She’d barely gotten the words out before his mouth was back on hers. He kissed her hard and then pulled back to look at her for a beat before he kissed her again.
And then again.
And then he lifted her up so that her legs wrapped around him. He carried her from the garage to his bedroom, letting her down by his bed, slowly sliding her along his body. Then he stripped her with slow care, groaning as he bared her to his satisfaction. Lowering his head, he splayed his hands on her bare back, drawing her close. Opening his mouth on first one breast, and then the other, he teased her with his tongue, sucking and nibbling.
She moaned—a low, desperately hungry sound—as she slid her fingers into his hair, holding his head to her. She couldn’t help it. She was trying to climb his body as though it were a tree when he stepped back and pulled off his own clothes in a few smooth, economical movements.
She just stared at him. His body was incredible, and she didn’t think she’d ever get tired of looking at it.
He still hadn’t spoken a word.
She might have thought he was entirely unmoved, except he was sporting an impressive erection that made her mouth water. She was still staring at it in awe, thinking In me now, when he gave her a nudge and she fell backward onto the bed.
He followed her down, and she moaned again when he kissed her, long and deep. And then he kissed every inch of her, slowly and thoroughly, until she came. Exploded, really.
He put on a condom and entered her, and she came again. Instantly. She cried out in surprise and shock as it went on and on, endless shudders and ripples of pleasure. She was vaguely aware of the sounds she was making and might have been horrified, but she realized she wasn’t the only one. When her senses returned, Ben was still over her, muscles quaking, breathing as harshly as she.
After a moment, he rolled off the bed and went into the bathroom.
She told herself to get up and get dressed and then get out. She needed to do so before her heart got any more invested than it already was. Trembling like a leaf, she took a long moment to even sit up, and by then Ben was back. He stood at the side of the bed, voice low, eyes dark and direct. “Stay,” he said. And then he slid in beside her, pulling the covers over the top of them, dragging her in against him.
Oh, God. God, he felt so good. But this wasn’t real. She needed to remind them both of that and set some boundaries. For his sake. “Ben—”
“Sleep,” he said, voice gruff.
“But—”
He tightened his grip. Her cheek was on his chest, her thigh between his. She was breathing in his scent with every breath and couldn’t remember ever feeling so content in her life. She didn’t close her eyes, she didn’t want to miss a second of this, because it wouldn’t last. It couldn’t. Unable to resist, she let her hand drift over his chest. It was a beautiful chest, broad and sculpted and spattered with light hair from pec to pec. He was warm and hard, and he hummed his pleasure at her touch. “Okay?” he asked quietly in the dark, tightening his grip.
She nodded against him. She was so far more than okay that it was terrifying.
They slept some then, and she woke up in the gray light of dawn, violently aroused. Ben was between her legs, working his magic with his tongue. She came before she had all her faculties working, and then he rose over her and kissed her, slow and unrushed.
Their joining was much more leisurely this time, but no less hot. Maybe it was because they knew each other’s bodies now, or maybe it was just sheer animal magnetism, but when he finally slid into her and began a series of driving thrusts, she went out of her mind. And when she climaxed, she nearly burst out of her skin as well.
Afterward, he held her for a long time, and Aubrey reveled in it, afraid of what might happen when full daylight came.
“Shh,” he murmured, sounding sleepy.
“I didn’t say anything.”
“You’re thinking so hard you’re making me tired.” He stroked a big hand down her back to possessively cup her ass, holding her close. “Sleep.”
She didn’t. Couldn’t.
He made a noise like that of a rumbling lion and rolled her beneath him, pinning her to the mattress.
“What are you doing?” she asked, already breathless.
“Wearing you out so you can sleep.” He kissed her mouth, her chin, her throat, her shoulder. A nipple. And as he headed further south, she gasped and arched, sliding her fingers into his hair. “Omigod.”
“No,” he said. “Just Ben.”
She started to laugh, but then he got creative with his tongue, and she cried out instead.
He made good on his promise. A long time later, they both flopped to the mattress, breathing raggedly, sated, and completely worn out.
When Aubrey woke again, the sun was shining. She slipped from Ben’s arms and stared down at him, still asleep on the bed. He looked relaxed and young. His jaw was rough with stubble, his hair wild from her fingers. And if she wasn’t mistaken, he had a bite mark on his shoulder. She’d marked him. Fair enough, she thought, since he’d indelibly marked her. On the inside…
She’d done the unthinkable and started the slippery fall from lust to love.
Or maybe she’d fallen for him a long time ago…
Either way, big mistake. She began scooping up her clothes, but she was still trembling, little aftershocks of great sex. She stilled for a moment to gather herself, and then felt two warm hands settle on her arms and pull her back against an even warmer chest. And then a mouth brushed her shoulder.
“Pastor Mike?” she murmured.
A soft laugh huffed against her skin, and then he bit her. She laughed, too, but her smile fell away, and, unable to keep it inside any longer, she turned to face him. “Ben, what are we doing?”
“About to have some hot morning sex?” He reached for her, but she stepped back, her knees wobbling so badly she sank into a chair.
“But it’s just sex,” she said, meeting his gaze, trying to be as calm as he always was. “Right?”
He held her gaze but dropped his hands from her. “Aubrey—”
“I need to know, Ben. I need to know because I can’t be in this all by myself. I can’t. I—” God, she was such a hypocrite. She wanted him, like this, just like this. But there was the secret between them, one he didn’t even know about. She covered her face.
“Hey,” he said gently, kneeling beside her chair, placing his hands on her legs. “I thought you wanted it to stay simple, too.”
“I do.” But as he’d pointed out several times, nothing was ever simple with her. “Or I thought I did,” she added.
He held her gaze, but his own was a little hooded now. “I think of you all the time. And I know an awful lot of it is sex—an awful lot,” he said. “But not all.”
Her heart did a funny dance. Either hope, or terror, she wasn’t sure which.
Both, she decided. Definitely both.
“But,” he went on slowly, still holding her gaze prisoner, because he was far braver than she was, “I didn’t need this. I didn’t want this in my life,” he said.
“I know.” She rose abruptly. “I’ve worked hard to keep this just sex—for you, Ben, for your comfort level, so you wouldn’t think I was trying to drag you into a committed relationship.” She turned back and found him standing right there, and she wrapped her arms around his neck. “You’re not going to turn into a lapdog, Ben.”