She laughed, relief coursing through her. His sense of humor was definitely intact. He set the remote on the table and moved down the couch so he was sitting next to her.
“After I woke up, I held you for a few minutes, but then I got up because I didn’t know if that would bother you. If it was too...intimate. I wish I’d stayed in bed.”
“I wish you had, too,” she said before common sense could stop the words from coming out of her mouth.
“We could try again. Practice this whole friends-with-benefits thing until we get it right. It might be a handy life skill to have.”
“Max, I—” She made the mistake of looking into his eyes, and she knew she was lost. “Just practicing friends with benefits.”
“Just practice.”
She might have given more thought to his verbal loophole of not specifying what he was practicing, but he leaned over her and pulled her face to his for a kiss. When she put her arms around his neck, he gripped her waist and pulled her over and onto his lap without taking his mouth from hers.
His hand fisted in her hair and she moaned against his lips. His tongue flicked over her bottom lip and she opened her mouth to him as he increased the pressure, becoming more demanding.
When his hand slid under her shirt to stroke her back, she shivered. His erection pressed between her thighs and she rocked slightly as his mouth left hers and moved to the hollow at her throat.
It took all of her willpower—which didn’t seem to amount to much where he was concerned—to put her hands on his shoulders and lean back.
“Before we get carried away, do you happen to have a condom in your pocket?”
The corners of his mouth tilted up. “I keep them in my bedroom. It seems logical.”
“I think we should move this to your bedroom, then. You know, the day I was rummaging through your closet, all I could think about was having sex in that bed.”
“Really? You should have said something. I would have been more than happy to oblige.” He kissed the side of her neck. “Assuming you were thinking about having sex in my bed with me.”
She laughed and stood, hauling him to his feet. “Yes, with you.”
“Oh, good. I’m very territorial about my bed.”
She laughed until he slid an arm under her knees and lifted her, then she squealed and wrapped her arms around his neck. “What are you doing?”
“I always wanted to do this,” he said, carrying her toward his bedroom. “I’ve just been waiting for a woman short and light enough to try it on.”
*
Max set Tori down on his bed and stood back to enjoy the view for a minute. He’d thought having Tori in her bed was the best night of his life, but seeing her on his bed triggered something primal in him. Something possessive.
She ran her hand over the comforter. “We need to mess up this bed.”
“I’ve seen your bed. Mine may never be the same again.”
“You know,” she said, sitting up and scooting to the edge of the mattress. “You wore pants for far too long last night. We need to make sure that doesn’t happen again.”
He unbuttoned his fly, then sucked in a breath when she pushed his hands away. She lowered his zipper and slowly worked his jeans down while he tried to remember how to breathe.
When she tapped the back of his calf, he lifted each foot in turn so she could pull the jeans free, then the socks. Then she tucked her fingers into the waistband of his boxer briefs and pulled them down so he could step out of them.
“Luckily for you,” she said, “I don’t read passages over and over, savoring the words. I skip straight to the good parts.”
When her lips closed over him, he buried his fingers in her hair and tried not to move. Her mouth was hot and wet and when she sucked gently, her fist following the path of her mouth up his shaft, his knees almost buckled.
“Tori.” He needed her to stop because he wanted her in his arms. She flicked her tongue over the sensitive tip and he shuddered. “Get on the bed.”
Her smile suggested she knew just how close he was as he took a condom out of his dresser drawer and ripped open the packet. Before she got on the bed, she pulled back the comforter and sheets, sending pillows flying.
He didn’t waste any time today. He was barely hanging on as it was, so he lifted her ankles onto his shoulders and, after sliding in just enough to tease her, he thrust hard.
She gasped and the feel of her body and the sight of her fists clenching his sheets almost blew him apart. Fast and hard, he drove into her until she climaxed, her back arching off the bed. He dug his fingers into her hips, holding her as he thrust faster.
When she cried his name, he came, his body pulsing as the orgasm shook him. Once it faded, he reluctantly pulled free and slid down so he could bury his face against her neck.
“That was way better than Thor,” she said, still slightly out of breath.
Chuckling, he remembered they’d left the movie paused downstairs. It didn’t matter. The DVD player would turn off eventually or it wouldn’t. And she was right. This was way better. “I like being friends with benefits.”