Love at your service

As soon as she heard the knock on the door, Jess checked herself in the mirror one last time, as she had done many times before already. \"Not bad, Jess, not bad at all\", she whispered to herself. The dress had cost her a fortune, but it was worth every penny of it. The sales attendant in the boutique had told her that the dressed seemed to have been made for her! At first she thought it might be too tight for her voluptuous figure, but the woman had convinced her that with a body like hers she was entitled to flaunt it! It had done wonders for her self-esteem! She had never felt so special as right now. All because of Ben, she thought. Here goes nothing! She straightened her shoulders and opened the door.

\"Hi, you are right on time, a man of the clock\". Oh no, what was she saying, she sounded like a girl on her first date or her mother even!

\"Well, to stay in business I guess you have to be\", he smiled.

When she looked at him, her heart skipped a beat. He was definitely the most handsome man that she had ever met. He looked so distinguished in his dark grey suit and yet so young with his eyes twinkling! When their eyes met, Jess realized that she had made the right choice picking this dress instead of the simple black number that had been her second choice. The appreciation showed from Ben\'s eyes and it made her feel confident.

\"You look astonishing, absolutely beautiful\", he said softly. He meant what he said. When she had opened the door he had been prepared for a date with an attractive woman. But the woman in front of him was breathtaking! How bad for his already weak defence. She wore her hair up; leaving her long neck naked, apart from some little blonde curls that had escaped the pin that held her hair together. Her sleeveless dress was a jade colour that matched her eyes perfectly. It flowed sensually down her curvy body, revealing nothing, but promising all the more. Her feet were covered in elegant high-heeled sandals that made her legs seem even longer. Around her neck she wore a simple silver necklace, with a green emerald in the middle. She wore little make-up, just some mascara to accentuate her big green eyes and a soft pink lipstick. Her blush was natural and adorable. He had to have her, he promised himself. He wanted to put a smile around those lips and hear them utter his name.

\"Thank you, she said, I was hoping you would like it\". Jess, you\'re flirting!

\"Sweet little Jess, \"like\" is an understatement. I love it\". He enjoyed her attempt to flirt with him. She sounded new to the territory and that surprised him. On the other hand it made him glad, since it meant that she didn\'t have a lot of experience with men. Strange, considering that she was an extremely attractive woman! Was she really that innocent or just a good actress? He was sure he would find out before the end of the evening.

\"Well, then I love the way you look\", she said teasingly.

He laughed and then suddenly, before he could change his mind, he leaned over and kissed her gently on the lips. Her lips felt warm and moist and he wanted more. Jess was startled by his sudden move and when she felt his lips on hers, she couldn\'t help but think of the incident with Ray. Quickly, she put her hands on his chest and pushed him away, surprised that Ben didn\'t resist.



Ben stepped back, she was obviously shocked by his sudden kiss. He was surprised to see fear in her eyes. Had he scared her? That would be the second time today!

\"I am sorry, Jess, I didn\'t mean to scare you. Are you all right?

When she saw the genuine concern in his eyes, the fear left her body. What a fool she was! Not every man was the same as Ray Winfield! Even Jason had never forced her to do anything against her will. Ben had only wanted to give her an innocent kiss.

\"No, I am sorry, Ben, I overreacted. Please forgive me my rudeness\". She would hate this little incident to spoil her evening with Ben.

\"There\'s nothing to forgive, Jess. I came on a bit too strong, ok? Let\'s just forget the whole thing and go and get a drink at the bar. I have booked a table at the restaurant for 9 pm, if that\'s ok with you? \"

\"That sounds wonderful. I think we could both do with a drink\". She sent him a half smile, hoping he didn\'t think she was paranoid.

To her joy, he smiled back. \"Come on, let\'s go then\". As he said this, he gently put his arm around her shoulder. He held his breath, would she shrug him off? Maybe he was being to forward or pushy, but he couldn\'t help but wanting to touch her.

She looked up to him though with her green eyes, smiled and rested her head against his shoulder. Ben looked down on her golden head and felt on top of the world!



Downstairs the hotel bar was packed with guests, but somehow Ben immediately got them a table in a dark corner of the bar. It overlooked the stage, where a woman was singing. She was very pretty with short dark hair and as soon as they sat down she started flirting with Ben. She moved over to their table and eyed Ben, directly singing to him. Ben gave the woman a sexy smile, which resulted in her giving him a wink!

