Chapter 6
Chapter
Six
Running Out of Time
Lorielle eased out of Benny’s bed, careful not to wake him.
She grabbed her robe from the floor, slipping it on just before making it to the door.
She turned to look back at him sleeping so peacefully.
Benny was on his back with a hand resting on his stomach.
One arm was up from where it was tucked behind her head.
She wanted to crawl back in bed with him, but she had to get back to her room before anyone saw her leaving out of his room.
Lorielle eased out of the door, closing it softly.
“Ooooooh.”
She flipped around, slapping her hand over her chest where her heart was pounding. She spotted Gavin leaning against the wall a few inches from his door.
“Why are you out here?” she whispered-yelled.
“Why are you sneaking out of my brother’s room? You gave him some?”
“Gavin!”
He threw his hands up in surrender. “Don’t worry. Your secret is safe with me. I’m just jealous. Damn, I thought we were building something.” He wore a playful smile.
“Goodbye, Gavin.” She moved past him to her room.
“Can I really start calling you sis now?” he called out to her back.
She slammed her door shut.
Lorielle showered and got dressed, preparing for the long ride back to Charlotte. Rutherford County was beautiful at any time of the year, but it was just too cold for her now.
A knock at her door interrupted her checking her bags to make sure she had everything.
“Come in.” She watched the door ease open as she mentally prepared herself for him.
“Good morning.”
“Good morning, Benny.” She eyed him as he moved into her room, locking the door after he shut it.
He turned to her wearing a light mint green tracksuit that looked so good against his butterscotch skin.
On his feet were gray sneakers that completed the entire look.
It didn’t help his cologne filled the room and made her want to pounce.
Benny strolled over to her. “I woke up alone. After the night you and I shared, I thought for sure I would wake up with my breakfast in bed. I don’t have a problem with pickup, though.”
Effortlessly, he picked her up and tossed her on the bed.
“Benny.” She pushed her hair from her face as she struggled to get up. “Benny.” He was pulling at her leggings, and her stomach tightened in anticipation.
“Fuck!” She threw her head back when he spread her legs and laid his tongue against her aching pussy.
“Got to be quiet, baby. Everyone’s up now.”
She bit into her bottom lip to keep from crying out, but she barely was able to contain herself. It felt so good.
His tongue was laced with pleasure, slipping into her blood stream, setting her body on fire.
“I can’t be quiet.” She tossed her head back and forth, trying to gain some control of her body, but Benny had the controller. He played her body like his favorite game, and he was out for the win.
He kissed and sucked her clit. It wasn’t just the action that had her reaching for a pillow to smother herself. It was the sound too. It was so erotic.
She was about to fly high, and she prayed her body could handle it.
“Give it to me.” He pushed two fingers into her wet tunnel. “I need it, baby.” Her snug walls made room for his thick digits. It heightened the sensation flowing through her.
Lorielle inhaled deep into her belly and exhaled verbally, calling her orgasm to the front.
“Yes, baby. Give it to me,” Benny encouraged. “I feel it.”
Benny flicked his tongue over her pearl before sucking it into his mouth. The cry she wanted to let out but couldn’t, brought tears to her eyes.
Lorielle pushed the pillow away. She grabbed the back of his head as he licked up and down her center. His face was a mess, but it was a beautiful mess.
Just like that. Just like fucking that!
She couldn’t speak or she would let the whole house know what they were doing, so she kept all the words in her head.
“You going to cum for me like last night?”
Yes, but harder. She was so fucking close.
When he zeroed in on her clit again, she damn near lost her mind, scrambling up the bed until she had nowhere to go.
Benny growled, throwing her legs over his shoulders. His hands fondled her breasts through her shirt. She sobbed as her legs started to tremor.
His hands moved to her wrists, pinning them to the bed. He knew she was cumming and he wasn’t going to allow her to run anymore.
