“Oh Benjamin,” she said. “I didn’t know it could be like this.”
She felt so loved, so protected, but at the same time, she felt like a wild thing, ready to tear her nails down his back and across his chest. She tried to contain her deep need to have him inside her. He pulled her out of her sweater as she kicked her boots off. He kissed her naked chest and pulled her bra straps down, unhooking the back and slowly pulling it away.
He revealed her breasts. Her dark areola and chocolate-colored nipples pointed straight up at his mouth. He devoured them like he devoured the chocolate from his box. He sucked and nibbled at her breasts, teasing out her desire until she was burning with need for him.
He pulled her pants down and slid out of his own. He was in nothing but his boxer shorts, and she was completely bare and open to him. The only light in the room was the dim bedside lamp that allowed her to look into his beautiful eyes as he kissed so slowly and so lovingly across her body.
His hands caressed her most tender spots as he kissed down her breasts, across her stomach, and between her thighs. Her body shivered and ached as she arched her back. He licked up the slit of her core, wetting her already soaking sex. He focused on her arousal, sucking her clit into his mouth as he wiggled it with his tongue.
Samantha groaned, mindless with need. She ran her hands through his thick hair as he held her thighs open for his hungry mouth. She never had a man devour her like this. It was like he was starving for her. He seemed to love the flavor of her. The smell of her. The feeling of her body against his tongue. He dipped inside her channel and slid up to her clit, over and over, until the thrilling tendrils of orgasm gripped the base of her spine. It radiated out from that tight spot at the tip of her sex. She groaned.
“Benjamin!”
Her orgasm erupted like fireworks in the dark night. The pleasure poured from within. A deep well of emotions she’d been holding back for so long exploded all around her. He lifted himself up to kiss her again. The flavor of chocolate and her body slid over her tongue as he kissed her. He reached into the bedside table and pulled out a condom, quickly sliding it over his shaft. He rocked his hardness against her. She wanted him so badly in every way. Even without the protection she would have taken him, in that moment. She wanted to be as close to him as she possibly could be. As he inched inside her, he looked deep into her eyes. His thumb caressed her cheekbone, and he whispered into her ear.
“Do you want me?” he asked.
“Oh God, yes,” she said.
He slid all the way in, sinking deep into her core. Deeper than any man had ever been before. His cock was exquisite as it filled her. She groaned and clung to him, her fingernails digging into his flesh. She called out his name and called to the gods and to fate and to anyone who would listen, to tell them how grateful she was. How full of pleasure she felt in this moment as she and Ben became one for the first time.
Her body quaked, breaking into an ecstatic climax, quivering and clenching around him. He held her close, holding her tight and letting her breathe into the glorious pleasure of their connection.
He pulled back and slammed inside of her. He kissed her deeply, his tongue in her mouth, as he pumped into her softness. All she could do was hold on and let him take over, let him show her all the pleasures possible in this world. She held onto his shoulders and then let her arms fall back. She laid languid and breathless below him. He moved her body like an instrument of pleasure, pumping into her with slow, precise thrusts, pushing her to climax, half a dozen times. He kissed her neck and licked her ear as he growled.
“I love you, Samantha,” he said.
He groaned and pumped three more times before he let himself loose deep inside her. The heat of his climax triggered another reeling climax of her own. She wrapped her arms around his chest. His sweat mingled with hers as he shuddered inside her.
“I love you too,” she gasped, tears falling from the corners her eyes. “Oh God, I love you so much Ben. I’ve never felt anything like this before.”
He pulled back, and gazed at her in the lamplight. He kissed her gently, as they stayed together like that, their bodies throbbing together in that deep moment of passion and love.
“I’ve waited my whole life for you, my darling,” he said.
He slid the condom off and threw it in the wastebasket, before resting his back against the mattress. He pulled her toward him and she rested on his chest. She pulled the blanket up over them both. He held her gently, kissing the top of her head.
