Taking His Woman (7 page)

“That was cruel.” He lay down, taking her with
him. She gazed at the clear blue sky and the sun shining down on them.

“I’m not going anywhere this time, Erica. I
want you to meet my crazy-ass family. You might run away when you meet them.”

She chuckled. “If that’s the case, you’d better
meet mine.”

“I didn’t know you had family.”

“What? You thought I’d fallen out of the sky
like some alien or something?”

“Or something.”
He
laughed. “You never talked about them, so I figured you’d lost them.”

She felt his heart beat and lifted up to look
at him. “I have a family. They’re just not people you brag about.”

He ran his fingers down her cheek. Erica closed
her eyes, moaning at his touch.

“I missed you,” she admitted, not only to him
but to herself. He sat up, taking her lips in a sweet, tender kiss. She closed
her eyes as her body came alive under his skilful touch.

Chris pulled away, cupping her face in his
hand. “I’ve not been with anyone since you.”

She stared at him. Erica thought her mouth
would be hanging open in disbelief at his statement. “That’s not possible. I
saw the newspaper headlines about your latest conquest.”

He shook his head. “You saw what I wanted the
media to see.
Chris Sinclair up to his usual antics.
I
couldn’t touch another woman after you. I tried, but the only woman I wanted
was you.”

Erica felt guilty. Even though she’d never been
with another man for intercourse, she’d let Ben touch her intimately as she’d
touched him.

“You look sad. What’s the matter?” he asked.
“Have you been with someone else?”

She moved
away.

“Yes and
no.”

“What do
you mean, yes and no?”

Erica
glanced at her hands then back at him. “I haven’t been physical with anyone
else. Ben and I, well, we fooled around a little.”

“Only
fooled around?” he asked. She nodded her head.

He
laughed. “I’m not going to hold that against you, Erica. I fucked up. I
wouldn’t have been surprised if you hadn’t slept with other men to rid your
mind of me. I’m pleased you didn’t. It makes what we have a little more
special.”

Chris
caressed her face, kissing her on the lips. “Let’s eat.”

Chapter Seven

Ben sat
nursing a beer as he thought about what Erica had said to him. The attraction
he felt towards Martin was wrong. Ever since they’d grown into adolescents he’d
been drawn to the other man. Martin was his life-long friend. Ben never wanted
to ruin the friendship he had, but how could he carry on watching him with
other people?

He had
truly thought with the right woman all of his desire for men would disappear.
For a short time he had felt Erica had been that woman. She was smart and fun
to be around. He did find her attractive to look at. But no matter how many
times he tried to fantasize about her naked or having sex with her, nothing
ever stirred him. Even now as he sat with a beer thinking about sex with her,
his cock lay flaccid in his pants.

“Fucking traitor.”

“Who’s a
fucking traitor? Are you still nursing a crush for Erica?” Martin asked as he
walked into the kitchen where Ben was sat at the counter.
His pulse quickened as his friend
grew closer to him. Taking a sip of his beer he tried to distract himself from
the pleasure of seeing his friend. Erica had been right about his attraction to
Martin. He thought he’d kept his feelings about the other man close to his
chest.

“Nothing to do
with Erica.
She’s out with her man right now.” He smiled thinking about how happy she
looked when Chris was mentioned. She really wanted it to work this time. He
hoped it did. Erica deserved happiness. Most people did. Her past was still a
grey area to him. She rarely talked about anything but work or stuff to do.

“Is that why she’s been all cheery
lately? I thought you were going steady with her?” Martin pulled himself a beer
from the fridge. Ben couldn’t help but admire his firm ass.

Get a grip. He’s not yours.

“No. We thought about it. We’re both
without partners and want to start a family and everything.” He wanted kids,
but his lack of attraction to women could be a problem.

“Then at least you both realise it
now rather than later on.”

“Huh?”

“That you’re both not suited
together. When kids are involved it can get a bit messy.”

Ben nodded his head. The words he
wanted to say to the man in front of him were on the tip of his tongue. He
couldn’t get them to come out. They were alone, talking about his lack of a
relationship. This was his golden opportunity.

Tell him how you feel, Ben.

“It would have never worked. We both
knew she was in love with Chris from the start. She never hid it from me. That
part of her past she’d told. The other part about her family she refused to.”

“Yeah, we can’t help who we love.
I’m going out to the others. Come and join us when you’re ready.” Martin
reached out, touching his hands. “She’ll be out there.”

“Who?”

“The right woman
for you.
You’ll
find her and never look back.”

Good going.

Ben looked behind him watching
Martin disappear from view. Why couldn’t he come clean? He was tired of playing
the spare wheel. Watching Martin with other women was killing him. Grabbing his
bottle he walked over to his bedroom.

He knew he’d have to come clean
soon. Living a life constantly yearning for a man he could never have was not
the answer.

Ben sat down on his chair looking out
at the guys on the beach. None of them knew. How had Erica known?

You’d been with her for weeks. She’s bound to know something.

He enjoyed her curves against him
and appreciated her full body, but beyond that he got nothing else from
her.
 

Martin came into view. Ben felt his
world fall apart watching the man he loved with someone else. Throwing his
bottle in the trash can, he grabbed his coat and left the beach house. He
didn’t know where he was going. There was a small town nearby. He walked the
distance trying to clear his head. The last time he’d visited with the guys
there had been a club where men could go and have a drink and find company for
a few short hours. At least, that is how he saw it.

