by Tessa Bailey
When Ben slowly removed his hand, her mouth fell open. “W-why didn’t you say anything?”
He barked a laugh. “Why do you think? I don’t even know if you’re going to give me a second chance. I didn’t want you to think I’d taken it for granted.” Something hard stuck in his chest. “Jesus, I’m not even sure anymore if you want to come back to New York. With or without me. But I hate to tell you, Honey, I’m going to try and make staying here impossible for you. I’m going to make it as hard for you to watch me get on a plane as it was for me to watch you get into that cab.”
Somewhere in the middle of his speech, her chest had started to rise and fall rapidly. Reminding him she was topless. Naked. While this had to be the only circumstance under which he’d ever forget Honey was naked, he was now being neatly reminded. So was his body. Eyes up, Dawson. Don’t look. Don’t look. You just spilled everything out on the table, and what she says next is important.
“Ben?”
“Yeah?”
She cupped and squeezed her breasts. “Fuck me again, please.”
Christ. He dove for her, sending them both down onto the grass. Honey’s mouth opened on a gasp, and he was all too happy to take that opening with his tongue, kissing her with everything he felt. Lust, frustration, possessiveness. Yeah, possessiveness. Big, bad, and encompassing. The hot little whimpering sounds she made every time his tongue stroked hers became an instantaneous addiction. So he did it over and over, fucking her mouth like he’d do with his body soon.
He tore away with a curse, inhaling the scent at her neck. “You know I’m going to give it to you, Honey. Probably two more times before we leave this field. But tell me what you’re thinking first, though. About what I said. Okay? I’m going crazy here.”
She was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. Blond hair spread out behind her on the grass, face flushed, eyes full of life. His life. It was all right there when she looked up at him. “I’m thinking I kind of want you to take me for granted in some ways. I want you to know I’m coming back with you. That I’m going to be with you. Stay with you.” Her voice fell to a whisper. “I’m sorry I let you wonder for so long. If you’d asked me to come home with you last night when you walked into Calhoun’s, I would have said yes. Even though I wanted to scream at you.”
Relief made him dizzy, so he dropped his head into the crook of her neck. She tilted to the side, and he grazed her skin with his teeth, making her suck in a breath. “Please don’t get into any more cabs or airplanes for a while. Not unless I’m with you. Okay?”
“Deal,” Honey whispered before wrapping her legs around his hips, arching beneath him so her sexy tits pointed straight up toward his mouth. God, she was going to have him walking around the streets of New York in a constant state of arousal. Already his cock felt full and heavy, as if he hadn’t just come like nobody’s business fifteen minutes ago. She bit her top lip while sliding her fingers into his hair. When she fisted it and pulled, Ben groaned. “You like when I pull your hair, don’t you? When I did it that day in the classroom—”
“Yes, I fucking like it,” he growled, nipping at her mouth. “I bet you think that’s funny.”
She shook her head. “No, I think it’s hot. I think everything about you . . .” She tugged on the strands again, harder this time. Fuck. “ . . . is hot. Every time you walked into class and lifted your bag over your head, a little bit of skin would show right above your belt. I wanted to lick it.” Turned on even more by her confession, he slid his cock up through her wet pussy to rest on her belly, moaning when she started circling her tight, little body against it. “The way you push your glasses up with your middle finger. I used to imagine you pushing it inside me. All the way.” Her heels dug into the small of his back. “One thing you do, though, is by far the hottest.”
“Tell me. Tell me now. I’ll never stop doing it.”
Honey’s lips twitched. “When you talk to me in that professor voice.” Her eyelids fluttered, as if just saying it out loud was enough to get her going. Sweet hell. This girl. “You do it all the time, you know. Out of nowhere, your tone changes, and it . . .”
“What?”
“It makes me so wet,” she murmured, hitting him with the full impact of those big eyes. “For you.”
