Page 76 of The Betrothal

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

ISABELLE

My hands instinctively grabbed for the towel as it fell away, missing it completely.

“Very nice.” Seb sighed. “Ben?”

“Beautiful.” His voice held awe, something I still couldn’t believe anyone felt when they looked at any part of me. Let alone all of me.

The urge to cover up had me balling my fists, but not actually covering myself, something I barely acknowledged as growth before Seb noticed.

He chuckled. I knew what was coming next. “No hiding, Killer.”

The words were like a jolt of electricity to the slowly burning arousal in the pit of my stomach. I felt my nipples pebble in the cool air, another thing Seb noticed.

He drew his lower lip between his teeth, biting down on it slowly, and I wished that it was my nipple between his teeth instead.

Shuddering at the thought, I turned as Ben rose and crossed the room towards us. He grinned at Seb, wrapping an arm around him. The pair of them were now drinking in my naked form.

“She’s cold, Seb.” The tone of the comment announced it as a normal Ben observation, but underneath I heard something more, and I could absolutely see something more in his eyes.

He was toying with me, too.

“On the bed, Killer. Let us warm you up,” Seb coaxed.

Fucking hell. My feet moved on their own, crossing the room. I climbed as gracefully as I could, coming to rest on my knees on the tall bed, my legs distinctly closed.

“Seb told you not to hide, Sugar.” Ben was frowning at my arm, which I’d drawn across my body, and Seb growled in agreement, the two advancing towards me.

“I’ll give you first choice, Benji, because I love you,” Seb purred.

Ben didn’t blink at the words of affection. I suspected there was love there, but Ben knew it, and the way the pair had both been clear in their desire for me suddenly felt all the more important.

Ben slowly lifted his jumper up and over his head, exposing the broad plane of toned muscles underneath. His careful diet and the workshop kept him in incredible physical shape.

I now drank him in, every inch of him, determined to commit his body to memory, to never forget him, and this moment.

Drawing me out of my thoughts, he ran his fingers under the waistband of his joggers. I realised he was smiling at my admiration as he slowly dragged them down, leaving him in only a pair of briefs.

In true Ben form, he gently folded the trousers and placed them on the sideboard on top of his already folded jumper. Never rushing, Ben didn’t move immediately, and Seb pulled him in closer, his hand snaking across the bare skin of Ben’s back to hold his waist.

Seb dropped a tender kiss to the base of his neck, and Ben leaned into him.

Then the moment was gone. Ben followed me onto the bed and took up a position behind me. He was close enough that I could feel how he bracketed my body, but without his legs actually encasing mine.

“Good choice.” Seb tore off his clothes, laying them beside Ben’s with considerably less care, his attention only on the two of us.

The bed dipped as he joined us, where Ben took care not to touch me; Seb gave me no such space. His toned thighs on either side of my knees, his broad frame almost filling my view, the warmth of his body drawing the gentlest tremor across mine.

I flushed as I felt a flood of arousal, acutely aware of how wet I was becoming, thankful for having my legs closed. The knowledge that I was so completely confined had my head swimming.

Seb’s hands brushed my arms where they were still loosely wrapped around my naked body. Softly he tugged them away, a second pair of hands joining his. Ben collected my wrists and drew them behind me. Instead of pinning them as I anticipated, my palms were placed softly on his upper legs.

When Seb caressed my nipple before tweaking the sensitive peak, I had to fight the urge to dig my fingers into Ben’s flexed thigh, desperate not to make him feel uncomfortable. He’d chosen to be behind me for a reason, one I assigned to not being on the receiving end of my wandering hands.

“Oh my God!” I cried, my hands lifted involuntarily at Seb’s next sharp tug, but were secured, Ben’s large palm locking them in place.

“Mm-hmm.” Seb leaned in, murmuring in my ear. Ben’s mouth met my other shoulder and he placed light, open-mouthed kisses there.