by R. Linda
“I know. You think Ryder hasn’t given me that same speech? Or Jeremy? If I screw up, you’ll make my life hell.”
“I was going to say kill you with a smile, but whatever. Long as you know.” She turned and stomped away toward a guy who looked like he’d just stepped out of the surf, with his blond dreadlocks tied on top of his head. Must be Linc, her fiancé. I remembered how obsessed she was with him in high school.
I stood awkwardly in the middle of the dancefloor and contemplated leaving—I did have much more important matters to attend to—when Bailey waved me over.
“Hi,” I said as I approached cautiously.
“Would you like to join us?” She smiled. One look at her group of friends told me I was absolutely not welcome to sit with them.
“Umm…” I looked for an excuse. Anything to get away from there. Bailey was fine on her own. Ryder, I could deal with. But the stares from Kenzie and Indie were impossible to ignore.
Audrey rushed over to the table. Her cheeks were flushed, and she was out of breath.
“You need to take it easy, cupcake,” a guy with dark hair said as he pulled her to him. She draped her arm around his shoulders.
“Dance with me?” she asked him as she bounced on the tips of her toes excitedly. I’d never seen her this way, so happy and carefree. She was relaxed and beautiful when she smiled. I could understand at that moment why Bennett was enamoured with her.
“Bennett was doing a pretty good job at that,” the guy said and pressed a kiss to her lips. He must have been Brody, her older boyfriend.
Audrey giggled. “Yeah, he was great. Did you see him dip me?”
“I did.” Brody smiled, and I was amazed that he was so calm and at ease with how close she and Bennett were. “Why don’t you go back out there?”
“I can’t,” she said and flicked her gaze to me. “Bennett just left.”
“What? Why?” Indie asked.
Audrey shrugged. “Said something very important came up and…” She looked at me again, and I got the feeling she was subtly trying to give me a message, but that would mean she knew about Bennett and me, and that she had probably known the entire time. “He couldn’t wait any longer, or things would get explosively messy.” She screwed up her face in disgust, and I chuckled.
“What could be so important that he had to leave his own graduation early? And leave you behind?” Indie frowned.
“A chick,” Ryder and Linc answered.
“What?” Bailey asked with wide eyes.
Kenzie laughed. “He’s getting laid.”
“About fucking time.” Ryder adjusted the little pink bundle in his arms.
“You’re telling me. You haven’t had to work with him as much. Never seen a guy so wound up.” Jeremy, Kenzie’s boyfriend, nodded in agreement.
“So, Christina, you want to join us?”
“No, I need to go. I only stopped by for a minute. No one wants their teacher around, anyway.”
“Okay, next time, then.” Bailey smiled. Why was she so nice?
“Sure. Congrats again, Audrey.”
“Thanks, Ms. Brown.” She waved. A look passed between us, and I was sure she was trying to tell me something, but I couldn’t decipher it.
I rushed out to my car, noticing that Bennett’s was long gone. I assumed he would go to my place, but who really knew.
I pulled my phone out of my bag to text him when I saw I already had one waiting from him.
Bennett: Did you get my message?
Christina: Your very subtle one from Audrey. Yes. I’m on my way.
Bennett: Drive safe. Looks like it’s going to rain.
Christina: Aww, you care.
Bennett: I’ve waited ten weeks for this, Ms. Brown. I can’t wait any longer if you run your car off the road.
Bennett: Yes, I care.
Christina: See you soon.
I climbed in my car and took off toward Storm Cove.
Bennett was right. The rain started about halfway home, and by the time I pulled my car into the garage at the back of my house, it was bucketing down. I got out and stood at the edge of the garage, contemplating running across my back yard. Trust me to pick a house with a detached garage.
But then I saw Bennett standing on the bottom step in the rain.
Without giving another thought to the water pouring down around us, I ran over to him.
He met me in the middle of the yard. “What are you doing in the rain?”
“Don’t know, really. Just wanted to feel it on my face.” He tilted his face back and looked up at the sky.
I did the same thing and laughed. I felt so carefree and light right at that moment.
“We’re saturated,” I said, looking at him.
“I know.”
He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled my body flush against his. The cold from our wet clothes, mixed with the warmth of our bodies, was a wonderful feeling.
“Hi,” he whispered, dragging his nose along mine.
“Hi.” My hands threaded through his hair, and I pushed up on my toes to try to get closer to him.
Bennett’s fingers dusted over my exposed collarbones, my dress no longer hiding a lot, thanks to the rain, and down my chest, skimming over my breasts and across my ribs. They continued their slow movements until he grabbed my thighs and wrapped them around his waist.
“We should get inside out of the rain,” I said.
“Why? We’re already wet. A little more water won’t hurt.”
He had a point, but I had different ideas for what we could do inside other than drying off.
Bennett’s lips found my neck as he held me close, making their way slowly up my throat until, finally, after what felt like a lifetime, he kissed me.
Slow. Deep.
I savoured every moment. Every flick of his tongue against mine. Every stolen breath.
My body trembled from his lips alone, and I wanted him right there in my back yard. But that was crazy, right?
