Benji’s hands dropped to hook beneath her silky thighs. He held her close as he spun them around in the water, making her laugh, and when he finished the second circle and stopped, it was Sierra who kissed him.
She took him down to the deep, dark depths of his own need in seconds, her tongue sliding against his, her hands gripping his hair.
He wanted to claim her, to seal the promise she’d made to him. He wanted to brand her from the inside out all over again. But conscious of her needs, he didn’t succumb to the urge. Instead, he slipped one hand between her legs and gently stroked two fingers through her. Even in the water, she was slick and hot. ‘Can I make you feel good, baby?’ he asked.
‘Please,’ she whimpered and ground against his fingers. ‘I need you, Benji. I always need you.’
He brought one arm to her back, holding her close as he teased her. The water caressed them as he hiked her higher so that he could draw one hard nipple into his mouth. He swirled his tongue around the small peak.
Sierra moaned her approval. Her fingers kneaded his shoulders. She sighed his name as he moved to her other side. ‘Benji.’
Hearing it – his name on his woman’s lips – unleashed him. He released her breast with a loud pop, demanded, ‘Say it again,’ as he gently slid two fingers inside her and began to move.
Sierra grinned wickedly even though her eyes remained closed and her body kept grinding against him. ‘Say what?’ she teased.
Benji stopped moving abruptly. He withdrew his fingers, making her groan in frustration, and when she opened her eyes to pout at him, he leaned forward and bit her bottom lip. ‘Say it,’ he demanded.
She brought her lips close to his ear, whispered, ‘Benji.’ And never one to be handled, she added, ‘Please make me come now,’ knowing that the request would drive him wild.
This time when he speared his fingers into her, she gasped and rocked against his hand. Her body, so familiar, slid against his in the cool water even as everywhere they touched sparked impossible heat. And, still, through the carnal lust, he had the singular, coherent thought:This woman is going to be my wife.And it was more erotic than anything he had experienced before.
‘I’m so close,’ she murmured, and the hint of a whine in her tone told him that she was struggling to get there.
Benji knew her better than anyone. And he knew what she needed – always. So, he shortened his movements, quickened his strokes, and said, ‘Feeling your pussy take me drives me crazy.’
‘Yes,’ she whimpered.
‘You like that, Si?’ he asked. ‘You like knowing you drive me wild?’
‘Yes.’
‘As soon as you come, I’m going to lie you down and eat you out.’ She started panting in sync with every thrust of his fingers. ‘I’m going to suck your clit until you’re screaming my name.’
‘Yes. Oh, God. Benji.’
‘And then I’m going to fuck you until you’re ruined for anyone else.’
She cried out as the orgasm ripped through her. Her back arched, her hands gripped his shoulders, her hips stopped moving even as she pulsed around his fingers, drawing him in, keeping him close.
And when the water started to chill instead of cool, and they climbed out of the lake and went to lie in the bed of the truck, he kept every promise he’d made.
Chapter 11
Hunt Ranch, Santa Barbara County – December, 2025
When Benji dropped Sierra back at the ranch house at six the next morning, he didn’t try to kiss her or touch her, only climbed out of the truck and walked around the hood to open her door for her. “You gonna be okay?”
‘Yeah.’ Sierra tucked her hands into the pockets of her blazer. ‘Thanks, Benji.’
‘Call me if you need me?’
It wasn’t a statement, issued offhandedly. It was a plea, one that Sierra wasn’t sure how to acknowledge after the night they’d spent together. She wanted to say, ‘Who else would I call?’ but knew that it would have been unfair to Benji. So, she just nodded.
He waited for her to step away from the truck before closing her door.
Nina and Mav were huddled under a blanket on the porch swing, waiting for the sun to rise, their coffee mugs steaming in the crisp morning air. As he walked back around to the driver’s side of the truck, Benji raised one hand in a friendly wave.
But as he drove off, Sierra was glaringly aware that once, not so long ago, he would have followed her in, maybe taken a hot shower with her before joining the family on the porch for coffee. And although Sierra was terrified of giving him false hope, she missed that – missedhim. Desperately.
