Chapter 20: Chapter 20

Thorin glanced at the grandfather clock in the foyer, then back at his reflection and straightened his tie. “Imara! Are you about ready?”

Her heels clicked on the marble floor, and Thorin pushed back his slick hair and turned from side to side as he inspected his face.

“How do I look?” Imara twisted her knee inwards while she checked out the back of her shoe.

Her green beaded dress left little to the imagination. Still, she was a married woman attending a party with her husband, and it was hardly his place anymore to chastise her about her appearance. “Well, Darlin, you look beautiful as always.”

Her nose wrinkled as she shrugged a shoulder. “I was afraid it was a tad; you know.”

His fingers wrapped around hers as he led her to the front door. “You’ll be the belle of the ball.”

The noise from the automobiles made her flinch, and she tugged at her necklace as the driver waved at them to cross the street. “Do you suppose Ben will be there?”

He waited for her to step up onto the curb before he threaded her arm through his, then entered the park. Glancing down at his watch, Thorin sighed and shook his head. “Shit! We’re going to be late. Ben’s going to be working as your bodyguard from now on. He’s

meeting us there.”

In her dainty heels, she jogged behind him as he dragged her across the next street. “Bodyguard? I can’t say I’m not thrilled with the concept, but how did this come about?”

The doorman tipped his head, then opened the thick wooden doors, and Thorin pressed his hand to Imara’s back as they entered the Order. “He’s highly recommended, my dear. Trust me.”

Her eyes darted in every direction as she searched for Ben. “Where is he? Was he supposed to meet us somewhere? You don’t think he changed his mind about all this, do you?”

Seeing the Order’s leader at the bar, Thorin waved his hand in the air. “No, my dear, I know for a fact he wouldn’t do a thing like that. He’ll be here.”

Like a cloud that covers the sun, Imara felt a weight move over her from above, and her eyes rose to the balcony to find Ben watching her. His fingers glided along the rail as he came down the stairs, never taking his eyes off her. As soon as his foot hit the floor, her heart skipped, and her knees buckled enough that she had to hold Thorin’s arm a little tighter.

With a quick nod of approval, Thorin winked and shook Ben’s hand. “You look fantastic.”

With his hand shoved in his pocket, his other tugged at his bowtie. “Thanks, but I feel kind of ridiculous. I can’t believe you people dress like this all the time.”

“It suits you, though.” Thorin’s finger wagged at the other people in the room. “Don’t let all these phonies around here fool you; your blood is just as pure as any of them. Well, Ben, if you don’t mind taking Imara off my hands for a while.” Thorin unwrapped Imara’s arm from his then joined their hands. “I have some people I simply must speak with about that situation we were discussing earlier. Enjoy the party, you two.” He kissed Imara’s cheek and patted Ben’s shoulder before disappearing into the crowd.

Her cheeks were already the prettiest shade of pink when they smiled up at Ben, and her head tipped to the dancefloor. “Should we dance?”

“I don’t know how to dance.” He glanced back at the people behind him. “That wasn’t super high on the list of priorities on the farm I grew up on.”

Inching closer to him, she slid her other hand down his arm and walked him backward. “Can you hold me real close and move from side to side while you do it?”

His eyes fell between them to the curve of her breast, and he pulled her arms around his neck. “I can surely do that.”

His arm wrapped around her waist, and his other one traveled up her back when Imara’s fingers caressed his jaw as she tried to place his face. “Well then, you can dance with me.”

He wrapped his fingers up in her soft hair as he tugged her a little closer, and his lips hovered over her forehead. “Today has been the most confusing and wonderful day of my life, I think.”

She gazed into the darkest eyes she ever saw and traced his ear with her fingertips. “What do you mean?”

Her touch sent a shiver through his body, and his words faltered a little. “Well, I started today off as a lowly caretaker in dirty clothes, and now here I am in a fancy suit dancing with my dream woman.”

His lips brushed her cheek, and she closed her eyes as she tugged at his jacket. “Dream woman? I’m your dream woman?’

Ben nodded, and his smooth cheek rubbed against hers as he pulled her tight against him. He could feel every breath she drew and her heart beating against him. “I was thinking how funny Fate is. How I woke up this morning with nothing, and now I have you in my arms. I never believed in miracles until right now, but I can’t find another explanation for what happened.”

A tear spilled down his cheek as he searched the room for Thorin and whispered in her ear. “Will you come to my room?”

“Yes.” Without hesitation, her face moved up and down on his chest. “Please.”

Ben pulled Imara behind him as he moved through the crowd, and as soon as the door to his room closed behind them, he pressed her against it. He licked his lips as he braced himself against the door with his arm and rubbed circles on her chest with his fingertips. “If you don’t want to do anything, we don’t have to. I just don’t want to share you with all those people. You’re mine.”

The tremor in her fingers stilled as they met his cheeks. “I know it, Ben. I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life.”

He dipped down, and his lips touched hers for a second before he closed his eyes. “You’re all I’ve ever wanted. I just want to be wherever you are.”

The feeling of his voice against her neck sent a pulse through every nerve in her body, and her knees buckled underneath her. He caught her in his hands and brought her arms around his neck, one by one. “Whoa! You trying to get away from me already?”

While she panted against his skin and shook her head no, he traced the line of her jaw with his lips. “If you want to stop, tell me now. I’m a weak man when it comes to you. I want you too much.”

Her fingers knotted his shirt inside them and yanked it from his pants. “Don’t stop.” He glanced around her face as her trembling hands pulled apart the zipper. Ben rubbed his fingers over Imara’s lips, and she pulled his pants down over his ass, then wrapped her hand around him. While she stroked him, he sucked her bottom lip between his and hooked his fingers under the hem of her dress. Even if neither of them could remember, their bodies needed no reintroduction. In a single motion, she wrapped her legs around him, and he plunged inside her, sending her sliding up the door.

With his chin, he pushed her face upwards, and his hot, soft tongue tasted her skin as he followed the line of her throat until he found the mark he made, the mark they were both blind to now. In an instant, she was moaning into the stillness of the darkroom.

Feeling her warm comfort sucking him in, Ben emptied himself and filled up the lonely space inside her. His fingers wrapped around her chin, and he hissed in her ear as if she had a choice. “Don’t leave me. Don’t you ever leave me?”

In Jaspers office, Thorin sat in a high-backed chair and swirled the ice in his glass. “As soon as Haldir gets here, we’ll see if we can’t knock the cobwebs loose in Ben’s mind.” He sipped and sucked back the bitterness through his teeth. “I’m afraid Imara may not be so easy. Ben at least understands that his life isn’t correct. He knows he doesn’t belong in Savannah among all this luxury. Imara won’t even acknowledge that something is amiss. She’s not concerned at all that it isn’t the 1800’s anymore, and she won’t see the ring on her finger or the mark on her neck. Her denial is endless.”

Jasper scratched his head, messing up his dark curly hair. He pushed himself back in his chair and crossed his leg on top of his knee. “I haven’t seen this curse in a lot of years. I have researchers working in the library as we speak. Don’t worry, Thorin, we’re going to get this thing straightened out; you have my word.”