Proposal in Room 309 (2 page)

‘Maybe they are both tired.’

‘She’s wound tighter than a spring and he would rather be having a root canal,’ Joely scoffed. She’d witnessed far too many failed relationships - her parents treated love like ping pong - and she’d become a master at spotting relationship trouble at an early age. You had to if you didn’t want to get caught in the emotional fallout that their marriages always ended in.

‘Ignore them,’ Ben said, picking up her drink and handing it to her. ‘Sip…’

Joely took the drink from him and tasted salt, the tang of citrus and the hit of tequila. Yeah, this was what angels would drink on their hen’ nights. Joely took another sip just to make sure that the first wasn’t a fluke and closed her eyes. Yeah, it was sooooo good. ‘My evening is starting off with an awesome margarita and, hopefully, will end in spectacular sex.’

‘Oh, I don’t know…’ Ben’s eyes always sparkled when he teased her, ’’ ’you’re getting ugly as you get older. I’m not really finding you that attractive these days.’

Because they had a very active and exciting sex life and she knew that he absolutely adored her, Joely just wrinkled her nose at him.

‘We’ve been married for six months and you’re cheating on me!’

And there it was, trouble. Big trouble. Joely pulled a face at Ben who, strangely, looked annoyed at the woman’s outburst.

‘I was drunk…’

‘That’s a stupid excuse!’

It really was, Joely agreed. Joely saw the flicker of disgust on Ben’s face and half-smiled. Ben, unfailingly honest, wouldn’t cheat on her - he’d dump her first. There was a certain level of comfort in that.

‘You spend too much money,’ the man countered. ‘I make it, you spend it.’

Ah, money. And that, ladies and gentlemen, was why she was so anal about being independent, about paying her way, paying rent, her share of the utilities, picking up the grocery bill. She never wanted Ben to think, for one moment, that she was with him for his money, of which he apparently had quite a bit.

‘I’ll contact the lawyers but you need to move out.’

‘You move out,’ the man countered. ‘I’m paying for the house.’

‘Get real.’

And the lawyers were the only winners here, they’d end up with a fatter bank account.

‘And another happy marriage bites the dust,’ Joely said, her voice low. When Ben didn’t respond she looked at him and frowned when she saw him running his finger around the collar of his shirt, his eyes on his glass of beer. ‘Ben?’

‘Yeah?’

‘You’re miles away.’

Ben flicked the still fighting couple a look that suggested that they had crawled out from under a rock. They were stupid not contagious and Joely wondered why they bothered him so much. She was pretty and he looked successful, like a million other couples in London. Ok, they were slightly touched to get married and he was a slug but why would that rile the normally easy-going Ben?

‘Let’s go,’ he suggested.

Joely looked at her half-full glass. ‘Not a chance. This margarita is heaven and we just got here. And we have free entertainment.’

‘Could’ve done without that,’ Ben muttered.

Joely sipped her margarita. ‘I want another one.’

Ben finally smiled. ‘Finish that one first, babe, and see how you feel. I have plans for you tonight and carrying you up to our room, rat-arsed, is not part of it.’

Joely lowered her glass in surprise. ‘We’re spending the night here?’

‘Yep.’

‘Why?’ Joely asked, genuinely confused. Why would they want to spend a night in a lavish hotel when Ben had a luxurious flat she’d moved into in January? What was the point of spending a fortune to sleep in another bed? She liked her bed…

Ben looked at her, puzzled. ‘I thought it would be romantic.’

Romance…geez. Ok, she wasn’t very good at all the gooey stuff that went with relationships and her job made her practical and no-nonsense. Ben was the same…in the first few months he’d done the flowers and chocolates thing but soon realised that him making them supper and giving her foot rubs got a more enthusiastic response from her. She and Ben just were… They didn’t need this superfluous stuff.

Besides, when her parents weren’t wanting to kill each other, they spoiled each other with over the top romantic gestures and it still left a sour taste in her mouth. Instead of wasting money on the weekends in Barcelona or Rome, on the seventy two red roses, the midnight picnics, they should’ve just spent that energy on loving each other…trying to stay together.

Your past has nothing to do with Ben, she told herself, forcing herself to smile. It’s a night in a nice hotel, Bennett, not a prison sentence.

She slipped her hand into Ben’s broad one and squeezed. ‘It sounds amazing, Ben.’

It didn’t, not really, but a little white lie could be forgiven since he’d gone to so much trouble to organise this for her birthday. ‘Luggage?’ she asked, still looking for an excuse.

