He deepened the kiss, pushing back his chair and pulling her into his lap. She linked her hands around his neck as he dove in, his tongue tangling with hers. Their appetite no longer interested in food, but only in each other.
Which was a damn shame since it was Lanzi’s. Good thing lasagna made for excellent leftovers.
He broke the kiss. “I promise to not be an idiot again.”
She laughed. “Good luck with that. More kissing, less talking.”
He chuckled, and she pressed her lips to his, her body molded to his chest, his desire hard against her ass. She wiggled in his lap, relishing in his groan as he kissed her harder, robbing her breath. She tightened her fingers in his soft hair, scraping her nails along his scalp.
He gripped her waist and lifted her so she could straddle him, her core pressed tight against his hard cock. She rocked against him, swallowing his moan.
She released his hair and ran her hands down his chest, her fingers slipping under his shirt, skating along the bare skin above his waistband, and he sucked in a breath, his muscles clenching under her touch.
She broke the kiss and yanked his shirt up. He ripped it over his head, and it went flying into the living room. She dipped her head, kissing along his throat, her tongue darting out to lick every spot she could reach.
His hands locked in her hair, massaging her scalp, and she tortured him with nips and kisses down his chest, avoiding his flat nipples—she’d get to them later—and tormenting every inch of skin around them, until his body was wound tightly beneath her.
“Dinner is getting cold,” he said, his voice rough and stilted.
“I’m having my dessert right now,” she said, and then scraped her teeth across the hard nipples she’d been avoiding.
He groaned and shoved the chair back, rising from his seat, with her still in his arms. She wrapped her legs around his waist and held on for the ride.
Ben walked down the hallway to his bedroom, Amanda snug tight to his body, their food forgotten on the table. He’d really wanted to eat that tiramisu off her body. There was plenty of time for that later. Right now he wasn’t going to distract her in any way from getting what they both wanted. Naked bodies tangled in bliss. But this wasn’t just a quick fuck.
He’d finally told her everything. It was an immense relief, finally having someone that he could both love and trust. Not that he was ready to tell her about the love part yet. There was plenty of time for that later.
“Have I mentioned how ridiculously hot it is when you carry me like this?” she asked between soft kisses all over his jaw.
He chuckled. “You may have mentioned it. You’re just so tiny that carrying you is easy.”
She pulled back and scoffed. “Have you seen you? It has nothing to do with me being petite.” She patted his chest before going back in to kiss and nip along his jaw. His body tightened with need. He had no idea how it could tighten any more since he was ready to burst if he didn’t get inside of her in the extremely near future.
He flipped on the light and dropped her to the bed, her breasts bouncing along with her. He couldn’t help but stare, and then he caught her smirk.
“It would be a better show without clothes,” she said, sitting up and yanking the tie on her wrap dress, the fabric pooling around her body.
Dammit. He’d wanted to unwrap her.
She pushed the sleeves of the dress off and reached behind her, popping the clasp on her bra and slipping the straps down her arms. He reached for the scrap of fabric, pulling it from her body.
Her eyes darkened like a rising storm that made him think of home, and he leaned in, running a fingertip down the center of her chest, avoiding her pebbled nipples as she had done to him earlier. She gasped with each brush of his fingers. Her breaths were shallow, her belly clenching under his touch.
Fuck. She was stunning. And his. Definitely his. He’d fight for her no matter what.
“Stop stalling,” she moaned when his finger dipped below the waistband of her panties, trailing over the place he ached to enter.
His thumb found her clit, circling lightly, and she cried out.
“Oh Ben. Yes.” Her head dropped, her back arching off the bed as he tormented her. He dropped to his knees at the end of the bed, his cock straining against his fly, aching to be released from its denim prison. He linked his thumbs into her panties and pulled them down her legs, tossing them to the side of the bed.
Her entire body shook as he pressed kisses along the top of her pelvis, then trailing his tongue along top of her thighs.
