Page 97 of Collision

“No,” she admits with a shake of her head. “It’s not you.”

I brush my fingers against her cheek, pulling her attention back to me. “And do you want to continue this somewhere else? You can say no if you’re not ready, Mik.”

And I mean it. Despite the fact that every ounce of me aches to continue, to not be pushed away, if she says no that will be okay. I’ll wait. For her, I’d wait a million lifetimes.

Mikaela

“Yes,” I whisper.“I want to go somewhere else.”

It feels like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders. The admission that I want this, want him, has held a heaviness over us for weeks without me realising, all leading to this moment, and, as his lips brush against mine once more, I wrap my fingers around his jacket and pull him close.

Finally, he believes me.

“Then let’s go,” he mumbles against my lips.

This time I let him lead me away, my hand encased in his own as he stalks towards his car, that Cheshire Cat smile of his never leaving his face. I laugh as I stumble, holding him tightly as we flee Jamie’s party under the cover of night.

Under the dim glow of the lights that illuminate the driveway, Ben opens the passenger door but stops me from slipping in.

With no one looking, he pulls me closer to him, grinning when I gasp at the sudden crash into his chest, and places his hand at the base of my spine. Watching my eyes closely, he leans in, searching for something - regret or worry in my gaze? - and presses a tender kiss against my lips. When I melt against his touch he runs his fingers up my spine and smirks at the shiver he pulls from me.

“You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do this.” His forehead presses against mine as he sighs, and I smile softly.

“If my memory serves me well, Haston, you’ve been doing this for weeks now.” I grin as I kiss him again.

Ben laughs and he pulls away from me, pushing me gently towards the car.

“And a lot of those times were much less PG-13.” I continue with a half smile.

“Right.” He shakes his head as he rolls his eyes and grins. “Get in the car, Mik.”

“Yes, Sir.” There’s a bubble of laughter hidden in my voice. A bubble that dissipates and catches in my chest as he pauses. His eyes burn, raking over me slowly, deliciously, and he devours the sight of me now waiting in his car, the thigh high slit of my dress exposing a sliver too much of skin. I stare up at him with wide, innocent eyes and he leans in with a smirk on his lips.

“Hmm.” He pauses to listen as my breathing becomes heavy, and the cool confident act I’ve put in place seems to slip and falter with his breath mingling with mine and his lips so close but still not touching me. He straightens suddenly, winking. “I like the sound of that.”

With the close of the door, I skip a breath.

Thechillofmetalbites at my skin as he presses me against the wall. Part of me is screaming that we should stop. Someone could press that button and walk into the elevator and the two of us would be completely unaware as long as we carry this on. But he is on my bare skin, my wrists pinned above my head as he holds me in place and his other hand grips beneath my knee and pulls it to his waist. His lips are everywhere; trailing from my jaw and down my neck, dancing over my shoulder as he licks and bites and kisses, moving swiftly back to my lips, drinking in every soft whimper I release for him.

I moan as he presses against me, the friction of his pants teasing me with every tantalising slip. I can feel him and heat swirls in my core as I arch my back and he pushes harder against me.

“Please…” I pant as his fingers slip beneath my dress, tracing over the lace beneath. I don’t care that we could be caught. I don’t care that Jamie will kill us both for this.I. Do. Not. Care.I want him.

Ben

“Wait.” I pull away quickly, my eyes widening and my smile almost painful. I back my hips away slightly, unpinning her as I pull the hem of her dress up a little further and peer at the skimpy black lace that clings to her hips and climbs up her waist in delicate, intricate vines and flowers. It’s one of those skimpy, full body things and it’s sinful. “Mikaela Wilcox. Who the fuck are you wearingthatfor?”

I let go of her wrists and she covers her face with both hands as a cherry blush spreads across her chest and neck, creeping into her cheeks.

“Oh fuck. Ohfuck.” Her voice is a choked laugh as she avoids looking at me.

“Mikaela?” My fingers are trailing up her stomach, hitching her dress up with them and my lips twitch at the corners as I fight off the shit eating grin I am desperately trying to hide. “I want an answer to that question because this… Holyshit, Mik. This is insane.”

I chuckle as she groans, leaning into me and hiding her face further. I let the slip of her dress drop back over her as I bring my fingers to her chin gently and pull her face up so that I can look into her eyes.

She blinks back shadows of nerves and worries, and my voice drops to a whisper.

“Hey, I’m sorry.” I shake her chin gently, forcing her to stop chewing on her lower lip as she looks up to me and places her hands on my chest. “I didn’t mean to embarrass you. It’s just, in all the times I’ve imagined this, I never imagined you wearing something like that and it’s - wow.”

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