Aloha, page 112
"What it'd be like." I pause and put the wine glass down. "You know. If you and I… They’re already saying it and I figure we might as well… "
I let the sentence trail off suggestively, and Bennet's eyes darken. He shifts in his seat. He's clearly feeling the same as me, clearly wants me, and I'd like to be somewhere without a bunch of people staring at us so I can find out what Bennet Thompson is like when he lets himself go after something he wants.
When he lets himself go after me.
Bennet clears his throat and sits up straight. The energy coming off him is pure desire, even here in this little restaurant with half the town watching.
He doesn't seem to notice any of them. Doesn't seem to care at all that everybody's going to talk about us for the rest of the evening.
"You want to go back to my place?"
Chapter 8
Bennet
I can't keep my hands off Aubrey, and this time, I don't have to.
There’s no high school friend groups in the way.
No bar full of people watching and talking. There’s no one but us and what we both want.
I drive her back to my place, a bachelor pad I’m renting from a friend until I get my own place. It’s quiet as we drive although her hand is held tight in mine and I’m pushing the speed limit. The second we're through the front door, she's on me.
Or I'm on her.
She ends up with her legs wrapped around my waist, her back against the door, and her arms around my neck. I kiss her like I've been starved for her. She tastes sweet and moans softly, urging me on and kisses me back like she doesn't know the meaning of a good, small-town girl. It's the hottest kiss I've ever shared with anyone. I'm hard as a rock by the time she starts clawing at the buttons of my shirt.
I don’t have time to second guess the barely furnished place. Or what she’ll think of the boxes still sprawled out. Without the lights on, it’s dark anyway. We bump into a few boxes and find ourselves up against the wall before I can open the bedroom door.
I've never had anybody go after my clothes like that. Aubrey bites her lip and focuses hard on getting those buttons undone. She wants my clothes off.
I let her work on it while I shove open the door and carry her in, then put her on her knees on the bed and let her shove my shirt off me. I've never done anything as hot as strip Bree’s dress off over her head, revealing a lace bra and panty set that I want to take off with my teeth.
So I do, gently pushing her back and crawling between her legs to make my intentions known. She falls back onto my bed with a gasp. I hold the lace gently between my teeth so I don't rip it. Aubrey moans the whole time. I think she'd actually like it if I did rip a pair of panties off her, but it's our first night together. Everything's going to come out the other side in one piece, especially the lace.
We're naked inside of a minute, and she stretches herself out for me. All her curves are on display. I run my hands over every one of them. Her skin like fire under mine. Tease her nipples with the pad of my thumb. Taste them, too. I could spend hours kissing every inch of her body, but it's not long before I find my way to her hips, then between her legs.
Aubrey buries her hands in my hair and holds on while I suck and nibble and lick her with reckless abandon. Her nails dig into my shoulders as her back arches and I use her body to guide me. Her taste is sweet and with every clench and moan I know I’m close. It doesn’t take her long. Her thighs tremble around my head and I fucking love it. God, it's hot. She's hot.
“I need you,” she moans, tugging on my arms and I’ve never heard anything sexier. Her hair is laid out like a halo, her cheeks flushed and legs spread wide enough for me to be right where I’m wanted. And then I'm pushing in, and the words come out of my mouth without any thought or control.
"Oh, fuck, Bree, you're so tight. I just-I want--"
She kisses me in the middle of me pushing into her deeper and deeper and I can't say a damn thing.
Not that I need to say anything. She feels like fucking heaven. I pick up my pace and love how she throws her head back. I love how she grips onto me, and calls out my name as she gets closer and closer.
I fuck her like she’s mine.
It's perfect. Every second of her in my bed is perfect. And just as I'm about to come, she pushes at my shoulders until I roll over. Bree rides it out on top of me, her hands planted on my chest, staring down into my eyes and my heart stutters. Just as she gets close, she slows and I can’t have that. I reach up, kissing her and molding her lips to mine and roll her back over to help her find her release. I fuck her harder and faster, kissing her while she cries out my name as she finds her release with me.
As our breathing levels out, and our warm breath mingles, I slowly come back down to reality.
We didn't bother to turn any lights on, but there's a streetlight not far from my window, and her eyes sparkle in the dim light.
I rest my hands on her waist and she tucks herself into my side.
"I don't want to screw this up," I admit as I pull her close and drop a kiss to her temple.
I can feel her smiling. "I could cut to the chase for you?"
Fuck, she's stunning. Confident and beautiful and everything I've ever wanted.
I let out a huff of a laugh and reply, "I'd appreciate that."
"Okay." Aubrey pulls the sheets up to her chest "I want a relationship that's easy. I have a very small checklist. No pressure, just commitment that you aren't..." She takes a deep breath and looks at the ceiling, swallows and then looks back to me.
I push myself up on one elbow, staring down at her so she knows I’m serious. "I want a relationship...relationship. I want to settle down, I mean."
She smiles shyly at me and whispers, "I want that, too."
"I want to take my girl out on the town and when people stare, I want to wrap my arm around her waist and kiss her neck." I demonstrate, wrapping my arm around her waist and kissing her neck. "Right here."
"That feels good," she whispers.
