Chapter 3.

Emmy

I noticed Ben first. As tired as I am today, I knew he was at the church. The heat of his gaze seemed to only penetrate me, and I felt him. When we stood to sing with the congregation, I saw him standing in the back. I told Gray and he was immediately on edge. He hates making mistakes. And not noticing Ben's presence feels like a mistake to him.

"Gray," I urge again. "Stop."

He's not up for listening to me. Anger colors his cheeks and he cocks his head back to Ben. "She told you to meet her at the police station. What the hell are you doing here?"

I am the one that gets the full force of his gaze as Ben chooses to answer the question directly to me.

"Emmy, if you go to the police station without proper representation, they will eat you alive. Not to mention, it's Sunday. After your confession they'll arrest you. Then you will spend the night in jail until a judge can decide what to do with you Monday morning."

Gray speaks up. "I have a friend at the police station. He'll make sure you're safe."

"One good cop in a room full of corrupt cops." Ben laughs dismissively and looks directly at me. "You want to gamble with those odds?

"Are you saying that I can't protect her?"

"The minute you step foot into that police station, only I can protect you."

"That's Bullshit, EJ. He's a lawyer not a trained guard."

"If you"re my client, I am whatever you need me to be, Emmy. The law is my domain, you're in over your head and you haven't even started."

I shudder. If Ben is trying to put the fear of God in me, it's working. Up against everything he has said, my earlier plan seems dangerous. Yes, I've always known that my uncle's reach even extends to the police, but I thought I would be safe to an extent. It all seems really foolish now.

My hands move and Ben follows them. "What should I do?"

"We stick to the plan." Gray replies, even though he knows the question wasn't meant for him.

"Emmy, this plan could get you killed, before anything even goes to trial."
I read the urgency in his blue eyes and my heart races.

"You need to come with me." He says firmly.

Gray. steps forward. "Yeah, that's not going to happen."

"You aren't the brightest bulb in the box, are you?"

I admire Ben's tenacity. Even with a gun in his side and the trigger man ready to set things off, he looks unfazed. If this is how he handles the court room, it's no surprise that he wins so much. He looks like he is in complete control.

"Emmy, listen to me. I can take you somewhere safe tonight. We'll go over a new plan. One that doesn't make you a sitting duck."

"No. She isn't going anywhere. We don't know you. And I don't fucking like you.

"Yeah? Well I don't like you either--"

That's all I get. They're facing one another and just like that my ability to read lips becomes null and void. they stand toe to toe. Both men look more than willing to brawl right here in the church parking lot. I can't tell what's going to happen next. But the tension between the two of them is palpable. A blind man could see it.

My heart races as I tap Gray's shoulder.

"I think he's right." I sign. "I have to go with him."

Adamantly, he shakes his head. "No, you don't. We--" 

"He's right. You know he is. We have to do this the right way. For me and Alisha. If any of this goes wrong, she could suffer too."

I watch the thoughts cross his gaze. This is the part of the plan we both hate. We need to trust someone other than ourselves. For the longest it's just been me, Gray and Alisha. We've survived this long because we keep everyone at a distance. Letting someone else close has always felt like a trap, a mistake waiting to happen. Ben doesn't feel like just anyone else and that's the scary part.

"I trust him." I tell Gray. "I have to."

Ben looks down at the gun still being forced into his side. After another heartbeat, Gray slips it back into his waistband. Shuffling my bag onto my shoulder I step up to him and wrap my arms around him. Beneath me I feel the tension leave his body as his chin falls on the crown of my head. We hold each other for a few moments and when I let go, he is signing "I love you."

"I love you too. Go meet Alisha at the rendezvous spot and just be safe. Please."

Ben is watching the exchange from his hooded eyes. His face is expressionless and for the first time since we met, his gaze gives nothing away. He walks me to the Porsche's passenger side and I tuck my head down and slide in.

The interior is a smooth dark leather made warm by the sun, yet I'm trembling, nonetheless. I'm also exhausted, mentally and physically. My plan is already falling to pieces and if it completely crumbles, what then? Just to spite me, my uncle will find Gray. He'll kill him. And Alisha, he'll do what he's done to me. Lock her away from the world for good. I won't let that happen. No matter the cost to myself.

I close my eyes and feel the car rumble to life beneath me. I just hope that Ben is every bit the attorney he says he is.

