by J. Daniels
I stand beside her, brushing my hand against hers. “It is high. I do this all the time and I still get nervous up here.” I run my finger down her arm, feeling her skin tingle against mine.
She seems completely unaffected by it and keeps her focus on the water.
How can she ignore that? How can she pretend her body doesn’t respond to my touch?
“Want me to jump with you? It isn’t so scary if you do it with someone.” I try to grab her hand, but she pulls it away from me.
“Jump, you pussies!” Tessa yells, standing on the pier and waving at us. Reed and Luke are watching in amusement and Mia laughs next to me. And it is fucking beautiful. I’d give anything to hear that laugh every day for the rest of my life.
“I love that sound,” I say, completely unashamed of my infatuation.
She looks at me with confusion. “What sound?”
“Your laugh. Your voice. Hell, all your sounds.” Her lips part slightly, and a shaky hand comes up and tucks some hair behind her ear. “I can’t get them out of my head.”
She purses her lips, dropping her gaze to the water. “Stop it, Ben.” Her voice is an intense plea, like she can’t possibly handle another word coming out of my mouth.
Which is too fucking bad, because I have a lot to say right now.
“Stop what?” I bridge the gap between us and grab her hips with such blunt force my fingertips ache. I know she likes it like that, so I don’t let her stunned look slow me down. She gasps softly as I turn her toward me. Her body is tense, fearful even, but she doesn’t try and get out of my grasp. I hold her gaze, daring her to look away from me as I continue. “Stop telling you that I want you? Stop telling you that I’ve been going mad since you walked out of my bedroom?”
I reach up and brush my thumb across her bottom lip, wanting more than anything for her to pull me into her mouth like she did the other night. I need some part of me inside her. She allows me to touch her without giving me an inch. I move closer, pulling our bodies together so that they’re perfectly aligned.
“Stop telling you that you’re so incredibly beautiful, I’m having trouble remembering my own name when you’re around me?”
She shoves against my chest, hard, causing me to stumble back a bit. “Stop it! You can’t say things like that, Ben. Do you know what that does to me?”
“I know what being around you does to me.” I grab her hand and place it against my chest, my other hand reclaiming its spot on her hip. Her eyes dart from my face to where her hand is, and I see her eyes react to the effect she has on me. “Do you feel that? That’s what you do to me. Every fucking time I’m near you.”
I can hear her heavy breathing while her eyes stay glued to her hand. I don’t say anything else. I just let her feel it. You own this part of me. Take it. The magnitude behind that admission doesn’t faze me. I don’t care how crazy it seems to be this obsessed with someone after one night together. I’ve never felt like this.
She seems hesitant but she stays right there with me, her breathing filling my ears and her fingers moving against my skin. Tentatively. Just the lightest brush of her fingertips, but I swear to Christ, she leaves burn marks on my chest. Scorching me. Branding me with her imprint. And then I see it, the very moment a memory of our past washes over her. Breaking our connection. She blinks several times, her face falling before yanking her hand away from me as if I’m the one burning her. She looks quickly from my worried face to the water, and without a second glance at me, she jumps.
“Mia!”
I move to the edge and see her disappear. I don’t waste any time before I jump in after her. My body hits the water hard, my back stinging at the awkward angle I land in. But I wasn’t concerned about form when I jumped.
As I come up to the surface, I see Mia wincing in pain as she treads water. I swim over to her and hear her gentle whines.
“Where are you hurt? Let me see.” I wrap my arm around her waist to help keep her head above water.
We are chest to chest, and I expect her to push me away but she doesn’t. She keeps her eyes down, looking at the way our bodies come together. Her hands are gripping my arms and she slides them higher, grazing my shoulders until settling around my neck. She closes her eyes as I hold her to me, the pain-stricken expression vanishing and replaced with a look of contentment. She moans as I tighten my grip on her waist, bringing us closer.
Fuck me. Yes, angel. Let your body feel it.
A minute ago, she jumped off a cliff to get the hell away from me, and now she’s making those fucking noises that drive me insane.
She whimpers, raking her teeth along her bottom lip.