"I want to be with my girl every night I can. Not just a fling but something real." There's no way in hell I'm letting her walk out of here now. Not when my skin still tingles from how good it felt to fuck her. But it's more than that, too. Kissing her gets me just as high. It all feels perfect with Aubrey. "And wake up with her in the morning."
"Are you talking about moving in?" she jokes.
"Well, not just yet. We can take it slow." No part of me actually wants to take it slow, but I want to do right by her. That's what matters most. "As long as we get where we want to go and it's the same place. But really I was just asking if you want to stay the night tonight."
She smiles this shy smile, "That sounds like a plan and yeah I think I would." Aubrey tips her face up and kisses me, and this time, there's no rush. It's as deep and hot as it was when we first got here, but we can take our time. Kissing her feels like sparks in my chest, like the embers of a fire.
"I want to fall in love and not have my heart broken," Aubrey whispers against my lips.
God. I think I've always been in love with her. I'm already there.
"I wouldn't," I promise her, though I want to tell her that for me, it's already over. She's the one.
"One step at a time?" Aubrey questions.
"That's what I'm thinking. One step at a time." I kiss her again, slow, but this time I tease her a little bit, licking at her bottom lip and giving it a gentle bite.
"Maybe we could repeat some steps?" Aubrey's breathing heavier now. "Like...the last step was nice."
"Was it? We should do it again to make sure."
I pull her under the covers with me, and she lets out a squeal. Then we go back over every step we took, again and again, just to make sure it's perfect.
Chapter 9
Aubrey
I wake up in the morning in a bed that's not mine.
The sun's pretty high in the sky, and it comes back to me in a blink--the reason I slept so late is that we stayed up so late last night.
Me and Bennet.
Together. Tangled in the sheets. Me all over him, him all over me. The memories zing through my body with a palpable energy. I can feel how he was last night, even if he's not touching me right now.
He's not touching me, but the bed is warm, and I can hear him breathing. I close my eyes and savor the heat of him on the mattress next to me. This is how I wished it could be when I woke up yesterday, and now it is.
I almost want to go back to sleep for a few minutes so I can wake up next to him all over again.
Almost.
I roll over and find Bennet watching me from his pillow, his hair sticking up in all directions. It's the most handsome bedhead I've ever seen. Men have it so damn easy. Just at the thought I wonder what my hair looks like and I do what I can to tame it but then I’m caught red handed.
“Morning,” Bennet smiles at me.
I smile back, not able to hide my blush and then snuggle back into the sheets.
"Now I guess when the town says we hooked up, they won't be lying." Bennet's voice is low and gravelly from sleep, and I like it a lot. He stretches out, yawning and manages to wrap an arm around me.
"What will you say when they do?"
The corner of his mouth turns up. "That I plan on hooking up with you again tonight, and if they have opinions on it, maybe they should tell someone who cares."
That makes me laugh although he’s quick to add, “or whatever you want me to tell them.”
I shrug, “I don’t care much to be honest. I like the idea of maybe telling them we’re a thing though,” I suggest. My attempt at being casual falls flat though and a bit of nervousness comes over me as I twist my hair around my finger.
“I like the idea of saying that too.”
A small smile slips into place as I think about dinner last night and how word may have gotten around. Not that it matters.
"What about Steve and Sarah?"
"It's none of my business." His face softens. "I just hope they come out of whatever they're going through alright. And knowing the two of them, they will."
"Yeah. Me too."
He reaches over and brushes a lock of hair out of my face. "They'll be alright."
"And we'll be alright," I agree.
"I think we're going to be better than alright, Bree baby."
My face goes completely hot. Bree baby.
"Ooh," Bennet says softly. "I love that color on you."
I laugh again, and he rolls me over onto my back and kisses me. Now it's not just my face that's hot. It's my whole body. Warmth, all down through my chest and my belly and my hips. Warmth everywhere.
He kisses me slow and deep, taking his time, letting his body rest above me in the bed. When he finally breaks the kiss, it's with a soft sound, like it's the worst thing in the world to stop.
"What time do you have to be in the office?" he asks.
"I work from home, and..." I reach down to the floor, where I dropped my phone last night. "Not for another two hours."
"Oh." His face lights up. I love watching his expression change that way. His eyes get brighter, and his cheeks lift, and he looks thrilled. "That's plenty of time."
Bennet starts by taking off the big T-shirt I slept in last night--one of his--then finds the hollow of my collarbone and kisses it until I'm wriggling underneath him. His lips are so soft, and I've never met a man who likes to focus on such a small part of me.
"Bennet," I breathe a little while later. "You have to--you can't just--"
"Yes, I can," he says. "But I'll stop kissing this lovely little part of you and go lower." He kisses teasingly down between my ribs, then over my belly button. "How about here?" Bennet drops another kiss to that place and glances up at me with a wicked grin.
"Lower," I beg.
"Lower," he echoes, and then his face is between my thighs again. He holds me open with both hands this time. I thought he'd been thorough last night, but he's meticulous now. There's no part of me that Bennet leaves un-kissed, licked or nibbled. My mind turns lust filled with the sensation of his tongue sliding over all the softest parts of me. He drags his tongue over my clit once, then twice, and once I've come hard on that tongue he makes me do it again.
