Read Desire (#5) for Free Online Page B

soup was chicken and surprisingly good. I rested my hand on my stomach. I was an idiot. Why hadn’t I told Benjamin before?
    ***
    After the doctor discharged me, Benjamin wrapped me up in blankets ready to take me to the car.
    He actually wanted to carry me.
    I waved away his hands. “Cut it out. I’m perfectly capable of walking.”
    I made it in one piece, although my legs felt like Jell-O when we finally reached Benjamin’s Aston Martin.
    He leaned in the passenger side and clipped my seatbelt in place. He stared down at me for a moment tenderly. Then leaned down and kissed the tip of my nose.
    This was the new affectionate Benjamin. I liked him. Although I didn’t fancy almost drowning every time I wanted his attention.
    Benjamin slid into the driver’s seat, turned on the ignition and switched the heater up to high.
    “So,” I said as he pulled out of the hospital parking lot. “Tell me what happened.”
    Benjamin glanced at me as he changed gear. “It was Tina. She’d come back to Cliff House to talk to you. She wanted to convince you she hadn’t stolen the miniature, which by the way, she didn’t. Colin made that up.”
    I clenched my fists. “Bastard. Why would he do that?”
    “To get her out of the way. One less person asking questions when you disappeared. Anyway, she noticed Colin running back towards the house from the cliff path. She asked him where you were and he was very evasive. She said he was acting really strangely and had a cut on his forehead. She didn’t know what was wrong, but she was worried. So she called me then went to look for you.”
    I nodded. “I heard her calling me, and I told her I was trapped, but then Colin grabbed her.”
    “Luckily, that was just as I got back home,” Benjamin said. “I found Tina trying to fight off Colin in the grounds. He ran as soon as he saw me. I chased him, and when I got close, he jumped off the cliff.”
    I shuddered.
    “He jumped?” I asked. “Or was he pushed?
    Benjamin stared straight ahead at the road. “He jumped,” he said firmly.
    Back at the house, we had to deal with the police, who obviously had a lot of questions for all of us. When I finally got into bed, I felt like I could sleep for a week, but as Benjamin climbed into bed beside me, my body came alive.
    Would I ever get tired of feeling his skin on mine, of feeling his hot hands work their way around my body? I hoped not.
    As my fingers trailed their way down Benjamin’s chest, I felt the warm glow of desire heat the top of my thighs.
    Benjamin groaned and grabbed my hands. “You need rest, Kate.”
    I moved my body closer to him. I wanted to make it as hard to resist me as possible. “I want you,” I whispered against his chest.
    He stared at me, his dark eyes burning into mine. “I love you.”
    My breath caught in my throat, and tears misted my eyes. “I love you, too.”
    I curled up in his arms and I lay like that for ages, just listening to the slow steady beat of his heart.
    Eventually I had to get up to answer a call of nature. Reluctantly, I moved away from his warm embrace and made my way to the bathroom.
    When I came out, Benjamin was nowhere to be seen. I sat down on the bed. Where had he gone? Less than a minute later, Benjamin walked back in the bedroom with a box under his arm, he wore only his jeans. Dammit, he looked hot.
    “Where did you go?” I asked and pouted.
    He held up the box. A shoe-sized box. “A present.”
    I grinned.
    He handed me the box, and I looked at him through lowered lashes.
    “And you call me insatiable,” I teased, as I opened the box and pulled out the most sensational high-heeled shoe, covered with tiny crystals.
    The shoe sparkled as I held it up to the light. “Pretty,” I said. “Would you like me to try them on?”
    The smile dropped from my face, as I caught his expression.
    He didn’t looked turned on, or angry, or playful. For the first time ever, I saw fear on Benjamin’s face.
    “What is it?” I asked,