“Actually,” Diana said as she scooted her chair away from the table. “We were just leaving, right, Bethany?”
“Huh?” Bethany said. When Diana jerked her arm, Bethany’s eyes popped open wide and she jumped up. “Er, yes. Leaving. We were.”
Confusion flashed on Holly’s face. “I—”
“You stay,” Diana said, tucking her purse under her arm. “I’ll pick up the girls. Visit with Benjamin.”
“Thanks. I owe you,” Holly said with a smile.
“Oh, don’t worry. I’ll collect,” Diana said.
As soon as the two women left, Benjamin shifted on the seat until he was angled toward Holly.
“Hey, you,” he said. “This is a nice surprise.”
“I got your text that you were back. Thank you for that.”
“You’re welcome.”
She leaned up and kissed him. “Well, I appreciated it.”
“Mmm. You taste good.”
“Hey, C-Note.” A booming, and familiar voice, shouted over the din of the crowd.
Benjamin rested his forehead against hers and groaned.
“Hey, man,” Eric said as he stepped up to where Benjamin and Holly sat. “Been looking for you. Was going to introduce you to a new lady, but I see you did pretty good on your own.”
Benjamin looked at Holly. “Sorry. One of my idiot guys. I may kill him.”
Holly snickered.
He looked up at Eric. “Holly, this is Eric Anderson. Eric, this is Holly, my girlfriend.” He emphasized the last two words.
Eric blinked. “Wow, C-Note. I didn’t know you have a girlfriend.”
“Now, you do, so go away...now, if you don’t want my boot up your ass.”
“Yes, sir.” Eric grinned, saluted, and right before he turned, looked at Holly and said, “Now, we all know why he’s been in a better mood.” With that, he turned and was lost in the crowd within seconds.
“Better mood, huh?” she said.
“Hell, no. Don’t pay any attention to that kid.”
She snuggled tight. “Yes, sir, Master Chief, sir.”
He should have corrected her. He wasn’t a sir, but she looked so cute and flirty, he decided to laugh and let it slide. “Did you get any dinner? Are you hungry?”
She turned her face up to him. “Hungry, yes, but not for food.” The tip of her pink tongue darted out and she licked her lips.
Lust swelled inside him. He stood and pulled her to her feet. “What do you owe?” he asked, pulling out his wallet and flipping through the bills.
“Nothing. We’re paid up.”
“Then why are we still here?”
Taking her hand, he hurried her out the door and to his truck with her laughing the entire way. When they reached his truck, he spun her until her back rested on the passenger side door. Then he leaned in and kissed her.
“I hope you’re thinking what I’m thinking,” he said when he pulled back.
She smiled and dipped her chin. “Maybe.”
“I’m thinking we could use a little more kissing practice, you know, to make us believable as a couple.” Man, he hoped that was what she was thinking. Kissing, and maybe a little more?
Her smile stretched into a wide grin. “Practice does make perfect.”
Thank the heavens!
Normally, the drive to his house took twenty to thirty minutes depending on the time of day and traffic. Tonight, even though the traffic was light, the drive was taking forever.
When he stopped for a red light, he reached over and took her hand. She turned to look at him. He lifted her hand to his mouth and kissed her knuckles. He noticed the slight tremor of her fingers.
“You okay?” He didn’t want to actually ask the question because if she said she wasn’t, or if she’d changed her mind, he’d respect that. He’d die a thousand deaths, but he’d respect her change of mind.
“A little nervous.”
“Listen, you’re in charge here. You say stop, we stop. You decide you’d rather go home; I’ll drive you home. Nothing happens that you don’t want. Okay?”
She nodded. “It’s just…well…it’s kind of…” She flinched. “It’s kind of…been a while. I might have forgotten what to do.”
The light turned green, and he pulled forward, still holding her hand in his. “It’s like playing a piano. You can’t forget. You might need a little more…” He glanced at her with a smirk. “Practice.”