‘Waiting for us at the front desk. Clothes for the morning, an outfit for tonight, your make-up bag and toiletries.’

God bless Ben’s organisational skills, she thought.

She lifted a naughty eyebrow. ‘Pyjamas?’

‘Jo…’ Ben drawled. ‘In the six months we’ve been living together, how many times have you slept in pyjamas?’

Ah, good point. ‘Never,’ she admitted. ‘Mostly because you take them off as soon as I get into bed.’

Ben’s eyes darkened with passion. ‘Exactly. So, we’re going to go up to our room, get naked, play around and then we’re going to have dinner and then we’re going to play around some more.’

Yeah, dinner and stunning sex. Brilliant birthday present!

***

Ben and Joely walked into the lift and when the lift doors closed behind them, Joely stood in front of Ben, her hand behind her, resting on his thigh. Ben wound his arm around her waist and nuzzled that sensitive spot just under her ear. The other couple in the lift, huddled into opposite corners of the lift and looking middle-aged and tired, glanced their way.

‘We used to be like them,’ the woman hissed at her husband and in the reflection of the metal panels Ben saw her pursing her lips.

‘Like what?’ the husband asked in an equally low but easily distinguishable tone.

Pursed Lips threw a malevolent glance at her husband. ‘You know…happy. Young, excited to be together…then we got married!’

Ben tipped his head back and swore silently. Seriously? Again? He thought the divorcing couple in the bar were a one off and he was now stuck in a lift with Mrs Unhappy and her Furious Spouse. Ok, universe, catch a clue. I want to ask her to
get
married, not reinforce her beliefs that marriage is very bad idea. Help me out here, ok? Happy married’s only please.

‘Can we not discuss this now?’ the man asked.

Good plan, Ben thought, hoping the wife would keep their marriage woes to herself. He saw her take a deep breath and knew that he was out of luck. Forgetting, or not caring, that Ben and Joely were in the lift with them, the volume of her voice lifted. ‘I cannot believe that you hauled me off to this stuffy hotel when you knew that I wanted to go to Vegas! Before we were married, you listened to me and paid attention to my needs!’

Ben wanted to send the man a sympathetic look but refrained. Guess you’re not getting lucky tonight, mate.

‘Twenty five years and it comes to this!’ The woman hissed the words and Ben saw Joely grimace.

This
being a holiday in one of the greatest cities in the world, staying at one of the greatest hotels in the world. Not exactly a shabby proposition, Ben thought.

The lift stopped and the husband looked at his wife with blazing eyes and didn’t bother to keep his voice down. ‘Frankly, twenty five years is far too bloody long to put up with you and your miserable attitude.’

‘Wow,’ Joely said to Ben as the couple stomped out of the lift. ‘And I thought this hotel was supposed to be super-romantic, an oasis away from all of life’s troubles.’

Yeah, so did he. Dammit.

Chapter Three

Ben reached for her as soon as the door to their room shut behind him. Joely had an impression of a small sitting room with a couch and a chair, the scent of flowers, before Ben’s arms wrapped around her back and lifted her up and into him. Joely wrapped her legs around his waist and lowered her mouth to his and fed him kisses in a long, passionate stream. She adored the way she felt in his arms, feminine and small, protected, loved. There was so much to love about Ben and her passion for him was as strong as it had been when they’d first met and that was a constant surprise to her. She was still in awe of his strength, loved the play of those hard muscles under masculine skin, the deep groan of appreciation he made in his throat to tell her he enjoyed her fingers skittering across his body, the way his grey eyes deepened with passion as she rubbed herself against the long length of him, a promise of naughtier, sexier things to come.

‘Birthday sex,’ Joely said, smiling against his lips. ‘Yay.’

‘And how should birthday sex be better than normal sex?’

‘You’re a smart guy, I’m sure you can figure it out,’ Joely told him, sliding down his body so that her feet hit the floor.

‘Well, if I’ve got to raise my game than we need to get naked.’ Ben’s voice drifted over her, raising the fine hairs on her forearms. His voice was as deep as the night, as sexy as sin. Joely knew that Ben had the ability to talk her into an orgasm, mostly because he’d done it before. Ben often travelled for business but he didn’t believe that should put a stop to their sex life. They’d shared many late night phone calls - and one mid morning one, if she recalled correctly - and he always brought her to an earth-shattering orgasm just by telling her what he wanted her to do to herself.

