Lost and Found (Twist of Fate #1)(71)

So I wouldn’t have to be disappointed when Bennett’s name didn’t show up on the Caller ID.

I knew I was being ridiculous, because we hadn’t even exchanged numbers.

The floor was cold beneath my feet as I padded over to my dresser and grabbed a pair of jeans and pulled them on. Concern went through me as I realized my visitor was probably Jake coming to check on me. With his left foot being the injured one, he could have driven up the mountain road without too much trouble.

I flipped lights on as I went through the cabin. It wasn’t a big place, but it suited me perfectly.

I was all prepared to apologize for worrying Jake by not answering his calls, but my words died off when I yanked the door open and saw who was standing there.

“Bennett,” I said in disbelief. “What are you—”

“You need to pick me, Xander,” he said, raising his voice so I could hear him over the rain. It was coming down in sheets. He was completely soaked, but he didn’t even seem to notice. Before I could even respond, he said, “You need to pick me because I’m the one who knows how to make you laugh and I’m the one who knows where you’re ticklish and I’m the one who knows you’re afraid of spiders and I… I… I’m your Benny. You can’t just give me that nickname and let me be all weird and crazy and stupid and then pick him!”

“Bennett—”

“I know what I did on the trail. I know it. I pulled away from you. When you talked about staying at the lodge, I pushed you away. I was a coward because I knew you’d be better off with him. I knew he was perfect for you and I’m not and we have so many things between us that don’t seem to make sense, but they do, Xander. They do. “

I heard his voice catch and tried to reach for him so I could at least get him out of the rain, but he stepped out of my reach. “No! I have to finish!” he practically yelled. “I can love you better than he can, Xander. I’ve been doing it my whole life! He doesn’t know you!”

Bennett jabbed his finger in the direction of Jake’s cabin, and I finally realized what he was saying. And right after that realization, the rest of what he’d said hit me.

He loved me?

“I love you so much, Xander,” he said, his voice dropping so low that I had to step out onto the small covered porch to hear him. Cold rain began to pelt my body from the side, but I didn’t care. In fact, I was glad for it.

Because it meant maybe I wasn’t dreaming.

Maybe he was really here, telling me what I’d been waiting a lifetime to hear.

“And not just because you see me when we’re together. But because you let me see you.” A sob tore from his throat. “Please, Xander, I can’t lose you again. I won’t survive it.” He shook his head. Shock reverberated through me as I realized everything I’d ever wanted was literally within reach.

He loved me.

Which meant I was enough for him.

I heard a choked cry spill from his mouth, and then he was turning away from me and I realized I’d been too slow to respond. He’d taken my shocked silence for cold rejection instead.

I was on him in two strides, ignoring the rain as it soaked through my hair and jeans the second I stepped off the porch. I grabbed his elbow and yanked him back hard enough to have him spinning and slamming against my chest. I didn’t let him get another word in before I crashed my mouth down on his.

Because he didn’t need to say another word.

He’d said enough.

More than enough.

Bennett let out another soft cry and then he was kissing me back. His arms wound around my neck, and as soon as I lifted him by the backs of the thighs, he wrapped his legs around my waist. I barely felt his weight as I carried him up the steps and into the cabin, kicking the door shut behind me. He never stopped kissing me as I carried him to my bedroom. Bear wisely sought out his own bed in the corner of the room.

I lowered Bennett across the foot of the bed, not caring about our wet clothes. I released his mouth and used my hands to push the mop of hair off his face. His beautiful eyes held mine. They were filled with a mix of relief and uncertainty.

And I knew why.

“My Benny,” I whispered as I let my fingers trail down his face. “Don’t you know?” I asked as I let my finger glide over his perfect lips. Lips that were all mine now. “It’s always been you,” I told him. “Only you.”

He sucked in a breath, but before he could say anything, I kissed him. I held my mouth against his for the briefest of moments before lifting my head.

Because I wanted him to see my eyes when I spoke.

So he’d know I was telling the truth.

“I love you, Benny. I’ve loved you from the moment you sat down on that swing next to me. I can’t pick you because it’s always been you.”

“Really?” he asked, his lips pulling into a soft smile.

“Really.”

“I love you so much, Xander.”

I kissed him slow and deep, but it didn’t take long before my wanting him turned feral— like a living, breathing thing. My hands couldn’t get enough of him, and I found myself practically tearing off his clothes to get to him. I wanted him and I wanted him now. As if even my body had a need to cement what we’d just admitted to each other.

“Need you,” I mumbled, trying to find his fly with shaking hands. Bennett gasped as my fingers brushed the bare skin behind his waistband, and I felt the tip of his cock. “Fuck, get these pants off.”