by May Sage
His amber eyes had stayed fixed on his hand through the shocking speech, but he glanced at her briefly, and she saw how bright they shone.
She believed him. Everything he’d just say was true - and that was baaaaaad for her poor little battered heart.
“I was using her; I didn’t see it then. But I was, and I’m only glad she was using me, too. Jennifer was also seeing her boss - and who knows how many others. I’m not into half-assed relationships, Piper.”
The way he said her name - like he was caressing it, stroking it - was enough to make her shiver, if his words hadn’t already done the trick.
“Anyway, I’m done playing around. The next woman in my life will be vetted quite carefully, as I intend to keep her,” he told her, now looking right at her.
“Oh. Good to know.”
She was in deep, deep shit.
Bennet
Ben offered to drop Piper and Maya off after work, because he was apparently a fucking masochist.
Maya was singing and skipping, Piper looked like she was on cloud nine, too - and he managed to fake it, until he’d waved goodbye.
Then, he turned into a grumpy git. So much, in fact, that he admitted to deserving the Ebenezer nickname. He was pretty sure he’d grumbled something close to Bah-Humbug a time or two since his mother had served dinner.
He’d gone to see his parents, somehow thinking that having some company might lift his mood - total fail.
Why the heck had he given them tickets to go as far as possible from New York City? He was stupid.
“Son, if you don’t stop grumbling, I’m going to have to call Devon over and check if there’s something wrong with you,” his father told him sometime between entrees.
“I’m perfectly fine,” he lied.
He wasn’t - but Devon couldn’t fix his problem. No one could.
“Come on, son. Spell it out. You wouldn’t have come here unless you want to talk about whatever’s itching your butt crack.”
Arthur McFinnley always had a way with words.
“It’s about Piper,” his mother said. “She called to say she was going away, remember? Well, I think your son isn’t happy about the prospect of spending Christmas without her - and little Maya of course.”
“How do you fucking do it!” he almost shouted, flabagasted. “You always know everything.”
“Well, for one, I raised you. Secondly, you’re a man - that makes you easy to read, and a little predictable, too.”
Oh, well then.
“Wait a minute,” Arthur interrupted, turning to him, “You have a thing for little Piper?”
Ben nodded; might as well admit to it.
His old man broke into a grin that made it all the way to his eyes, “Good taste, boy! And she likes you, hm?”
“Well, I’m not certain…”
“Nonsense,” Wendy snorted. “She’s besotted, I can hear it in her voice.”
“Good, good. You treat that girl right, son! She’s a good woman - hard working, and pretty as a button. And she’s had a rough time, with her parents being complete idiots.”
That surprised him.
“I thought Frederick Stone was a friend of yours?”
“Until he cast out his pregnant daughter. You really think I’d stay friends with a man capable of doing that? If he cares about image more than family, I’m well rid of him.”
Ben didn’t think it was possible for him to admire his boisterous, larger than life father - a man of seventy, who still looked handsome and much younger than he was - more than he already did, but he went and did just that.
“So, you look like someone killed your dog because your woman is away?”
Damn if that didn’t make him sound pathetic - especially since the woman in question wasn’t even officially his; but regardless, he couldn’t stop feeling like… he was spending the Christmas Holiday away from his family.
Which didn’t make sense.
But somehow, he didn’t care. He closed his eyes, and saw two pairs of dancing green eyes, two smiles beckoning him.
“I only have one question, son.”
He turned to his father, who was shaking his head.
“What are you doing here?”
Ben slept at his parents, and they exchanged gifts on Christmas Eve’s morning; because frankly, what difference did twenty-four hours make for three adults? They ate a heavy brunch, after which he headed home, and packed in a hurry, grabbing the presents first, and then, whatever winter clothes he found at hand - just ignoring the obnoxious Christmas sweater his mother had knit for him. His flight was leaving shortly.
When he made it to Fairbanks, it was dark, and cold.
Fucking cold. It hit him brutally, cruelly, and he lied to himself, pretending that it would somehow get better, but every passing second was pure agony.
Ben hadn’t exactly though out his plan. He was wearing a woolen jacket over his suit; in New York City, he would have been comfortably warm in it, so he’d thought it suitable for his trip. He’d been wrong. So, fucking wrong. Daydreaming about the dreadful Christmas jumper, which, for all its offensive colors, was also warm and thick, he forced himself to walk to the taxi he’d booked at the baggage claim - he almost fell four times in the hundred and fifty feet separating him from the cars, as the sidewalks and roads were covered in ice and snow.
Hell. This was hell, all frozen over.
“And they wanted to come here?” he cursed out loud, wondering why the fuck his girls couldn’t just want to go to the Bahamas like everyone else.
The taxi drove way to quick on the icy roads, and made it to North Pole in less than fifteen minutes.
“Here we are, sir,” the jovial gentleman driving him announced, and Ben looked at the window, confused. There was no house in sight.
“Where?”
“That’s the address you gave me,” the man said, pointing to a house at the top of a hill covered in snow.
“You can’t drive up there?”