And she to him. They were really good at phone sex, hell, they were really good at everything together.

Ben lifted her t-shirt up and over her head. ‘Fast now, slow later.’

‘Sounds like a plan,.’ Joely muttered against his mouth.

Ben stepped away to efficiently strip himself of his shirt and tie. His underwear came off with his suit trousers and then he was naked, his long, lean body an unending delight. He had the face and frame to grace any sports magazine cover but got incredibly embarrassed when Joely told him how hot she thought he was.

He still liked it though. She poked her finger into his stomach. ‘You’re getting fat, Duncan. Only a seven pack today, not an eight.’ His eyes danced with pleasure as she ran her hand over his hip and down his oblique’s. ‘You know what we doctors call this muscle?’

‘Oblique’s, I think.’

‘Nah, that’s what the male doctors call them.’

Ben sucked in his breath as her hand moved over his hip and his erection jumped.

‘It’s a highly scientific phrase…’

‘Yeah, yeah…what?’

‘The make-women-drool muscles. And yours are pretty spectacular.’

‘Shaddap.’ Ben flicked open the clasp holding her bra cups together and her breath hitched at the look on his face as her breasts were revealed to his hot gaze. He licked his lips as his thumb brushed over her pale skin before sweeping over her puckered nipple. ‘God, you are so beautiful.’

The world could go to hell around them and they wouldn’t surface until they’d satiated this crazy compulsion they’ had for each other, until they’d rid themselves of this burning, aching need. Suddenly Joely couldn’t wait a second longer until she had Ben inside her, rocking her, chasing her to one of those magnificent orgasms that he’d been the only one to coax from her. She lifted her hand to his neck to pull his head down to hers.

‘Fast and hard. Now.’

‘It’s your birthday…’ Ben agreed.

***

So, that was different, Joely thought as he watched through slitted eyes as Ben left the massive bed after round two of birthday sex and headed towards the massive en-suite bathroom. Ben was, consistently, an amazing lover but he’d surpassed himself tonight.

If round one had been wild and crazy then what they’d just shared had been sublime. He’d worshipped her. There was simply no other way to describe it. It had been as if he was making love to her for the first and last time, anxious to imprint every nuance of her body on his memory. He touched and kissed and…and drank her in; inhaled her, tasted her, consumed her.

Her orgasm, when he’d finally allowed her to explode, nearly blew her head off. As a result she just wanted to roll over and bury her head in this squishy pillow and drift off…

Ok, Mr Chatsfield, sir, this really was a super-fine bed.

Sublime sex, check but - and she really wasn’t being picky - but she couldn’t help noticing that for the first time in…well, forever, he didn’t tell her that he loved her as he pulled away from her, didn’t kiss her stomach as he left her. It was such a little thing, kissing her navel, but he always, always did it and she had to wonder why he’d forgotten tonight. She was shocked at how much it worried her that he didn’t do it either…

She felt Ben sit on the side of the bed, felt him pull a strand of hair off her cheek. She rolled over to look at him and her breath caught at the emotion flickering in his eyes…was that trepidation? Anxiety? What on earth…

‘Are you ok?’ she asked, sitting up.

One big muscled shoulder lifted and fell. ‘Sure, why wouldn’t I be?’

Joely bit the inside of her lip, searching his eyes. Yep, it was still there. ‘You’re worried about something.’

Ben held her look and she sighed when she saw the shutter close in his eyes. She hated when he did that, hid his emotions from her. ‘I’ve just had amazing sex with the woman I adore and we’re about to have dinner in a world-class restaurant. Nothing is wrong.’

Uh…yeah, that wasn’t the truth. And she couldn’t believe how much it hurt to know that he’d evaded her question. It wasn’t what he did, they did…they were always unfailingly honest with each other.

‘I’m going to shower. Or do you want to go first?’

God…now he was being polite? What was going on with him? Ben - her Ben - was never polite. He was straightforward and bold… Joely felt a ball of cold anxiety in the pit of her stomach as he walked back towards the bathroom.

Was this their last hurrah, was he thinking of calling it quits? Was this fancy hotel room and reservations at the restaurant a way to pave his way to a kiss off? The last couple of months had been hectic with them both working long hours but everything was fine with them….wasn’t it? Would she be even able to tell? She came from a home where break ups came out of the blue and, because she was too busy studying; she’d hadn’t really had a proper, adult relationship before Ben. She wasn’t clever when it came to people and emotions…