Approaching the Bench

by Chantal Fernando

  “Why don’t you find out for yourself how thorough I can be?”

  He smirks and joins me on the bed, giving me a gentle kiss on the lips before trailing kisses down my jawline and neck. His hands start to wander, cupping my small breasts but groaning like they are more than a handful. I’m glad he likes them.

  “Are you on the pill?” he asks as he slides my T-shirt up and over me, leaving me in my black bra.

  “No,” I tell him. I was on it, but got off it when I wasn’t seeing anyone, because there wasn’t any point.

  “Shit,” he utters, then moves to start grabbing his jeans.

  “Where are you going?” I ask. He didn’t even take my bra off yet.

  “Nowhere. Eddie, ever the smart-ass, shoved a condom into my pocket when I was saying good-bye, but apparently the joke’s on him because we’re going to need it.”

  Does Eddie just walk around with condoms in his pockets?

  Never mind, I don’t want to know.

  “Pass it here,” I say, taking the foil packet from him and ripping it open with my teeth. I once read about how to put a condom on with my mouth, but I’ve never tried it before. Now seems like the perfect time though. I get him to lay back and hover over his thick, hard cock, then attempt to slide the latex over his length with my mouth. It takes me a few tries, but I get there and then glance up at him triumphantly.

  His lip twitches before his tongue peeks out over his bottom lip. “Come here.”

  I crawl up to him. Before I know it, I’m on my back, my clothes are off, his mouth is on mine, and his fingers are gently sliding along the slit of my pussy, his arousal pressing against my stomach.

  “You’re so tiny,” he murmurs against my lips.

  I don’t know if he means my height, or what, but I just nod and thread my fingers in his hair, bringing him closer to me. My heart is racing, and I can feel how wet and ready I am for him. There’s nowhere I’d rather be right now. He starts to kiss my neck, sucking down on it, sending shivers all over my body, goose bumps appearing on my skin. Reaching between us, I take his dick in my hands and slide it against my entrance, then lift my hips up.

  “Impatient,” he whispers, groaning as he slowly slides himself inside of me.

  I grit my teeth, my eyes closing as pleasure hits me, the feel of him inside me indescribable.

  “Look at me,” he rumbles, so I open my eyes and stare into his, pushing my hips up to meet his slow, deep thrusts. “You feel so fucking good.”

  He’s clearly chatty in bed too.

  And I’m not, so I stay silent, but I have to admit that his words turn me on even more. When he starts to play and suck on my nipples, the orgasm takes me by surprise. I moan out loud, not caring what I sound like, my back arching as I lose myself.

  In these few moments of pleasure, I’m completely free.

  Callum comes just after I’ve finished, the look on his face one I won’t be forgetting anytime soon, his green eyes filled with lust, satisfaction, and need, his lips slightly open as he gasps. He falls onto me but doesn’t squash me, the weight on his hands on either side of my body. He gives me a soft kiss, an appreciative one, and then rolls off me and pulls me with him, so my head is on his chest, his arm behind my neck.

  “That was . . .”

  “Of course you’re chatty just after sex too,” I tease, cutting him off.

  “Just trying to pay you a compliment.”

  I close my eyes and smile. “No need, Callum. I was here too. That was perfect.”

  He cleans himself up, taking care of the condom, then joins me back in bed.

  I fall asleep wrapped in his arms, my skin against his.

  I WAKE UP FEELING . . . well . . . horny again. Maybe living on the edge turns me on? I don’t know. All I do know is that I’m reaching for him, he’s hard again, and I want him to fuck me once more.

  He groans loudly, slides out of bed, and grabs his jeans.

  “Where are you going now?” I ask him, cupping my breasts with my hands.

  “To the store to get some condoms,” he says, moaning as he looks down at me. “Fuck, fuck, fuck.”

  “Hurry,” I demand.

  “Do you want anything else?” he asks, leaning over me when he’s fully dressed and giving me a sweet kiss. “Anything to eat or drink? Lube?”

  “We won’t be needing that,” I reply in a dry tone, glancing down at myself. “Just hurry back.”

