15. Abby
ABBY
Benjamin is tapping in the code on the keypad to my new apartment when the door across the hall swings open, and I hear a familiar voice say, “Is this the life or what?”
I whirl around to find Magda standing in the doorway.
I give her a huge grin, then look up at Benjamin. “She’s right across the hall?”
He smiles. “Of course.”
He did exactly as he promised.
It’s been less than twenty-four hours since I told the guys I wanted my own place instead of moving in with them, and here we are at my new apartment, with my one suitcase. Benjamin said, “Don’t worry about a thing,” when I asked about furniture, dishes, and things.
So I haven’t.
I trust him. He’ll take care of everything and…I’m okay with it. Strangely.
The building is gorgeous, and I know it is far beyond anything I can afford.
But I understand this is important to Benjamin.
He’s going to pay the difference between what this apartment costs and what I paid for my last one, and somehow it almost feels as if I’m taking care of him to let him do this.
I trust that he can afford it. So I’m going to let him. And we’ll figure everything out as we go along.
Magda and I meet in the middle of the hallway for a quick hug. She’s not an overly demonstrative person so I appreciate even the small squeeze I get.
When I pull back, I note that she has no curlers in her hair and is wearing a pair of jeans and a thick turtleneck sweater that I’ve never seen before.
She’s got her pack of cigarettes and a lighter clutched in one hand.
“Are you on your way out?” I ask her. The woman never goes anywhere.
“Heading up to the roof. I’m not going to smoke in here,” she says, jabbing a thumb over her shoulder at her apartment. “It’s way too nice.”
“The roof?” I look up at Benjamin, but he simply shrugs.
“Oh yeah. There are chairs and couches, plants, grills, and fire pits. I’ve met a bunch of people.
They don’t all smoke, but a lot hang out up there.
There’s even a pool that’s open when it’s nice.
I might get a bikini.” She cackles at the thought.
She turns and shuts her apartment door. “Just kidding. Wouldn’t want to start a riot.
” She winks at Benjamin, then starts toward the elevators. “Gotta go up. Fred’s waiting for me.”
Wow. I’ve never seen Magda so…perky.
Well, except when she was plotting to eat the entire room service menu at the hotel the other night.
“Who’s Fred?” I ask.
She shoots me a grin over her shoulder. “Hot widower who lives on the seventh floor. He’s too young for me, but I’ve decided I don’t give a shit. If he’s devastated when I croak before him, that's his problem.”
“You’ve already got a boyfriend?” I ask, blinking at her.
She laughs. “Look who’s talking. You got three in one day!”
I open my mouth to protest but then realize I have no argument. Instead, I say, “I thought you were done with men forever.”
The elevator arrives, the door swishing open, and Magda steps inside.
“Well, it turns out when the right one comes along, everything you thought you believed can change.” She looks from me to Benjamin, then back to me and gives me a smile.
“Can’t imagine dealing with that times three. You’re pretty much screwed.”
The doors slide shut before I can respond to that.
Even though she is no longer in front of me, I feel my mouth open as if needing to say something.
But not only is she gone, I don’t know what to say.
She has a point.
Not only about how the right person can change your mind about things, but also about me being screwed.
I look up at Benjamin, but he just gives me a smile and gestures for me to step through the door of my new apartment.
I see he’s not going to argue with Magda’s words of wisdom either.
I take a deep breath and head inside.
My first reaction to the apartment is to gasp. I expected it to be beautiful based on the building, but I wasn’t prepared.
Benjamin's house is the only place I’ve ever stayed that’s nicer than this apartment.
Slightly dazed, I walk over to the floor-to-ceiling windows and take in the view.
The apartment is brand new, and on the edge of town so my windows look out over gorgeous scenery full of trees, a winding highway, and rocky bluffs in the distance.
I turn to the man who made this possible.
I don’t care about the plush furnishings, or the stone fireplace, or the clearly brand-new appliances I can see beyond the breakfast bar that divides the living area from the kitchen.
I’m just looking at the man who insists on taking care of me in whatever way I’ll let him. He invited me to stay in the most beautiful house I’ve ever seen. Rent-free. No strings attached. He wants me there.
But I insisted on having my own space.
So he made that happen. And not just the bare minimum. No, he had to go above and beyond every expectation.
“I love it. Thank you so much, Benjamin.”