Jess felt a burning sensation inside of her and she possessively put her hand on Ben\'s arm. The woman raised her eyebrows and walked over to the other side of the stage. Ben first looked at her hand on his underarm and then looked at Jess\' face with curious eyes. She felt so embarrassed that she quickly turned to look the other way, removing her hand. Unbelievable, here she was on a first date with a complete stranger and as soon as another woman had looked at him she had acted as if she owned him. She had felt jealous! She would have to get a grip on herself. Ben would be out of her life after tonight!

Strange, normally when a woman acted possessive, Ben disliked it. But when Jess had put her hand on his arm as if telling the singer to back off, he had felt proud. On the way in, he had noticed the looks that Jess had gotten from all the men present in the room. They had all looked as if they would have given their right arm to be in his place. But she was his tonight! To show this he picked up Jess\' hand and placed it back onto his arm. He saw the surprise in her eyes and the smile that curled around her lovely lips.

\"Excuse me, Sir, Madam, can I get you a drink\". Unnoticed by either of them, a waiter in a white uniform had approached their table.

\"Yes, please, we\'ll have two gin and tonics. You can put in on my room number, no. 1023\".

\"Yes, Sir, would you like a slice of lemon in those?\".

\"That\'ll be great, thank you\".

Jess told herself that she should feel offended that he had taken the liberty to order for her, without checking with her first. But she didn\'t. She thought it was very sexy and she felt oddly safe around Ben. Like they were a couple and knew each other\'s preferences. There she was again, thinking of them as more than just two people on a date! What was it about Ben, which made her forget all about her good resolutions!

In the meantime, the waiter had brought them their drinks as well as a small bowl with green olives. Ben nodded to thank the waiter.

\"Once again to unexpected company\", he said, as he raised his glass. He had remembered their toast of earlier that day.

\"Unexpected but very welcome!\", she said as their glasses touched. Without taking his eyes off her, he took a sip of his drink. She blushed and looked away to the stage, where the sexy singer had now focused her attention to two men who were sitting on their left side.

She looked back at Ben, who was still looking at her. \"It seems strange sitting here with you, we don\'t know anything about each other\".

\"Is that such a bad thing then? Often people think they know each other and it only makes things worse, because that person turns out to be someone else than they thought\".

When he said this, he seemed distant and Jess wondered if she had brought up a touchy subject.

\"Do you mean to say, that it\'s better not to get involved with other people, because they are not going to be what you want them to?\"

\"No, I don\'t mean it quite like that. What I am trying to say is that if you get involved it\'s very easy to get hurt. If you keep relations superficial, you don\'t get hurt\".

\"That sounds awfully cold. Do you prefer to spend the rest of your life alone, to prevent yourself from getting hurt? How lonely\".

\"Let\'s drop the subject and just enjoy each other\'s company, ok? For the moment, I think that not knowing each other adds an air of mystery to this evening. And I think it\'s thrilling\". Saying this he looked deep into her eyes and Jess felt her stomach tighten. God, he was so sexy, it wasn\'t fair! He was right though, remember Jess, no emotional baggage! While she looked back at him, she took an olive from the bowl and placed it in her mouth. A drop of olive oil fell on her lower lip and without thinking; she used her tongue to remove it. Ben sat and stared at this sensual movement. She didn\'t even realize the effect that she had on him! \"I think you\'re absolutely right, let\'s take this night as it comes\". \"My feelings exactly. Well, our table should be ready by now, it\'s almost 9. Shall we go to the restaurant?\" They stood up and left the bar. The restaurant was located on the other side of the lobby. It overlooked the lovely gardens of the hotel. They were met at the entrance by the Maitre d\'. He looked at Ben with recognition: \"Good evening sir and madam, let me escort you to your table. We have a nice table for you by the window\". Ben had obviously been here before, although the Maitre d\' hadn\'t called him by his name, which didn\'t seem very polite. When they arrived at their table, Ben pulled back her chair for her, before sitting down himself. They received the menus and Ben ordered a bottle of Champagne to start with. He sure knew how to impress a woman, she thought. The sommelier showed the bottle to Ben, who nodded approvingly. After Ben had tasted the Champagne, the sommelier poured both their glasses and left discreetly. While they sipped their glasses, they studied the menu. \"Have you made your choice yet?\", he asked. The menu looked lovely and making a choice between all of the attractive dishes wasn\'t easy. \"I think I am going for the sautéed scallops, how about you?\" \"That sounds great, I think I will join you\". As the maitre d\' took their order, Jess looked around her. The restaurant was elegant and she couldn\'t help but agree with Ben\'s choice of restaurant. The contradiction with Edna’s place was so big, that Jess couldn’t help but smile. \"It\'s a lovely restaurant that you picked out. Have you been here often?\" \"Oh, once or twice for a business dinner. The food is excellent and the service is great without being overbearing\" \"I know, isn\'t it terrible when people just try too hard? It makes you feel uncomfortable, instead of making you feel at home\". \"Jess, are you involved with anyone at the moment?\" Ben\'s intimate question came out of the blue and it surprised her. \"No, I am not anymore. My fiancé and I broke our engagement about two months ago\". \"O, I am sorry to hear that\". He was lying; he was relieved that she wasn\'t in a relationship. He had already noticed that she wasn\'t wearing a ring, but that was no guarantee. \"Don\'t be, we never really loved each other, so it was probably for the best. How about you? I can hardly believe that some woman hasn\'t snatched you away yet?\" \"No, I am still happily single. I almost got married once, but she was more interested in my fortune than my person. Since then, I am convinced that my life is fine the way it is\".

