Saved By The Firefighter
Chapter 26

Ben's Point of View.

I am still shaking with anger, unable to calm myself down, having found Lucy covered in bruises. Thankfully she is all settled in my spare room. It has a double bed in there, a wardrobe and large chest of draws, so she should be a lot more comfortable than she has been on that thread bare lumpy sofa. She had gratefully climbed into bed, as soon as we got her things into the house. The dark circles under her eyes, show me just how knackered she is, along with the fact, I am sure she was asleep before I even got out of her

room.

I climb into bed, stripping down to my boxers, I guess I am going to have to remember to keep my bottom half covered from now on, rather than sleep commando in the heat, like I normally do.

I let out a contented sigh, wondering if I am going to wake up from a dream. She is here; granted, I hate how she ended up here, but I cannot stop the smile on my face that she is with me now, safe and sound, just across the hall. I set my alarm for 1pm, we can check in at the hotel anytime after 3pm, and I am determined to make this a great night, for both of us. She deserves the treat, after going through so much, closing my eyes I drift off to sleep dreaming of the girl just across the hall, who is now staying in my house, and they are good, ... no, very good dreams.

The buzzing of the alarm wakes me up from my slumber. Listening to the song which was playing on the radio, I turned over in my bed to face the door. A sense of peace washes over me, knowing that Lucy is laid just across the narrow hall. Stretching out the dull ache in my tense scared back, I sit up throwing my legs over the side, then pick up a pair of jogging bottoms and pull them on. Heading downstairs, I boil the kettle, making two mugs of tea, then head back up to Lucy's room. Knocking softly on her door, there is no response, so I quietly let myself in, hoping I am not overstepping my boundaries, but I really need to wake her up if we are going to get to Lumley Castle on time. As I enter the room, I watch as she sleeps, her leg slung over the bedcovers. Her pink pyjama bottoms riding up to just below her knee. Her brown hair wafted against the white of the pillowcase. She is so damned beautiful. My breath is literally taken away. Feeling like a creep, I shake my head, then place her tea on the bedside table, before sitting on the edge of her bed, and gently stroking her hair to wake her up.

"Lucy, we need to get ready," I softly whisper to her, not wanting to give her a fright when she wakes.

"Lucy." I smiled down at her as she blinks open her eyes, she looks so innocent and totally cute.

A wide smile as if she had won the biggest toy on the Hopping's fairground, spreads over her face, making my heart jump in my chest.

"Hey sleeping beauty." I grin down at her.

"Hey handsome prince." She giggles at me.

I laugh at her response as she realises what she has said, and a blush invades her cheeks.

"I made you a cup of tea, sit up and drink it, then we have to pack our things for tonight. We can check in anytime after three, so thought we could go early, get dressed up at the hotel, and just relax for a bit."

I stand up to leave, when she looks up at me, biting the inside of her cheek, a look of concern clouding her face.

"Ben, can I ask you something?" she whispers.

I take a breath, her voice does not sound confident, and instantly I worry what she wants to talk about.

"Yeah, sure," I say, wondering if I should sit back on the edge of the bed or not.

"I am sorry if this upsets you, but I watched the episode where you were interviewed last night," she says, looking down.

I sigh and nod my head.

"Is that what the scar on your back is from?" she asks.

"Yeah." I nod... my simple reply.

"You were my first rescue since that day," I tell her, looking down at my feet.

"Is that why you want to help me so much?" she asks.

There is no malice in her tone, nor accusation, it is just a question she wants to know the answer to. I look around and lock eyes with her.

"No, I don't think so. When we got out of the fire, and I looked in your eyes, as corny as it sounds, I was dumb struck at just how hauntingly beautiful you were. At first, I wondered if it was because you were my first rescue, that I could not stop thinking about you. But after I came with the donations for you, I knew it was because of you and I would be just as enamoured if I had met you in the street. It is weird, but I really did feel an instant attraction, and that has only intensified the more I get to know you. So, the answer is no, it is not just because you were my first fire rescue after I returned to work, because I know I would have been just as attracted to you no matter how we met." I smile softly at her.

Lucy nods, then looks down swirling the tea in her cup.

"I get that, I thought I was fixating on you because you saved my life. But I don't think that is the case, I mean you are gorgeous so, yeah, I would have always been attracted to you, but it is more about who you are as a person, than anything else." She smiled up at

me.

My stomach does a flit, as my heart leaps in my chest, and I lean over her, tilting her chin up with my finger, and place a soft peck on her perfect lips. Even just that fleeting k iss feels like my body explodes into pleasurable tingles, like the stuff the mother reads in her romance books. Placing my forehead against hers I smile. "So, I am gorgeous huh? Even with the scar?" I ask, I suppose I am trying to feel out if she is okay with it.