“Hurry up,” she groaned, reaching for him. He finally settled his mouth over her, his tongue narrowing in on her clit, and she dropped her hands to the comforter, her ass rising off of the bed, pushing herself closer to him, her thighs draped over his shoulders.
He plunged one finger inside her, her muscles clenching around him as he sucked on her clit. She reached down, her hands gripping his hair and holding on, her hips shifting on the bed as she chased her orgasm. And then she froze, a split second before she exploded around him, her cries ringing barely louder than the blood roaring through his ears.
“So good,” she whispered, her voice rough, as she tugged on his shoulders. “I need you to kiss me.”
He moved up her body, peppering kisses along the way before settling on her breasts, taking one nipple into his mouth and sucking on her warm skin.
She whimpered and tugged on his hair again. “Kiss me. I need you to kiss me,” she gasped.
He finally settled his lips on hers, his tongue sweeping out to trace her open mouth before delving inside. Her hands skated down his back, and she held on, matching him kiss for kiss. His cock strained against her belly, and he ached to sink into her clenching heat.
Her hands snaked around to his chest, traveling down until she reached the button on his jeans and popped it free. The sound of the teeth on his zipper parting echoed in his head one-by-one, and then her hand slipped in, wrapping around his hard flesh. He thrust in her hand, unable to stop himself, and she squeezed just enough to shorten his breath.
“Oh fuck,” he groaned with each stroke of her hand, the pressure threatening to obliterate him.
He pulled back, slipping from her grasp, and quickly shucked the rest of his clothes. Her eyes twinkled in the low light, and she reached for him, her tongue darting out to lick her lips.
Holy hell, she was gorgeous. Her skin lightly flushed, her eyes hooded with a desire that matched his own.
He fell to the bed, covering her body but resting on his elbows to avoid crushing her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist, rubbing her heated core against him.
“Condom,” he gasped, reaching for the bedside table.
“Or we could skip it.” Her words were breathy, and clear desire pulsed through him.
He gazed down at her. “Are you sure? I’m clean. We get tested and I haven’t gone bare since Tara.” He didn’t miss her flinch, and he wished he could pull the name back. His ex had no place here.
“I’m clean, too, and I’m on the pill. I’ve always used a condom, but I trust you.”
He hugged her close, sealing his lips to hers again, and swallowed her gasp. He nudged against her slick entrance, groaning against her mouth as he slowly slid inside her tight body, her muscles clenching with every inch. He wouldn’t last if he went fast. He wanted to drag out every second of being inside her.
She tore her mouth from his, her breaths short against his lips. “Too slow,” she panted.
“I’m not rushing this with you,” he said, his voice hitched at the end. He stared down into her stormy eyes, the blue-gray swirling dark with heat, only a thin ring of color around her pupils.
I will never get enough of you.
“Me too,” she whispered, reaching up and cupping his jaw. He turned his head to kiss her palm. He hadn’t meant to say that last part out loud, but he was glad he had. He wanted to tell her that he loved her. But it was too much fo
r tonight and he’d never tell her that in the middle of sex. Especially for the first time.
“Ben, please,” she whispered, and he ducked his head down to kiss her again as he slid in to the hilt, swallowing her gasp and wishing with everything he had that they could stay like this forever.
He thrust into her, pulling out to the tip, and plunged back inside. Her hand left his jaw and trailed down his spine, then gripped his ass, tightening her hold as he moved, and they found the perfect rhythm. He rocked his pelvis against hers, giving her the friction they both craved. Her gasps told him all he needed to know.
He pressed a kiss behind her ear. “Tell me what you want. What you want me to do,” he groaned, before nipping the lobe he’d just kissed.
“You. I just want you,” she moaned, one hand snaking between their bodies, her nail scraping against his nipple. He sucked in a breath.
