Page 105 of Until the Last Star Fades

I can still feel his hands everywhere…hear the sounds he made…

Lying on her side, tangled with Ben in her twin bed, Riley watched him capture breaths and then gently set them free, each exhale from his lips faintly scented like mint toothpaste. He looks innocent, so peaceful. She had lost track of time, mesmerized by the occasional flutter of his dark eyelashes and the sleepy smiles that curved his mouth. His hair rebelled against the pillow, soft and messy. Bae-watch: my new favorite show.

The bright glow creeping around the edges of her curtain and the hush on the street below suggested that maybe it was six-thirty, seven o’clock at the latest, but Ben showed no hints of waking, holding her close even in slumber. We’re a human pretzel! Riley’s gaze happily strayed from his slightly parted lips to the sweep of dark hair on his chest, grown back from his short-lived stint as a stripper.

He was so lost on stage, fumbling and falling…nervous. Riley nuzzled into his chest and stifled her giggles, aware that the slightest shake could wake him up. He didn’t have performance anxiety last night…or this morning. Her eyes drifted down to his abs, where her hand lingered, entwined with his long fingers. Ben’s still holding my hand. He never let go.

Her attention shifted to the sheet and duvet bunched up near the bed’s edge then back to her right leg flung lazily over his thigh where he dug into her leg. Not all of Ben is asleep.

“Riley…?” A raspy whisper rustled her hair. “You awake?”

She tilted her head, meeting his eyes. “Yeah. I couldn’t sleep.”

“Aww.” A small yawn escaped his lips and he blinked like he had been lost to the world for days, not a few hours. “You should’ve woken me.”

And miss out on watching you sleep? Never. “You were down for the count.”

“Is it any wonder? You were insatiable…” Pulling her tight, his smile pressed a lingering kiss to her forehead. “And perfect.” He ducked below her jaw, leaving wet, openmouthed kisses along her neck. “So…” The little word hung in the air, cheeky yet heated. To underline its meaning, Ben released her hand and cupped her breast, his thumb lovingly circling her nipple, coaxing it to harden. “Riley?”

“Ben?” She inhaled sharply, goose bumps rising on her skin.

“Wanna go again?” His tongue slipped into the sensitive spot above her collarbone and Riley gasped, his lips sucking, teeth gently biting as he pressed into her.

I’m insatiable? He could drill a hole in the wall, he’s so hard. “Yeah!” She quivered, an ache waking between her thighs. Her mind scrambled to form words before they floated away like a soapy bubble on a sunny day. “B-But…we need to talk…”

The kisses stopped and he lifted his head, the twin bed offering nowhere to hide. “Yeah.” He sighed. “We do.” He rubbed his eyes and sat up, pulling the sheet and duvet over them. Lying down again, he propped himself up on an elbow, ready to listen.

“I’ve been thinking and…I can’t be mad at you for…” She swallowed. “You were single, I was engaged. I had no claim on you. I barely knew you.”

Ben nodded, in no rush to jump in.

“But once we became friends and you found out I knew Leia, you should’ve told me. Last night was a shock. It was so…public.”

“I know, and I’m so sorry. I hate that I embarrassed you like that.” He scrunched his eyes. “And TV people were there…”

“They don’t know me, they won’t remember me. But Erika and her friends…I hate being gossiped about.” She twisted her mouth. “It hurt, Ben, finding out like that. We talked about Leia at the diner, the night of the bachelorette, and you didn’t say anything.”

“I thought about it, but you said that you weren’t close friends and…we were getting along so well, making pinky promises, talking dyslexia—stealing spoons…” A grin flirted with his lips and then disappeared. “I was afraid if I said something, you wouldn’t want anything to do with me. I didn’t want you to think I was some…” He exhaled heavily. “Fuckboy wanker.” Glancing down, his eyelashes beat slowly. “You called me a fuckboy in Times Square, but…I get it. I haven’t really done anything to make you think otherwise, but after last night, after the last few weeks”—he met her eyes—“I hope you’ll revise your opinion of me. Last night wasn’t just sex, Riley. Not for me.”

“It wasn’t for me either.” She rolled closer, tracing her finger along his bottom lip. He covered her hand in his and kissed her fingers softly. “I have a confession.”

“Yeah?” He kissed her hand again and lowered it to his chest, holding it tight. “That I’m the best lover you’ve ever had, right?”

You are! “Maybe.” Nose to nose, she blushed. “I’ve liked you since that night you stayed over.”

“Ooh, well, it was my dedication to oral hygiene that hooked ya, wasn’t it? Or…my exemplary toast-making skills?”

Riley played with a tuft of hair sticking up at his temple. “Any guy who wears Santa socks, loves peanut butter like I do, and well, listens.”

Ben began a flurry of tiny kisses around her lips. She shifted closer, her mouth demanding something deeper. Cupping her face, Ben willfully gave in and melted into her. He pulled back slowly, a cheeky smile still close enough to kiss.

“You like me, eh?” He raised an eyebrow. “Birthday wishes DO come true.”

“What was the other wish? You had two.”

“Actually, it hasn’t come true yet, so…” He mimicked zipping his lips and burst into a grin. “Riles, I’ve never met anyone like you.”

“In a good way, right?”