This wasn't what she had expected at all. She figured he would just place the cargo in the lobby and leave. Staying here and lying at her side, was not like him. She rolled out of bed and strolled to the dresser.
"Did you bring my 'presents' to me?" These were her only words to him as she dug through her drawers. She couldn't let him know that he got to her. The only way to bring her shields back up was to treat him like she didn't care that his beautiful body had been resting next to hers.
She pulled out her black comfort bra and light blue hip-hugger jeans. She had been sleeping in her flannel PJs with little Tweety Bird's on them. Placing her jeans and panties on the dresser, she unbuttoned her top and let it fall to the floor. Her hair fell against her back and slid over her shoulders. She was trying to drive him crazy and from the looks of it, she was doing a very good job.
"Well?" She paused, now holding her garments and attempting to control her emotions while still inflicting haughtiness at the same time. "Was what I left for you in the tomb, not a good enough payment?" She turned and went into the washroom, knowing he would follow.
She was still affected by the events of last night and couldn't stop her childish reactions now. She knew she was being terrible, which wasn't her. She sighed deeply as she put on her bra and began to snap the back, but Ben got to it first. After snapping the clasps, he brought his hands to her neck and gathered her hair together. The tickle of hair over her skin made her heart race and she froze in place.
"Why didn't you give me another chance?" His whisper was barely audible.
As he started to kiss her neck, she took a step away from him and yanked on her top. Grabbing a metal hairpin from the counter, she twirled it into her hair with quick expertise. Looking in the mirror at him, she opened a round jar on the counter to rub on her daily moisturizer. "Because you blew me off! There are no second chances with me Ben. It was your choice, not mine." Even if she had changed her mind mid-event, he was the one to reject her. The dick.
That was one of her rules in life. 'There are no second chances.' If she opened herself to others and gave them a chance and was denied, that was it. Something buried within her, like a chorus, always railed against her walls and said, "There are no second chances." It was doing that, right now.
She shook her head to push away the chorus and gave a small laugh. "Ah, are you starting to feel regrets?" She faked a pretend pout and stepped into the other room to finish getting dressed.
She was being mean, but she couldn't help it. "It's not going to happen again, Ben. So, if you don't mind, I'd like to stop this and go look at what you brought me." As she looked over her shoulder at him, she saw the hurt on his face. Her smile softened, "Please?"
"Fine, you don't want to talk bout it, I'm not gonna push it." He stormed past her, and into the library going towards the hall. "My guys are still here, so just tell me where you want your "presents" and I'll have them moved there. Does that sound okay, or is that pushing it too?"
She could see that he was truly hurt, and frustrated. She didn't want to see him like that, especially if she was at the base of the problem. She may not have been able to control her actions before, but she could damn well try to control them now.
She walked over and wrapped her arms around him, laying her cheek against his chest.
He was taken aback by her actions and for a short second all he could do was hold his arms out from his sides as she squeezed him to her. He felt the warmth of her breath against his shirt, heating his chest. When his shock dissipated, he lowered his arms around her shoulders. Everything in him settled to a calm and a building warmth began to stir inside him. He hated and loved his reactions to this woman.
She moved her head up, resting her chin on his chest instead as she looked up at him. "I love you Ben. You're the closest person I have in my life. You were the only man that daddy truly cared for as a son. I never meant to hurt you and I don't mean to hurt you now. Okay?" She grabbed the sides of his head and pulled him down, wanting to kiss his cheek. Only, as he came close to her, his eyes focused on her lips.
Time slowed for Velori and she watched in slow-mo as Ben took over the downward motion and pulled her to him instead, pressing his lips against hers. Without effort, her mind turned to thoughts of his lips. Had they always been this full? Did she just not realize it before? How can they be so soft and warm? She was so taken in by his kiss that all thoughts of gently letting him down, flittered out of her head. Instead, she pulled him even closer to her as she reached up and ran her fingers through his hair. With her body pressed so close to his, she could feel his skin warm beneath her palms.
He moved his hand from her back to the side of her face as he turned deeper into the kiss. A low moan came from Ben as he was finally tasting her lips on his.
However, that small moan shot through Velori like cold water. What are you doing Vel? The thought invaded her mind and brought her back to reality. All she wanted was to look into his eyes and tell him straight. 'She wasn't interested in changing their relationship and that he meant the world to her but just as a friend.'
She drew her hand out from around him and pulled her head back, away from his. He slowly opened his eyes to look at her. Their breaths mingled together, his fast and heavy, hers steady and calm. She could feel the racing of his heartbeat against her skin.
"Ben." She bent her head and rested her forehead against his chin, trying to regain some form of composure. This was moving her more than she wanted it to. There are no second chances. "I know..." She started and then stopped, as she lifted her eyes back up to his. "I never thought that..." She stopped again. What could she say? She had desired him before but the moment it became something more, it felt wrong. Something inside hated the thought of being with him, it didn't matter how much she loved him or thought him attractive. But she didn't want to hurt him either.
She tried again, "I wish-"
"It's okay!" He interrupted her. He could tell that it was obviously bothering her and when he saw the finality of it in her eyes, he felt like a jerk.
She simply stared at him. She didn't pull away but he could tell she wanted to. So he dropped his arms and backed away a step. He knew she could never step across that line but he also couldn't stop his drive to try and make it happen. He was forcing this on her. He grabbed the back of his neck before rubbing at it. "So..."
He's dropping it? She thought. She couldn't thank the Universe enough. Yet, she felt awkward, just standing in the middle of the library with him.
He continued on, "So... the cargo?"
"Oh! uhm... yea, can you have it brought to my private rooms?" If he was going to act as if nothing had happened then that was a wagon she could easily jump on. She had to. They were friends again and it was going to stay that way.
She heard him give a grunt for a laugh and then say, 'Yeah, I can arrange for a few of 'em to move it all in there. And no worries, they don't even know where we are. Let alone whose house we're at. So, there's no need to worry." Satisfied, she turned and walked into the front lobby, where they had set all the cargo.
Ben wandered outside and came back in with about ten other guys. Moving out of the way, she went into the kitchen to talk to the cook about what she was doing for brunch. Besides, they didn't need her help to install the stuff where she wanted it to go. They could set it up and leave. She only hoped no one saw her taking small peeks at Ben as he traipsed through her home.
Around thirty minutes later, Ben came to find her, letting her know that all was settled, and he had to be somewhere else. Which was fine with her, for the moment, she couldn't keep acting this way. It dug at her more than her gnawing hunger pains.