by Abi Walters
“Yours,” She croaked.
“Mine.”
Benson left, only for a moment, to unhook her from the posts of the bed. Mia instantly grabbed him, pulling his body to hers. She was needed and desperate to feel his skin. She was slow, savoring each stroke against his body. They were both urgent and lazy with their lovemaking. Late into the night they played, lounging in bed between their moans and tender gropes. They would fall asleep, only to wake minutes later and indulge in their pleasures again. Their bodies finally gave way to the exhaustion, and with the pale moonlight cloaking their bodies, they fell asleep tangled together.
Chapter Eight
Benson woke to the smell of coffee and bacon. He frowned when he spread to an empty bed, but the instant his nostrils filled with the mouthwatering scents of breakfast. He opened an eye to catch a glimpse of Mia in the kitchen, smiling at the warmth that spread through his body. She was wearing a black tank top and a pair of red cotton panties with a big white skull plastered on the ass. Her hair was pulled into an extremely messy bun with tendrils of black as coal wisps sticking up and falling into her face.
As soon as he slid out of bed and his feet touched the floor, her head snapped in his direction. She greeted him with a smile so big he thought it would fall off her face.
“Morning,” She chirped.
“I’m incredibly horny in the morning,” Benson teased, padding over to her in the buff. “Too bad you weren’t in bed with me.”
She whined, “C’mon.”
He pecked her lips, “No, no. Too late now, precious.”
“You’d deny me sex?” She challenged.
“Never, but if I don’t feed you, you won’t last the weekend.”
Mia stuck her tongue out, and Benson took the opportunity to bend down and catch her mouth with his. She squealed under his touch. He pulled away with a cocky grin and sauntered away, his toned ass making Mia pant. Her eyes followed him for a moment, and then she turned back to the stove while he pulled on a loose pair of sweats. The next time he returned, he slid onto the island stool.
“I smelled coffee.”
“Did you make your millions being that observant?” Mia teased as she grabbed a coffee cup. “Any cream?”
“Billions,” He corrected her, “And black, please.”
She delicately placed the cup in front of him and returned to finishing cooking the bacon and eggs. They chatted lightly while she cooked, and the conversation extended to their light breakfast at the island. It wasn’t until they were almost done eating that Mia brought up the video shoot that had been haunting her for days.
“Burnside is shooting a video next week.”
Benson looked confuse at the shift of topics from sightseeing in Europe to the band, but he nodded, “Yes, I know. I was approached about using one of my buildings as a set.”
“Of course,” She mumbled.
“What’s wrong with that?”
“Don’t get mad at me,” She proposed, raising a finger and aiming it at him. He was already mad. Or annoyed. His face held a hardness that beckoned her to continue. “But I’m going to be in the video. Dancing.”
Benson was quiet. She had taken him off guard with the declaration. With his jaw tense, he finally responded with a simple, “No.”
She hopped off her seat, “What do you mean, no? You don’t have the authority to tell me what I can and cannot do, Benson. I was just letting you know.”
“And I’m just letting you know I don’t want you dancing with asshole rock stars. You’re mine, Mia. I don’t share.”
“There are about a thousand things wrong with what you just said,” She rolled her eyes. “I’m going to ignore it all to spare my sanity. I’ll be dancing alone. The video is just me, Benson.”
“So hundreds of thousands of people will have the ability to watch you give a camera your fuck me eyes? No. Absolutely not.”
“You really think hundreds of thousands of people will watch the video?” She grinned.
“Mia,” Benson bit through his teeth. He stood and circled to her. “I’m serious. I don’t want you to do this. You’re not a groupie to flaunt in front of a camera. I don’t even want to discuss the legality of the issue, let alone my personal problems with it.”
“They asked me to, and I said yes. I can’t take it back.”
“I can rip up the contract and not let them use my theater. I can also make sure production has a hell of a time finding another location.”
Her eyes turned into fine slits as she crossed her arms, “You’re a dick, Benson.”
