7. Bennett
CHAPTER SEVEN
bennett
Bennett woke with Jasper’s arm across his waist.
Not possessive. Not careless. Just there.
The realization settled slowly. His body had accepted it before his mind caught up. Jasper was warm. Solid. Breathing evenly behind him.
He stayed still, afraid that moving would break something.
Jasper shifted, his hand flexing once against Bennett’s stomach before settling again. Bennett’s pulse jumped. The contact was simple. It did not feel simple.
“You’re awake,” Jasper murmured.
“Yes,” Bennett said quietly.
“Okay,” Jasper replied, voice still sleep-soft. “Do you want me to move?”
The question landed gently. No assumption. No pressure.
Bennett considered it honestly.
“No,” he said.
Jasper’s arm tightened just a little. “Good.”
They lay there for a moment, the quiet thick and intimate. Bennett stared at the pale light creeping through the window and let himself feel it. The warmth. The closeness. The fact that he was not panicking.
Jasper’s fingers brushed his shirt, barely there. “You okay?”
“Yes,” Bennett said again. He meant it this time.
Jasper kissed the back of his shoulder, lips lingering, tongue darting out to taste salt-warm skin. Bennett’s breath caught, his body responding immediately, blood rushing south.
“Tell me if that is too much,” Jasper murmured against his skin.
Bennett shook his head. “It’s not.”
Jasper kissed lower, teeth grazing the curve where shoulder met spine.
His hand splayed across Bennett’s stomach, fingers dipping teasingly below his waistband.
Bennett turned in his arms, facing him fully, already half-hard.
Jasper’s eyes were still hazy with sleep, expression open and unguarded, but his gaze dropped to Bennett’s mouth with unmistakable hunger.
“You’re staring,” Jasper said.
“I’m allowed,” Bennett replied.
Jasper smiled. “You are.”
Bennett reached out and brushed his thumb along Jasper’s jaw, tracing the familiar line he had memorized over the last few days. Jasper leaned into the touch without hesitation, then turned his head to press a kiss to Bennett’s palm, tongue flicking against sensitive skin.
Bennett kissed him.
It was unhurried but deep, mouths opening immediately, tongues sliding together with practiced ease now.
Jasper’s hand cupped the back of Bennett’s head, angling him for better access.
Bennett felt it then, the want building steadily and undeniably, heat pooling low in his belly, his cock hardening as Jasper’s thigh pressed between his legs.
He pulled back slightly. “I need to say something.”
Jasper stilled. “Okay.”
“I don’t know what I am doing,” Bennett said. “I don’t have a reference point for this.”
Jasper nodded. “We can figure it out together.”
Bennett swallowed. “I might stop. I might need to slow down.”
“That’s fine,” Jasper said. “Just tell me.”
Bennett searched his face. Jasper was calm. Present. Not waiting for something Bennett could not give.
“I want you,” Bennett said. “I am sure about that.”
Jasper’s breath hitched. “I want you too.”
Bennett kissed him again, deeper this time. Jasper’s hand slid up Bennett’s back, warm and steady. Bennett let himself relax into it, into the slide of skin against skin as they shifted closer.
They took their time. Jasper’s fingers worked the buttons of Bennett’s shirt with deliberate care, revealing skin inch by inch. Bennett’s hands trembled slightly as he pulled Jasper’s shirt over his head, pausing to trace the lines of muscle beneath warm skin.
“You can touch me,” Jasper said softly. “I want you to.”
Bennett’s palms flattened against Jasper’s chest, feeling his heartbeat, steady and strong. When their bare skin finally met, Bennett gasped at the contact, at the heat and closeness of it.
Jasper guided Bennett back against the pillows, trailing kisses down his neck, across his collarbone.
His mouth was hot and patient, mapping territory Bennett had never let anyone explore.
He paused at Bennett’s chest, tongue circling one nipple until Bennett arched into the touch with a broken sound he didn’t recognize as his own.
“You’re so responsive,” Jasper murmured against his skin. “So perfect.”
When Jasper’s hand wrapped around him, Bennett’s hips jerked involuntarily. The sensation was familiar and completely new all at once. Jasper’s touch was confident, knowing, and Bennett felt himself unraveling.
“God,” Bennett breathed, his control fracturing. “Jasper.”
“Eyes on me” Jasper murmured.
Bennett forced his eyes open. Jasper watched him with an intensity that made Bennett feel exposed and safe all at once. Jasper’s hand moved in slow, deliberate strokes, his thumb sweeping over the sensitive head until Bennett shuddered.
