“Hell yes you did.”
With this perfect reminder, I stepped close to her, resuming my gentle attack on her line of buttons. Pushing her shirt over her shoulders and down her arms, I stared at where she stood in front of me, in only a red lace bra and matching underwear. They were tiny.
“Tell me what you want,” I said, feeling a little desperate as I pushed her hair behind her shoulder so I could suck on her neck, her jaw, her ear. “My cock? My mouth? My hands? Christ, I’m doing it all tonight but where does one start? I haven’t seen you in months and feel like I’m losing my mind.”
I reached for her arm, urging her closer. “Baby, put your hands on me.”
She ran her hands up my neck and cupped my face. I could feel her shaking. “Bennett.”
Only when she said my name like this—like she was shy and maybe even anxious—did I remember she said she had something to tell me other than I love you. Something I wouldn’t like.
“What is it?”
Her eyes were enormous, searching mine and full of apology. “I just finished my defense, and—”
“Oh, shit. I’m such an ass. I should take you to dinner or—”
“—and I promised Julia and Sara that we would go out—”
“—maybe we could get some dinner after I make you come—” I barreled on.
“—for drinks after my presentation—”
“I just need to hear you come once and then we can go. Just give me . . .” I stopped, finally letting her words settle in. “Wait, what? You’re going out with Julia and Sara? Tonight?”
She nodded, eyes tight. “I didn’t know you’d be here. I can’t tell you how much I want to call and cancel. But the thing is, I can’t. Not after how good they’ve been to me the last few months . . . when you and I were . . .”
I groaned, pressing the heel of my hands to my eyes. “Why didn’t you tell me this before I got you naked? Holy shit, how am I supposed to let you go now? I’m going to be hard for hours.”
“I tried to tell you.” To her credit, she looked as frustrated as I felt.
“Do we have time to . . .” I shook my head, looking around as if the answer were buried somewhere in this ancient furniture. “I could probably get us both off in, like, two minutes.”
She laughed. “I’m not sure that’s something to brag about.”
The hell it wasn’t.
Her small gasp of surprise was stolen by my lips as I kissed her, tongue and teeth and not even caring if we only had a few minutes. I could do a few minutes.
I slid my hand over the racing pulse in her throat, between her breasts and lower, down the front of her stomach. I moved lower still, finding that familiar, favorite place where she was warm and slick, and the roof could fall in and I wouldn’t even notice because, God, nothing existed but her and her little sounds and quiet whispers to keep going, keep going.
“Bennett,” she whispered. “Please.”
I reached down for my own pants, and had just started to speak—
And was interrupted by a sharp knock on the door.
A familiar voice floated into her entryway. “We’re here, Miss Serious Business Graduate, and we’re ready for the drinking!”
“This is a joke. Tell me this is a joke,” I said, glaring at her.
She shook her head, biting back a smile.
“I am in no mood to share right now. You have got to be fucking kidding me.”
“I forget how much I love seeing you on an angry tear.”
She walked to the door in her fucking underwear, and opened it a crack before turning and sprinting into her bedroom, leaving me to greet the intruders.
What in the actual fuck.
“I’ll be out in a few!” Chloe yelled over her shoulder, her nearly bare ass disappearing into a bedroom down the hall.
Julia whistled loudly, stepping over the threshold, and then stopped, and broke into laughter when she saw me.
“Wow, I didn’t expect you to answer the door in your underwear, Chloe.” Sara walked in with her hands over her eyes, reaching out blindly. She grabbed a handful of my half-unbuttoned shirt and shrieked when she uncovered her eyes and saw that it was me she was holding on to. “Mr. Ryan!”
“Hello, ladies,” I said, voice flat. I straightened my shirt, pulled my tie back into place.
“Oh boy, did we interrupt something?” Julia asked, eyes wide and teasing.
“Yes, in fact. We were . . . becoming reacquainted.”
