Friends with Benefits: A Friends to Lovers Holiday Romance (A Different Kind of Love Book 4)

by Liz Durano

  “That’s more like it,” I say, chuckling. “I aim to do bad things with you, young lady.”

  Caitlin looks around to see if anyone from her family is around but they’re all inside already. She takes a step closer, our noses touching playfully. “And I aim to please, Mr. Murphy.”

  I wrap my arms around her waist, one hand dropping down the curve of her ass. “That’ll be Sir to you later.”

  She giggles as I kiss her, pulling away only when a car stops in front of the house and the driver and his passenger emerge with plastic bags filled with what looks like our food order. “Goodness, just how much food did Jordan order?” Caitlin asks as she takes a step toward the front door.

  “Looks like the whole menu,” I say, laughing as I allow her to pull me inside the house, the sounds of her family moving about and getting the table ready reminding me that unofficially—for now—they’re my family, too.

  Fifteen

  Two weeks later, I see Campbell in the crowd, a gorgeous dark-haired man standing a head taller than most of the people around him. My heart feels like it’s about to burst out of my chest and the butterflies in my belly are fluttering like crazy. If this is what it’s like to be in love, then I’m all for it. I just don’t know why I waited so long.

  “Campbell!” I rush into his arms, feeling him bury his face in my neck and hair.

  “Hey there, beautiful,” he murmurs. “How was your flight?”

  “Long. But I’m not complaining,” I reply. “Thanks for upgrading my ticket. First class is amazing.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  I feel his lips against mine, warm and soft, the airport around us fading into the background. It’s only been two weeks since I last hung out with him in LA when he joined my family to watch me walk across the stage and accept my diploma. Two weeks since we had so much fun playing tourist around LA and we have tons of pictures to prove it, many of them printed on photographic paper so we can frame them one day. He stayed with us for two days before he had to travel back to New York for work and from there, it took a week for me to pack up all my stuff at the apartment I shared with another grad student in Westwood. At least, Jordan got to stay behind and help me pack everything up and then accompany me on the flight back home.

  How things have changed since my declaration about wanting to go straight to work as soon as I graduated. Ever since Campbell and I officially announced we were dating, it’s as if real life finally hit me in the face (and my heart) and I realized life isn’t all work and no play. Sometimes, it’s okay to play. It’s okay to set the job in the back burner and enjoy life for a while.

  Heck, I don’t even remember what my dissertation was about now, not right this minute, not when my world right now is right here with this man whom I’ve known since I was a child, the same man who’s taking me on my first ever real vacation as his graduation present—to Italy, no less—even if I had to make the first part of my trip alone since he had to be in London a week earlier for work. But starting right now, this moment, it’s just him and me in Venice, no less, the first leg of our trip.

  While Jordan and my parents pooled their funds together for my graduation present, an all-expenses paid trip to Italy for two, it’s Campbell who puts in the finishing touch. He upgraded everything from my flight to the accommodations. He’s got everything planned and I can’t wait.

  The itinerary he’s scheduled is amazing with enough time to rest and have fun in between. Definitely a lot of fun. Four weeks of exploring Venice, Florence, and Rome. There’s even a lot of boating and sunbathing time in Positano, Capri, and the Amalfi Coast. Somewhere on that list is a four-day stay in Tuscany and I trust Campbell with the details. It’s not his first time and so he knows exactly where to go, pulling favors from clients at work who got us the best hotel rooms and some of them even opened their private homes for us to use, villas and all. I don’t even know where everything is exactly on the map he sent me after our last video call but I don’t care. How could I think of going straight to work right after graduation and miss all this?

  As Campbell pulls me closer, I can smell the scent of his cologne mingled with that man-smell of his that drives me crazy, with its hint of cinnamon and leather... even tobacco for someone who doesn’t smoke. I also taste coffee on his tongue and the whole combination has my body vibrating. I pull away, suddenly embarrassed. We really need to get to a room, but not yet.

  “We need to get my luggage.”

