“Only because I’m not giving you the chance.”
He caught her mouth before she could respond, kissing her hard. When she started to tremble, her breaths quickening, nails digging into the bunched muscles in his arms, he started working his way down her body, rubbing heated kisses across her skin as he stripped her of her tank and panties. Then he settled between her legs and pushed them wide, his beautifully shaped mouth only inches from her sex.
“I love looking at you like this,” he groaned, using his thumbs to separate her thick folds. “Your pink little cunt is already all slippery and swollen, dripping like a ripe peach. You are so fucking beautiful, Reese.” Then he buried his face between her legs, eating at her like he was starved. She shivered, arching, so turned on she felt lit up. On fire. Glowing like a star in the midnight sky, pulsing with energy and heat.
“Ben,” she gasped, her voice breaking. “I need you!”
Lifting his head, he wiped his wet mouth on his shoulder and grinned. “Good, because I need the hell out of you.”
“Then get inside me. I don’t want to wait,” she said, compelled by some overwhelming sense of urgency, as if this was her last chance to hold him inside her. “I mean it. I want you now.”
“Not yet.” Lowering his head again, he lapped his tongue over her opening, collecting the moisture, and she could feel him smile. “If we’re doing this, I need to make sure you’re ready. You need to be really wet for what I have in mind.”
“Oh, God,” she cried, fisting her hands in the sheets. “Trust me, I’m ready!”
“You’re getting close,” he murmured, dragging his teeth over the swollen knot of nerves at the top of her sex. Then he gave a voluptuous lick from that hard little knot all the way down to her vulva, his lips moving against her slick, slippery flesh as he said, “But I don’t want you sore tomorrow. Not after everything you’ve been through.”
She gave a throaty laugh. “I’m always sore after a night with you. But I don’t mind. It just reminds me of how good you make me feel.”
He lifted his head again, his eyes heavy and dark, firm lips wet with her juices. “Don’t ever forget it.”
She felt trapped by the intense, visceral force of his stare, unable to look away. Not that she wanted to. “I won’t,” she whispered, knowing she would be happy to keep staring at this man for the rest of her life. Just so long as he never broke her heart. But that thought had no place being in her head right now, and she shoved it away as she said, “I couldn’t ever forget the way you make me feel. I love it too much.”
Ben swallowed and clenched his jaw as he came down over her, the way she’d said that, all breathy and soft, with that dreamy look in her eyes, nearly killing him. She was shocked wide open, all her shields blasted and broken, allowing him to see right into the burning, brilliant, blinding heart of her. And, God, what a view. It undid him in a way that nothing else ever had, his goddamn heart in his throat as he dug his fingers back in her hair and growled, “I want to fuck you in the raw tonight.”
Reese’s pulse raced. “The raw?”
“No rubber,” he said, his eyes blazing. “Just you and me.”
“Oh.” She blinked, her throat quivering. “I’m not on the pill anymore.”
“I know.”
She wanted to ask how he knew, but he was already saying, “I’m clean. Healthy. I won’t come in you. I want to, but it’s too risky. I’ll pull out at the end.”
Her mind spun. “That’s still taking a risk.”
“Hell, Reese. I’ve been taking risks since the moment I first touched you. What’s one more?”
Holychrist. The way he’d just said that was the sexiest freaking thing Reese had ever heard, because she knew he was talking about his emotions. But as incredible as it was to think he might be falling as deeply as she was, she was determined to have some kind of rational discussion about the possible consequences of not using protection. “If I got pregnant, you’d say I was trying to trap you.”
His response, to her surprise, was steady and calm. “If you get pregnant, then it was meant to happen. I won’t put any blame on you.” His voice got softer. “And if it does happen, then we’ll deal with it together.”
For a moment, there was nothing but their rough, soughing breaths, and then she quietly said, “If you’re sure this is what you want, then I don’t want you to hold back this time. I want you to give me every inch.”
