Page 93 of Ride With Me

CHAPTER 5

BENJI

I’d thoughtI was going to have to spell it out for Warren, but the way his cheeks tinged a pretty pink, it seemed like he’d finally gotten the message loud and clear.

That was good. I didn’t want to scrub myself completely clean for no reason, and I was going to be extremely disappointed if I came to bed and he was already snoring.

I took my time in the shower, being as thorough as I could with the supplies I had. When I finally stepped out and dried off, clicking the bathroom light off behind me, I paused in the doorway.

Warren was laying on the right side of the bed, but I could tell by the rise and fall of his shoulders that he wasn’t asleep.

He was waiting.

I didn’t bother getting dressed—I walked to the bed and slid between the sheets. The feel of Warren’s eyes on me sent a shiver zipping up my spine and made my skin tingle in anticipation. With a small sigh, I snuggled into the pillow and forced my breathing to even out.

Warren lasted almost five minutes before he moved.

He was subtle at first, so gentle I half wondered if he was going to follow through with it or chicken out. The whisperedbrush of his fingertips skating along my back made something just beneath my skin stir, a soft spark threatening to ignite into a wildfire. It felt even better because some small part of me knew that I’d agreed to play a game I’d never played before.

If I was asleep, he could do whatever he liked. If I didn’t move, Warren could touch me in all the ways he wouldn’t allow himself to touch a stranger, and he wouldn’t have to feel guilty about it when he looked me in the eye the next day.

If I lay still and let him, he could take me apart… and for the first time, I might know what it felt like to let go of perfect control, a lifetime of perfectrestraint.

Could freedom be as simple as giving in to unrepentant bliss?

The drift of his fingers along my back lulled me into a near dazed state—when his hand skated down and brushed along the curve of my ass, I shivered.

He stilled at the movement, and I had to force myself to take a deep, even breath. I squirmed on the sheets, pressing my face to the pillow and letting out a soft breath.

Sleep—I was sleeping. And if I arched my back just a bit so my ass was on offer when his hand came back, neither one of us acknowledged it.

“Mm, you’re pretty when you sleep.” Warren’s voice was husky, a deep rumble that played perfect harmony to the soft melody of his usual tone. “Vulnerable…” The brush of his fingers turned into the full press of his hand, cupping my ass a second before the cool air bit my skin. I didn’t realize what was happening until the tickle of his beard danced along my back. He whispered his words there like he could bury his secrets along my spine and watch them sprout to life, a garden of moonflowers ready to blossom in the darkness of the room.

It was intoxicating—forcing myself to stay still when I was usually in control of any given situation I put myself in was a heady thing. Not letting out a low whine and demanding hehurry up when he trailed his tongue along the back of my thigh, pressing his lips to the back of my knee and leaving me panting into the pillow to hide the sound.

Warren was going to drive me crazy, kill me softly with his gentle touches… but that gentleness faded away with each passing second. It was his tongue on my thigh, and then his teeth setting into the curve of my ass, making me shiver. He stopped again, withdrawing his touch until I forced myself to be still.

This was what we were going to do, wasn’t it? It wasn’t really about me beingasleep. It was about me letting go of control so we could both pretend I was helpless.

It was about Warren being able to have his way with me, no matter what that way was.

It was enough to make me beg, if I’d thought I could get away with opening my mouth.

Instead, I had to bite my tongue when he started to speak again.

“Fuck, I could do anything I wanted to you right now and you’d never know, would you?” Warren’s voice was a near growl, and the darkness in it didn’t match the tall, blond-haired man I saw behind my eyes. That Warren was all smiles, flannel patterns, and giving in to letting a stranger catch a ride in his truck.

This Warren was all muscle, and the burn of his beard as he trailed kisses along my thighs.

This Warren was the strength of his fingers bruising against my hips as he shifted me into a better position. He moaned when I let out a little feigned sleep sound before settling exactly where he wanted me.

He was getting off on this… and fuck me, I was, too. I felt helpless. Powerless.

I felt like I wasflying.

Flight turned to fire when he spread my cheeks without warning, and I felt the hot swipe of his tongue against my hole. It was wet and sloppy, desperate and filthy. He licked against my ass like he wanted to devour me, draw me between his greedy lips and swallow me whole.

His fingers on my cheeks squeezed tight enough that I was forced to catch a little whine in my chest, and I had to fight not to writhe against the sheets.

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