  Half an hour later, we’re at the hotel which is in the Zattere area of Venice’s Dorsoduro district overlooking the Lagoon. It’s beautiful and I can’t help but feel like I’m in a fairy tale, one that has my name on it.

  “St. Mark’s Square is just one water bus stop from here, pumpkin,” he murmurs as he snaps a selfie of both of us with the Lagoon behind us. “I hope you packed your walking shoes.”

  “I brought two pairs, just in case,” I reply, turning my head and kissing him on his bearded cheek. “I even brought a few stilettos for those fancy dinners you never fail to take me to.”

  He’s already done his fair share of that and not once do I have to worry about towering over him. He’s tall enough, confident enough and more than sexy enough to handle me.

  Campbell looks at me knowingly, his eyes narrowing. “Really?”

  “Yes, really,” I whisper, biting my lip. “I know how you like to look at my legs.”

  “Oh, but it’s not just your legs I like, Cait. I like all of you.”

  I turn around to face him, forgetting the phone that’s probably still filming us as I wrap my arms around his waist and nuzzle his neck. “Thank goodness for that, because I’m the whole package, baby.”

  “Now we really need to get inside before we cause a commotion,” he says, laughing as he tucks his phone back in his jacket and taking my hand, leads me inside the hotel.

  We begin our official stay in the suite with a shower to wash off all the travel hours I’ve just logged. Too bad Campbell is more disciplined than I am for other than a long passionate kiss under the water spray, that’s about it for any action in the shower. He orders me to wait and that’s what I do. It’s a side of him that he shows only to me and I love it. Commanding, domineering, and controlled.

  “Get on the bed,” he whispers in my ear as we leave the steaming bathroom, towels discarded on the floor along the way. “On your back, arms above your head.”

  I bite my lower lip, my heart racing as I do as I’m told. My hair is still damp from the shower but he lays a fresh towel underneath my head before proceeding to bury his face in my hair, his hands already exploring. Outside, it’s getting dark, but there’s really no rush for us to be anywhere else but right here.

  “I missed you, Cait. You have no idea.”

  “Show me,” I gasp as his kisses along my neck and shoulder make me shiver with excitement and need, his hands finding my breast and palming it, his thumb and index finger pinching and pulling my nipple. I want to hold him but I also know I can’t. I never realized how obeying an order as simple as keeping my hands over my head could be so thrilling but with Campbell it is. I’ve always done what I wanted, but with him, all I want is to do what he wants me to do. He does it with a look, a touch, a whispered command.

  Campbell’s kisses continue down my breast and I moan as he takes a nipple in his mouth, licking it and sucking it as I squirm beneath him. He moves to the other nipple, squeezing my breast as his other hand trails along my side. His beard tickles my skin and his mouth and tongue, soft and warm, has me begging for more.

  “So eager,” he growls, his fingers finding me already wet for him.

  “It’s been two weeks, Cam.” I grip the pillows above my head, turning my head to the side as I feel his other hand leave my breast to trail down my thighs, pushing them apart. I feel him breathe across my delicate skin and I moan. “It’s been too long.”

  When his tongue slides across my sensitive lips, I’m lost. And this is just the beginning. This is just
Campbell getting started. Like everything he does, he does it well and making love to me, making me feel like I’m the only woman in the world for him, is one of the things he does so well. It’s a package deal and I feel like I’ve won the lottery of life with this man. But even as my mind says it’s too soon for me to think such things, I don’t care.

  “You taste like heaven, Cait,” he murmurs, his tongue stroking between my folds, curling and flitting across my slit. I grip the sheets, my gasps and moans filling the room. I don’t want to be too loud that I’d wake up the neighbors. It happened once when he flew to LA to visit me and we took a weekend trip to Santa Barbara and we stayed at a resort known for its hiking trails. I was so noisy that the guest banged on the walls, but as embarrassed as I felt at that moment, Campbell and I laughed it off, giggling all throughout dinner afterward. He upgraded our accommodations then and got us our own little casita on the property where I could make as much noise as I wanted. Of course, I didn’t but I was still loud enough. And the little house was all ours that weekend.

