He guided her down to the cushions, lowering himself beside her, and then they were skin to skin, the heat of him against her setting off sparks everywhere they touched. She could feel the hard ridge of his erection against her soft belly, and she couldn’t stop herself from reaching down to caress the velvety flesh.
She fumbled awkwardly at first, a bit nervous, but eventually she found the rhythm that had him groaning, his head thrown back.
Was it possible for a man to be beautiful? That was the only word she could think of at the moment when she looked at him.
Yes, he was beautiful.
Their hands explored all the intriguing dips and planes of each other’s bodies, finding the most sensitive spots that elevated their arousal into the clouds. She didn’t know how long they caressed and stroked, content to simply give pleasure to one another. In the past, she’d never had the luxury of time, her partners too eager for the main event.
He pushed her gently back on the cushion, his eyes searching hers.
"I want this," he said, "but I want you to be sure."
If she had to hire a skywriter, she would.
"If you hesitate one more time," she said, wrapping her leg around his thigh, "I'm going to drag you the rest of the way myself."
That seemed to do the trick. Ben groaned and settled himself above her, bracing his arms on either side of her head, his body covering hers in a delicious weight. He kissed her, slow and deep, as he slowly, inch by delicious inch, entered her.
So fucking good.
He filled her, stretched her, and she reveled in the sensations, sending wave after wave of pleasure straight to her bones. Slowly, then with more purpose, they moved together, finding a rhythm, her hips rising to meet each slow thrust, their bodies moving in that perfect synchronicity.
Their gazes locked, she wrapped her arms around his back, loving the flex and strain of his muscles under her fingertips, the heat of his skin, the heady scent of sweat and sex and him all mingled together in some sensual perfume.
Gasping his name, she moaned when he hit just the right angle. She whispered filthy words of encouragement when he buried his face in her shoulder and cursed her softly for being so perfect. She liked that he was vocal, too, that he didn't hide his enjoyment or pretend it was about her alone. She wanted it to be about both of them.
He seemed to know exactly when she was about to fall, because he captured her lips and kissed her hard before saying her name so softly in her ear. His hand moved between them, finding her wet, swollen, and all too ready to shatter into a million pieces.
When she finally exploded, she cried out his name, her body clenching around him. The wave rolled through her, intense and merciless, and she felt herself clutch at him, holding him inside as she rode out the storm.
He lasted a mere moment longer, then followed her over, his body shuddering above hers. She forced her eyelids open so she could watch as he climaxed, his teeth gritted together and his jaw impossibly tight. Her nails dug into the muscles of his shoulder as her body wrenched with one last wave of impossibly intense pleasure, leaving her breathless, sweaty, and sated.
It had never been this good, and she clung to him to make it last as long as possible. She wanted to wring out every single solitary second of being this close to Ben. She didn’t know what tomorrow would bring, but tonight they had this.
This.
Sprawled together on those couch cushions, her heart rate and breathing returned to a somewhat more normal state. The TV played on, looping a late-night movie she’d seen a dozen times, but the dialogue was a low murmur, easily tuned out.
Ben's breathing was slow, almost meditative. Each inhale expanded his chest beneath her ear, lifting her gently with the motion. Every so often, he would draw his fingertips lightly along her shoulder or up the line of her spine, just enough to send a pleasant chill through her. It wasn’t sexual, not anymore. It was affectionate, unconscious, the sort of touch people used when they’d already decided there was nothing to hide from each other.
Neither spoke for a long time. Kelly didn’t feel the need to. She was aware, in a distant way, that she would have analyzed this whole encounter to death in the past, wondering if she was moving too fast, if he’d respect her in the morning, if she should have made him wait.
But her mind, for the first time in way too long, was quiet, the doubting voice drowned by a deeper satisfaction. The only thing that mattered was this perfect sliver of time, the gentle thump of Ben’s heart, the rise and fall of his breath under her cheek.
He was warm and solid beneath her, and she realized with a small jolt that she’d never felt safer or more content.
This man is dangerous.
If there were consequences to be faced, she would face them later. If there were decisions to make, they could wait until later. For now, they were the only two people in the world.
Tomorrow, however, wasn’t looking nearly as peaceful.
Chapter
Seventeen
“I can’t believeyour dad got that information so quickly,” Kelly said as Ben