“You make me the happiest man alive, Samantha,” he whispered.
He snuggled her body against his, kissing her gently on the top of the head.
“I never knew how much I needed this. But now that I have you, I never want to let you go,” Samantha said.
“And I never will let you go.”
Chapter 14
Benjamin woke early the next morning to the sunlight barely creeping through the windows of his second-story bedroom. He watched Samantha’s sleeping face and marveled at her tender beauty as the gentle sunlight kissed her dusky skin. He brushed her hair away from her face and kissed her gently on the cheek before climbing out of bed.
He pulled on his boxers and a bathrobe before going downstairs to the kitchen. First, he brewed a fresh pot of coffee. Then he pulled out eggs, bacon, spinach, melons and bread from the fridge and cabinets. He began to crack the eggs into a bowl as the bacon began to fry in a cast-iron pan on his gas burning stove. He watched the birds jumping from branch to branch on the naked trees out in his backyard as the sunlight rose over the Lake of the Fates.
Waking up with Samantha in his bed beside him, warm and cozy under his fluffy down blanket, was the most beautiful moment of his life. He sighed and smiled to himself as he began to whip the eggs. She was the love of his life, and he had to pinch himself to make sure he wasn’t dreaming. He turned on his egg pan and filled it with several pats of butter. It melted slowly over the black surface and it filled it with the thick yellow liquid of whipped eggs and cream.
As the eggs began to cook he sprinkled on the spinach, topped off with shredded cheddar cheese. He popped four slices of wheat bread into the toaster, covered his eggs with a lid and took them off the heat. Flipping his bacon, he took a sip of black coffee and turned to see Samantha padding down the stairs in one of his shirts and nothing else.
She looked so adorable in the oversized garment with the sunlight washing across her face, her hair still a mess from their lovemaking the night before. He poured her a cup of coffee, grabbed the cream and sugar, and set it all in front of her at the counter across from him. She slid onto the stool and smiled down at the coffee.
“This smells delicious,” she said groggily, fixing her coffee. “I hardly ever eat breakfast.”
“They say breakfast is the most important meal of the day,” he said with a smile.
“I take the subway to work at 7 AM.”
“That’s a hectic lifestyle,” he said, lifting the bacon out of the pan onto a draining tray.
“You’re telling me,” she said, twirling her spoon in her creamy coffee. She took a sip, and the sleep began to fade from her eyes.
“My mornings usually consist of waking up early, making myself coffee and breakfast and moseying into town to make candy,” he said with a smile.
Benjamin dished up two plates for him and Samantha and joined her at the bench on the other side of the counter. They had a view out the back onto the lake. The windows over the sink looked out on the side yard with the winter trees and the birds hopping from branch to branch.
“I envy you that,” she said, slicing into her scrambled eggs.
“Your life would be like that if you lived with me.”
“I know,” she said.
She looked up at him with big brown eyes and reached over to touch his hand. The touch was so gentle and affectionate that it made him gulp. He covered her hand with his and smiled.
“I’m going to find a way to be with you
, Benjamin,” she said softly. He kissed her gently on the forehead.
“After breakfast, we’ll go take a drive around town. I want to show you a nice view.”
“That sounds lovely.”
“I’ll run over to the hotel and get some of your things.”
“Would you?” she asked. “My cosmetics bag is on the counter in the bathroom, and my suitcase in the closet.”
“Sure, I’ll leave right after I finish my breakfast.”
“You’re such a doll, Benjamin.”
“Don’t mention it. It’s my pleasure.”
They finished their breakfast and he kissed her on the cheek. He told her where she could shower and how to work all of the knobs in the master bathroom. She was thrilled at the tiled shower in his master bathroom, explaining to him that her bathroom in her apartment in New Jersey was a quarter of the size. It didn’t even have a bathtub. His master bath had one of those huge soaker tubs. It had come standard with the house when he bought it. His parents lived in an old historical house that was built in the 1930s, but he loved his nice modern house with all of its conveniences.
