by Nana Malone
He slid back into my slick channel, but all the while, he continued to explore my ass. While he timed each thrust with his thumb, I pushed back against him, seeking more of both. Ben eventually replaced his thumb with a finger. Gently penetrating me. Fucking me with the same slow, easy glide as his cock. Then he added two.
We’d made love like this before, but it required the kind of time that we hadn’t had lately. It struck me that I’d missed it.
When Ben removed his fingers and his cock, I moaned, automatically bringing my ass back, seeking more contact. When I felt the head of his cock against my ass, I held my breath.
Ben’s voice was harsh in my ear. “Relax, baby, I don’t want to hurt you.”
Immediately, I released the breath I’d been holding. As he slid in past any resistance, I moaned at the familiar contact. As he seated himself inside my ass, he took the time to run soapy hands all over my body, whispering words of love and adoration. “God, I love you.”
I could tell from his shaking hands how little control he had. Slowly, he made love to me. Pulling himself all the way out, then sliding back again, making me wild. My whole body shook, and all I wanted was for him to move faster. For him to feel as wild as I did.
Finally, Ben increased his pace, even as his big powerful body cocooned me. Cupping my breast, he rolled the tight nipple with his fingers, making me drop my head back against his shoulder. He took my hand, and together, he led my fingers to the slick folds between my thighs. Together, we stroked over my clit, teasing that sensitive bundle of nerves, bringing me closer and closer to the brink of madness.
"Come for me, baby."
I turned my head to meet his lips for a long, wet kiss. His cock stroked me deep, and the penetration was enough to make me feel weak and needy and desperate. When I broke, the orgasm slammed through my body with a vengeance, so strong I needed to lean into him for support.
"Oh, fuck, Liv."
He came hard, and I could feel every jerk of his cock inside me.
For several long moments, we stood, still joined, panting. Slowly, awareness seeped back in. I registered the water hitting the tiles, his hot, soap-slicked skin against my back, and his still hard dick inside my ass. "I love you." I whispered.
5
Livy
"Rise and shine, princess."
I groaned as I rolled over. "I can't rise and shine. My boyfriend tortured me last night. He used my muscles in ways muscles should not be used. I'm too tired to wake up. Too tired to rise."
"No you're not." He nuzzled my neck. Warm tingles worked their way through my body, making me giggle, and squirm, and stretch, baring half of my nakedness. Unable to resist, Ben leaned over to gently suck at my nipple, all the while murmuring, "Oh no, you're not tempting me again. I have something planned for you. Get up."
I moaned. "Why are you doing this to me? I just want to sleep. Don’t you love me? Why is my boyfriend so mean?"
He licked my other nipple. " Mind telling me how mean he is?"
I giggled. "Very mean."
"Well, I can be very nice. Will you dump your boyfriend for me?"
I peeked an eyelid open. "I mean, you are very handsome. Are you also bossy?"
He flashed a grin. "I knew you loved me being bossy."
I giggled and tried to avoid another kiss, but he found me anyway, and then I moaned beneath him, lifting my hips to meet the hard length of him pressing against my cleft.
"No woman, we are not doing this. We will do this later. You have to get up now."
"But what if I tempt you with sex? Does that mean I get to lie in bed a little bit longer?"
He laughed. "No temptress, up you get." He rolled me over and then tapped me on the ass.
"Ugh, I will get you for that."
"To get me, you have to get up."
I groaned. "Okay fine. Find me something to wear."
"Oh, um, about that. I had sort of, you know, planned on you sitting around naked all day."
I laughed. "You and I both know full well nothing happens with me naked all day."
"Look, I just haven't gotten to spend much relaxing time with you. So far, it's been heists and danger and all the crazy stuff, so I want to do something nice for you."
"Okay, when you put it like that." God, the man was just trying to be sweet. With a yawn, I peeled back the covers all the way, exposing my nudity, and his gaze lingered on my sex. "You know what, on second thought, let me get you a t-shirt... and shorts... No, sweats. Sweats are better. They're thicker. I could see less of”—he waved his hand in front of my body, and it hovered slightly, like he wanted to reach out and touch something—"this."
I laughed, then stood and stretched.
With a groan, he leaned in and kissed me again. Softly. His fingers dipping between my legs. "Uh, on second thought, maybe we should go back to bed, and then—"
I shook my head. "No. I'm out of bed now. I want my surprise."
He groaned. "Well, you didn't tell me you were completely naked under there."
"Sweetheart, when you peeled off my knickers last night, what made you think I’d magically grow another pair? Or this morning, when you woke me up with your mouth on me, did you think I’d pop out of bed and pull on a pair of knickers after that?"
"Think of me like a fish. I have short term memory issues. Now that I see you naked again, I'm forgetting that we're supposed to do something sweet outside of bed."
I laughed and headed for the shower. "I'm going to grab a shower, and then you're going to show me the surprise."
"Are you sure you need a shower? Oh, maybe I can help you wash your back."
I laughed. "No, you demanded I wake up. These are the consequences of your actions."
"That’s harsh," he groused.