Her laugh was light and self-conscious. “I’m serious. It’s been a while…since…” Her voice faded as though trying to find the right words.
He turned into his drive and switched off the truck. Shifting in his seat, he faced her.
“Holly, how long is a while? A year? Two years? More?”
She pulled her hand back into her lap. Her fingers twisted together and her gaze fell from him to her hands.
“I started dating Steve when we were fifteen. We married when we were eighteen.”
He nodded, concerned that one of the men she’d dated since Steve’s death had tried to force her or make her feel somehow inadequate.
“At that age, I’m assuming he was your first.”
There was a long pause before she said, “And only.”
For minute, his surprise at her statement left him flat-footed. She’d had only one lover in her life—her late husband—and he’d been gone for ten years, so….
An unfamiliar sensation jabbed him. He enjoyed sex. The ladies he’d been with enjoyed their time together.
Of course, he wanted Holly in his bed.
Of course, he wanted to bury himself hilt-deep inside her, but this situation was something he’d never faced before.
The heavy weight of responsibility sat on his shoulders.
She sighed. “I know you’ve had lovers. Heck, probably a million.”
He chuckled quietly. “Some, but not quite a million.”
“I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed. Steve and I, well, we were both virgins when we first got together. Neither of us were ever with anyone else. So, I may be horrible at this and embarrass both of us.”
He pried her fingers apart and took her hand. “Holly. Look at me.” When she lifted her gaze, he said, “You are a beautiful, sexy, and strong woman. I would be honored if you want me as much as I want you, but—and listen up; this is important. I will not put any pressure on you to do anything. Want to check out my house, have a pizza, and watch a movie? Done. Want me to back out and take you to a nice restaurant for dinner? Done. If you’ve changed your mind completely, and you want to go home? Just say the word. I enjoy being with you. Whether we sleep together or not, I enjoy your company. I’ve enjoyed all our conversations on the phone. I love hearing your voice in my ear. Sex was never part of the deal we made for this summer. Understand what I’m saying? Sex or no sex, I’d still want to spend time with you.”
“I’m being a ninny. The thing is…” Her gaze dropped to her lap, and then, as if forcing herself to look at him, she said, “I don’t know how to flirt and seduce a man like you.” She gave him a rueful smile. “Seducing a sixteen-year-old boy basically involved taking off my shirt.”
He laughed softly. “Hell, woman. That works on a thirty-five-year-old man just was well.”
She studied him for a minute and then smiled. “Here’s the deal. Show me your house. and I’ll take off my shirt.”
He jerked the keys from the ignition, ran around the front the truck and opened her door. Taking her hand, he pulled her from the seat, slammed the door and raced to his front door. Holly laughed the entire time, her eyes sparkling with what he hoped was excitement.
Chapter Six
As he had with the truck door, Ben slammed the house door the second she stood in his foyer. He pushed her against the door and caught her mouth in a long kiss involving lips, tongue, and teeth.
She moaned into his mouth and leaned in to take the kiss deeper.
His hands slid down her arms until his hands rested at her waist. She shivered i
n response to his touch. Her feet reflexively slid further apart. When she shivered, he moved his hands to her rear and cupped her, pulling her against his rigid cock.
After hours of lusting after this man, she was finally going to get to touch what she’d only been able to admire from afar. She ran her hands under his T-shirt, her fingers gliding over the dips and valleys that formed his hard, muscular chest. Oh man. Everything was so firm, including the bulge in his shorts pressing into her abdomen.
Eager for more, she shoved his shirt up. “Off,” she said, after pulling her mouth from his.
He grinned and jerked the shirt up and off, tossing it to the floor. “We had a deal.”
“In a minute.” She let her gaze roam over his pecs and defined six-pack, followed by her fingers, followed by her tongue, and finally her lips. Kissing his chest was like pressing her lips against warm granite, except she would have sworn his heat penetrated her body and pooled between her thighs.
