I gave him another push. He still didn’t budge. “I can’t think when you’re this close to me.”
“Good. I don’t want you to think. Just say yes and put me out of my misery.”
That brought me up short. “Are you miserable?”
“Yes, horrifically, unbearably miserable. I asked my brothers to kill me; it’s so bad.”
“God, Ben. I had no idea.”
“If I have to sit through one more night of Carrot picking you up, I’m going to take Adrian up on his offer. He’ll make it as slow and painful as possible, but at least it’ll be over.”
“No!” I pried myself out of his hold and skittered sideways, putting space between us. “Don’t even joke about that. I just found you. I’m not going to lose you. What can I do to fix this?”
His brow dropped. “Baby…the only thing making me miserable is thinking about you with someone else. That’s it. The rest of the time, I’m happier than I’ve ever been.”
I jabbed a finger at him. “I don’t like that kind of joke.”
“I get it, and I’m sorry. I won’t let Adrian kill me. I won’t even ask him to do it again.”
I was overreacting, but there were a lot of reasons for that. My mind was tired, and this was all so…sudden. I wasn’t evensure exactly what Ben wanted from me. If this was a knee-jerk reaction to the possibility of another man coming into Katty’s life, we needed to shut that down right now. But if he really wanted me… Well, I didn’t know what to say or think.
Overwhelmed, I flopped onto the very comfortable couch. Ben stood over me, his hands on his hips, not saying anything for a long minute.
“Ben…”
His jaw ticced. Chest inflated. Fists balled at his sides. The air stilled, and I couldn’t breathe.
Then he moved, and my lungs inflated with a gasp. On his way down to the couch, he grabbed me, pulling me onto his lap. My knees were on either side of his legs, and I caught myself on his chest.
“Goddammit, Mazzy Belle. Pay attention,” he gritted out, his hand wrapping around my nape. “I want to kiss your gorgeous face.”
My mouth floated away and answered for me. “Then do it.”
Chapter Twenty-five
Ben
Slippingherglassesoffher face, I kissed her.
Five years ago, I’d stolen a kiss at her hotel room door, and it had led us here. That night had been dulled by alcohol and time, but now that my lips were on hers, it all came flooding back. And I remembered why I hadn’t been able to drag myself away from her until life forced us apart.
I threaded my fingers in the back of her hair, angling her head. Her soft mouth opened, letting me in. My tongue slipped between her lips, meeting hers. The sounds that slipped from her—a moan, a keening sigh of need—shot straight to my gut. I gathered her against me, her full curves so lush and solid I couldn’t get her close enough.
I groaned into her mouth, my hands finding her hips, sliding up the back of her shirt, needing to touch skin. I couldn’t help it. I couldn’t stop. Every time I thought about pulling back, givingher space, she made this quiet sound—half gasp, half plea—and I dove back in.
When I finally tore my mouth away, my forehead rested against hers, both of us breathing hard.“Worth the wait,” I rasped.Her laugh trembled between us. “I don’t know. Five years is a little extreme.”“Worth it,” I reiterated. My thumb traced her bottom lip, already pink and swollen. “My memories of you don’t do you justice, and I remembered you being one of the most gorgeous creatures I’d ever laid eyes on.”
“Only one of?” she teased.
“Mazzy Belle, you drive me nuts.”
She sighed. “We should probably talk.”
“Probably,” I agreed.I kissed her again.
This one wasn’t careful. It was rougher, hungrier. She gasped, then gave in, her hands sliding into my hair. Having her on me, wanting me, just as hungry for my lips, made me antsy. I could have crawled out of my skin. I had to move. The heat coming from her core was too irresistible, even through our clothes.
I rocked into her, but it did nothing to relieve the ache in my cock. I’d been hard the second I’d gotten close to her, and with her on top of me, touching me, letting me touch and kiss her, I was throbbing.