Benny secured his mouth around her swollen, sensitive clit, sucking until she exploded. Her hips lifted and fell as he flicked his tongue over her clit until she thought she would pass out.
She had to force him away and when he released her. He pushed his pants down his hips.
With his long, thick dick in hand, he stroked it before sliding back between her legs. He rubbed the head between her wet lips when a knock on the door paused them.
“Morning, Elle.” It was Mrs. J.
“Fuck.” Benny silently cursed.
“This is your wake-up call. Breakfast is downstairs and we have about forty-five minutes before it’s time to leave.
“Yes, ma’am. I’m coming.”
When they heard the footsteps retreat, Benny rested his forehead against hers.
“I knew we only had a short period of time, and I brought my ass in here anyway.” He let out a frustrated sigh. He started to pull away, but she grabbed him at the waist.
“Benny.” She needed him in the worst way. “Just for a minute.”
“Later, baby. I promise. I don’t want to rush our first time.”
“Okay,” she whined, dropping her hands to the bed.
“You’re over there pouting but imagine how I feel.” She started to feel bad until she saw him smiling. “It’s okay. Come on. Let’s get ready for breakfast.” He pulled away from her, fixing his clothes.
“I was ready until you came in here.”
“If you wouldn’t have tried to sneak out…”
Lorielle rolled her eyes as she went to the bathroom, quickly cleaning herself up. When she returned, Benny was on the bed.
“What are you still doing in here?” she inquired.
“Waiting for you so we can go to breakfast.” He walked past her to the bathroom. He grabbed a towel and took his time cleaning her essence from his face.
She shifted her weight from one foot to the other. Was she really going to do this?
“Baby, you’re locked in now.” Benny moved back into the room, and when he was close, he yanked her against his hard body. “If you’re having regrets you should’ve thought about that before you gave me your body.”
“My flesh is weak, but my brain knows better. When you give me some space, I’ll be using the correct side of my brain again.”
“Or maybe it’s your body is tired of fighting what your head and heart know is true. You belong to me and not just for a night.” He stroked her cheek with a feathery touch.
Lorielle felt like she was on a ledge, and Benny was telling her to jump. How when she couldn’t fly, but he insisted she could? Did he see something that she couldn’t?
“Tell me you don’t want me, Lorielle, and I’ll pretend like last night and this morning didn’t happen. I’ve never been one for games. I’ve been entertaining it in hopes to give you some time, but the game is about to be over.”
“I just need time to think without you.”
“Time to think? Cool. I get that. You’ve been through a lot. However, time to run? That’s a no go. No more running, Elle.”
When they finally pulled up to the Collins’ home, everyone exited the Sprinter, exhausted. It had been a long couple of days.
Most of the ride, Lorielle had been silent. She was in her head so bad, she was making herself tired.
“I had such a great time as always,” Lorielle said once Mr. B pulled her bags from the van.
Benny frowned when she reached for them. “Don’t you touch those bags, Elle.”
“That’s right, Son.” Mr. B winked at her. “Let that man be a man.”
Benny hadn’t said much to her since this morning in her room. During breakfast, they sat beside each other, and when it was time to load the Sprinter, she slid into the same seat she had on the way down.
Benny surprised her, sliding in beside her. He did work from his phone, but it was his closeness that brought her comfort.
That spoke to her. Though they were at odds, he still wanted to be around her.
“Thank you.” Benny placed her bags in the trunk of her car. She gave him a pleasant smile then moved to the driver’s door. He put his hand out to stop her from opening it.
“Where are you rushing off to?”
“Home. I’m ready to completely unwind. The past month has really been a lot.”
“Running?” he questioned with a raised brow.
“Benny, I need time to think.”
He rubbed his hand down his face. “What is it going to take to know that I’m for real?”
She said the corniest line, but it was true. “It’s not you. It’s me.”
“Then let me help you.”
She knew Benny was as real as they came, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t flip on her. What if being in a relationship with him was different than what they were doing now?