  “Play with yourself, Cait,” he murmurs as he drags his tongue up and down my slit, his fingers sliding in and hitting that sensitive spot. “Let me see you.”

  I cry out as the rush of sensations hits me, my hands finding my breasts, my fingers pinching and pulling my nipples. Campbell buries his face between my legs, his beard scratching the insides of my thighs as I come, my cries filling the room. He moves up across my body, his mouth meeting mine hungrily and I can taste myself on his lips, his tongue, feel the head of his cock rest between my folds, coating himself with my wetness. I reach for him, one hand on the back of his shoulder and the other, along his lower back, pulling him to me.

  “Cait...”

  Campbell groans, his thick cock pushing between my slippery folds, claiming me inch by inch as he watches my face with heavy lidded eyes. He pulls back, leaving only the head inside and I dig my nails along his back, gritting my teeth.

  “Fuck me, Cam,” I breathe as he drives his cock inside me and I cry out, loving the feel of him filling every inch of me. He buries his head against my neck as he begins to move, deep, hard strokes of his body that leaves me quivering, shaking beneath him. I can feel myself clenching around his cock, his mouth finding the perfect spot just behind my ear and slowly, ever so slowly, sucking the skin there until I feel myself shatter, all the sensations coming together in one thunderous spark.

  “Come for me, Cait,” he whispers. “Come.”

  And I do, my body shuddering as I feel myself shatter before him. I feel his fingers dig into the skin of my hips, holding me there as he drives his cock deep inside me, pumping me hard until his own release comes and he groans, his mouth against mine as he breathes my name.

  “Cait...”

  Moments later, I feel him shift on the bed, his arms circling my waist as he pulls me closer to him, my back molding perfectly along his torso. I feel his breath warm over my shoulder.

  “I love you, Caitlin O’Halloran,” he whispers, planting a kiss on my shoulder. “You have no idea how much I love you, and just how much I’ve missed you these past two weeks.”

  “I love you like crazy, too, Campbell Murphy,” I whisper, turning to look at him. “I don’t know why I waited so long to find out that you’re a wild man in the sheets.”

  “That’s because you bring out the animal in me.”

  I giggle. “I like that.”

  “Me, too.”

  “Do you think we were loud?”

  He thinks for a moment. “The walls here are a lot thicker than back home. So, no, I don’t think so.” He pauses. “At least, I hope so.”

  “Campbell!”

  He chuckles, nuzzling my neck again. “It’s thick enough, Cait. Don’t worry. This is the first of many accommodations on this trip. We’ll find out soon enough if they’re all thick enough. After all, my goal is to hear you scream my name every time I make love to you.”

  “Campbell Murphy, you’re making me blush.”

  “Ah yes, and don’t I love it when you do,” he says, his tone turning serious. “I love you, Caitlin O’Halloran.”

  “And I love you, Campbell Murphy.” I roll onto my back and face him, loving the way he makes me feel so safe and so loved. As he pulls me closer, his mouth meeting mine, there’s also no denying that I’ve loved Campbell for as long as I can remember. I just didn’t know it then, all because he was my brother’s best friend.

  Only this time, he’s mine. All mine.

  Just as I’ve always been his.

  All his.

  Two and a half weeks later, standing on our hotel balcony overlooking the town of Positano at dusk and feeling a bit sunburned and tipsy, I find myself hating that it’s almost over. In four days we head back to home and Campbell goes back to work and I start my job hunt. At this rate, I’m going to need a serious vacation from this vacation.

  I haven’t even thought about work at all throughout the whole trip. I don’t remember that self-righteous talk about getting a job as soon as I graduate because I want to start earning my way blah blah blah. All I know is that I want to spend the rest of my life with the only man I’ve ever loved since I was a little girl.

  Even though we’re supposed to be on vacation, we find ourselves talking about our future. We’ve talked about my plans to find work as soon as possible, even my original plan to move wherever the job is. So far, I have two job offers. Both of them are on the West Coast but right now, it’s the last place I want to be, not when I want Campbell in my future and there’s no way our relationship can survive long distance.

