by Daniels, J.
I press my lips to her forehead, pulling the covers up over us both. “Sleep, angel. You have me. I’m never letting you go.” And with those words to her, she finally relaxes.
Chapter Fourteen
Mia
I don’t want to open my eyes.
I don’t want to wake up and have this not be real.
I want to stay asleep for days, months, years even. Because this dream is different. This isn’t just my typical nightly fantasy that stars Benjamin Kelly bringing me to orgasm over and over. Not that those aren’t amazing. But this dream is better. Because he stayed. He is holding me like he did the first night we were together. It feels so right. So real. And I’m terrified of opening my eyes and discovering that I’m alone. That we’re still only friends. I can feel his skin against my cheek. I can smell his scent, the strong masculine pheromones that are purely Ben. Is my mind completely fucking with me right now? I shouldn’t be able to feel or smell anything. Right? My curiosity is peaked and I have to risk the disappointment I am sure to feel when I open my eyes.
I peak one, then both open, and I almost cry at the sight of him. I don’t know if I’ve ever been this happy before. Forget sleeping forever. I never want to pry my eyes away from the man that is asleep right next to me.
He’s in my bed.
It wasn’t a dream.
His breath blows across my forehead, his legs tangling with mine under the covers. It’s real. I reach up and brush my finger down his nose, seeing his lip twitch slightly. I run my finger over the tattoo that covers his shoulder, tracing over the outline of the design. It’s beautiful. The way the colors blend together, the way it stretches down his arm and over his muscles. It’s a scene of objects and quotes, but certain ones stand out. Nolan is etched on his skin in the handwriting of a child. It’s the sweetest thing, and I trace over it several times with the tip of my finger. Ben stirs underneath me as my finger runs up and over the police shield that is on his upper arm, the words Honor The Fallen in bold ink standing out on his tanned skin. I run over the words several times as my mind drifts. How many fallen men did Ben know? He doesn’t have the safest job, and the thought of him being in danger is enough to make me want to hold on to him forever and not let him out of my sight. If something happened to him… no. I can’t go there. He stirs underneath me again and the feel of his finger brushing down my nose brings my attention up to his face.
“Hey.” I press my lips to his chest and rest my chin on my hand. His eyes seem brighter in the morning, almost as if there is a light shining behind them. His hair is a bit messy and he’s rocking the perfect amount of stubble. I could get used to morning Ben. I run my finger down his nose and he catches it, bringing it to his lips.
“I like it better when you’re not trying to sneak out on me in the morning.” He rolls over onto his side, running his hand down my arm. “You looked like you were stuck in that pretty little head. What’s going on?”
I glance from his tattoo back to him. “Have you ever been shot at?” He raises his eyebrows, seemingly unprepared for that type of question. I trace over the words underneath his shield again. “I mean, your job’s really dangerous, isn’t it?”
“Sometimes. But I’ve never been put in a situation like that. Luke got shot in the leg a couple years ago.” My eyes widen and he shakes his head at my worried stare. “The bullet barely grazed his shin, but when he tells the story, he almost died. I’m pretty sure his version has gotten him laid on more than one occasion.” His hand grips my hip tightly and he pulls me against him. His eyes darken to a devious shade as I become aware of his need for me. Very aware. “Is my girl worried about me?” he asks, rolling on top of me and settling his body between my legs.
“Yes.” I wrap my legs around his waist, lifting up my pelvis to grant him access.
He enters me slowly, groaning and dropping his forehead to mine. “Don’t be.” He kisses my lips once, then once more. “Nothing could take me away from you. You’ve got me, baby. This is where I belong. Right here.” He braces himself on his hands, thrusting into me deeply. “Christ, there’s nothing like this.” His voice is strained, his eyes focused on my face, gently caressing my features as he moves inside me.
“Ben.” I reach up and stroke his cheek. The connection we share is so strong, so undeniable. I never want to break it. He’s so familiar to me. Being with Ben feels like being home. And I can’t imagine my life without this man in it. But after the summer is over, what will we have? Will it all just be how this thing between us started out? A beautiful memory that was never meant to last? I can’t imagine how difficult leaving him is going to be, so I don’t think about it. I don’t allow unwanted thoughts to pull me out of this moment with him. I just focus on him.
