Page 85 of Charlie and Her Sweet Escape
Bennett stared into my eyes and the ground fell out from under me.You’re all that is good in this world. All that I want.
I breathed in his words anxiously but held them like a soothing balm in my lungs. Could it really be this easy?
Not that any ofthiswas easy. But navigating my relationship with Greg had been more difficult than relentlessly awful weather, our nights sleeping hungry, endless work, unpredictable challenges, and even an adorable bear (who I’d forgiven) destroying everything we’d done. Being with Greg had been like waking up every morning on a precariously balanced surface, racing from side to side to make sure it didn’t topple over.
Bennett filled an essential purpose I needed to live, but so naturally and effortlessly it happened without me thinking about it.
His eyes burned with desire as he tightened his grip around my waist. Could I do this? Could I give in to these feelings? Was it possible for love to really feel like this?
Bennett shifted, his legs moving beneath where I sat on them, and I was brought back to reality. Reality where his ankle was hurting. And I’m sure the extra weight of me wasn’t making it any better.
I scrambled off his lap.
“Where are you going?” He stood and snagged my hand. A thrill at his closeness zinged through me, and I attempted to tamp it down. The whole point of standing up was to put space between us. Space he was quickly eviscerating with his huge body and presence.
We had the entire forest around us, and we were taking up the tiniest fraction of it. Except I found I didn’t want to move either.
“You need to rest your ankle so it heals.” There. I was right.
He shook his head slowly. “Nope. That’s not what I need.”
“What, then?” My voice came out in a squeak as he brought himself even closer, his entire presence enveloping mine.
“For you to kiss it better.”
“You want me to kiss your ankle?”
Amusement flashed in his eyes. “No, Charlie.”
Oh.Oh!My cheeks flamed hot, but I didn’t move. Because energy raced through my veins, making me really, truly alive. Anticipation, nerves, excitement, and desire swirled through me. Bennett had created a full-color spectrum of emotions in me. And I wanted him.
I pressed my palms to his chest and slowly ran them upwards toward his shoulders. His breathing hitched, and I closed my eyes, gratified to know he was reacting to me just as much as I was to him. It was only fair, after all.
I clasped my hands on his shoulders and rose to my tiptoes. We’d kissed several times, but I’d never once initiated it. He tipped his head down obligingly as I brought my mouth to his. He exhaled, and it seemed like every muscle in his body relaxed as we kissed.
I started to pull back, but his arms went around my waist and held me in place. “Can I just hold you for a minute?”
“Yes.” My heart raced, and I locked my arms behind his neck. His mouth kissed along my neck, my jaw, behind my ear, and my knees nearly buckled. He moved to the other side, his kisses slow and lingering in their path down my neck. “Bennett,” I begged not sure what exactly, I was begging him to do.
I gripped his hair tight when he went to pull back, and he chuckled against my cheek, the rumble sending spikes of electricity through my body. “I’m just changing positions,” he said, and I relaxed my grip. I was tempted to be embarrassed at my visceral reaction to him pulling away, but this was Bennett, and his revering expression left no room for me to be self-conscious.
He looked at me like I was something to cherish as he turned me around in his arms so my back was flush to his chest, and hekissed the nape of my neck, sending a shiver down my spine. He held my waist, each hand gripping a hip.
“Bennett, I …” My words drifted off as he tugged the neck of my shirt to the side and kissed my shoulder, sensations stealing every thought as I tipped my head to the side to give him easier access. He paused, his breath fanning across the small hairs on the back of my neck, sending a shiver of delight through me.
I went to turn, but his grip tightened on my waist. “Wait,” he whispered, a thread of awe in his tone. “Let me adore you.”
I held still as his kisses moved to the other side of my neck and my shoulder, then trailed a line down my spine. I felt him drop to his knees, and I turned around in his embrace. His arms tightened around my waist, and he pressed his cheek into my stomach in a hug that felt like he was embracing all of me—my strengths, my weaknesses, my losses, and what he might risk losing by loving me.
He was offering his entire self to me. All of his love, devotion, respect. Hiseverything. I ran my fingers through his hair, filled with love for Bennett.
Love. There was no denying it.
I tilted his chin up and knelt in front of him, my fear finally gone. I pressed forward and kissed him, finally allowing my walls to collapse. His mouth, slow at first, pressed eagerly to mine as I opened myself up to him.
I wanted to show him, without words, I was in this. I was choosing to trust him. I was choosing to jump and not worry about landing, because no matter where I landed, Bennett would be with me.
We kissed as the sun moved in the sky, the two of us implausibly creating fresh, green shoots in a blackened, fire-ravaged forest.
