“Fuck,” he growled, hungrily moving at a pace I couldn’t keep up with. “Fucking perfect, Claire. You feel… fuck, you feel good.”

He gripped my hair as hard as I gripped his and lowered his mouth against my throat. He licked my skin ravenously, sucking and biting enough for me to hiss and flinch. I knew he liked it rough. The more he teetered to the edge, the more riled up he got, and it was the hottest thing I’d ever felt. It made me lose myself with him.

“Oh, God,” I breathed. “I’m so close.”

“I love the fucking sounds you make while you’re riding my cock,” he ground out. “Don’t stop, beauty. Keep fucking me.”

He slammed harder into me, and the lost vulnerable look on his face when he was in pleasure tipped me over the edge. I gasped and stilled, clutching him to me with every ounce of my strength. He continued to pound into me, wrapping me in his arms, until I was crushed against him. My bones ached, my breath was knocked right out of my lungs as he hammered into me and finally let himself go, letting out what sounded like a groan and growl all at once.

I went limp, and he continued to embrace me, much more delicately this time. He stroked my hair as the side of my head pressed against his chest, listening to his speedy heartbeats. I felt drowsy, and I didn’t want to move. I didn’t think I’d ever want to move.

“You,” he whispered in between each pant, “are positively addictive.”

“Likewise,” I whispered back.

“No. No, you’re mind blowing. So fucking exquisite to look at while you rode me. You wanted your pleasure and you took it from me, and it was beyond hot watching your face get there. Fuck.”

My chest squeezed. It was one thing having sex with someone. It was another recapping it with them.

We caught out breaths, letting time pass by slowly as we enjoyed the feel of our bodies still pressed against one another.

“Need to get a little cleaned up before the driver comes back,” he murmured into my ear before kissing it.

Dazed, I lifted myself and he pulled out of me. I settled down next to him, and he quickly zipped his pants up and fixed his belt. I ran a hand through my hair and pulled my dress down. I adjusted my panties, cringing a little with both horror and pleasure when his cum slid out of me. It felt oddly good to be marked, like I was carrying a piece of him inside of me. And – well duh – I kinda was, but I meant it more on an emotional level.

God, how sappy was I?

“You look shattered,” he remarked playfully, looking like a sex god with his just-fucked look.

“After that, can you blame me?” I smiled.

“No. We’ll get you home in my bed in no time, okay?”

I paused and then shrugged. “You can take me to my house, if you want. You don’t have to put up with me in your place just so I can sleep in your bed after what we just did.”

He considered my words for a moment with a frown. “Is it only about sex with you?”

“Well, no.”

“Do you think it’s just about sex for me, then?”

I looked away from him and wiped away a piece of imaginary fluff on my dress. “Um, I don’t know. Is it?”

“No,” he said, a note of frustration in his tone. “I thought I made that clear at the restaurant.”

I gave him an apologetic look. “Ben, it’s nothing to do with you. I’m just… not used to this, okay?”

“What’s ‘this’, Claire?”

“You know, seeing someone. I’ve never done this before, and all I’m drawing on is past experiences.”

He took my hand and kissed it softly. “I know a good thing when I see it. I see it in you. So this is more than sex for me. Is that good enough reassurance for you, little lady?”

I smiled heartily and nodded. “Yes.” Yes, it was indeed.

He smiled back. “Good. Now let’s go home.”

Chapter Twelve

You’re beautiful

Ben was a contradiction. He dressed nicely, he took me to a really expensive restaurant, but he also apparently didn’t have a car, and his phone looked like a brick from a century ago.

I’d been on the fence about how wealthy he was, up until the moment the taxi driver pulled up in front of a luxury building just minutes from the city. In the elevator on the way up, I stared at my reflection in the mirrored walls and winced at my bedraggled look. Rain and sex had not been kind to me.

The hallway we stepped into had only two doors. We went to one and he unlocked it, kicking it open and taking my hand to steer me in. The entrance foyer of his apartment was huge, backing onto a modern lounge area.

I gaped in awe.

A penthouse. Ben owned an enormous penthouse. Well, shit. The man is loaded after all.

In the darkness, I caught the sight of large floor to ceiling windows in the lounge room. He led me past a stone counter kitchen and up a staircase to the second level.

“Not really much to see,” he told me when he caught me looking around interestedly. “I have a guest bedroom up here and my office. Downstairs is basic. Right now let’s just go to bed, and you can go exploring in the morning.”

He took me to the last door. It was the master bedroom, and it was definitely his given that his smell lingered in the air. He left me standing by the bed as he opened his walk-in closet and sorted through some clothes. I rubbed the goose bumps along my arms away, feeling the chill in the air while I waited on him.

He stood before me moments later with a shirt in his hand. “Strip,” he told me.

He’d seen all of me a couple times already and yet I still felt nervous when I let the dress drop to the floor.

“And the bra.” I could hear the smile in his voice.

I took that off too. He then fitted the opening of the t-shirt over my head and I put my arms through the sleeves. I felt like a kid being dressed, but it also felt like an act of affection from him.

He threw his own clothes off as I moved onto the large king sized bed and pulled the covers back. He crawled in after me and pressed himself against me, giving me all his body heat as he pulled the covers over top of us. I was on my side, facing him, and while I was tired, I was incredibly aware of my surroundings. This was going to take some adjusting to.

His hand trailed up and down my spine. He kissed me softly as that hand slid up and cupped the bad side of my face to him.

“So beautiful,” he whispered to me.