  “What are you thinking, love?” Campbell asks as he stands behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist. Below us, the sound of the surf is intoxicating, the sight of the lights dotting the darkening hillside reminding me just how lucky I am to have found the love of my life.

  “I’m thinking about how this moment is so perfect I wish I could bottle it and take it home with me,” I whisper. “You, me, the town and all the steps we had to climb to get from here to there that one night.”

  “Ah, yes. But it was just that one night.” As Campbell nuzzles my neck, I can feel his beard scratching my skin. He’s forgone shaving for the last two and a half weeks and I have to admit, he looks so damn sexy that if I wasn’t so tired from being on a boat most of the day swimming and snorkeling at the Blue Grotto and other places whose names I don’t remember now, I’d ravish him right here.

  “One night? Try wearing heels, dude,” I say, remembering how we’d gotten lost two nights earlier trying to get to some restaurant on the other side of the town which would have given us an opposite view of the hillside. Only we’d made the wrong turn and had to walk two more blocks uphill and then downhill. But we found the restaurant and the view was just as beautiful as it was from our hotel balcony. The only difference was that from the restaurant, we could see our balcony.

  “Are you complaining?”

  “Hell, no. I wouldn’t trade this whole trip for anything, Cam. I just wish I could bottle this perfect moment right now and keep it with me forever. You included,” I whisper as a cool breeze kisses my skin and I close my eyes, feeling Campbell unwrap his arms from my waist and take a step away from me.

  “Turn around, Cait.”

  I open my eyes and turn to face him, only he’s not there, not standing in front of me, at least. No, he’s down on one knee, a black box in the palm of his hand.

  “Will you me marry me, Caitlin O’Halloran?” he asks. “Will you make me the happiest man in the world by being my wife?”

  For a moment, my world seems to stop before my eyes. There’s a deafening roar in my ears as my cheeks grow warm. In Campbell’s eyes, I can see my life flash before me, from the moment I first became aware of the boy next door when I was a little girl up until I was in high school when I knew he was hurting after his father left but he kept it all inside. And then this, seeing him all grown up to the amazing man he’s become, just as sunburned as I am bu
t as handsome as ever with that ever-mischievous glint in his eyes.

  Only this time, there’s no mischief at all as he looks up at me. There’s only love and the promise of a future together.

  “Yes,” I whisper as he takes my hand and slips the ring around my finger. “Yes, Campbell Murphy, I will marry you.”

  And as Campbell stands up and gathers me in his arms, his mouth covering mine in a deep kiss, I realize I don’t just get to keep this perfect moment like I’d wished minutes earlier. I get to live it, too, with Campbell by my side.

  Epilogue

  It’s been two months since Caitlin moved in with me and I couldn’t be happier. Sure, my life is still busy especially after I accepted Daniel Drexel’s offer to join Drexel Marshall Capital Management LP as a senior analyst. He even had me fly to London to check things out just before I joined Caitlin in Venice. He needed someone to help run the London office and if I’d been single, I’m sure I’d have taken him up on it.

  But the moment Caitlin became more than just my best friend’s sister, things changed. My dreams certainly shifted, as well as the reasons why I used to pursue everything. Before Caitlin, life was about tackling the next big thing more to prove to my father that I was a better man than he could ever be than for myself. I didn’t realize it until the moment I met him that night. The pursuit of everything flashy had been for him more than anything. Finally meeting him again after all those years was like seeing an alternate version of myself if I’d kept going, the one that would never be happy with what he had… like family.

  With Caitlin, I suddenly have a clearer picture of what I want and it’s not a bigger high-rise apartment or a house in the Hamptons that’ll be featured on some architectural magazine one day. It’s not the fancy car or the memberships to the most exclusive clubs although I have to admit, they’re nice. Instead, it’s the simple things like dinners at home with friends and playing miniature golf with my best buddy (I figured I’d start small with Jordan before taking him to the golf course). It’s the traditions I’ve learned to appreciate growing up next to the O’Halloran family from Christmas to birthdays to our upcoming wedding.