Past trauma was real, and she didn’t know how to overcome the fear that one day he might turn into someone she didn’t recognize, and she wouldn’t be prepared.
“When you love someone, that’s what you do.
And I do love you, Lorielle. Not just the way you look or what you can do for me.
I love who you are, that’s why it’s hard for me to walk away.
Don’t give me a reason to walk away. I’ll give you space, just promise to really think about what you would be giving up if you make me walk away. ”
“I have to go.” She moved, but he stopped her again. “Please.”
“I will for now, but just know I’m coming for you, Lorielle.”
He opened her car door, and she eased in behind the wheel. He shut it when she was secure in her seat. She started the car, and he stepped back. She pulled out the driveway and instantly felt a sense of loss.
When Lorielle got home, the first thing she did was run a bath, but it didn’t help her. As the water settled around her, all she could think about was Benny and how he took her body to new heights.
She yearned for his presence.
Lorielle’s phone rang, bringing her out of her thoughts. She saw it was Jo and frowned. She dried her hands and answered it, putting it on speaker.
“Why are you calling me? You’re supposed to be enjoying your honeymoon.”
“I heard my brother set claims on you. That’s definitely worth a phone call, don’t you think, Elle?”
“Why do you sound amused?”
“I can’t believe you finally gave in.” Jo did her signature laugh and clap combination.
“My flesh was weak, but I’m coming back into my common sense.”
“Now, we’re friends and all, but I don’t want to hear about how your flesh gets weak for my brother. I will say this though. I hope he’s not bringing shame to the family name because his sister puts it down.”
Lorielle released a deep sigh. “I’m serious. I don’t know what to do.”
“I know you’re in your head over there. Talk to me.”
She didn’t know where to begin, so she asked a question instead. “Did he tell you to call me?”
“No. Gavin did though. His peanut head loves to gossip with me, though he doesn’t like to admit it. He told me how you were trying to push Benny away once y’all got back.”
“It’ll be easier if he just walked away.”
“When he wants something and has set his mind on getting it, he won’t stop until it’s his. But that shouldn’t scare you, Elle. If he’s pursuing you like this, he’s not trying to play with you. Plus, he doesn’t want to feel my wrath.”
“And the age thing and him being your brother doesn’t bother you?”
“I’m two years behind you. Trust and believe if it hadn’t worked out with Trey, I was going to get me one straight out of college. Train him up to be the perfect man.”
Lorielle pinched the bridge of her nose. “Please don’t tell anyone else that.”
“Shit, I would, but back to you. You could have done a lot worse than a twenty-eight-year-old, successful business owner, and you know for a fact he has a good head on his shoulders. Let yourself be happy, okay?”
“I’ll try.”
“If I was there, I would go upside your head,” Jo stated blatantly.
Lorielle cackled. “I’m serious, Elle! Give my brother a chance. You already fucked him.”
“I did not!”
“Then why Gavin said you was creeping out of his room this morning?”
“Gavin talks too damn much. Both of your brothers get on my nerves.”
“Yeah, I hear you,” Jo said.
“Tell me about Iceland. Have you been to the Blue Lagoon yet?” Jo had been sending her pictures, but they hadn’t talked much.
“We haven’t been out yet, but I heard they had another popular spot called Sky Lagoon.”
Lorielle could hear the smile in her voice. “Y’all haven’t left the room yet?”
“Nope. We’ve been enjoying each other, and I mean every inch. He knows what every part of my body tastes like. I can’t even talk about it right now. I’m starting to have flashbacks.”
“Freaky ass. Get off my phone.” She laughed. “When you do go out, have fun at whatever lagoon y’all choose. Take plenty of pictures. I’m living vicariously through you. Bring me a keepsake, and most importantly, enjoy yourself and your new husband.”
“Yes, yes and I will. I love you, sis.”
“Sis, huh?” Lorielle liked how she slipped that in there. “I love you too.”