Half an hour later, he entered the
club and went straight up to the bar. It was still early, and they were serving
alcohol as well as coffee.

“Can I have a strong coffee with
sugar? No cream,” he said to the man behind the bar.

“Sure thing.
Have I seen you in here before?”
the barman asked.

“I stopped by a couple of weeks back
with a few friends. We didn’t stay.” He tapped his fingers on the bar as he
took more in.

“Is that because we’re a gay bar?”
the barman asked.

“What?”

“Because if you’re
here to cause trouble, you can get the hell out.”

Ben held his hands up. “I just want
a coffee and to sit here.”

“Good. Sorry about the high-handed
warning. We have so much trouble that we like to keep it simple.”

Ben nodded, taking his cup of
coffee. The scent reminded him of the Italian blend he preferred to buy. There
was a lot of stuff he kept covered about his personality. Maybe it was time for
him to come out. If he lost his friends then they weren’t really his friends.

“I’ll have a black coffee with your
greasiest bagel,
Clyde
.” A man approached on
his other side. He was large and looked to be in his late twenties. Ben tried
to ignore him, but the guy oozed sex appeal. He dropped his shoulder bag onto
the chair between them. Ben’s hands started to shake as the stirring in his
groin began to intensify.

“I’m surprised to see you here. I
thought you were vacationing with the
parentals
,”
Clyde
said to the mystery man.

“I’ve just left my mom. She’s on her
way home, but I don’t want to be anywhere near the chaos when that all kicks
off.” The guy sat down rolling up his sleeves. Ben saw a small dragon tattoo on
the inside of the other man’s arm.

“Here you go. Enjoy.”
Clyde
handed a plate and mug to the guy sitting next to
him.

“
Cheers,
mate. This is my one consolation.”

Clyde
walked off leaving Ben alone with the
mystery man.

“If you keep stirring the spoon in
your cup the bottom will drop off.”

Ben dropped the spoon with a
clatter. “Sorry.”

“It’s your first time here?”

“Yes, I’m Ben....” He went to say
his last name but decided to leave it off.

“I’m
Trent
.”
Trent
shook his hand. “So are you gay or just curious?”

“I don’t really know.”

“Whoever really knows what they
want? Me, I’m a bit of everything. I like men and women. There is something to
be said for the woman’s supple body while I also love taking a hard man.”
Trent
took a bite of his
bagel. “I’m sorry for being a cuss. I’ve spent a great deal of time with my
family. I have to hide who I am. You’re a stranger, and I can talk to a
stranger. You don’t know who I am.”

“No, keep going on.” Ben listened to
the other man. He had thought he was the only one with problems. From the
sounds of it, this
Trent
had plenty of issues of his own.

“What about you?”

“Me? Well, I’ve never been with a
man. I’ve tried with a woman, but nothing happens. I figured I was weird
somehow.” Ben began talking, opening up to the stranger before him. How could
he be so open and honest with a man he didn’t know? He talked about his
feelings with Martin.

Then the phone buzzed, interrupting
his flow.

“Shit, let me take this.”

Ben took a sip of his coffee, which
the bar-man had refreshed for him.

“Fucking hell, I’ve got to go. I’m
sorry, mate.
Family emergency.”
Trent
paid the bill then gathered his stuff.
Ben didn’t mind. Talking with someone who wasn’t a friend had helped open him
up.

“Before I go as I don’t think we’ll
meet again,” said
Trent
.
“Talk to this Martin guy. He might surprise you. If not, then you can move on
with your life. Take care, Ben.”

Then
Trent
walked out.

Sitting back in his chair, Ben
stared off into space.
Trent
had breezed in, allowed him to talk,
then
breezed back
out of his life. Maybe it was a sign. Either way, Ben felt better and ready to
face Martin.
 

Chapter Eight

Chris
burst out laughing, pulling Erica into his arms and swinging her in the air.
She let out the cutest giggle followed by a squeal. The cool ocean water kept
licking their ankles.

“I’ll
throw you into the water,” he said teasingly.

“No.” She
pulled away. Chris let her down on her feet so he could run after her. He loved
catching her. “You’re going to pull a muscle if you keep lifting me up.”

“Don’t let
me fool you, babe. I’ve been working out, and I love the feel of you in my
arms.” He ran towards her. She froze, screamed, and ran. Chris caught her,
lifting her up and swinging her around. The breeze felt wonderful against their
skin. He’d removed his shirt, shoes, and socks. Erica had left her sandals near
their picnic area.

He put her
down.

“Pick me
up like a damsel in distress and carry me back for food,” she said. Chris
laughed. He placed one hand under her legs, and the other supported her back.
She cried out as he lifted her up. “Forget it. You’ll drop me. Put me down.”

“Wrap your
hands around my neck.”

She did as
he instructed. “You, Mr. Sinclair, are a very dangerous man.”

“Do you
think so?”

Erica
nodded.

“You’d better get used to it. I’m your
dangerous man, and I don’t intend to go anywhere.”

“I like the sound of that.”

He put her on her feet and saw his phone
lighting up. “Don’t answer it,” she said.

“I wouldn’t, but I’m still one of the oldest
brothers, and the little ones might need a bail out.” He kissed her, picking up
his phone and flipping it open. “What?” he asked. Chris didn’t want to spoil
their time together, but he had no choice but to be responsible.