“Like maybe you want to please your professor? By being nice and ready?” His voice was strained. Everything about him was strained. With every word out of her mouth, his dick swelled thicker and became harder to ignore. Every instinct inside him demanded he thrust into all that snug heat and bang her into the ground, but she’d asked him for something in her own way. And he’d give her anything. Everything. Ben leaned down and placed his mouth over her ear. “Ms. Perribow, you’ve been squirming around in your seat for my entire lecture. In that ridiculous piece of fabric you refer to as a skirt. Is it your life’s intention to distract me?”
Her energy snapped beneath him like a live wire. She threw her head back into the grass and moaned, thighs inching even higher around his waist. Fuck, he was going to give it to her so damn hard. She was going to feel it for days. But he wasn’t finished yet.
“It seems there is something you’d like to share with the class, Ms. Perribow? Or is it just for your professor?” He leaned down and swiped his tongue over her hard nipples. “Come stand at the front of the class and lift up your little skirt. Let your professor see what’s been warming your seat.”
“Stop. Enough,” she breathed, attempting to lean up and kiss him. “I need you now. Please.”
Ben kept her pinned with his body, continuing to speak in the voice he usually reserved for lectures. “That’s a good girl, Ms. Perribow.” He rotated his hips, grinding the base of his cock against her clit. “Now take down your panties and bend over my desk. Stay that way until I’ve dismissed you. Not a moment sooner.”
Honey cried out, her body going bow tight beneath him before it started to shake. Ben watched her with nothing short of awe. Unbelievable. He’d actually made her come just by talking to her. He liked the power of that. A lot. Maybe too much, because his body was now thrumming with the relentless need to be inside her. Now. Immediately. He had no idea where common sense got a foothold, reminding him to put on a condom, but he reached for his jeans, slipping one out of his pocket and covering himself within seconds. Honey still looked shell-shocked, lying on her back and sucking in gulping breaths. Her body looked gorgeous and satisfied in the moonlight. Too bad he wasn’t quite done satisfying her. And after feeling the orgasm move through her body, he was pumped full of lust. Need her. Need her now.
Ben grabbed Honey by the waist and flipped her over, urging her onto her knees. He groaned at the sight of her ass in the air, just as he’d pictured it so many times. Perky and upturned. Asking for it. He led his cock between her legs and rubbed it through her wetness. “Just because I’m not going to be your professor anymore doesn’t mean you shouldn’t work hard for a good grade.” He drove himself deep inside her, keeping her upright with an arm under her hips. “Fuck. You get extra credit for being tight, that’s for goddamn sure.”
Honey’s back started to tremble, broken sobs falling from her mouth. “It feels so good this way.”
“I haven’t even moved yet, babe,” Ben said through gritted teeth. He should probably get around to that, huh? But her warm pussy clenched around him so perfectly that he actually needed a moment to calm down before he gave in to his body’s urges. “Tell me if I’m too rough, okay?”
She tossed her hair, looking back at him over her shoulder. “I’ll only tell you if you’re not rough enough.”
Jesus. That fucking did it. Ben took hold of her hips, easing out of her on a groan before pounding back in. Honey whimpered his name, and that was the end of his control. He yanked her hips back to meet his as he started to thrust hard. It was insane how close he was already. She did this to him. Heightened his senses, made everything look, sound, feel better. More intense. He was fucking her hard and she only lifted her ass highe
r, arching her back for more. Her hot little cries were like the best song he’d ever heard, one he wanted to put on repeat, endlessly. When she tossed her head, that blond hair became too much of a temptation, so he fisted it and drove into her with even more force.
“Oh God, oh God, oh God. Ben.”
Her hands slipped in the grass and she went down, landing on her belly. Ben went down with her, pushing her thighs open with his knees, not breaking his pace for a second. With her face turned to the side in the grass, he could see her eyes were squeezed shut, lips swollen from biting. Begging words fell from her mouth that only someone buried in her heat could understand. Ben wedged his hand between their bodies and stroked her clit, soft and easy, a complete contrast to his rhythmic thrusting. “Who’s a teacher’s pet?”