  “How could I not?” he says, giving me a longer, deeper kiss before he disappears. I roll onto my stomach, getting comfortable as I hear the truck start up and then fade away. It hits me that we’re not very good at this whole witness protection thing, because we just separated when that’s probably not the smartest idea. That thought just passes my mind when I hear a knock at the door. I sit up quickly, grabbing my clothes and sliding them on, then rush to the kitchen to grab a knife. Who the hell would be knocking on the door? And why did it have to happen a minute after Callum left? Shit. Should I pretend I’m not home? I don’t even know if Callum took the new phone the cops gave us.

  “Hello?” a man calls out. “It’s me, Shaun from next door. I’m going to be feeding the animals and didn’t want to scare anyone.”

  Scare?

  Why would he say that?

  I doubt a killer would announce themselves as such, and this Shaun guy definitely has the whole country-down-south accent going on, but that could be faked. I step to the door and slide it open a tiny bit, knife in my other hand, which he can’t see.

  “Hello?” I say, trying to sound as friendly as I can considering the situation.

  The man takes off his cowboy hat and places it on his chest with his hand. “Sorry to bother you, ma’am. I’m the owners’ son, from next door, and I’ll just be tending to the animals around the property, so I didn’t want to frighten you.”

  “Thanks for letting me know,” I reply, relaxing. He seems sincere, and I don’t get any bad vibes from him at all. “And please call me Taylor. Ma’am makes me feel old.”

  His lip twitches, and he nods. “Of course, Taylor. Don’t worry, you don’t look a day over twenty-three.”

  I smile at the compliment. “Is there anything I can do to help you? I don’t really have much else to do so if I can make your day easier, don’t be shy to put me to work.”

  He looks at me like I’ve grown two heads. “No ma’—I mean Taylor. You’re on vacation; you’re not expected to help in any way. Besides, this is outdoor work. You should stay out of the sun and relax.”

  I roll my eyes at him. “A bit old-school, are you, Shaun?”

  He chuckles and shrugs his broad shoulders. He’s a classically good-looking man but has a rough edge about him. The women around here must go crazy for him. “I call it being a gentleman. I better get to work; these horses aren’t going to feed themselves. It was nice meeting you.”

  “You too, Shaun,” I say, just as Callum pulls up. Shaun looks behind him, then back to me. “Is that your fella?”

  I have no idea how to answer that, so I just ummmm and aaahhh until Callum comes to the door.

  With a box of condoms in his hand.

  No bag or anything, just the box of condoms.

  Someone kill me now.

  Could he not put them in his jean pockets? Oh, right, he’s a city slicker and has on tighter jeans than me.

  Fucking hipsters.

  “I’ll take that as a yes,” Shaun murmurs, coughing to cover up his laughter. He introduces himself to Callum and then rushes away as fast as he can. I open the door wider, for Callum to enter, and scowl at him.

  He does the same back at me, and then we both speak at the same time.

  “I leave you alone for ten minutes and you’re talking to the country version of Brad Pitt?” he says while I say, “You couldn’t hide those so the whole town doesn’t know what we’re doing?”

  He glances down and sees the knife in my hand. “Jesus Christ, what are you doing with that?”

  I shrug. “I fre
aked out when Shaun came to the door; you can’t blame me for being a little jumpy considering the circumstances.”

  Callum closes and locks the door, then takes the knife from me. “You’re right, I shouldn’t have left you alone, even for ten minutes.” He glances down at his crotch. “Wasn’t exactly thinking with the right head.”

  He puts the knife away, then pulls me into his arms.

  I release a deep breath and relax against him.

  I’m safe here.

  Everything is going to be fine.

  chapter 13

  CALLUM

  I WATCH FROM THE KITCHEN through narrowed eyes as Shaun walks around the property shirtless, muscles rippling in the sunlight. “Does he have to be half naked?”

  Trinny laughs to herself, not even bothering to hide her amusement. “Can you sit down, please? He can probably see you staring at him out the window, and today has been awkward enough already.”

  She stands up and wraps her arms around me from behind, resting her cheek on my back. “Should we head out and get the groceries or something? If I walk into that room with you I’m not going to want to leave.”

