by Mae Harden
Ben drops his chin, giving me a just-try-it face. "I could never live it down if my mother found out I let you pay for our first date. She'd have her entire church congregation shaming me for years."
I open my mouth to argue, but then I realize this is our first date. How did I miss that?! "I can't believe you tricked me into going on a date without having to actually ask me," I say. Ben grins at me, looking very proud of himself.
"You're sneaky as hell," I mutter. He might be sneaky but I'm not mad at it. "You're lucky this is the single greatest date I've ever been on," I tell him, pursing my lips. Ben reaches over and pulls me into his lap, threading his hands through the hair at the back of my head and kissing me deeply. It's long and slow and I can still taste the chocolate cake we shared. He kisses me like we have all the time in the world.
He smiles against my lips. "Me too."
***
I'm brushing my teeth in Ben's bathroom when I remember I was supposed to ask my brothers about that broken part on my Jeep. I blame Ben. He distracted me with dinner and sex, and now it's gotten way too late to call one of them. Well, Lukas might be up, but I don't want to take the chance of interrupting him if he's "entertaining" a woman. I shudder as I spit the toothpaste out in the sink and rinse. First thing tomorrow, I'll deal with it, I promise myself.
Ben steals in behind me as I straighten up and watches me as I wipe a tiny fleck of toothpaste from the corner of my mouth. He pulls my hair to the side, placing a little kiss at the juncture of my neck and shoulder. His eyes hold mine and there's something so powerful in the way he watches me.
Our rendezvous in the bathroom might have taken the edge off for a while, but judging from the look in Ben's eyes, it certainly hasn't kept him satisfied for long. I watch his face in the mirror as he slides his hands around my waist.
"How do you do that?" I ask quietly.
"Do what?" he asks, nuzzling the shell of my ear with his nose.
"When you look at me like that... you make me feel like you really see me."
Ben smiles against my neck. "That's because I do see you. You're strong and beautiful. You are kind but don't let people walk all over you. You don't hold back or make yourself less just to appease anyone else. I see every inch of you."
I let out the ragged breath I've been holding in. I've never heard someone describe me like that, and holy shit, is it a turn on.
His big warm palms move over the fabric of my dress and spread over my belly, pulling me back into his firm body. He kisses my neck again and growls in approval when I rub my ass against him.
The adorable, smiling Ben that everyone else sees is giving way to the dirty-talking, possessive man that only I get to see and I fucking love it. No one would look at him and know how dark his eyes get when he tosses his glasses on the counter and reaches down the front of my dress to cup my breast. He bites my neck gently and teases the peak of my nipple. Every movement is slow and powerful, a complete turnaround from the frantic sex at the restaurant. He's controlling the pace and I'm perfectly happy to follow his lead.
His hand slips under my dress, petting my thigh and bare hip. I think about my panties, still in his pocket, and moan quietly.
"What do you want, Lilah?" he rasps.
I pause, unsure how to word this but after a beat I just spit it out. "I like it when you're in charge." I've already given him way more control sexually than I ever would have with someone else, and the more I let him take control, the more I like it. "I liked it when you told me what to do."
He nips my neck and watches me as one side of his mouth pulls up in the crooked smile I love so much. "Take your dress off." His voice is gravelly and sends a thrill running through me. I lick my lips, holding his gaze as I unzip the side zipper and lift my dress over my head.
Ben's eyes are dark with desire, "God, you are so beautiful," he murmurs next to my ear. He unhooks my bra, slowly sliding the straps down my arms and letting it fall to the floor in front of us. I'm spellbound watching our reflections. His eyes devour me as he slides a hand up to cup my breast, pinching my nipple and the sight of his masculine hands on my body is so erotic that my core clenches with need.
He winds his fingers in my hair and pulls my head back to look straight into his eyes. I'm wet beyond all reason. I can feel the heat of my arousal as it drips down my thighs and I am painfully aware of how empty my pussy is. I try to shift my weight, squeezing my thighs together to ease the ache, but it just makes my ass rub against the enormous erection straining the zipper of Ben's pants.
