulders tense so much I hear his neck crack. “You hit your head, Annie.”
“And aside from a bruise,” I glare over Sully’s shoulder. “Like I told you a dozen times, I’m fine, Bennett.”
“All right, well…let me just check it out to make sure, okay? How and when did you hit your head?”
I avert my attention back to the doctor. “A little over an hour ago, maybe two. I came home, and when I saw the state of my loft, I tripped and fell. I was also dehydrated, I hardly ate anything, and I had two glasses of Prosecco, so that didn’t help. I’m fine.”
“Let’s—”
“Wait.” Ben interrupts Sully. “Where did you have Prosecco?”
“Vogueish.”
He takes a quick step and puts the tips of his fingers under my chin to tilt my head back. “You met my sister?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I haven’t really had the chance.”
He trails his knuckles across my cheek, then touches my newly highlighted hair, rubbing the strands between his fingers. “I thought something was different. It looks good, sweetheart.”
“Thanks.”
“Was Charlie nice? Did she say anything to upset you? You can tell me. I don’t care if it’s my sister, I want to know if someone upsets you.”
“She was nice. Everything’s good. Stop worrying so much.”
Sully pushes his black rimmed glasses up his nose and addresses my hulk of a bodyguard, who’s jumped back into his role as if five years hadn’t passed. “I can’t examine her if you’re in the way.”
Ben shifts a few inches, and Sully mutters another warning before he leaves enough room.
Sully opens his bag. “Before I begin, is there any medical history I need to be aware of? Medications? Allergies?”
“Um, there’s only one thing that—”
“What thing?” Ben barks.
Sully points at the hall. “We need a moment.”
“I’m not leaving her.”
“Go to your room, Ben.” His voice is stern, and I look at my lap so Ben doesn’t see me biting back a smile.
“Fine.” He storms away, then slams his door like he’s a teenager having a tantrum.
“That boy…”
I nod. “He’s protective…and stubborn.”
“That he is.” Sully rests his hand on top of mine. “I understand this is a complicated situation, and while I may be doing this off the record, your privacy will be respected. Ben only needs to know what you’re comfortable sharing.”
“It’s really, truly nothing. I was just going to say the only medical issue I ever had was that I had my tonsils removed when I was younger.”
“Ah, I see. Either way, I can get this done a lot faster without him breathing down my neck.” He flashes a bright light in my eyes. “I’ve known Bennett since he was in diapers, and I’ve gotta say, I’ve never seen him like this before.”
“What, like a Neanderthal?” I joke.
“A Neanderthal in love.” He smiles. “Now follow my finger.”
Sully calls Ben back, and he gives us both the news that I was expecting—I don’t have a concussion. “Make sure you get something to eat and hydrate. If you need something for any pain, go ahead and take something. Ben, do you have ibuprofen?”
“Yeah.”
“All right, take care, Annie. Let me know if you need anything.”
“I will. Thank you.”
Ben sees him out, then follows the doctor’s orders and makes me some chicken and a sweet potato. He joins me at the table. “Definitely not as good as what we were supposed to be eating, but it’ll do.”
“We’ll have plenty of time to go to a fancy restaurant. I’m just glad that things aren’t worse and we’re together.”
“Yeah, me too. Do you need anything for pain?”
“No, but…” I shake my head. “Never mind.” This is a terrible time to bring it up.
He puts his hand over mine. “Baby, what?”
“I just…I wasn’t snooping, I swear, but the other day I saw all those pills in your cabinet.”
“What pills?”
“I didn’t snoop and read all the labels, but there were a lot of bottles of prescriptions. I guess I just wanted you to know that you could talk to me about stuff that you’re going though, too.”
He takes a drink of his water. “Oh, those are old as hell. They’re from years ago. I guess I never threw them out.”
“Oh, okay.”
“If you’re worried I’m addicted to pills, I’m not.”
“I’m not.”
“I take some pain meds every now and then, but for the most part I’m good.
Thank you for asking me though. Even with all that you’re dealing with right now, the fact that you can even think about me is—shit, I gotta get that.
” He gives me a quick kiss, then answers his phone.
The conversation is short, but whatever it entailed, I can tell he’s not happy about it.
“Bad news?” I ask when he takes his place again.
