Handle With Care Page 5

  Chapter Five

  Ben looked at the calendar at his phone. It had been an entire month since he’d been staying with Tricia. Thirty days of sleeping next to her and wanting her so much his cock ached between his legs. Even so, he was patient because while they both wanted each other and badly, he never wanted her to feel anything but cherished. It was a Saturday and he was waiting patiently downstairs for her to finish getting dressed. He was taking her to a place that was special to him and would tell her more about his past.

  If she would hurry up, he thought with amusement. He had another surprise for her that he hoped would make her day. Finally she came down stairs wearing a pink maternity shirt with flowers and white capris. Her sandals were white with a little pink flower at the top. She looked positively delectable and she practically glowed. Ben couldn’t deny he was falling head over heels for Tricia.

  “I’m ready to go,” Tricia said. “No more jeans for me, it’s official I have to wear maternity pants.”

  “You look wonderful,” Ben stood and took his keys from the coffee table. “Is forty-five minutes usually how long it takes for you to get ready?”

  “You can’t rush all this fabulous.” A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. “And no, I am usually much more prompt but my growing waistline was something I had to accept slowly, after trying on four different pairs of jeans.”

  “Ah,” Ben kissed the tip of her nose.

  “Where are we going?” Tricia asked as he helped her into the car.

  “You’ll see,” he answered.

  The drive took them thirty minutes, past the more affluent neighborhoods in New Orleans and into places where the devastation from Hurricane Katrina was still evident. Even ten years after the storm you could see houses that were never rebuilt with the red spray painted signs of being condemned. It still saddened him as he was born in New Orleans and knew the beauty of the place he called home. Now places were vacant and only the ghost of the past echoed through the once lively streets. He stopped in front of a building and Tricia looked out from the passenger window at the sign.

  “Port In The Storm, Shelter and Services,” Tricia read out loud.

  “It’s a program I set up when I came back from deployment,” Ben explained. “I was a medic in the military for over ten years and did three tours, two in Iraq and one in Afghanistan. I was one of the lucky ones who came home with all my limbs and most of my sanity. But others weren’t so lucky, especially here in New Orleans after Katrina, veterans are almost forgotten and most fall through the cracks. This place is where they can come get food and shelter and we help them fill out the forms to begin the process of getting benefits. We give them basic health care and get them help for any serious conditions including the effects of post-traumatic stress disorders and traumatic brain injuries. Some of my patients are wives of military veterans who can’t afford the heath care since their insurance may have lapsed. We work with the entire family and get them on their feet.”

  ‘This is so needed in these areas and it’s absolutely amazing,” Tricia took his hand. “You’re wonderful. Do you come here every weekend?”

  “I do and I have other doctors from the hospital who volunteer their services,” Ben got out of the car and walked around to her side. “Bryce has donated a hefty sum and we’ve been able to renovate the entire building. We’ve made the upstairs into a kind of dorm for homeless veterans. The second floor is for family services and day care, we even have a few rooms. If an entire family is displaced we can house them until we find them a home.”

  “You have seriously done something amazing for New Orleans,” Tricia said and he could hear the pride in her voice. It filled him with pleasure knowing it was because of him. “After the storm, even I wondered if the city would be same, I hate seeing parts so desolated and the crime rate so high. But this building is kind of like a beacon that people can look at and think: we can rebuild and make these areas come alive again.”

  Ben wrapped an arm around her shoulder. ‘That’s why we built here, I want to see something good and positive in this area. Bryce and I have a plan for revitalization we’re trying to propose to City Hall. If it goes well, we could bring families back to better housing built to withstand floods and other natural disasters.”

  “People are scared,” Tricia said as they walked towards the entrance of the building. “But then the police force would have to be able to offer people better security. In areas like this, the crime rate is the highest.”

  “We took that into consideration too,” Ben held the door open for her. “Everyone deserves a proper home and to feel safe regardless of where they live. We also have a heath care clinic for lower income families on weekends and free immunization for children.”