I press my lips to her ear and feel her shudder in my arms. “You’re killing me, baby. Do you have any idea how badly I want to take you right here?”
I shouldn’t have spoken. I should’ve just enjoyed the moment she was giving me and let her direct what was happening.
Her eyes shoot open, tears filling them instantly, but she doesn’t look sad. She looks enraged. And I don’t know if it’s because of how blunt I was with her just now, or if she is remembering some asshole thing I did to her years ago. Hell, she could be angry at herself for letting her body take over and actually enjoying being in my company. But I don’t have time to ask before she pushes against me with the same hands that were just holding on to me like she needed my contact.
I’m frozen in place as she begins frantically swimming toward the pier.
“Mia! Hold up a second.”
I start swimming faster than I ever have, wanting, no, needing to get to her before she gets to that pier. I want her alone, especially if she is upset. But she beats me to it, and I get to the ladder as she places her feet on the wooden planks.
“Nice choke, Benjamin,” Luke jokes as I get up on the pier. “Were you trying to break your back?”
“Fuck off.” I move closer to Mia but Tessa once again puts her tiny body in between me and what I want. “Move, or I’ll toss you into the water.”
She pokes my chest with her finger aggressively. “Once again, you’re upsetting my best friend.” She leans closer to me. “What the fuck is wrong with you?” she sharply whispers her question, and I know it’s because she’s secretly pulling for me. My eyes register that no one’s heard her but me.
“I didn’t mean to.” I look down at her and then over her head. “Mia, come on. How long are you going to be pissed at me for shit I did when I was a kid? That’s not fair.”
Her head snaps in my direction, and I want to jump right in the water myself with the look she is melting me with.
“Not fair? You wanna know what’s not fair, Ben?” She steps behind Tessa, bringing us face to face. Mia towers over my sister as well, so it’s as if Tessa isn’t even between us. “It wasn’t fair the last time I came here, when you told me that I couldn’t try the rope swing because I would probably snap the branch it was tied to. It wasn’t fair the time before that, when you begged me to keep my shirt on because I would blind you if you saw me in my bathing suit.” Her eyes well up, and I want more than anything to shove Tessa off the pier and wrap my arms around Mia. “It wasn’t fair when you . . .” she bites her lip to stop the tremors and turns, her shoulders beginning to shake with her cries.
Reed comes up and wraps his arm around her shoulder, doing the consoling that I should be doing.
“Baby, please don’t cry. I was the biggest asshole back then.” I step sideways to bypass Tessa, but she moves with me like a shadow. I meet Mia’s eyes as she finally turns to look at me. “I hate that I said those things to you. I fucking hate how much I’ve hurt you. I’m so sorry, baby.” I grab Tessa and shove her into Luke. She goes willingly with a slight grunt. “Please, just hear me out.”
Mia shakes her head as she moves behind Reed, allowing him to put himself between us.
He blocks Mia entirely, and the protective vibe he’s giving off blinds me with an overwhelming urge to knock his ass out.
“I think you
’ve said enough, Ben. Why don’t you just leave her alone.”
I step closer to him and he surprisingly doesn’t step back. “Back the fuck off before I beat the shit out of you.”
I mean every word of my threat. He is out of his fucking mind if he thinks I’ll let him move in on my girl.
Luke grabs my shoulders and pulls me back. “Easy, bro. You need to calm the fuck down. Nobody needs to threaten anyone.”
“Jesus, Ben,” Tessa shrieks, wrapping her hand around my elbow. “Don’t threaten Reed. He didn’t do anything.”
“She’s mine, Reed,” I declare, loud enough so there’s no disputing what I’ve just said. Loud enough so everyone at Rocky Point is now aware who Mia belongs to. Everyone on the pier reacts to my words with the biggest eyes I’ve ever seen.
“Excuse me?” Mia wipes her face and steps in front of me. “I am not yours.”
I shrug Luke off my back. “Yes, you are. You just aren’t willing to admit it yet.”
I move toward the edge of the pier and look over my shoulder at her.
