“It’s okay. My boyfriend’s picking me up. Thanks, though.”

“Okay. Text me when you get home safe.” Ben waited for her to get in the elevator before he closed the door behind him. He studied me as I sat on the couch to remove my shoes. They might be a pretty pair of shoes, but my feet had been hurting.

“Did you have fun tonight?”

“I did. Thank you for not leaving my side.” I was grinning like a fool just thinking about the subtle touches Ben gave me tonight and the fact that Ben’s family were all so nice. I couldn’t help but feel happy for Sofi because she’d be taken care of and adored there.

“I wouldn’t dream of it.” Ben approached me for a deep kiss on the lips, his palm cupping my face. I could taste the Brandy he drank before we left. We were both buzzed, I could tell. “I’m so proud of you tonight. You carried yourself with so much grace.”

He continued to kiss me, deeper yet slower. It was different than the ones we had shared before—more intimate.

“You said you’re here for just three months?” he asked in between kisses.

“Well, yes. I couldn’t afford—”

“Tell me you want to stay, and I’ll do something about it.”

“Ben—”

“We’re past bullshitting each other about this. I like you, Chloe. It’s more than just Sofi tying me to you.”

“You don’t know what you’re—”

“I do. So tell me if you want to stay with me because I can do something about it.”

The idea of leaving made me want to throw up. I didn’t want to think about it right now, especially when things had just started to get better for me.

“I want to stay,” I panted against his lips.

“Good. You can stay as long as you want here. You don’t have to pay rent. It’s yours.”

“That’s too much.”

“I insist. I want Sofi close—I want you close. And I want to see you every day.”

“Okay.”

“Very good. Now, let’s get you out of this dress.”

***

Ben entered me so excruciatingly slowly that I thought it was going on forever. My stomach did an unnatural turn as his breath warmed my shoulders. Tonight, the atmosphere was different.

“Yes, baby. Harder.” I breathed when he fully entered me. He was on top of me, and tonight, he didn’t fuck me with his fingers, nor did he eat my pussy. We got into my room after I checked on Sofi, and Ben kissed me on the lips and whispered that he didn’t want to lose me.

“Nice and slow. I want to savor you, feel you.”

I arched my back as I tried to catch my breath and prevent a moan from coming out. Ben worshiped my body with his touch and his kisses.

“Ben.”

“That’s right. Repeat my name.”

My gut was twisting. I wasn’t used to this feeling. To be taken care of. His slow pace made me want him even more, and not just in bed but every day. In the almost three months that I’d been with him, my soul felt like it had known him all my life.

“Please.”

“Please, what?”