Chloe called out from one of the bedrooms down the hall to help ourselves to the champagne in the fridge, and I tried to ignore the way Julia’s eyes dropped to my zipper. I stood still, letting her take a good long look. My erection was gone anyway.
Mostly.
“I didn’t realize it was to be a girls’ night out,” I said, when the silence felt like it had dragged on forever.
Sara stepped back, her eyes seeming to struggle to stay above my shoulders, and explained, “I don’t think any of us expected you to be here and . . . want a night in.”
I most definitely wanted a night in. In every part of Chloe.
Julia studied me for a minute and then smiled. “I’ll admit I was pretty sure Bennett would be here.”
I couldn’t help but mirror her grin. She had, after all, called me to urge me to go to Chloe’s presentation. She was obviously on my side.
Even if she had interrupted my attempt to fuck Chloe for the first time in forever.
I turned, moving into the kitchen to wash my hands. Julia followed, and behind me I heard her open the bottle of champagne, the squeak and pop and then the quiet fizz reminding me how much I’d rather be opening that bottle over Chloe’s naked body, and licking the foamy bubbles from her skin.
Julia continued, “But I think we should all go out to celebrate, and he can have as much of her as he wants.” She poured four flutes of champagne and then handed one to me. “You’ll just have to wait until later to . . . reacquaint.”
Chloe emerged from her room in black skinny jeans, strappy black heels, and a shimmering blue tank top that made her skin look golden.
No way in hell would I be able to keep my hands off her if she wore that out.
“Chloe,” I started, walking over to her and setting my champagne down on the kitchen counter with a shaking hand. I scowled at her hair, tied back in a sleek low ponytail.
Her eyes sparkled with amusement and she stretched to reach my ear so only I could hear. “You can take it down later.”
“You should count on it.”
“Do you want to grab it? Pull it?” she asked, kissing the shell of my ear. I nodded, eyes closing. “Or do you want to feel my hair down and loose on your stomach while my mouth works your cock?”
I reached for my champagne with a shaky hand, downed it. “Let’s go with yes.”
Need coiled low in my stomach and I was torn between wanting to smash something and wanting to drag her back into her bedroom and peel those jeans down her legs. Absolutely no part of me felt like spending an evening drinking wine and eating cheese and listening to girl talk. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to keep it together.
As if reading my mind, she whispered, “It’ll just make it better when we get home.”
“I doubt that is even possible.”
Her fingers lightly scratched over my chest. “I’ve missed that surly face.”
Ignoring her, I asked, “How about you come to my place later? Go out with the girls, enjoy this night. I’ll be there when you’re ready.”
She stretched and slid a slow, warm kiss across my mouth. “What happened to not letting me out of your sight until Christmas?”
I’d expected a dance club, maybe something fancy with twenty-dollar drinks and miles of twenty-something coeds in tiny black dresses. What I hadn’t expected was a low-key bar in the suburbs, with darts and what Julia called “the best sampling of beer in Illinois.”
As long as they could make me a vodka gimlet and I could be in constant physical con
tact with Chloe, the night might not be too much of a disaster. I followed the girls inside, shooting daggers at every leering douchebag in the place as we made our way up to the bar. Julia plopped herself down on a worn leather stool, shouting something to the bartender about the usual for the ladies and something pink for the pretty boy.
On second thought, this was going to be a long night.
Sara—clearly still a bit unnerved by my company—sat on the other side of Chloe, and made her recount every last detail about her defense. Chloe told her about Clarence Cheng, about how I’d barged in there and been an asshole, how she’d presented both projects, and even been offered a job.
“Two jobs,” I clarified, staring her down so she knew I was thinking she’d better damn well fucking take the job at RMG.
She rolled her eyes but none of us could miss her proud smile. With their beers and my pink Cosmo raised in the air, we toasted Chloe on a job well done.
Beside me she downed her beer and then wiggled off her seat. “Who’s up for some darts?”