Nevertheless, he let me have my shower, and I took the fastest one on record. I didn't allow myself to turn the water on too hot because I knew I would stand there in the stream half asleep. Once showered, I grabbed some fresh clothes and tossed on some sweats like he’d said. Somehow, I preferred the sweats anyway. When I found him, he was in the dining room standing in front of a large spread. "Oh my God, what have you done?"
"Just so you know, I have been cooking since 6:30."
I blinked. Of course there was fresh fruits and eggs, and all the usual stuff. But he also had fried plantain and what looked to be gari and sugar, which was one of my favorite breakfast snacks when I was a child. "Oh my God, what did you do?"
"I made you some of your favorite foods. And then we're going to hang out together for the day."
I smiled up at him. "What is this?"
"This is me, showing the woman who changed my life that I love her. We've spent a lot of time running away from each other, running toward each other, basically just running in general. So, I wanted us to just take a breather. Today we are going to pretend that I don't need to steal a priceless diamond, and that you haven't been kidnapped or attacked in my flat. We are going to pretend that everything is great, and we could take a leisurely stroll if we want to, or go to the market. Today, we are just us. Ben and Livy."
I smiled at that. "I love you."
"And I love you.”
“Okay, now let me show you how to eat this."
"What exactly is this again?” he asked about the gari. “I knew to ask for it at the store because I remembered what you said, but what is it actually?”
I laughed picturing him shopping. "Well, it's cassava. It's a root vegetable that’s been dried and ground. And then you add water and a little bit of evaporated milk and sugar. I like it with peanuts inside. It's like a morning porridge you can make. Then the best thing about gari is that it can be eaten a number of ways. You can also soak the gari and pour off the excess water, give it time to dry, and it becomes something to eat with stew in the afternoon or the evening."
He tried some of it dry. "Well, this really doesn't taste like anything. It's a little sour, I guess."
I nodded and then gave him a spoonful of w
hat I was eating.
His brow furrowed as he tried it and chewed thoughtfully. "Oh, it's like cereal."
"Yeah. And obviously, you can adjust the sweetness and texture."
He reached for my mug and took another bite. "Yeah, actually, I don't mind the texture at all."
I laughed. "Did you make this for me or you?"
"Well, it's your fault for introducing me to new things."
We sat in companionable silence for a while, eating our breakfast. Then we talked about all the inane things that we hadn’t really had the chance to discuss before. Things like a piece of art for the living room. Mundane, everyday couple things. I still couldn't believe that he loved me and I was his.
After we spent the rest of the morning traipsing around Belgravia, we headed over to Notting Hill and walked around until we lost track of time. By the time we returned to the house, my feet were aching, and I was feeling the exhaustion of just being out and about.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah. I'm just beat." I frowned at him after I realized something. "I haven't seen any security all day while we’ve been out."
"That's because I'm paying them to be very, very discreet. And I put tracking devices on our phones. Obviously, if you don't want one, I’ll remove it. But right now, anything to keep you safe."
I looped my arms around his neck. "I love you. But you don't have to do all this."
"Well, I beg to differ. The woman I love has been attacked twice. Not just once, but twice. Once in our own flat. Another time at an event. She's been kidnapped and tortured. So, if you don't mind, I'm going to keep assuming responsibilities for her safety."
"Fair enough."
"Come on, let's get you a massage for your sore feet."
With a moan, I gave in. "Thank you for today."
"You're welcome. I like spoiling you."
"It wasn't even so much the spoiling. Just spending time with you means more to me than anything. It makes me feel like when all of this is over, we stand a chance."
He pulled me over to the couch, picked up one of my feet, and propped it in his lap. He then eased my sandal off and then started to rub his thumb over my heel, and I groaned low. I sounded like some kind of dying animal, and he smiled. "Let me be clear. No matter what. We have more than a chance. No one else has made me feel like you do. For me, this is it. You and me."
I couldn't help the grin that spread over my face. "You're it for me too."
"Good. Because you're stuck with me."
I frowned as a thought entered my head. One I couldn't shake off. "Can I ask you a question? I don't want to ruin our day, but I need to know."
"Ask anything."
"Why did you hate living in this house?"
His gaze snapped to mine. And for the first time all day, tight lines formed around his mouth.
Now you've gone and done it. You’ve asked for the one thing he can't give you.
Ben
I knew we were getting to that point. We'd never really talked about my father or Lila, at least nothing more than a surface conversation. The surprising thing was that, not so long ago, just hearing her name would have set my teeth on edge. But now, it barely stung. And that was all thanks to Livy for teaching me what actual love felt like. "Lila was everything I thought I wanted at the time. She was educated, beautiful. She moved in the right social circles. And I thought I was in love."
"You weren't?"
Her question was soft. And she was listening, watching me with rapt attention. "I loved her in the kind of way you love a pretty thing. And honestly, she didn't know me, I didn't know her, but I liked what the exterior presentation was. Sure, vacations were fun, and we did a lot with friends. We went to the right parties. We had all these things in common. She supported my ambition, that sort of thing. But it was a sort of hollow existence. We didn't match really. I remember some of our conversations when we had these long moments where I searched my brain for something to say to her. And I don't know why that didn’t give me a clue. Sometimes, I think she was a habit."