  That gets my attention. I turn around and give her a big hug. “That sounds good. Then we never have to resurface again. Maybe there’s a pizza place and we can just bring something home.”

  She stops in her room and grabs her bag. “Sounds perfect,” she says, tugging on my hand and pulling me out the front door. We can’t use any credit or bank cards with our real names on them, but we both pulled out cash before we left the city so we could buy whatever we needed with no paper trace. The cops did give us a card to use, but there’s no need for it, unless there’s an emergency. “Should we write a shopping list?”

  “Thought we were living spontaneously?” I joke, gently leading her forward with my palm on her lower back.

  “Spontaneous grocery shopping while I’m kind of hungry isn’t going to end well. We’ll be coming back here with all of aisle four, and that’s not exactly keeping a low profile.”

  “What? You think they’re going to figure out that you’re a judge who was almost kidnapped and now we’re hiding out here until the men involved are apprehended? Pretty long-winded, don’t you think?”

  She puffs out a short breath. “Well, when you put it like that.”

  I take her hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. “We’ll be fine. We won’t buy all of aisle four, maybe just half of it.”

  “Maybe I’ll make some lemonade and take it out to Shaun. It sure looked like he was working hard, by all the sweat dripping down his body.” She sniggers, trying to provoke me.

  I don’t take the bait. “Do you even know how to make fresh lemonade?”

  She pauses, and shrugs. “How hard can it be? Squeeze some lemons. Add some sugar. Ice cubes.”

  I open the car door for her and usher her inside. “Well, I guess you’ll have to make it and let Shaun be the taste tester.”

  I’m sure it will be bad, considering the woman isn’t a regular in the kitchen. When we find the small grocery store, I’m thoroughly underwhelmed.

  “They don’t even have an aisle four,” Trinny whispers to me, grabbing some fresh bread, bacon, sausages, and more eggs. “That’s breakfast sorted.”

  With the limited seafood options, I decide to scratch the gumbo and get some steak, potatoes, and salad. Trinny gets some bottled water and soda but ignores the lemons as we walk by them. The store attendants watch us curiously, probably wondering who we are, because I’d assume everyone knows who everyone is around here. We pay in cash and leave the store quickly, just wanting to get back to the farmhouse. Trinny drives home, muttering something about gender equality and me driving all the time. I never even thought about the fact I was the one always driving; I just thought I was being a gentleman. If she wants to drive though, she can go ahead. I always wanted a friend who would be a designated driver. Shaun is missing when we get back, for which I’m thankful; I don’t need him around making me look bad in front of a woman who is already out of my league. We both pack away the food, and then I finally, after what seems like the longest day in the world, get her back into my bed.

  Except then we just fall asleep.

  SHE WAKES ME UP in the very best way, with her mouth on my dick, and I’m so happy she made the first move. I hope she knows that when I say I want this, I don’t only mean for now. I have no idea what life will throw at us next, but if we happen to go back to our old routine, there’s no way I can pretend that nothing happened, nor will I allow her to return to the cold, stern woman she was when I met her. At least, she can’t be that when we walk out of those courtroom doors at the end of the day.

  “Good morning,” I say, brushing her hair off her forehead.

  I gently push her off me and back onto the bed and kiss her greedily, not easing her into it, tasting her just how I like it while my fingers caress her nipples through the material of her clothing.

  “This all needs to come off,” I tell her, lifting her up to help undress her.

  “This is the only time I’m going to listen to you,” she replies with a sultry smirk, one that I can’t help but kiss. I’d fallen asleep in just my boxer shorts, but Trinny removed those, so I’m already naked and ready for her once more.

  “I can work with that,” I whisper against her lips.

  As I lay her back down, the feel of her soft skin on mine can only be described as heavenly. I’ve always loved the feeling of skin on skin, and her breasts pressing against my chest, her pebbled nipples begging for attention, has me hardening even further. My lips slam back down on hers, my dick resting at the entrance to her pussy, but not sliding inside just yet. I can feel she’s wet, but I want her even wetter for me. I rushed our first time because I wanted her so badly, but this time I’m going to make it something to remember—after all, that’s a plus of our age difference. I kiss down her neck, nibble on her earlobe, then move toward her collarbone, sucking hard but not hard enough to leave a mark on her, although the temptation is there, the animalistic side of me wanting to mark what I want to be mine.