Sara raised her hand and jumped a little. After a single beer, she seemed tipsy and loose enough to not act like we were still in the office. I slid my gaze down the length of Chloe’s body. I rather liked the idea of watching her stretching and moving to play darts in that tight little number.
“You coming?” she asked, leaning down and pressing her breasts into my forearm.
Fucking tease.
“Hoping to, very soon.” I let my eyes linger on her mouth before dropping to her chest. Beneath the thin fabric of her top, her nipples pebbled.
Her laugh brought my attention back to her red lips and she pushed them together in a playful pout. “Is Bennett a little keyed up?”
“Bennett is a lot keyed up,” I said, pulling her between my legs and kissing the curve of her ear. I wanted to be patient and let her enjoy this night, but patience had never really been my strong suit. “Bennett wants Chloe naked and touching his cock.”
With a giggle, she danced away and to the back of the bar, her arm linked with Sara’s.
Julia put her hand on my shoulder, glancing quickly behind us to make sure Chloe was out of earshot. “You did good.”
I was uncomfortable discussing personal issues with all but a few people in my life, and this most personal of all conversations was the last thing I wanted to have with a virtual stranger. Still, Julia had taken the time to track me down for Chloe’s sake. That definitely took balls.
“Thank you for the call,” I said. “But I do want you to know I would have gone to her anyway. I couldn’t stay away anymore.”
Julia took a sip of her beer. “I figured if you were anything like her, you were about to head in for another round. I called because I wanted you to have that confidence you needed to go in and just be your best bastard self.”
“I wasn’t too much of a bastard.” I frowned, considering. “I don’t think.”
“I’m sure,” Julia drawled. “You’re the portrait of compromise.”
Ignoring this, I lifted my fruity girl drink and drained it.
“She’s so happy tonight,” Julia murmured, almost to herself.
“She’s thin.” I glanced at where she stood, poised and ready to throw a dart. She did seem happy, and for that I was thrilled, but the difference in her body was also hard for me to ignore. “Too thin.”
Nodding, Julia said, “She exercised too much, worked too much.” Her eyes searched mine for a beat before she added, “It wasn’t good, Bennett. She was a wreck.”
“So was I.”
She acknowledged this with a teasing smile. The sadness was in the past, after all. “So if you’re going to keep her in bed for the next few days, just make sure you give her breaks to eat.”
I nodded, moving my eyes to the back of the room, where my girl spun a couple of times, took aim, and then barely hit the dartboard. She and Sara broke into laughter, pausing only to say something that then made them both laugh harder.
And while she played and danced to the Rolling Stones, I felt the weight of my love for her settle into a heavy warmth in my stomach. Two months apart was nothing in the grand scheme of what we had ahead of us, but in our shared history it felt enormous. I wanted to dwarf it with time spent together.
I needed to get back, get closer. I waved to the bartender, mouthing, “Check,” when she looked at me.
Julia stopped me with a warning hand on my arm. “Don’t fuck it up. She’s independent, and she’s been doing it on her own for so long she’ll never be the girl to tell you how much she needs you. But she’ll show you how much she wants this. Chloe is about action, not words. I’ve known her since we were twelve, and you’re it for her.”
Two smooth arms slipped around my waist from behind, and Chloe pressed a kiss between my shoulder blades. “What are we talking about over here?”
“Football,” Julia said just as I answered, “Politics.”
I felt her laugh and she slid under my arm, wrapping herself around me. “So you were talking about me.”
“Yes,” we both answered.
“And what a mess I was and how happy I look tonight, and how Bennett better not fuck it up this time.”
Julie glanced at me, punting that one in my direction as she lifted her beer, raised it in a silent toast, and then left us alone at the end of the bar.
Chloe turned her brown eyes on me. “Did she tell you all of my secrets?”
“Hardly.” I set my drink down and wrapped my arm around her. “Can we go now? I’ve been away from you for too long and I’m reaching the limit on how much sharing I’m willing to tolerate. I want you alone.”