\"Don\'t you want any children?\" Jess had always loved children, and since the birth of the twins Luke and Jake, she was sure that she wanted children of her own some day. \"Not necessarily. I guess it would be nice, but without a wife I don\'t see it happening\". \"I never really thought about it that much, until my best friend got pregnant. She has twin baby boys and they are so adorable. I baby-sit them every once in a while when Rita and George want to go out\". Never in his life had a woman mentioned that she liked to baby-sit for her friend\'s children. And especially a well-to-do woman like Jess? Didn\'t her friends have a nanny? But when he thought about it, it wasn\'t really hard to picture Jess with children. She would be a wonderful mother, he was sure of that and decided to tell her that. \"I am sure that you will make a great mother one day\". \"Thank you\", was all that she could say, looking into his warm blue eyes. As they finished their food and drank the last bit of the Champagne, Jess kept thinking about his last remark. She envisioned herself pregnant with a beautiful baby with black curly hair and blue eyes! He said that she would make a great mother, well; he would make an excellent father. And wouldn\'t they make a great couple? O Jess, stop daydreaming, you are only fooling yourself! \"Let\'s not end the evening yet, Jess, will you join me to the night club for a dance?\" \"I would love to, I love to dance!\", she replied enthusiastically.

Inviting her to dance was the second-best idea he had had all day. The best idea had been inviting her for dinner, but dancing was a close second! As soon as they had entered the dance floor, he had pulled her in his arms and to his delight she had wrapped her arms around his neck. Her body was resting against his and it was sheer torture. It felt warm and soft and being pressed so close to him, he had a full view down the top of her dress! He could feel her breasts against his chest and her hips swayed to the beat of the music, slowly brushing against him. No wonder she loved to dance, she was great at it, her body moving graciously. To his embarrassment, he could feel himself grow hard. He was sure she could feel it too, so he pushed himself a little away from her, remembering her earlier reaction to his kiss. As he did so, she raised her head and looked deep into his eyes, hers dark with passion! Then she ran her hands from his shoulders, down his back and without breaking their intense eye-contact, slowly but surely pulled him back against her body... Her invitation was sincere and he swallowed hard to get rid of the strange lump that had formed in his throat. He could feel the quick beating of her heart, or was it his? \"Ben? Shall we go to my room for a last drink?\" Her voice was hoarse and sexy with desire. How could he refuse? \"Are you sure about this? Because I am not that strong, Jess?\" \"I have never been more sure of anything\". She meant what she said, she wanted this night with Ben, wanted to explore his body, feel him against her and in her. She knew she was taking a risk, but this night he would be all hers. She took his hand and started to walk to the elevator. When the elevator closed behind them, they were alone. Ben looked in her eyes and he was lost. He had been careful, because she seemed so vulnerable and obviously somebody had hurt her in the past, like he himself had been hurt. Now, he could no longer hold back, he felt like he could burst any minute. She looked a little shy, standing in the corner, holding his hand. He slowly moved toward her and pressed his body against hers. A soft moan came from her mouth as her hands moved up his chest. \"O Jess, what are you doing to me?, he said, before finally kissing her. He moved his tongue inside her mouth and she replied by opening her mouth further. He put his hand on her breast and she pushed herself hard against him. As the elevator came to a stop, the doors opened and he quickly picked her up in his arms, hurrying to her room. \"Your key, darling, where is it?\", he mumbled in her ear, sending shivers down her spine. \"My purse, somewhere in my purse\".

