Page 56 of A Very Italian Wedding
‘I want everything.’ Her heart, which had been hammering until now, began to pummel and pound, leaving her breathless. As if to punctuate her point – and to make sure Ben understood – she began to undo the buttons on his shorts before leaning forward and stroking her hands over his smooth skin. He was beautiful, hard but soft at the same time. Like he’d been carved out of clouds, a miracle of physical engineering. For a moment, Rose wondered if she was imagining him. Where were hisflaws? Everyone had some – physically and emotionally. She had plenty. Or perhaps Ben’s were simply that he was unable to commit? Or just too damaged to want to.
Ben tugged at the thin straps of her dress pushing them downwards, making her insides go haywire. Then he pushed the rest of the dress to her waist before setting to work on her bra. Rose felt it fall away, and the knot in her chest tightened as he gazed down.
‘You’re beautiful,’ he said huskily.
‘You always know the exact right thing to say.’ She tried to keep her voice light. She didn’t want to engage, wasn’t looking to fall for this man. He was too far out of her league, and he’d never take her – or the idea of them – seriously. This was just an exercise in breaking the rules – perhaps because she needed to know she could?
‘I get it wrong more often than you’d think,’ Ben rasped as he stepped closer and pushed her skirt over her knees and up her thighs, making everything inside her effervesce. She was shivering again; goosebumps were obviously her language of need.
‘This isn’t very romantic for our first time,’ he said, frowning.
Did that matter to him? Rose looked around at the dim room. The light from his phone gave it a rosy glow – almost as if someone were burning candles. ‘It’s not bad. The lighting is perfect,’ she said. ‘I don’t think the other guest is going to disturb us either.’ She nodded towards the door where Coco was now resting, her eyes closed, her tail flicking from side to side.
‘I mean, the bed’s a bit hard, but I don’t think it’s going to matter.’ She wriggled, grinning up at him. ‘At least I’m hoping you’re going to take my mind off that – and soon.’
He beamed down at her, making something in her chest crack open just a little, letting in a flood of unexpected warmth.
‘I’ll do my best,’ he murmured, stepping closer. Then he caught her mouth in another slow kiss, allowing her to explore his body with her hands. He was firm and hard in all the right places – a testament to his exceptional DNA.
She paused so she could undo the buttons on his shirt before pushing it off and letting it drop to the floor. She thought she heard the patter of paws but was too busy mapping Ben’s chest with her lips to look up and see what the demon was up to. She knew if the shih tzu wasn’t whining or barking, she was okay.
Ben pushed the skirt of her dress up higher, exposing the tops of her thighs and the tiniest hint of underwear before dropping to his knees. Rose placed both of her hands on the table and leaned back so she could watch him dab tiny kisses from her knee upwards making her skin explode in more goosebumps. ‘May I?’ he asked, looking up suddenly and pinning her with his brown eyes before pointing to her red thong. The one he’d helped Francesca pick out.
‘Of course,’ she croaked, starting to ease herself forward in an attempt to help. But Ben suddenly moved her closer to the edge of the table and whipped them off before she could move. ‘You’re quite the expert,’ she observed, trying to keep the dismay out of her tone.
‘I think it has more to do with eagerness than experience,’ he murmured, settling her on the edge of the table before kneeling down and getting to work.
After that Rose had no words – her brain was filled with too much sensation for her to form a coherent thought, let alone a sentence. Her whole body was rocking and heating, flexing and climbing, pulsing and tingling until she thought she wouldn’t be able to stand it anymore.
She pushed her hands into Ben’s hair, holding on tight as her pleasure reached its peak sending her over the edge of some imaginary rollercoaster that seemed to last hours. When shefinally returned to solid ground, the need inside her was only partly quenched. So when Ben made his way to his feet again, she grabbed him and pulled him down, settling him over her on the table.
‘More,’ she demanded, still a long way from satisfied. If she was going to break the rules, she was going to do it properly. Go all the way. Squash all her doubts and insecurities. Finally experience everything she’d been hiding from. So she knew what she’d been missing. Perhaps it would help to educate her on all the things she clearly didn’t understand?
‘Now…’ Ben pulled back a little so he could gaze down her. He didn’t say anything this time. Rose had been expecting empty words, had braced herself to ignore them. Instead, he kissed her softly on the mouth before stroking a slow hand up her leg. Then he stopped suddenly and pulled back, as his forehead creased. ‘Protection,’ he murmured. ‘I haven’t got any.’
Rose winced. She was about to ask him why. Surely, a man who looked like that would always be prepared? Only, that wasn’t fair.
‘I’m…’ She felt her cheeks heat. ‘I have a coil and I haven’t—’ Did she really want to tell him how long it had been? ‘It’s been a while.’ She frowned, suddenly uncomfortable, because she didn’t really want to hear a potted history of Ben’s sex life.
He gazed down at her, looking surprised and a little unsure.
How many women had Ben slept with recently? ‘Is it that many?’ she blurted, ignoring the spear of jealousy as it lodged itself in her throat.
Ben laughed – but it didn’t sound like a laugh. It was more of a choke and was there a hint of hurt in this expression too? No. She’d imagined that, surely.
‘Actually, it’s been two years for me.’ There was something about the pitch of his voice that told her he was telling the truth. ‘I don’t want to talk about it,’ he murmured.
Rose nodded. She wanted to explore that further – how could he possibly have abstained for that long? But she wasn’t here to talk either – she was here to do. ‘Then we’re okay,’ she said, tugging him back down on top of her, capturing his mouth this time leaving him no doubt as to what she wanted from him. Or that she wanted it now.
Ben must have agreed because a few seconds later he was inside her and they were moving together. He had a forearm pressed on the table making sure he didn’t lean on her too much, and she appreciated his thoughtfulness, even though it still surprised her.
She shut her eyes trying not to overthink, trying to just enjoy this moment. There was a lot to enjoy. She reached up and hugged Ben tightly, wrapped her legs around him moving in sync. It didn’t take long before she was on the rollercoaster again, then she was diving and swooping, kissing him so fiercely she wasn’t sure she’d be able to stop. And then he joined her on the ride, groaning into her mouth. Until they both seem to land, breathing heavily, their hearts seemingly hammering in sync.
But as the world stilled and their breath calmed, Rose thought she could hear voices coming from somewhere.
‘Oh damn!’ she yelped, trying to sit up.
Then Coco began to bark and Ben shot up, pulling away from her and immediately trying to help her put her clothes back on.
