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They sat in silence for a few minutes, watching as the moon appeared above the mountains and then slowly broke free and began its climb into the dark sky.
Alyssa let out a happy sigh. This whole situation might be messed up, but she was determined to do exactly what she’d said and make the most of the present moment.
When Bentley turned to her, he looked serious.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“Nothing’s wrong. And I don’t want to spoil the moment. I can’t say that I’ve ever watched a moonrise before, and that was something special. But … I suppose reality is starting to creep back in around the edges.”
Her heart sank. “Do you think I should leave?”
“No!” His arms tightened around her. “That’s not what I meant. All I meant was that it was wonderful to spend a few minutes lost in the beauty of the moment. Sitting here with you, watching that …” He jerked his chin toward the moon. “It was easy to forget everything else.” He gave her a rueful smile. “But unfortunately, everything else is still there waiting and it’s not going to forget us. Tomorrow morning, we’re going to have to face the folks again. They’re going to ask us, separately and together, how tonight went.”
He blew out a sigh. “I don’t relish the thought of looking your dad in the eye and talking to him about what a great time we had.”
“I don’t either. Perhaps it would be best if I go.” She made a move to get up again, knowing that if she didn’t do it straight away she wouldn’t find the strength to. The last thing she wanted to do was walk away from him, but if she was going to do it, it had to be like ripping off a Band-Aid.
His arms tightened around her and pulled her back down. “Perhaps it would be best, but it’s not what I want. Is it what you want?”
She held his gaze as he pressed a kiss to her lips. “I think you know it isn’t.”
He lay back on the rattan sofa where they were sitting, pulling her with him until she was lying on top of him. “Then, we need to figure something else out.”
“What do you have in mind?” she asked, although she already had an idea what his answer would be. The way his hands ran up the back of her thighs was making it clear.
As his hands closed around her butt, he said, “My mind is trying to focus on the fact that we told them we were going to talk about business – about audits – tonight, and they’re bound to ask about that tomorrow.”
His hands came to her hips and lifted her so that she straddled him. She gripped his arms when he rocked his hips.
“But,” he continued, “my mind isn’t winning the battle for control right now.”
She rested her elbows on his chest and propped her chin on her hands as she looked down into his eyes. “My mind didn’t even show up for the battle.”
She loved the way he smiled as he tightened his grip on her butt and moved her against him. The heat of his hard length between her legs made her sigh.
“How about we figure that out afterward? Last night, we left our list unfinished.” She sat back on her heels and unfastened his belt. She started out hesitantly but was reassured when he started to unbutton his shirt.
“You’re right,” he said as he got rid of his shirt and then helped her with his button and zipper. “We should take care of unfinished business before we decide on next steps.”
Her heart pounded with excitement as he took hold of the hem of her dress and pulled the whole thing up and over her head. She had to laugh when he pulled the duvet up over both their heads and held it like a tent over them.
His eyes shone as he leaned in and pressed a kiss to her lips. “Are you good with this?”
She laughed again and tapped his chest with two fingers. “You should probably get used to knowing that I’m good with pretty much anything we do. You don’t need to keep checking.” Her smile faded as she realized the truth of what she was saying. “I trust you.” She bit down on her bottom lip as she looked into his eyes. “Is that weird, though?”
His smile had disappeared, too. He looked serious as he brought his hands up to cup her cheeks and looked into her eyes. “I don’t think so. Perhaps it should be weird. We barely know each other; our situation is what you might call messed up, but I promise you I will do my best to make sure you don’t regret trusting me. And you need to know that I trust you, too.”
She couldn’t help it; she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him deeply. To hear that he trusted her meant the world to her. Trust wasn’t something that had ever come easilyin her world. When they finally came up for air, she looked him in the eye and said, “Thank you. And I’ll do my best to make sure that you don’t regret it, either.”
She put a hand to his shoulder, pushing him back on the sofa as she climbed on top of him again. He grinned up at her and held up a hand. “Do you want this?”
She pressed her lips together in an attempt to keep in a smile as she took the foil packet from him. Last night, she thought that wanting to be the one to cover him was inappropriate – that it was an intimacy beyond what the two of them would share. Now, it felt … right. There was no other word for it. They were in this together.
She loved the way his jaw clenched as she slowly rolled the condom onto him. “Are you okay?” she asked. She didn’t quite manage to hold in a laugh as she added, “Are you sure you’re okay with this?”
He laughed with her and narrowed his eyes as he said, “I’m as sure as I’ve ever been about anything.” As he spoke, he gripped her hips and lifted her, positioning her over him. “I’m yours for the taking. Do with me as you will.”