Ben

I live in a luxury apartment in one of New York's infamous high-rises. The rent is steep, but I pay for the view and it's worth every penny. When we enter my penthouse, I offer Emmy my bedroom for the night and promise to order lunch. Then I give her the space she needs to explore. Putting some distance between us physically gives me a moment to sneak off to the bathroom and talk some sense into the man in the mirror.

My heart hasn't stopped racing since I started the car and I don't know what's wrong with me, but it takes my breath clear away. It's probably the communication part that's making me nervous. I learned some ASL in the Army, but I haven't used it in almost ten years. Last night, I spent a few hours on You Tube brushing up on my technique. It doesn't feel like enough. That's why these butterflies are running rampant in my gut. Having to talk to her is overwhelming.

Bullshit.

"Yeah," I breath aloud. "I know."

I feel my heart picking up an even faster pace than before. Having a gun jammed into your side in a church parking lot will do that. Maybe that's what this is, pure adrenaline still coursing through my veins and making it impossible to be rational.

I toss some cold water on my face and have to stare at myself in pure disbelief. As soon as I closed my eyes, I saw Emmy's face.

What the fuck is wrong with me? I mentally chastise. She's a client. She's a Chapman. Get your shit together. She's just another paycheck. Focus. 

I am lawyer. The very best. Whatever this infatuation I have for her it's temporary. It has to be. The moment I agreed to take her case I surrendered my feelings. Right now, Emmy needs me on my game. If even half of what she says is true, I'll be working hard to keep her out of jail. And the idea of her sitting in a jail cell just doesn't work for me.

We have a lot of ground to cover and we're short on time. The car ride over didn't give us the opportunity to "talk". So, I figure we can start with lunch and go through the new plan. Whatever the hell that is.

My pep talk leaves me feeling energized when I leave the bathroom. But the false bravado that I built up, quickly dissolves into nothing, when I see her again. Beneath the soft afternoon sunlight, sleep has overpowered Emmy. She looks beautifully peaceful. I've heard stories of the level of cruelty her uncle is known for. Seeing the bruising on her neck eats at me and I hope that at least in her sleep she feels safe there.

I feel compelled to tuck her in and drape a blanket over her frame. She stirs slightly and burrows herself further into the pillows. I steal a moment to imprint on my mind the way her curls spill over her shoulder. The soft rise and fall of her chest become a deeply hypnotic sight. It makes the butterflies take flight again.

I back out of the room quickly. If it looks like I'm running from her, it's only because I am. My head goes cloudy when she's around and having her here makes it worse. All I want to do is pull her into my arms and hold her until she feels safe again. Thoughts, that no lawyer should have about his client.

Emmy

I wake up to Ben's masculine scent. His sheets, the pillow and the refreshing smell of newly washed skin wafts through the air. He has just finished a shower and I can almost see the suds dripping off him in my mind.

My toes hit the soft plush carpet and I make my way to him. He's in the Livingroom wearing just a black towel around his waist and organizing a few manilla folders. I smile wondering if he ever stops working.

When he looks up and finds me there, he stops. My eyes walk down his tall frame. The suits he wore earlier left a lot to the imagination. I cold tell he was fit but I didn't expect him to look like Grecian God brought to life.

"Are you hungry?" he asks me, ushering to the food he promised me earlier.

I don't even turn to look at it. What I want can't be made in any pot or pan. Ben's eyes stalk my movements to him. They speak while his lips stay soft and wickedly inclined. I reach for him wanting so badly to capture the bead of water trailing down his chest. But he catches my wrist, mid-air.

"Emmy, I know what you're doing." He searches my gaze. "You're trying to forget about tomorrow. You're vulnerable. I-I don't want to take advantage of you."

Vulnerable. Weak. All words that no person with a disability ever truly wants to be told. I do want to forget about tomorrow because all I've ever known is violence and corruption and a life where my decisions are not my own.

"Emmy, you don't want this."

I try not to feel hurt by his rejection. Ben doesn't understand how badly I do want him. Unless I tell him. And to do that I have to let him in. Let him hear my thoughts in a way that I've never done before. I take a step away from his warmth and sign to him.

"Say my words back to me."

