“Number one and two—no! I mean, the first two. I’m not peeing or doing that other thing.”
Kill me now. Please, please, please. I summon thee, o’ bolt of lightning.
“You are a very odd woman.”
“Only when it comes to intimacy,” she groaned.
“Which is why, perhaps, I feel a certain ease with you. Now, please open the door.”
“I really can’t look at you right now,” she said.
“All right. I’ll leave the clothes here on the bed and wait downstairs. Then you and I are going to talk.”
“About what?” What an ass she was.
“Come downstairs when you’re ready. I’ll be waiting.”
She looked at the marble countertop, grabbed a washcloth, and began wiping down the drops of water she’d left all over the surface. Dammit. I need some bleach.
She then paused and looked at her shaking hand. What in the world are you doing? Bennett had offered to open himself up to her, to let her in and tell her something extremely private. Hell, he’d said it was painful. But there she was, thinking about herself, about how she felt, about being rejected when that wasn’t what he was doing at all. He’d offered what she really wanted: him. Not just sex, but him.
God, I really am such an idiot. She chucked the washcloth into a little basket underneath the sink and planted her hands on the vanity, hanging her head.
It seemed from the moment they’d met, she’d systematically devolved into a child. Everything she thought Taylor Reed was had been stripped away, piece by piece. Her job, her illusion of being respected, her financial independence, her belief she was in control—something that had given her comfort once upon a time. But now she was beginning to see clearly. Control was an illusion, and meeting Bennett had shown her that. Life was like a river, and the river flowed in one direction and one direction only. Sometimes it moved nice and easy through familiar territory; other times it became wild and turbulent and carried you to untamed lands. You either made the most of the ride or you didn’t.
She laughed quietly to herself and suddenly felt an odd sort of peace, as though all of this was meant to be. Maybe being reduced to nothing but a girl on a raft on a river was exactly what she needed at this point in her life. Maybe she had to let go. No baggage—literally. No judging. No expectations of any kind. Stripped down naked. Maybe that’s what it took to truly see a complex man like Bennett for who he was. And accept him.
Taylor took a breath, splashed some cold water on her face, and then looked at herself in the mirror. Okay. You can face him, Taylor. You can face whatever it is he’s going to say without judgment or expectations.
She reached for the bathroom door handle and paused. “You’re standing right there, aren’t you?”
“Yes.”
Sneaky bastard.
She pulled open the door and there stood Bennett, thick arms crossed over his broad chest, eyebrows raised, and wolfish smile on his face. His linen shirt and pants gently hugged the masculine silhouette of his body. Yes, even his casual clothes were tailored. Tailored for trouble.
“I thought you went downstairs?” she said, noticing that he’d dimmed the lights in the room a bit and had turned on the palm-leaf shaped ceiling fan, making the mosquito netting around the bed dance.
He shrugged. “If I did that, I’d miss watching you get dressed.”
She blinked.
“Or getting naked?” He grinned.
Her entire body quaked. Be calm. You are a raft. You like being a raft. Rivers are awesome.
“I-I thought you weren’t interested in that,” she said nervously.
“I never said I wasn’t. I only said it wasn’t the reason I brought you here. I wanted to let you see the real me first. Then let you decide if you wanted to be with a man who is…”
“Complicated?” she asked.
“Yes. However,” he rubbed his chin, “now I find myself thinking about the fact that you traveled all this way for sex. I feel obliged to consider the option.”
“About that. I need to apologize for what just happened. I don’t know what I was thinking, but I’m here for whatever you want or need. I really mean that.”
He stepped closer to her. “Well, you are practically naked, standing there looking beautiful, and extremely tempting with that giant towel wrapped around your head.” He reached and gave the towel a tug, releasing her wet hair down the center of her back. “Mmmm…even better.” Then he leaned down and kissed her, making her forget everything she’d thought about in the bathroom. He’d wanted to tell her something, right?
