Chapter 19 - Gemma

I hardly had the chance to get in the house and put the fish down on the counter before Ben was on me with a swift, easy stride.

Without wasting a moment, his hand cradled my cheek and he moved in, lips on mine. The abruptness of his affection startled me, but with the chance to regain my bearings, I relaxed into the touch.

As his hand fell to my hip, Ben pulled me flush against his body and deepened the kiss, sighing at the way our lips melded together.

My head was spinning for a moment as he led that dance with expertise, immediately succumbing to the addictive feeling of his lips against mine.

While I appreciated his previous efforts to take things slower and not indulge when we could’ve, feeling his hands and lips on me brought me such a feeling of relief, almost like a difficult situation had finally passed, and I could simply give in to what I wanted.

I didn’t have the self-restraint to care about resisting or considering if it would be wiser for us to further deepen our connection first. After our time together on the boardwalk, feeling like I had the chance to see a different side of Ben, it didn’t seem necessary to hold out. I wanted him even more after seeing so much of his charming smile throughout the evening and listening to his rare yet appreciated moments of reverence for his childhood.

I had fun with him, and I fully intended to keep that momentum going.

Without even needing to ask, Ben began guiding us backward, struggling to walk and maintain our lip-locked state, causing us to both laugh breathlessly as we navigated through the house. Despite bumping into the occasional wall or piece of furniture, neither of us cared. We were too wrapped up in each other to worry about anything other than soaking in those addictive kisses.

Even if we easily could’ve taken the moment to focus on heading upstairs, we were too caught up to want to stop. I had grown far too accustomed to the feeling of our mouths moving with such ease that I didn’t want it to end.

When we hit the second floor, our roaming hands became greedy as they gripped and yanked at fabric, urgently pulling each other’s clothes off until there was rumpled material all over the hallway floor leading to the bedroom.

The intensity of our kiss grew as my back bumped up against the closed bedroom door, allowing Ben to swoop in and cage me against it, body pressed to mine so tightly, I was amazed he wasn’t inside me already.

Ben muffled a groan into my mouth as he kissed me deeply, starved and in need of the release we both wanted. He rolled his pelvis against mine as he captured my bottom lip between his teeth, sounding ravenous as a growling noise reverberated in his chest.

I was already beyond ready for him as he reached for the doorknob and twisted it open, carefully guiding me back into the room without breaking that feverish kiss.

Even without a drop of booze in my system, I felt completely drunk on him, and that addict brain of mine could already feel the excited rush of what was to come—knowing I’d get my next fix sooner rather than later.

In our race to get to the bed, there was no need for words. I could feel every ounce of Ben’s desire and devotion in his kiss and the way he held me so tightly, it was a wonder I didn’t bruise.

My shuffled steps back stopped the moment I felt the mattress against the backs of my legs, and with Ben’s guidance, I was lowered onto the bed.

I half expected him to pin me there, but instead, he pressed a quick kiss against my lips before slinking to his knees and pressing more affection against my legs. He parted them with ease and continued his trail up my thighs.

My breath caught in my throat at the sight of him down there, feeling as his fingers hooked into my panties and brushed against my skin. It sent a shiver through me as he removed the last bit of fabric from my body and pressed his lips closer to where I needed him the most.

I shuddered the moment he brushed against my core, kissing my clit before he swiped at it with his tongue with a sinful gleam in his eyes. Heaving out a breath as he continued making those slow yet deep strokes against me, my mind spun.

Regardless of anything else going on, I zeroed in on his attentions, in disbelief at how the combination of his unwavering gaze and skilled tongue made me feel.

Instinctively, my fingers dug into the sheets beneath me while Ben hummed his approval as he tasted me, eyes veiled by a sudden influx of even more desire. I moaned the moment his mouth clamped down on me, and he feasted as if it were his last meal.

I whimpered at the rush of sensations that rocked me completely, thighs flanking either side of his face, caging him there while he worked his ministrations.

But Ben didn’t mind. Instead, it only put him in more of a frenzy as he devoured me, wrapping his strong hands around my thighs to keep me still. He groaned every time I clenched around him, urging him on.

That knot within me was quick to tighten from his unrelenting movements that pushed me closer and closer to the edge. As the sensations grew intense while he alternated between licking and eagerly suckling, I ran my fingers through his hair and gave the occasional tug whenever he did something particularly stimulating.

With that pleasure building more pressure within me, I could feel myself tensing as the beginning traces of my release loomed overhead, promising the bliss I wanted more than anything at the moment.

But right as I sat on the edge of that ecstasy, Ben moved back and kissed my inner thigh, effectively robbing me of that pleasure. To my dismay, I was left to feel that absence and an even more intense sense of desperation.

I needed him, and I needed to reach that place of pure completion.

Ben moved up my body with his lips then, guiding me back onto the bed before he pinned me there, looming above me like an incubus ready to take his fill.

When he noticed the slight dejection on my face from being denied my release, Ben chuckled and kissed my lips as his hands roamed my body.

While I wanted to maintain that look of slight annoyance, I couldn’t—not while his mouth felt so incredible against mine and had me wanting even more. Giving in, I hummed against his lips and melted into him.

Kissing across my cheek, Ben reached my ear and whispered, making me shiver, “Don’t worry, sweetheart. I’m not done with you yet.”

That prospect was enough to have me close to trembling, thoroughly wrapped in desire to the point of it aching within my chest.