“No can do, man, the driveway’s not clear; there’s a good three feet of snow. I have a good car, but it wouldn’t make it.”
Ben counted to ten, slowly. It wasn’t the man’s fault, and he couldn’t do a thing about it.
“Right. Well, wish me luck then.”
“In that get up? You’ll need more than luck, man. Wait a minute.”
The driver got out, and went to grab something from the trunk, along with his suitcase.
“Here you go. That’s an old coat of mine- I’ll let you have it. And Merry Christmas to you, pal!”
“Thanks,” he said, putting it on gratefully.
And on that note, the taxi was pulling away, leaving him at the bottom of a mile-long hill.
Fuck.
Piper
Maya was going to crash any minute now; hard. After playing in the snow most of the morning, visiting Santa’s house in the afternoon, she’d been hyper, jumping like she was fitted with a spring.
She’d managed to get a fire going, following the directions the owner had given her, and they had a hot chocolate brewed, as well as marshmallows at the ready.
In short, it was absolutely amazing. Almost perfect, in fact. The only thing missing was…
The knock at the door surprised her, as the owner of the cottage had left less than an hour ago; he’d come to offer to clear her drive in the morning, and to bring a huge pot of something that smelled absolutely heavenly.
Piper supposed it was the way people acted outside of New York City: nicely. That was weird, but welcome, as the alternative would have been busting her ass in the kitchen - she’d have enough to prepare the next day.
As it was dark out - although it couldn’t be much past five o’clock - she cautioned Maya to stay back, before making it to the heavy wooden door, wishing there was a peephole.
“Yes?” she asked, not seeing the man at first.
When she did, she gasped in shock, bringing a hand to her mouth, before giving into her instinct and jumping to
hug him.
Bennet’s hands circled her, and he squeezed her hard, saying, “Yeah, worth it,” so low she thought he might have just been talking to himself.
She couldn’t believe her eyes. He was really here.
“Who’s there, Mama?”
“Who do you think, Honey Bee?” he asked, making her chuckle against his chest.
“Ben!” Maya screamed, and footsteps approached at high speed.
“Gorgeous,” Bennet whispered against her ear, “I’m really enjoying this welcome, but I’m also freezing my nuts off out here.”
She laughed, letting him go, and grabbing his suitcase from his frozen hand, just in time for Maya to arrive and jump into another hug.
Like mother, like daughter, apparently.
“I can’t believe you’re here! Mama said you had to spend your Christmas with your family. Come in, because there’s a fire and hot chocolate, and marshmallows too.”
“You got me at fire,” he admitted.
Piper could see why: his trousers were covered in snow. They’d been lucky the night before, as the owner had cleared their driveway for them, but by morning, there had been enough snow for Maya to be covered up to the neck.
She followed Ben to the foyer, and went to drop his suitcase in the master suite, next to hers, before hurrying back.
He’d converged on the fire, presenting his hands up to the flames.
“You need to get rid of the clothes, they’re all wet,” she told him, and he just smiled.
“In a minute. I want to enjoy this first.”
Without warning, he shifted Maya to his left arm, and pulled her into a hug.
“There - warmth, and the two most beautiful women I know of. What else could a man want, hey?”
She was pretty sure she died a little.
Ben got into a pair of pants and a long sleeve white t-shirt, which was transparent enough for her to see the outline of a sleeve tattoo; because the guy didn’t have enough sexy points, apparently.
Catching her glance, he winked, and pulled the sleeve up, high enough for her to see the graphics. She was pretty sure she heard her pussy whimper - she definitely felt it clench.
Okay, so he might very well be another chapter in the Piper Stone book of mistakes, but he was one she was more than ready to make.
Besides, recalling that hug, what he’d said, there was a chance…
No. She wouldn’t go there. Not that soon. That would just be silly. Right?
They played monopoly, and they both cheated artfully as to let Maya win; then, the girl climbed on his lap and he read her the Christmas story she’d bought earlier. Watching them interact, Piper’s heart fluttered and she couldn’t stop the little voice in her head from whispering that no; it wasn’t silly at all to think Bennet might become part of their little family. It already looked like he was.
She hid the tear running down her cheek, yet again cursing herself for staying with a man who didn’t read to her girl, and who didn’t know she took ballet lessons - let alone remember what day they took place. Society taught that a family wasn’t happy, or whole, unless both of a child’s parents were involved and together, through it all. People admired parents who stayed together for their kids, despite their differences; but in Piper’s experience, her family had started to heal and feel whole the moment John had walked out.
Now…it was growing, expanding- allowing room for a role that had never been filled before.
It was scary as fuck, because Piper could already see how much it would hurt Maya if this was taken from her. The child hadn’t even blinked when she’d told her John was gone, but there was no doubt in her mind that losing her Ebenezer would break her little heart.
Was it worth the risk?
They ate the cheese, potato and bacon casserole the owners had brought them, followed by Christmas cookies Bennet’s mother had sent; Maya was trying her damnedest to stay awake, but Piper saw her yawn, and rub her eyes with the back of her little hands - still, she let her stay up, unwilling to take a second of this magic night away from her.
