8. Lexi
8
LEXI
T his isn’t exactly the ride I thought he meant, but I lean into his back and enjoy it. After flipping off Gunner and asking Alice to cancel the rest of his appointments for today, I thought we’d be going back to the Exiled Guardians Clubhouse. Instead he turned north, away from Whiskey Run, and we’re on the stretch of highway that leads to Jasper.
I don’t ask questions, and I’m not going to complain. I lean into him, my hands tight against his abdomen, and rest a cheek on his back. We ride for awhile, and he stops at a diner that I’ve never been to before.
He orders us burgers and fries, and I’m patting my hair as he smiles at me. “My hair is a mess.”
He just shakes his head, looking at me intently. “You look beautiful.”
I look around the half empty restaurant. “What are we doing here, Boss?”
“Eating.”
I roll my eyes. “Yeah, I get that, but what are we doing here? I thought you were taking me…”
I let my voice trail off, and he leans toward me with a challenge. “You thought what?”
I point my finger around the restaurant. “You don’t have to do all this. I know what this is, and you don’t have to dress it up and make it pretty.”
He fists his hands on top of the table and leans toward me. “What do you mean, dress it up and make it pretty?”
I shrug. “I mean, I’m not expecting you to wine me and dine me. Like I said, I know what this is.”
He growls and shakes his head. “You should make this a little harder, Lexi.”
I sit back in my seat with a jerk, unable to hide the hurt from my voice. “Do you think I’m a slut?”
“What? No, I?—”
I lean in and whisper to him, “I’m not a slut, Ben Dalton. I’ve slept with one man. It’s not like I go around throwing myself at random men or anything, but one thing you should know about me is that I know who I am, and I go after what I want. I want you. I know you don’t want more than…” I pull my shoulders back and spit the rest out before I lose the nerve. “I feel like if I don’t do this… if I don’t…”
“What?” He grunts. “If you don’t do this, what?”
I avert my eyes, looking anywhere but him. He reaches across the table and wraps his hand around mine. His voice is deep and gruff. “You feel like if you don’t do this then you’d be missing out on the best experience of your life. Like the attraction between us is combustible, and your body is practically vibrating from the need to have me?”
My body has betrayed me again. “How did you know?”
He blinks at me. He’s not happy as he says the words. “Because I feel the exact same way, Lex. I feel like I might die if I don’t have you, but then I also know that if I do, my life will never be the same. I’m fighting this battle because I know that what I am, who I am, doesn’t deserve you. Can you see that I’m trying to save you here?”
I jut my chin at him. “I don’t need to be saved. I need someone to hold me. I need to feel alive. I need to feel like I mean something to someone.”
The door to the restaurant opens, and Ben pulls his hand back from mine, his head on a swivel as he looks toward the door. Instantly, I turn to look, but it’s just an older couple coming in to have dinner. “What’s wrong?” I ask him.
He shakes his head, not answering.
The server brings our food, and we eat in silence. The longer we sit here, the more on edge I feel. Am I completely making a fool of myself? When the meal is over, Boss pays and then walks with me outside. I get onto his bike and am feeling somewhat deflated now. He rides back toward Whiskey Run, and when he puts on the turn signal to pull into Heat it’s knowing that I shouldn’t give in to it. You deserve better.”
Decision made, I arch my back, reach behind me, and undo the snap of my bra. As I pull the straps down my arms, I can see Ben visibly shaking.
I let the bra fall and then lean down to remove my panties. When I stand up, he’s still looking into my eyes. He shakes his head. “I’m trying to be strong here, princess.”
“I’m offering myself up to you, Ben. You can have me right here, right now.” I put my hands on my hips and twist side to side. From his standpoint, I may look calm, but I’m feeling anything but. “Or I’m sure I can find someone to take me up on my offer.”
And that’s what does it. He stomps toward me, nostrils flared. He’s still looking in my eyes, but it’s even more intense. “Don’t even joke about that, princess. It won’t turn out good for you.”
He’s so close I can feel the roughness of his leather vest scrape against my nipples. I arch into him. “I’m not scared of you, Boss.”
His eyebrows lift when I call him by his club name. He puts his hands on my waist. “I’m not going to be gentle. I can’t.”
It almost sounds like regret in his voice. I keep my hands to my sides even though I want to reach for him. “I don’t want you to be gentle… I just want you.”
His fingers dig into my waist, and he pulls me to him until my body is flush against his.
He kisses me until I’m breathless, and then he lifts me in his arms. My legs go around his waist, and I can’t resist grinding against him, wanting the friction between my thighs. He nips against my neck, and I suck in a breath as the pain and the pleasure shoot through me. He positions me away from him. “You keep that up and this will be over before it gets started.”
I wrap my arms around his neck, and he stalks through his cabin with me in his arms. He stops next to his bed and lets me slide down his body. With a moan, I tell him, “You have too many clothes on.”
For the first time, his eyes travel down my body, and he’s visibly shaken by the sight in front of him. I was worried for nothing because there’s no hiding how much Ben wants me. He pulls me flush against his body, and his hard manhood presses into my belly.
I reach between us, cupping him through his jeans, and he hisses as if what I’m doing to him is painful.
He wraps his hand around my wrist, pulling me from him, and then picks me up, tossing me to the bed in one fluid motion. I land with a bounce, but I don’t get any time to adjust because he puts his hands on my knees and pushes them apart. A guttural groan erupts from him, and he shakes his head. “You’re beautiful, princess.”
I watch as he removes his vest and kicks off his boots, but I’m disappointed when he leaves on his jeans and T-shirt.
Overwhelmed, I hold my arms out to him. I don’t know what it is, but I need him to hold me. He looks at me like he knows exactly what I need and leans down to kiss me. He pulls back, searching my eyes. “If you’re changing your mind, tell me now.”
I put my hands on his shoulders. “I’m not changing my mind. I want this.”
He kisses me again, nuzzles down my neck across my collarbone, and then palms my breast in his massive hand. He squeezes me, then circles his finger around my erect nipple. I arch on the bed just as he kisses my peak. My hands go from his shoulders to the bed, and I pull at the sheets. “Oh God,” I moan.
He moves from one breast to the other, laving each one with attention. My whole body is pulled taut as my arousal grows.
When he kisses down my body, I tense, trying to stop him. “You don’t have to?—”
He cuts me off. “Oh, honey, I want to…”
There’s a vein pulsing in his neck as he waits for me to let him in. I let my legs fall, and the relief in his eyes is evident. He doesn’t hesitate; he leans into me and strokes his tongue across my core. My hand goes to the back of his head, holding him to me. He moans, tasting me, and the pressure starts to build. When he sucks my clit between his lips, my orgasm starts to rock through me. He circles me, changing the pressure until I start to vibrate under him. He’s relentless as he takes me over the edge, dragging my orgasm on until I’m completely satiated and lying limp on the bed.
He kisses up my body, and I’m jerking at his clothes, trying to take them off him. “Please,” I beg of him.