“Want to share?” She crossed her arms behind her head.
“I imagined you on your hands and knees beneath me, your back to my front as I slid right into you.” He skimmed one hand over her knee and along her outer thigh. His eyelids lowered and his breath came harder. So did hers.
“Well then, next time I’ll let the cleaner ram her trolley into someone else and I’ll stay and play out your dream with you.”
“We could play now if you want? We did agree on an entire day.” He smoothed around to her inner thigh, his roaming touch setting her pulse fluttering below. “How sore are you?” He flicked the hem of her lacy yellow-paneled top up and exposed her midriff. Gently, he traced her belly button, his gaze on hers.
“I’m aching”—she lifted her leg and slid her toes over his crotch—“for some of this package you’ve got on the rise.”
“I also dream of seeing you ride me.” He spanned her waist, his fingertips grazing the underside of her breasts. Slowly he lifted her and straddled her across his lap. “Do you think that would be possible for us to play that dream out too?”
“You don’t even need to ask.” Wanting and prepared to fulfill all of his dreams, she leaned in and kissed him.
* * * *
“I take it that’s a yes?” Unlike his father, Ben would never take a woman by force. Which meant he needed to hear Saria’s complete agreement, no matter her actions spoke louder than words.
“Let me see.” She unbuttoned his black shirt, separated the material and pressed her mouth against his flat nipple. She sucked, and a deep coil of longing flared inside him.
“Answer me.” He pressed her head tighter to his chest. If she said no, he was sunk.
“Yes. My breasts even throb when I kiss you like this.” She razzed her teeth over the tip as he’d done to her nipples that morning. “I’m getting very wet.”
He shoved a hand under her shirt and cupped her bare breast. Damn, she’d gone out without a bra. She better be wearing panties. He popped the dome on her denim shorts, slid the zipper down and smoothed his fingertips over her satin underwear.
“I want to ride you, be underneath you, or any other position you fantasize about. If you can imagine it, I’m in.”
At her words, lust shot straight to his cock and it rose and speared into her bottom.
“Nice.” She wriggled against him. “I see you like sexy talk.”
“I like anything you have to say.” He pinched her nipple, and she pushed deeper into his hand.
“Do that again, or kiss me. Either works.”
He kissed her, ravishing her mouth as he wished to ravish the rest of her. In a heartbeat he toppled her onto the couch, dragged her shorts down her slim legs and off. “I really like these pink panties, but they have to go. All of your clothes do.”
“Yours need to as well.” On her back, she wriggled her panties off then tugged her shirt over her head. “Now, Hammers.”
“I love it when you say my name like that.” He shucked his shorts and got rid of his shirt. The setting sun’s reds and pinks coming through the wide window bathed her body. Her breasts were full, the tips hard, and his tongue tingled for another taste. Lower still, her bare mound beckoned with the ultimate prize hidden within. “I need to get my fill of you, Saria.”
“I thought you wanted me to ride you.”
“That too, but I need other things first.” Blood pounding, he lowered his head and kissed her, allowing the temptation of her mouth to consume him. Saria held a potent appeal he couldn’t resist. She was sweet, fiery, and incredibly passionate.
“I want your hands on me, everywhere.” She rubbed her chest against his and her nipples, so incredibly hard, scraped across his flesh. “I never want to forget this day.”
Neither did he. And the way she looked at him, with such longing and trust, seared his soul.
Plundering her breasts, he rolled one tip while he licked the other. He teased his teeth over her nipple then pulled it deep inside his mouth. His cock hardened further until the exquisite pressure below bordered on painful.
He kissed down her body to where her folds glistened. Definitely wet. Revealing more of her, he gripped her legs and spread them. She’d never be able to hide herself from him. “You’re so beautiful, Saria. I want to make you come, over and over.”
“Slow down.” She tangled her hands in his hair and held onto him. Her possessive grip soothed him, but slowed him down not one bit. He ducked his head and lashed her flesh. She wrapped her legs around him as she thrashed underneath. “Please, I don’t want to come without you.”
