Take Me Under

by Rhyannon Byrd

  “What? Of course he did.”

  “Yeah?” Alex lifted his gaze, locking his pale eyes with Ben’s. “You ever heard him?”

  He started to say yes, then realized that he couldn’t actually remember ever hearing those words coming from his father’s mouth when he’d been growing up. His old man had always been so gutted by his mother’s cheating, Ben had just assumed he was crazy about her. But had his father ever actually told her how he felt?

  Christ. Was that part of the problem right there? A piece of what had killed two marriages? The pathetic fact that a Hudson male found it impossible to open his fucking mouth and tell the woman he loved how he felt about her?

  If so, Ben didn’t want to be like that. Didn’t want to follow in either of their footsteps. He might end up making a fool of himself, but damn it, he was going to go to Reese and finally lay it all on the line, telling her everything that he should have said before.

  Slapping Alex on the shoulder, he murmured, “Thanks, man.”

  “For what?” Alex grunted, trying to play it cool.

  “For everything!” Ben called out, already heading back toward the entrance. He gave a quick wave to Brit and Mike, who were standing and drinking their coffees near the stand, but didn’t stop to talk, in too much of a hurry as he raced inside. He was moving so fast that people were actually getting out of his way, but he needed to reach Reese now, damn it. What if fucking Leighton came out of surgery professing his undying love for her? What if she decided to take the jackass back?

  No. Hell no!

  Driven by a visceral sense of urgency, Ben was practically running by the time he reached the hallway where he’d left Reese sitting in one of those god-awful chairs. But she was no longer there. After a frustrating conversation with the surgical desk, he learned that she’d gone up to the ICU with Leighton.

  When he finally found her, she was coming out of Leighton’s private room, and he was breathing so hard he sounded like he’d just run a fucking marathon.

  “Ben, what’s wrong?” she asked, shutting the door to the room behind her.

  “Nothing,” he panted. “Nothing’s wrong, baby. Just . . . just tell me that you don’t still love him.”

  Her eyes went wide. “Who? Drew?”

  He had to swallow twice before he could scrape out a response. “Yeah.”

  “Of course I don’t love him. I wanted to make sure he was okay, and to let him know that his family is on their way down, but I don’t have any feelings for him.” Her voice got softer, just like the look in her eyes. “I thought you understood that.”

  “Thank God,” he groaned, dropping to his knees before her.

  She gave him a startled, worried look. “Uh, Ben? What’s going on?”

  With his shaking hands clinging to her hips, he stared up at her precious face and said, “Reese, I’m so fucking sorry for letting you down, because I should have been there to protect you. And I’m sorry as hell for the fight that we had before I left, and for the things that I said. But I’m ready to do whatever it takes to make it up to you.” There were a few muted gasps and sighs from the hospital staff who were working in the area, overhearing every word, but he was too desperate to get it all said to care. “I just . . . I need to tell you that I want you. Forever. I want to be a couple and I want us to live together—for you to move into my house and make it ours. Not because you need protection, though I’ll always do everything I can to keep you safe. But because I want to spend every moment of every day that I can with you.”

  “Ben,” she said shakily, wiping away the tears that were spilling over her flushed cheeks. “This has been a hell of a night, and you’ve been dealing with so much. You’ll . . . you need to take some time to think, because you’ll probably feel differently once everything has started to calm—”

  “Bullshit,” he growled, cutting her off. “I’m not some ignorant kid, Reese. I know my own mind. You may drive me bat-shit crazy at times, but I love you.”

  “What?” she gasped, looking like she might pass out from shock. She blinked, those soft, pink lips trembling as she stammered, “I . . . You . . . You l-love me?”

  “Yeah,” he rasped, feeling the tremor that moved through her. “I should have told you last night, only I screwed up. But I’m telling you now. I’m fucking crazy in love with you, woman, and I want us to live together. Is that something you want, too?”

  Reese kept her watery gaze locked with Ben’s, completely undone by the stunning wealth of emotion she could see burning there. Smiling through her tears, she managed a shivery, breathless “Yes.”