His thick fingers stabbed into her hair, holding her against him. Beneath her lips, his heart pounded violent and rapid. She was relieved to find him as into this as she was.
After she licked his nipple, he swept her off her feet and carried her down a hall to his bedroom.
“Speak now if you don’t want to be fucked ten ways to Sunday,” he said, his voice rough and strained.
She nuzzled her nose into his neck, then licked a line up to his ear. “Ten ways? Wow. That sounds like fun.”
His Adam’s apple slid up and down as he swallowed. “Tell me again how you don’t know how to seduce. What bullshit. I’m hard enough to break rocks.”
She didn’t get a chance to look around his room except to notice his bed was made. No surprise.
He jerked the covers back and set her in his bed on her knees. “Damn, you look good there.”
She smiled. She felt great in his bed, but she’d hold on to that titbit.
“Give it,” he said, holding out his hand. “The shirt. Now.”
First, she dipped her head and winked. Then she slowly eased her shirt up, gradually exposing herself until her shirt reached her chin, and only then did she remove it and toss it to the floor.
“Fuck,” he growled in a gravelly tone. He studied her breasts and licked his lips.
Under his stare, she’d have sworn her breasts swelled two sizes. She’d worn one of her newest purchases, a peach-colored, lacy bra with matching throng. Seeing the expression on his face made every penny money well-spent.
“Fucking gorgeous,” he said. He dragged a finger along the flesh protruding out of the lace edge of one cup.
At his touch, her stomach tumbled to her knees. She arched her back, pressing her breasts into his hands.
An easy snap of his fingers on the front clasp, and her bra sprang to her sides, her breasts falling into his hands.
Nervous tension whirled inside. She’d had a child. She’d breastfed that baby. Her boobs were long past young and perky. For the first time tonight, her self-confidence wavered.
His gaze rose from her chest to her face, his eyes dark with lust. “You have fabulous tits,” he said, then lowered his mouth to one while pinching the nipple of the other.
She moaned and increased the arch in her back. “More. Harder,” she demanded. “Suck harder.”
He did, but at the same time, moved his hand between her legs. He cupped her through her shorts, rubbing firmly on her clit.
A gasp escaped her throat. She spread her knees wider to accommodate his large hand.
“You’re hot and wet, aren’t you? You like my hand between your legs, don’t you?”
Her hips began to rock against his hand as a tornado whirled inside her.
As if reading her mind, he pushed his hand inside her shorts and panties and thrust two fingers inside her.
That’s all it took. Her orgasm hit her hard and fast. She moaned as she ground herself against his hand and rode out the waves of pleasure rolling through her.
“Are you smirking?” Holly asked, her breaths coming in gasps.
“Me? Smirk?” he said, a definite smirk on his mouth. He kissed her. “Damn, woman. That was so fucking sexy.”
Her cheeks burned. “That was, um, a little fast. Sorry.”
“Sorry?” He chuckled. “Don’t ever apologize to me for that. I loved it.”
“Stay there.” She knee-walked to the edge of the bed where he stood. After she unfastened his shorts, they fell to rest on his feet. His cock stretched the cotton of his briefs, the tip barely visible over the top of the elastic. She slipped her hands under the elastic and pushed his underwear down, careful to not catch his rigid length in the material.
He toed off his shoes and stepped from his clothing, kicking them off to the side.
She licked her lips and he groaned.
Reaching forward, her fingers dug into his hips as she pulled him toward her. She wrapped her lips around the tip of his cock and sucked.
“Fuck,” he groaned and shoved his fingers into her hair.
She licked and tongued his length, stopping at the head each time to take him deep into her mouth. Her actual fucking experience might have been pretty vanilla, but her late husband had loved blowjobs, and she had plenty of experience there.
He pulled her off his cock. “If you don’t stop that right now, this will be over and sadly, I’m thirty-five, not fifteen. I need a little time to recover.”
She sat back on her heels. “Is that what you want?”