  “Callum,” she whispers as I go lower, my mouth now sucking on her pert nipples one by one, biting and licking, taking my time to tease her. When she starts to arch her back and squirm on the bed, I know that she likes what I’m doing to her. A soft moan leaves her lips and I kiss down her toned stomach, past her navel, pushing her thighs apart as I come face-to-face with her sweet pussy. I lick from top to bottom then slide my tongue inside her, raising it up to her clit, where I lick and suck until she’s squirming so much I have to pin her hips down to keep her in place. Her fingers tangle in my hair, and she lifts her hips up. She wants more, she wants to come, but I want her to do that when I’m inside of her. I sit back, wiping my mouth with my hand and pushing my hips forward. I’m so hard that I don’t even need to use my hand to position myself, one slight thrust and I’ll be inside of her. I’m taking my time, enjoying the view, when she lifts up again, the tip of my dick entering her.

  “Impatient,” I whisper, then moan at the feel of her. “Fuck, Trinny.”

  She’s so tight and wet, just how I remember, but I need to make this last, even though if I wanted to, I could come within a few hard strokes. Pushing forward, I slide into her all the way, then lean forward to kiss her as I start to thrust. She wraps her legs around me and lifts her hips up in time with each stroke.

  “You feel so fucking good,” I grit out against her lips, then return to kissing her. Suddenly I change my mind, wanting her to come in my mouth, so I pull out and lower my body, returning my tongue to her clit and sliding my finger inside her. It only takes a few seconds before she comes, her thighs shaking as she mumbles the word fuck over and over again. I don’t stop the pressure of my tongue on her clit, wanting to prolong her release as much as I can. When she finally relaxes against the mattress, I slide back inside of her, and she’s so wet I have to grit my teeth because it feels that fucking amazing. Wanting her to come agai
n before I do, I reach down and start to gently play with her clit, knowing how sensitive she must be right now. It takes a few minutes, but she comes again, clamping down on my cock, setting off my own release. I look into her eyes as I come, and she does the same, as we allow each other to watch the pleasure take over, sharing a most vulnerable moment.

  Both of us are breathing heavily as I bury my face into her neck and place a gentle kiss there.

  I don’t want to admit to myself just how much I like this woman and how attached I’m getting to her, because she could walk away at any point.

  Live in the moment, Callum.

  I guess future me will have to deal with the repercussions.

  chapter 14

  TRINITY

  “WHEN DID WE BECOME people who have afternoon naps?” I ask, unable to keep the laughter out of my tone. “I’m not usually one of those people, are you?”

  Callum’s head turns in my direction. “Nope. Clearly we’re getting old.”

  He’s definitely not getting old.

  We had sex twice more after the first time, and now my body has that numb, sated feeling. All I want to do is have a shower, then return to bed, maybe eat something. I can’t remember the last time I felt so relaxed.

  “We even missed sunset,” I tell him, yawning. “It would have been a pretty one from the back porch.”

  “There’s always tomorrow,” he replies, lifting the sheet up as he gets off the bed. “I should start cooking dinner, but first I’m going to have a quick shower. Do you want anything from the kitchen? Water?”

  “No, I’m okay, thanks. And steak does sound good right now,” I reply, admiring his body as he walks out of the room. I hear the shower turn on in the bathroom and roll over onto my stomach, stretching lazily.

  I slept with my law clerk.

  My younger law clerk.

  And I don’t regret it.

  I just had the best sex I’ve ever had in my life, come more times than I ever have in one session before, and have never felt more beautiful and cared for in my entire existence. I can never regret that. And I don’t want to give it up either. I don’t know how this will work, when things return to normal, but you know what? Right now, shit isn’t normal. It’s all messed up, and I’m in danger, but in between all of that, I found this.