“I never claimed I wasn’t.”
When she huffed and stormed away, he let her go. In a studio apartment there are only so many places to hide. Mia jumped dramatically on her bed, tucking herself under the covers and grabbing her smartphone. Not knowing what else to do, she furiously texted Lora while Benson took it upon himself to do the few dishes they had dirtied. When he was done, he passed by her without a word and took a shower. Mia was thankful he hadn’t stormed out of the apartment and left her.
Part of her wanted him to leave. She didn’t dislike confrontation, but arguing with Benson made her blood boil like she was in the final tier of hell. A week ago he would have left. He had let her walk out a handful of times. But this time, it was different. Mia’s stomach knotted. It was different because he cared for her beyond sex. She unfolded from the bed and stripped her clothing off as she waked the short distance to the bathroom. Lingering in the doorframe, she watched Benson’s shadow through the curtain.
“Are you going to join me, precious? Or do you like to watch?”
A blush dusted her cheeks. She approached the shower, pulling the curtain slightly so she could slide in with him. Benson was a magnificent being clothed and unclothed, but naked and wet, he was breathtaking. His espresso hair that she loved so much was darker and slicked back in a floppy mess. Beads of water cascaded down his sculpted chest, glistening as they caught a toned ab. His muscles were more prominent in the confined space. She watched in complete and utter adoration as his body flexed with each movement. She had barely noticed when his silky cock rose between them, nudging at her pelvis delicately.
She reached out and touched his bare chest lightly, “I thought you were going to leave.”
“Is that what you want?” He questioned, his voice low.
“You always ask me that,” She trailed her fingers down to his erection. “But what do you want, Benson?”
He strained under her gentle strokes. His voice was hoarse, “I want you, Mia. I think I’ve made that obvious.”
“I want you too, but you can’t control my life. I need to have that power over myself.”
“I can’t change who I am.”
Benson pushed forward, pressing her against the back wall of the shower. His hands pressed above her and his body hovering, he blocked all the water from reaching her. They rested for a moment, settled in the bare intimacy of it all. Her hand was still on him, though it did not stroke.
“I don’t want you to ever change, Benson. I just need you to understand that I grew up without control over myself. I was abused sexually, mentally, and physically. That is why my confidence and hold on myself is so important to me.”
A light flickered in his eyes briefly before he bent his head down and placed a single kiss on her neck, “I didn’t… think about that.”
“I don’t want you to feel sorry for me; I just want you to understand.”
“I will never feel sorry for you, precious,” Benson’s words were silk.
He lingered for a second, and then took a step back to shut off the water. He escaped the tub and wrapped a towel around his body, securing it before he dried Mia off himself. She shivered with each touch and delicate stroke of his fingers over her bare flesh. When she was dry enough to his liking, he extended his hand, and once she took it they walked back into the apartment. He helped her into the bed, following just seconds later.
Mia’s skin was so soft it made
Benson’s toes curl. He couldn’t resist caressing it, fondling it, kissing it. The moans escaping Mia’s mouth were promises of pleasure to come. When he had finally gotten his share of her skin, he rested on his side and laid his hand over her sex. She looked at him with rugged desire and he was overwhelmed with a sense of belonging. His bent and took a hard nipple in his mouth as his thumb circled her clit slowly. With each rapid rise and fall of her chest, Benson increased his speed until she convulsed with an orgasm beside him. He reached down to test her wetness and grunted in approval.
He loved the way her mouth felt against his cock. It was hot and moist, and her tongue knew exactly what to do to make him forget his own name. He loved feeling her hand pump a sweet rhythm as she switched between wicked licks and vigorous jerks. He loved pushing his fingers through her eager folds and feeling her wetness around him. But he was desperate for the intimacy found only through penetration. He removed his hand from her sex and his mouth from her breast.
“Ride me, precious,” He purred.
