For One Night Only (13 page)

‘But you love it though, don’t you?’ She opened her mouth to reply, but bit her lip instead as his fingers delved inside her panties. She would say yes to anything he asked by the time he was through.

Chapter 12

A few days later,
Bethany sneaked back into the bedroom of their suite, finding Ruben in his usual post-coital condition—sound asleep. Unable to begrudge him his rest, she slipped quietly in beside him. Even asleep he seemed to be aware of her nearness and turned over to pull her against him without waking.

As a Latin artist, Ruben was wildly successful in
Miami and had booked a suite at one of its most exclusive hotels for the whole week due to having three gigs scheduled in the city. Staying at the beautiful resort had been almost a re-birth for
Bethany. She felt wonderful, but why wouldn’t she? Sleeping beside her was one of the most gorgeous people she had ever laid eyes on, never mind had sex with, who said he was in love with her, and was insatiable for her.
Bethany was sure she had never made love so often or so frantically, even as a teenager.

Days spent catching a little sun and using the world famous spa facilities had left her skin glowing with health and soft as silk. And the food! She had never tasted anything like it. Burning off the calories with Ruben at every opportunity was the only reason she hadn’t gained at least ten pounds.

Despite the comfort of his arms and the tiredness of her body,
Bethany could not rest. She lay for ages with her face turned into the curve of his neck feeling his pulse beating against her lips. She had to admit to herself that he had been right. The time he had insisted they spend together had changed everything for her. He wasn’t conventional—far from it—but he was just a man. She’d been able to take him down from the pedestal she’d put him on and relate to him as a person. She was happier for it, too.

Finally giving up on sleep, she tiptoed through the suite into the living area. Piles of papers occupied a desk and she leafed through them idly. One large dossier caught her eye and she sat down to glance at it briefly.

She had no idea how long she had been sleeping when Ruben woke her.

‘What time is it?’ Hearing his reply, she groaned. Ruben sank onto the sofa with her, snuggling his head down into her lap. ‘I started reading about your charity,’ she explained. ‘I hope you don’t mind.’ He smiled at her with bloodshot eyes and shook his head.

His eyes began to drift shut, but she couldn’t let him rest. ‘I think it’s a wonderful project. Tell me a little about it.’

Voice still thick with sleep, he began to speak slowly, telling her how it all started and breaking down the main aims of his Foundation. He described passionately the problems faced by children and how he hoped to help combat them.

He woke up pretty quickly, becoming more and more animated as he spoke.
Bethany could see his total commitment to the cause and marveled again at how she could have thought him so one-dimensional. It occurred to her—and not for the first time that week—that she really needed to question some of her own prejudices.

They talked for hours, barely stopping for food and coffee.
Bethany was horrified by many of the stories he had told her and was a little ashamed that as a medical professional, she hadn’t become more involved in that kind of work herself.

‘I’m going to
Africa at the end of this week to attend a conference on Pediatric AIDS,’ he said. ‘Most of it goes over my head, especially the medical terminology, but I can bring awareness and attention to the issue just by being there.’ His slight blush touched her. ‘I’m just a pretty face in these situations.’

She hugged him. ‘Hey, I’m a doctor, but my knowledge of treatments and research is very limited. Don’t be so hard on yourself.’

He handed her a ream of information regarding the conference. ‘Maybe you can make sense of this for me. I used to try hard to understand the terminology and actively take part.’ He laughed. ‘Now, I accept that the most important thing I can offer is money and publicity.’

Bethany
quickly scanned the pages before snuggling against Ruben, explaining the parts she understood. She gobbled up the information a little selfishly, quite forgetting that the point was to help Ruben rather than expand her own knowledge.

Commonsense prevailed and they returned to bed just as the sun came up, aware Ruben had a busy evening ahead of him. They slept briefly, waking about
noon
. Before he left for the day’s madness, she made him collate every document and source of information he had at his disposal for her to look at while he was gone.

Time passed quickly for her—so quickly in fact that she leapt from the desk she had been working at in surprise when he walked back into the suite many hours later. Still in her robe, she began to fuss with her hair, apologizing for her appearance but he stopped her, saying he’d spent the day thinking and wanted to talk. She didn’t like the sound of that but didn’t push, allowing him to get coffee for them while she threw on some clothing.

Later, he told her what was on his mind. Rather than just lobbying governments in the countries he visited to invest more funds in health care provision and AIDS education, his charity could employ and train the much-needed staff themselves. The first step would be recruiting and educating doctors locally and giving them the tools they needed to run their own clinics. He looked at her expectantly. She didn’t understand…
what was he saying?

He sighed in mock exasperation before explaining. ‘You could work for us.’

She clamped her hand over her mouth to stifle the giggle that escaped. Ruben looked a little bewildered, but didn’t comment, continuing to lay out in detail what he was getting at.

‘You could fill this role in my organization. You could speak to doctors and health care professionals in impoverished areas. Find out where the shortages are and what they need to provide these services themselves and then agree a plan of education and action with them.’ He paused for breath, enthusiasm making him rush his words. ‘The charity will fund any training and equipment they need of course. What do you think?’

Bethany
was stunned. ‘I need a little time to think about this.’

‘Of course, take all the time you need. Five minutes ok?’ he joked.

