Chapter 27
twenty-seven
Harper
I HAVE YOU.
Warmth surrounded me.
Vanilla, sandalwood, and something else warm and comforting filled my senses, making me heat from the inside. Sparks lit up my core as I pressed further into it.
My mind was unwilling to be roused from sleep, unlike my body. My hips rolled into the warmth. Friction through fabric. More. I hummed. It felt good. Smelled good. Comfort. Warmth. More.
The moment the sleep fog released me, my heart seized in my chest, a cold wave of humiliation washing over me as I realized why I was warm, what I was smelling, and most importantly, what I was currently grinding my hard dick against. The answer to all of those things… Benny.
My eyes opened, my head snapped up to look at him.
Thankfully, he was still asleep. He was also well lit. I hadn’t woken up with the sky already being this bright in… well, ever. It must have been mid-morning by now, which meant I was late for work.
Despite that, I allowed myself a moment to just take in Benny’s peaceful features. Would this be the only time he ever slept in my bed? If it wasn’t, then how many more times would I get to have this?
I pushed myself up and away, or at least I tried to, before a large, warm hand closed around each of my wrists to keep me where I was.
He’d been pretending to sleep, then. Probably trying to save me the embarrassment of knowing he knew I’d just humped myself awake on his thigh.
His dick was stiff and hot against my hip.
“Sorry,” I mumbled, trying to pull away again, embarrassment demanding retreat.
“No. Don’t go.” His voice was deeper first thing in the morning. It didn’t help with my hardness still pressed against him. I pulled my hips up. His thigh followed. Warm pressure returned. I groaned.
“Benny,” I hummed.
“Harper,” he responded. “Why are you tryin’ to leave?”
“I have to go to work.”
He groaned. “But it’s Saturday.”
“And?”
“And it should be illegal to work Saturdays.”
The corner of my lips pulled up in a smile. “Not for me, pup.”
The nickname slipped out naturally, and his cheeks darkened with it. His eyes too, paired with a sudden dampness, blinked away as quickly as it appeared. Maybe I didn’t have the right to call him that anymore.
“I wanna kiss you,” he whispered.
“I haven’t brushed my teeth yet.”
“Don’t care.”
“Then you’re gross,” I teased.
Benny rolled his eyes. His hands around my wrists pulled them up, causing me to lose my balance. My chest landed on his, then he wrapped his arms around my waist and rolled us onto our sides.
“Then let me kiss somethin’ else,” he mumbled as he shuffled down beside me until his lips were level with my neck.
I couldn’t help the way my head tilted to give him better access as warm, soft kisses trailed over the sensitive area, gentle flutters of his lips exploring the skin over my throat.
“I need to go to work,” I breathed. Reminding him. Reminding myself. Even though my fingers were threading through short strands of hair to keep him to me.
“Work from bed.” His voice vibrated against my skin, sending more sparks of pleasure and anticipation to an area I didn’t have the time to focus on right now.
I hadn’t specifically been told I had to work from the office. It was just assumed. Which meant I wouldn’t technically be slacking off… even if I took a little longer before I logged on from home.
Benny’s lips continued their silent encouragement, and staying in bed was getting more appealing by the moment.
“I need to work,” I sighed. “I made one of my teams work this weekend.” It was a weak excuse, but I was obligated to provide it.
The team probably wouldn’t see me the entire day, even if I went into the office.
It wasn’t like I worked in the lab with them, or they came up to my office just to check in.
“I know. Rachel was complainin’ about it at dinner.”
I stiffened.
Benny noticed, pulling back to look at me. “I mean, like, she wasn’t complainin’ about you specifically… much. She just likes to complain. It’s not really personal, I promise.”
“Did…” I swallowed. “Did you tell her?”
“No,” he answered quickly. “No, I promise. I haven’t told anyone about you… about us. I knew you didn’t want me to.”
I let out a breath, relaxing back into the mattress again. The thought of someone—especially one of my employees who had just as frequent contact with my father as me—knowing about this made my stomach twist and my heart thump in warning.
“You really didn’t tell anyone?” I asked as I ran my fingers through his hair.
He shook his head. “I mean, my ma knows something happened, but she wasn’t able to get any details out of me. If you knew my ma, you’d understand what an accomplishment that is for me.”
The talk of families and this being anything other than a secret made my skin feel itchy.
“You told someone, though,” he reminded me, a soft smile tugging at his lips.