She sighed in anticipation as she positioned herself on top of him, and then silently moaned as she slowly lowered onto his eagerly awaiting cock. Benson grabbed the bed desperately. He bit his bottom lip and tasted blood. When she was fully sitting on him, Mia leaned forward and wrapped her arms around his neck. She kissed him as she rose and fell, grinding against his body with a leisurely pace.
Benson could feel her tightening around him as she picked up her speed. An orgasm teetered and then exploded within her. With her damp hair tangled, eyes closed and mouth partially opened she looked deliciously wanton. Benson swallowed hard and focused on the way she looked in the throes of passion.
“Open your eyes and look at me,” He demanded softly. There was just enough edge in his voice that forced her to comply.
Mia didn’t break contact as she slowed her pace. Her hips ground against him, and every rotation her clit was stimulated with the pressure. Benson loved watching the way her face contorted with each rubbing motion against her. Her urgency increased, her eyes more determined. He un-bunched his hands from the sheets and moved them to her body. Even with just one hand flat against her ass, Mia’s breath hitched in pleasure. No matter where his touch rested it sent fire through her veins. When his other hand wedged between their bodies and flicked at her clit, she strangled a cry.
Once a casual grind, Mia’s pace quickened to a desperate speed. With Benson’s hand guiding her, she rode him furiously. Her eyes stayed locked on his, though she wanted to squeeze them shut as she rocked with an orgasm. Her words were exhausted and breathless,
“I can’t, Benson. I need you to fuck me.”
He had been waiting to hear her say those words since the first orgasm shook through her body. He was pleased she had lasted as long as she did, but his own release had been on the edge for far too long. Not wasting a beat, he flipped her and ground deep into her pussy. It only took a few hard thrusts for him to spill inside of her. He bucked forward, lodging himself as deeply as he could, as he shook with release.
Careful not to crush her, Benson held himself over her with shaky arms. He pressed a gentle kiss to her damp forehead and then sat to clean them up.
“Don’t,” She muttered, grabbing his arm and pulling him back down over her. “I want to feel you inside me all day.”
“Fuck,” The word tore out of his mouth sharply.
Her words stirred his tired cock. He lay next to her, and she moved to nuzzle her head in the crook of his arm, drifting back to a light sleep within minutes. Benson wondered if she knew- truly knew- how sexy she was. He was going insane. If Mia is insanity, Benson thought as he curled into her and let his eyes droop, then I am doomed for the rest of my life.
They woke just over an hour later, though they didn’t dare move from the shelter the bed provided. Mia lifted her head only to confirm that Benson was awake, as if his soft caresses on her back weren’t enough confirmation. The unspoken love between them was so foreign to both of them.
“Tell me about your family, Benson,” She muttered into his skin, wincing as she felt him tense beneath her.
Though discomforted by the question, he answered, “My father works in the stock market and my mother is a trophy wife. I was an only child; they only had me to carry on my father’s legacy, I guess. I had an uneventfully boring childhood. It wasn’t until I was a teenager that I realized my parents weren’t in love and that things weren’t normal at home. My parents never touched or spoke at home. The only time I ever saw them in the same room was at dinner. When we’d go to charity events or parties they’d put on a convincing show. My mother the supportive wife and my father a proud husband. As soon as we’d leave they’d go back to being strangers.
It was almost like when I turned thirteen my father thought it was okay to discuss his affairs with me. He’d bring the women home when my mother was in the other room. She knows, but she stays for some reason. We were in the Hamptons at a party once, the summer before I left for college, and I saw a woman giving him a blowjob in the garden. He motioned for me to join. The audacity that man had…”
Benson’s words trailed off and Mia lay still against him for a few pregnant seconds before she lifted her head and scooted to kiss his cheek.
“I’m sorry.”
He turned to her, “It makes me sick to talk about my family like I had a horrible life when you went through so much hell as a child.”
“I told you not to feel sorry for me, Benson,” She reminded him. “Your childhood was a different kind of hell, but it was hell none the less.”
