“Why can’t I say no to you?” Her voice trembled, matching her body. “Why can’t I tell you no?”

“Because you need this too. We need it.” And then when tomorrow came around, we could go back to how things were.

Friends.

The word echoed through me, taunting me, but I ignored it.

Walking Poppy over to the bed, I gently laid her down. She stared up at me, lust glittering in her eyes.

“You are so fucking beautiful.”

“I’m a mess.” Her hand went to her jaw but I tugged it away. Slowly lowering myself over her, I was careful not to put too much weight on my bad shoulder. It was already aching, but I wasn’t about to let it stop me from stealing this moment.

With featherlight brushes, I kissed Poppy’s jaw, the corner of her mouth, eventually moving to her lips. She let out a soft moan, making my dick twitch behind my sweats.

Her hands slid up my chest, leaving a trail of heat in their wake.

“Fuck,” I hissed, plunging my tongue deeper as my hand found its way between our bodies. “Can I?” I gripped her bare thigh, stroking the smooth skin there.

Poppy pressed her lips together and nodded.

Thank fuck.

My fingers trembled as I pushed my hand higher, dipping into the leg of her shorts.

“Oh God,” she moaned as I found her center and rubbed gently.

“Aaron, it feels—” She lifted her hips seeking more friction as I captured her lips in another bruising kiss, swallowing the tiny moans caught in her throat.

I don’t know how long we kissed, how long I stroked her through her damp panties. But all too soon, Poppy’s breathing became ragged, her body writhing beneath me.

“Do you like that?” I whispered and she nodded, folding one of her hands around mine and guiding me into the thin material until it was skin on skin.

I quickly adjusted my tempo, rewarded with, “Yes, Aaron, oh God, yes.”

Pride filled my chest as I kissed my way down her throat, licking and sucking, all while my fingers pumped slowly in and out of her.

“Are you going to come for me, Poppy Star? Are you going to—”

“Yes,” she panted, bowing into my touch. “Yes.”

I smiled against her mouth, teasing her with my tongue. Her body began to tremble, her pussy clamping onto my fingers, demanding more. It felt like my heart might burst right out of my chest, it was so intense. Seeing her lose control like this, knowing that I was the one causing it… it did things to me.

Bad, bad things.

She came hard, crying my name into my chest as she buried her face there. My body was a live wire above her, desperate for more. Craving what I could never have.

Breathe, Bennet. Just fucking breathe.

“Poppy, look at me,” I forced the words past my lips, and slowly, she lifted her head.

“I—”

She shocked the shit out of me by sliding her palm over the obvious bulge in my sweats.

“Poppy, you don’t need—”

“I want to feel you. Just once I want to know what you look like when you lose control.” She dipped her hand inside and closed her fingers around my hard length.