I felt her laugh as a small shaking of her body in my arm, and then the quiet sound made it to my ears. “You’re so demanding.”
“I’m just telling you what I want.”
“Fine then. Be specific. What do you really want?”
“I want you on your knees on my bed. I want you sweaty and begging. I want you wet enough to drink from.”
“Shit,” she whispered, her voice strung tight. “I’m already there.”
“Then damn, Miss Mills. Get the fuck in my car.”
TWO
With my hands on the steering wheel, and her hands everywhere else—my thighs, my cock, my neck, my chest—I wasn’t even sure we would make it home safely.
Especially not once she lifted my right arm so she could duck down and unzip my pants, pull my cock from my boxers, and drag her tongue up its length. I’d wanted to get her home, but fuck, this would do just as well.
“Oh, God,” she whispered, before taking all of me in her mouth.
“Holy fuck,” I mumbled, moving into the slow lane of traffic.
It was so perfect, all over again: her hands and mouth working in tandem, tiny moans vibrating against me and sounding to all the world as if she’d never wanted anything as much as she’d wanted to feel me like this. She started slow, long pulls and tiny teasing licks, looking up at me through dark lashes until I thought I might lose my mind. But she read me like she always did, knowing when not to stop, when to move faster or rougher, squeezing my base tightly. What sent me reeling was her own excitement; her eyes grew dark, pleading, her breath grew labored, and her sounds around me grew more frantic. Too soon, I was gripping the steering wheel, panting and begging, and, finally, cursing loudly as I came in her mouth.
I have no idea how I managed to steer the car onto my street, or pull it into my driveway, but with shaky hands, somehow I got us there. She kissed my navel, and then rested her forehead against my thigh and the car grew completely silent. It wasn’t exactly how I imagined being with her again for the first time, but the way it was so hurried and spontaneous . . . that felt like us, too.
When she pushed against my arm so she could sit up, I shifted in my seat, reaching to zip my pants and fasten my belt.
“What the hell?” she asked, looking out the window. Her surprised tone burst through my sex haze. “Is this your house? Why are we h
ere?”
“You wanted to go to your place?”
Shrugging, she said, “I just assumed we would. I don’t have any of my things here.”
“I don’t have anything at your place, either.”
“But I have spare toothbrushes. Do you have spare toothbrushes?”
What the fuck is she talking about?
“You can use mine. What the fuck?”
Sighing, she opened her door and mumbled, “Such a man.”
“To be clear,” I said, getting out of the car and following her up the walkway, “I brought you here because this is where I was going to bring you after San Diego. I was going to tie you to my headboard and spank the fuck out of you. And I intend that again, after everything you put me through.”
Chloe stopped where she stood on my porch, her back to me for several long, confusing seconds before she turned to stare at me. “What did you just say?”
“Did I stutter?” I asked, and when she just continued to stare, I explained, “Yes, we were apart because I was a jerk. But so were you.”
Her eyes narrowed and grew dark. I was half scared, and half thrilled as fuck that she was about to blow up at me. She backed me to my front door, her fist curling tight around my tie before she yanked down, pulling me so our faces were nearly even. Her dark eyes were wild and wide. “Give me your keys.”
Reaching into my pocket, I pulled them out, depositing them in her waiting palm without question.
I watched as she flipped through them and actually found the right key on the first guess. “It’s the top lock and the—”
She cut me off with a fingertip to my lips. “Shh. No talking.”
I tried to puzzle out what was happening. Obviously she hadn’t expected me to tease her about leaving me the way she did. Maybe she suspected we’d left all of that discussion in the conference room where we reunited. And I suppose in many ways we had. I didn’t need her to apologize, and I didn’t feel like I needed to apologize anymore. But our separation had been a shitty few months, so it didn’t feel like the conversation about it was entirely over. Besides, spanking her seemed like the most appropriate way to work it all out of our systems.