I almost feel feverish when he stops, lifting himself to kiss my belly button again before he turns me over on the pillows and arranges himself behind me. Bennet folds his body over mine, covering me, and kisses the curve of my shoulder as he thrusts in. He fills me in a single moment and ecstasy drapes itself around me.
I'm glad for the pillows, because my legs are made of jelly and my arms are useless. Bennet curls his fingers through mine, and I grab the pillow with my other hand and hold on. He groans against the nape of my neck.
My eyes close and I revel in his embrace.
"You feel so good," I tell him, because he does, though it's hard to breathe. He's so strong, and he takes up every inch of space inside me. I meet him the best I can. Bennet curls the fingers of his other hand over my hip and holds me still, panting as he fucks me harder and harder.
I know I’m close and as my legs tremble he tells me to come and I’ll be damned if I don’t simply because of the rough timbre of his demand. I’m helpless beneath him as pleasure takes over and this might be the most intimate moment of my life. Bennet's just as warm above me, his weight on mine, and that heat is everywhere.
"Fuck," he says as we meet our release together, then he rolls us over onto the pillows both of our chests heaving. I move until my head is on his chest, and he wraps both arms around me. His heart beats fast but steady.
I did that to him. I did that with him. I made him feel that way.
I think again that this has to be a dream. It’s just too good to be true.
"I don't want you to get out of bed," he says.
"I don't want to get out of bed."
"But you have to spend at least part of that two hours getting ready, don't you?"
"No," I decide instantly. "I can be late," I tell him and then kiss him again before I start thinking about the “L” word Lauren told me not to say.
Chapter 10
Bennet
Waking up in bed with Aubrey Peters is the best thing ever to happen to me.
That stays the same the day after she comes to my place, and the day after that, and the day after that. Sometimes we stay at her house, sometimes at mine, but we're together pretty much every night.
A few weeks goes by, and there's no big drama about me and Aubrey getting together. Yeah, a few people talk about it. There are a few comments at the bar. But mostly, the town just accepts it for what it is--a romance that’s nearly a decade in the making. It doesn't really have much to do with them.
I roll over onto my back and look up at the ceiling as the early morning light slips in and the bed groans. Aubrey’s already up and she leans over and kisses my cheek. "What are you thinking about?"
I fold her under my arm and cuddle her close. She's warm all through the night. I never thought I was missing out, sleeping in my own bed with nobody else, but it turns out I was. It's a hell of a lot better with her.
"I was thinking it's lucky that this town talks."
She snorts, a cute little sound that makes me crazy about her every time I hear it. "What do you mean?"
"We got to skip a lot of little steps and get right to the good stuff."
Aubrey laughs louder. "Is that what you call sex? The good stuff?"
"Nah.” I swallow down any worries and just say it, “But falling in love is the good stuff."
I knew from the minute she walked into the bar that night that I was falling for her. It took a little time to realize it for everything it was, but now that I have, I know--I've felt that all along. I've never fallen slowly for Aubrey Peters. It happened the second I saw her, and it'll never stop. Those years we spent apart were just a detour. It was time we needed to see that something was missing in our lives, and it was each other.
It was never going to be right without her.
It never will be right without her.
After a minute, Aubrey pushes herself up on one elbow and looks down at me, her hair falling in a wave down to my chest. She studies my face like it's one of her editing jobs. Aubrey always pays attention to the smallest details, and when she looks at me like this, I know she can see everything about me.
And she doesn't mind looking.
"Bennet Thompson," she says, a tremble in her voice. "Are you saying you love me?"
"I think I am, Aubrey Peters."
Aubrey bites down on her lip to keep herself from smiling even harder. Her cheeks flush pink. That blush on her is so gorgeous it makes my heart stop. I want a photo of this moment. Maybe a hundred of them, or a painting--something that I could keep forever so I never forget this exact shade.
Then again, I don't think I'll be able to forget. There's a certain clarity about Aubrey. Everything she does locks into my brain, and it's just like it was back in school. I can't stop thinking about her.
"Well," she says, seeming almost shy about it. "I think I might love you, too."
I push her hair back from her face and tuck it behind her ear. "I know you love me."
I'm sure of it. Aubrey Peters loves me. From the way she kisses me and the way she talks to me and the way she sleeps next to me at night, she's loved me all this time, too.
I let my hand curl around the back of her neck and run my thumb over her cheekbone, my heart picking up. I don't have a ring, and I don't have a plan. Aubrey deserves both. She deserves the entire world.
But with the way she's smiling at me now…
"You want to maybe change your name one day?"
"Oooh." She wrinkles her nose, smiling bigger. "Big steps, not baby steps there."
"I'm just asking what your timeline might look like… I’m not booking the honeymoon to Maui just yet." Because I'd marry her tomorrow, if I could. Hell, I'd marry her right now. I'd go and bang on the door of the courthouse until they opened up and declared us husband and wife. I can picture that, too, just like it's playing out in a movie. Aubrey in a white dress, me in a suit, our signatures on a sheet of paper, a last-minute ring on her finger…