As they reached the door to her suite, he put her on the floor, and she retrieved the key card from her purse. Her hands shivered too much to open the door, so Ben took the card from her and ran it through the lock. The green light came on and he opened the door, picking her up at the same time.

He must be so strong she thought, he lifted her up as if she didn\'t weigh more than a feather. And she knew the truth was far from it, as Jason had so often reminded her of. Ben however didn\'t seem to think that there was anything wrong with her body. He made her feel perfect. They had reached the bedroom and he gently laid her on the bed. Before she could even begin to feel vulnerable lying down, he seemed to devour her with his eyes. And then he started to take off his jacket and tie, loosening his shirt collar.

\"Wait, she said as she got up from the bed, let me do that\".

She unbuttoned his shirt with trembling fingers, feeling his burning skin underneath. The moment she touched him it felt like an electric shock! When she had reached the last button, she had to pull his shirt from his pants and she accidentally brushed against his erection with her hand. She could hear him take in a sharp breath and as she looked at him she realized that he was in this state of arousal because of her! It made her feel powerful! She did this to him!

With her newly gained confidence, she slowly removed the shirt from his shoulders and let it fall to the ground. His breathing was heavy now, much like hers. Then she leaned over and kissed him on the chest, gently moving down to his nipples.

\"This isn\'t fair, Ben murmured, while his hands moved under the shoulders of her dress, removing them to the side. As he did so, the dress fell down with a soft whoosh. She stood before him naked now, apart from her bra, panties and high heels. Her bra was made of ivory satin and lace, slightly pushing up her bosom. He swallowed hard.

\"Jess, you are so sexy. You drive me crazy. I have to have you\".

They quickly removed their last pieces of clothing and when they were both naked, Ben pulled her to the bed. As he looked down on her, he let his hand move over her body, from her soft and creamy breasts, down the sides of her waist to her hips. When he did so, she pushed her hips up as if offering herself to him. It was too soon though, first he would give her as much pleasure as he could.

He let his mouth follow the path of his hands and when he softly put his teeth around her nipple, she sighed deeply. Her reactions were so natural! He wanted nothing more than to please her.

He moved his lips from her breasts, replacing them with his hands, softly caressing them. When his lips reached her thighs, he slowly pulled them apart with his hands and then kissed her intimately. Her moaning increased and it turned him on. As he kept caressing her with his tongue, he entered her with one finger, moving it up and down. Almost instantly she reached an orgasm; her body starting to shake violently, pressing her hips in the air. As Jess felt her body exploding for the first time in her life, she begged the man that had got her there: \"O Ben, now, please, now\"!

He was only happy to reply. He couldn\'t have waited any longer even if he had wanted to. She made him crazy, made him lose his head. All he could think of was she. He quickly took a condom from his jacket pocket and before he could open the packet, she took it from him. Then she did the most erotic thing that he had ever seen. While looking in his eyes passionately, she slowly rolled the condom over his erection, touching him with her fingers. Now he was the one moaning!

Ben couldn\'t wait any longer and entered her immediately. She was all ready for him and as he started to move inside her, he could feel her muscles contracting. She moved her hands across his chest, her eyes closed, her mouth a little opened. When he felt the explosion rise in his body, Jess screamed out his name and they both fell back on the bed.



\"Wow, that was very special\". Jess couldn\'t find the words to express her feelings. Sex with Ben was mind-blowing, for the first time in her life she felt completely satisfied.

\"Jess, you are the queen of understatements! It was amazing, you were amazing\".

While Ben said this, he gave her such a sweet look, that all she could do was kiss him again. She felt as if she were blushing all over her body!

\"Hey lady, don\'t get me started again\".

\"Why not, we have all night and I would much rather spend it with you than on my own!\"

\"You are insatiable!\" Before he could say another word, Jess had slowly moved her hand from his chest to his lower body and grabbed hold of his penis. It was already hard again. While she held him, she pushed him back on the bed and leaned over him, her breasts touching his chest. When she started to rub herself against him, a growling sound came from deep within him. Then she slowly lowered herself onto him, moving up and down with a slow rhythm. Her breasts brushed against him and he took one of her nipples in his mouth. She tasted so good, so sweet. Their movements fastened, increasing the pleasure within them until they couldn\'t take it anymore and both reached their second orgasm.

That night they explored each others body several times, both realizing that this would be the only night together for them.



At 5 am in the morning, they had only been asleep for two hours, their bodies wrapped around each other, when a phone rang. Jess woke, reaching for the phone but realized then that it wasn\'t that phone that was ringing.