Eventually, her girl fell asleep on Bennet’s lap.
“Where’s her room?”
Piper blushed, recalling the issue of the sleeping arrangement. In truth, she should offer to sleep with Maya, and leave him the spare bedroom.
Reluctantly, she opened her mouth to do just that.
“There’s only two bedrooms here- hers just has a little single bed. I’d say she could sleep with me, and we could leave you that bed, but your feet might be hanging out…”
Bennet’s eyes drifted to hers, and flashed. He didn’t reply directly, simply repeating, “Where’s her room, Piper?”
Oh. Well, okay then.
She led the way and did her best to control her watery eyes as Bennet tucked her in, before dropping a kiss at the top of her head, and whispering, “Good night, Honey Bee.”
The man either had a lot of babysitting experience under his belt, or he was a natural at the whole children thing. Piper tiptoed inside to also kiss Maya, and they shut the door on their way out.
It barely made any noise, the sound discreet as it closed, and yet it seemed to reverberate in the entire house, marking a definite end to the PG part of the day. There was no impressionable child to think of now. Maya slept like a hibernating bear any given day; after such an exhausting one, she wouldn’t emerge until eight, earliest.
Of course, she might have a nightmare, or a pressing need to use the toilet. Piper bit her lip, trying to reconcile her desires and the parental concerns that never disappeared.
“Sorry, but I need to do this.”
She lifted her eyes to Bennet, just in time to catch his fervent gaze – then, he was circling her waist, and taking her lips under his, stopping all train of thought.
Bennet
He hadn’t expected this.
Ben was a man of thirty-two with plenty of experience with the fair sex; he knew what a kiss was supposed to feel like. It was pleasant and given enough time, arousing, too.
What was happening right now didn’t qualify. From the moment his lips touched hers, everything around them disappeared, obliterated by her. Doubts, questions, uncertainty. There was no such thing.
Her arms lifted, and one of her hands hooked on his hair, scratching his skull, as the other one pulled his neck closer, deeper. Then, she moaned his name, and all was lost. He pulled her up and she wrapped her legs around his torso like they’d done it a thousand times.
He moved his lips to her throat, inhaling her scent and dropping soft kisses along her delightful skin.
“Oh god,” she moaned, as he walked away from Maya’s room, conscious of the noises they were making.
He was retracing his steps, turning towards the lounge, but Piper pointed the other way, shakily explaining, “Bedroom. The bedroom is on the left.”
That made him stop. He hadn’t expected this; not yet. She didn’t hide her concerns, always looking worried after they exchanged heated looks, and he understood why. He’d come to see them because he’d wanted to be there on Christmas morning, to see Maya open her presents, and yes, making out with Piper had been an incentive.
“Are you sure?”
He didn’t want her to regret anything; messing up what they had by jumping each other too quickly was unacceptable… but he prayed she say yes. He prayed Piper wanted, and needed, him half as much as he did her.
“I’m sure I might combust if you don’t take me within the next five minutes.”
And then, she pushed up so her mouth reached his face, and she aimed for his earlobe, biting it playfully.
Fuck. What the hell was that? His already hard cock throbbed against his pants, trying to break free – he breathed in hard between his teeth as the vixen carried on licking, biting and sucking along his neck.
He’d never moved so fast, getting into the master bedroom, and throwing her on the bed, which somehow made her giggle. Ben then turned to close and lock the bedroom, glaring at her
. Then he slowly crawled to join her, stopping when he’d reached her long, silky legs.
“This was uncalled for, Ms. Stone.” He punctuated that with a playful slap against her hips that made her chuckle louder. “You did it intending to drive me to madness, didn’t you?”
The woman stuck her tongue out.
“That’s what I thought. My turn.”
On that note, he hooked his hands at the top of her trousers, careful to take any fabric he felt with it, and he pulled it all down her legs. Then, he dived in, sucking at her clit without so much as a preamble.
Her initial cry was muffled; it was his turn to chuckle when he glanced up to find her biting at a pillow. Under other circumstances, he would have told her to remove it, but as Maya was on the other side of the house, he’d allow it.
Ben was content to lap at her with abandon, licking, kissing, sucking; he might have done it until the end of time, if she hadn’t removed the pillow from her mouth and shamelessly begged, “Please Bennet, I need you inside me now.”
Fuck. He almost embarrassed himself, coming in his pants there on the spot.
Ben didn’t obey right then, torturing her a little more, and pushing a finger inside her tight, sleek entrance, but eventually he didn’t have another choice; he had to take her. Removing his trousers, he climbed up to her, and took her lips again, briefly, softly, before whispering, “No regrets?”
She nodded, her eyes shining as he slowly glided inside her.
“Fuuucking hell,” he croaked; her walls were squeezing him so hard his balls tightened, ready to blow.
It took some time. He had to coax her to loosen her folds, slowly retracting his hips and pushing them back in, caressing her clit; she was wet as fuck, but so tight.
“How on earth did you push a kid through that keyhole?”