“You called me your mate.”
“I did.” Reality seemed to dampen the moment a little, and I cursed myself for bringing down the mood. Sometimes I was a bit too much of a teacher. “I don’t know why I said it, but in the moment it felt right.”
“It’s okay,” I soothed. “I’m not expecting a ring or anything like that. It’s just good to know that’s something youcouldwant. Not too long ago, you weren’t sure if you could ever have a relationship.”
“I’m still not completely sure, Giselle. I have to be honest with you. Sometimes, when I close my eyes, I still feel like I’m abandoning my wife and looking for a happily ever after I don’t deserve. But being with you these past weeks, and seeing you blend so seamlessly into a life I’d lost my connection to… that showed me that maybe it’s time I stopped living in fear and gave myself the same grace my kids do. That Natalie does.”
I pressed my lips to one of his cheeks, then the other, then the tip of his nose, then his chin. “You deserve theworld,Ben. I’ve just been waiting for you to realize it.”
“I still don’t understand how you can see me the way you do, but I’ve learned that I really should trust you. And this is me, trusting you.”
“Thank you.” Some part of me wanted to give a dramatic speech, but no other words were necessary. Ben seemed to feel the same way, since he continued the journey to his bedroom and set me down on his large, soft mattress.
I sank in slightly, but was able to steady myself when Ben knelt in front of me. This way we were nearly face-to-face.
He kissed me again, harder. More demanding. He was always so gracious, it was a special thrill to have his more dominant side take over. This was the alpha he hadn’t allowed himself to be for so long, and I loved it. Not because it made me feel small or weak, but because it made me feelpowerful.
“God, I’ve wanted you so bad,” he practically breathed into my skin, a desperation in his words that made me even wetter. “Wanted to feel you, taste you, see what it’s like when you forget about all those responsibilities of yours and justfeel.”
His strong, broad hands went down to my ankles. His touch was featherlight, and yet it sent something akin to lightning up my legs.
He paused, searching my eyes for permission, and I nodded for all I was worth. I wasn’t embarrassed about my eagerness. Idid truly want him with all I had. Ben would take care of me. I was safe in his hands, even if I wanted those hands to ravage me. To grip. Maybe even bruise.
Ben’s hands continued their slow, torturous slide upward, kissing me once more, swallowing down my moan. My hands were all over him, gripping his shoulders, running through his thick hair, nails raking across where I could reach on his back. It was all primal and unfettered in a way I rarely allowed myself to be.
Higher,higher,until one of his hands gripped my thigh like a lifeline and the other rested right over my center. I desperately wanted those fingers to slide inside me, fill me exquisitely. But Ben wasn’t one to rush, not even when I could feel his canines begin to push harder into my own lips.
“Do you want this?” he asked, voice more visceral than verbal, and I breathed my consent into him, gripping him like he was the last thing keeping me on Earth. And who knew, he just might have been.
But he was also sending me hurtling into the stratosphere as his large, rough fingers barely brushed against the silky fabric of my underwear. Although I’d never in a million years thought the day would end up like it was, I had worn a matching set of lingerie to boost my confidence.
Present Giselle owed Past Giselle a big thank you, that was for sure. I was going to need to treat myself to a reward. But later, because right now it seemed like Ben was about to give me a reward.
Fuck.
Time passed agonizingly slowly as he deliberately, tenderly moved my underwear to the side and slid his fingers along me.
“Already so wet for me,” he rumbled, and this time it was his turn to kiss his way down the side of my face and down my neck. I noticed he purposefully avoided the area that had caused himto nearly fall over, and I tucked that into the back of my mind for another day.
Another day? I was getting ahead of myself. All I needed to worry about was how he was working me over rightnow. Drowning me in pleasure in the best way.
“Wanted you for so long.”
“I know, baby, I know. But now you have me. You’ve been so patient, haven’t you?”
I whimpered my assent as his fingers continued their movements, spreading my slickness without ever giving me too much.
My clit was aching for direct contact, for him to circle those deliciously large fingertips around it and give me some relief. My hips lifted of their own accord, and Ben chuckled.
“Tell me what you want.”
“You!”
He rumbled a laugh that moved through my cells like a little jolt of electricity, heightening every sensation that much more.
“Come now, Giselle, I know you can do better than that. Tell me what you want.”
“I want… I want…” Finally, I managed to get my brain right side up enough to answer. “I want your fingers in me.”
