A few seconds later he sat up, a huge, smug grin on his face.

“So, it turns out you like that particular body part a lot, too?”

He still had his boxer briefs on—why hadn’t she taken those off of him? She needed to remedy that but was too overcome to move. Instead, she gestured at them.

“Those. Off. Now.”

She was delighted by how quickly he obeyed her. And then even more delighted once he did. His cock was oh so ready for her. She reached for him, but he held up a finger.

“Wait one sec.”

He jumped off the bed and dove for his messenger bag.

“Here we go!” he said after he rummaged for a minute.

A string of condoms. She knew she’d chosen the right man to both drive her across California and also service her sexually upon arrival.

“Do you always bring condoms with you to work?” she asked, and he crawled back onto the bed.

He shrugged.

“Sometimes I go out after work. A man’s got to be prepared.”

Indeed.

She reached for him and kissed him again. This time the kiss was slower, more relaxed, more comfortable. She was in his smooth, strong arms, and right now, at this moment, she couldn’t believe the luck and chance that had landed her here.

She snuggled closer to him. He ran his fingers through her hair and kissed her cheek. That felt great, but . . .

She wiggled out of his grasp and ripped open one of the condoms.

“This”—she wrapped her hand around his cock, and he breathed in fast—“has been hard for a damn long time now. I think it’s time it got some action, don’t you?”

She could feel his eyes on her as she slowly rolled the condom onto him and then moved her hand up and down his cock.

“Now that you mention it,” he said, “I do think that.”

He flipped her back underneath him, so quickly that she laughed out loud. He smiled down at her and then pushed her legs open to him. God, she loved sex. How had she gone so long without it?

“When you look at me like that—” He lowered down and kissed the hollow between her breasts. And then he slid up her body and inside her in one smooth motion.

Holy shit. First they moved slowly together, as they got the right rhythm. But even then, when it was slow and a little awkward, it felt so good to have him inside her that she wanted to scream again, just from joy. And then, suddenly, they figured it out, and they were moving together, faster and faster. He reared up, and his fingers pinched her nipple. Her vision got blurry, and everything in her body was focused on just moving faster and harder and then he shifted slightly, and that made light explode behind her eyes and she bit his shoulder so she wouldn’t scream, and then he thrust hard into her and collapsed on top of her.

A few seconds later, he rolled off of her, got up, and threw away the condom. He got back in bed and pulled her against him. She liked how he did that—firmly, like there was no question that that’s where she belonged.

God, that had been so good. This felt so good. What a relief, to be this satisfied again, to have this much fun again, to feel this much joy again. To feel happy, for the first time in so long. Especially since there was a time when she’d thought she’d never feel like this again. Anna let out a long, deep sigh, and let herself relax in Ben’s arms.

 

* * *

 

—

Ben was almost asleep when Anna started crying. She didn’t make a sound, but he could tell from the way her body was shaking, and from the tears that fell on his skin.

He brushed her hair back and kissed her on the side of her head.

“Is everything okay?” he asked. And then he wanted to slap himself. What a stupid fucking question. Everything was obviously not okay.

He tucked the covers tighter around them and pulled her close.

“I’m okay,” she said. “I’m sorry. I should . . . explain.”

He kissed her hair.

“Shhh,” he said. “You don’t have to explain anything.” Wait. He released his hold on her. “But . . . if you want to be alone, I can go get a snack, or find another room, or something. Just say the word and I’m gone. I promise, it’s fine.”

She looked up at him.

“No, no, please don’t go. It’s not you. You’re great. This”—she gestured to the two of them—“this is great. Stay here, just like this?”

He let out a sigh of relief and pulled her back against him. Oh, thank God, he’d been worried he was the problem, or that he’d done something to upset her without realizing it.

“Of course. I’ll be right here as long as you need me to be,” he said.

She looked up at him, tears still running down her face.

“Everything really is okay. That’s why I’m crying. It’s been so long since everything felt okay. Since I felt like I was okay. And it’s been a long time for me. For this, I mean. Last year I—” She let out another sob. “I wasn’t doing well. I wasn’t okay at all. I was so . . . and now I’m not. I really am okay now. I’m sorry, you must think I’m—”

He stroked her hair. He had no idea what she was telling him, but he knew one thing.

“I think you’re incredible, that’s what I think.”

She kissed him on the cheek and then settled her head back against his chest.

“Mmm, that feels nice,” she said.

So he kept gently running his fingers through her hair, until he could tell from her regular breathing that she was asleep.

Eight

Ben jolted awake, far too few hours later. What was that noise? He had to make it stop. He pulled himself out of bed, and through barely open eyes traced the noise to his jeans, on the floor in the corner. He fished his phone out of them. Seven a.m. His alarm. Right. He hit off, but the noise didn’t stop. He looked at his phone, then around the room. What was happening?

“My phone,” Anna said from the bed. “My purse.”

He grabbed her purse from the desk and brought it to her in bed. She dug through it and turned the alarm off. They looked at each other in relief.

“That was a very bad noise,” he said as he got back in bed. Then he sat upright. “Wait. Work. Work is seven hours away.” He reached for his phone again in a panic. No. Right. He’d sent out an email last night while they were at In-N-Out canceling today’s shoot because of Anna’s family emergency. He shot his boss a quick email to tell her what was going on—well, a tiny part of what was going on—and that he would work from home that day, and fell back on the bed. Only to find Anna staring at him with a small smile on her face.