He continued to torture them slowly, his eyes never leaving hers. She gripped his ass and urged him to move faster, but he resisted. Desire and something he couldn’t name welled up in his chest, and he broke her gaze, sealing his lips to hers and pouring everything he had into the kiss. Maybe it was peace. Or every puzzle piece falling perfectly into place. He would hold onto this with everything he had.
He continued to move inside of her, her muscles clenching around his aching cock, her tongue still dueling with his, until she broke the kiss, their breaths short and strained, their eyes never leaving each other.
He gripped her hips and rolled them, her thighs tightening around his as she straddled him. Her head bowed, her soft hair brushing against his chest as she moved up and down, taking control, but not completely. He trailed his hand down her body, across her quivering belly, zeroing in on his destination as his thumb grazed her clit.
A shudder rolled through her, and it echoed through every inch of his body.
“Oh God, yes,” she groaned as he massaged her clit. She had one hand braced on his chest, and the other gripped his shoulder, as her gaze moved from where they were joined, to meeting his eyes. She bit her lower lip. “Fuck, I’m so close. Please tell me you’re close.”
The side of his mouth quirked up in a pained smile. “Yes, but ladies first,” he said.
“Now is not the time to try out jokes, Cheese,” she said, her words stilted as she moved up and down his cock, a soft mewl emerging when he pressed harder on her clit, rubbing in tight circles.
“Oh, yes,” she shouted, as her body exploded, her muscles tightening around his cock like a vise. He quickly tumbled over the edge with a groan, his orgasm bolting through him.
He sank his hands into her hair, pulling her close and pressing soft, lazy kisses over every inch of skin he could reach. She smiled against his lips, her soft sigh wrapping around his heart.
This. This was what he’d always wanted. He’d just never expected it with her.
Chapter 21
Today I got lost in Luxembourg. Sometimes you have to put aside the guidebook and just explore. You could get lost or find yourself in a place you never expected. I recommend the chateau and the wine. Eventually you’ll find your way back.
~ Adventurous Amanda, November 2014
As the final buzzer sounded, Amanda resisted looking at Ben, her hat clenched in her hand. The hat she’d wanted to throw on the ice tonight. It’d been two days since Ben’s big confession, and aside from work and practice, they’d spent the last forty-eight hours together, blissfully wrapped around each other at every possible opportunity. She’d been so stupid giddy when he’d skated onto the ice tonight that Penny had looked at her like she had two heads, and then she’d grinned and asked if Amanda had fessed up to loving Ben yet.
She wasn’t ready for that just yet. Especially since he’d confided in her, and she still hadn’t told him about her interview. Every time she tried to bring it up, something stopped her. And that was a problem. A big freaking red flag that she needed to figure out sooner rather than later. Like before Charlotte called her with a job offer.
Maybe she hoped Betsy would magically offer her a staff writer position in the travel department so she wouldn’t have to take a job on the other side of the country from Ben. That’s what it came down to. Leaving Ben. She didn’t want to do it. Hell, she wasn’t sure she could do it. But she would never be fulfilled fetching Splenda packets and kale for the dragon. And putting a relationship in front of her career goals? That was something her mother would’ve done. She was not her mother. She’d worked her entire life to not become her mother.
“Dammit,” Penny bit out next to her, pulling her from her thoughts to focus on the guys filing down the tunnel, frustration clear with each stick slammed against the walls.
The Strikers had lost. They’d played on their heels the entire game, going down by three in the first twenty minutes. Harty had tied it in the last three minutes, and everyone had held their breath, waiting for the tie to carry through the final buzzer or for one of the guys to get the winning goal.
Unfortunately, Calgary had scored the winning goal with thirty seconds left. A bad pass resulted in a breakaway and Gally had been left stranded, no defense to back him up as Calgary’s sharpest shooter took aim.
Amanda was surprised Gally’s stick hadn’t shattered when he’d banged it against the pipes in aggravation.
“That freaking sucked,” Amanda muttered.
“No shit. At least they have two more chances to win,” Penny said. “And one of the goals called back should’ve counted. I wanted to throw my rule book at the ref. Calling the play dead too early. Total bullshit.” She shook her fist.
