He looked closer and saw a light sheen of dust over the shelves, but he could also make out an outline of what had been where the gap was now.


    “Did… did you sell any of these?”


    “NO! Not after what happened in New York!” she gasped.


    “There seems to be a gap on the shelf of… penises,” he said cautiously.


    Stephanie jolted in his arms, then was desperately trying to stand. He set her on her feet before the shelf, and her hands went over the contents and found the gap. She gasped. “Oh my god!”


    “Would Alexis or Béatrice have taken it?” he asked.


    “No! And Richard and Henry haven’t been in here since that night either. No one is allowed-” She suddenly stopped as her expression froze.


    Ben watched her searching her memories. “Someone was in here, with you.”


    “Yes….”


    “Who was it?”


    “A guest. She stayed with us for a week. She was so easy to talk to. We shared much inmon, and when we started talking about you, I-I couldn’t stop. Robin. Her name was Robin.”


    Ben frowned as the name immediately made him think of another Robin who was also easy to speak to. “How much did you tell her about me?”


    Stephanie looked frightened again, so Ben pulled her into his arms, and she clung to him. “It’s okay,” he said. “I need to know.”


    “Everything,” she squeaked.


    Ben closed his eyes. “About us?”


    “Yes, and about how you protected me from Arsene,” she confessed.


    “I see,” Ben sighed as he rubbed her back. Toote to put the genie back in that bottle. Still, he needed more information on this Robin. While not thatmon a name, he doubted it was the same woman.


    “When was thest time you ate a full meal?” Ben asked. She tilted her face away, but he caught her chin and turned her face back toward his. “You will eat lunch with us today, and from now on, you will take better care of yourself! You can start with a soak in a bathtub and give your hair a good shampooing.” He pressed his lips to hers, and she eagerly kissed him as she moaned again. “I love you and need you, so you’d better stop neglecting yourself!”


    “Ben, I love you so much!” she said desperately but quietly. “I thought you hated me.”


    “What you did to me? Yes. Hate you? Never, but I was really hurt by what I thought was a betrayal. That will never happen again, right?” he said.


    “Never!” she insisted.


    “That’s my girl,” he said and kissed her again.


    As he cuddled her in his arms, he thought of the next guilty parties he needed to speak to. “Would you know if Richard and Henry are home? I need to set them straight-”


    Stephanie snorted in humor.


    “You know what I mean! Silly girl,” Ben scolded gently. Then he sighed as he felt so much better.


    “I’ll speak to Alexis about them. I’ll also make sure she and Béatrice understand any art of me will not be sold,” he said. He looked at Stephanie and saw she was looking much better already. There was life in her expression once more. “My visit today is brief as we were on our way home from Naples, but I insisted wee here first so I could see you. I will n another visit soon, but we can only stay overnight today. I want to be with you tonight. Is that going to be a problem?”


    She fussed with her hair as she suddenly realized how much she’d let herself go. “I-I need some time to prepare, but yes, I want to be with you too!”


    “Good. Thank you. I’ll ask Alexis toe speak with you,” Ben said as he turned to the door. He paused with his hand on the doorknob and looked back.


    She was trembling and fidgeting in excitement.


    “Stephanie, who do you belong to?” he asked.


    A happy smile shed across her face. “I belong to you, Ben!”


    “Don’t forget it again,” he said with yful gruffness, and she giggled.


    He opened the door, and there was a sudden burst of surprised and embarrassed exmations as Alexis, Béatrice, and Gabrie fell against him as they’d been leaning against the door listening.


    “What’s this? Can’t a man have a private conversation in this ce?” he eximed in mock indignation.


    Alexis was closest to the door, so she was leaning against Ben directly. She threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly. Béatrice did her best to hug him around her wife. Gabrie just smiled at Ben with love in her eyes, and she pushed herself upright.


    Ben returned the hug, helped them stand, then gently held Alexis’ and Béatrice’s chins to make them look him in the eye. “No more art of me gets sold to anyone! Understood?”


    “Yes, Ben,” they said in unison with a smile.


    “Are Richard and Henry home?”


    “Yes, they should be,” Alexis responded.


