CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Ben woke early, despite his late night. Every single inch on his body ached, some places more than others, but that was a good pain and made him think of Nikolas and the intensity of the previous night. He grabbed Radulf’s lead, clipped it on him and went for a long run by the river. By five miles it had all eased, and he was running smoothly. He could feel his old knee injury, but the discomfort wasn’t enough to slow him down. He was impressed with the dog who kept to heel as well running as he did walking and didn’t seem at all bothered by the odd activity of being whisked past interesting smells. When they reached a small park, Ben let him off the lead for ten minutes then they ran back. By the time he got in, Nikolas was in the kitchen, sitting with his feet up, reading the paper and smoking. He looked slightly worse for wear. Ben went over and plucked the cigarette from him, crushing it and pressing his sweaty body close. “You showered yet?”
He went up the stairs and grinned when he heard Nikolas following. Nikolas peeled off Ben’s clothes, dropping them to the floor. He let the bathrobe slide from his own shoulders. In the obscuring steam, they kissed leisurely. The water loosened Ben’s tired body. He turned and twisted as Nikolas slowly ran soap-covered hands all over his hard muscles. When the front was done, Nikolas murmured, “Turn around.”
Ben obeyed and spread against the wall, arching into Nikolas’s strong hands on his shoulders and back, but when Nikolas reached lower, Ben swatted his hands away, shaking his head. “You’ve wrecked me.”
He wasn’t sure whether he was expecting sympathy or derision, but he definitely wasn’t prepared for Nikolas to flatten himself against him and bite painfully into his shoulder. Then he eased the pain with his tongue. “Wrecked? What are you going to do about this then?” Nikolas pulled Ben’s hand to his cock, which was full and twitching expectantly with need. “Maybe I should force you. I own you, after all.” Ben twisted around and saw the small smirk on Nikolas’s face and felt a surge of intense excitement shoot into his cock. It was a game. This was new. He turned back and said gruffly, “You could try, you bastard, but I’d kill you first.”
“Really?” Nikolas pressed one finger into Ben, and Ben cried out in genuine pain. Nikolas wrapped an arm around his throat. “How are you going to do that? Apologise.”
Ben nodded. “I’m sorry.”
“I’m sorry…what?” He pressed another finger in, and Ben didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, but the game was turning him on so much he welcomed the intrusion. “I’m sorry, sir.”
“Good boy. Get on your knees.” Ben had turned, dropped to his knees, and taken Nikolas to the back of his throat before the words were out. He wasn’t very good at even pretending to resist Nikolas. The hot water continued to pound over them both. Nikolas’s body was tight as a dancer’s as he braced with his hands spread to the wall like a man having an unusual police frisking. His cock was wet and slippery, tasting faintly of coconut soap. It was over far too quickly for both of them. Nikolas’s body sagged; he swore, grabbed Ben’s head, and shuddered into his mouth. Ben swallowed it all down then let the cock drop from his mouth and hung his head in submission. It wasn’t all that much of an act. He was wrecked all over now. Who knew the fringe benefits of a job could be so exhausting?
Nikolas turned off the water and reached for a towel. Ben staggered to his feet and accepted it. He gave Nikolas a look. “How about we play…oh, I don’t know…chess next time?” Nikolas smiled and turned away to begin shaving.
“We do not have to have the dog in position until five. What would you say to a traditional English breakfast at your favourite restaurant?”
Ben groaned with anticipation and delight. “I’d say anything you want me to say.”
§§§
Nikolas amused himself by making Ben say all the most obscene Danish swear words he knew as they drove to the restaurant. Ben was so hungry his eyes were watering by the time his sausages, bacon, eggs, beans, mushrooms, tomatoes, black pudding, and fried bread arrived. Nikolas had ordered coffee and clearly wanted a cigarette. He shook his head despairingly. “You are a strange people with horrible food.”
Ben didn’t have time to stop and argue, but he pointed his fork and said around a mouthful of fried bread, “Built an empire on this, mate.” Finally he sat back, wanting to undo his jeans. He groaned. “I’m done.”
Nikolas glanced down at the extra sausages Ben had discretely hidden under his napkin. “Don’t, Ben. Donotget fond of this dog. He goes back when we are done with him.”
“I know that!” He still fed Radulf the sausages though. A lost dog had to start the day on something substantial, after all.
§§§
Radulf got lost half an hour before Felicity and her daughter, Alice, arrived in the park. If Ben hadn’t known better, he’d have said the dog was knowingly working the case with them he was so convincing. Alice arrived in the park clutching one of the posters. She let her dog off the lead and proceeded to follow him, calling out Radulf’s name every so often. Ben watched as eventually Radulf bounced up to her dog. Alice cried out to her mother, clipped him to her lead and dragged him back to the bench where her mother sat texting as usual. Felicity took the poster, stared at Radulf, and they left the park as a group.
Half an hour later, Ben’s burner phone rang, and he answered, “Hello?”
“Hello. Is this Dean, the man with the lost dog?”
“Have you found him?”
“We found him tonight in the park.”
“Is he okay? Thank God. Can I come and get him? It’s very kind of you.”
Felicity gave him the address of the house he was standing just across the street from—he’d brought the Range Rover because his new partner couldn’t ride a Ducati, but had had to park it some streets away. After a suitable interval, he opened the gate and walked up the driveway. He trudged across the gravel to the front door and rang the bell. He heard light footsteps, and Alice opened the door. Radulf came running out behind her and practically jumped into his arms. God, the dog was good. Ben did the joyful dog owner thing until Felicity appeared, when he switched to seduce mode. It wasn’t hard. She was even more beautiful close up, but then so was he, and he wasn’t blind to the impact he made upon her. They had a brief chat about losing the dog. He thanked her once more and left.
Next day, he rang the bell just after she returned from the morning school run, and when she answered, he handed her a beautiful selection of roses—not red and obvious, but delicate and unusual shades, mixed with some wild flowers to enhance their beauty. He said it was to thank her for finding the dog once more. She hesitated but invited him in for coffee.
It was as easy as that.
She let him into the back of the house where, like Nikolas’s place, the kitchen had been pushed out into a sun-filled extension. Alice’s dog rose from his basket and came up to Ben, settling at his feet at the table. Felicity went to turn on a coffee machine that wouldn’t have looked out of place in a restaurant. She began to arrange the flowers artfully in a jug, giving Ben an occasional covert glance. Eventually, she brought two coffees to the table and sat down opposite him. “The flowers are lovely, but there was absolutely no need.”
“Well, they’re from Radulf. He’s very pleased to be home.”
“Where is home?”