She isn’t crying anymore, the expression on her face has shifted into something I can’t decipher. I see that familiar struggle in her eyes. The way she tries to ignore how I can make her feel. And that resistance is my fucking motivation to keep pressing her. To keep pushing her to where I need her to be.
Without giving her a chance to argue with me any further, I dive into the water and begin swimming toward the drop off.
Mia is mine. And I don’t care if it takes weeks for her to realize it. Not only am I a greedy bastard when it comes to her, but I’m also determined as hell. I’ll do anything for her forgiveness. Hell, I’ll do anything for her. I see my future with her, and I’ll stop at nothing to get her there with me.
I STARE UP into his eyes as he enters me, so slowly that it is almost unbearable.
I want him to take me right now, to use my body for his pleasure, and I don’t want him to be gentle about it.
Reaching down, I grab his ass and urge him deeper, harder. But he ignores my request and shakes his head, resting his hand on my cheek.
“No,” he says, his word a breathy pant as he drives into me. “If you want me fast and hard, baby, you’re going to have to give me what I want.”
Anything. I’ll give him anything right now.
I pull my legs up, giving him deeper entry. But he doesn’t take it. He teases me with his cock and it is the greatest torment of my life.
I feel a brush along my nose, but his hand stays in place on my cheek. Confused, I ignore it and focus on him.
On the way he looks at me, his gray eyes so bright it’s almost blinding. On the way his other hand grips my ass, fingers digging into my skin.
I feel another brush and shake my head, needing him to give me what I want. I try to urge him deeper again but his will is stronger than my desire. He keeps up the long, slow drags of his cock. It’s a blissful torment that rocks me straight to my core.
“Please. I’ll give you anything,” I beg, digging my nails into his back. I feel another brush down my nose and grunt it away, not wanting anything to pull me out of this moment.
“You. I want you, pretty girl.”
I close my eyes and feel his words run through me.
He wants me, but can I give him that?
“Are you a wheal pwincess?”
Another voice enters my head, along with another brush down my nose.
I shake my head, not wanting to hear anything but the man above me. But I can’t hear him anymore. I can’t hear his soft moans. I can’t feel his skin against mine. Flesh to raw flesh. And when I open my eyes, I realize why.
My eyes focus on a tiny face that is staring at me, with wild brown hair and big gray eyes. He smiles, brushing his finger down my nose, and I don’t miss the two massive dimples that appear in his cheeks.
“I woke the pwincess.”
His little voice is husky and deep, like he’s just had his tonsils removed. He climbs up onto the bed, holding a wooden sword in his tiny grasp.
I rub my eyes and sit up a little, propping myself up on two pillows. Smiling at him, I run my finger down his nose, and he giggles the most infectious laugh I’ve ever heard. “Hi, cutie. What’s your name?”
“Nowwllaann.” He drags out his name, jabbing his sword into the bed with three enthusiastic thrusts.
I laugh. “Nolan. That’s a cool name.” I touch his sword and he holds it up in the air, swinging it around his body. I notice the dragon embroidered shirt and patterned socks he’s wearing, sensing an interest. “Did you slay all the dragons for me?”
His eyes go wide and he shifts to his knees before nodding frantically. “Daddy said I had to save the pwincess.”
Daddy? Does Ben have a kid?
“Did he? How many dragons did you slay, noble knight?”
“One Fousand!” He jumps to his feet and holds his sword above his head.
I think I’ve just met the cutest kid that’s ever existed.
I hold my hands around him in case he gets too close to the edge of the bed. “My hero. How old are you?”
“This many.” He holds up three fingers and falls to his belly, sliding off the bed and swinging his sword all around him. He stops and moves closer to me, running his finger down my nose again. “What’s your name?”
“Mia.”
“Pwincess Mia,” he corrects me with a crooked grin. “Daddy said that you might need to be kissed to wake you up.”
“Oh, you’re right. How silly of me.”
I slump back down in the bed and close my eyes, feeling the weight of a small body next to me. I try not to smile as his lips touch my cheek, prompting me to pop my eyes open.