“I’m so glad you like it. I can sleep at least a little better knowing you’ll be here,” he tells me, crossing to where I’m standing. He lifts a hand and cups my cheek. “But, I hope you’ll still find reasons to come to my house. At least once in a while.”
My entire chest feels warmer and the heat drifts from there to my belly, then lower.
I’ve been cared for all my life. My parents love me, I know that. I also have very good friends. Sadie is my platonic soulmate.
I’ve also been under the care of numerous doctors and specialists for as long as I can remember.
But I feel like all of those people have focused on the fact that I am weak and sick and need physical care.
I don’t think they mean to. Sadie focuses on us both getting strong, overcoming, and being more than a cancer diagnosis.
But that doesn’t change that we started out together because of the disease.
Benjamin, Kane, and Dash are not like that.
They didn’t know about the cancer until I told them. They don’t look at me and see a cancer patient. They don’t take care of me because I’m weak. They take care of me because they want to. Because they are compelled to somehow.
The same way I’m compelled to make them happy, to be closer to them, to want to just absorb everything about them, individually and together.
It scares me. But I can’t deny it.
“The apartment is amazing,” I tell Benjamin, stepping closer. “But it doesn’t have everything I need or want.”
His eyes flare with warmth when I put my hand on his chest. “You’re not here. I mean, at least you won’t be here all the time.”
“I’ll be here whenever you need me,” he says, his voice gruff. “You just have to call.”
I believe him. And it makes that warmth that was spreading ratchet up several degrees.
“Do you want to give me a tour of the place?” I ask.
“There’s a bathroom and a bedroom,” he says. “Other than what you can see from here.”
I shift even closer and run both hands over his chest. “I would really like to see the bedroom,” I tell him.
I feel him freeze, his gaze boring into mine. Then he says, “You don’t have to do that.”
I tip my head. “Do what?”
“I’m not expecting anything in exchange for this apartment.”
Oh God. It didn’t even occur to me that that’s how this might seem.
I nod. “I definitely know that, Benjamin. And that’s not why I said it. I just want to be with you.”
Something shifts in his expression. He looks relieved. His hands settle on my hips, and he pulls me closer. “I intended to drop you off here and give you space.”
“I appreciate that I have a place to come when I need space,” I tell him. “But I don’t want space right now.”
It only takes a second for his attitude to shift. “Have we created a sweet, horny little monster?”
I am so relieved that he’s already gone from concerned to playful and sexy.
These men make everything so easy. I don’t have to wonder about what they’re thinking or feeling. And I definitely don’t have to worry.
I know that I’m safe with them, that there is no judgment, and that nothing I can do or say will make them not want me.
It is a heady and empowering feeling.
“I think you have,” I tell him. “I had no idea that I would need to be fucked so often.”
As expected, those are the magic words to get that sexy low growl from deep in Benjamin's chest, to cause his fingers to curl more tightly into my hips, and for him to drop his face to my neck.
“So, it’s my turn then?” he asks against my throat.
“I hope so. I need an orgasm badly, and you’re the only one here.”
That gets me another growl, and his hands slide around to my ass. Then he’s lifting me, and I wrap my legs around his waist.
Our mouths meet in a hot, deep kiss, tongues stroking as he starts for what I assume is the bedroom.
I have no idea what the room looks like, but I do know that it has a bed because a moment later, my back meets a mattress and I’m being pressed into it by a hungry, hot millionaire lawyer.
All of the furniture was already here, and we only brought my single suitcase along, so Benjamin didn’t have to dress for a major moving day, but he’s out of the suits I generally associate with him.
My hands grip his ass, encased in denim, as he grinds a thick, hard erection between my legs.
I’m in a baggy sweatshirt and leggings, and the thin material does nothing to disguise the shape and feel of him.
My heels are resting on his ass below my hands, and I arch my hips, pressing up closer to that hardness.
“Jesus, you feel good,” he rasps against my mouth as he starts peppering kisses from my mouth along my jaw to my ear. “I want to absolutely devour you.”
“Please do,” I tell him breathlessly.
One hand slides from my hip up under my sweatshirt, sending goosebumps across my entire body. He cups my breast, his thumb running over my nipple, making me whimper.
“I fucking love when you’re with Dash and Kane,” he tells me. “But I also love that you’re all mine right now.”
I feel the same way. Being with each of them is special and different, while being with all three is strangely comforting and hot at the same time.
The whole situation is beyond anything I ever imagined or can possibly explain, so I just nod.