"Go lay on the bed," he says. His voice is quiet, laced with confidence and growling need. Sweet Jesus, I'm so turned on that my knees tremble as I cross to the bed. I do what he says, laying in the middle of the bed, naked and practically panting with excitement. He follows me and stands at the foot of the bed, watching and thinking. The streetlights filtering through the window cast just enough light to see the appreciation in his eyes.
Ben rolls his shirt sleeves up once more on each side, the muscles in his forearms flexing. I seriously wonder if I might get off just watching him adjust his cuffs.
"Touch yourself," he growls.
"What?!" I ask. Oh, I definitely heard him right, but that really wasn't what I expected.
"You heard me," he chuckles. "Show me what you do when you think about me."
Jesus Christ, my heart is hammering inside my chest. "That's..." What? I asked him to take control. I asked him to tell me what to do. I just need to grow a pair, metaphorically.
I try to control my racing pulse as I close my eyes and trail my fingertips over my ribs. I imagine Ben's hand cupping my breast, his mouth on my nipple, his hot breath across my skin, and the way he nips at my ribs as he moves down my body. Ben moans and I open my eyes. He's unzipped his pants, and he's holding his cock, sliding his hand up the length of it. Even in the dim light, I can see how hard and swollen it is. Moisture beads at the tip as he strokes himself, rolling the head in his fist.
I'm frozen, mouth hanging open as I stare, completely mesmerized at the sight of him. I've never watched a man jerk off before. Those muscles I love so much bunch in his forearm as he rotates his grip.
"Show me how wet you are." His voice is a rumbling command. My nerves have evaporated. All that's left is my desire to please him. Using two fingers, I part the lips of my pussy, showing him exactly what he wants to see before slipping them inside with a moan. I've never been this wet in my life.
"Fuck," Ben groans. "Tell me what you think about when you finger yourself."
"You," I whimper. "Your mouth on me. Your big fingers in my pussy. Mine are too small. They don't feel as good as yours," I sigh as I pump in and out.
Ben lets out a feral sound as he kneels on the bed, gripping my wrist and bringing it to his mouth. He sucks the honey off my fingers with a moan and puts them back inside me.
"Don't stop," he commands. I do as I'm told, fingering myself while he watches. The muscle in his jaw ticks as his stormy eyes flick between my face and my pussy, so slippery that my fingers are making obscenely wet sounds as I touch myself for him. I could come but I know it won’t be as good as when he does it. My fingers just aren't long enough or thick enough to fill me the way I like it.
"Ben- Ben, please..." I'm so turned on I can barely keep it together, let alone form complete sentences. "I need more."
He stands, retrieving a condom from the nightstand and rolls it up slowly before climbing over me. He pulls my fingers from my pussy and pins my hands over my head.
"Oh my god, yes," I moan as Ben uses his knee to spread my legs. He presses the fat head of his cock to my entrance and sinks into me, slowly stretching me around him until he's buried in me. He rocks in and out of me, so slowly I think he might be trying to kill me, until I'm pleading for more, faster, harder.
He drags my legs up, hooking my knees around his elbows and drills into me like precision machinery, stroking me higher and tighter as he praises me.
"God, I love your tigh
t little pussy. You feel so fucking good," he breathes against my neck. "So good. You're going to come for me. I want to feel it. Come on my dick. Now."
My orgasm spirals up as Ben strokes deeper, sweeping me along in what feels like endless pleasure. It keeps building and rolling through me as his body shakes. With one last brutal thrust, he comes inside me.
There's a loud crack and the bed lurches sideways, sending us rolling off the edge. Somehow, I land underneath him, caged in by his arms. The back of my head is cradled in one of his enormous hands, protecting me from cracking it on the floor, even as his cock is still buried balls deep inside me. We stare at each other in shock for a second as we simultaneously come to the same conclusion and start laughing.
"We broke the bed," I cackle. My laughter makes my internal muscles contract, squeezing his now overly sensitive dick. Ben scrambles off of me in self-defense and falls to the floor next to me, laughing hysterically.