Benson turned and pressed a chaste kiss to her lips, “How are you real, precious? How do you exist out here,” He pressed a hand on her chest. “And in here?” He moved the hand to his own chest.
A surge of tears threatened to spill as Mia watched Benson in amazement. Just over a week ago he had been a hard man with a sharp tongue and deviant eyes. In her bed, stripped of his clothes and his inhibition, he seemed so delicate and raw. He opened up to her about the coldness that cursed his home. He had held her after her brother had called and patched the holes Aaron punched inside her. Benson Ward was a man who claimed to be indestructible and void of romance, yet he had proven to her that he needed affection just as she did.
He had been a man who didn’t need love. With his parents failures in his back pocket, Benson had told himself he was content- if not happy- floating between women without any attachments. When he first saw Mia he had wanted nothing more than to dominate her, and then when he touched her, he wanted to protect her from the world.
“Please don’t cry,” He muttered against her skin.
“I just feel so vulnerable,” She whispered, a heavy tear sliding down her face. “I’m not in control of myself anymore, and I’m afraid you’re going to grow tired of me. How many times have we said you don’t do romance? How many times have I stormed away and you haven’t chased me? You can hold me and lather me in sweetness, but one day you’ll go and I’ll be empty.”
“I have said a lot of things in my life that have been wrong, Mia,” Benson wiped the stray tears. “I’m man enough to admit that. Don’t let my own fears hold you back, and don’t ever think that what this is, isn’t real. I’m being deadly serious when I say you are mine, precious. You are mine forever whether you like it or not.”
“I do like it,” A smile slid onto her face, then wavered. “I’m just worried that forever won’t last forever.”
“And I’m worried one day you’ll realize how big of an asshole I really am.”
She gave a weak laugh and slid up, kissing his nose on her way, “I already know that.”
“I don’t think you do,” He muttered under his breath as he mocked her actions.
“So now that this catharsis is over, can we talk about lunch?”
Mia flashed a pearly smile and Benson came undone.
**********
Mia was thankful she had gone grocery shopping the day before, stocking up on anything t
hat sounded appetizing. It wasn’t until she opened her refrigerator that she realized truly how hungry she was. Her stomach gurgled as she threw out a slew of suggestions at Benson, who stopped her abruptly when she mentioned burgers. He joined her in the kitchen to prepare the food, sharing with her his secret blend of spices and ingredients used at one of his restaurant. He took over production of the sandwiches while she pulled a frozen bag of fries from the freezer.
They ate like they cooked, naked and standing in the middle of the kitchen. They had barely plated the food before they started eating. Though void of the caramelized onions and mushrooms that typically accompanied the burger at Benson’s restaurant, the sandwich was still mouthwatering. He promised to take her there soon so she could get the real experience, but she was content with having him cook the meal for her.
After they ate, they curled up on the couch and decided to watch Dirty Dancing together. It was Benson’s idea, and he smiled through the entire thing, especially as she quoted a majority of the movie. It was then that he decided her laugh was the most pure sound he’d ever heard.
They were preparing to pick another movie on Netflix when her phone rang from beside the bed. They ignored it, though it continued to play the tune, as if stuck on repeat. Mia swore and jumped off the couch, nearly tripping over her legs as she stomped across the room. She held the phone and tilted her head back, letting out an exasperated grunt before answering it.
“Tyler, why the fuck are you calling me? I told you-”
“Shut the hell up, Mia!” He exclaimed on the other side, his voice terse. “It is an emergency.”
When Mia’s face paled, Benson leapt to his feet and crossed the room in a few long strides.
“What happened?” Her voice was a whisper as her mind cluttered with endless situations.
“It’s Max. He fucking overdosed last night. He was on heroin and pills or something, fuck, I don’t know. And they found shit on him, so the police are taking him to the station right now.”
Her fear turned to rage, “That inconsiderate little shit!”