“Yes, well, he wasn’t capable of keeping that to himself for even a full day. So at least I know not to trust him with any more secrets.”
Benny chuckled. “He was worried about you.”
Pressure built behind my brow. “W…what did he tell you?”
“Not much. Nothin’ about…” He let the name remain in the shadows. “Just that you weren’t well, and that maybe I could help.”
“Has to involve himself in everything,” I scoffed, because that was safer than acknowledging what Matthew had told him.
“Yeah, well, that’s what dads do.”
There were conflicting emotions rising at that statement, but I chose to pursue amusement. “Matthew’s not my dad.”
“Oh… does he know he’s not your dad?”
I huffed again, then grabbed Benny’s face between both hands and yanked him down into a quick and unnecessarily firm kiss, before pushing him away again.
“Gross,” he teased. “Gimme more.”
“So demanding. Am I going to have to retrain you, pup?”
He nodded quickly. “I think that would be best, yes.”
I didn’t know how he could still want me. How he could still trust me. The thought was raw and heavy in my throat and incredibly difficult to swallow. Guilt, regret, gratitude, relief—they all mixed together in a tangled mess I wasn’t currently capable of unraveling.
“I need to shower.” Benny pouted, so I quickly continued. “And then I will work from home. But I do need to work, Benny.”
His eyes lit up. “And I can stay? While you work?”
“Only if you don’t try to distract me.”
“I’ll be good!” If he had a tail, I had no doubt it would be wagging right now.
“Okay, up. I need to shower.”
“Can I shower with you?”
That was a tempting thought. I wanted it, wanted him with me, and I feared if I didn’t let him come, he might not be here when I got back.
But I also didn’t want him to see me yet.
Under darkness and blankets, he hadn’t been able to see what I’d become, what I’d wasted down to. The shower would leave me too exposed.
It wasn’t logical. He’d had me covering him all night, my body pressed tightly against his. He’d already know. But it still felt like too much. Too vulnerable. “Maybe next time?”
His eyes softened, and he nodded.
I shoved a pillow on top of Benny’s head and told him he wasn’t allowed to remove it until I left the room. He groaned but obeyed, because he was still so good for me.
Then I picked out my clothes and took them to the bathroom with me.
After a quick but efficient shower, I returned to my room to find Benny absent. My chest tightened, and I rushed toward the elevator, only to stop short when I caught sight of him in the kitchen, rummaging through the fridge.
A sigh of relief escaped me.
I watched him in silence as he moved around, locating things and making himself more at home here than I ever had.
I had no idea what he planned on making.
What stocked my fridge and pantry was a mystery to me, though I was certain Matthew would have tried to include everything he could think of on the slight chance I might have wanted any of it.
It didn’t really matter, though, because Benny seemed to be happy.
My fingers trailed gently over the warm exposed skin of his back, and Benny hummed as he turned to look at me. A soft kiss was placed on my temple, and with it another broken piece seemed to fit back into place inside me.
“I thought you weren’t goin’ to the office,” he said as he took in my suit pants and fitted navy shirt.
“I’m not.”
“Then why are you all dressed up?”
I was dressed well. I had to be if I was going into the office, and as that was the only place I really went at all, those were the only type of clothes I owned. “This is what I always wear.”
“Even at home?”
“Yes.”
“You don’t have like, sweatpants or somethin’?”
“No.”
“Well, that’s gotta change.” Benny huffed. “How do you like your eggs?”
The thought of food this early in the day made my stomach twist in discomfort. “I’m not really hungry yet.”
Warm brown eyes softened, seeing too much.
“Will you try this, at least?”
Benny picked up a plate to the side of where he was cooking. Toast with peanut butter. He held the corner of it to my mouth. I rolled my eyes at him but took a bite.
“How do you like your coffee?” I asked after I finished chewing, only for Benny to shove the toast in my mouth again. I took another bite as I turned the coffee machine on.
“Milk and one sugar.”
I nodded, hoping Matthew kept milk and sugar somewhere. As I found them and made a coffee for Benny the way he specified, and my own regular black coffee, Benny kept holding the toast to my mouth, and although I rolled my eyes at him every time, I still finished it off.
“I’m going to log on to work,” I told him, my finger curling to summon him down to my level. When he bent, my hand cupped the back of his neck as I pulled him into a kiss.
There were already twelve emails from my father. Several of which were marked as urgent, even though I couldn’t tell why.
Regardless, it didn’t take me long once I was able to focus to catch up on everything I’d missed by logging on so late.