  The normally quiet area immediately erupted with cheers and applause, both of them grinning like fools as Ben moved to his feet and pulled her into his arms, taking her mouth in a deep, deliciously hungry kiss that was over far too quickly for her liking. But when he put his lips against her ear, asking if she was ready to get out of there and go find a nice hotel room to hide out in with him, she couldn’t say yes fast enough.

  The local sheriff had left a Jeep in the parking lot for them to use while they were in town, and after leaving Ben’s cell phone number with the nurses in the ICU, so that they could call if there were any emergencies with Drew, Reese asked Ben if they could stop by a Target on their way to a hotel. While he stood outside the store, trying to pick out a place for them to stay using the Internet connection on his phone, Reese hurried through her mental list of things they needed, grabbing toiletries and some clean T-shirts and jeans for them to wear. Despite the horrific night she’d just been through, she couldn’t keep the silly grin off her face. She might look like the walking dead, with dark circles under her eyes, spatters of blood covering her wrinkled clothes, and raw marks around her wrists from the plastic ties—but she was happy, damn it. The happiest she’d ever been, actually. Not even the funny looks she was getting from the other Monday-morning shoppers were going to bring her down.

  When she came back outside, she gave Ben back the debit card she’d borrowed and he loaded everything into the Jeep, then drove them to a beautiful little hotel he’d found on the Gulf side of the city. They got a few interesting looks during check in, but no one said anything. And really, they were too excited to pay much attention to anyone or anything going on around them. The ride up the elevator was annoyingly crowded, full of couples getting ready to go down for breakfast, reminding her that they still hadn’t eaten. Reese was going to suggest they order some room service, knowing he must be starving, but Ben was on her the second he’d locked the hotel room door behind them and dropped the shopping bags on the floor, his strong arms holding her against his solid chest in an unbreakable hold as he did things to her mouth that probably melted a few brain cells.

  “Wait!” she gasped, when he started undoing the top button on her jeans. “Shower first.”

  “Later,” he growled, kissing the side of her neck as he pushed his hands into the back of her panties. “I want you in that bed.”

  “And we’ll get there,” she said with a soft laugh, pushing against his chest so that she could look him in the eye. “But I want to get clean first.”

  “Fine,” he muttered, obviously realizing she wasn’t going to give in. “But we shower together.”

  Less than a minute later, their clothes were strewn all over the bathroom floor, and they were standing beneath a powerful spray of hot water, the sensual scent of the body wash she’d bought filling the steamy air as they lathered each other up. Reese pressed her lips to the nicks on his face and arms from the window he’d busted through, as well as the battered knuckles he admitted he got from punching a hole in his wall . . . and then Jacobs. When she asked who that was, he told her the bizarre story about the dark-haired male he’d kept seeing on the beach, pressing gentle kisses to the raw skin on her wrists while he spoke.

  Reese had hung the bag with all the toiletries from a hook in the shower, and after they’d rinsed off the soap, they used the shampoo next. She had to be careful with the bump on the bac
k of her head, which was still tender, but it was worth any discomfort to feel clean again. As she lifted her arms over her head to rinse the suds from her hair, Ben pinched her nipples with his callused fingertips, making her shiver and moan.

  “I like showering with you,” she said breathlessly, her sex already swelling for him, going warm and wet and soft.

  “I like showering with you, too,” he offered with a wicked smile, dropping down on his knees again for the second time that morning. But instead of another stunning declaration of love, he pushed his face against her mound, which was almost even better. After nuzzling the damp curls, he lifted one of her legs over his shoulder and put his mouth on her slick, wet sex, eating at her with a hunger that was unlike anything she’d ever experienced. He’d always been an incredible lover, but there was something so much more powerful happening between them now. The sensations were sharper . . . deeper, the pleasure magnified in a way she hadn’t even known was possible. There was a new, breathtaking possessiveness in the touch of his hands and mouth that said he owned her ass . . . and it was his duty to melt her freaking mind. Not that she was complaining. God, no. She was lucky enough to be in love with a man who had the skill and equipment to make her come so hard she forgot her own name. What was there to complain about? She was just going to hold on to him as tight as she could and be grateful as hell that he’d come into her life.

