Lessons in Love

Chapter 47: Kiss it Better

POV: Riley Campbell

Ben came into the suite, and I instantly smelled blood. I was on my feet and moving toward him before I had time to realize what I was doing.

“Are you alright?” I said, grabbing his arm at the elbow and looking at the bloodied slashes on his forearm.

“I’m fine,” he smiled at me, pulling me into him with the undamaged arm. “It was one of the guards. My father is at the pub, hopefully getting too drunk to see straight.” He said. “Where’s my mom?”

“She went to lie down. She was exhausted.” I told him.

Ben stepped back from me and cupped the side of my face. “Thank you for taking care of her.”

“Of course,” I said. “Let me help you with that arm.”

He pulled away from me fully and shook his head. “I can manage.” He said. He looked embarrassed or nervous, I couldn’t tell which because he had blocked his emotions from me.

“I want to,” I smiled, stepping closer to him.

Ben took a step back to keep the distance and stared at the floor. “I need to take my shirt off.” He said, and I understood the problem he was having. He had scars all over his body. He was nervous for me to see them.

“Ben,” I said gently, fighting the urge to grab a hold of him and hug him again. “I’m going to see you without a shirt eventually.” I reminded him. His mate scent bloomed in the room at the thought, and his face went red, knowing that I’d smelled his arousal.

He managed to make eye contact. “I know, but …” he sighed. “Not tonight, please.” His blue eyes practically begged me to let this go.

“Go change your shirt,” I said. “Put on something with short sleeves so I can take care of the arm.” I countered. Ben let out a pent-up breath and smiled at me. He nodded and ducked into this bedroom. Once he’d changed his shirt, he called for me to join him. He was standing by the bathroom door as I entered. I tried my best not to look around too much. A quick glance told me he kept a tidy space, his bed was made, and there weren’t any clothes laying around. He led me into the bathroom and pulled out what I needed before he sat on the edge of the huge jacuzzi tub in the ensuite.

“So, what’s the plan?” I asked as I sat down next to him to disinfect the wound. Ben didn’t flinch at the sting of it, and it occurred to me that he’d probably been patched so many times that this no longer phased him.

“Well, we’ve got the two guards from the Alpha’s suite in the dungeon and one of the guys that traveled today with my father. We’re trying to track the fourth guy through the northern edge of our territory that borders with Ridgeline.” He explained.

“My father doesn’t know any of that. We’re hoping to get an on the record confession from the guards about Marcus and Eleanor being moved by my father. Him torturing my mother will, sadly, only get us so far with the council.” He growled the last bit.

“And your father is at the pub?”

“Yup,” his growl broadened. “Son of a b***h didn’t even go home first. He thinks she’s still down there.” I didn’t have to feel it to know how angry he was. His whole body was so tensed, he was shaking from it.

“Hey,” I whispered, drawing his eyes to mine. “But she’s not down there, thanks to you and Rick.”

“You just showed up this afternoon.” He said. “What made you think to?”

I focused my eyes on his arm as I wrapped the bandage around the wound. It would heal quickly, but they were a little deep for my liking. “I felt this urge or this need, I guess, to get to you as quickly as possible. It was like I knew something bad was happening to you and I …” I made eye contact and blushed.

“You needed to protect me.” He finished.

“Something like that.” I looked down to secure the bandage, feeling my face getting hot. Without thinking, I leaned forward and kissed his arm over the bandage. Ben sucked his breath in sharply and I immediately let go of him.

“I’m sorry,” I blurted out. “I didn’t mean to hurt you, Ben, I’m …”

“You didn’t.” He reached for me, placing his hand gently on the side of my neck and stroking my jaw with his thumb. “When you kissed it, it immediately started to itch.” It was a common feeling when a wound was healing. It wasn’t common at all for such a gesture to spark that healing. “I think you literally kissed it better.” He laughed quietly.

His stare was intense. He dropped the guard around his emotions, and I felt the affection he felt toward me. It was hard not to get wrapped up in it. His eyes were so blue as he stared at me, and I wanted to sit there and stare at him for hours. I reached up and ran my fingers through his hair. It was light and soft to the touch, and he closed his eyes for a moment from the pleasure of the sensation. He leaned in, ready to kiss me when he jumped.

“It’s Sam,” he said abruptly. “I have to go.” He looked at me, fear and disappointment warring in his expression.

“Go,” I said with a smile.

Ben moved quickly out of the bathroom and stopped at the bedroom door. He gripped the door frame for a moment before turning back to look at me. I didn’t want him to leave. It was ridiculous. I knew he had to go, but I found myself thinking of ways to keep him in the room with me. Ben moved swiftly, striding across the room to me. He grabbed the side of my neck, tilted my head up, and kissed me.

Our auras spilled out, mixing with one another’s. There was a shift in our bond, and we both felt it. It was like our emotional transference heightened. It was as if I could feel everything he’d ever felt and ever would feel all at once. We opened our mouths to each other, breathing heavily through our noses. His arms were around me, pulling me into him.

He broke the kiss off suddenly. I opened my eyes to see him squeezing his shut. “I have to go.” He breathed against my face.

“I’ll be here when you get back.” I breathed back. He pecked my lips one more time and hurried off to his duties. I went out to the living room and sat on the couch, smiling to myself. I felt him doing the same.

POV: Beta Ben Westlake

I hadn’t been able to leave her standing there. The need to be intimate with her was more than I could handle, and I gripped the door frame of my bedroom. I turned around and felt a draw toward her I hadn’t before. I couldn’t tell what it was, but the minute I laid eyes on her, I knew I was not leaving that room without kissing her.

I was across the room with my mouth against her in a heartbeat. For the first time in my life, my aura pouring out of me didn’t frighten me. It felt good, right, necessary even. Hers washed over me, through me. I was filled with strength and safety, confidence, and hope. So much hope I thought I would never be afraid of another step in my life. Sam barked at me through the mind-link, and I had to let go of her.

As I walked across the fields to the dungeon, I kept thinking about that kiss. The way she willingly kissed me back, how she’d been passionate and gentle at the same time. I knew whatever awaited me in the dungeon was going to rip the sense of euphoria away from me, but until I got there, I swam around in it and smiled.

I was almost to the dungeon when I looked out across the fields at the sun setting, lighting the sky on fire as it did. The smattering of clouds shone orange, pink, and purple at the edges, and I breathed in my home. I was going to save this pack from him. I was going to lock him away where he could never hurt anyone again, I thought. It was a promise I’d made to myself a million times over the years. As I stood there, watching the sunset over the fields, I knew, for the first time in my life, I was capable of doing it.