Temptation

Italy

"Anything...?" Benedict's voice asked full of hope. Cassie sighed and shook her head. "Sorry," she told him. He tsk'd and told her, "That's alright. We can keep trying." He kissed her head and watched as she threw away the pregnancy test. 

As they walked into the bedroom, he said, "I don't know about you, but I quite like the trying part." He winked, but didn't get much of a reaction out of her. "You like it, too...don't you?" He timidly asked. 

She started getting ready for work as she told him, "I do, of course I do. It's just...I don't know." He started to get really concerned. Am I not preforming well? Is she not having orgasms? Is she faking it? We go back and forth from who's on top, we even do doggy style sometimes.

"Erm...is it something with me?" He asked. "Are you having enough orgasms?" She laughed a bit as she told him, "Of course I am and no, it's not you. It's more the both of us. I don't know, the sex is great, but don't you think it's a little...vanilla?"

He thought for a few minutes, then shrugged. "Yeah, I suppose so," he told her. "I mean, it doesn't have to stay that way. You know me, love, I'm open to anything, especially in the bedroom. If you want to work on exploring more options, I will gladly do that with you."

A small smile was playing on her lips as she asked, "Really?" He took her by the hips and pulled her to him. "Really," he told her. "Christmas is coming up so maybe I'll get a few toys for you." He gave her a wink and proudly noticed her shiver. 

"Thank you," she told him. He placed a small kiss on her lips and watched her start to get ready. "So our anniversary is coming up soon," he mentioned. "A few weeks, actually."

She nodded with a smile and said, "I know. I can't believe how quick two years is going to go by." He chuckled, "Yeah, you don't say. Anyways, I want to take you somewhere." As she was putting on a jacket, she asked, "Where?"

He shrugged and told her, "Anywhere you want. You've been to London and Paris, so where else is on your bucket list?" She looked at him like he was crazy. "Are you serious?" She asked.

"I am," he told her. "Anywhere in the world, I want to take you." Well, she had to think on this one! For their first anniversary, he took her to San Francisco for the weekend and they had the best time. But anywhere in the world?

"Um...can I think on it?" She asked. "Of course you can," he told her. "Just remember, we've only got a few weeks to decide." She began to pack up her things as she said, "I know, I'll try to decide this week. Look, I've really gotta go. This is Anna's first day back since having Kerry and she's really freaking out."

He chuckled, "Well, no shit. You would be, too, if you left our daughter with me for the first time. Hell, I would freak out." He nearly shuddered at the thought of being left alone with his child; no Cassie to help him with the crying and the overwhelming feeling of just having the child there.

"I'll see you later," she said, kissing him lightly on the lips. "I should be back around four." He nodded, but then gave her a firmer kiss. "I love you," he told her. "I love you, too."

**

"No shit, you're trying to have a kid with him?" Anna asked in disbelief. "Cass, this is...this is great! Oh my God, I've never seen you like this before! You're in love, you let a man move in with you, you're trying to have his kid...oh my god, this is great."

Cassie laughed as she told her, "Yeah, yeah, well...you know people can change." Anna smiled widely as she told her, "Obviously. Wow, I'm so proud of you. I feel so much better than I did when I left Kerry with Roger. He was freaking out, but tried not to show it. It was adorable."

Cassie laughed, then started picking at her food. "I sometimes wonder what it would be like if we hadn't lost the baby," she admitted. "I don't say this to Ben, but it still hurts. It's been four months and it still hurts."

Anna put her hand over her friend's. "Of course it hurts," she told her. "You lost your child, Cass. Despite how you reacted when it happened, you've been handling it so well." Cassie smirked as she said, "It's all because of Ben, honestly. He stopped drinking, got rid of all of his alcohol. He's been more than I could have ever hoped for."

When they got to school, the staff gave Anna a big "Welcome Back" thing in the staff room. They had pink cupcakes, pink lemonade, everything to make her feel more loved than before. 

Cassie started off her class with a quick pop quiz on History. The kids complained, but it was nothing she couldn't handle. She graded them while they were doing a science worksheet and happily noted they all got perfect scores!

Near lunchtime, she got a text from Ben saying he'd be home around the same time she would and offered to pick up dinner. She said she's been craving Chinese all day, so he was going to get that on the way home. 

By the time four o'clock came, she was still in her classroom. She didn't realize how much she had to grade and didn't realize the time. It was four-thirty when she left with heaps of papers that needed grading. 

"Well, it looks like we have some work to do tonight," Ben said as she set her bag and papers down on the table. He loved grading with her and always jumps at the opportunity to help. 

She sighed and told him, "Yeah, no kidding. You know, the last time we had Chinese and graded papers, it was at my mom's house." As Ben dished out some food from the cartons, he said, "Oh yeah, I remember that. That was the first time I helped you grade."

After putting the plate down next to her, he wrapped his arms around her waist from behind. He started peppering kisses on her neck, making her smile. "Bloody hell, that seems like ages ago," he mumbled against her neck.

He placed one more kiss on her neck, then grabbed his own plate and sat down. Even though she didn't ask, he grabbed a purple pen and started marking up the paper like he always does when he helps. 

"I love this kid," he said with his mouth full of food. "He always puts the funniest answers." Cassie scoffed at him with a smile and said, "Yeah, because you've been encouraging him with your comments. He loves what you write."

He started lowly chuckling as he wrote down his comments and Cassie shook her head. 

Once they were finished, they put the leftover food in the fridge and went up to bed. "Are you excited for your winter break?" Ben asked as he waited for her in bed. "Oh, hell yes," she told him from the ensuite. 

She came out and shut off the lights while saying, "Let's face it, I'm ready for summer." He chuckled and watched her get in bed. He scooted over to where he could hold her, then shut his eyes. 

"Italy," she suddenly said. "I've always wanted to go to Venice and Rome...see my family roots." He smiled and breathed her in. "That, my dear, can be arranged."