His silky, hot tongue delved between her slightly parted lips, and having just that small piece of him inside her body made her knees go weak and the blood rush straight to her core.
His hands slipped to her waist and tugged her body closer, making her sharply aware of how much bigger he was. He was dominating her with that wicked kiss, heating her with his large, towering body.
His tongue slid against hers, and she rose to her tiptoes, wrapping her arms around his neck, wanting to feel his torso flush against her, his lips more firmly pressed to her mouth.
His fingers slowly moved to the thick belt around her waist and he untied it. She felt the front of her robe fall open, the warm air on her bare breasts and belly, his hands sliding against her naked skin. Meanwhile, his kiss deepened, the rhythm more demanding as his hands slowly traveled up and cupped her breasts.
Her breath caught in her throat the moment his rough thumbs passed over her nipples causing them to harden into little pearls, the sensation simultaneously triggering an erotic clenching deep inside. Well, if this is what he needs, who am I to argue?
“You’re so soft,” he whispered against her lips, gently massaging her breasts.
“It’s because they’re real,” she replied, smiling into the searing hot kisses.
He pulled away from her lips and stared into her eyes. “Why are you shaking?”
“I’m nervous. It’s been a while.”
The corner of his wet lips curled into a hint of a smile. “I hear it’s like riding a bike.”
She’d seen the size of his penis, and that was no bike; it was more like a recreational vehicle.
He slipped the robe off her shoulders, and it fell to the floor, pooling around her feet. His eyes washed over her body, drinking her in while she just stood there watching him. She wanted to reach for him, feel his hands on her skin, see him naked, his hard muscles pulsing with eager tension, but she couldn’t move.
He held out his hand, and she hesitated for a moment. Why wasn’t he undressing? But she took it anyway, unable to deny his request, and he walked her over to the vanity where he turned her around to face the mirror. His tall frame shadowed her curvy smaller body.
For the split second that she stood there, naked in front of the mirror, hearing only the sound of her frantically beating heart and the gentle rhythm of the ceiling fan, she felt like running for her robe. But then she caught the hard lust in Bennett’s eyes as he looked at the front of her in the mirror. It was too symbolic of what she’d been thinking in the bathroom—of having to be stripped down naked, no baggage, no expectations, if she truly wanted to see Bennett for who he was.
She relaxed her shoulders and allowed the sensation of being in the moment to take over. He’s my river.
His strong hands slid to her hips, and he watched himself in the mirror as he explored the feminine curves of her waist and breasts. She’d never felt so raw and exposed to a man, and the sensation was just as terrifying as it was exhilarating. The look in his eyes was unapologetically carnal, and when his one hand slid down over the patch of dark hair between her legs, his fingers pushing between her steaming hot folds, she bucked back against him. With his other hand, he moved her wet hair to one side, clearing the way for his warm breath to tickle its way down her neck while his fingers alternated between teasing her throbbing bud and testing her entrance.
“I haven’t been able to stop
thinking about touching you since the other morning,” he said, his voice husky and sensual. Of course, he referred to the other day when he woke up with his hand in her panties. She hadn’t been able to let that one go either. “Not that I didn’t have the urge to touch you before that.”
Her breath accelerated, and he pulled his hands away. From the angle of his elbows and movement of his arms she could tell he was unbuttoning his shirt.
She waited, fighting every urge in her body to turn around and help him out of this clothes. But she sensed it wasn’t what he wanted. She’d committed to not having expectations and letting herself simply go with the flow.
As he tossed his shirt to the floor and then shed his pants, the pounding pulse of her inner walls became unrelenting. She just wanted him so badly.
She heard the faint sound of paper tearing and watched in the mirror as his head bowed down behind her.
Condom. Oh God. She’d almost forgotten.
