She smiled in agreement then said, her voice calculatingly soft and breathy, “And I don’t want you exhausted when that time comes.” She kissed him lightly, got up and headed toward her adjoining room. As she reached the doorway she looked back and said, “Sleep well.” Ben let out a frustrated groan, and without a thought to undressing he reached over to turn off the bedside lamp.
After quietly closing the adjoining door, Ana stood for a moment and looked around the room, empty but for a suitcase and clothing strewn on one of the chairs. She took a deep breath, exhaled and walked to the window, fearing that in spite of her own fatigue, Ben’s impetuous actions would be enough to keep her awake with longing. The summer night had settled on Pamplona, and below her window the plaza’s street lamps lighted the way for groups of people who moved about, enjoying a reprieve from the heat of the day. There was comfort in knowing that although in a different room, Ben was safe and sleeping. She quickly removed her outer clothing, tossed back the duvet, and fell across the bed. Ben’s kiss, the feel of his arms around her, and his words— especially his words— occupied her thoughts until she fell asleep.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Ana was jarred awake by several quick knocks on one of her room’s two doors. She waited, and the next knock definitely came from the door adjoining the rooms. Evidently Ben was awake. It was barely light, and Ana could have easily drifted off again were it not that she was anxious to see him. She was still sprawled crosswise on the bed, but sometime during the night she had pulled the bed cover over her body.
“Wait a sec,” she called out, and at the same time reached for clothes from the rumpled pile on the chair.
“Are you decent?” he said, opening the door just a crack.
“Almost,” she said, pulling on the last item of clothing before giving a final okay.
Ben seemed surprised when he walked into the room and looked at her. “Aren’t those the same clothes you were wearing yesterday?”
“Well, I noticed you went to sleep in yours, but I took mine off last night. When you knocked just now I was still asleep. I had to put on something— the first thing I could grab.
Ben adopted the provocative expression that had affected Ana since they first met. Then he smirked a little and said, “I hope some day soon you won’t want to put clothes on when I come into a room. I’d rather you’d want to take them off.” He deliberately stared hard into her eyes and waited for a reaction.”
Ana’s reaction was strong, but she kept it invisible. The bit of shyness she felt was easily subdued by her desire. With Ben’s family crisis at an end she could let her feelings re-emerge. Not to be outdone, she accepted his verbal challenge and said, “Well, that kiss last night might be a deciding factor… but of course I’ll probably require some more convincing.”
Ben liked her answer. Ana could see that in his smile. And yet acting coy had never been part of her repertoire, nor did it really fit the image she had worked hard to create— at least professionally. She was a journalist and had to be independent, insightful, and once in a while, even pushy. Undeniably this man had turned her upside down and sideways, but it was good— all good.
A few moments passed while they stood facing each other, yet with separate thoughts. Ben wondered if the waiting after their first encounter, plus the burden and seriousness of the distractions, had taken the starch out of the anticipation— at least for Ana. It could do that. Yet for him the desire just continued to intensify, and he knew it was really up to him to free them from their complete immersion in recent events. He wanted to find a way to let her know he was working on it— if, so far, only in his mind. They had to hold on until Valerie’s parents arrived in Spain. Then he hoped to feel less responsibility to stay close to the hospital. And it wouldn’t be too long until his parents would whisk Olivia back to the Cotswolds, where she would be nurtured and indulged and Sir Freddie would be constantly at her heels. Ben expected she would soon run screaming back to London to resume her independent life. He laughed to himself, knowing just what she was in for.
Switching back to the present, Ben said, “Sorry, but I have to check in at the hospital. And then I want to see if I can find Annunciata Domingo. Maybe there’s something I can do for her to show my gratitude. She’s probably wondering how it all turned out.”
“I’m not waiting around in this room again. I’ll come with you to the hospital, say hello to your parents and Olivia, then do some digging.”
“Some digging?” He noticed that she seemed exited.
“I’m going to drop in at the police station and see if I can get her information from Inspector… what was his name?”
“Macias. But he might not be on duty. Better call first.”
She agreed, and then her expression turned serious. “I’d better hone my journalistic skills with this little assignment because I’m quite sure I no longer have a job with the magazine.”
“Wow, sorry— again,” Ben said, frowning. “I really feel bad about that. Hard to believe that in all this time there wasn’t a minute for that interview.”
“I find that easy to believe, considering recent events. Besides, I’ve learned an awful lot about you, just by association… although none of it relates to your writing.” Her expression turned sly, and Ben wondered just what she was referring to. After a
