“You’re also not going to put that thing inside of her until you take care of her needs.”
“I got it.” He cocks his head to the side and I can’t tell if he would have done it or if he’d needed the reminder. He doesn’t balk, which makes him a good team player.
Sliding my fingers out of her warmth, I step back, letting her dress fall into place.
Bennett backs her to the desk and massages her sex over her sundress. Good boy. Her chin drops forward and her breaths deepen. Very good boy. For all his cockiness, I’d hoped he had actual skills.
I get my cock out and stroke it with her juices. I can’t wait to fuck her, it’s a primal need, that it has to be her. But the idea of putting my cock into her, giving her an orgasm, makes me all warm. Then thinking of her body milking my shaft, begging for my seed, hits at a level I’ve never experienced. It’s what we’re made to do. But I only want to do it with her.
The levels of completeness that consume me when I think about making love to her are unsettling, which in the most insane way, makes the whole thing perfect. This is how people should feel when they’re intimate.
My eyes are glued to him gathering the front of her dress when I sense a shift in the room. Her hand slaps over his. I dart my eyes up to meet hers but they’re shut and she’s pursing her lips. What’s wrong?
I step forward, sliding my hand over her back. Bennett asks, “Did I do something wrong?”
She shakes her head rapidly. “No. It’s me. I can’t do this.”
She’d been ready to go yesterday, and sated when she’d left, but I’d wanted her to wait and make sure. My message had been clear.
“Whoa, Baby. Tell us what’s wrong. Did I scare you when I said how tight it would be?”
“I’ll go as slow as you need.” Bennett’s voice has never held more sincerity or desperation.
She steps to the side, moving behind my desk. It worries me that she’s putting a physical barrier between us. I stuff my cock back in my pants then grab Bennett’s arm when he steps toward her. He allows the space, and his erection subsides…still impressive though.
“Baby, you should only be here if you want to be. If you’d rather leave, you can, but talk to us.” That would kill me, but I don’t want her to do anything against her will.
Her gaze drops to one of the picture frames, then her fingers lift it. Shit. She has to have noticed the gray in my hair, that I’m not in my twenties or even thirties. Bennett tenses beside me.
“That’s my daughter. She’s away at college.”
“I know.” Her eyes stay on the photo.
“You do?” I ask, not sure where this is going. Have we been set up or…I don’t understand.
She turns the photo to us, takes a deep breath, and says, “At first, at the diner, I thought you were just messing around. When I realized you didn’t recognize me, I thought I could do this…have some fun then walk away.”
Her shoulders slump. I steeple my fingers on my desk and lean over it toward her.
“You know my daughter?” I take the photo of my daughter from her and set it aside. “Do we know each other?”
Bennett’s going to skewer me if I fuck this up.
“Yeah, I know Madi.” Her short laugh hints at sarcasm. “And you don’t recognize me, do you?”
I right myself and rub my hand over my mouth. Why the fuck don’t I recognize her? I can’t think of a single red-haired friend Madi had. I would have never thought of a young girl the way I think of this siren of a woman though. I rack my brain to keep from looking like an idiot.
There’s a bigger reason she’s felt familiar to me and I’ve missed it. I’m still missing it. “Look, I was a terrible father. I’ll own that. It’s why Madi barely talks to me. But what we have together is real. It’s the three of us. No one else gets to say if we’re right or wrong for what we’re doing.”
Her eyes shine and my heart breaks. I can’t lose her. Even worse, if Caroline and Bennett went on without me, I’d lose my purpose.
She holds up a hand when I round the corner of the desk. “I wanted to believe I could do this. That I could play on the right side of the tracks a few times before you’d get tired of me, but you keep making it feel like it’s so much more than a hookup.”
Bennett interjects, “Because it is. I don’t understand what the fuck is going on, but Roarke made our intentions to you very clear.”
“That’s why I had to stop. Both of you are amazing, and I wanted to exist in that bubble but I can’t drag you down as another one of my bad decisions.”
I rub my temples to ward off the headache. “We’re not abaddecision. And I’m sorry that I can’t figure out how you know my daughter, but I’m begging you to explain before you call this off. Give us a chance to work it out.”