“You sure know how to make a first move,” he said, and the fact his voice was slightly hoarse told her he was probably feeling the same thing she was, which was an overwhelming need to move across the room to that bed.
“It’s still a bad idea,” she said, feeling a need to make that clear. “But I can’t stop thinking about you. About this.”
“I’ll give you whatever you want,” he said, looking her in the eye. “And only what you want.”
“I want you. In that bed.”
He kissed her again, harder this time. Having given herself permission to do this—to finally enjoy what she’d been denying them both—Laney moaned against his lips and pulled the hem of his T-shirt free of his pants so she could slide her hands underneath. The smooth muscles of his back tightened under her fingertips.
She wanted to touch him. She wanted to know what he felt like and how he liked to be touched. And when he broke off the kiss and looked into her eyes, she realized she wanted to know what he looked like when he was totally sated and relaxed.
“We should probably be quick, though, because of the groceries.” As soon as she realized she’d said the words aloud, she groaned and dropped her head to his chest. “That...is not what I meant to say.”
She felt his chuckle like a low rumble. “There was plenty of ice in the coolers, but we can fast forward through the getting naked part if it helps.”
Rather than say something else that might come out wrong, she pulled her T-shirt over her head and tossed it aside. It had been so long since she’d been naked for the first time with a man, and stripping quickly was like ripping off a bandage. She didn’t really have time to feel self-conscious before his hands were on her skin and she couldn’t miss the heat that flared in his eyes.
When she climbed onto his bed, he moved with her, so she was spared the vulnerability of having him standing over her, staring at her. He was sweet, she thought, wrapping her arms around his neck. Sweet, but in an incredibly hot and sexy way.
“Tell me what you like, Laney.”
His words weren’t a glass of ice water in the face, exactly, but she felt some of the urgency slipping away. She wasn’t sure she even remembered how she liked to be touched anymore, and that thought didn’t really make her feel like a sexy, confident woman.
“Hey.” Ben tipped her chin up so she was looking into his eyes. “New plan. You told me you’ve been thinking about this. Just show me what you saw when you closed your eyes and imagined us together.”
It was easier to close her eyes now, and she ran her hands over his shoulders. Down his arms. Then she touched his chest, skimming her fingers through the dusting of hair across his skin. Her thumbs brushed over his nipples and he sucked in a sharp breath, so she opened her eyes. She wanted to see his face.
His skin was slightly flushed, like the tips of his ears, and he looked like a man who was fighting for self-control. It emboldened her and she slid her hands down his abs until her fingers felt the crinkle of hair again. Then she ran her palms over his hips and around to cup his butt.
Ben was trembling slightly, but he only watched her as she explored his body. His back muscles twitched under her touch, and she loved the way he sucked in his breath any time her hands slid below his waist.
“You feel amazing,” she whispered. “And I thought about you touchingme, too.”
With a groan, he dropped his mouth to hers as he cupped her breast in one hand. He kissed her, his tongue dipping between her lips as she opened her mouth to him. Then he explored her body as thoroughly as she’d explored his, touching her everywhere and finding the spots that made her tremble. Behind her knees. The small of her back.
But like her, he deliberately avoided the one spot that ached for him.
When she couldn’t take it anymore, she reached down and closed her hand around his erection. Ben’s breath left him in a long, shuddering sigh as he went totally still. She stroked the hard length of him and watched his jaw clenching and unclenching.
“Maybe we should talk about the groceries some more or this is going to be over soon,” he said, his voice tight.
She’d never been with a man who had a sense of humor during sex, and it just made her want him more. And because he made her feel sexy, she wasn’t shy about telling him so. “I want you now, Ben. Please.”
When he moved away for a moment, she felt a pang of doubt, until she realized he was getting a condom from his nightstand. She watched him put it on before realizing that might make him feel self-conscious, but he gave her a sizzling look before covering her body with his own.
She opened her thighs, raising her hips as he guided himself into her. Slowly, almost gently at first, until the delicious sensation of being filled wrung a sigh that was almost a moan from her. His mouth stifled the startled cry of pleasure when he pushed fully into her, and she buried her fingers in his hair to hold him close.
He kissed her as he moved his hips, slowly at first, but with increasing urgency. Then he lifted his head and looked into her eyes. “I wanted to take my time with you. I wanted to touch you more. Taste you. But I can’t...you feel so good, Laney.”
She didn’t want to think about a next time—she wasn’t even sure there wouldbea next time—so she wrapped her legs around his hips and urged him to move faster.
When he obliged, thrusting into her hard enough to make the bed rock, she felt the orgasm building and she put her hands on his shoulders. Her fingers pressed into the firm muscles and she moaned as she surrendered to the waves of pleasure.
Ben’s hips moved faster and then his body shuddered under her touch as his orgasm hit. He groaned and kissed her hard on the mouth before slowly lowering himself on top of her.
Laney trailed her fingertips lightly over his back, and he twitched before making a satisfied moaning sound against her chest. She wasn’t sure how long they lay there, but slowly their breathing returned to normal and she felt the relaxation that came from being utterly satisfied seeping in.
He rolled to his side, probably to dispose of the condom, and then he wrapped his body around hers, kissing her shoulder. “I could stay here all day.”
