“I love you, Prue. Happy? I said it. I love you and it’s driving me fucking crazy. Jesus,” he groans, pulling at his hair. “I love you and I don’t know how to love anyone. I’ve never felt like this before. It’s maddening and I keep fucking it up. Jesus Christ, I’m so fucking bad at this. But I really fucking love you.”
“You love me.” I smile. “Benjamin Parker loves me.”
“Yes!”
I step into the hotel room, kicking the door shut behind me. Walking up to him, I press my lips against his.
He doesn’t hesitate, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me closer against his body. His tongue pushes its way between my lips, darting around my mouth like if he doesn’t map out every detail of it, he’ll die.
I don’t know what’s going to happen. There are more questions than answers right now, but I don’t care. Just for this tiny moment, I want to pretend everything is going to be okay and we can be together.
My fingers tug down the zipper of his hoodie, pushing it off his shoulders as he just lets it fall off his body. Wincing into my mouth as his arms wrap back around me. I tug at the bottom of his shirt, and he finally pulls himself away from me.
Sighing, he rubs his bottom lip with his thumb, staring at me for a moment. I wait, expecting him to make the next move. He just stares at me for a moment before marching over to the bed.
“It’s been a long day. We should sleep,” he finally speaks.
I’m stunned as I watch him kick off his shoes before plopping down on the bed. The lights aren’t on, but I can still see his outline from the lights peeking in through the window. He is far too sexy for his own good, even in the dark. It’s not fair how badly I want him.
“Sleep?” I ask, walking toward the bed. “You confess that you love me, force your tongue in my mouth, and then suggest sleep?”
“Yeah.” He nods. “I even got us a room with two beds. Wouldn’t want to sleep next to a girl who has a boyfriend.”
“I can call him and break up with him if that helps your guilt.”
He laughs. “Oh, it’s not guilt keeping me from sticking my cock in you.”
“Then what is?”
“Fear mostly,” he says softly. “Fear if I fuck you again, I’ll chicken out of my plan.”
“What is the plan?” I sit on the edge of the bed he is lying on.
“The less you know, the better.”
“I disagree.”
“I can’t shield you from all of it, but enough to make sure you don’t end up in your own cage. You are an unwilling participant in all of this.”
“Not all of it.” I smile, climbing up the bed. “I’m not unwilling in all of it.”
“I’m glad to know if I did fuck you, it wouldn’t be rape. Glad I’m not that much of an asshole.”
“I think you only pretend to be an asshole. I think deep down you’re a big softie. Inside of you lives a gentleman, just waiting to come out. To buy a girl flowers and take her to dinner and make her cum countless times.”
“Maybe the last part.” He shrugs, peering down as I kneel beside him.
“You wouldn’t buy me flowers?”
“Going to be hard to buy you much of anything after I buy you freedom.”
“You don’t have to buy me freedom.” I swing my legs over his chest, settling my hips against his lower stomach. He groans, “We could just never go back.” Rocking my hips against him has his hand dropping to my hip, rubbing small circles into the bone. “Run away together.”
“Running isn’t freedom.”
“I don’t need freedom, Ben. Not if the cage fits the both of us.”
THIRTY-FOUR