This moment, the build-up, the anticipation, nothing could have prepared me for the onslaught of feelings I was having for this man. This beautiful, handsome man, who came into my life when I needed him most and stayed, waited until now.
His mouth and hands worked together to torture me slowly. His hips moved against mine, and I couldn’t take it anymore. It had been too long since I last felt his arms around me. Too long since he last kissed me with so much enthusiasm and passion. Too long since I felt his skin against mine.
“Bennett,” I gasped as one of his hands worked its way under my dress.
“Yes, Ms. Brown?”
“No more screwing around. Ten weeks was long enough. What are you waiting for?”
“Just enjoying the moment.” His hand slid further under my dress, and my eyes rolled back. “Just enjoying the moment.” He skimmed his teeth across my collarbone.
“There will be plenty more moments, trust me.” I gasped. “I need you now.”
“Yes, Ms. Brown.” I almost exploded just hearing him say my name. It was such a turn-on.
Bennett held me closer as he walked up the stairs and onto my back patio, but he didn’t go inside.
“Where are you going?”
“Right here,” he breathed against my lips and set me down on my outdoor lounge. The fabric was cold and wet against my already soaked skin.
“Door is right there.” I pointed as he dropped to his knees in front of me.
“But the rain is romantic,” he said and kissed the tops of my knees, then proceeded to trail his hands down my legs to the straps of my heels.
“Hmmm. I think these can stay.”
“My shoes?” I was still stuck on the romance part. He wanted romance? I thought it was going to be so far from romantic. Rough. Fast. Hard. Anything but romantic. But I was okay with romance. Really, really okay if he kept looking at me the way he was.
“I’ve been having fantasies about them all term, Ms. Brown.” He placed a kiss on the inside of my ank
le then stood and grinned.
Ovaries exploded.
His fingers worked the buttons on his shirt, but he wasn’t fast enough. I climbed to my feet and helped him peel his shirt off at an excruciatingly slow pace. Next was his belt, then the button on his pants, and finally the zip. When he was standing in front of me in nothing but his boxers, I leaned in and licked drops of water from his chest. My tongue twisted and swirled, tasting his skin.
Bennett’s fingers dipped down and grasped the bottom of my dress before he pulled it over my head, leaving us both in our underwear.
This moment would change everything.
This was the moment we’d anticipated for ten weeks.
This moment was epic.
This moment was just the beginning.
I unclasped my bra, never taking my eyes off Bennett, while he removed his boxers. Finally, his fingers tore at the flimsy material of my panties, and they fell to the ground.
His hands dug into my hips, and he fell back onto the lounge, pulling me down on top of him and hissing when the cold, wet fabric connected with his skin.
He kissed me, his tongue exploring my mouth while his fingers traced light patterns over my skin. The rain still poured down over us, but it was a welcome relief to the heat I was experiencing everywhere. His touch was scorching, searing itself onto my soul, never to be erased. That was it. He was a part of me now, and I was never letting go.
Bennett reached down and pulled a condom from his pants, never once removing his mouth from mine. Lifting me by the waist, he shifted me into place and moved his hips up into mine.
He groaned.
I moaned.
We moved together perfectly.
Every touch, every sensation, multiplied by a thousand. It was perfect bliss. Meant to be. His hands explored my body, his tongue tasted my skin, and all I could do was enjoy every moment, until it was too much to bear and I saw stars, fireworks, Bennett’s smile.
I collapsed against his chest, absolutely spent. His fingers traced my back gently, and he whispered in my ear, “Worth the wait.”
“Definitely.” I pressed my lips to his and rolled my hips again.
“Can we go inside now?” he asked, brushing a wet strand of hair out of my face.
“I thought the rain was romantic?” I shifted my hips again, smiling when he groaned and bit my collarbone.
“It was. But now it’s fucking freezing, and my balls are about to drop off. What would we do then?”
That was enough for me. I climbed off his lap and ran inside, dripping water all the way down the hall, through my bedroom, and into my bathroom, where I began to run a hot bath.
“I like the way you think, Christina.” Bennett’s eyes darkened as he crossed the threshold and scooped me into his arms, stepping into the bath in one smooth movement.
“It’s Ms. Brown to you.” I smirked.
“Anything you say.”
Chapter
Twenty-Two
Bennett
Three weeks after D-Day.
Jeremy slid a beer across the bar to me.
“Thanks, man.” I’d had a long day, and a cold beer was the next best thing to dragging Christina to bed.
Three weeks, and things hadn’t eased off. I spent nearly every night at her place, and every minute I wasn’t at work or with Audrey, as well. We were definitely making up for lost time.
“So…spill,” Ryder said from beside me.
“What?” I took a swig of beer. The cool, bitter liquid was refreshing after a long day working in the heat of the garage.
My phone buzzed on the bar with a text message.
Christina: Can I leave yet?
I smiled. I could picture her face. She was currently sitting at Bailey’s house with Audrey and the rest of the girls. Bailey had organised an afternoon tea or some crap and banned the guys, which was why they were all here staring at me and waiting for me to answer a question I didn’t know the answer to.