When his gaze returned, the look on his face was raw and hungry. He placed one hand on her shoulder and bent her forward. His flexing, hard abs came into view, and she caught a glimpse of a tribal pattern of some sort tattooed over his right pectoral. Every inch of the man was chiseled male perfection. Even that light dusting of dark hair on his lower stomach was perfect.
“Look at me,” he said, his voice deep and dominating.
Her heart slammed in her chest, and her knees barely hung on. He was going to fuck her like this?
Not in the bed. No sweet or loving. But hard.
Oh, yes.
Through the mirror, she stared into his eyes, as she felt the head of his shaft push against her.
“Keep looking at me,” he demanded.
Their eyes locked and Bennett thrust his long, thick cock into her, making her gasp from the intensity as he drove deep, filling every inch, pushing her body to take all of him. He gripped her hips firmly, pulled out, and slammed into her again. Her body jarred forward from the force and the vanity knocked against the wall.
She cried out with pleasure, and he repeated the deliciously savage thrusts. With his size, she felt the subtle texture of his shaft with each penetration and the tip of his cock pushing against the sensitive spot leading to her womb.
With every stroke, she braced herself for his hard flesh, watching the deep grooves of his abs flex in the mirror, the strong muscles of his biceps bulge while he held her in place, his face intense as he fucked her hard.
She’d never felt this turned on by man, ready to come with one little flick of her bud.
“Is this what you wanted, Taylor?” he grunted in a rough voice, pumping his cock into her again. “A fuck?”
“Yes. Yes,” she said. But she wanted more. She wanted to see whatever it was he’d brought her here for. “With you, yes.”
“You want me?” He pumped harder, faster. “You don’t even know me,” he growled, his hips pistoning, driving his long, thick shaft as deep as it could go.
She wanted to recoil from the comment, but her body wouldn’t allow it. Her need to orgasm, to feel him come inside her was too intense.
He bowed his large body over her back, and reached one arm around her waist to hold her in place while his other hand reached between her legs. His fingers found her throbbing bud at the same time his cock hit that spot deep inside her. She cried out, instantly orgasming, her entire body dissolving into a mass of sinful euphoric explosions.
Bennett stilled with his cock deep inside her contracting core and let out a deep, throaty groan as he came hard. He clung to her as twitch after tiny twitch released those jets of hot cum. She felt dripping with him, wetter than she’d ever been—his sweat on her back, his cock and cum filling her, her chest damp from the physical exertion.
His heart beat against her shoulder blade as he made one more pump and groaned again. Then he froze. “Dammit.” His entire body tensed. “The fucking condom broke.”
Taylor’s eyes flew wide open, and Bennett dropped his forehead to her back, his lungs working hard. But he didn’t pull out.
He just held her to him, like he was afraid to let go.
CHAPTER 16
It had taken exactly four days—or was it five with the time zone changes?—for Taylor to fall head over heels in love with Bennett Wade. And she could pinpoint the exact moment her heart gave in to him, falling hopelessly, helplessly, and madly.
Too bad that if this works out, you’ll never be able to tell anyone. Because it wasn’t the moment he gave her the most amazing orgasm of her life or the way he’d kissed the breath out of her. It was the moment he realized they’d had a birth control failure.
Crazy, right?
But he didn’t run away or panic or say something stupid or act like it was the end of the world if the accident resulted in…well, that she wasn’t ready to think about. Instead, he held her tight for a long moment, pressing his forehead to her back. Then, with the utmost tenderness, he withdrew, went into the bathroom to discard the remnants of the condom, started the shower, and came back for her.
Though his eyes were filled with emotion, Bennett didn’t say a word, not one, as he led her by the hand into the large bathroom. Perhaps he sensed she needed a moment after having her body worked over so deliciously. And after having her body filled with copious amounts of what were likely some very determined and feisty sperm, given who they came from.