    “I’ll be back shortly. I need to speak to them. In the meantime, Stephanie needs to soak-”


    Alexis grinned at him. “We know! We love you too, Ben!” As he stepped out, the sister and her wife rushed past Ben into the room. Gabrie took her turn holding him in her arms, but she also gave him a sweet kiss.


    “I knew you would save her. I could see it in your eyes,” Gabrie said as they walked arm in arm back to the foyer.


    He looked at her in concern. “Did you know she was wasting away?”


    She nodded as she held his eyes.


    “Gabrie! You should have told me!” he scolded, but she held up her hand and shook her head.


    “You weren’t ready. You said so yourself. I promised you I wouldn’t manipte you or your emotions, and telling you how much pain she was in when you were still dealing with your own feelings would not have been wee. You had to reach this point on your own.” She held up her hand once more to stop his next question. “I’ve been monitoring her state, and yes, I was worried about her recent behavior, but I had faith in your heart. I knew you loved her and woulde around. Had I known you just needed to be close by, I would have suggested a trip to Mn earlier.”


    “You never cease to amaze me,” Ben said with a smile and kissed her again.


    She smiled at him when he pulled back. “I need a little Ben time when I get you home.”


    “I promise,” he said, and she nodded. Evelyn left the living room and smiled at them.


    “I need to go speak to some friends up the road for a minute,” Ben said to her.


    Seven minutester, Ben was sitting in the back of a van between Evelyn and Liliya with all fourmandos in the vehicle as well. “It’s a two-minute drive! I could have been there and back in the time it took you to get ready,” Benined.


    “Until we get you home, you do things our way,” Fisher said firmly from the front passenger seat.


    Ben sighed and nced at the twodies cuddled in against him. They had identical smiles on their faces.


    Stim pulled the van into the driveway and stopped before the doors of therge chateau Richard and Henry renovated for their B&B. They moved inside into the grand hall, and Ben looked around. This was the first time he’d been inside. The entryway was impressive, but he thought itcked the homey warmth of Alexis and Béatrice’s chateau.


    Richard rushed out of the back room with a wide smile on his face seeing so many prospective customers in the hall. Then his eyes moved across the faces of the harder-than-steelmandos who were evaluating his threat level. His eyes jumped to Evelyn, who looked away having dismissed him, then to Liliya, whose dispassionate examination seemed to send a chill through him. His smile froze.From N?velDrama.Org.


    Ben stepped forward, Liliya and Evelyn parting to allow him through.


    Richard faced the man he’dst seen tossing security guards left and right as his rage red from seeing the brass statue he’d helped make.


    Suddenly, the presence of the four enforcers took on a sinister meaning in Richard’s mind. He dropped to his knees and put his hands over his face. “Do what you want to me but spare Henry.”


    “Richard, for fuck’s sake, stand up! I’m-we’re not here to hurt anyone!” Ben eximed.


    Henry chose that moment to join them in the hall and raised his eyebrows in surprise. He caught Ben’s exasperated expression and sighed as he came forward to help Richard up to his feet. The other man was watching Ben nervously.


    “I just spoke with Stephanie, and she exined how assumptions were made and how people got a little too excited about money and mistakes happened,” Ben exined. Richard flinched, and Ben sighed as his eyes went to Henry.


    “How’s it going, Doc,” Ben said to Richard’s French partner.


    Henry couldn’t stop the smile from popping up on his lips. “I am well, Ben. Your wounds healed well?”


    Ben smiled in return. “Very well. The scars barely tug at all.”


    Fisher looked at Ben. “This man fixed you up?”


    Ben nodded. “Twice. He’s an excellent field medic! The first time was for a blow against my scalp with a heavy walking stick, and the second time he removed shotgun pellets from my back and stitched some cuts closed. That all happened the first time, I visited Alexis and Béatrice.”


    Fisher gave the man an impressed nod.


    Ben returned his gaze to Richard. “I came here today to apologize for my behavior during the unveiling at the art gallery. I was horrified to see myself on public disy and reacted badly. I didn’t give Stephanie permission to make the statue, and I wasn’t aware of it until that night. I never want to go through that again. I have spoken to Stephanie, and she’s agreed to never sell another statue of me. I’m not asking her to not sculpt me as her muse is too powerful, and I won’t curb her artistic expression. As you are the one who makes the bronze versions of her y masterpieces, I’m telling you they are not for public consumption! Don’t do that again.”