Chapter 27: Ben
Once we pull ourselves together, we shift the mattress to the floor and look at the bed frame. One of the wooden joints cracked and splintered. I don't need to be a woodworker to know that sucker is completely unfixable.
"I guess we get to go bed shopping tomorrow. You can help me test out the new candidates," I say with a suggestive smile. "Do you want to go back to your house?" I honestly don't care where I sleep as long as I'm with her while I do it.
"Nah, I don't feel like getting dressed," she says. She makes a valid point; I think as I look her up and down. Keeping her naked is definitely the better plan. We pile all the pillows and blankets I have in the house on top of the mattress and make a nest. I lay down, pulling her close. Her soft curves press against me and she throws a leg over my thigh. I drift off to sleep happier and more relaxed than I've ever felt.
I wake up in the middle of the night to a strange buzzing sound. Bees? Lilah is still curled up next to me, seemingly untroubled by it, but my sleep-addled brain can't rest until I find the source.
I wake up enough to realize the sound is definitely not bees. It sounds electronic. Following the sound with my eyes, I see Lilah's purse on the floor across the room and a light shining out of it. The grogginess clears but I'm dead tired so when the buzzing stops, I close my eyes, drifting off again. I don't think more than a minute goes by before the vibrating starts back up. Worried that it could be important, I gingerly pull my arm out from under Lilah's head and stand. Grabbing her phone, I slip out of the room before looking at the caller ID.
Unknown Number.
I'm getting really sick of these people calling her phone all the time. 1:56 am. Who the fuck is making spam and telemarketing calls at this time of night? The right thing to do is ignore it and go back to bed, but I'm tired and honestly kind of pissed off. So I don't do the right thing. I swipe to answer the call, saying nothing.
Nobody answers, and I'm annoyed. I expected a robo-caller at the very least.
I hang up and turn to head back to bed, but the phone rings before I can take two steps. I answer it silently again, wishing I had just powered the damn thing down. There's nothing on the other end for endless seconds. It must be an auto-dialer that's not connected to a message or something. Whatever is going on, I can hack the phone company in the morning and figure this out before I finish my coffee.
I'm about to hang up when I hear someone breathe on the other end. My blood runs cold and I silently pray my brain is playing tricks on me. Scrunching my face up, I try to focus and pick up the soft sounds in the background. There's a slight hum and another, heavier breath.
"Hello?" I ask. My voice sounds gruff. Good, I think as there's movement on the other end of the line, a bumping sound and a male grunt.
I hold the phone out and look at it with disgust. Rage fills my senses, clouding my vision as I squeeze the phone in my fist. I am so angry my hands are shaking. I kind of wish I could punch something right now.
Placing the phone back to my ear, I growl in my most menacing voice. "Listen here, fucker. Stop calling this number or I'll rip your balls off and shove them so far up your ass you'll be tasting them for weeks."
After ending the call, I stare at the phone, willing whoever that was to call again just so I can follow through on my threat. But the phone stays dark for the next several minutes while I stand there glaring at it.
She's been getting these calls almost daily since we started seeing each other. I can't be sure, but I don't think there's been even one night where she didn't get at least one call from an unknown number. But she's never answered one in front of me.
I wonder if she knows... The more I think about it, I'm sure she doesn't. There's no way she could just ignore it and play it off so casually. Surely she would at least be rattled when the calls came through. But she just rolls her eyes and silences them, carrying on like nothing happened.
I want to wake her up. I want to talk to her right now but when I walk back into the bedroom and see her, I can't do it. Her hair is fanned over the pillow and she's sprawled out across the whole bed. Arms and legs everywhere and a soft smile tugging at her lips. She's still naked and only half covered by the blanket. She looks so peaceful. Waking her up won't solve anything. This can wait until the morning.
I shut her phone down and set it back in her bag before settling back on the mattress with her. I have to move her arms and legs to make enough room, but I'm rewarded when she sleepily nuzzles into my side.
"Love you..." she sighs, still mostly asleep.