“What, he asks as he smiles goofily at his phone.” Linc laughed.
Bennett: No. I’m sick of hiding this.
“I’m not smiling goofily at my phone.”
Christina: But…
“Who is she?” Brody asked.
“She, who?”
“The chick you’re messaging.” Nate slapped me on the back of my head. These guys gossiped worse than girls sometimes.
Bennett: We need to tell everyone.
“Don’t know who you’re talking about.”
Here I was, flat out lying to them, and at the same time convincing Christina she has to tell the girls about our relationship. It really would be so much easier if they all knew, not that I minded sneaking around. That was kind of fun. The risk of getting caught with my pants down, literally, was exhilarating. But I hated putting Audrey on the spot and having her lie for us. It wasn’t her secret to keep, and I didn’t want to do that to her.
Jeremy scoffed. “The chick who has put a stupid smile on your face since the day you graduated.”
“You trying to say I was miserable before?”
“You were a moody bitch. Lucky I didn’t fire you.”
Christina: Well, have you told the guys yet?
Bennett: No.
But in my defence, I had no one here to support me. Christina had Audrey’s support, and I was left alone to tell the alpha wolves that I was banging the chick they all despised. In an odd turn of events, Audrey and Christina started to get along really well. There was no tension or weirdness between them at all, and Audrey even admitted she may have been wrong about Christina, and maybe, just maybe she might have changed.
Audrey wasn’t the only one to see it either. Bailey had too, and that was why Christina had been invited to her girly afternoon tea party or whatever it was they were doing. I thought Audrey mentioned something about books. A book club, maybe? And we all knew that was code for wine club.
Christina: You better make this up to me.
Bennett: I have a few ideas ;)
“I know who it is,” Ryder announced.
Of course, he fucking did. I was not at all surprised. He was the most perceptive person I’d ever met, and he saw things in places where there was nothing to see. He knew things before anyone else did.
“You do?” I raised an eyebrow at him, kind of hoping he didn’t know, but at the same time really wishing he did so he could out me to everyone. It would be easier coming from him.
“About this high.” He gestured with his hand Christina’s rough height. “Blonde. Red lips. Am I getting warmer?”
I groaned and tilted my head back. “How long have you known?”
He shrugged. “Graduation.”
“What?”
“It was obvious.”
“What was obvious?” Linc asked, looking between us.
“Apparently, only to you,” I said and took another mouthful of beer.
“What are we missing?” Nate asked.
“Bennett, here, is screwing his English teacher.” Ryder nodded.
“Bailey?” Linc stared with wide eyes.
“Bailey’s not blonde, dickhead.”
“Well, then, who…? Oh! No way! Christina, really?”
I shrugged and grinned. “Yeah.”
“Why?”
“Nipple clamps,” was my response, causing Nate to choke on the mouthful of beer he’d just taken, spitting amber liquid all over the bar.
“Seriously?” Brody’s eyebrows lifted.
“Offered to lend them to Audrey, but she punched me and called me a weirdo.”
The guys laughed.
“But Christina?” Nate asked seriously.
“Yep.”
Jeremy grabbed a cloth and wiped the beer Nate had spat everywhere. “Since when?”
“Well, we kind of hooked up last school holidays.”
“You slept with your English teacher?” Linc threw his head back and laughed. “And I thought our relationships were all screwed up and not normal. But that’s craz
y.”
He was right. In theory, all their relationships weren’t exactly traditional, and they all crossed some sort of moral line.
“We called it off the moment we realised she was my teacher.”
“So, no quickies in the janitor’s closet?” Jeremy leaned on the bar.
“No. Nothing all term to graduation.”
“Why didn’t you say anything?” Brody asked.
“Because I know how everyone feels about her.”
They all fell silent because they knew I was right. No one liked her except Audrey and Bailey, and no one wanted to give her a chance.
“Sorry, man. Look, it’s your life. It might just take some getting used to having her around as well,” Ryder said. “For whatever reason, you, Bailey, and Audrey see something that we’re all missing. We just have to trust your judgement.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.” He nodded.
I looked at Jeremy, and he shrugged. Brody and Nate nodded in agreement with Ryder. And Linc…he was pinching his nipples.
“Dude?” Nate elbowed him. “You better not be thinking what I think you’re thinking.”
“What?” Linc dropped his hands and widened his eyes innocently.
“No nipple clamps.”
“But…” Linc rubbed his chest.
Nate groaned and covered his eyes. “Indie is my sister. No nipple clamps.”
“Right.” Linc laughed, and I couldn’t help but laugh too. Nate looked mortified.
We all looked up as the door to the bar opened, effectively ending our conversation as the girls all walked in.
“What are you doing here?” I wrapped an arm around Audrey’s shoulders and kissed her head before spinning her into Brody’s waiting arms. You’d be forgiven for thinking it was a move we’d practiced, but we hadn’t. It was simply a natural progression in our weird friendship.
“Book club ended.”
“You ran out of wine, didn’t you?” Ryder asked Bailey as he pulled her in for a kiss.