He agrees with a quick nod. Beneath his stare, I start with the slow drag of the zipper at the back of my dress. In his eyes, I watch it slip down my shoulders. I feel the hypnotizing rhythm as it brushes past my waist and hips before pooling at my feet.
His eyes take a long walk up and down the curves of my body. While they roam, I ignore the slow tremble I feel and move my hands.

"I live with a monster." I read my words from his lips as he speaks them aloud for me. "I am scared all the time. Everyday. Except with you.'

His lips stop moving and my hands travel to front clasp of my bra. I don't break away from his watchful gaze. In fact, I take a lot of pleasure from the sharp inhale of his breath. My breast spring free and my nipples tighten as the bra meets my dress on the floor. Again his mouth repeats what I say.

"Do you remember the library?"

He answers the question without hesitation. "Every day."

I bite my bottom lip behind a smile.

"Me too."

Iset my pinned curls free and shake them loose. His chest rises and falls so fast that I swear I can see the outline of heart beating through his skin. I wonder if he can see mine.

"I've never looked at someone and felt so safe. That's why I came here when you asked. I'm not afraid of with you."

He swallows when I stop signing and hook my fingers into my panties. With a stare edging me on, I step out of the cotton material.

"I need you, Ben. To make me feel good."

By the time he has said my words, I'm placing a tentative kiss to his lips. The taunt muscles in his hard abdomen flinch when my nails drag down them. But he doesn't stop me as I undo the knot at his waist. My belly gets the full weight of his erection as it thrusts forward.

Ben gathers my hair between his fingers and encourages me to try more of him. I push my tongue into the warmth of his mouth. Between us, I take hold of his dick, only to lose my grip when he lifts me off the floor.

In his room, he sets me gently on the bed. I watch silently as he flips out the lights. He leaves the soft glow of the bedside lamp on and I'm thankful.

For the most part, sex with a deaf person is like with anyone who is hearing. But for me, when it's done completely in the dark and you can't hear your partner or see them, it's lonely. I don't know if Ben knows that or if like me, he doesn't want to miss anything.

Ben quickly covers me. The warmth of him seeps into me and it feels so right. In many ways I've lost myself. I have forgotten who I am. But Ben looks deeply into my eyes. Each time he does, I feel like I've found my lighthouse. And he'll lead me to where I belong.

As his cock pushes through my slick folds, he holds my eyes as strongly as he holds me in his arms. I gasp and close them briefly at the sharp invasion. The pleasure is beyond anything that I have felt in a long time. And with a sinister smile he reads that thought on my face.

I wrap my leg around his waist and allow him deeper into my center. His face flushes with pleasure, his wild eyes scream it. What starts out slowly becomes fast and untamed. We become ravenous animals tearing at a pleasure that lies within the other.

In the mix of it all, Ben takes my palm and pushes it to the base of his throat. Right away I feel what I'm doing to him. The thick rolls of vibrations as he moans my name. I can feel the syllables pulse into my palm while I read it from lips.

"Emmy."

"Ben." I call to him feeling him ride closer the edge.

I want to go with him. I want to be there too. Wherever he is, take me there too.

"Emmy," he gazes down at me.

I feel so beautiful. Tears well up in my eyes until they spill down my cheek. Ben moves fast to take them away with his lips and I don't feel ashamed. I felt accepted. I am crying from the beauty of being completely whole inside and out. He isn't just pushing into me. Without words he is giving himself to me. Looking into my eyes and wanting me as I want him.

"Ben," I plead over and over. "Ben."

"I know, Emmy." His head falls to mine.

We kiss one another's names into silence. My walls were squeezing and pumping to keep up with him. But now I am ahead as pleasure ripples through me. I try to hold on. But every movement pushes me further. I grab for something and capture Ben as he takes me. And we fall together. Looking into his heated blue gaze, I pour myself out onto his length, still quivering inside of me. Ben smiles handsomely saying my name again he empties himself from inside my tunnel.

I almost hate that the condom is there. That I can't feel him emptying his seed into my womb. Still, I know it's for the best. I couldn't give him more if I wanted to. Chapmans are cursed to a life of loneliness and misery. I wouldn't damn a human being to my fate.

He must feel the sudden shift because his head tilts up from between my breasts. Our eyes meet and I throw my guard back up. A protection for the both of us. Ben comes back up to me, stroking the strands of hair from my face.
This is supposed to be one night. So why are our eyes communicating something deeper. Something like...forever.