Chapter Nine #2
Her face lights up at my words. And since I’ll have to deal with the fallout of my father’s actions tomorrow, tonight I want to get lost in Summer’s arms.
* * *
Summer
When Ben turns toward me, I can read the need in his eyes. Desire is there, but so is the yearning to get lost and replace his pain with something else. Something I can provide.
I sit up on my knees and lift his shirt, pausing to glide my palms up the light coating of hair on his chest and over his nipples, scratching with my nails before I ease the shirt over his head and toss it onto the floor.
I take in his muscled forearms and pecs, his tanned skin, and lean down for a taste.
I follow the reverse path with my mouth, gliding my lips over his chest, teasing his nipples with my tongue and teeth before licking my way down to the waistband of his shorts.
He grips my breasts in his hands as I move, tweaking my nipples, moisture flooding my underwear, desire rushing through me. With his help, we remove his pants and boxer briefs, his cock huge and erect, his naked body mine to explore.
The problem is, he obviously doesn’t want slow, because he rips my panties off with a swift tug and lifts me, positioning me over his straining shaft. My legs quiver, barely holding me up, the feel of his pulsing heat between my thighs a heady thing.
I am gone for him but not so far gone that I’m not aware of the situation. At least not yet.
“Condom,” I manage to croak out, not easily with my body softening and demanding to be filled by his thick erection.
“At least someone’s thinking,” he says with a shake of his head.
I hold myself up on her knees, waiting while he leans over and pulls a packet from the nightstand drawer, where we stashed our supply, and covers himself with the condom.
He quickly returns his hands to my hips, lifting me up and placing me over his hard cock once more. I slide down a tiny bit, a tease of sorts, clenching him tight inside me, feeling him as he parts my slick heat.
His big body reverberates, and he groans aloud, a sexy sound of torment I enjoy, and I take him in a little more.
And a little more, deliberately torturing him with a slow dance of seduction, at least the slowest I can manage with the flutters of desire beating inside me, growing larger the more of him I take into my body.
He grips my hips, his fingertips digging ever harder into my skin until I am sure he’ll leave marks.
Unable to take it any longer, I release my grip on his shaft and slide down hard on top of him, accepting his thick length inside me completely.
“Ride me,” he says in a gritty voice.
“With pleasure.” I grasp his hands in mine, holding on as I begin to slide up and down, a steady beat that allows him to thrust into me over and over, each pass ending with a grind of my sex against his pelvis.
Every press of our bodies causing a shock of pleasure to rush over me, stronger each time.
It is fast, it is furious, the pounding of his body up and into mine, and my climax hits almost immediately in a sudden burst of sensation, my orgasm rushing over me in waves that continue as he begins to pump upward, causing me to come harder and longer, as he, too, finds release with a loud shout.
His hips grind into my body, his thickness swelling inside me, and I come again on a sob, collapsing on top of him, his arms bracketing me in warmth.
* * *
Summer
I wake up to the sunlight streaming through the slatted shades, worried about Ben and the day ahead. He rolls over, coming to consciousness slowly, his heavy-lidded stare focusing on me.
“Morning,” he says gruffly in his sexy, sleep-roughened voice.
“Good morning.” I lie on my side and meet his gaze.
“Listen, don’t worry about being alone today.
I’ll get someone over here to look out for you before I go bail out my father.
” He pushes himself up in the bed and leans against the headboard.
“If I can’t get someone from Alpha Security, Dan will call in a favor and get a person he trusts from another company to take over. ”
“What?” I ease myself into a sitting position as well, pulling the covers up and over my bared breasts. “No. I’m coming with you.”
He frowns at my words. “I am not taking you to a county jail. And I’m sure as hell not exposing you to my father after a night in a cell.” He wrinkles his nose in disgust. “I’m your bodyguard, and my job is to keep you safe.”
“Oh, cut the crap,” I mutter, knowing excuses when I hear them. He is obviously embarrassed by the situation and he doesn’t want me there, but tough luck.
“What the hell does that mean?”
“We might not have a label on what’s happening between us…
” And he might want it to be about sex… “But it’s more than just you’re my bodyguard.
” I reach out and gently stroke his cheek, letting my touch linger.