Her ass jerked up against his belly and she screamed. Ben went over the cliff right behind her, the unbearable pressure in his balls releasing, dragging his soul along for the ride. His mind went blank, void of everything but her and what she’d given him. Good. So damn good. No, better than good. There wasn’t a word invented yet for what it felt like to shoot off inside of Honey while her body climaxed around him. He buried his face in her back as violent shudders took him over, absorbing hers at the same time. There were words in his head, so many words. His throat ached with the need to say them, to express this fucking tornado of emotion she whipped into a frenzy inside him. But he breathed her in instead, memorized the feel of her as he drew her up against his side in the grass. When he said the words, there wouldn’t be any confusion as to why he’d said them.
They were silent for a few seconds before she spoke. “Welcome to the Bluegrass State.”
Ben laughed long and loud. “I’d heard about Southern hospitality, but I had no idea. You really go above and beyond.”
“We want to make sure our visitors come back.”
The smile slipped from his face. He knew she was joking, but he didn’t even like the possibility of them being separated by seven hundred miles.
Honey seemed to sense his inner turmoil, because she tucked her head under his chin, nudged his neck with her nose. “I told my parents we were going to a movie. That gives us another hour or so before we should head back.”
Ben ran his fingers down her spine and back up. “What are the odds they bought that?”
“Pretty low.” She yawned against his throat, and his smile fell back into place. He liked knowing what she sounded like when she yawned. “Wake me up in forty-five minutes.”
“Okay, babe.”
But the warmth of her, his lack of sleep and the relief of knowing she’d be coming back to New York, was too much. He fell asleep two minutes after her.
Chapter 18
HONEY WAS HAVING that dream. The one where she was late, but no idea how late. Or for what. Usually school was involved in some way, but those dreams of being late for class usually made her anxious. Tied her belly up in knots. That certainly wasn’t the case here. She felt lethargic, warm. More comfortable than she’d ever felt in her life. As if she’d drunk just the right amount of wine before swan-diving into a pool full of goose feather pillows. Her body was molded around something hard, though. Very hard. And it was moving, albeit very slowly. A steady rise and fall. Something warm and firm—a hand?—traveled up the back of her thigh to cup her bottom, tug her closer.
“Honey,” a gruff, sleep-roughened voice husked at her ear. “Roll over and let me fuck, babe.”
Ben. Oh God. Even as her body reacted swiftly to the command, she registered where they were. Baseball field. Wake me up in forty-five minutes. Honey’s eyes flew open, but they slammed shut again when the overhead sun blinded her. Opening them again in a squint, she turned in Ben’s strong arms and shook him. “Wake up. You have to wake up.”
One eye eased open in his masculine face, made even more so by his morning stubble. Oh shit, he looked really good half asleep, hair all tousled and dewy. He appeared to have the same opinion about her, because his gaze dropped to her still-naked breasts and he groaned. She couldn’t help taking a peek at his morning wood, which was growing by the instant. When he saw where her attention had been drawn, his lips quirked up into a lazy smile. “Climb on. It’s been hours.”
She considered it. She actually considered mounting her naked boyfriend in broad daylight and taking one for the road. Sanity prevailed, however, when she heard an approaching car rumbling in the distance. That was the exact moment Ben woke up fully, his face clearing of any hope of morning sex. His gaze shot to the road before landing back on Honey’s naked body. “Oh shit. Oh shit.”
They both scrambled to their feet, snatching clothes off the field before hightailing it to the truck, where they ducked down against the fender, dragging garments over their heads and up their legs. At least this way, no one could see them from the road. When the car rumbled past without stopping, they looked at each other and released the breath they’d been holding. Honey was the first to laugh, but Ben joined in almost immediately, both of them landing on their—thankfully clothed—asses in the grass.