The look in his eyes somehow got even hotter, telling her how much he liked that idea. But there was a frown weaving its way between his dark brows as he reached down and shoved his boxers over his hips. “Let’s not push things quite that far tonight, okay? I don’t want to hurt you.” His expression tightened. “Hell, we shouldn’t even be doing this in the first place. You were hit by a fucking car yesterday.”
“And I keep telling you that I’m fine. You won’t hurt me,” she argued, knowing she could do this. That she wanted it. Needed it. “I want to know what it’s like to hold all of you inside me. Just . . . just trust me,” she pleaded, rolling her hips so that her slick folds slipped along the brutal length of his cock. He shook with a hard tremor, his expression sharp with things that were too carnal and hungry and desperate for words, and Reese knew that she had him. Reaching between them, she fisted her hand around his thick, ridged shaft, rubbing the heavy head against her entrance . . . and his control snapped so hard he flinched.
“Goddamn it!” he snarled an instant later, fisting his hand in her hair and yanking her head back, his tongue thrusting past her lips as his hips shot forward, shoving that massive cock inside her. She could feel the power building in his hard muscles as he pulled back his hips, then rammed back in, the kiss becoming something that was deliciously wild and explicit. Then he tore his mouth away with a hoarse curse and went onto his knees, pushing her legs out high at her sides, opening her right up for him. She could feel her sex pulsing as he worked himself in deeper . . . then deeper still, until she was taking as much of him as she had all the other times they’d made love.
“You’re so fucking tight and wet,” he growled, his voice slurred with the pleasure of feeling her skin-on-skin, without the barrier of latex. “Never felt anything this good in my life.”
“I love it,” she gasped, placing her hand against the center of his chest, his heartbeat thundering against her palm. “But I meant what I said. I want it all, Ben. Don’t hold back on me.”
“Christ, Reese.” He flicked her a dark, worried look, and ran his tongue over the edge of his teeth. “You’re gonna be the fucking death of me.”
“Just do it!”
They both looked down. Her fingers dug into his bulging biceps, the breathless cry of excitement on her lips nearly drowned out by his harsh, serrated growl as he stiffened, then drove those last brutal inches inside her. Her breath caught, but he didn’t stop, pushing inexorably deeper until there wasn’t a fraction of space left between them, her snug entrance stretched to its limit, pressed up tight against his groin.
“Jesus, just look at that.” He groaned deep in his chest as he ground against her, his dark shaft gleaming with her juices when he slowly started to withdraw. “You okay?”
“I’m great,” she breathed out, mesmerized by the rippling of his tight abs as he shoved back inside. She was melting into hot liquid, his rhythm gradually gaining in speed, until his hips were slamming against hers again and again, and it felt like he was hammering into the very heart of her.
“It doesn’t hurt?” he grunted, his dark eyes still shadowed with concern as he lifted his gaze.
Reese shook her head. “It’ll take some getting used to, but I love how it feels. How full I am of you.”
He made a low, rough sound, and came down over her again, wrapping his long fingers around her wrists and pulling them over her head, holding them there. Trapping them. Then he set about dismantling her reason, pumping his fever-hot body inside hers with devastating skill while his hot mouth moved to the sensitive tips of her
breasts, each hungry, suckling pull mirrored by the clenching of her sheath.
Reese had no idea how much time passed, her thoughts in a sensual haze as he pounded into her, using his magnificent cock to make her scream and writhe and beg for more. They could probably be heard all the way down on the beach, but she didn’t give a damn. All that mattered was this hard, piercing pleasure as he drove inside her, hurtling her into a shocking, explosive orgasm that burned its way through every part of her. With a low growl on his lips, he fucked her through the surreal waves of pleasure, his body moving faster . . . harder, until he finally gritted his teeth and jerked out of her. Fisting his cock in a brutal grip, he gave a guttural shout as he pumped hot, heavy streams of cum out over her stomach. Reese watched with wide, stunned eyes, completely fascinated by the beauty of such a raw, masculine act. It was the most erotic thing she’d ever seen, primal and violent and achingly intimate. His body shuddered as he braced himself on one arm, and she could feel the blistering heat of his gaze on her belly as he watched his cum slip across her skin, dripping into the dark curls on her mound.
