7. Acacia
ACACIA
T he next morning, I’m cleaning up breakfast while Bennett pulls on his heavy snow gear. He has to clear the woodpile and check the perimeter, his possessive streak demanding he ensure our sanctuary is impenetrable before the next wave of the storm hits.
"I won't be long, little bird," he says, his hand lingering on the back of my neck. I sigh with contentment as his thumb traces the line of my jaw with that familiar, heavy heat. "Stay inside. Stay warm." He presses a kiss to the top of my head and gives me a final squeeze before leaving.
Once the door clicks shut, the silence of the cabin feels different. It’s no longer heavy and lonely, but intimate. My eyes wander to a small wooden trunk tucked under the window seat, partially hidden by a heavy wool throw. Curiosity, sharp and insistent, wins out.
I pull it open and find a stack of worn, leather-bound sketchbooks. To say I’m surprised is an understatement. I was half expecting taxidermied rodents, but this is much better.
I settle onto the rug, heart racing as I open the first one.
The drawings are breathtaking. They start with the rugged soul of the mountain, vast, sweeping landscapes of jagged peaks, the intricate detail of a hawk mid-flight, and the rushing energy of a river frozen in graphite.
I see the view from his porch, or what I imagine it looks like without the white-out: a sprawling valley that seems to go on forever.
But as I flip toward the end of the most recent book, the subject matter shifts.
The landscapes vanish, replaced by me .
There’s a sketch of me sleeping, the quilts bunched around my chin.
Another of me laughing as I strung the wildflowers, the line of my throat long and elegant.
He’s captured the way my hair falls over my shoulder and the exact curve of my hip.
These aren't just drawings; they’re an obsession.
Bennett may not use many words, but his heart is laid bare on these pages.
It’s raw, intense, and more beautiful than I ever could have imagined.
The heavy thud of boots on the porch startles me. I don't even have time to close the book before the door swings open and Bennett steps in, a wall of cold air following him. He freezes when he sees the sketchbook in my lap.
I expect him to be angry, to growl about privacy and shadows. Instead, he sheds his coat, his blue eyes burning with a terrifying honesty. He doesn't apologize. He doesn't back down.
"I’m not good with words," he says, his voice rough and low as he stalks toward me. "I’ve spent too long in the dark to know how to talk to someone like you. But you... you’ve inspired me in more ways than I can count. Your light is contagious. I can do better. I will do better for you."
I don't let him finish. I scramble to my feet and cut him off with a kiss that tastes of salt, wind, and pure, unadulterated need. It’s all-consuming, a collision of teeth and tongues that sends a jolt of electricity straight to my core.
He groans, the sound vibrating deep in his chest, and hauls me up until my legs are wrapped around his waist. He buries his face in the crook of my neck, his hot breath branding my skin.
"I didn't know what my mountain was missing until you fell onto it," he murmurs, his voice thick with a possessive promise. "Now that you're here, you're never leaving."
He doesn't say a word as he carries me toward the bathroom, but the look in his eyes tells me one thing: we’re only just getting started.
Bennett sets me down in front of the shower, his greedy hands outlining my curves and squeezing my sensitive, heated flesh.
“You’re so goddamn beautiful, Acacia. I don’t even know where to start.”
“How about starting by taking your clothes off too?” I tease.
In record time, Bennett rips his clothes off and is naked before me.
He really is stunning. I love his broad shoulders and defined pecs, the corded muscles in his arms, all of his strength that he uses to protect and surprisingly comfort me.
And then there’s his cock. Without even thinking, I lick my lips.
“See something you like?”
I look up to see Bennett staring at me before turning on the shower and testing the water temperature.
“Yeah,” I say before tugging him closer and taking his lips as my own.
The kiss is explosive and all-consuming, our tongues warring for control as his hands stroke my body up and down. He cups my ass and lifts me up, walking us toward the shower, never breaking the kiss.
Only when he sets me down, do we both come up for air.
“Fuck, I missed you. It’s only been a few hours, but I’ve missed these lips,” he kisses me again, short and sweet.
“Missed your skin,” he kisses across my jaw, down my neck, over my collar bone.
“Missed these perfect breasts,” he sucks one of my nipples into his mouth while flicking the other one with his thumb.
Everything he does drives me crazy with want, need.
“Ah, yes…” I moan.
Bennett kisses lower, kneeling before me. His hands rest on my hips, guiding me backward so I'm leaning against the wall of the shower.
“Need another taste before I fuck you.”
I moan at his words, loving the dirty way he’s talking to me. He nips at my hip bone and blazes a trail of kisses to my other hip bone, where he sucks and nips the skin. His hands massage my ass, then grip lower on my thighs.
Bennett guides one leg up over his shoulder, giving him complete access to my soaked pussy. I feel exposed, but not in a bad way. I should be embarrassed, but I’m not. He looks like he’s about to go out of his mind with need, and I feel the same.
He turns his head and sinks his teeth into the thigh that is slung over his shoulder, kissing away the sting.
“Are you wet for me, baby?”
I nod and dig my fingers into his hair, urging him forward.
He chuckles. “You want it bad, don’t you, Acacia? Want my tongue inside your juicy pussy?”
Before I can reply, he devours me.
He flattens his tongue and runs it from my entrance to my clit. Again. Again . I buck my hips and moan his name.
“So fucking delicious.”
He dives back between my legs, spearing his tongue deep inside my channel, causing my pussy walls to pulse around him and release a wave of wetness. Bennett growls, the vibrations echoing off every nerve in my body.
He pulls his tongue out and thrusts it back in, fucking me with his mouth while rubbing my clit with his thumb. It’s almost too much, I feel myself getting close already. So close…
Bennett withdraws his tongue and finger and I cry out at the loss.