I freeze, my heart pounding out YES-YES-YES in my chest. I don't move, praying that if I hold still enough, maybe she'll say it again.
But she doesn't. Lilah has gone boneless against me again, and the only sound is her quiet breathing. I exhale, holding her tighter to me as I press a kiss to the top of her head.
I don't know how long I lay awake like that. I breathe in her scent and try to relax, but the phone call spirals in my brain along with a list of things I need to do in the morning. Hack her phone provider, find out who has been making those calls, dig a shallow grave somewhere remote.
Not really. I can take someone down without laying a finger on them, but I suddenly get why men get violent and territorial over their women. The thought of anyone harassing or harming a single hair on Lilah's head makes my blood turn to lava.
Chapter 28: Lilah
I sleep soundly through the night. I always sleep well when I'm with Ben. I've been blaming it on the oxytocin coma he induces with countless orgasms, but when I wake up warm and cozy, tucked into his side, I can't help but think it's more than that. He's become my happy place.
I haven't had a happy place since I lost my mom and in a lot of ways, I think my last true home died with her.
My grandma loved us and took care of us when our dad left, but I don't think I ever felt completely at home, even with her. In the back of my head, there was always this nagging fear that my dad would come back and make us live with him again. That I would lose the safety and stability Gran provided.
After countless college dorms and shared apartments, I thought buying my own house would give me that home feeling. Nothing feels like home except for Ben, and I'll take a mattress on the floor any day if it means I get to be with him. He's almost too good to be true, and I have to consciously suppress the gnawing fear that I'll lose him.
I rub my chest and breathe; I'm falling for him. Shit, I'm not falling. I've fallen and I don't even know when it happened. I'm in love with him and it's not like I thought it would be. There was no bungee-cord-tied-to-a-bridge-JUMP moment. There was no leap of faith or grand gesture.
No. There are a million cocky, dimpled grins. There's a mountain of all the little, thoughtful things Ben does for me. Nights spent sleeping in the same bed and the feeling of his arms around me, his breath whispering over my hair.
Every moment adds up to this feeling in my chest, the dual sensation of my ribs squeezing the life out of me and my heart exploding with joy. This is the home I've been missing. It's no
t a house, or a place; it's just him.
Ben is completely passed out next to me, head thrown back and snoring softly. He's so adorable. I want to run my fingers through his hair and play with his curls. I have a crazy moment where I wonder if our kids would get his hair. I'd like that. Crazy, right?
I should let him sleep, I decide. If I knock out the work I need to do this morning, I can spend the rest of the day with him.
I carefully wiggle my way to freedom and find my clothes. I just need to run home and grab my laptop. I'll pop right back over, sit in his living room, get some work done, and then we can make breakfast together.
Pleased with my plan, I grab my purse and slip out his front door. I scoot across the yard and unlock my door. My house is so empty and silent. An unpleasant feeling creeps up my spine. Something feels off but I shrug it off, chalking it up to missing Ben and wanting to get back to him.
I change out of my dress, throwing on a pair of skinny jeans with a tank top and a slouchy sweater. Ben's house is basically an ice castle. I have to layer up if I'll be at his house for any length of time, not that I mind an excuse to wear my fall sweaters year-round.
I check on Frankie, make sure she has plenty of water and give her some fresh food. She doesn't require much, but I still feel guilty leaving her here while I spend the day with Ben. He's got a soft spot for her, and I bet he'd set up an extra space for her at his house if I mention it.
I pull her ball out of the corner so she can roll it around and watch her for a minute as she bops it. I grab my laptop bag from its hook by the front door and head back out, locking the door behind me.
I cross back towards Ben's house, but something catches my eye. His Jaguar looks wrong, and it takes me a second to see he has a flat. No, I realize as I get closer. He has four flat tires. Holy shit. I circle the car, frowning. The deflated rubber looks like it's pooling under the weight of his car, but that's not all. Someone keyed every single panel of Ben's car. There are long ugly gouges in the paint with shorter, diagonal and zigzag marks that look like someone was slashing it with some serious aggression.