He clasped her hips then slowly moved his cock between her legs. Sliding himself along her folds, he lubricated himself with her slickness. “You want me here?”
“Yes, we’ll get to the other stuff you dream about later. Make me yours.” She clutched his butt and pulled him inside her.
“You’ll never be anyone else’s.” He kissed her, pounding hard. Her soft moans encouraged him, and he took her frantically, unable to hold back.
“Ben.” She raked his back as she cried his name.
“I’m right here.” He was lost as her inner muscles tightened and dragged him home. His thoughts flew and his release exploded violently along with hers. Deep within, he spilled himself until she’d wrung him dry.
With no strength remaining, he collapsed.
A more perfect moment, he’d never known.
She was his.
Chapter 4
Saria lay on the padded couch, Ben a delicious weight on top of her. His body was hard and packed with muscle, his shoulders and arms thick and strong. She blew gently over the light sheen of his sweat-dampened skin. “Ben, wake up.”
“Too heavy?” His voice was a mumble as he stirred.
“Yes, but in a wonderful way. I don’t want you to move.”
He eased up onto his elbows and looked into her eyes, so focused, in a way he’d never been before.
She wanted to kiss him, to make him hers forever.
“What are you thinking?” He stroked her cheek.
“That making love to you is very special.”
His cock twitched and lengthened inside her. “Say that again and we’ll soon get round two underway.”
“I want round two.” Did she ever.
“Saria.” A knock sounded on the door.
“Argh, my sister has the worst timing.” To Lydia, she yelled, “Don’t come in. I’m not decent, and neither is the sexy man lying on top of me.”
“If you’re not decent, I’m staying right here,” Lydia called back. “Dinner is served and you’re expected upstairs. That’s if you can extricate yourself from the so-called sexy man. Talk to you both soon.” She giggled and her footsteps faded away.
“We should join the others.” Ben nipped her lips. “You use the bathroom first, because if I’m in there with you, we’ll never leave the room.” He eased out of her then took her hands and helped her to her feet.
“Sure, but I expect more time with you later. You have dreams I want to explore, over and over.” She claimed a quick kiss then with an extra swing to her hips, sauntered into the bathroom. She searched the vanity’s top drawer, grabbed her wide-tooth comb and brushed out the frightful mess having fun with Ben made to her hair. She set a clip at each side, gold with a twinkling diamond, the set identical to one Lydia had too. Done, she opened the door and leaned naked against the bedroom wall. Ben wore black dress pants and a sky-blue shirt, his golden locks curling over the collar. “The bathroom’s all yours.”
“Thank you.” Rolling his shirtsleeves to the elbow, he strode past her and shut the door. From the other side, he muttered, “Make damn sure you’re dressed when I come back out, otherwise no food for you.”
“That’s hardly a threat.” She wriggled into a short white summer dress. Knotted lightly around the neck, the cotton ties tickled her back and made her feel as sexy as hell. Or that could have been the h
eated look in Ben’s blue eyes just moments ago when he’d passed her by.
Ben stepped out of the bathroom, clean-shaven and looking completely edible. She certainly wouldn’t mind taking a bite out of him. Instead, she slipped on five-inch racy-red heels and walked out of the room with her bodyguard one step behind.
“The back of that dress is quite low. One would think you’re not wearing a bra again.”
“I’m not.”
He stumbled and thumped into the wall. “Damn, I’m never going to get through dinner without laying my hands on you.”
“I don’t have panties on either, and you can lay your hands on me whenever and wherever you like.” At his fierce groan, she skipped upstairs, her heels clicking loudly across the polished wooden floors.
Liam, the eldest, sat at the head of the long oak dining table with Nico on a pillowed seat tucked in beside him. Dylan, Luke and Brigs, all dressed in slacks and dark dinner shirts, were seated along one side while Tyler and Lydia sat opposite.
Ben pulled out the chair next to Lydia for her.
