Shaking his head, Luc explained, ‘She’d been the picture of health, if her family doctor’s notes are anything to go by. It’s a mystery. Letitia is fifteen, far too young to be dealing with something like this. Would you read through her notes?’ he asked Ben.
‘You’ll have to interpret.’ The girl obviously didn’t understand English or he doubted Luc would be discussing her case quite so openly. As he listened to details and test results Tori moved closer to the bed.
‘Can I sit down?’ she asked Letitia in French.
At least, that was what Ben thought she’d said, because when Letitia nodded, saying, ‘Oui,’ Tori sat on the edge of the bed.
Tori talked slowly to the girl, trying to make herself understood. They both laughed over something she’d said. Letitia seemed taken with Tori, talking rapidly, only to stop when Tori held up a hand and grinned at her.
Letitia started again, slower this time, and Tori seemed to be getting the gist of what she was saying, occasionally asking for something to be repeated.
Tori’s face had lit up with pleasure. From talking in another language? Or was it Letitia herself that had her reacting like that? Then Tori glanced across the next bed, where a much younger girl lay sleeping. Her eyes widened and that look of love included that child.
Children. That’s what flicked the switch to glowing in Tori’s eyes. Children. Did Tori remember how they’d talked about having a family once they’d finally established their careers? She’d have been a fantastic mother. So sad that Tori hadn’t remarried and had a family with someone else. But he couldn’t find it within himself to deny he’d have been envious if she had.
Ben shoved that aside, concentrated on what Luc was saying about Letitia’s heart attack. Nothing stood out, apart from the fact she’d gone into arrest while participating in a cycle race. Most bewildering, and downright frightening for the patient and her family. ‘No family history of cardiac problems, then?’
Luc shook his head. ‘Not that anyone’s saying.’ Out of earshot of Letitia, he added, ‘The mother is a little circumspect about that, which has me wondering if there’s a paternity issue. Unfortunately, I don’t think I’m ever going to get any further with that line of enquiry.’
Ben nodded. ‘It’s tricky.’
‘Very.’
When they were finally finished on the ward Luc took them down to his office for a much-needed coffee. While he was arranging their order with his secretary, Tori turned to Ben. ‘Medicine’s the same in every country, every language, isn’t it? Those children are so special, fighting hard to overcome their illnesses.’
His mouth got away with him. ‘When we were being serious we talked of having two.’ Not six.
The colour drained from Tori’s face so fast he thought she was about to collapse. Reaching for her, Ben held her arms and gazed into her distressed face. ‘Tori, I’m sorry. There’s a little gremlin in my head this morning, making mischief.’
‘P-put it down, then, w-will you?’ she stammered, and pulled away.
‘I’ll try but I also think it best if we’re being completely honest with each other and that means sometimes talking about taboo subjects.’
‘Then I’m going to avoid all conversation with you.’
He quirked one eyebrow at her. ‘You can do that?’ It wouldn’t do them any good at all, only bring back the tension between them.
Her shoulders lifted, fell. ‘It’s that or I avoid you completely, not a very grown-up way to behave, I’d have thought. But possibly necessary.’
Unfortunately he really did want to have some time with her in the hope he could put his failed marriage and his ex-wife behind him. Who knew? If he did it right he might even be able to find a new life with another woman. His gut clenched. No? Okay, maybe not.
CHAPTER TEN
TORI LEANED CLOSE to Ben as the curtain fell for the last time. ‘I want to see this show every night I’m here.’
‘It’s great, isn’t it?’
‘Amazing, but what have I missed? It was impossible to take it all in.’ The colours, music, the beautiful dancing girls and the incredible acts of strength shown by the men—all mesmerising. The Moulin Rouge had lived up to its reputation and then some.
‘Let’s go,’ Ben said.
‘What’s the hurry?’ This had been another one of the most amazing nights of her life. A superb dinner and then the show. She so wasn’t ready to call it quits and head back to the hotel and that big lonely bed.
‘Taxis will be at a premium. There are hundreds of people needing to get back to their hotels.’ He sounded so reasonable. Or was that bored?
