She stiffens, stops breathing, and a low moan reverberates throughout the steamed-up cab of the truck. My own body tenses completely with the need to follow her over the edge. The temptation has never been so goddamn all-encompassing.
The remainder of her orgasm makes her shiver against me, and I grit my teeth against the riot of sensation. I feel her smile against my neck, as she smothers a laugh and stretches.
When she pulls back, her eyes are sleepy, half-lidded and lit with satisfaction. My hands trail up from the soft skin of her lower back to cradle her head so I can soak every moment of this in. Like a kid on Christmas morning, I never want it to end. Too soon, she stirs against me and groans, breaking the cocoon of silence that had surrounded us.
Carefully, I move to place her a safe distance away from me…like all the way across the state.
But she doesn’t let me. Instead, she wraps her arms more tightly around my neck.
I move to pull back and look at her questioningly, to no avail. “Livvie?”
Her hands plot a dangerous course down my chest, her fingers snagging against the material of my T-shirt until she reaches the taut skin of my abdomen. She tangles with my belt buckle, and the sound fills my ears as if it were amplified a thousand times.
I’m torn. Between need and duty. Responsibility and recklessness.
Then she kisses me. One soft brush of her lips, feather-light against mine, and I fall straight into madness after her.
I cover her again, gripping her hair with both hands, as if I need to keep a steady hold on her or else she’ll somehow escape me. Urgency tastes like firelight and the cherry-scented lip balm she favors. Somehow, while lost in the simple pleasure of her lips on mine, she manages to push my pants down enough to grip my hard length in her torturous hands.
The contact sends a shockwave throughout my entire body, and through my heavy-lidded eyes I see her smile in triumph. Dear God, if I thought she had me wrapped around her finger before, I was wrong. Dead wrong. She could demand anything of me in this moment, and I’m not sure I could deny her.
Then she slips off of the seat, down to the floorboard and slides the wet heat of her mouth over my cock. My eyes shutter closed and all I can do is fist my hands in her hair and surrender to the sensation. The slick, wet sounds of her tongue gliding up and down my length drive me fucking crazy. I finally regain the ability to open my eyes and feast upon the sight of her on her knees, thighs spread to kneel before me, her dress essentially a foregone conclusion, hiked up around her waist like an invitation.
I loosen one hand from my grip on her hair and grab the hem of her dress, pulling it farther down until the hastily tied knots around her neck give, pooling the dress around her knees. The expanse of her milky white skin is now only covered by a few scraps of material that match the pink blush covering her cheeks.
The thought of her breasts tipped in the same color consumes my thoughts. I need to see if they’re a match for my fantasies. I barter with myself, as though I’ll stop after I get just one more taste. When, in truth, I know there’s no stopping me tonight.
My hands reach for the strings of her bikini top with a mind of their own. Two tugs and her top gives way, the cool air bringing a chill to her flushed skin.
I press against her shoulders and she sits up. The playful gleam in her eyes has been replaced by a burning need that matches my own. I kick off my pants the rest of the way, and she’s straddling my legs before I’ve even managed to shrug out of my tee.
She traps me that way, with my arms tangled in the material of my shirt and still positioned over my head. Her mouth finds mine and everything about her is emphasized in sharp relief at the darkness. Her sweet scent surrounds me, drives me crazy. Nimble fingers grip my length, and I arch and buck against her.
“Fuck, baby, you’re killing me,” I murmur hoarsely.
She releases my arms and I attack. My fingers are no longer teasing or tempting as they strip her of her bikini bottoms, but insistent. The moment she’s completely bare to me, she slicks herself over the length of my cock like she can’t resist the simple friction of skin against skin.
“Ben,” she manages to choke out. “I can’t—”
I capture her lips. “I can. Just hold on to me.”
She sobs with pleasure as I guide myself to her entrance, her fingers digging into the muscles of my shoulders. Lowering herself down an inch, two, she groans softly, sweetly. I arch my neck, nearly delirious with the rightness of it.