“Sorry we’re late, everyone.” He took the end seat then stretched out his legs and touched this tips of his black leather shoes to hers.
“Better late than never.” Tyler raised a brow at Ben. “I also understand the difficulty of getting ready in time when there’s a distracting woman in sight.”
“Difficulty?” Lydia shoved her elbow into his arm and sent the yellow ruffles of her short dress’s scalloped neckline fluttering. “Please, you’d keep me locked in our bedroom if you could, and I’d never get to eat.”
“And therein lies the problem.”
“Excuse me, sir,” Henry dipped his head toward Tyler. “Is everyone ready to eat?”
“Yes thanks, Henry. Bring in the dishes.”
“Certainly, sir.” He clapped.
The swinging galley door opened and the wait staff swished through. They wandered around the table and set dinner plates down. The succulent aroma of pan-fried fish stacked on top of roasted sweet potato and kumara, had Saria licking her lips. Nico squealed and Liam picked up his son’s knife and fork and cut his meat for him, while across from her, Dylan and Luke thanked the servers.
Brigs frowned as he glanced at Ben. “What am I missing? What distracting woman do you have in your sight?”
“None at all.” Ben clapped Brigs on the shoulder. “As usual, you sleep too much.”
“Brigs.” Lydia plunked her elbows on the table and cleared her throat. “I have a favor to ask. Saria and I need to shop for dresses, ones I don’t want any men to see.”
“Why don’t I like the sound of this?” He bit into his fish.
“Tomorrow, I need you to keep Tyler busy while Saria and I take the chopper to the mainland. Perhaps you can take Tyler and Ben fishing. Guy stuff, you know.”
“Hold on.” Tapping his knife on the tabletop, Ben glared at Lydia. “You two aren’t going to the mainland alone.”
“Yes, we are.” Lydia reached past Saria and patted Ben’s hand. “You’re used to guarding us, but that time has come to an end. There’s no reason why Saria and I can’t shop on our own.”
Tyler growled under his breath. “I’m not sure I’m prepared for you to go it alone. Too many people were trying to kill you just last week. I can still hear the blast of gunshots in my ears.”
“Both Kern and Ladd Hyena are in jail,” Lydia countered, “and so is Mia Taita who contracted them to come after us.”
“I still don’t like it.”
“Neither do I,” Ben gritted out.
“I’m not asking either of you if you like it, but Saria and I need to move on. We have a life to live, and shopping is usually a harmless activity.” Lydia turned her sweetest smile on Brigs. “You’ll do this for me, won’t you?”
“You’re a cruel woman, but yes, I’m up for the challenge.”
“Fishing and guy stuff probably won’t cut it, Brigs,” Tyler grunted. “I’ll need a major distraction.”
Saria stabbed a cube of roasted potato with her fork and chewed. “I think Lydia’s right. It’ll be good for us to go to the mainland alone. I’m looking forward to it.”
“Great. I’ll order the chopper since it’s all settled.” Lydia passed Tyler her glass of water. “Take a drink.”
“I’ll need something stronger than that if I’m going to make it through tomorrow.” He grabbed his glass of white wine and took a hearty gulp.
“I still don’t like this.” Ben squeezed her leg under the table.
“We’ll be fine.” Saria leaned in and whispered in his ear, “It’s that codependency rearing its head again.”
“I don’t care. It doesn’t feel right having you two go off on your own.”
“That doesn’t mean it’s wrong.”
She settled back as around her, the others chatted and the conversation moved on. The wait staff continued to fill their glasses, and after the first course, they returned with dessert and set plates before them. Each held a generous slice of chocolate mud cake with fresh raspberries and cream. Delicious. After she’d finished, she wanted to lick her plate clean.
Ben polished off his dessert and she wiped a smear of cream from the corner of his lips then licked her finger. His gaze zeroed in on her mouth, his hungry thoughts blatantly clear to see.
“Would you like to take a walk after dinner?” she asked him.
“Would that walk be downstairs?”
“That’d be my preference.”