Ben hadn\'t moved yet, so she slowly shook his arm, that was laying across her hips. \"Ben, Ben, wake up, I think your cell phone is ringing\". Immediately, he was awake, jumping out of bed naked and removing his phone from his jacket. Before answering it though, he walked to the bathroom and closed the door behind him, leaving Jess alone in bed.

She suddenly felt cold and pulled the sheets up to her chin to cover her still naked body. The mood had changed, she could feel it. Ben withdrew himself from her. Gone was the incredible night that they had spent together and they would both go their separate ways. Which reminded her of the fact that she was due for an interview at 9 am. It was the first time since she had met Ben that she thought of the interview. Her future depended on it and it was probably best if they would say goodbye as soon as possible. She needed some more sleep and time to focus on the interview.



\"Ben Carter speaking\", Ben yelled into the phone.

\"Well, and a good morning to you too\", the voice on the other end of the line answered amused. It was James McKenzie, his assistant, calling from the Head Office in New York.

\"What do you want, James, it\'s 5 am in Vegas. This had better be good\". Especially since he had been forced to leave his place in bed with Jess.

\"Sorry boss, but we have some problems with the investors for the Carter Denver Hotel. They want to meet with you in Denver, first thing today. I have taken the liberty to book a flight for you at 7.30 am. The meeting in Denver is at 10.30 am at the offices of Goodbar Investments\".

\"Damn it\", Ben exclaimed. \"Ok, James, I will be there. Can you get a hold of Todd Levinson to tell him I won\'t be able to sit in on the interviews?\".

\"No problem, Ben, consider it done. So, how\'s Vegas these days?\"

\"Interesting, James, very interesting to say the least\".

\"Uhuh, that interesting huh. What\'s her name and has she asked you to marry her yet?\"

James McKenzie had been his assistant for 4 years now and besides working well together, they had also become good friends. James was an expert at keeping eager women away from Ben. He was gay and proud of it. All the women in the office loved him and regretted his sexual preference. But James had been living with his partner Gary for the last 6 years and they were as in love now as they had been at the start.

\"Jess is not at all like that, James. She doesn\'t even know who I am and I don\'t know much more about her either. We just had dinner together last night. She is a bright and beautiful young woman, but we will not see each other after today\". While he said this, Ben felt a pang of regret in his chest. Leaving her in any moment now would not be nice. He would have liked to spend the rest of the day with her, but the Denver Hotel was important.

More important than any woman. He felt guilty towards Jess even thinking that. Last night had been wonderful. It had been ages since he had let himself go like that.

\"If you say so, Ben\". James always knew when to stop pushing.

\"Have you also arranged for a flight to New York tonight?\"

\"Yes, I have, 8 pm. I am sorry, but there was not an earlier flight available\".

\"Ok, fine then, I will see you in the office tomorrow\".

\"Good luck in Denver, I\'ll keep my fingers crossed\".

Because of these new developments, he would have to spend the weekend in New York, working.



Ben turned off his phone and stepped in the shower. While the steaming hot water pained his body, he thought about Jess. He was sure that it would be best never to see each other again. Jess wasn\'t the type to settle for a relationship with no strings attached. She deserved to be with a man that loved her, wanted to marry her and would give her the children that she wanted so much. Children! They had taken precautions by using condoms, but what he hadn\'t mentioned to Jess, was that the last time that they had made love, the condom had torn when he had left her body. It probably didn\'t mean anything. Besides that, she had told him that she wasn\'t in her fertile period at the moment. The last thing he needed was getting a woman pregnant!

When he returned to the bedroom half an hour later, he found Jess fast asleep underneath the covers. She looked tired, so he let her sleep, while he quickly got dressed. It was probably better this way. He never liked good-byes. He took one last look at her, her face almost angelic in the morning light that peeped through the curtains. He leaned over and gave her a soft kiss on her forehead, she didn\'t move.

\"Goodbye Jess\". He whispered to her. Then he slowly walked out the suite, closing the door behind him.

Jess heard the door close. Goodbye, he had said. And that was it. She had pretended to be asleep, because she hadn\'t felt up to the confrontation. It would only have taken the glow off last night\'s events. She preferred to remember it like it was. He was gone now though and she felt a tear roll down her face. Just Ben had made a lasting impression on her, she was afraid. He had made her feel whole and he had put her needs and wants before his.

She looked at the alarm again. It was 6.30 am. She might as well get up and get ready.