“I see you found the princess, buddy.” Ben leans against the door frame, smiling at me with the same dimpled grin that just saved me from the dragons. “But didn’t I say that if she needed to be kissed to come get me so I could do it?”
I sit up against the headboard, pulling the covers up to my chest. I slept in a tank top and tiny shorts, and I am definitely not wearing a bra. I smash the covers to my body, suddenly feeling incredibly shy around the only man that’s ever seen me naked.
Nolan hops off the bed and walks over to him. “Can I go swinnin now?”
“Yeah, go get your bathing suit from the bag.”
“Wait,” I say, sitting up and motioning for Nolan to walk over. He quickly scrambles in front of me and smiles. “Your sword, noble knight.” I hold out my hand and he gives it to me without question. “Look down at the floor.” He does and I place the sword on his left shoulder. “I dub you, Sir Nolan, slayer of all the dragons in the kingdom.” I move the sword to the opposite shoulder. “And protector of the realm.”
He looks up at me with sheer exhilaration as I hand him back his sword. “Daddy, I’m a wheal knight!” He runs over toward Ben, jumping up and down enthusiastically.
Ben drops his smile from me to Nolan.
“I wanna go swinnin now.” He runs out of the room and Ben rustles his hair as he passes by him.
“It looks like another Kelly boy has a crush on you,” Ben states, crossing his arms over his chest.
He looks incredible in just a T-shirt and shorts, and my mind is suddenly flooded with images of the dream I was awakened from. Him above me, naked, driving me toward my pleasure at a punishing pace. I shake those thoughts out of my head and focus on him, which doesn’t help me in the slightest. The way his muscles stand out, stretching the thin material of his shirt that I want to shred to pieces, is currently making me clamp my legs together underneath the sheet.
I try to keep myself from blushing, but I feel the warmness spread across my face. “He’s so cute. I had no idea you had a son.”
“I’ve been told that we look alike, so I guess that means you think I’m cute, right?”
I look away from him with a slight smile.
“Yeah, that’s what I thought.”
I turn back just in time to see his gri
n turn cocky, and I’d like to say that it doesn’t do anything for me, but it does. Damn him and that face.
“Daddy! I wanna go swinnin.” Nolan’s tiny excited voice comes calling from the hallway.
Ben turns his head to look down the hallway, straightening up before he looks back at me. “The next time you need to be woken up, it won’t be my son kissing you, Princess Mia.” His words are a promise that I don’t want to react to, but I can’t deny the shiver that runs through me. He has all the confidence in the world that he’ll be the one to wake me up with a kiss. And I want to tell him that I’ll never let that happen, but I can’t seem to find the words.
I scramble out of bed once Ben leaves. As I’m slipping my favorite summer dress over my head, my mind begins to wander to memories of the old Ben. The boy I remember that never willingly stepped into any room I was in. The same boy that freaked out when he caught me in his.
“You wanna listen to music while we lay out?” Tessa asks as she skims the pool for bugs with the net.
“Yeah, definitely.” I stretch out on my lawn chair, shielding my eyes with my hand.
“Well don’t just lay there, goof. Go get the stereo.”
I sit up and smile. “Where is it?”
“Ben’s room. I think it’s on his desk.”
I lay back down. “Forget it. I’ll just hum to myself.”
She giggles softly. “He’s not home. Just go in there and grab it really quick. I wanna listen to my new Justin Timberlake CD.”
Okay, I can do that. He won’t even know I was in there.
“All right. Be right back.” I swing my legs off the side and stroll into the house.
I stop outside Ben’s room and hesitantly turn the handle, pushing it open. I’ve never seen the inside of his room. It’s off limits, which is fine with me. I don’t want to be in here so I’m going to make this quick. I spot the stereo on the desk and run around his bed to get to it.
“Oh!” I trip over something, falling into the desk and rattling everything on it. Including the stereo. “Oh no.” I reach for it but it’s too late, and I watch with a sick feeling as the stereo hits the hard floor. I clamp my eyes shut, but I hear the damage I’ve done. “Oh no,” I whisper.