Chapter 25
MADDY
Ben sets me down in his bedroom, just long enough to peel my pretty blue dress from my body, before gathering me in his arms again. It’s like he can’t bear any distance between us. Like he’s terrified if he lets me go, he’ll lose me all over again.
I want to tell him not to worry. That he’ll never have to be without me again. But those are promises I can’t make. Not yet. Instead I cling to him tightly, wordlessly telling him that I’m here now and there’s nowhere else I’d rather be.
“You still taste like strawberries,” he says between fevered kisses. “I had to stop eating them. Even the smell reminded me of you and it hurt too fucking much.”
I close my eyes tightly as we kiss, afraid that I’ll cry if I don’t. All those years I thought he’d moved on. Expected him to be out in the world, living his life, happy. When, in reality, like me he was just going through the motions.
He undoes my bra and I slip it off, still wrapped around him. The feel of his chest hair against my sensitive nipples makes me cry out.
“I know, baby,” he whispers against my fevered skin as he sets me down. “I know.”
His mouth and hands are everywhere. Kissing, touching, teasing. His lips trail down my body as he drops to his knees in front of me. I have to hold onto his shoulders to stay upright, my legs are that weak.
Ben kisses the inside of both my thighs before pressing his face against my sex and inhaling deeply.
“Oh God,” I cry, shaking against him.
“I’ve missed you calling me that.”
My body is wound so tightly. I’m so overstimulated by emotions, memories, and him. He’s barely touched me and I’m so, so close.
In one swift motion he pulls my panties down and swipes my clit with his tongue and I’m gone. I cry out loudly, my body clenching around nothing as I come hard and fast. A sudden weightlessness takes me and I feel the mattress against my back, my swimming head grateful for the support.
“Thank you,” Ben says, still staring reverently between my trembling thighs. The feel of his breath against my skin sends little aftershocks through me.
“I think…I think that’s my line,” I pant, looking down at him with mild embarrassment.
He shakes his head, his face pressing against my inner thigh. “Believe me, Madness. It’s not. Now…” His brown eyes are almost black and his smile wolfish. “Make me work for it a little harder this time.”
I gasp as his tongue parts me again, my hips bucking off the bed. His hands reach up, anchoring me and stopping me from squirming. It’s too good. Too much, yet somehow not enough.
I always felt like Ben knew my body better than I did and it seems like he hasn’t forgotten a single thing. He alternates between quick, light strokes and long, languid ones, whispering praise as he works me over, driving me higher and higher.
“That’s my good girl.”
His praise sends me over the edge again and I come harder and longer than before, gripping his shoulders and moaning his name.
I’m lightheaded and boneless as he climbs into bed and gathers me in his arms. The pounding in his chest is strong and steady and I lay my head against him, lulled by its perfect rhythm.
Despite my nakedness, I don’t feel self-conscious. As Ben’s hands trace imaginary lines over my bare back, I bask in how right this feels. I’m so happy at this moment that there is no room for even the possibility of regret. I know, without question, that this is where I’m meant to be.
“I love you.” His words are spoken on an exhale, so quiet I’m not sure they were even meant for me. I want to echo them back to him. The words are right there on the tip of my tongue. And they’re true.
But when I open my mouth, all I manage is, “I missed you.”
Ben’s arms tighten around me and when he tilts my head up to look into my eyes I see no trace of disappointment there. Only happiness. Only love.
I bring my lips to his and kiss him. It’s tender at first. But then my hands thread through his thick hair and his hands cup my ass lifting me closer. His belt buckle digs into my stomach and I pull away.
“You’re overdressed.”
Ben smirks up at me. “I didn’t know there was a dress code.”
“Well there is. And you’re breaking it.”
He brings his arms up and folds his hands behind his head, his eyes never leaving mine as he gives me a knowing grin. “Do what you need to do, Madness.”
I allow myself a moment to drink in his sculpted upper body before undoing his pants with all the patience of a child tearing open a toy on Christmas morning. In seconds, I’ve relieved him of his jeans and black boxer briefs.
The sight of his cock, long and hard, makes my mouth flood with saliva and the throbbing between my legs intensifies. It’s been so long, it’s like I can’t decide what I want to do first. I reach for him, wrapping my hand around him and he groans.
He flips us so I’m on my back once more. His forearms are braced on either side of my head, chest heaving. The weight of his cock presses into my hip as he kisses me.
“I want you so fucking badly.” He bites at my swollen lips. “Been dreaming about this for so damn long. It’s all I think about.”
I’m already spreading my legs beneath him, positioning myself to take him. “Please, Ben.”
With a groan he pushes off the bed. He produces a condom from the bedside table and I watch as he eagerly tears the package open with his teeth before carefully sliding it on.
Crawling back on top of me, he aligns himself with my entrance and slides in slowly. I tense slightly as he stretches me, but I welcome the sensation, the slight burn as he fills me. My body offers no resistance, like it’s welcoming him home where he belongs.
“Maddy… you’re so perfect,” he breathes, his voice rough. “God, baby. Sometimes I can’t believe you’re even real.”
He moves inside me, and I meet him instinctively, our bodies falling into rhythm like no time has passed. It’s muscle memory. Seamless. Effortless. Mind blowing. We’re so good together—better than I ever let myself hope.
There was a part of me that always wondered if I’d imagined it…the way we fit. But I hadn’t. If anything, our connection is even more intense than I remembered.
I dig my heels into the mattress, lifting my hips higher, moving faster. My fingers dig into his shoulders hard enough to leave marks. Ben’s right there with me, matching my speed, my breaths, my moans.
“That’s it, baby,” he groans when I start to tighten around him. “Take us both home.”
I come, and come, and come, crying his name along with several other unintelligible sounds. He stiffens, but keeps moving, spilling himself inside of me, drawing out my orgasm longer than I ever thought was possible.
I am broken and whole at the same time. Used and spent in the best way possible. I feel Ben’s lips against my collarbone, my neck, my cheek.
Did that really happen?
I must have said it out loud because Ben laughs softly against my skin as his face nuzzles against me.
“It happened.”
“How can you be sure?” I ask, curling my fingers into the nape of his neck as I wait for my vision to focus.
“Because, Madness,” he sighs. “You’re better than any fantasy I’ve ever had.”