Chapter 26 #4
Benjamin didn’t need any provocation. Dizzy and eager, he drove inside her warmth and growled into her mouth, their tongues tangling as with slow, decidedly awkward thrusts, he attempted to find his rhythm.
Benjamin’s inexperience was overshadowed by his desire to learn, to delight, to please, and he was rewarded once Clara shivered and arched with impatience.
Determined to deepen her pleasure, Benjamin broke their kiss and laid his forearms flat against the floor, their eyes locking as he rolled more persistently between her thighs.
At this angle, there wasn’t quite so much strain on his spine.
Clara’s legs cramped up each time his hardness rubbed and stroked her bud, and with her mouth falling agape, she panted as their noses brushed along with the firm, steady pounding between her legs.
She felt weightless, overstimulated, and once he reached between them and circled her clit, Clara practically sobbed as she snagged her nails across his broad shoulders, her heat gripping around him as Benjamin lurched at the sensation.
It was too much, it was too much, it was much too much.
Thrusting into her with a renewed force, Benjamin kept his eyes on hers as he fell apart, a guttural cry catching in his throat once he spilled between her trembling thighs.
Desperate to join him, Clara rocked into his fingers when they returned to her clit, her eyes fluttering shut when finally, finally, her walls clenched hard around his softening arousal.
Their shared breathing filled the air, hushed and labored as both gradually came down from their high.
Benjamin withdrew enough to cup her flushed face, wearing a bright, decidedly dazzled smile from seeing Clara so beautiful, sated, and dare he think it, happy.
She was the moon, and he the helpless wave lured in by her gravitational pull.
He never wished to be parted from her ever again.
“Are you all right?” he asked, gently brushing a thumb across her lips.
Mirroring his fond smile, Clara laughed and ran her fingers through his hair. “Shouldn’t I be asking you that? Though for what it’s worth, I’m very impressed. This was your first time, was it not?”
Her fingers traced his cheek, and Benjamin chuckled, brushing his nose against hers. “I had a bit of literary help, if you’ll recall.”
“The books I recommended?”
He nodded, sheepish.
“Hmm. I’ll have to send Jacob Rueff and Fanny Hill a gift basket.” Benjamin pulled out from between her legs and Clara gasped, still sensitive. “My God, Ben…”
“No need for the blasphemous moniker,” Benjamin quipped. He lowered and pressed a kiss to her neck, humming against her skin. “When can we do this again?”
Clara laughed, her nose crinkling in amusement. “You enjoyed yourself, did you? I should’ve known; even the devout Benjamin Hoskin isn’t immune to carnal stirrings.”
“Not where you’re concerned,” he agreed, propping his chin onto her shoulder. “Am I going to get a real answer?”
Expression tender, she edged her forehead into his, lightly tracing a finger over his lips. “We can do it again whenever you wish…even now.”
“Now?”
She nodded. “Well yes, if you can get aroused again. I’ve never met a man who can, but I would thrill in being proven wrong.” Nuzzling him, she teased, “Just think of this as your own little personal challenge.”
With an impish glimmer to his eyes, Benjamin lifted to capture her mouth with his but was thwarted when a knock came at the door.
“I’ve got your supper!” the innkeeper shouted, sounding impatient as ever.
Clara snorted. “I suppose he finished flogging those venereal affairs of his.”
Rolling up into a sitting position, Benjamin assured her, “I’ll get our food and send him away.”
“What?” she squeaked. “Like this? Ben, you’re not wearing a stitch!”
“Yes, and that’ll definitely get rid of him, will it not?” Flashing a wry grin, he rose on unsteady legs and limped for the door.
Clara clapped a hand over her mouth, biting her lip to keep from giggling.
And as Benjamin opened the door, obscuring his nakedness from the other man, she heard the innkeeper gripe about “noise complaints,” and she buried her face into her palms, collapsing against the floor as she dissolved into a fit of laughter.
Several hours later, the icy rain was still coming down steadily against the streets of New Haven, thundering against the windowpane as Benjamin lay in bed wide awake, his fingers stroking Clara’s hair while she remained pressed into his side.
The gentle rise and fall of her breast brought him comfort, of knowing she was safe, alive, and finally his to hold.
Rolling onto his flank, Benjamin watched her longingly from across their shared pillow. Tracing the slope of her cheek, he leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her brow, feeling her stir as his fingertips grazed her shoulder and traveled down, down, to glide over her hip.
“Are you studying to be an anatomist?” Clara quipped, her voice heavy with sleep.
Slowly, her lashes fluttered and she lifted her eyes to his, the verdant green startling him from this close.
Benjamin felt overwhelmed, reborn gazing into them, and with a lopsided smile, he drew their foreheads together.
“More like I’m trying to figure out how I got so lucky,” he murmured. “I keep expecting you to come to your senses.”
Groggy, Clara teased him, “Worry not, I’m sure that will come sooner rather than later. You are a man. I’ve seen what they have to offer, and I am not terribly impressed.”
Benjamin grinned. Even with the playful belittlement, he felt as if he couldn’t stop smiling. Tenderly tracing her spine, he asked, “Have you thought about what you’d like to do once we arrive at camp?”
Nose wrinkling, Clara regarded him incredulously. “Not really…I’m still processing today’s events, truth be told. It’s overwhelming getting used to the idea that we are both still alive.”
The warmth in Benjamin’s eyes dulled, and he nodded.
“Fair enough,” he agreed. “But in our present situation, we can’t afford to let our guard down…
and I must admit, our marriage ruse gave me an idea.
” Edging his forehead back into hers, he asked, “How would you feel about aiding in my espionage again, but this time as my wife?”
Clara drew a hitching breath, stunned. “Are you asking…? D-do you mean as a pretend wife, or…?”
Benjamin hesitated at her query, for he’d initially only meant marriage as a cover. But the longer he gazed into her wide, crystalline eyes, the more he realized that yes, he did want her as his wife, and that he had for a long, long time.
Stroking his fingertips against her cheek, Benjamin’s eyes colored with adoration as he murmured, “Clara, I know I can’t provide for you in the way you deserve, but you have never once abandoned me…
not even when I was sick and cruel and hopeless.
For that reason, and many, countless others, I wish to remain by your side for the rest of my days.
” He cupped her cheek. “I may not have been your first, but I pray to God I’ll be your last.”
A swell of emotion swept Clara out into the sea of her heart, wild and tumultuous as a disbelieving laugh caught in her throat. Cradling his face, a shuddery sob rattled within her chest once she realized she was truly loved…that she was finally wanted.
Crashing her mouth into his, Clara tasted their mingled tears as she wrapped her arms around him, giving him her resounding yes through her lips and heart. She felt so warm, so full that she was close to bursting.
Benjamin broke the kiss and nuzzled her temple. “Clara, I—”
“Love you,” she finished for him, nodding tearfully. “Me too.” Wiping his damp cheeks, she added, “I suppose we should get out of bed and celebrate? There should still be a little ale leftover from supper…”
A mischievous shine came to Benjamin’s eyes, and he took her hand, pressing a kiss to her knuckles. “You’re not going anywhere.”
He playfully rolled her underneath him and Clara laughed, their lips joining fiercely as she parted her legs, drew him down into her arms, and then succumbed to the very fire in her soul.