His corded throat worked as he swallowed. “That’s so fucking sexy.”
“You’re such a guy,” she said with a soft snort.
“Damn straight,” he grunted.
She grinned, too exhausted to move as she watched him hike up his boxers and climb off the bed. He stood there at the edge of the mattress for a moment, his hot gaze seeming to drink in the sight of her, before he finally turned and headed into the bathroom. She heard the water running, and then he came back into the room, his boxers gone, a gray washcloth gripped in his hand. Kneeling on the bed, he used the cloth to clean her belly, then lower. “I could have done that,” she said drowsily.
“I know,” he grated. “But I wanted to do it for you.”
“Then in that case, I’ll just say thank you for taking such good care of me.”
His head jerked up, his mouth a hard, flat line. “You call fucking you to within an inch of your life taking good care of you?”
Hoping to ease some of his tension, Reese gave him a warm, happy look from under her lashes. “Well, there’s good and then there’s good, Sheriff Hudson.”
His chest shook with a gritty, breathless laugh as he tossed the cloth aside, then stretched out beside her. She started to roll toward him, but he was already yanking her into his arms, holding her tight, his face buried in the curve of her throat. “I just want to protect you,” he said in a low voice. “Take care of you. Make you come and laugh and smile. I can’t get enough of it.”
It was the most incredible thing anyone had ever said to her, and after the amazing day that she’d spent with him, Reese knew he meant every word.
She just didn’t know for how long.
15
BEN FELT LIKE HE’D GONE FROM HEAVEN TO HELL. THAT BLISSED-OUT state of happiness he’d found with Reese the night before was getting the shit beaten out of it in the bright light of day. When he’d opened his eyes that morning, everything that he’d said and done since he’d brought her home from the hospital had crashed down on him with staggering force, his chest so tight he could barely breathe through the panic.
It wasn’t that he felt any different. Fuck, no. He just didn’t know how to deal with what he did feel.
Despite his bone-chilling fear for her safety, yesterday had been one of the best damn days he’d ever had, and now he was reeling. He’d never let himself need something or someone this badly, and he was scared shitless by the idea of losing it. He’d do whatever it took to keep some jackass stalker from getting anywhere near her—but there were so many other things that could go wrong. She could decide she wasn’t ready for something this serious. Could open her eyes one morning and finally realize that she could do a hell of a lot better than him. That she could have any man she wanted. That she didn’t need to settle for someone who was terrified by the idea of feeling anything deeper for a woman than his driving need to fuck her.
And speaking of fucking—Ben didn’t know what the hell he’d been thinking, taking her like that without a condom. He didn’t do shit like that. Ever. But he hadn’t been able to resist the temptation. Even now, as he pounded the shit out of the punching bag that hung in his workout room, doing his best to avoid her, all he really wanted was to go and find her. To get her in his arms . . . and under his body, where he could sink back inside that hot, plush little pussy all over again, feeling her melting over his naked dick while she held him tighter than a fucking fist.
Somehow, not even the idea of her swollen and pregnant with his child was enough to scare him off. He’d been thinking about it that morning when he’d climbed out of bed, and as he’d stood there staring down at her, soaking in the way she was curled up in his sheets, all he’d felt was an intense, bone-deep satisfaction and pride at the idea of knocking her up.
Christ. If that weren’t enough to make a guy edgy, Ben didn’t know what was.
Finishing with his workout, he grabbed a shower, pulled on a pair of jeans, and padded barefoot to his home office. The first thing he saw when he sat down at his desk and pulled up his e-mail was a message from Alex. His older brother had apparently run into Connie in town, and she’d told him that Reese was staying at his house. Now Alex felt it was his God-given duty to warn Ben not to get too hung up on her. He tried not to let Alex’s shitty attitude get to him, but it wasn’t easy. Especially when he had a lot of the same bullshit already looping through his head.