“Oh God. You feel so good.” I moan, lifting my mouth to his. My legs grip him tighter; my arms holding our bodies together like a taunt rubber band. I need every part of him touching me. I can’t get close enough. I’ll never get close enough.
His hips crash against mine as his hands brace my ankles on his shoulders, tilting my pelvis to that delicious angle. I reach above me and press my hands flat against the headboard, forcing him deeper. Meeting his every thrust. That familiar pull is already building in my core and I watch mesmerized by the way the muscles of his upper body contract with each thrust.
He runs his eyes down my body and settles right where he’s entering me. “Touch yourself for me,” he demands with both his tone and his eyes that are daring me to refuse him.
I slide my hand down my body and stop when my fingertips feel the hard edge of his cock sliding in and out of me. “Oh my God. I’m so wet.”
“Fucking right you are. God, Mia. I’ve never wanted anything as much as I want this. I’ll never get enough, baby.” He continues to drive into me while I rub against my soaked clit. We find a rhythm, my two fingers circling while he fucks me and I suddenly feel drugged with pleasure. At some point he wraps my legs back around his waist but I don’t even register it happening. I’m lost. Completely lost in the feel of him. Just him.
“I’m close,” I pant, seeing a sly smile form on his wet lips.
“You think I don’t know that?” He presses his thumb against my fingers and begins moving with me, directing the tempo. I reach up with my free hand and grip his neck, pulling his face down to mine. Our mouths tangle in a brutal kiss and I feel his air fill my lungs.
We are in that moment together, so completely in tune with each other that neither one of us hears the door creaking open.
“Daddy. I can’t get dis off.” Nolan’s husky voice causes me to gasp and Ben to curse under his breath. The orgasm that is about to rip my body apart quickly evaporates. I look over at Nolan, seeing a cupcake in his hand and his face covered in green icing. His big gray eyes dart between me and his father. “What arwe you doing wiff Pwincess Mia?”
I cover my face with my hand and try to contain my hysterics while Ben slides off me, keeping his back to Nolan. I pull the sheet up to my neck. “Buddy, can you go wait for me on the couch? I’ll be right there.”
But Nolan isn’t having that. Instead of leaving the room, he climbs up onto the bed, causing Ben to let out a string of muffled curse words as he tries to keep his erection hidden. My entire body is shaking with my laughter as Nolan holds the cupcake out to me, completely unaffected by his father’s struggles. “Can you take dis paper off?” His dimpled grin hits me, along with his crooked smile.
I smile back at him, taking the cupcake and pulling off the wrapper. “Are you having cupcakes for breakfast, Sir Nolan?” I guess this is my fault. I completely forgot to put all the treats away that I purchased yesterday before I stormed off to bed. But in my defense, I was more concerned with offending Ben with my tits than putting sugary snacks out of the reach of little hands.
Side note: He’s definitely not offended by my tits.
He nods quickly and takes his cupcake back. I anticipate him leaving, but no, Nolan has other plans. He crawls toward
me and wiggles between Ben and me, flopping down onto my pillow. “Were you and Daddy kissing?”
I look quickly over at Ben, seeing him sliding on his boxers underneath the covers. He winks at me, giving me the go ahead to answer how I want to answer. I turn my body toward Nolan and prop up on my hand, making sure to keep myself completely covered. “I was kissing your daddy. When two people really care about each other, they usually kiss.” My eyes meet Ben’s again. “A lot.”
He chews up his bite and takes another one. “Can we go swinnin today, Daddy? I wanna show Pwincess Mia how I can jump in da pool.” Apparently, Nolan is finished discussing anything involving kissing. My answer was either sufficient enough to satisfy his curiosity, or he is a three-year-old boy who has his priorities straight. He pops the last bit of cupcake into his mouth and reaches his finger toward Ben, running it down his nose.
Ben smiles and does the same back. “Yeah we can go swimming. But I need to take you back to Mommy’s house before dinner.”