“It wasn’t good.” He stabs his chicken, takes one bite, then stands. “Sorry, babe. I can’t fuckin’ eat right now.” Grabbing his nearly full plate, he throws it in the sink, then wraps his fingers around the lip of the counter and hangs his head.
I go to him and rub his back. “What’s wrong?”
He shakes his head, but I see his knuckles turn white.
“Ben, talk to me.”
“I know better.”
“Know better about what?”
“I know better than to let the way I feel about you cloud my judgment.”
I wrap my arms around his waist and press my face against his back. “You’re too hard on yourself.”
“I brought you here because it’s safe and I want you to feel that way, and I want you to want to stay, to be with me. I’ve been so concentrated on us, I didn’t focus on you like I should have, even when my gut’s been zapping warnings at me from the start.”
“What do you mean?”
He turns and hangs his arms over my shoulders.
“I don’t know, and that’s the problem.” I don’t like the look on his face.
He’s frustrated, but it’s more…guilt mixed with a hint of defeat.
“Something is nagging at me, and I thought it was Poe, but I’ve been digging into his past, and there are no red flags.
He’s from a seemingly normal family and has held a steady job at a bank for fifteen years.
He has no criminal history, aside from an insane number of parking tickets. ”
“Do you think maybe, possibly, in any way, you might be wrong about him?”
“No.” He deadpans.
“Okay, then.”
Ben slides his hands up my neck, and his eyes wander over my face. “I’ll figure it out, and I’ll keep you safe.”
“I know you will.”
“Good, because I—” His teeth crack together when his phone goes off. “Go finish eating.” He gives me a quick kiss, then answers the call.
I clear my plate, load the dishwasher, and go to the couch. Ben is pacing, barking orders into his phone. He goes to the stairwell, but his anger still echoes. I might not have a concussion, but there’s definitely something wrong with my head, because I can’t think straight.
My focus should be on how all of my belongings are destroyed and how I’m going to replace everything, but all that keeps going through my mind is Sully saying Ben was in love.
There’s no way.
Ben’s not in love with me.
Is he?
I know he likes me, but love?
“Yeah, thanks. Right. Later.” He comes back and sits in the recliner. Then a second later, he throws his phone across the room and gets up with so much force that his recliner almost tips over. “Fuck.”
“What’s wrong?”
He changed out of our date-night outfit and is now wearing a pair of dark gray athletic pants and a white T-shirt. “I fucked up.”
“How?”
“I’m sorry, Annie…I, dammit.” He puts his hands behind his neck and stands on the other side of the coffee table.
“I just got confirmation that it was Tara who tossed your place. They’ve spent the past couple of hours trying to locate her, but she’s nowhere to be found.
Probably knows she’s in for a world of hurt once she’s caught, but I swear, baby, promise you I’ll make sure I find her, and she’ll pay. ”
He looks so torn up and almost afraid of what my reaction is going to be. I look at this man, God, this gorgeous man, who has all this emotion for me. Who can’t bear the thought of someone hurting me in any way.
I’ve been in fear for so long, and since I’ve been here, it’s gotten better, but right now, the only thing I feel is need. I throw the blanket off my lap and stand. Ben watches me, his chest moving deep with his breaths, eyes guarded as I skirt the table.
He drops his arms when I get close. “I’m sorry, I should have known she would do something like this. I’ll replace everything she destroyed, and I’ll update the locks tomorrow.”
“Ben?”
“Yeah, baby?”
“We’re safe here, right now, right?”
His eyes hold mine. “Yes.”
“Right, so…I love you, and if you don’t take me to your room and make love to me right now, I’m going to go crazy.”
His pupils dilate, and he leans down as I push up on my toes.
Our lips brush, and he kisses me. It’s soft and gentle, but so poignant, erasing years of loneliness in seconds.
He frames my face and gets so close that our eyelashes brush.
“I already knew you were mine, but you do know I’m yours, right? ”
The way I love this man is almost unbearable…and I can’t describe how much hearing those words means. “I do now.”
“Good. But I’m not going to tell you I love you yet.” He brushes his lips against mine. “I’m going to show you first.”
Then the gentle kisses are gone. He’s greedy, desperate, so hot.
Warmth spreads through my body and back down, settling at the heart of me.