She watched the hard, round muscles of his smooth ass flex while he closed the clear glass door behind them in the shower. He then turned to face her, giving her a glimpse of the front of his body—lean pecs, the ripples of abs that cascaded down into those lickable ridges just below his hips, guiding her eyes to his long, thick, semi-aroused penis. He was beautiful. Every goddamned inch, right down to the patch of coarse black hair surrounding the base of his cock to the dark hair on his muscled thighs. Even his toes were perfect.
“What’s the meaning of the tattoo?” she asked. The pattern had two small tribal-looking dragons, intertwined in several swirls.
“It’s to remember someone I lost.”
Bennett didn’t appear to want to say more. Instead he grabbed the citrusy smelling soap and a washcloth, and then kissed her gently before going to work, washing her body slowly, as if savoring the intimacy of the act. He floated the washcloth over her breasts and stomach, under her arms, and then turned her around and washed every inch of her back, spending a little extra time between her thighs with gentle strokes.
When she faced him again, he kissed her once more with a sensual tenderness, and then proceeded to wash himself, allowing her to watch, without any sign of shyness. All those times she’d imagined him pleasuring himself, taking his hard shaft in his hand, did not compare to actually watching him hold his still semi-aroused penis in the palm of his large hand. Oh yes, that image would be recycled for years to come.
Once all clean, he placed his hand on the side of her face, kissed her slowly, working his tongue over her lips, and then left the shower. “I’ll see you downstairs for that talk.”
Wow. A whoosh of air left her body.
Being bathed by Bennett Wade after hard hot sex was the sexiest thing she’d ever experienced apart from the actual sex.
“Wow. Just…wow,” she sighed under her breath.
So that was her first glimpse of the real Bennett Wade, and she knew she’d never get enough.
—
After drying off, Taylor slipped on a sleeveless plum-colored dress made from a soft, airy fabric, perfect for the hot weather. She went downstairs to find Bennett and saw he’d opened up all of the doors facing the beach, allowing the night ocean air to pour inside. He sat on the porch, wearing only his linen pants, his legs propped up on a small wooden table, a glass of white wine in his hand. He stared pensively at the ribbons of rainwater trickling from the roof into the sand.
“Aren’t you afraid of mosquitos?” she asked.
He smiled dimly, still staring out toward the dark ocean. “They don’t come out much when it
rains.”
“That’s good to know.” She sat next to him in a high-backed wicker chair, sensing he didn’t feel as relaxed as he looked.
“What are you thinking about?”
He glanced at her and made a little shrug with those wide, bare shoulders. “No one thing in particular, I suppose.”
“Well, um, I just want to tell you that…I haven’t been with anyone in a really long time and even though I’ve never engaged in risky behavior, I still make sure that—”
“You don’t have anything to worry about from me either,” Bennett said in an unemotional voice. He seemed so far away, in another place. “And I haven’t been with anyone in a very long time.”
“You haven’t?”
“No.” He sipped his wine.
“But I thought you—I mean I know you aren’t with a different woman every night, but I at least thought you were…you know—active.”
“No. Not for a year or so.”
Wow. So the “Kate incident” happened about a year ago. Taylor took that in. “Do you mind if I ask why not?”
“Let’s just say the last woman I was with was one of many who succeeded in fooling me.”
Oh. She bobbed her head. “The gold diggers.” It was kind of what she’d expected, given the things his mother and Candy had said.
“Yes.” His blue eyes focused off in the distance, but when Taylor looked, she saw only the black of night. What was he looking at?
“I’m glad,” she said. “I’m glad they were all stupid, shallow, materialistic bitches.”
He turned his body and tilted his head a bit.
“You wouldn’t be here with me right now if they hadn’t been,” she explained.
He smiled softly. “Right you are, Ms. Reed.”
She made a quiet little huff. “I’m Ms. Reed again, am I?”
“Taylor.” His voice was so deep and husky, it made her toes curl. She loved it when he said her name.
He stared at her for a moment before his jaw clenched and his dark brows furrowed together. “I don’t think I can do this tonight.”
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