  Ben watched her face as they entered the building, it was warm and inviting so that the veterans didn’t feel like they are at a sterile facility. The chairs were plush and in a warm chocolate color. He made sure the news was never on like you saw in other doctor’s offices and veteran centers across the states. Instead they could watch anything, including cartoons if they so chose. There was color on the walls and actual books instead of boring magazines. A toy corner for when kids came in with their parents. They kept replenishing it because sometimes the kids took a toy with them. He didn’t care, they could always supply more as long as people felt comfortable and came to use the services they provided.

  ‘This is all really great,” Tricia said, looking around. “Tell me what I can do to help.”

  “We have an immunization clinic going on today, so you can be my nurse helper,” Ben said and gave her a wink.

  “I can do that,” she rubbed her hands together. “Give me a box of SpongeBob Band- Aids and I’m ready to work.”

  “Oh honey, we have Bubble Guppies on our boo-boo Band-Aids now. SpongeBob is so yesterday,” Ben teased.

  She laughed so hard and it was so infectious that he started laughing too. That set the tone for the rest of the day. He watched her interact with children and play peek-a-boo, she kissed tiny little arms and let babies play with her face or necklace. By the late afternoon they were down to the last child in the waiting room and this baby was particularly inconsolable. When the mom left and Ben was cleaning up, he heard the sniffling from the waiting room. Tricia sat in one of the chairs and she sniffled and wiped her eyes.

  “Tricia?” Her name was a question from his lips.

  “She was so upset and wouldn’t stop crying,” Tricia looked up at him with tears on her cheek. “It broke my heart, I don’t think I could bear watching my baby be in pain.”

  “Sweetie, that’s part of being a mom,” Ben sat down next to her and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. “You’ll cry at every shot, skinned knee and every time he or she is sick you’ll be terrified. But you’ll be the best mom because of it, the one that has chicken soup with stars and cuts the crust off of peanut butter sandwiches for those sick days. You’ll kiss every bruise and make it feel better because of your love.”

  “Ben, that’s so beautiful!” Tricia wailed.

  “It wasn’t meant to make you cry,” Ben answered and rubbed her shoulders.

  She wiped her eyes. “I know, I cry for kitty litter ads lately.”

  “Pregnancy does that to you, sweetheart,” Ben said. “We’ll get all this stuff cleaned up and I can take you to see my other surprise.”

  Tricia sniffled and nodded. “Ok, can we stop for chili hot dogs, too?”

  “Anything for you, I’ll buy some Tums on the way,” Ben said.

  Tricia’s pregnancy craving for spicy things was affecting his stomach. Luckily he could usually talk her out of the spicy seafood gumbo or hot wings with blue cheese. Today she could have her treat and later he’d bury some broccoli under blue cheese and she’d be happy. They were more like an expecting couple each day and he had no problem with that. He was as excited for the baby to be born as she was. After checking on the night staff to make sure they had everything they needed, they sa
id good bye to everyone and Ben drove them to his offices.

  “What are we doing here?” she asked.

  Ben took her hand and walked to the front door before unlocking it and ushering her inside. He turned on the lights and led her to one of the back examination rooms.

  “You are twenty weeks and if we’re lucky we can see what sex the baby is,” Ben explained. “The great thing about dating your ObGyn, we can go to his office and use the ultrasound machine any time we want.”

  Tricia laughed. “Look at me having all the perks.”

  “Let’s warm this machine up and see what you’re cooking in there.” Ben turned on the machine and waited for it to go through its calibration procedure.

  Tricia hopped up on the table and lifted her shirt around her breasts. Ben wanted to lean over and kiss the expanse of her chocolate skin.

  “Sorry but the gel will be cold,” Ben apologized.

  “That’s ok, hit me,” she said lightly and then gasped when he squeezed some of the blue gel on her belly. “That’s like ice!”