“I’ve got you. I’ll always take care of you.”
He licks my tight ball of nerves, drawing figure eights with his tongue, over and over. And then he slams two fingers in my hole and my body jerks, back arching off of the wall.
Bennett moves his other hand from my hip to my stomach, spreading his fingers out over my soft skin. He keeps me pinned to the wall while also intensifying the pressure building again in my lower abdomen.
“D-don’t stop, please…”
He pumps his fingers faster, curling them up and hitting my most sensitive spot. My thighs jerk together and he strokes the spot again.
“Ah, ah, too much…”
“I’ve got you, let go for me, come all over my face.”
He returns his attention to my clit, alternating between fast, slow, hard, and soft licks. Then, he sucks my little nub into his mouth and softly bites down. That's it. My orgasm rips through me.
“Oh fuck, Bennett!” I nearly scream.
He replaces his fingers with his tongue, lapping up all of my cum as my pussy convulses around him, squeezing his tongue as he massages my walls. I can feel the stress melt off of my bones and pool in my core, dripping out of me as Bennett sucks it all in.
The last of my orgasm fades and I slump against Bennett. He stands up and kisses me, long and deep, slow and passionate. I taste myself on him and it’s so fucking hot. He slides his hands up to my hips and I throw my arms around his neck, forcing the kiss to go deeper.
He finally breaks the kiss and nuzzles my neck, kissing my shoulder.
“Goddamn, baby. Love watching you come apart in my hands, in my mouth. Fucking beautiful.”
He lifts his head and rests it on my forehead. We’re both breathing heavily, sharing the same air, the same intensity.
I slide my hands down his neck, over his chest, down his well-defined abs, and grip his hard cock. He hisses and throws his head back.
“You feel too good. Too goddamn good. Gotta stop.”
Before I can respond, he captures my mouth in a frantic kiss, all teeth and tongue, and fire, while guiding me backward until my back hits the wall. He breaks the kiss to lift me up into his arms. My legs automatically wrap around his hips and I feel his hard cock rub up and down my slit.
“Yes,” I moan, grinding against him.
He growls but continues to slide his length through my folds, not penetrating me. His cock slides across my clit, winding that coil deep within tighter and tighter with each stroke.
Bennett’s mouth roams over my neck, chest, nipples, and everywhere in-between. The heat of his tongue and the sting of his teeth peppering my skin and setting my nerves on fire. My fingers tangle in his hair as I hold on for dear life.
Finally, finally, he thrusts his cock deep inside of me while biting down on my nipple.
The coil snaps and I instantly come, pulsing and shaking in his arms. My scream is caught in my throat, I forget to breathe, all I can do is drown in wave after wave of pleasure as it washes over me and leaks out from between my thighs.
“Jesus Christ, Acacia, love when you come on my dick, so fucking beautiful, baby, you feel so good.”
Bennett licks my neck and nibbles at my pulse point. His lips brush the shell of my ear. “Breathe, little bird, take a breath for me,”
I drag air into my lungs, the oxygen pulling pleasure along with it while traveling into my bloodstream and coursing throughout my body. I hear Bennett chuckle as he pulls my earlobe through his teeth.
“Fuck, you’re so sensitive. I love it. Love seeing you lost in pleasure.”
All I can do is moan at this point.
“I have to move, baby.”
And with that, he pulls out and slams back into me, setting a punishing pace. His fingers tighten around my thighs as he holds me in place, pounding into me again and again. It hurts so fucking good, feeling his cock stretch me, his fingers bruise me, his teeth sink into me.
I tilt my head back and he covers my mouth with his, swallowing my cries in an all-consuming kiss.
He rests his forehead on mine grunts with each thrust of his hips.
I didn’t think I had anything left in me, but I feel the pressure building again in my core, quickly overwhelming me as my legs start to shake.
What is this man doing to me?
Bennett pulls his head back enough to look me in the eyes. His gaze is so intense, but I can’t look away.
“Come for me, Acacia. One more time.” I close my eyes as I reach the point of no return. “Eyes on me, Acacia. I want to watch you fall apart.”
I snap my eyes open right as pleasure overtakes my body. Bennett’s cock swells inside of me and explodes as another wave of pleasure vibrates through me, through him, through us, breathing, pulsing together as one.
“ Fuck , Acacia, Acacia…” he chants my name over and over as the last of our orgasm slips away, dripping down between us.
The moment lasts forever. We never break eye contact, and I can see every emotion Bennett is feeling, just like I know he can see all of me in this moment, so raw and unfiltered.
Bennett sets me down, keeping one hand around my waist while his other hand goes behind me, bracing himself on the wall. We’re both still shaking, and it seems Bennett is about as unsteady as I am on my feet right now.
He tucks me into his chest, resting his forehead on the wall, covering me with his entire body, like he’s shielding me from everything outside of this moment. I place a gentle kiss on his chest before burying my head there and wrapping my arms around his waist.
I wonder if he felt it too, the moment I gave him my heart, became his. The moment I gave him the power to either destroy me or make me whole.
Neither one of us says a word as we separate. Bennett grabs the body wash and pours some in his hand before rubbing it all over my body, taking in every curve with such reverence. I do the same to him, soaping up his chest and arms, taking time to memorize the contours of his body.
He turns the water off and dries me with a fluffy towel, then pauses to cup my face in his hands. “You are so precious to me. My sweet, sexy Acacia, delivered right to my mountain.”
I beam under his praise, nuzzling into his arms as he wraps them around me. I don’t know what happens next, but whatever it is, I want Bennett to be by my side.