  And she planned to do everything she could to make sure he felt the same. Not because she had to and was afraid of losing him. She didn’t know how it’d happened, or why she’d gotten so lucky, but Reese knew he’d meant it when he’d told her he loved her, and she had faith in him. So she wasn’t reciprocating for any other reasons than the fact that she wanted to . . . and because making him happy made her happy.

  When she’d finally caught her breath after experiencing a lush, mind-shattering orgasm, Reese blinked the drops of water from her lashes . . . and smiled down at him. She lowered her leg and gripped his broad shoulders, telling him without words that she wanted him to stand. He watched her with a dark, avid look in his eyes as she motioned for him to get his back against the tiled wall. Then she leaned up on her tiptoes and stole a quick kiss from his damp mouth, loving the way she could taste herself on him. A low moan slipped past her lips, and he gave a soft, sexy laugh.

  “Tell me about it,” he said in a low rumble. “You taste fucking incredible. I could live with my face buried in your sweet little cunt and die a happy man.”

  “That’s a lovely thought,” she whispered, slipping down to her knees, “but it’s my turn now.”

  “Reese, I’m ready to fu—” The rough words were cut off when she leaned forward and licked the flushed, heavy head of his cock . . . then started to suckle, and Ben knew those soft, plump lips were going to be the death of him. Christ. He’d been ready to blow his load the second he felt her breathe on him, and now he was too primed to hold back for long, her warm, silken mouth too perfect to resist. His back arched, hands fisted in her hair as he pumped himself over her tongue in hot, blinding bursts, knowing damn well that he’d never come so fast in his life. But he was more than ready to let her blow his mind and reduce him to putty whenever she got the urge. Which he hoped would be often.

  Gripping her under her arms, he pulled her up and against his chest, then went in for a deep, eating kiss, getting off on tasting himself in her mouth. “I’ve never done this”—his voice was like gravel—“never kissed a woman after . . . But I like the way you taste with a part of me inside you.”

  Reese didn’t like thinking about him with anyone else, but she wasn’t going to let his past stand between them. And she liked that this was something new they could share, the way his tongue kept sweeping the inside of her mouth making her toes curl. The feel of his stiff erection rising against her stomach made it no secret that he liked it, too. She couldn’t believe he was already getting hard again, but then, his recovery time was always impressive. And she knew exactly what she wanted him to do with this one.

  Breaking away from the kiss, she was panting with excitement as she stepped back and reached into the bag again. Then she pulled out the bottle of lube that she’d picked up during her little shopping spree.

  Ben’s beautiful green eyes went wide, then hot. “Fuck, Reese. Does that mean what I think it means?”

  She smiled as she laughed. “Considering how dirty your mind is, I’m pretty sure that it does.”

  It was sexy as hell, the way his breathing got a little rougher, his tough muscles bunched a little tighter under his skin. He was all leashed power and sexual, visceral hunger, just waiting for the moment when it could be set free. But instead of moving things forward, he gave a hard swallow and said, “As much as I want it, you don’t have to do this now, honey. You’ve been through enough since yesterday. It wouldn’t be—”

  She shushed him by pressing her fingers against his lips. “I know I don’t have to. But I want to. So if you want it, too—if you want me that way—then I’m telling you right now that I’m ready.”

  He ran his tongue over the edge of his teeth, his deep voice guttural and sharp. “Want you? I want you so much I want to fucking brand every part of you as mine, Reese. Do you have any idea what you’re setting yourself up for? Because I can tell you right now that I’m going to give a whole new meaning to the word possessive.”

  “I can handle that,” she murmured, staring into the dark heat of his eyes. “Just know that I feel the same way about you.”

  “I sure as hell hope so. Because no one else exists for me. No one. There’s only you.” His smoldering gaze was as sharp as a raptor’s, reading every minute shift in her expression. “You understand what I’m saying?”

  Her throat shook, chest so warm she should have glowed. “I understand.”

  “Good. Because I might drive you crazy at times, but I will always be true to you. I will not fuck around on you. That’s never even going to be on the table, because you’re the only thing in this world that I want. There’s never going to be anyone else for me.”