“Fuck no. I’d love to have you suck me off, but tonight, it’s about both of us. And, I have to say, woman, you’re wearing too many clothes.”
Together they peeled off her shorts and panties, stopping long enough for him to groan when he saw her thong.
“Another time in the future, I want to spend a little more time looking at those panties. Tonight, they have to go.”
When her thong was gone, he wedged his shoulders between her thighs. He drew in a deep breath, then licked her from front to back.
Her hips lifted off the bed. “You…you don’t have to do that,” she said between tiny gasps.
“Honey, I don’t do anything I don’t want to.” He kissed the inside of each thigh and then ran his tongue around her thick nub.
She wiggled under the touch of his tongue.
His head lifted and looked up at her from between her thighs. “Do you not like this? Would you rather I not?”
“I…” She knew her face had to be beet-red. “I like it. It’s just that Steve hated to do it, so we never did.”
“Your late husband was an idiot,” he growled and lowered his head back to the task at hand.
Each lick and each nibble tightened a coil inside her. When he tongued her opening, the coil sprang, releasing another orgasmic wave racing through her. She cried out from the power of her release.
“Now,” she said. “I need you inside me.”
He covered himself with a condom and pushed the head inside. She groaned and arched her hips.
“You are so fucking tight,” he said as he thrust inside her.
His cock was so big she felt stretched and full. He began to move in and out. Suddenly, he pulled her upright until she was sitting on him and he began to thrust up into her. She wrapped her legs around his waist.
“I’m not going to last long,” he said. “You’ve had me hard and ready for weeks.”
She rubbed her nipples in his rough chest hair and nibbled on his neck. “You feel so good inside me,” she whispered into his ear. To her surprise, she felt a third climax building, and then it crested taking her over the edge with a cry of surprise.
He followed quickly with his orgasm, his cock jerking inside her.
They stayed in each other arms for a few minutes. His heart pounded solidly against her chest.
He kissed her then moved her off his cock. “Be right back,” he said and went into his bathroom.
She remained sitting in his bed. This was foreign territory for her. What do the cool women d
o after sex? Hell, she had no idea. She wasn’t cool—according to her daughter—and she’d not been in a man’s bed like this. Should she start getting dressed? What time was it? She had to pick up Katie. Crap, her car was at McP’s. Would Ben take her back there to get her car? It was a long drive, so even if she picked up her car, she’d have to drive back into San Diego to pick up Katie. And knowing her daughter, she’d be full of questions about why Aunt Diana had picked her up at the movies instead of her mom, and where had Holly been that kept her from picking her up. None of the questions were ones she wanted to answer.
“I can see your brain spinning,” Ben said when he returned. Sitting with his back resting on the headboard, he kissed her and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her against his chest. “What’s going on in there?” His lips pressed a kiss to her temple.
“Oh, nothing.”
He chuckled, the deep sound vibrating on her back. “You would make a horrible spy,” he confided. “You don’t lie worth shit.”
She turned her head and looked at him. “Really? I think I lie pretty good.”
“So, what’s got you in deep thoughts?”
She sighed. “I was thinking about having to go get my daughter tonight.”
A cell phone rang in the living room. “Mine or yours?” she asked.
“Yours. I’ll go get it.”
He strode from the room, not at all self-conscious about his naked body, and honestly, who could blame him? Every inch was firm and sleek, with clearly defined muscles. If there was a next time, she promised herself she’d spend more time tracing those luscious dips and valleys.
He handed her the phone and slid back in behind her.
“Thanks.”
She glanced at the screen, read the text, and then tapped a quick reply.
“Problem?”
Holly leaned back against him. “More like a solution. It was Diana. Katie’s spending the night at her house tonight. I told her that I’d pick Katie up tomorrow when I got off work.”
He snaked his arms around her waist and nuzzled the sensitive area behind her ear. “I’m liking your sister-in-law more and more.”
Her stomach took that moment to growl at a volume impossible to ignore.
Hot SEAL, Confirmed Bachelor Page 9