This, is all I can think. Everything about this and only this.
I grip her hips and pull her the rest of the way down until we are thigh to thigh and I can’t get enough. She pauses for a beat, maybe two, before she begins to move over me, seeking her own pleasure. I nip at her neck, repeating the simple movements I know make her crazy, arching my hips in time to tease her clit, nibbling her ear.
“Is that how you want it, Liv?” I ask. She mumbles something unintelligible in response. “Are you gonna come? I want to feel you come for me.”
I don’t even have to do anything other than urge her hips to keep our passionate rhythm and whisper all the filthy things I want to do to her before she tightens over me again—a tangle of want—and explodes.
I only manage to keep the sweet, steady pace long enough to work her through her orgasm before I follow right behind, lips pressed to her neck, clutching her around the waist like my life depends on it.
And my last thoughts as I follow her toward ecstasy are of how I want her to remember this moment as much as I know I will. I want to burn the memory of this night into her very core. I want her dreams to be of me, of this. I want the ghost of my touch to haunt her every day until I come back.
SWEAT SLICKS OUR skin together, but I can’t seem to find the energy to move. I’m drunk on the scent of him. Of us. Aftershocks dance along my spine causing me to shiver against him. We fell into Ben’s hotel room at some point, several hours ago, in a tangle of arms and tongues and moans. Our relentless exploration of each other frenzied with hurry like we cannot get enough, while lazy and reverent at the same time, like we never want it to end.
His hands tighten against me and he groans. “Don’t move for a second.”
I look down at him. “Why? Got a cramp?”
“No, you feel so good and considering that I’m going to be surrounded by a bunch of dudes for the next year, I want to remember this feeling.”
My mouth drops open and I slap his shoulder. “You are such an ass.”
He smiles and I feel his cock harden inside of me. My eyes widen in response, and I let out a soft groan. “I fuckin’ love it when you get feisty. Must be the red hair.”
He moves below me and all of the sensitive nerve endings he’d stoked to life send ripples of pleasure throughout me. “It’s not the hair, it’s because you can be a jackass and unlike the other bimbos in your life, I’m not afraid to tell you.”
“No,” he says, “I don’t think that’s it. You just like arguing.”
He angles his hips and hits a spot that has lights playing behind my closed lids. As the muscles in my stomach tighten, I try to focus. “I do not.”
“Don’t worry, Spitfire. I like it when you argue with me. You turn pink in some of my favorite places. If you come for me again, I’ll show you where they are.”
“I do not!” I try to protest but it’s pretty useless because I can’t stop smiling.
“Mmm-hmm.” He slips a hand between us and my head drops back. “We can move over by the mirror, I’ll set you up in front of it and make you watch while I show you. How does that sound?”
My body thinks that sounds like the best idea ever and within seconds, I come with a muffled scream.
“I think you like arguing with me, too,” he whispers in my ear.
It’s morning and I’ve been up for hours trying to turn back the clock. I got little to no sleep and I have the resulting aches and pains from a night of furious marathon sex to prove it. I stretch and feel the
reassuring hardness of him at my back. The arm wrapped around my waist tightens and pulls me even closer to his warmth as he wakes.
My stomach clenches in delicious anticipation. Although I’ve done some crazy things in my past, I can’t even begin to explain how I wound up in bed with my brother’s best friend.
The jacket he used as a makeshift sheet comes loose as he tugs. It caresses the length of my body, and I feel it as potently as I did when he first touched me. I lie on my side, turned away from him, but I sense his gaze following the movement of the jacket as it reveals the side of my breasts, the dip of my waist and the flare of my hips. The scent of leather heightens my awareness until I’m nearly trembling in anticipation.