  Oh, God. Who would have ever thought that the notoriously badass sheriff of Moss Beach County could say such outrageously romantic things? Reese was fairly certain she’d just melted into an embarrassing puddle of blissed-out happiness on the shower floor.

  Flattening her palm against his chest, she tried to let every beautiful, breathtaking emotion she was experiencing show on her face, wanting him to see just how much he meant to her. “I love you so much, Ben.”

  “God, Reese. I love you, too.” He pulled her close and kissed the hell out of her, as if to seal the deal, then pulled back and said, “Now ask me again if I want to fuck you in the ass.”

  “Do you?” she whispered, knowing damn well that she was blushing like crazy.

  The crooked smile on his lips was pure, explicit sin. “Say the words, Reese. You know how much I love it when you talk dirty.”

  “All right,” she murmured, teasing him as she fluttered her lashes. Voice theatrically breathy, she asked, “Sheriff Hudson, sir, would you like to fuck me in the ass this morning?”

  Ben would have laughed at her playfulness, but his control was already shredded. Instead, he made a thick, serrated sound deep in his throat as he took the lube from her, set it on the shelf, and got her into position—hands braced against the tiled wall, legs shoulder-width apart, and that rosy little backside presented to him like the sweetest fucking gift he’d ever received.

  “You have the juiciest little ass,” he groaned, running his hands over the soft, pale globes. “We’re talking so fucking gorgeous, baby.”

  She snuffled a nervous, but excited-sounding snicker under her breath, then gave a high-pitched squeal of surprise when he smacked his palm against her right cheek.

  “Ben!”

  “If I remember correctly, I think you’re due quite a few of these,” he murmured silkily. “You ready for another?”

  “Oh, God,” Reese moaned, unable to believe how much she w
as enjoying this.

  “We’re going to five,” he told her, the low words husky with lust as he ran his palm over her burning skin. “And then I’m going to fuck you, sweetheart. Right in this tight little hole,” he rasped, rubbing his thumb against the sensitive opening. “Ready?”

  She swallowed, trying to find her voice, so excited she could barely stand. “Y-yes.”

  “Good girl.” Then he smacked her left cheek, and she gave a throaty cry, feeling the burn seep into her sensitive skin, spreading through every part of her. By the time he’d delivered the fifth blow, she was panting for breath, her limbs shaking, her clit throbbing with a tight, hungry pulse, body on the very cusp of crashing into an orgasm she thought might damn well knock her out. But she struggled for control, not yet ready to go over, too eager for the next step in this dark, provocative, decadent interlude.

  As she rested her damp forehead against one of her trembling arms, Reese could hear the rough cadence of Ben’s breathing. Could sense the dominant male energy pulsing from his hard, mouthwatering body, and couldn’t wait for him to take her. With one hand gripping her hip, he ran the rough palm of the other over her stinging bottom, then slipped his thumb into the crease and pressed against the tiny hole there, pushing inside. She breathed out a slow, shuddering breath, trying to relax and not fight the strangely pleasurable penetration as he kept pushing, going deeper than any of the other times he’d played with her there. She could tell he’d lubed his thumb, especially when he started working it in and out, fucking her ass with it. She was saying hoarse, shivery things under her breath, but they didn’t make any sense. Just pleading phrases for more . . . for everything.

  It wasn’t long before he pulled his thumb back, a deep, throaty sound rumbling up from his chest as she felt the heat and width of his cock head pressing against her. His body tightened, both hands digging into her hips, and then he started to push inside the clenching ring of muscle. It was the oddest sensation she’d ever known. Painful, but so deliciously good. He didn’t rush her, taking his time as he worked more of that massive shaft into her in careful degrees. One of his hands snaked around her hip, two of those clever fingers working her sensitive clit as he started working her ass with lunges that were a little rougher . . . a little faster. Reese wondered if he would come inside her or pull out, then had her answer when she could feel him getting even harder inside her. His fingers stroked her into a shocking, screaming orgasm just as it overtook him. With a sexy, guttural shout tearing from his throat, he wrapped an arm across her chest and yanked her against him, holding her off the ground as he blasted inside her, coming hard and thick and long.