Page 59 of Only You and Me

In my embarrassment, I try to turn my head to look away, but Ben moves his hand from my neck to grasp me by the chin. He gently angles my head, giving me no choice but to look at him.

He says nothing, just pierces me with his eyes, then places a tender kiss on my forehead. From there, he moves painfully slow—painful because I want more—and places a kiss on my temple, then my cheek, then the side of my mouth until finally he brings his lips to cover mine.

At first, his kisses on my lips are barely there, like the flutter of a butterfly’s wings. But then he slides a hand to the back of my head, guiding me closer to him at the same time his tongue brushes across my lower lip.

I need more, so I allow my mouth to fall open and whimper as our tongues meet in a sensual dance. Before I know it, my hands are moving up his side to grip his back below his shoulder blades and his hand that isn’t on the back of my head moves to grip my ass.

Then, like a blaring cockblock, the beeping of the oven timer goes off. I groan as Ben tries to pull back from our make-out session and I attempt to tug him closer. He chuckles with his lips still touching mine. “We’re not done, just taking an intermission to eat.” He disentangles himself from me and moves to pull the food out of the oven.

Ten minutes later, we carry our plates to the dining room table where I find Ben has a bottle of wine and a gorgeous bouquet of wildflowers in the prettiest mosaic vase that I’m sure he chose special.

I set my plate down on the table and lean over to smell the flowers. “You did all this? The food smells amazing. And wildflowers are my fav—” I stop talking and need a few seconds before I can continue. I whisper my next words. “They’re my favorite. But then, I’m guessing you already knew that.”

CHAPTER19

BEN

Since it’s a beautiful evening, Trina and I decide to take a walk around her neighborhood after dinner. The temperature is warm, but not humid and the air smells fresh, with occasional aromas of fragrant flowers floating on the air. Birds are chirping and children are playing in several yards as we walk.

I can’t help but notice Trina focus her attention on the laughing children whenever we encounter them. An uncomfortable twinge pinches at my heart when I think about the dreams she used to have for her future.

“Trina? Did you mean it when you told me at the fundraiser that you didn’t want a big family anymore?”

She doesn’t answer right away, and I worry I’ve upset her.

“I’m not sure it matters if I want it. Sometimes life has different plans for us. Maybe it’s not in the cards for me.”

I reach down and grab her hand to hold it, happy when she doesn’t tense or pull away.

“I don’t think that’s true. Sure, eventually time runs out, but you’re still young. Unless you’re wanting to be like that TV family that has seventeen kids. That might not be doable at this stage.”

I’m pleased when Trina laughs and some of the tension falls from her shoulders. “I definitely never wanted seventeen kids. Maybe four or five, though. Oh, and of course a smoking hot husband who’s just like the book boyfriends in our spicy book club books. He’ll only have eyes for me.” The lightheartedness as she talks about the husband part perks me up.

“Hey, that’s not fair. Those damn book boyfriends are ruining us normal guys’ chances of landing a wife.” My tone is light and teasing and she picks up on it.

“Well, you already have a wife, and you should be glad those books exist. Think of them like instruction manuals.”

We’re only a few minutes from her house now, but I like where this conversation is going, so I keep up the momentum. “So, you’d let me read some of your books? For educational purposes, of course.”

I fully expect her to say no, so I’m a bit surprised when she immediately responds. “Absolutely. I’ve got one you can start tonight. I know just the one.”

“Well, you can give it to me tonight, but it will probably have to wait until tomorrow for me to start. I’ve got big plans tonight.”

Trina turns to look at me, a glimmer in her eye. “Oh, yeah? Care to tell me about it?”

“Nope. It’s a show, not a tell. I’ll just share that this really hot, fucking gorgeous woman I know accused me of holding out on her and I have every intention of making her eat her words tonight.”

Trina grins up at me. “Then maybe we should walk faster.”

“Agreed.” We practically speed walk the last bit back to the house when something strikes me. “This book I’m gonna read, it’s not one of those sex club books or ‘why choose,’ is it? Because I have no intention of sharing you.”

She climbs up on her porch and unlocks the door, then opens it and turns to look at me, shrugging. “Guess you’ll have to read it to find out.”

* * *

TRINA

Once Ben and I are back in the house with the door locked and the alarm set, we immediately head upstairs.

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