He pauses, studying me for a moment, and my breath catches in my throat. Then I hear the rip of a condom wrapper. After our impetuous sex in his truck, he made a point to wear a condom for each subsequent bout between the sheets. He pulls my body flush against his, and the heat of it feels like a brand. I can’t help the moan that escapes my lips, even if I tried. His left hand snakes under me to turn my head to his kiss, while his right cocks my thigh over his leg.
I can feel the roughness of his fingers as they whisper up and down the length of my leg. They dip around my hip to the source of my wetness, and a mewl catches in my throat.
“Morning,” he murmurs from behind me.
His fingers enter me in a prolonged stroke. “Good morning,” I whisper brokenly.
“I can practically hear your brain working over there and it’s too damn early for that.”
The palm of his hand presses right where I need him as his fingers speed up. “I’m just wondering where I can hide you, so you don’t have to go. I have a closet at home I think you’ll fit in, maybe,” I manage to say around a gasp.
He shifts his weight on top of me and I frown, having lost his fingers. “Hey, now. We’re not going to think about all that, remember?”
The rush of emotion startles me and I cover my face with my hands. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Just give me a second and I’ll be fine.”
Ben kisses my fingers. “You don’t have to apologize. I would miss me, too.”
My responding laugh is watery. I wipe my eyes and peer back up at him. His dirty blonde hair is ringed with the buttery early morning light. I take a mental picture of the moment and pull his lips back down to mine.
His mouth doesn’t leave mine as he slides inside. His thrusts this time are achingly slow and instead of being about quenching a thirst, this time feels like something else…something more. The solemn feeling that gripped my heart as soon as I woke up merges with tenderness, and I drape my arms around his shoulders in an effort to keep him as close to me as possible.
His thrusts deepen along with his kiss in a moment that feels endless. His hands worship my body with gentle caresses and the sounds that he makes in the back of his throat send ripples down my spine.
No matter how many times he tells me that all he can give me is sex—to satisfy a need—his actions say something completely different.
They say he doesn’t want to leave me either.
I reach the realization just as I climax, breaking the kiss with shuddering breaths. His crystal-blue eyes meet mine and he grips my shoulders as his thrusts become more urgent. He lifts my legs over his arms and attains an angle that takes me from the peak and flings me even higher. As I clutch his shoulders he buries his face in my neck and we fly over the edge together.
“Oh fuck, Liv,” he grunts out as he slams into me one last time. His back, damp with sweat, trembles beneath my touch.
His face stays tucked in the spot on my neck as we both come down, our heavy breaths beginning to relax. He’s there so long I almost think he’s fallen asleep.
“I’m just going to stay here,” he says. “Hope I’m not too heavy.”
“Not at all. You’re pretty much a cuddly teddy bear.”
“Great,” he mumbles. “I’m sure the guys would get a kick out of that.”
I smile. “What are they like?”
“Assholes, every single one of them. And they’re all ugly as shit.”
Laughter bubbles in my throat. “Do they have such nice things to say about you, too?”
I hear his sexy throaty chuckle. “I’m sure whatever shit they say about me is much worse.” He untangles himself from me and leaves to dispose of the condom.
When he climbs back into bed he positions me so that I’m draped over his chest with my head tucked under his chin.
Eager to learn more about him, about the life that takes him away so much, I continue, “Are they good guys?”
His hand trails idly up and down the arm thrown over his stomach. “Some of the best. I’d die for them in a heartbeat.”
My voice catches in my throat and I try to erase that thought from my mind. “How long will you be gone?”
“About nine months.”
God, that feels like such a long time. “That’s not too bad.” I try to sum up some courage to ask my next question. “Will I hear from you?” God, I hope that didn’t sound as pitiful as it did to my own ears.
He squeezes me a little tighter. “I’m gonna be honest, it may be a while before you do. The place we’re going isn’t what you’d call developed, so there may be some kind of rough internet connection, but there may not be.” I feel him drop a kiss to my forehead. “I’ll do what I can though. That’s not a line or a shitty excuse. It’s just the way the job goes…” He trails off, and for a moment, I think he isn’t going to say anything further, but then he continues, “It’s also why I tried to stay away from you for so long.”