"You were going to marry this woman out of habit? Surely, you loved her a little?"
I frowned at that. Six months ago, I would have sworn up and down that I loved her. But had I? It certainly hadn't felt like this. “She didn’t push or challenge me. She never asked me to be anyone other than what I presented to her. She never asked me to dig deeper and be more."
Livy frowned at that. "Do you think I'm asking you to be more than you are?"
I took her hand then. "No, but yes in some ways. You’ve caused me to question things. Things about myself. The way I live, the way I grew up. Obviously, I've travelled a lot, but you're right, I have been sort of a billionaire prick. My whole life, I've never done things for myself. I've always had a helping hand. I sort of get in this habit of doing things the way I've always done them. I closed off horizons. Lila never pushed me to look beyond any of that because she liked when things stayed the way she thought they were supposed to be."
"So what happened?'
"She'd always said she wanted to live in Belgravia. And I had no real desire to live over here. I was perfectly happy staying at the hotel like East. After all, we'd worked hard to build them. I liked my loft. I liked my bachelor life. It was excellent. But from the moment she said that she had always dreamed of living here, I wanted to be the kind of man that could give her that dream. And then I saw that there was a townhouse up for sale and I started to try to give her that. It was right at the same time that I noticed that things were a little off. She hadn't been happy for some time. She was always pushing me to grow the business. Grow faster, grow bigger. She thought I was too small scale. Bridge, East, and I had a plan. And she insisted that I was listening to them too much and that they were keeping me from being great."
"What was she talking about? The business was doing great because you know when to expand, when not to, when to hold, and when to pull back."
I smiled at her softly. "You understand because you're in it, and you get it. But Lila was just looking from the outside, wanting the big name that comes with it, all the trappings, and so I bought the first townhouse. I thought I could make it into exactly what she wanted for her dream, and then she'd be satisfied and happy. But I rushed everything through. Everything. I had this house and had already started fixing it within six months. Obviously, with all my connections in the building industry, renovations went quickly. Then the townhouse next door became available, so I bought that too. I was making her Covington house. Everything she'd ever wanted. The day I came home with the key, she told me she was leaving, that I was never going to be able to give her what she wanted, and we were done."
Livy's jaw dropped. "What? After everything you did for her?"
"Yeah well, that was my own fault though. I should have done all these things for me. Fulfilled my dreams. Lesson learned."
"So that was just it? She just left you?"
This was the part. The part I had trouble saying out loud. "Well, she had found someone who could give her everything she wanted. The name, the trappings, the prestige."
Livy laughed then. " That's insane. Who could possibly give her a better name than you could?"
"Yeah, she opted to go with the senior. James Covington, my father."
Livy blinked once. Then twice. Then again. "Are you fucking serious?"
"Yeah, I am actually. She's my stepmother now."
"You know, I knew I hated your father. How could he do that to you?"
"Yeah, well, we have never particularly gotten along. And it felt like this was his giant final fuck you to me. It's fine."
"It is not fine. It must have broken your heart."
"At the time, yes. And I was more fazed by what my father did in the end than I was by Lila’s actions. Again, I had it wrong."
"That's why you didn't ever want to live here?"
"Yeah. But you, singlehandedly, have made this place a home. Before it was this museum or mausoleum that I couldn’t get past.
Now, it's the place I want to be."
"Does it feel weird having me here?"
"No. It actually feels like home. You've put your own stamp on it. It feels like we belong here together."
"Thank you for telling me all that."
"I've held onto it, probably for too long. I should have told you sooner."
"You're telling me now. And not for nothing, but your ex is a bitch."
"Oh well, she got what she deserves. She and the old man are well suited to each other."
“Your own father.” Suddenly she frowned. "Now it makes a lot more sense why you were so protective of me with him when he came here."
"He's a known womanizer. But you didn't need my protection. As you keep telling me, you have it all completely handled."
"I do, actually. But I still appreciate it. When you're not being excessively bossy, it is very hot that you want to take care of me."
I laughed. "I'm never bossy."
"Oh, you are plenty bossy."
"No, no. Not bossy at all."
"You realize the next time I see your father I'm going to give him a piece of my mind."
"Nah, I think you've already terrified him plenty. Besides, it wouldn't sink in. And like I said, he and Lila have made each other miserable. I call it karma."
She crossed her arms then. "If you say so. But you're right. We have a whole new life ahead of us. You and me. Once all of this is over with the Elite, we could start from scratch. Whatever you want."
"I don't want a lot. Whatever we want is more important."
"Amen to that." She leaned forward and gave me a kiss. And for the first time in years, I felt well and truly free.
6
Ben
The last thing I expected at six o'clock in the morning was Prince Lucas Winston of the Winston Isles, banging on my door.
I wasn’t in bed. I'd been down in the gym working out. Security sensors had gone off that someone had typed in the code. Very specifically, the team London Lords code. I grabbed the towel and hit the stairs, not bothering to wait for the elevator. I grabbed juice before heading to the back door to let him in.