An hour later, Ben was still looking over the Houghton file that Tony had sent him, when Reese came into the office, asking if he wanted any lunch, since it was already past two. He knew she’d picked up on his tension, but she hadn’t pushed for an explanation. She’d just kept herself busy talking on the phone to her sisters and working on the laptop he’d collected from her place, along with a suitcase full of clothes. After she brought him a sandwich, chips, and soda, she sat on the small loveseat under the window and ate her food, while he kept his attention on the file. The silence was awkward and thick, but he didn’t know what the fuck to say. Finally, she stopped picking at her food and moved back to her feet, her plate in one hand, her drink in the other.
“I should get back to my computer. I’ve got some classwork prep that I need to be working on,” she murmured, heading for the door.
“Reese,” he said gruffly, but she was already gone. Leaning back in his chair, Ben scrubbed his hands down his face, wondering what his problem was. He was acting like a total prick, and she didn’t deserve it. Hell, he needed to have his damn ass kicked!
Ready to go and find her, he started to move to his feet, when his phone rang. Sinking back into his chair, Ben spent nearly an hour talking to Tony, then got wrapped up looking through some more documents that the detective e-mailed over to him. He was still too bitter to really give a damn about the Houghton case, but he needed something to keep his head busy or he’d end up going ape-shit worrying about Reese’s stalker. Not to mention her accident and her trashed car and just how deeply the sexy little teacher had gotten under his skin.
By the time he was done reading over everything, the sun had set and it’d been hours since he’d seen Reese. With his jeans hanging low on his hips, Ben carried his lunch plate and empty soda can into the kitchen, then tracked her down in the dining room, where she was using the table as a desk. As she looked up from her laptop, her blue gaze lingered on his bare chest for a moment before lifting to his face, and some of the tension in his knotted muscles finally eased. He might screw up in the behavior department time and again, but there was always the chance that he could win her back with the sex. He was going to hold on to that bit of luck like a fucking lifeline.
“I’m sorry,” he grunted, knowing damn well that he owed her an apology.
She blinked at him from the far side of the table. “For what?”
He braced his shoulder against the doorjamb. “For acting like a jackass and brushing you off today.”
Sh
e gave him a tight smile. “Don’t worry, Ben. You can brush me off and I won’t crumple. I’m not as weak as everyone seems to think.”
With a wealth of meaning, he said, “I don’t think you’re weak. I know exactly how strong you are.”
“Good,” she murmured, turning an adorable shade of pink. The woman still couldn’t take a compliment to save her life.
Ben pushed away from the doorjamb and started making his way around the table. “Last night . . . things got pretty intense,” he rasped, his dark gaze locked with hers. “I think I’m still reeling a little.”
She turned in her chair to face him as he came closer, but she didn’t say anything. Just tilted her head back and watched him with those big blue eyes, looking wary and hurt and probably even a little pissed. Which was no less than he deserved.
Pulling her lower lip through her teeth, she waited until he was standing right in front of her, then asked, “Are you worried about us not using any protection last night?”
“What? No!”
A little notch formed between her brows. “Then is it my being here? Did it freak you out to wake up with me in your bed this morning?”
Ben shoved a shaky hand through his hair. “No, it’s nothing like that.”
“Then what’s wrong?”
“I don’t know,” he bit out, struggling to find the right words. “I’m just . . . I’m not good at opening up about shi— things with other people. But I want to be better at it for you. It just . . . It messes with my head, which is stupid, and I’m sorry you have to put up with my crap. But I—”
She cut him off before he could finish his rambling, pathetic explanation. “Ben, it’s okay. I’m not mad at you for feeling that way.” A small smile touched her lips. “I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to know everything about you, but not if it makes you uneasy. We can take things as slow as you want, okay?”
Reaching down, he grabbed hold of her and yanked her into his arms, his chin tipped down as he drank in the sight of her, wondering what the fuck he’d done to get this lucky. “You’re pretty incredible, you know that?” he said huskily, sliding one hand into her hair, cupping the back of her head, the other settling against the base of her spine.
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