Heartlines

26: Choke

Ben pulls up to the Mandarin Oriental in Columbus Circle and he tells me to come in with him, I hear him mumble about not wanting me out of his sight. He opens my door and holds out his hand. The valet takes the keys from Ben and starts unpacking our bags from the trunk. We walk into the hotel holding each other's hands tightly. The desk attendant looks up and welcomes us.

"Good evening." I greet the woman. "I'm wondering if the 5000 suite is available. We are looking for at least two weeks. My husband and I are here for business, and the hotel down the street lost our reservation. I've stayed in 5000 before and I think it would be perfect for us." I ask her with a smile.

Ben isn't thinking clearly, and I need to be strong for the both of us. Whoever he is trying to hide us from knows him, but not me. If the reservation is under my name, we are less likely to be found.

"Yes, we have the 5000 open for the next month. Would you like to stay that long?" She looks us with a funny glance.

I know she is judging us. We certainly don't look like we can afford the most expensive suite in the hotel. I remove my black card and hand it to her. "A month would be wonderful."

"Very well, Mrs. Sicard." She reads my name off the card.

"We have a lot of number crunching, do you know if anyone else is on that floor? We need a lot of privacy and quietness. I'd be happy to buy out the floor." I continue.

"There is one additional room on the floor, and we don't reserve that unless the person staying in the 5000 needs the extra space."

"I'll reserve it." I nod at her.

I look over at Ben, he is fidgeting and looking around the lobby. I need to get him up to the room as quick as possible. She runs my card while programming the room keys. The woman hands me back my credit card and driver's license with the room keys. We follow the employee to the elevator and say nothing to each other. I give one of the keys to Ben, he tucks it in his back pocket.

"I love you." I look up at him.

He wraps his arms around my shoulders and holds me to him tight. "I love you." He kisses my forehead.

Once we are alone in the suite, Ben locks the door. I grab the room service menu and start placing us an order. When I'm stressed, I need to eat and neither of us have ate anything since lunch. When I turn around, Ben is gone. I make my way towards the bedroom of the suite. Standing in the doorway, I watch him looking out the floor to ceiling window that overlooks Manhattan. He looks like a God standing with the bright city lights behind him.

"I ordered us food, Husband." I grin in his direction.

He turns from the window and looks at me. "Ben Sicard does sound like a strong name."

"It does. We could make it official?" I tease. "However, I want your name."

I move to him and put my arms around his waist. "You look gorgeous this evening, I never got to tell you." He half smiles at me.

Grinning, "I'm not going to lie, I thought when Bobby brought me upstairs, you were finally going to have your way with me. I've always dreamed about taking you in that room with everyone below us, and possibly seeing us." I admit.

He runs his fingers down my bare arms, "I wish I could have made that dream come true."

Seeing how sad he looks is breaking my heart. I bring my hand to his cheek and force him to look at me. "Tell me? I swear I'm not going anywhere. You are stuck with me forever."

We move to the bed, his fingers trace the top of my breasts spilling from the corset, he moans a small appreciation for them. My fingers start running through his hair, and I kiss the top of his head.