“Calm down, Penny. They’re determined. I bet they win the next game and end the series.” Not that Amanda didn’t agree with the bad call. The ref blew his whistle just as the puck sailed over the goal line. He claimed that he couldn’t see the puck so he stopped play. It was a bad call, and as much as it irked the hell out of everyone not in a red Calgary jersey in the arena tonight, shit calls happened. You just hoped they didn’t happen in a final playoff game. Luckily, it was only game five, and they were now up three to two games.
“Still bullshit,” Penny grumbled.
“I know.” They got up and headed to the WAGs lounge to wait for the guys. There would be no boisterous happiness in the room tonight.
“Did you tell Ben about your interview yet?” Penny asked as they made their way around the crowds exiting the arena.
She’d told Penny about the interview during a quick lunch yesterday. Penny was the only one—aside from her mother—who knew about the interview. She’d needed to talk to someone, and what good was a best friend if she couldn’t confide her secrets to Penny?
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because I just had the interview and Ben and I are in a good place. I don’t want to bring it up now. And what if I don’t get offered the job? Plus, he’s in the playoffs. I’m not going to say anything that might throw him off his game.” The reasons made logical sense when they rolled through her head, but when they left her mouth, all she heard were excuses.
“You can’t take the job and then spring it on him. That’s not fair,” Penny admonished.
“I know that. But the interview was only two days ago, and I don’t want to jinx it by telling the world.”
“It’s not the world. Just Ben. The man you love. Who clearly loves you.” Penny put her hand on Amanda’s arm. “I know you want to get back out there. You’ve been home for so long, and I’ve wondered if I kept you here with all my drama over the last nine months.”
“Oh Penny, I wanted to be here for you. I had to be at the ready in case you gave me the green light to cause Michael immense amounts of pain,” she said. Thinking about Penny’s cheating douche of an ex still made her stabby.
“I’m not going to tell you to go. I selfishly want you here,” Penny said, wrapping her arm around Amanda’s shoulder and giving her a hug. “I know you had a lot going on when you came home. With your grandfather, and the hous
e. And then me. I don’t want you to give up on your dreams, but don’t disregard what you have with Ben. Don’t walk away from happiness. From him. I’ve never seen you this way, with or without a guy. You. Are. Happy. Don’t ignore that because it’s coming from a romantic relationship.”
Amanda’s breath caught in her throat. This was the problem with having a friend who read you so well. Ben scared her. Not Ben specifically, but what he represented. He’d called her a romantic, but that was only in relation to other people’s love lives. Her romantic escapades had always been fleeting, and a mess. How could she guarantee that their relationship would be like her grandparents’, or Lexi and Grant’s, or Penny and Ethan’s—and not like her mother’s multiple attempts? She’d never put her happiness in someone else’s hands, and it freaked her out to think about doing that with Ben. Not that he’d told her he loved her or anything.
“Stop dwelling. But don’t be shocked if not telling him backfires on you,” Penny said, and then pushed the door to the family lounge open. Penny had introduced her to most of the women. They headed for Klara, Sveddy’s wife, her daughter Elin passed out in her arms.
“How long did she last?” Penny whispered.
“Out by the middle of the second period, of course.” Both women lightly chuckled, and Amanda couldn’t stop staring at the little girl’s lashes brushing her soft cheeks. Her pale hair only a few shades lighter than Ben’s. Would that be her one day?
Whoa. Where the hell had that come from? She’d never thought about kids before. She was an emotional train wreck. She pushed aside her scattered thoughts and focused on Penny and Klara. They were debating the earlier goal that was called back, and how the guys would be tonight. During the regular season, the players brushed off a random loss here and there. It was going to happen. No one ever had a perfect season, but in the post season, every single game and error was analyzed. No matter how well they played, if they didn’t win, they would second guess everything.
Skating the Line (San Francisco Strikers Book 2) Page 22