He left Samantha happily in the bathroom and went over to her hotel to grab her things. Everything was in its place. When he arrived back at home, he found a Samantha with her hair wrapped in a towel, wearing his bathrobe and standing in front of the mirror. Steam rolled out of the bathroom door. He walked in and put his arm around her waist and kissed her cheek.
“I found everything,” he told her.
She turned to him and threw her arms around his neck, stretching up on her tiptoes. She kissed him hard on the mouth. He pulled her to him and kissed her back. Their kiss deepened, their tongues lashed against each other, and she groaned. The towel fell from her hair and her brown tresses spilled over his hand as he cupped the back of her head. He ran his hand over her shoulder under the bathrobe, feeling her hot moist skin. He grew hard with desire and longing; he wanted her desperately. She opened to his kiss as her bathrobe fell open. The moisture from her skin soaked into his shirt.
“You’re going to get me all dirty again.”
“That’s exactly what I intend to do.”
With a growl, he lifted her up onto the bathroom counter. She let out a long mewl as he sank between her legs. Their kisses grew deeper and more passionate. Samantha unbuttoned his shirt and ran her hands over his chest. He was so hard. He felt he might explode from the pressure. When she reached the last button on his shirt, she descended to his belt buckle and began to pull it open.
She slid his pants down his waist, revealing his hardness in the process. She grasped him with her soft little hands and began to stroke it with mind-numbingly slow strokes, up and down his shaft with both her hands. He growled and threaded his hands through her hair.
“You’re driving me crazy.”
He sank to his knees and consumed her. She groaned and held herself on the counter as he licked her hot pussy with his tongue. She tasted like heaven. It was better than the most decadent chocolate, sweeter than the sweetest candy. He thumped his tongue against her clit, pushing her over the edge as she groaned.
He looked up at her as she climaxed. It was the most beautiful sight he’d ever beheld. Her little breasts were taut with desire and her nipples pointed straight at the ceiling. He stood, sheathed his shaft with a condom, and pushed deep inside her.
They both groaned as he sank to the base of his cock into her sweet core. He held her close, her head against his shoulder. They rested there briefly. He put his hands around her waist and began to piston his hips into her luscious body. They kissed furiously as he rocked her back and forth on the bathroom counter.
The sight of her back with her wet hair falling over her shoulders and his arms wrapped around her dark hips made him so hungry to claim her. He wanted to feel her without the condom and explode deep in her womb.
That would have to wait for another time. Soon he would claim her. Soon he would come inside her and place a cub in her sweet womb. He looked into her eyes, feeling so much love, longing, and passion for his beautiful mate. It was a perfect moment, one he never wanted to end.
Chapter 15
Samantha groaned at the unexpected pleasure as she gripped Benjamin’s shoulders. He pulled her against him, and she slid across the bathroom counter, knocking over his toothbrush and sending it scattering into the sink. He didn’t stop. His mouth rained kisses over hers, explored her earlobe, and tasted her neck.
He squeezed her hips as he thrust inside her. Her climax built, charging through her flesh, ready to explode in mind shattering sparks of pleasure. She squeezed her eyes closed and gasped as the orgasm rocked her. She felt her body squeeze and throb over Benjamin’s thrusting shaft.
He growled into her ear, nipping at her neck as his cock grew thicker inside her. He groaned, deep in his chest, and came as his flat teeth bit her skin. The pain of his bite made her climax again. In that moment, she feared that he had claimed her. But his teeth never pierced her flesh.
She’d read the stories of how shifters claimed their mates, and this was not how it was done. As the pleasure rose in waves around her, she felt guilty for believing he would have done it without her permission. She felt even worse that she would have objected. The truth was, she wouldn’t. But as he held her there and kissed her forehead, she knew she wasn’t ready. He pulled away and righted her bathrobe over her bare breasts.