Honey wiped the tears from her eyes. “We might have avoided a public indecency charge, but we still have my parents to contend with.”
“You don’t think they’ll buy it if we tell them we saw a double feature?” Ben buried his face in his hands, but he was smiling. “I’m going to be shot on sight, aren’t I?”
“I can’t believe you of all people fell asleep.” She got to her feet and buttoned her jean shorts. “You’re so punctual. Never late. Never early. Always timing your lectures down to the minute.”
“Noticed that, did you?” He stood as well, backing her against the side of the truck, making her tip her head back to look at him. “Maybe when I have a sweet little blonde who smells like cinnamon wrapped around me, I stop giving a shit about what time it is.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “Is that so?”
“Yeah. I can’t wait to have that smell in my bed. All over my sheets.” He tilted his head to the side, considering. “Is there any chance your father might demand I marry you to protect your honor?”
Her heart tried to leap from her chest. If it succeeded, she had no doubt it would cling to Ben, because that’s what she wanted to do. Wanted to climb his body, dig her face into his neck, and never let go. Wanted to see his face in the morning, just like this, every single day. Sanity took hold, though, at the very last second. What if he was only joking and she came across crazy? He had to be joking, right? He looked serious—very serious—but she couldn’t be sure.
She gave a halfhearted push against his chest. “How many nineteen-year-olds do you know that are ma—” She broke off in the middle of her own sentence, the day’s date dawning on her. “Wait a minute. I’m twenty today.” A laugh tumbled out. “It’s my birthday.”
He pushed a hand through his hair, looking slightly ill. “No, don’t tell me that. I don’t have a gift.”
Her mouth spread into a smile. “The day is young.”
A flicker of relief in his eye quickly disappeared. “Something tells me there aren’t a lot of shopping options in Bloomfield.”
An idea took root in her mind. “I know what I want from you.” Hoping she wasn’t pushing or overstepping, she twined her arms around his neck. “Write me something.”
His throat worked, gaze darting to the side. “What?”
She shrugged one shoulder, chuckling when his eyes dropped to her breasts. “You’ve read dozens of my assignments, but besides the notes you leave me, I’ve never read anything of yours. I’ll even let you choose the topic.” When he still looked dubious, she went up on her toes and kissed his neck once, twice. “Just think about it.”
Without waiting for an answer, she dropped her arms from around his neck and climbed into the truck. The keys were on the seat, where she’d apparently thrown them last night when Ben had pulled her from the truck. Had that only been last night? It seemed like ages had passed since then, so much having been resolved.
She understood him now. Understood why he’d pushed her away back in New York. As of last night, she’d let the hurt go. Put it behind her. How could she continue to be upset, when he’d actually changed jobs for her? She still hadn’t quite wrapped her mind around that.
A smile flirting with the corners of her mouth, Honey turned the key in the ignition. Nothing happened.
Ben slid onto the seat beside her, frowning. “Problem?”
She turned the key again and got silence in return. “The truck is dead.”
He pushed up his glasses, understanding dawning on his face. “We left the headlights on.”
“It drained the battery.” Honey smacked her forehead, then let her hand drop into her lap. “Guess we’re walking.”
Just because she liked watching him walk and wanted his hands on her again, Honey stayed in the driver’s seat until Ben came around to let her out. His expression told her he knew what she was about, too, and felt the same way. He hooked an arm around her waist and dragged her out of the truck, letting her dangle in the air against his hard body, their mouths hovering inches apart.
“I advise against tempting a man with morning wood, Honey. It can be vicious when not seen to properly.”
She rubbed their mouths together. “I’ll cure you of it later. Even if I’m reduced to sneaking into my brother’s room tonight to get it on with my boyfriend.”
“Boyfriend,” he growled, stooping down to wrap an arm around her legs. Before Honey could get her bearings, he’d thrown her over his shoulder, kicked the truck door shut, and started off down the road.
When Honey stopped laughing, she smacked him on the butt. “The farm is the other way.”
