Page 78 of Check the Halls
My fingers lift the edge of his shirt, just enough to slip inside and feel of his abdomen. Firm and warm against my skin, making me dizzy. I rock my hips against him, searching for friction, but Ben’s grip on my hips tightens, holding me in place.
“You keep that up, Madness, and I’m going to come in my pants.” He warns, his lips against my throat.
I feel the smile on my lips as I tilt my head back. “Like that time in your car? Do you remember that?”
His answering groan tells me he does. We were drivingto meet his family for a camping trip in New Brunswick. We knew we wouldn’t have any time alone once we got there and decided to find a quiet place to pull off and get it out of our systems.
“Remember it? You coming so hard on my hand that I painted the inside of my jeans? I still get hard on road trips. It’s inconvenient, considering how often I’m on a bus with thirty other guys.”
I laugh against his mouth, kissing him again. I am blissed out from giddiness in his arms. It’s new and nostalgic all at the same time. I’m vaguely aware of the kitchen timer going off, but I ignore it, kissing him deeper.
After the fourth or fifth or fifteenth time it beeps, I pull away panting. “I better go take care of that.”
Ben pulls me closer, burying his face in my neck. “No. Stay here so I can take care of you.”
“I don’t want to burn down your condo.”
“I’ll buy a new one.”
Reluctantly, he releases me, allowing me to climb off of him on shaky legs. I wobble as I make my way to the kitchen with the fogginess of someone who spent too much time in a sauna. I’m hot all over and disoriented. Before I make it to the oven, Ben’s arms wrap around me, scooping me up.
“Ben, the oven!” I protest as he sets me down on the kitchen table.
“That oven will swallow you whole in your present state.” He brushes the hair back from my face and plants a quick kiss to my lips before walking back to the stove. He grabs the oven mitts from the counter and slips them on. After he safely removes the baking tray from the oven andsets it on top of the stove, he presses a few buttons turning both the oven and timer off.
I’ve just caught my breath when he turns back to me. His eyes find mine as he removes the mitts from his hands and tosses them on the counter.
I know there are things I should be doing. There are vegetables to peel and cook, the rest of the meal to make. But all I can do is stare at Ben as he walks slowly back towards me.
“Are…are you hungry?” I sound like I’ve just climbed ten flights of stairs.
His gaze rakes over me before he utters a single word. “Starving.”
CHAPTER 25
MADDY
Ben sets me down in his bedroom, just long enough to peel my pretty blue dress from my body, before gathering me in his arms again. It’s like he can’t bear any distance between us. Like he’s terrified if he lets me go, he’ll lose me all over again.
I want to tell him not to worry. That he’ll never have to be without me again. But those are promises I can’t make. Not yet. Instead I cling to him tightly, wordlessly telling him that I’m here now and there’s nowhere else I’d rather be.
“You still taste like strawberries,” he says between fevered kisses. “I had to stop eating them. Even the smell reminded me of you and it hurt too fucking much.”
I close my eyes tightly as we kiss, afraid that I’ll cry if I don’t. All those years I thought he’d moved on. Expected him to be out in the world, living his life, happy. When, in reality, like me he was just going through the motions.
He undoes my bra and I slip it off, still wrapped around him. The feel of his chest hair against my sensitive nipples makes me cry out.
“I know, baby,” he whispers against my fevered skin as he sets me down. “I know.”
His mouth and hands are everywhere. Kissing, touching, teasing. His lips trail down my body as he drops to his knees in front of me. I have to hold onto his shoulders to stay upright, my legs are that weak.
Ben kisses the inside of both my thighs before pressing his face against my sex and inhaling deeply.
“Oh God,” I cry, shaking against him.
“I’ve missed you calling me that.”
My body is wound so tightly. I’m so overstimulated by emotions, memories, andhim. He’s barely touched me and I’m so, so close.