  “I told you so,” Ben chuckled and ran the wand over her stomach. “And here we go. Uh-oh you’re being squirrely, baby. Stop moving so I can find your sex.”

  “Yeah, settle down, kid so we can see if we need to buy dresses or pants,” Tricia chimed in. “He’s doing back flips in there.”

  “Make that a she. She’s doing back flips in there,” Ben looked up to see a slow smile spread across her face.

  “You’re kidding, a girl?” she said excitedly.

  He turned the screen. “Look at this, no third leg.”

  Tricia shook a finger at him. “No fresh talk around the baby girl. She won’t know any of that stuff until she is twenty-five.”

  “We may want that, but in reality will it happen?” Ben asked.

  “With her over-protective father she may have more of a fight than she bargained for,” Tricia said gently.

  Ben met her gaze and said huskily, “Me?”

  “You,” she affirmed. “You’ve been here from the very start. You get me my strange addictions for food, you sit up and eat ice cream with me in bed. We dance on the balcony to jazz with her between us. One man was a donor but you are more of her father than he would ever be.”

  Her words humbled him more than he ever thought possible. Ben stood and while she lay there, took her lips in a kiss.

  “Can I say it now?” he asked when he lifted his head.

  “Say what?” Tricia replied.

  “How much I love you,” Ben answered. “We could beat around the bush, but I’ve been wanting and dreaming about you since the moment Isa introduced us. You take all the time you need to think about it, but you need to know that I love you.”

  She cupped his cheek. “My heart is yours, but give me time to catch up with the words. I thought I loved someone else and we see how that turned out. I know it’s there, but I need to bury these demons in my head.”

  He kissed her gently. “I understand, sweetheart.”

  “But you could do something else for me,” Tricia played with one of the small buttons on his polo shirt.

  “What’s that, my precious Tricia?”

  “Take me home and make love to me,” He drowned in her chocolate gaze and her words kicked his arousal into high gear.

  “That I can definitely do,” Ben kissed her hungrily. “Let’s get this goop off you and I can take my two favorite girls home.”

  “I like the sound of that,” Tricia said.

  They held hands while he maneuvered the car through New Orleans. He was very aware of the woman beside him and that he admitted his love for her. She may not have been able to say the words as yet but Ben knew, he could tell in her kiss. She loved him too.

  * * * *

  Ben sat up in bed wearing only pajama bottoms and waited for Tricia to come out of the bathroom. She was in there a long time and he shifted nervously, anxious to have her in his arms but willing to just hold her if she changed her mind about them being intimate. They’d picked up dinner on the way home and ate it on the balcony while they watched the sun set and people filtering out to Bourbon Street for a Saturday night out. Luckily for him Tricia changed her mind about chili dogs and they ended up with Chinese food that they shared directly out of the cartons with chopsticks. After dinner they watched a movie together.

  “We should go to bed, you go shower and I’ll be up in a minute after I lock up,” she said.

  She was sitting on the edge of the bed when he came out of the shower and she kissed him quickly before heading in for her own bath. That was thirty minutes ago and he was beginning to worry until the door opened and she stood for moments illuminated from the back by the bathroom light. His heart raced as she came to the edge of the bed wearing something silky and sheer in a light bronze color. He could see her nakedness underneath the fabric and the roundness of her stomach. Ben had never been so turned on in his life.

  “Do you like it?” Tricia asked huskily. “I’m not too big, am I? I found a maternity lingerie thing online and I wanted to look sexy for you but men may not find pregnancy attractive...”

  “Tricia you’re rambling, hush. Honey, my head almost exploded looking at you,” Ben replied. “Come over here so I can touch you, kiss you.”

  She climbed into bed and Ben turned to gaze at her. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her with all the longing he had within him.

  “You know what drove me the most crazy, sleeping next to you?” He asked huskily as he ran his fingers over her moist lips.

  “What?” Tricia gasped.