“You said you were going to get me dirty,” she teased.
“You are my dirty girl,” he growled into her ear.
She giggled, and he turned the tap in the shower. Naked, they both stepped under the warm stream. Samantha covered a sponge with body wash and ran it over Ben’s body. She enjoyed watching the bubbles wash over his muscular chest, run down his beautiful abs, and across his thighs.
He washed his hair and then washed her, paying special attention to her breasts and her core. They held each other under the warm stream for a long time, just enjoying their closeness and the hot water running over them from the wide rainwater showerhead.
Finally, as their skin was beginning to prune, they stepped out of the shower and began to dry off. Ben left Samantha to dress in private while he went to his room to change. When she was dressed, she opened the door and found him sitting on the bed as he laced up his shoes. She smiled at him, giving him a knowing look. He gave her the same smile back.
The night before had been tender and slow, but their lovemaking on the bathroom counter had been raw and passionate. Holding each other in the shower had cemented their deep affection. She went back to the bathroom and fixed her hair and makeup as Ben went downstairs. She found him sitting at the kitchen table, reading the newspaper.
“Are there any updates on the missing statue?” she asked him.
“Nothing. Some people are speculating that it was witchcraft. Others are calling for a witch hunt against the Midwest Mayhem group. But no one can prove anything, either way.”
“You promised me a ride around the lake today.
“That I did,” he said, folding the paper and rising from his chair.
He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her head before looking down at her with a smile. “I’ve made us a picnic lunch and I’m ready to go if you are.”
“Absolutely.”
They left his house and climbed into his SUV, driving down the road. He lived in a pleasant new neighborhood of Fate Valley with other houses that had been built around the same time. They were all modern, with big backyards that faced the lake. Samantha could definitely imagine living there.
The closer she got to Ben, the more she wanted to change her entire life just to be with him. But she knew she needed more time to adjust to falling in love so quickly. Most human couples took at least a year to decide to get married and commit to each other. For shifters, it was a matter of days, if not hours, or even minutes. It just didn’t make sense to her human mind.
They drove through town and the crowd around the statue was still t
hick with spectators and tourists. There was a van parked in the square that said Paranormal Society and someone was out under the statue with a Geiger counter. Samantha had to giggle to herself at that. Well, it did seem miraculous that a two-thousand-pound statue could somehow be moved, without a trace, in the middle of the night. She doubted there was anything supernatural to it, though. Or was there?
They left town and drove out into the park that surrounded most of the lake. As they climbed elevation into the forest, the views of the lake from the top of the hill were beautiful and breathtaking. The day was warm and bright for February. Benjamin found a place to stop at a cliff, at the height of the hill that overlooked the lake.
They took a seat at a covered picnic table, sitting together on the bench. Ben opened the picnic basket and handed her a sandwich, a bottle of juice, and a bag of potato chips. They ate their lunch, looking out at the sweeping landscape.
When they were done, they decided to go for a short hike down a trail that circled the lake. Walking hand-in-hand, under the bright blue winter sky, Samantha took a deep breath of the fresh air. Little leaf buds sprouted from the naked winter branches above them. The winter birds sang from the trees. With Benjamin’s hand wrapped warmly in hers, they stopped at an overlook on the trail and leaned against the safety rail as they looked down on the lake waters.
Far below, she spotted families and fishermen in the cabs and on the decks of boats. Ben put his arm around her shoulders and stood close, his body heat radiating between them. She looked up at him and the sun twinkled in his eye. He grinned down at her and kissed her. She inhaled his scent as his lips pressed so softly against hers. He ran the pad of his thumb over her cheekbone and cupped her cheek in his hand.
“You’re so beautiful. I want to hold you like this in my mind forever.”
“Let’s take a selfie,” she said, pulling her phone out of her pocket.
They turned to have the lake behind them as she held her phone up. They grinned into the screen. She clicked the photo and then they both inspected it.