“I … care about you, and I’m going to be beside you when you deal with your dad and his situation. ”
His mulish expression hasn’t changed, but I ignore it just as I plan to ignore any argument he forms. “I’ll take a fast shower and be ready to go when you are,” I say, rising from the bed.
“Do I have a choice?” he asked in a grumpy tone.
I shake my head. I’m not taking no for an answer. Which is why I find myself beside Ben in an Uber to his apartment, so he can grab his car keys and drive us in his SUV to pick up his father.
Ben is silent on the way there, and I don’t press him to talk, just grateful he didn’t find a way to leave me behind.
I meant what I said. We might not have a defined relationship, but I more than care about him and I know it.
I have a feeling he does, too, but he hasn’t indicated he feels any more for me than convenient, easy sex buddies while we are together.
Our chemistry is off the charts. It always has been.
But today isn’t about sex. Today is about being there for him in ways that matter.
* * *
Ben
My father reeks of alcohol and disgusting jail cell odors I would prefer not to identify when I finally bail him out and load him into the back seat of my car.
Dad is sullen and morose, introductions between he and Summer not going all that well.
My father grates out a hello, while Summer’s cheery disposition has no effect on my dad’s mood.
What an embarrassing clusterfuck. Of all the times for my father to get arrested for drunk driving, it has to be while I am on an assignment I can’t separate myself from.
I recall Summer’s words from earlier this morning.
We might not have a label on what’s happening between us, but it’s more than just you’re my bodyguard.
I swallow hard. At least one of us is being honest. She isn’t here because I am her security detail.
She is here because we have a relationship, undefined though it might be.
After today, who knows what our status will be? If Summer is smart, after a day with Nate Hollander, she’ll run the other way, far and fast. The thought makes me ill. I’ve come to terms with the fact that I want as much time with Summer as I can get before life pulls us in separate directions.
I turn into my father’s driveway and shut off the engine, the three of us trudging into the house. The ranch hasn’t changed, nor has my father done much in the way of upkeep. The house is a dump and heaps more embarrassment on my shoulders in front of Summer for the way my dad lives.
But, I remind myself, if Nate doesn’t want help, I can’t force him to get it. I’ll be laying down the law later, and my father will have to make some hard choices. Because I won’t be bailing him out ever again.
“I need a shower,” my father mutters, heading for the master bedroom in the back of the house.
I let him go. I need my father cleaned up for what I have to say next.
“Is there food in the refrigerator?” Summer asks, standing in the family room. “I can make something to eat for when he’s finished.”
“I don’t know. And you don’t have to wait on him.” I don’t mean to sound ungrateful. This whole situation has me on edge.
“I know I don’t have to. I want to.” Summer heads for the kitchen. “He’ll feel better after he gets something in his stomach.” She opens the refrigerator, and I groan at the sight that greets us.
Old takeout leftovers sit inside, and beer lines the door shelves.
“What if I go pick up some fresh food at the grocery store?” she offers. “Oh, wait! There are eggs in here. And bread,” she says, reaching into the back of the fridge. She glances at both, studying dates. “And they’re not expired!” She sounds like she’s hit the lottery.
At least my father has enough food in the house for a meal and a supermarket run isn’t also on today’s agenda. Because even though we are far from the city, I’m not leaving Summer alone.
“I’m really grateful you’re offering, but you don’t need to cook for him,” I try again.
“He needs protein,” she insists, and begins to search the kitchen for plates, silverware, and a frying pan, lining the counter with the items she needs, her ponytail bouncing behind her.
Summer gets to work, and I head to deal with my father, pausing in the entry to the kitchen and turning around. She hums while she busies herself, first cleaning up the dishes in the sink and loading the dishwasher before getting to work.
“Summer…”
She glances over her shoulder, those big eyes meeting mine.
I mean to say thank you. To somehow find a way to express my gratitude, but the words won’t come. Instead, I stalk back into the room and pull her into my arms, my embrace hopefully communicating what I’m not able to say.
Just the fact that she is here, that she insisted on joining me when she could have waited at home, says something about the depth of the relationship we have and choose not to discuss.
“You’re a special woman, Summer. I really didn’t want to do this alone,” I finally admit, kissing the top of her head.
“I want to be here for you.”