  “Your scent, I recalled how you smelled the first time I met you and I can discern the subtle change now you’re pregnant,” Ben said. “It’s like a pheromone and I want to taste every inch of you, delve my tongue into your pussy and lick you up.”

  Tricia shuddered. “I think you just made me come with only words. I’m yours, Ben, I want you so much.”

  He kissed her again and got lost in her taste. “You are so amazing, so beautiful and full of life. I must be dreaming I’m touching you like this.”

  “You always say things that make me feel so cherished,” Tricia said. “Kiss me more, Ben.”

  That was it, no more words were said. He kissed her with such passion and gentleness combined and he kept reminding himself to handle her with care because of his large frame. The kiss became unrestrained until they were gasping and he could feel her body straining to get close to him and loved it.

  “Your body is so voluptuous and beautiful.” He said against her mouth as he cupped her breasts through the lingerie.

  He caressed down her body slowly, the texture of the fabric was silky against his fingers and he groaned in approval when she trembled in his arms. Unable to resist the temptation, he delved his hand between her parted thighs and cupped the mound of her sex. She shuddered as he seduced her mouth with a kiss while touching her sex. Never having dated a pregnant woman before, Ben didn’t know what to expect but quickly came to the decision that there was nothing more sexy than being with someone you loved and having her ripe and lush with child.

  “I could spend forever touching you,” he whispered. “I’ve dreamt about being with you like this.”

  “Couldn’t you feel me watching you all the times were in the same room when Isa was pregnant?” She admitted with a laugh.

  His heart soared with joy but he had to ask, “Why didn’t you say something? I thought you were way too sophisticated and glamorous to even think about a baby doctor in New Orleans.’

  “I thought you were way too handsome and intelligent to ever want to be with a model,” Tricia replied. “People hear ‘model’ and think ditz, then after the stuff with Nico, I really did feel I wasn’t good enough.’

  “You’re on a pedestal in my eyes,” Ben said without hesitation. “We both assumed too damn much.”

  He kissed her again and slowly massaged her back with his large hand. Her skin was creamy and soft and when he touched her belly he fe
lt a small movement. Ben never knew it could be so arousing to touch a woman carrying a child and knew that one day it would be his child in her womb. He wanted to love her and cherish her, yet give her pleasure, so Ben made sure to watch her body’s cues to what made her shiver with pleasure. He kissed his way down to her neck and nibbled at the sensitive skin there. Ben came to her breasts and laved the tip with his tongue. Tricia held his head to her and he took the cue and sucked her nipple deep into his mouth. She cried out in pleasure and he felt her fingers delve in his hair and her body bucked against him. He moved to the next breast and repeated the action, loving the breathless way she said his name.

  “Everything about you is heaven right now,” Ben said huskily.

  “This feels surreal, like I’m in a dream and I don’t want to wake up,” Tricia said. “If I don’t want to wake up and still be afraid...”

  “Ssssh, don’t even let those thoughts or him into this space right now,” Ben ordered. “This is us, our time and it’s not a dream because I’m not going anywhere.”

  Ben went back to worshiping her breasts and his cock jumped in anticipation as he sucked and played with the sensitive tips. He moaned when she grasped his cock and stroked it gently. Ben made sure to hold his body away from her stomach as he covered her. They kissed and he thrust his hips against her core until her hips imitated his movements. He could feel the wetness against his cock and prayed for control, he wanted to be inside so badly it was an all-encompassing thought. Feeling her writhing beneath him was driving him mad.

  He thrust his tongue deep into her mouth as he ran his hands down her body in feverish strokes until he was at her pussy. Ben probed the tender aroused flesh of her sex with gentle fingers and found her slick, hot and wet. His breathing became harsh with desire when her hips undulated to match the slow circular pattern he used to tease her clit. He only dipped his finger inside her sex slowly, wanting to tease her and felt the walls of her sex clench around the digit. He groaned in satisfaction at the sensation.