Frayed (Connections, #4)(14)

He turned around to face me but said nothing. I didn’t move. His eyes locked on mine and he licked his lips as though he was hungry for me. I took my shirt completely off and then quickly removed my bra. I still wasn’t sure if he was going to stay. I thought maybe his girlfriend would win out in the internal battle he seemed to be waging within himself.

But once I twirled around slowly and said, “This is how I looked on the French Riviera,” I knew he wanted me as much as I wanted him.

His eyes held me in his stare.

My heart pounded from the heat I saw in his gaze. He strode across the room and caught me by surprise when he stopped short. He stood in front of me and drank me in but didn’t move. I looked up at him, but at the want I saw in his eyes, I was done waiting. I tugged on the waistband of his pants and pulled him toward me. His soapy scent smelled fresh and clean and I breathed it in—knowing I’d never forget it.

In a flash he grabbed the back of my neck and found my mouth. His tongue licked my lips. I opened my mouth, allowing him entrance. His lips were warm and soft. My stomach fluttered from the contact. The tingling between my legs became almost painful as electricity surged through my entire body. I kissed him back with the same urgency he kissed me with. The kiss felt different from anything I had ever experienced before; he felt different. He kissed me with a need no one had ever shown me before and I knew then that what we were doing couldn’t be wrong.

What I didn’t know was that one kiss would change the rest of my life.

Both of us breathless, he pulled back and just stared at me for the longest time. Then finally he touched me. His fingers brushed the lace of my panties. He moved them back and forth, up and down—it was slow, it was torturous. When he slipped his hand inside them, my blood rushed through my veins to that very spot and I was sure he could feel it.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” he breathed against my neck, his fingers right where I wanted them.

My pulse pounded and this time I was certain he could hear it. “Yes,” I answered without hesitation.

His small featherlike touches made me gasp.

“Take them off,” he ordered.

His tone, his demanding demeanor, made a thrill erupt inside me. I felt as if my blood were boiling. No one had ever spoken to me like that. He crossed his arms and leaned against the counter to watch me. My pulse raced as I slowly pushed the fabric down my hips and over my thighs, letting it fall to the floor.

“Come over here,” he commanded.

I was far too excited as I stepped out of my panties. My breasts had already swelled and I could feel the arousal between my legs. I did as he said. I thought I might do anything he asked. His tone was so deep and sultry that it oozed sex appeal. He swooped me up and set me on the counter. There I sat, naked, before him and I used the same force he had used just a few moments earlier and pulled his head to mine to kiss him. He returned the kiss, his hands sliding down my chest. The heat of his touch erased any doubts I had that he might leave. My nipples pebbled at his touch and when he bent down and sucked on one I thought I might explode.

I had my heels on and ran the toe of my shoe up his thigh.

“Take those off,” he told me, his voice sounding raspy.

I quickly kicked them to the floor and this time ran my bare foot back up the same path, curling my toes around his hard cock. He groaned and I wanted to hear that sound again. My hands flew to where my foot had just been and I traced his erection with my fingernails, eliciting another groan from him.

Then he stood back and toed his sneakers off. He stripped out of the rest of his clothing before his eyes cut to mine. His lids were partially hooded, but I could still see the deep blue. God, his eyes were gorgeous. God, was he gorgeous!

He lowered his head. “You sure you want to do this?” This time his tone was soft, sweet, unlike the way it had been up until now.

There was no doubt I wanted this. I nodded and reached my hand back down to stroke his throbbing cock.

“Say it,” he said with the force back in his voice.

I bit my lip. “I want you.”

“You want me what?”

“I want you to f*ck me,” I breathed.

When the words left my mouth, there was no question who I was. I wasn’t the dream girl I had been told to be—no, I was the real me and I wanted him, all of him. Everything he had to give I wanted to take. The hunger inside me was nearly unbearable. Thank God it didn’t take long before he was inside me. He made love to me as no one ever had. I became his dream girl at some point during the night because I wanted to give him everything he didn’t even know he wanted. I wanted to do things to him I had only heard about.

The things we did would become a memory that stayed with me for a very long time. When he took me it wasn’t with an urgency to just fulfill his own need. It wasn’t fast and quick like with other guys I had been with. Rather, it was a night filled with passion, lust, with our deepest, darkest desires being met. It was a dream, a fantasy—one I wanted to live out over and over for a very long time. He must have fallen asleep around five a.m., but I didn’t want to close my eyes. I watched him, thinking how perfect he seemed. He was a mix of good and bad, salty and sweet, all of which left me wanting more. I wanted to be his dream girl—always.

But he belonged to someone else and who was I to take him from her? The sudden realization shattered me. I knew I should leave before morning came, to make this easier for both of us. So while he slept, I gathered my things. Before leaving, I picked up his shirt and breathed in the scent and stared at Ben for the longest time. I’d remember him like that forever—all long and lean, suntanned skin, mess of blond hair covering those eyes that were bluer than any ocean. I covered him with his shirt, the one with the frayed edges. When I looked down at him one last time, I couldn’t help thinking it looked the way I felt.