"The scar is not ugly to me, in fact, I find it beautiful Ben, it is a permanent reminder of the selfless, gentle, amazing person you are." Lucy softly smiles at me.

f**k me! A well of emotions build up in my chest, threating to consume me. I swallow down the lump in my throat at her words. The most I had hoped for, was that she was not put off by the gnarled ugly skin, but she just called it beautiful, and I have no idea when I turned into a mushy sod, but her thinking of it in such a positive way has me feeling vulnerable. The feeling does not scare me senseless, like I thought it would, because even though I have known her for just a couple of weeks, I trust her completely, and I do not understand why. "Thank you," I whisper.

"No need to thank me, it is the truth." She smiles, then reaches out with her finger and gently traces the outline of the scruff on my jaw, sending a shiver of delight through my body, straight to my groin.

"Okay, well we have to get sorted out. You drink your tea. I will bring you a holdall to pack your stuff for tonight in." I smile at her, because I need to escape the room, before she sees my evident admiration for her through my joggers.

"Ben, I need a shower. I never brought any shower gel or shampoo with me," she says, suddenly panicked.

"Or make up!" she looks wide eyed.

"There will be complimentary toiletries at the hotel. You do not need make-up because you are beautiful as you are. However, if we get sorted now, we can pop in the shops on Sea Road. There are chemists and small supermarkets, so we should be able to get everything you need." I grin at her as she sighs in relief.

"Okay, so I am going to go pull a t-shirt on, and pack a bag, I will bring you a holdall, let's get this show on the road." I grin at her.

After a small argument in the chemists over who was paying for her toiletries and make-up, which I won by just passing the checkout girl my card, as Lucy was grabbing her purse out of her bag. We finally pull up outside Lumley Castle. The receptionist hands us the keys for one of the rooms in the courtyard. We walk over the cobbles, and enter the courtyard area, finding our twin room.

Lucy unpacks her stuff, as I dive in the shower. The room is, how should I put this, quaint, which really means, far too small for me, and I have to watch my head constantly against the beams in the ceiling. However, it does have that old world feel to the place, and Lucy's eyes lit up when she saw it, so that is a big tick in the box for me, even if I do bump my head when I walk around the room.

Finished with my shower, I wrap a towel around my waist, and head into the bedroom. Lucy looks up, then freezes, her eyes trailing up-and-down my body. Her soft pink lips slightly parted, and to say it makes me feel good, is an understatement. I cannot control the chuckle that comes out of my mouth at her obvious [**t-filled reaction, kind of glad I will not be the only one struggling on that front tonight, and her face goes bright red from the neck up.

"Erm, yeah, sorry, I will let you get ready, I will go into the shower," she stammers adorably, then picks up her new toiletries, and her clothes, then brushes past me in this tiny room to make good her escape to the bathroom. Do not think for a moment I missed the slight feel of her protruding n*****s against my arm through her thin t-shirt as she passed me, because trust me, I didn't, and now I am glad she has disappeared as the towel around my waist is now a full-on tent.

Grabbing a pair of black dress pants, I team it with a pale blue button-down shirt, leaving the collar open and rolling up the sleaves to my elbows, as it is a warm night, and the dress code says smart casual.

Lucy walks out of the bathroom. My breath is taken away, like I have been sucker punched. She is beautiful normally, but stood here in a tight black dress, with a rounded neck, and three-quarter sleeves, that clings to every curve on her perfect body, landing just below her knee makes her room-silencing stunning. A rose-gold coloured long necklace that has a knot halfway down draws my eyes to her perfect breasts. Her legs go on for miles, as she stands in a pair of black heals. f**k me, how am I going to keep my hands off this goddess. She is utter perfection, and this is another outfit I owe Josie a favour for.

"You look, f**k, ... sorry Lucy, I have no adjective to describe just how stunning you are," I breath, as my length strains against the constraints of my trousers, almost to the point of pain.

Lucy blushes, placing a strand of her long brown hair that hangs in perfect waves behind her ear, which is adorable, and is doing nothing to help my Hard situation right now.

"You look handsome." She smiles up at me.

"Thank you." I grin down at her.

Hell, I could quite easily forget the banquet meal, and just sit in this room, staring at her all night, and die a happy man.

I realise I am standing gawking at her and really need to say something.

"So would Madam like to accompany me to the library bar for a pre-banquet cocktail or two." I grin down at her, sounding like a complete and utter geek.

"Why yes, kind sir, I would like that very much." Lucy grins back at me.

Okay, not so geeky after all. I open the wooden door that leads into the cobbled courtyard and allow Lucy to go first, locking the door, then place my arm out, as she laughs, linking it with her own, and we head over the cobblestones, into the main castle building ready to start our official first date.