“Mine too.” He caught the back of her head, brought her closer and kissed her. “Sorry, couldn’t help myself.”
“Shoot.” Brigs’s breath whistled out. “That’s something I didn’t think I’d ever see. Are you two together?”
“Yes.” Ben frowned. “I mean no.”
“Come on, sis.” Lydia, finished with her dessert, scraped her chair back. “I want you to take a walk with me before Ben distracts you for the rest of the night. I also want to hear all the juicy details of, well, whatever you’ve been up to lately.”
Tyler and Ben both groaned. Yeah, nothing was ever off limits when they talked and the men knew it.
They wandered down the gangplank and onto the wharf. Her sister unstrapped her heels and she followed suit. Leaving their shoes next to their mooring, they stepped onto the sand still warm from the day’s heat. The breeze cooled her skin, and the frothy-tipped waves rolled into shore and splashed her feet.
“I’ve missed these kinds of moments.” Lydia linked arms with her and let out a contented sigh. “Now, tell me everything. Is Ben pushing all the right buttons?”
“Yes, but we agreed on button-pushing for one day and no more.” She cleared her throat. “I want to share something with you but you need to keep it to yourself, okay?”
“I love a secret, and I promise not to say a word.” She crossed her heart.
“Like me, Ben was a virgin.”
“No way.” Lydia’s brown eyes went wide. “I know Tyler said he’d never even seen Ben date a woman before, but I didn’t realize that meant he was into abstinence. Still, that’s kinda cool you were each other’s first. Do you know why he chose to wait?”
“He said there were bad genes in his family’s stock. He has issues, and whatever they are, I’m keener than ever to get to the bottom of them. I certainly understand he doesn’t want a relationship, and not everyone does, but I think there’s so much more to it than that.” They strolled up the sand dune and sat with the coconut trees swishing in the gentle breeze behind them. Across the darkened water, light glowed from behind the ship’s slatted blinds.
“Yes, but you two are close. If anyone can get Ben to open up, it would be you. Ah, looky there.” Lydia motioned toward the ship where Ben and Tyler emerged from the dining room and walked across to the stern. Tyler leaned against the rail then hand to his brow, peered their way. Lydia waved and checked her watch. “A whole eight minutes. Those boys are slipping.”
“My bet’s not very well since they hate not being in control.” Lydia shoved to her feet. “Time for you to have some one-on-one time with your man. See if you can’t get him to open up about those issues.”
“I’ll do my best. Thanks for the privacy.”
“Anytime, and think interrogation. Grill the man for whatever information you need.” Lydia grinned as she strolled toward Tyler, caught his hand then led him back toward the ship.
Ben jogged across, plopped down next to her and linked his hands over his raised knees. “Are you all right?”
“Never better.” She slid her hand over the back of his and rubbed a soothing circle over his knuckles. “How are you feeling?”
“Like I need more time alone with you.” He brought her hand to his lips and kissed her fingertips. “What did Lydia have to say?”
“She gave me the go ahead to interrogate you.”
“That sounds dangerous.” He watched the waves rolling in. “About what exactly?”
“Your issues.” She brushed a finger along his cheek and gently moved his gaze back to hers. “Tell me about your family. You never speak of them.”
“I don’t have any family. Raised in the foster system, remember?”
“Yes, but you must know who they are.” He had the ability to track them with such ease through his mass of contacts. “Was yours a closed case?”
“No, nothing I ever asked for was withheld from me. I requested my full file when I was thirteen and read all the damning evidence firsthand.”
“What evidence?”
“Saria, no.” He shook his head. “I’ve accepted my past and I’d rather it stay right where it is.”
“You mean controlling you?”
“Everyone who’s ever known the truth has turned away from me.” He slapped his legs and stood. “I can’t lose you too, which means this conversation is done.” He stormed along the beach and into the dark.
“Hey, you’re not allowed to run from me.” She chased after him. “Wait up, Hammers.”
Bodyguard Pursuit Page 5