‘Let’s find a bar. No, a nightclub’s a better idea. The night’s still young.’ She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been up at one-thirty in the morning for pleasure. Pathetic, really. ‘Coming?’
Ben stood up slowly. Reluctantly? ‘Sure.’
Tori wanted to shake him. ‘Sound a little more enthused, will you?’
‘Sure.’ He managed a smile that sent heat fizzing along her veins. That heat never faded, always reminding her how good they’d been together. How good they could be again.
Tori began pushing her way through the crowd, too impatient to be polite and stand back for everyone else to go first. She wanted to get out of there and head for a club and fun with Ben.
The nightclubs were jam-packed with people spilling out onto the streets, but that didn’t deter Tori. At the third one she grabbed Ben’s hand and hauled him inside to the bar. With drinks in hand they squeezed into a corner and people-watched. Loud music had her blood pumping and her toes tapping and before she’d had two mouthfuls of her sparkling water she was up and dragging Ben onto the dance floor.
Not once did Ben pull back or refuse to go with her as they danced or drank at her whim. He bought her more water and himself wine, he talked, and when she wanted to he stood on the dance floor, gyrating his hips and smiling as she leapt and twirled and shimmied.
‘Not that I call this dancing,’ Tori gasped once. ‘More like aerobics in a dog kennel.’ She was squashed up against Ben, breast to chest, hips to hips, her body moving against his in time to the music.
Ben smiled in an enigmatic way and continued moving with her. His arms were on her waist, his fingers splayed so that she felt each and every one of them. Like he used to do.
I wish I knew what he’s thinking. It felt like he cared for her if he was reverting to his old, loving ways. And on the night of her life it was getting to be romantic.
* * *
Nearly two hours later they arrived back at their hotel suite. Soft light from the lamps glowed in the otherwise darkened room. Obviously the maid had been to turn down their beds.
Bed. Tori smiled as she finally got rid of her shoes. She wasn’t tired. She should be, but she couldn’t find a tired cell in her body. Not a one. Spinning around on her aching toes, she reached for Ben, caught his tie and tugged him close. Very close. Her lips brushed across his. It wasn’t enough. She pressed her mouth against his, felt his heat.
Then he pulled away.
‘Tori, are you sure you know what you’re doing?’
Yes. She was seizing the moment. She wasn’t thinking because thinking clogged the brain. She had wanted Ben for days now and no matter what the consequences this was her moment. She already knew her heart was screwed so she had nothing else to lose and everything to gain by trying to find her way back to them. Who knew? Ben might be waiting for the nod from her. ‘Yes, Ben, I do.’
Ben held her gaze for a long, tense moment. A moment when the air became charged with anticipation and need and heat. Then he lifted her into his arms and strode through to her room.
As he laid her on the bed she caught his tie again and tugged him down on top of her. She couldn’t wait to feel his weight over her body,
to have his hard muscles against her softer ones, his length inside her.
When Ben kissed her he wasn’t gentle. Instead, his mouth claimed her lips, his tongue thrust into her mouth to dance with hers. Oh, the taste of him. Her Benji. His hands cupped her face, holding her head still, like he’d always done. His elbows kept his weight off her, weight she craved so she knocked his arms sideways to bring him tumbling onto her body. That’s when she felt right. Benji’s body covering her, his scent, his heat—it drove her crazy with need.
His kiss was full of urgency. Every thrust of Ben’s tongue had Tori crying out with need. Her fingers slid down his back, around his waist, between their pulsing bodies and down over the hard set of his manhood. She was melting. Wet and ready. ‘Benji, now. Don’t wait. I want you.’ How had she gone without him for so long?
Then he left her, his mouth withdrawing, his hands pulling away, the weight lifting from her. ‘Benji,’ she cried.
‘Ben. Call me Ben,’ he growled.
Shock mixed with understanding stilled her briefly. So this wasn’t about who they were but who they’d become. A chill touched her hot skin then disappeared. Okay, so that was a warning not to expect anything from this, but her body was still waiting feverishly for him. ‘Ben, don’t keep me waiting.’