Nolan sits up with a protesting grunt and pounds his tiny fist into Ben’s chest. “No, Daddy. I wanna stay here wiff you and Pwincess Mia.” I haven’t seen Nolan display any emotion besides pure joy, but right now, he is definitely not a happy kid.
“Don’t hit me, Nolan.” Ben’s gentle voice he always uses with him is gone and replaced with a stern fatherly tone. Even I cower a bit at it. He grabs Nolan’s fist. “If you throw a fit like that again, you aren’t going swimming. Do you understand?” Nolan nods, his face falling as if Ben had just told him that dragons don’t exist.
I reach over and run my finger down his nose. He perks up and does the same to me. “No sad faces allowed. Why don’t you go grab me and Daddy a cupcake?” He grins and scrambles off the bed, the quick tapping of his feet tapering off in the distance. “Your son just totally cock blocked you. Are you going to be okay down there?” I quickly slide off the bed, brushing over the front of his boxers.
“Not if you keep doing that I won’t be,” he warns. His hand grabs mine and he pulls the two fingers that I’d been using moments ago into his mouth, sucking on them as I stare with fascination. That has to be one of the hottest things I’ve ever seen. I think there are two types of guys. Guys that pretend they’re into eating pussy just to please the girl they’re with, and guys that crave it like it’s their favorite food on the menu. Ben is definitely the latter. He slips out of the bedroom with a cocky grin and returns moments later in his swimsuit.
I dress as fast as I can, hearing Nolan’s feet and animated voice coming down the hallway. I have just secured my bikini top, batting away Ben’s naughty fingers, when he comes in carrying two bright green frosted cupcakes. “Pwincess Mia! I can jump into the pool without my fwotties!” He practically throws our cupcakes at us, his excitement uncontainable. “I’m gonna go get my bavin suit!”
“Wait a minute, buddy. It’s hanging up in the bathroom,” Ben yells after him. He turns to me and leans in, kissing my icing covered lips. “I should eat my cupcake off you.” He licks his lips, only pulling back an inch. “My girl would look good covered in icing.”
“I want to be covered in your icing,” I tease.
His jaw twitches, along with another body part I’m sure. He growls into my hair, smacking me on my ass before he goes off after Nolan.
I pick my phone up off the floor, laughing softly at the image of it getting flung off the bed in the heat of passion last night. I want to check in on my mom before I spend the day in the pool with my two favorite boys. She answers after the second ring.
“Hello?” She coughs before clearing her throat, the muffled sound coming through the phone.
I sit down on the edge of the bed, my entire body tensing up. “Mom, are you okay?” She can’t be sick, not now. Not when things are just starting to fall into place for me. God, that sounds awful. How selfish is my thinking right now?
She sniffs a few times, clearing her throat once again before replying. “Oh, I’m fine, sweetheart. It’s just a little cold.” Cough. Cough.
A little cold to my mom in her condition isn’t something to take lightly. I am suddenly feeling panicky. “How long have you had it? Do you have a fever? How’s your appetite?”
“Sweetheart, please relax. I’m fine, really. My nose started running yesterday and now I have this little tickle in my throat. That’s all. No fever. No nausea.”
“So you’re eating?” It’s very important for my mom to be able to keep her food down. She had lost so much weight when she started her treatments and we had finally gotten it back up to a healthy number a few months ago. I never want to see my mom that thin again.
“Yes, yes I’m eating. Soup mainly, but that’s good for a cold, which is what this is, Mia. I don’t want you worrying yourself to death over this. Your aunt has everything under control.”
“I can’t help it that I worry, Mom. You know that.”
She sighs, clearing her throat again. “Yes, I know. But I’m still the parent here, and if I say that I don’t want you to worry, then you need to listen to me. Now tell me, is the weather as miserable there as it is here? It’s so hot outside right now that you can’t even breathe. And don’t get me started on the damn sand fleas.”
Sand fleas. I don’t miss those. They are everywhere in Georgia when the weather gets hot. These tiny little nats that will bite you and make your life miserable. “It is really hot, but you know I’ve always loved Alabama summers. The air is just better here or something, I don’t know. I’m getting ready to get in the pool now.”