“Tell me what you want,” Jasper said. “I need to hear you say it.”
Bennett’s throat worked. “I want… I want you inside me. I want to know what it feels like. All of it.”
Jasper’s breath caught. “Are you sure?”
“I’m terrified,” Bennett admitted. “But yes. I’m sure.”
Jasper kissed him deeply, swallowing Bennett’s gasp as their bodies aligned. The slide of skin against skin, the friction, the intimacy of it overwhelmed Bennett’s senses. Jasper’s hand slipped lower, fingers exploring with careful attention, reading every reaction.
“Tell me if anything doesn’t feel right,” Jasper said. “We can stop anytime.”
Bennett nodded, trusting him completely.
When Jasper pressed inside him, slow and careful, Bennett’s breath caught on something between pleasure and vulnerability.
The stretch was intense, foreign, overwhelming.
For a moment panic flared. This was real.
This was happening. He was letting a man inside him, and everything he thought he knew about himself was shifting.
“Breathe,” Jasper murmured, stilling completely. “Just breathe. We can stop.”
“No,” Bennett gasped. “Don’t stop. I just... give me a second.”
Jasper pressed kisses to his jaw, his temple, his mouth. Patient and unhurried. “Take all the time you need.”
Bennett focused on breathing, on the feeling of Jasper’s body against his, inside his. Slowly, the discomfort eased. Something else took its place. A fullness. A rightness that made his chest ache.
“Okay,” he whispered. “Okay. Move.”
“You’re sure?”
“Please,” Bennett said. “I need... I need you to move.”
They found their rhythm gradually, bodies learning each other.
Bennett’s hands gripped Jasper’s shoulders, then his back, nails dragging as sensation built.
Every thrust sent sparks through him, pleasure coiling tighter in his core.
This was nothing like sex had been before.
This was raw and intimate and completely consuming.
Jasper’s breath was ragged against his ear. “You feel incredible. So tight. So perfect.”
“God,” Bennett moaned. “Why does this feel so good?”
Bennett wrapped his legs around Jasper’s waist, pulling him deeper, chasing the feeling that was building impossibly bright behind his ribs. When Jasper’s hand closed around him again, stroking in time with his movements, Bennett broke.
He came with Jasper’s name torn from his throat, body arching, vision whiting out. The orgasm ripped through him with an intensity he’d never experienced, leaving him shaking and gasping. Jasper followed moments later, Bennett’s name a reverent whisper as he shuddered through his release.
They stayed like that for a while. No rush. No awkwardness. Jasper pulled out gently, and Bennett felt the loss immediately, his body still hypersensitive.
Jasper grabbed tissues, cleaning them both with tender care. Then he pulled Bennett close, and Bennett went willingly, tucking his face against Jasper’s neck.
“Still okay?” Jasper asked softly.
Bennett took inventory. His body felt wrung out, satisfied in ways he’d never experienced. His mind was quieter than it had been in weeks. And his chest... his chest felt full.
“I just had sex with a man,” Bennett said, testing the words out loud.
“You did,” Jasper confirmed.
“I liked it.”
Jasper’s laugh was soft and warm. “I’m glad.”
Bennett pulled back enough to meet his eyes. “I more than liked it. It was... Jasper, that was the best sex I’ve ever had.”
Jasper’s expression softened. “Yeah?”
“Yeah,” Bennett said. “And I think... I think maybe I’ve been lying to myself for a long time. About who I am. What I want.”
“You don’t have to figure it all out tonight,” Jasper said.
“I know,” Bennett replied. “But I think I’m bisexual. Or maybe I always was and just didn’t let myself see it.”
Jasper pressed a kiss to his forehead. “However you want to define it, I’m here.”
Bennett nodded, feeling something settle. “More than okay,” he whispered.
Jasper smiled and pulled him close again, settling them back into the bed with care.
Bennett lay there, heart steadying, body relaxed in a way he was not used to.
“This changes things,” Bennett said quietly.
Jasper’s thumb traced slow circles against his side. “Yes.”
Bennett turned his head slightly. “Are you all right with that?”
Jasper met his gaze. “I wouldn’t be here if I weren’t.”
Bennett considered that. Then he nodded, accepting it.
Outside, the snow continued to fall, soft and relentless. Inside, the room felt warm and settled.
Bennett closed his eyes.
For the first time in a long while, he was not bracing for what came next.
He was ready for it.