“I understand.” It’s devastating, but I do get it. It is worth it to have a part of him that I’ll always be able to keep. No matter how long he’s away.
“You sure? I don’t want to hurt you, Liv. That’s the last thing I want.”
I turn so that I’m facing him. “Trust me, I do.” I reach up to kiss him. “I don’t want you to worry about me while you’re gone. The most important thing is that you stay safe.”
His eyes turn serious as I look down at him. “I’m gonna miss you.”
My heart squeezes painfully in my chest. “You haven’t been here long enough to miss me.”
A ghost of a smile crosses his handsome face. “Last night changed that.”
I open my mouth to reply, but I’m interrupted by the sound of my cell phone going off on the nightstand beside me. I check and find a text from Jack asking if I knew where Ben went last night.
“What time is it?” Ben asks.
“Little after seven.”
“I promised Mom I’d have breakfast at my grandparents’ house.”
I’m grateful that my face is once again hidden in his throat because the news that our time is coming to an end makes me more upset than I’d like to admit. “Yeah,” I clear my throat, “I should be getting home before Jack sends out a search party.”
Ben kisses my forehead again before slipping out of bed. I take a moment to admire his beautiful male form as he walks to the bathroom. While he’s gone, I dress in my clothes from the night before, wincing as my sore muscles make themselves known.
I throw my hair up into a ponytail and smile in the mirror as Ben wraps his arms around me from behind.
“I’ll take you home when you’re ready.”
I force a smile on my face. “I’m ready.” Maybe if I fake it long enough, it’ll start feeling like the truth.
Ben places a hand at the small of my back as he leads me back to his truck. The sight of it throws me back to the night before and my face heats. He opens the door for me and I get in. I watch as he rounds the truck, his T-shirt and jeans do amazing things for the lines of his body. I can’t believe it took us this long to make it into bed together. If I’d known it was going to be so good, I would have found a way to get him there sooner.
“You need to stop anywhere before I drop you off?” he asks.
I swallow thickly. “No, I’m good,
thanks.”
As we get closer to my house, the sense of dread grows like a rock in my stomach. This was why I never wanted to act upon the attraction between us. What if things get weird between us? Then again, who am I kidding? Sex always complicates things.
I’m mentally kicking myself when I feel a warm touch on my hand. I look down and find Ben twining his fingers with my own. He brings our hands to his lips and kisses my fingers, and I swear, my heart skips a beat.
“Whatever is going on inside that head of yours…whatever excuses you’re trying to come up with to explain away what you’re feeling, you need to shut that shit down now. If I had more time to show you what I’m feeling, I would, but I don’t and that’s on me.” He pulls the truck in my driveway, shuts off the engine and turns to me. “I need you to trust that it meant something to me. That you mean something to me.”
I move closer, grinning at him like an idiot. “You mean something to me, too.”
He full-on smiles at this, his eyes running across my face, almost as if he’s trying to commit it to memory. “First chance I get when I get back, I’ll find you.” He looks out the windshield for a moment before returning his gaze to mine. “I shouldn’t tell you to wait for me, Liv, but I’m a selfish bastard so I hope you will.”
The next nine months are going to be hell on earth, but what I have to deal with is nothing compared to the dangers he’s going to face. I don’t know how he does it, and goes back again and again. Just watching him leave and knowing he may not return causes tears to spring to my eyes. I fight to keep my voice from cracking. “You remember what I said, Benjamin Hart. You stay safe. Or else.”
“I will, I promise.” He spares me a quick kiss. “C’mon, I’ll walk you to your door.”
Each step down the walkway to my small house makes the yawning chasm inside my chest crack open a little more. How am I supposed to say goodbye when we’ve barely said hello?
Warrior (First to Fight #1) Page 3