Page 71 of What it Takes
Ben brushed his thumb over her bottom lip. “I hoped it would make you smile like that. The same way you do when you look at the flamingo outside your door.”
“I love it,” she said, cupping the back of his neck and giving him a long thank-you kiss. “How can a person not be happy watching it dance?”
“Watching you smile makes me happy.” Before she could say anything, he kissed her again and then gave her a light slap on the behind. “And now I’m going to make us both happy by taking a quick shower.”
She set the flamingo on the counter so she could clean up after dinner, which consisted of tossing the paper plates and napkins, and leaving the baking sheet for him to wash tomorrow. It was a small but important-to-her boundary she’d established right away. She’d cook with him and if he washed the dishes, she’d keep him company and dry them, but she didn’t clean up after him. Spending time with him was one thing, but taking care of him was another and she didn’t let herself cross that line.
The pink flamingo caught her eye as she was wiping down the table and she couldn’t stop herself from smiling at it again. Tired and thirsty, Ben had still taken the time to buy her a toy just to make her happy, and her heart seemed to beat a little faster in her chest. He’d said it was silly, but it wasn’t. Nobody had ever really done that for her before.
“You’re smiling again,” Ben said from so close behind her, she felt his breath on her neck, and she jumped.
“I didn’t even hear the shower shut off.”
“I told you it would be a quick shower.”
When she turned around to find him naked except for a towel wrapped around his hips, she laughed. “You’re still damp, Ben.”
“I was in a hurry.” He pulled her hard against his body, so she could feel the proof of his urgency against her hip. “I missed you today.”
“Part of you did, anyway,” she teased.
“All of my parts,” he replied before claiming her mouth.
The words should have made her pull back, but instead they just inflamed her. He was never shy about what he was feeling. He’d missed her. He wanted her. And she wanted him. For now it was all that mattered.
She ran her hands over his bare chest, stopping just short of the towel, before sliding them around his waist and up his back. His skin was still warm from the shower and he made a growling sound against her mouth when she skimmed her fingernails up his spine.
When he tugged at her T-shirt, she lifted her arms. He broke off the kiss and pulled it over her head. She unbuttoned her shorts and tugged them down so she could step out of them as his hands cupped her breasts through the thin fabric of her bra.
When his thumbs brushed over her nipples, she moaned, knowing his mouth would follow. But first he turned her and backed her toward the bed. The towel fell off halfway across the floor, but he didn’t seem to mind. And Laney sure didn’t.
Her knees hit the edge of the bed, and he kissed her again while his fingers made short work of unclasping her bra. She slid her hands over the curve of his ass, holding him close enough so she felt the hard length of his erection against the front of her panties. But when she moved one hand between them to stroke him, Ben moaned and dropped his head to her shoulder.
“I thought about this—aboutyou—all the way home and if you touch me like that, this isn’t going to take long.”
It was heady stuff, being wanted that much, and Laney closed her fingers around him just to hear him make that sound again. He bit gently at her neck while rocking his hips, slipping his hand under the elastic waist of her panties.
Her breath caught when his fingers brushed her sensitive flesh, and she knew it wouldn’t be very long before she either needed to be lying on the bed or Ben would have to hold her up. She didn’t know if he could read her mind or if he felt the same way, but after stroking her for another moment, he withdrew his hand and then held her wrist until she released him.
“I want to be inside you,” he murmured against her lips before he kissed his way down her neck. As she pushed her panties down far enough so she could step out of them, his mouth closed over her nipple, sucking hard enough to make her gasp.
He lifted his head and grinned before setting her on the mattress. She pushed back toward the center as he got a condom from his nightstand and rolled it on, and was unable to keep from smiling as he moved over her.
“You look pretty happy for a woman who hasn’t come yet,” he said, settling between her thighs.
“Maybe because I’m confident you’re about to make meveryhappy.” She reached between their bodies, guiding him into her.
They moved together, her hips moving to meet his as he pushed deeper with each stroke. Laney scraped his back with her fingernails before taking his face between her hands and pulling his head down so she could kiss him.
His mouth was fierce against hers, his tongue sliding over hers until he bit her bottom lip, holding it between his teeth. Then he lifted his head so he could look into her face. His gaze was so intense, Laney shivered.
“You’re so beautiful.”
Shefeltbeautiful when he looked at her like that, and when he said the words in that low, earnest voice. “You make me feel beautiful.”
“Good.” He kissed her again and it was less forceful and more emotion-filled this time—almost electric with the connection between them. “I like making you feel good, Laney.”
He quickened his pace, which feltreallygood, and she dug her fingertips into his hips. Each thrust came deeper and faster, until the delicious tension in her body exploded in a burst of pleasure. She might have said his name, or maybe she was incoherent. She didn’t know. All she knew was the orgasm rocking her world and the feel of Ben’s body.