He laughed as she slapped his thigh, but she was grateful when he handed her a dossier containing the new information from the Department of Health along with the job offer, and left her to mull it over. This meant a lot to him, she could tell and, knowing how pushy he could be when he wanted something, it was probably killing him not to pressure her into it. He couldn’t be the reason for her decision though. She wanted to think about it privately.

Working for his charity was a wonderful opportunity. Her newly acquired knowledge had made a big impression and the thought of becoming involved was thrilling. There was much more to consider though. The salary offered was astronomical—much more than she wanted or needed—but it would allow her to maintain her independence. She could easily employ another doctor for her practice and keep her house.

The position involved a lot of travel, not all of it at Ruben’s side. Much of the work was educational and could be arranged to match his schedule. There would be times she would need to visit the locations and countries with the greatest need for HIV and AIDS resources, but as Ruben had pointed out quite often he would be able to accompany her. He intended to remain actively involved.

There was just no way she could make a decision as quickly as he wanted. Their time together was coming to an end. This would be their last night together for at least a little while —even if she accepted the job. They agreed that the best time to make a start would be at the end of the coming month. Ruben was back in
New York
for a break then and it would give
Bethany time to wrap everything up at her end and join him—should she decide to.

Putting the topic to one side, they focused on enjoying their last evening together. Ruben was insatiable and they made love to the point of exhaustion, as if he were trying to totally possess her body and mind, allowing no room for anything but him.
Bethany’s heart weighed heavily in her chest. She couldn’t think of the rapidly approaching separation without a lump forming in her throat. They slept for brief periods throughout the night, waking and turning to each other often.

Morning came too soon. They ate breakfast in quiet intimacy. All too quickly the long week that had stretched ahead of them had flown by and all they were left with were a few brief minutes before Ruben had to leave.
Bethany walked him to the door of the suite, her eyes already brimming with tears by the time he turned to her.

They had chosen not to leave together. Her flight was four hours later than his and they didn’t want to have to say their goodbyes in public at the airport.

‘Don’t cry, Beth,’ he pleaded, his own voice weak. She smiled thinly, struggling bravely to stem the tears. Holding her face in his hands, he kissed her before pulling her into his chest. ‘I’ll call you tonight. Think about what I said, okay?’ She nodded dumbly, unable to speak.

He walked quickly through the door without turning back.
Bethany rushed over to the balcony and looked down into the street. Fans thronged around the entrance to the hotel and she caught only a brief glimpse of him as he disappeared quickly into the waiting limo.

Fresh tears fell. He had not looked up to wave goodbye to her. It was foolish to expect a romantic gesture in the middle of that frenzy. She waited for the car to pull away. Without warning the limo’s sunroof slid back and Ruben’s face appeared. He was beaming up at her, waving frantically until it was no longer possible for him to see. She laughed through her tears—he was such a dork.

At that moment
Bethany knew what she would do. He had only just driven away and she felt like half of her had left with him. Life did not offer a chance to be this happy very often and she would never forgive herself if she did not reach out and grab it with both hands. Whatever the outcome, she had to be with him—it was that simple.

Gathering up her belongings, she left the hotel about an hour after him, heading to the airport for her flight back to Vegas.

Closing the door behind her as she entered the cold, empty house a few hours later,
Bethany looked around and realized it was no longer her home. Home was wherever he was and she couldn’t wait any longer to be with him.

* * * *

Less than a week later, she was outside his dressing room door in
Paris. Byron had been wonderful, keeping her informed regarding Ruben’s whereabouts. He didn’t mind helping
Bethany to surprise him—Ruben had been in a foul mood since they parted, he’d told her.

Byron answered her knock and kissed her cheek before ushering her in, gesturing that Ruben was in the shower. ‘Ruben, there is someone here to see you,’ he called, hamming it up with a big wink in her direction.

When Ruben did not instantly appear, Byron poked his head around the door to see what he was up to.
Bethany could hear muffled voices—she guessed Byron was having trouble convincing him to come out. Her suspicions were confirmed when she heard Ruben lose his temper.

‘I’m in no mood for fans, Byron,’ she heard him shout through the open doorway, a little indiscreetly she thought. His manager reappeared, shrugging his shoulders in defeat.

Bethany
winked at Byron, shushing him as she moved closer to the open door. ‘First, Byron thinks I am a groupie and now you think I am a fan,’ she said loudly, hoping her voice would carry though to him. Suddenly, Ruben appeared naked and dripping wet in the doorway, smiling briefly before dragging her squealing into the shower.

* * * *

The Fan
stared at the images taunting her from the laptop. Candid shots of Ruben and the woman she now knew to be
Bethany, taken without their knowledge by fans in
Miami, filled the screen. She had been there too and seen them together with her own eyes.

Pictures didn’t usually interest her, but she scanned them in minute detail—trying to read his eyes—searching for any clues that would reveal his true feelings toward the woman.

The websites hosting the pictures were also full of opinions from hordes of jealous females. Body language had been studied and discussed—every look and touch scrutinized and criticized. The information they had managed to glean suggested that she was one of his Foundation’s new employees—one of the long-time fans had asked a member of Ruben’s band who she was friendly with. There was rampant speculation regarding the reason he could be spending so much time with the woman, but nobody knew for sure.