She sniffs again. “Oh, well, why are you wasting your time talking to me? Go have fun, sweetheart.”
“I’m not wasting my time. I just wanted to see how you were doing.”
“I’m doing great besides this tiny little cold. So please go swim some laps for me. Maybe by next summer we’ll be able to go to the pool on base together like we used to.”
I stand up and smile. “Absolutely. You’ll be so strong by then, Mom. I love you.”
“Love you too.”
She will be stronger by next summer. I can’t wait to see my mom doing everything she used to do. But with that joy comes the heart wrenching sadness of realizing that I’ll be with her in Georgia and not here with Ben. Life can be a total bitch sometimes. No, fuck that. I’m not going to let anything ruin my day or the rest of my time here. After brushing my teeth and pulling my hair up into a bun, I walk outside to the pool.
“Pwincess Mia! Watch dis!” Nolan is standing on the edge at the deep end while Ben stands a few feet in front of him in the water. I walk around and watch him with excitement. He squats down ever so slightly before jumping off the side and splashing into the water. He goes under and pops back up after a few seconds, prompting Ben to grab him.
I clap for him and sit down on the edge. “That was awesome. You’re such a big boy doing that without floaties. I don’t even know if I’m brave enough to do that.”
Ben moves closer to me in the water, holding Nolan out in front of him so he can splash around. He turns his body, putting himself between me and Nolan. His eyes do that shift from sweet to mischievous that he seems to do better than anyone as he rakes over my body. “You better hurry up and put that body of yours under the water before I do very inappropriate things to you in front of my son.” I give him a disapproving smirk. He wouldn’t dare. He leans in and nips at my bottom lip, sending a chill up my back in the sweltering heat. “I’m completely serious,” he warns with a smolder that I feel in places he is only familiar with.
“Well I’d hate to see you put those handcuffs to use if I choose to disobey orders, Officer Kelly.” I shoot him a teasing look as I slide into the water. It’s warm but still cools my body off instantly.
He brushes his lips against my ear. “You’ll be in my handcuffs soon enough. Disobeying me has nothing to do with that.” Good God. I was completely kidding, but given the look Ben’s currently giving me, he definitely isn’t. And I am down with whatever ways he wants to use
them on me. He backs away from me and holds Nolan out in front of him. “Show Princess Mia how you can swim, buddy.”
I hold out my hands to him, backing up to the wall. His little legs kick as hard as they can, splashing Ben in the process as he slaps his arms against the water. It takes him a little while, but he finally makes it to me with the biggest dimpled grin on his face. “You’re like a little fish.” I wrap him up in my arms and he immediately draws me closer into a hug. He buries his face into my neck, holding on to me with all of his strength. “You give good hugs, Sir Nolan.”
“I wove you,” his husky little voice declares.
I lock eyes with Ben who is watching us intently. “I love you too,” I vow, never drifting from Ben’s eyes. His lips part slightly as he moves closer to us. Strong arms find my waist under the water and he pulls the two of us against his chest. And we stay like that for as long as Nolan allows, Ben and I stealing kisses above Nolan’s head. It’s the best time I’ve ever had in that pool. A perfect day with my two favorite Kelly boys.
Chapter Fifteen
Ben
I’ve never heard my son say I love you to anyone besides me. Not even to my family, and I knew he loved them. He was crazy about my parents and my sister. And I’m sure he loved his mom because all three-year-olds loved their parents no matter how shitty they were to them. But he’s never said those words to her in front of me. Like the nose thing, those three words were something that he and I shared. Something that he kept between the two of us. Until he met Mia. And I can’t blame him for loving her. She was incredibly easy to love. Hearing him say it to her hit me right in my soul. It was the same way I felt when he said it to me. Like I’d just been given this amazing gift. And he meant it. My son is brutally honest with his feelings. He’ll tell you exactly how he feels and he won’t sugar coat it. He didn’t hesitate in the slightest either. His words were strong and steady, just like I knew mine would be when she eventually heard them.