That smirk lingered on his lips as he kissed my neck, making my eyes close with ease.

Despite the distraction of his rough nipping and pecking against my skin, I was keenly aware of the path his hands created up and down my body, mapping every inch of me.

After coming so close to hitting that precipice without ever actually reaching it, my senses were heightened, and I anticipated his every touch in hope of getting enough pleasure to tip me over.

But to my relief, he narrowed the space between our bodies as he gave a slow, sensual stroke of his pelvis against mine. The attention-demanding presence of his aggravated arousal brushed against my soaked heat, causing me to moan and tip my head back against the mattress. Those shockwaves of pleasure pulsed within me as they traveled to every corner of my body and made my blood run even hotter.

By then, I didn’t think I could want him even more, but Ben’s diligent touch and constant teasing had me reaching new heights of desperation.

Ben hummed his approval at the gasp that escaped me as he did it again, dragging his length through me with a hint of cockiness in his strokes. He knew what he was doing to me, and he was certainly garnering satisfaction from every second of it.

I was about ready to explode with that pent-up frustration before he finally decided to grip my thigh and part my legs more.

A shudder left me as I felt him press against my entrance, pausing for a moment while he put his forearms on either side of my head and returned his lips to mine in a surprisingly slow and sensual kiss despite the tangible urgency between the two of us.

Once I was subdued by his kiss, Ben dipped in and pushed his way inside, making us both gasp into one another’s mouths.

A rush of immediate, almost blinding gratification moved through me, and my fingers instinctively clenched against his muscled back for support.

While he didn’t face much resistance as he moved, slowly filling me to the brim, he still groaned as if I was constricting around him to the point of making him weak. With his hand on my hip, he withdrew and sank back in, drawing equally needy moans from both of us.

I knew that despite the lust he was tempering for the sake of not giving in too soon and getting ahead of himself, Ben was crumbling on the inside and close to completely cracking. He wanted to maintain those slower, more indulgent thrusts, but his resolve was already fraying at the edges.

Given how he let go of those shaky breaths as he moved with more calculated precision, he didn’t have faith in his ability to keep it in.

By then, I was beyond impatient and couldn’t take that gentle pace any longer.

Taking control of the situation, I hooked a leg around the back of his and rolled my hips forward to meet him halfway.

Immediately, Ben groaned, dropping his head down as he pushed back against the rush of pleasure it brought him. His fingers bunched the sheets up as he hovered there and accepted my eager movements with a chuckle.

“Impatient, are we?”

At the end of my rope, I mumbled against his lips, “Very.”

He smirked into the kiss despite how it faltered the moment we both moved in unison, guided by the blinding want and need for release.

Almost like my encouragement was what he needed to give in completely, it felt as if something switched within him, and he picked up a steady rhythm that pulled those moans from my lips effortlessly.

With one hand next to my head and the other gripping my hip with enough pressure to expertly meld the faint discomfort with pleasure, Ben tried his hardest to hold his moans back.

As much as I tried to keep up with his pace, I simply couldn’t due to how immediately relentless it became. Instead, I wrapped my legs around him properly and braced myself for his every thrust.

The sound of our mutual satisfaction filled the bedroom as we lost ourselves in the moment, not caring about how we sounded. Instead, we were so locked onto chasing that high that nothing else mattered.

Matching my impatience then, Ben angled my hips slightly and drove his pelvis against me, reaching a new depth that made my back arch away from the bed.

Jaw slack, there was no stopping those moans by then as static moved through my vision, and I could only focus on the unfettered pleasure he had to offer. Again and again, the rough bucking of his hips pushed me closer to the edge, finally giving me what I wanted all along.

My fingers dug into his back while I clung to him through every brutal, yet gratifying movement. In response, Ben groaned against my lips and focused on his thrusts while he kept his tight hold on me.

The angle gave him an advantage as I mewled beneath him, so overwhelmed by the rush of pleasure, yet needing more of it. Those addictive sensations moved through me like a slow drip, building my tolerance until I couldn’t help but crave more, until I was left to babble my pleas and encouragement.

The longer he hit that plush, sensitive spot inside me, the more tense my body became, and darkness framed my vision as I felt myself slipping.

“That’s it,” Ben mumbled against my lips along with a breathless groan. “Let go for me, sweetheart. Give in to it…”

With his encouragement, there was no holding back.

Eyes squeezed shut as I buried my head in the pillows, I relied on his grip on my hips to keep me grounded as I came undone, clenching around him the moment that pure ecstasy crashed over me. The coil snapped, and the rush of euphoria tingled through my whole system.

Grunting into my neck, Ben’s thrusts faltered before another groan tore through his throat, and he stilled against me. The force of his orgasm made him tremble as he released, propped up by his next to my head.

As we both tried to slow our racing hearts, Ben hovered his lips above mine for a moment, eyes heavily lidded as he gazed down at me.

Breathlessly, he reconnected our lips in a slow, drawn-out kiss that continued to make my mind spin as he gently raked his fingers through my hair.

Through the aftershocks of my high, the sensation made my skin tingle as I gladly soaked it up, smiling hazily into the kiss.

At that moment, it almost seemed like our rocky beginning never happened—as if we had only ever experienced this kind of ethereal affection with one another. Even though it wasn’t true, it was nice to sit with the idea.

Regardless, I couldn’t ignore how different everything felt between us, and I let that reminder make my heart feel lighter than it had before.